Focused at Fifty

WATCHES! I started this year off with a resolve to declutter myself a bit more. Not completely, for you see that would be impossible. I like bric-a-brac and tchotchkes which I think bemoans the very essence of clutter. I often joke that I schedule a social event once a season in my household just so I can attempt to get it all dusted 4 times a year. As I get older, a social event for me entails my sister coming for a visit. And when it all comes down to it, as long as I have the kitchen, bathroom and her guest room cleaned I feel I have done my job. I often hear my mother's voice in my head chastising me, "Now make sure the bathroom is cleaned for your sister!" I decided to tackle my watches this past week and go through them trying to decide which ones to keep and which ones to toss. I have several watch "faces" without bands. Two are silver toned Kenneth Cole. There are two others, no name watches which I picked ...

"The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin Coming off the holidays can always be a bit melancholy but this year it hit me kinda hard. My personal demons that I sometimes wrestle with reared their ugly heads. It's been a tough last couple weeks. It takes a lot to recognize that I need to work on these demons and that's what I will do. I've not been very happy with myself lately and I would not look up to that person that I've been. The specifics are not necessary but I will tell you that I received a jump start in the last couple days which has allowed me to take a good hard look at what I am doing and where I am going. Believe me, it was an extremely difficult hard thing to do. But ultimately, it's a good thing. I just don't want to "be" ... to exist. I want to grow emotional, physically, and mentally. I want to be someone that I would look up to. I feel like I sometimes let myself down. So how to get back to that place? I need to re-evaluate m...

Glen Lyon, Scotland BLOGGERS note: I wrote this blog with the permission and knowledge of my friend Morag Donlevy. In addition, the pic above is not my photo but from the website  https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glenlyon/glenlyon/index.html . I wanted a photo to represent the beauty of this country. MY dear friend Morag hails from Scotland. She's lived in the US for many many years but will always have strong ties to her homeland, as well as a delightfully beautiful accent. Her husband Matthew's accent is much stronger. I often tease that I use Morag to translate Matthew's strong "Scottish brogue" for me. Morag recently had to travel back to her ancestral home to sadly say farewell to her Mother whom she lovingly called her "Wee Mammy".  At age 95, she was the youngest of 13, and the last one to pass. I followed Morag's Facebook posts from Scotland feeling as if I were there next to her on her journey home. The only regret I ha...

A little advice from Morticia Addams going into the New Year... We need to remember this when we see someone who does not fit into our standards of normal. I am not by any means advocating chaos, but instead, advocating acceptance to those who choose to live their lives outside of the box without the fear of repercussion.

An example of a 150 ft yacht! (Not my pic)  Back in the 90's, I used to cater in Center City Philly for an upper end private catering company run by my sister's friend Jane. I was very fortunate to work with a group of fun people at some of the swankiest penthouses and luxurious homes in Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, the Art Museum neighborhood, and the Mainline in Philly. Most of the clients were extremely gracious. You had a group of plucky 20 something waiters or bartenders working our hardest for Jane because she also became a very good friend. We wanted to see her succeed. My sister got me the "in" working for Jane and I worked for her for a good 8 years off and on. Many of these catering gigs stand out. They either involved crazy parties with drunk wealthy people, Philadelphia celebrities, or over the top parties that only that type of money can buy. One stood out in particular. I was to bartend on a large yacht moored in the Delaware River ...

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures, that were not receives well during his lifetime, but later found acceptance. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance until he moved to Paris in 1906. There he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constatin Brancusi. (source:  Wikipedia: Modigliani )  I just love the quote below and have always admired his works. The quote may seem like an off the cuff excuse, but it goes so so much deeper. Check out his works online. They are hauntingly beautiful.  Why do artists create what they create? Take the time and ask the artist! Their reasons may astound and confound you but you will definitely be amazed. Their reasons are not what you think. Remember what you see in a work of art m...

Marc, Holly, Suzanne & Maria at Suzanne's Wedding Aug 2016 It seems that tragedy becomes a right of passage during one's adulthood. It happens and one struggles to make sense of it and adapt to it. Around and around my mind goes wondering how or why did this happen? I can't wrap my head around it. Just endless thinking about the scenario wondering how it could've been prevented. It is so hard to comprehend why it happened. Just a tragic and senseless murder. My coworker and friend Holly tragically lost her life last week at the hands of her own husband. He killed her in cold blood. I write that not to shock you but to relay how cold and horrible that it truly was. The details will not be recounted here. They are just too horrible for me to say. Just know that a wonderfully genuinely friendly and lovingly silly mother lost her life. And now her two children in their 20s are without their mother. And her own elderly parents are broken and have to bu...