Day 159 La Festa Della Donna - International Women’s Day

It seems  like there is a “day” 
dedicated to everything. Thus you could literally celebrate something every day  but  International Women’s Day is  a day worth embracing.  It is a celebration with a political history but it is also a day to appreciate women.  In Maslow's principle, the human need for  love and belonging  is third on  his  list to reaching our best self or self-actualization. This need can be  expressed in deep friendships  so I was excited when my friend invited me to my first celebration of La Festa Della Donna.

Day 158 Purdue Visit

Dinner

 

 

 

My Blog inspiration book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book ,reminds us to “Let  your children know you love them.”  That  is just what I did on my recent visit to Purdue University to see my son.

 

Day 157 The Ultimate Oscars/Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Goofing off at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - Heinz Hall 

Enjoying  the Pittsburgh Symphony  Orchestra show, “The Ultimate Oscars,”   was a great way to gear up for the Oscars.   I love the glam of the Oscars  with  its “star power,” movie previews, and red carpet dresses.  The Oscar's larger than life movies have familiar larger than life music themes  written to be  paired with a full  orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony POPS featured some of best of these movie themes.

Day 156 Bed and Breakfast/Holiday Valley



Jefferson Inn, Ellicotville, NY

Even though February is the month of love due in part to Hallmark’s marketing, it’s still nice to reflect  on the things, people, and places, that we love and show our appreciation  to the significant others in our life.  Appropriately,  my blog inspiration book, Everthing I Need to Know about LOVE I Learned From a Little Golden Book  reminds us that, “without love, we wouldn’t know joy’s true heights.” A bed and breakfast is a good place to relax alone or celebrate your relationship with that special someone. 

Day 155 NBA Basketball/Utah Jazz vs Philadelphia 76ers




Jazz vs 76ers

I have never been much of a sports fan  but my friend continues to introduce me to sports. Like anything, familiarly brings comfort and I guess now I can say that I am merging into a fan! I think basketball might be on the top of the list.   Recently I experienced my first professional NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City Utah-Jazz vs 76ers.

Day 154 Chicago Architecture tours/river, walking & theater



River walk in Chicago

 

Last year I ventured to Chicago for the first time and experienced all things Chicago (see Days 84, 85, 86 and 87).  This year’s visit was all things architectural. We took a walking tour  with the  Chicago Architectural Foundation , a river tour with Sight Seeing Tours, and a back stage tour of the iconic Chicago Theater. You rarely think about a building’s history when you walk to get  from one place to another. An architectural tour brings the stories  of a city to life and  you see beautiful works of art  that you might never have noticed in the absence of a tour.  Architecture is the standing history of the past life of a city and just like  the house tours of  Day 154, these tours give you a sense of  life’s brevity.

Day 153 Trains & House Tours/Allegheny West

Holmes Hall

The  Allegheny West Neighborhood  consists of only eight blocks on the North Side of Pittsburgh but it’s rich in history with several  restored Victorian homes from the 1800’s.  I learned  some new things about   Pittsburgh’s past  and  discovered  a vast private toy train collection when I helped as a guide for  my friend whose home was part of the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour. A house tour is  an intimate way to explore architecture  and  lifestyles of the past and present.

Day 152 Ski Utah

Top of the Mountain -Alta, Utah 10,500 feet

My blog inspiration book, Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book     reminds us to, “be daring” and that is just what you have to do when you are about to ski down a mountain on two long boards. When the cold weather approaches, bear like hibernation tends to occur unless you can find  some kind of outside interest and skiing is a great way to enjoy the winter. I have recently added skiing back into my life( see Day 104-Ski Again). However,  I have not been out west to ski in over 10 years so I was ready to tackle the mountains of Utah for the first time.

Day 151 Temple Square Christmas Lights, Salt Lake City, Utah

The  New Year has arrived! A new year is a time to reflect and a time to start fresh. My entire blog is about change and fresh starts so I don’t need it to be a new year for my “do over.” Every day is a do over for me. I am also not one for New Year’s resolutions because I usually set my goals much too high which inevitably result in failure. Thus, in 2016 I am going to continue to see the silver lining in life, keeping it positive. As the psychologist, Maslow would agree, having a positive attitude in life is a characteristic of a self -actualized individual. I am keeping alive the glass half full philosophy. Therefore, I thought that I would start the new year blog with my recent visit to Salt Lake City’s  Temple  Square, where the Christmas lights filled the night. There were so many lights that I had that breathtaking “Ahh” feeling.

Day 150 Merry Christmas on Polish Hill

Immaculate Heart of Mary-Polish Hill 

Merry Christmas to all and blessings into the new year! Hoping that you enjoy this day with people that you love and spread that love to others. As the Pope and other spiritual leaders (oh and Charlie Brown), remind us not to be intoxicated with consumerism and to remember the simple birth of a child who was born to save the world -the greatest gift!  

Spiritual Reflection:
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angle reassured them. "Don't be afraid! he said, "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!
    Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God:
          "Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
             and peace on earth to all who God favors" (Luke 2:9-14)

Other Sources
http://immaculateheartpolishhill.com/
http://immaculateheartpolishhill.com/history.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/12/24/pope-francis-celebrates-christmas-eve-mass/77900596/

Day 149 Ballet at Phipps Conservatory and Winter Show

I took a month hiatus from my blog, but not from trying new things. I apologize that my December  preparations for the holidays superseded my writing and even resulted in my illness.   I fell into the trap as my blog inspiration book, Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From A Little Golden Book reminds us:

"Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and all, but...there is just so much to do... All that baking, endless cycles of cooking and cleaning, cold and flu season and then there's the snarling holiday traffic ..but Christmas is about keeping it simple. It's a time for children, a time of wonder, a time like no other time of year..."  

So  STOP, BREATHE, and absorb the beauty of the season.  A walk though  Phipps Conservatory's flower and garden show is a great way to do this.