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.  

Day 91 Black Nativity

 

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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 traditions  in 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!

Day 86 Treasures/Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago(AIC)  was art heaven to me! We  did not go until the second day of the trip and I have to admit that I was thinking about  going  the entire first day. I have been to the Metropolitan in New York but the AIC is the  second largest art museum in the U.S , known for  its impressionist, and post-impressionist art, with a collection second only to the Louve in Paris!  I could not wait to see my favorite artist’s works up close  but as Little Golden Books recommends I had to “be discriminating” so I could see the most  art in the time that I had. That morning I  went on line and had a plan of attack! 

Day 85 Happy Thanksgiving/Chicago finest food

If you're tired of turkey then your might enjoy thinking about Chicago ‘s finest foods.  

I wanted to try everything Chicago  and this girl loves to eat so I was ready to  indulge in Chicago's finest foods. My first  stop- Deep Dish Pizza at Bella Bacino.  Chicago invented the stuff  and it sure was not like the pizza from the chain restaurant UNO.  It was over an inch thick and stuffed with spinach and cheese-yum.  One slice filled me up but I had two anyway and one more for breakfast the next day!

Day 84 Visit Chicago( getting there)

Most people go south in the winter so it seemed  a little backwards to go  to the “windy city” were it is even colder than Pittsburgh.  Maslow says that a self actualized person does not always follow the norms and  so I packed a good warm coat and some cute hats (see Try A Hat, Day 51) and headed to Chicago, where  deep dish pizza was invented, cracker jacks were introduced,  and  Batman’s Gotham   City was based.  I had never visited this 3rd largest city behind  NYC and LA (both of which I visited several times). Therefore it seemed like a perfect  place  to explore in this journey of trying new things  and  I had a bonus feature –a  tour guide that used to live there!  

Reflection

Flying into Chicago you realize the enormous size of the city because the lights seem to go on forever. I usually drive to NYC so this was a beautiful sight. Ironically, I had a touch of the beach  when I entered the W Hotel.  The lobby had flashing lights, an art deco style and  Miami sounding music playing. I felt like I was in South Beach and ready to go dancing.  This place screamed "have fun", which was I intended to do! 

Day 83 Royal Ballet of Cambodia

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Little Golden Book "Daddies" 1953

I love to watch dance and I have a passion for the ballet so it easy for me to “take in some culture” as Little Golden Books recommends.  My running joke is that, “ I will marry the first guy who willingly goes to the ballet with me.”  I have  not found that one guy yet but  luckily some go and  pretend to find it interesting.  I had no idea what to expect when I decided to try the Cambodian Ballet but  to obtain self -actualization I thought I should behave as Maslow suggested and “try new things instead of sticking to safe paths” (Maslow Theory) .

Reflection

This was truly  an immersion in Cambodian culture. The dance was so very different from how we dance  in the United States. The costumes were uniquely beautiful as were the dancers.  The movement was like watching a movie in slow  motion with every move being  precise and isolated.  The women had memorizing eyes and just a slight turn of there face or head changed the feel of the dance. It reminded me of a cobra in a snake charmers basket, relaxing and hypnotic. The music was nothing like our music and after a few songs, I must admit, the music was a bit too

Day 82 Visit a Memoral 2 (West Park)

USS Mane-Spanish American War Memorial

A few days before Labor Day I enjoyed what may have been the last of the warm Pittsburgh  weather  and found myself in West Park, the park on the North side of Pittsburgh near the Aviary. I discovered that there were quite a few monuments  in this park.  In this new journey, I vowed  that I would no longer just walk past them ( Day 5) .  I found an interesting looking cannon which  was a tribute to the lives lost during the Spanish American War  and  a Civil War Monument in the distance.   I decided to “be patriotic” as  Little Golden Books suggested and explored these monuments, learning about the USS Maine.

Civil War Monument  - West Park