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Reading Raisin
The heatwave this summer was crippling. I turned into a zombie and was afraid I’d stay that way forever. But one magnificent morning, the temperature dropped and rescued me. Standing in our living...
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For those who die twice
It was a fabulous October morning and I was quite happy, for once, to run errands. I went to the bookstore just to buy a notebook and a pen but wound up buying a couple of “vacation from myself” books...
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Just an Ordinary Day
Just an ordinary day. “And then gone. Joan Didion What a crass, loud, and inhumane world we are living in. It’s so easy these days to get distracted and to wander from one’s core. It’s so very easy...
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Motown Pesto
The basil growing on our balcony is out of control. It’s time to make a Pesto Zucchini Lasagna Texan style. Authentic pesto is made by crushing the basil with a pestle and mortar. But I am lazy and...
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Starry Starry Night
The year I graduated from high school, Don McLean’s “Starry Night” peaked the music charts at number 12 in the U.S. I was charmed by the song but not enamoured. Had I known it was about Vincent Van...
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O. Henry’s Leaf
One is a lonely number. It’s static and goes nowhere on its own. To move, it takes two. That’s why we need interrelations because, without them, we cannot evolve. Sue and Johnsy were two young artists...
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Suzanne Valadon
Napoleon III (1808-1873) was the last Emperor of France. He lost his majestic role in 1870 when the Prussians defeated the French army at the Battle of Sedan. Before his defeat, Napoleon wanted to...
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Autumn Leaves
Birds are magnificent architects and construct fascinating nests for their families. Bowerbirds, for example, build simple structures but decorate them with colored objects hoping to attract a...
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Back to the Garden
Genesis narrates how God created the heavens and the earth followed by the stars, the plants, and the animals. Then God picked up some dirt, gave it a form, blew air into it and, voilà, created the...
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The Herculean Task of Being a Woman
La Colonna dell’Immacolata c. 1880. Via Today, in Italy, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It celebrates “the sinless life of the Blessed Virgin” and officially begins the Christmas season....
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The Copyists
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed proclaiming the emancipation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. But political independence does not automatically presume a cultural...
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Ekphrastic Copyists
Pablo Picasso said “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” So he did both. On the left is a painting by Velazquez, “L’infante Marie Marguerite” (1655) and, on the right, Picasso’s version of the...
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Loïe & Taylor
TIME wrote that one of the reasons Tayor Swift was selected as person of the Year was because of the influence she’s had on others. 2023 was a difficult year but, according to TIME, “Taylor Swift...
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At the Hairdresser
I terribly dislike going to the hairdresser. With my skinny insignificant hair, there’s no great makeover I could ever expect. However, to avoid the sensation of neglecting myself, I go. Once there,...
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Madame Ginoux
Paul Gauguin was born in 1848, the year of revolutionary upheavals. Probably the most influential figure during his childhood was that of his grandmother, Flora Tristan, a French-Peruvian writer,...
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Gotta Match?
Have you noticed how many angry people are running around out there? Sometimes I feel like I’m surrounded by firecrackers just looking for a match. I do wish people would stop waving their wicks in...
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Frida Kahlo Wears Huipiles
Frida in Paris For several years, I kept the blog Frida Kahlo Wears Huipiles. But, as part of my “Let’s Make Life Easier” Mission, I gave up the domain. To keep from losing all my Frida posts, I will...
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Stop the War on Children
The artist Käthe Kollwitz was born in Konigsberg in 1867. Because of its strategic position, Konigsberg, a port city on the Baltic Sea, was once a part of Prussia before it became a Russian city....
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Frida & Miyako Ishiuchi
For JOY who brings joy! This post original appeared on my blog Frida Kahlo Wears Huipiles that’s now dormant . So before I close it down completely, I am reblogging here. Japanese artist Miyako...
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Duello
Love is for the colorblind and childhood is our lifelong shadow. Sometimes it’s a friend, sometimes it’s a foe. One hot summer afternoon, in The Secret Life of Bees, two girls are in the yard playing...
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