Friday, December 26, 2014

Day 93 Merry Christmas, Carnegie Museum, presepio



presepio
Today was a time to decompress after so much hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas Day.  Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From a Little Golden Book,  ends with the reminder that Christmas  is the time  “when joy came. One night in a manger,  under a star, a night witnessed by both shepherds and kings, when gifts were given to a waiting word…the gift of love.”   It was great to reflect on this at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History where the museum’s Hall of Architecture was   transformed into a winter wonderland with  huge decorated  trees and  a 18th Century Nativity.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Day 92 Pittsburgh Penguins





Growing up in Pittsburgh,  it is sacrilegious  to not be part of the  sports  culture, with our Steelers, Pirates and Penguins teams but I have to admit that I was never much of  a sports fan. Yikes I said it!     I guess that’s ok because according to Maslow's theory , a characteristic  of a self-actualizer  is "resistance to  enculturation, but not being purposely unconventional."    Therefore I am willing to try to be more of a sports fan  and  I have recently  learned more about sports by accepting the invitation to attended some Penguin games.  

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Day 91 Black Nativity


Nativity Pittsburgh 


I have seen many traditional interpretations of the Christmas story but when invited, I  jumped at the opportunity for a new experience - Langton Hough’s  story of Jesus’s birth  from  another cultural perspective. Like in Day 83 (Cambodian Ballet), I continue to “try  new things  instead of sticking to safe paths,” a  behavior of a person seeking to be “the best that they can be” or  to be self- actualized according to Maslow. I explored Pittsburgh’s Shona Sharif  African Dance and Drum Ensemble's performance of The Black Nativity.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Day 90 Share the Nutcracker




In this journey of new things I can’t really say that  going to the the Pittsburgh Ballet's Nutcracker  is a new experience. I have gone too many times to count and as expressed in Day 83  (Cambodian Ballet),  I am always in search of someone to accompany me to one of my favorite things -the ballet.  It is even better  when you can fuel a  friend’s  novel experience with the show and they love it! This
 blog is about- sharing a Christmas passion  with someone.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Day 89 Oh Christmas Tree




Everything I Need to Know about Christmas I learned From a Little Golden Book starts out, “Christmas is coming! ..Yikes! …there’s just  so much to do.”   So even with my  cracked rib I managed to get the tree up and decorated over Thanksgiving weekend. 

Reflection
Growing up our family had the infamous hodgepodge tree with silver tinsel  but I  longed for a perfect looking department store Christmas tree.  So when I left the my childhood humble abode, I strived for a lookalike. Even though I  never  quite made it,  I attempted a department store tree clone  every year and tried a different yearly theme. This year  it’s “white, gold, angels,  and crystal  stuff.”  I love sitting in my Buddha position writing on my computer  with the glow of the tree  lights and remembering the significance  of every  ornament.  It brings a peace.  

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Day 88 House of Blues Gospel Brunch (Chicago)




There is nothing more uplifting than  the praise and worship  music from a gospel choir.  My blog inspiration,the book, Everything I need to know About Christmas I Learned from a Little Golden Book, recalls that   Christmas brings “the gift of love.” Therefore I was excited to kick off the Christmas holiday by remembering the “reason for the season” at the House of Blues Gospel Brunch in Chicago.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Day 87 Enjoy the Season like a Child/Chicago




New Book, Love it!

Christmas starts earlier every year but I don’t mind  because I love it all: lights, decorations, winter, snow, family, food, and the celebration of our Lord.  So while in Chicago, I was excited to “celebrate the season” as reminded by my friend Diane in her new book, Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned from a Little Golden Book

The holiday windows  were one of my favorite yearly family traditionin Pittsburgh and I went every year with my son. This  emptynester  enjoyed them  at  Macy's in Chicago. I also hit the grand opening day of Dylans Candy Bar,  and bought the candy from my childhood, “Flying Saucers and Zots,” found in the "vintage/nostalgic candy section."  As I visited each  window and ate candy-I was a kid  again!