Focused at Fifty

When the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia closed and the property was taken over by Starwood Hotels, I was heartbroken. The Ritz-Carlton was a family atmosphere of employees striving to show an incredible experience of care, comfort, and opulence to our guests. I had come to truly believe in the philosophy, or as we said at the Ritz-Carlton, the Basics, of the company. The Starwood Hotel company transformed the Ritz-Carlton into a St. Regis, their equivalent. I knew after working there a month I would not stay. They just didn’t embody the genuine care and comfort of guests and that family atmosphere that I had grown to love at the Ritz.   I started looking elsewhere. My search for an new employer brought me to a caviar and gourmet foods importer right in Philadelphia by the name of Assouline and Ting, Inc.   The owner was a very handsome short statured French man named Joel Assounline. Joel was friendly, excitable, full of never ending energy, and so likable. Hi...

I have learned a lot during my 40th year. Some things are good, some ... I wouldn’t say are bad … but let’s just say are not so good. Physically, it does take getting used to accepting the aging process. Albeit someone in their 50’s or 60’s may laugh at my minor aging issues, but they are still significant to myself. You take mental pause when someone first tells you, “Oh my gosh, you are turning gray!” You start to notice with a deep sigh that you need to adjust the paper in front of you in order to read the fine print. And you definitely don’t bounce back like you used to after a night of drinking and dancing. I worry about life going by too fast. I am fearful I won't do everything that I have always wanted to do. As friends and family members pass away, I realize how precious our time here is. You realized that in the blink of an eye, it can all be taken away from us. I never dreamt my mother would die so young. I feel I am blessed to have her with me as long as I did but I f...

The following works of art are some favorite works of Impressionism and Expressionism that I have loved from my studies in the art history program at Rutgers University way back when. Art history continues to be a passion and love of mine! These works move me in one way or another. They are copied for purely educational reasons and obviously I do not own the originals. LOL. "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh I did my thesis at Rutgers on Vincent. I didn't do so well on it. LOL. Long time ago. I love this pic. Very forboding, disturbing. Nightmarish.I love it. "Le Moulin de la Galette"   by Pierre-Auguste Renoir I love this work because I have always felt the frenetic activity taking place: the dancing, the talking, the drinking, all the fun! It reminds me of myself during my twenties having fun at various restaurants, cafes, and bars! "La Promenade"  by Claude Monet Everyone always LOVES the water lillies paintings by Monet but I love...

Warm, sweet with raisins, tart with apples, spicy with nutmeg and cinnamon. COMFORT FOOD. This is how I describe my Nana’s Sweet Noodle Kugel recipe. Kugel is a Jewish tradition. It is sort of a noodle and egg pie and is similar, perhaps, to a quiche ... but with noodles! It can be savory and made with spinach and cheese or sweet, like my Nana's. The recipe I made is perfect for dessert, or even breakfast. Now it has been a tough month for me, with the 2nd anniversary of my mother’s passing. So it only figures that I have nursed some wounds during these last thirty days. It is amazing that food from your childhood can evoke such memories, such emotions of love and kindness. No wonder it is called comfort food. This past month I have been plodding through my Nana’s and Mom’s recipes that Mom had so carefully wrote down for me in the last couple years. They include among others, recipes for meatloaf, meatballs, Mom’s marinara sauce, tomato and cucumber salad, cucumber onion sala...

During one of our "on the road" conversations the other morning, my sister Sheryl and I remarked to each other about how not many people take the time to write out a thank you card anymore. Now I am not talking about the verbal expression, although that has fallen into disuse as well these days. A verbal thank you is better of course than nothing. I am talking about the written expression of thank you. In our increasingly instant messaging society, written thank yous are a dying breed. They are going the way of birthday cards, holiday cards, and telephone landlines. People have stopped sending cards and instead Twitter or Facebook “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas."  When it comes to the Facebook "Happy Birthday," I admit it; I am guilty as charged. We, as a society, have become so wrapped up in our own lives, that the quick electronic greeting is now becoming acceptable! Also, people no longer call each other for Sunday evening calls to find out how the ext...

I have only ever been summoned for jury duty once while living in Pennsylvania. Everyone can now let out their collective groans and say "Ugh!" I know that’s just what I did. For years, I had avoided jury duty by not being in the right place at the right time. My number just didn’t “come up.” I was moving every other year from apartment to apartment in different neighborhoods in Philly. I moved from Society Hill to Graduate Hospital to Rittenhouse Square to Olde City to the Art Museum neighborhood. And I am  thankful that the wonderfully "slow on jury duty paperwork" City of Philadelphia just never pegged me down for the time honored tradition of jury duty. It was June of 1998 when I moved out to Media, PA in Delware County and I loved it. I was living there happily for a couple years in suburban bliss when one day I received that letter marked JURY DUTY that everyone hates to get! I was to report to the court house in one month's time and take my me...

A new segment in my blog will be photos, architecture, sculpture, and artwork that I have studied, admired, or just been blown away by! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. ***I do not own these photographs and are just displaying them for educational purposes. Man Ray "Tears" 1930 I have always been in love with the Surrealist photographer Man Ray. This is one of my all time favorites. Dorthea Lange "Destitute peapickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children, February 1936" 1936     I always felt the mother in this photograph looked so worn out, so sad, without hope. It conveys such feelings of struggle and emotional exhaustion. Charis Wilson "Nude" 1936 I love the angularity of the woman's body in this photograph. Robert Mapplethorpe "Grace Jones" 1988 I love this picture by Mapplethorpe. Grace Jones has such a haunting look about her. I particularly like her eyes.