Browsing through old photos, I am reminded how much the eye longs for green,
even as we grow accustomed to fall, winter, and in our case, drought.
– remembering greener pastures –
After the lovely rains of the past week, we rest in the hope that we will see this again!
Happy Thanksgiving to all !!!!!!
Thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, scrolling through my photo files, clicking on ‘Turkey’………….. laughing out loud when I found a picture of the Blue Mosque instead of a brown bird on the screen!
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So let’s go sightseeing!!!
Always fascinated by the indigenous homes wherever I travel; an afternoon cruise on the Bosphorus gave a wonderful vantage point.
The Bosphorus Bridge connecting Europe and Asia
dreaming of living in one of the yalis – water mansions – some in Asia, some in Europe….
or restoring a derelict, rich with possibilities
fog rolling in as we return to the dock; blurring the vision……….
….but not the dream!
and the drought goes on…….
even after rain one week ago, the days dawn bright and clear, temperatures too warm by mid-morning to work comfortably in the direct sun;
restricted to watering only twice a week, the lawn has stayed miraculously green.
Confusion rains reigns in the garden
Cecil Brunners
Popcorn tree roses
and this one whose name escapes me, believe it to be spring.
Being November with daily temperatures nearing 90 degrees, the more tender light of fall consoles us;
the hedge roses near the front porch soldier on seemingly unaffected, bathing us in beauty.
our hearts are full of gratitude even as we long for rain.
SANTA BARBARA
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Santa Barbara County Courthouse
a site passed many times each week…taken for granted
iconic Spanish Colonial Revival
designed by William Mooser III
completed in 1929
replacement for Greek Revival Courthouse badly damaged by 1925 earthquake
view of Queen of the Missions Santa Barbara (see post ‘The Queen and the Rose Garden – 4-19-2013 ) from the Courthouse El Mirador clock tower
freshly appreciated when seen through the eyes of a visitor!
Having somewhat recovered from the initial shock of learning that we have traveled nearly six thousand miles to attend a concert that is now to take place on July 10, the day after our return home………..(see part 14),
I called Rosalyn. Arriving at her room, I find her much diminished, wrapped chin to toe in a down robe with an ice pack under her arm. In pain from being ‘brutalized by the masseuse’; distraught: ‘I have always been able to go on’. She seems lost in her robe and her misery. The Russian sun, which will not set, slants in through the sheer curtains pulled across the window. I make us each a cup of tea; we commiserate about her plight. Since David is busy seeing to the rearranging of schedules made necessary by the what has transpired, she asks that I retrieve a menu from each of the six restaurants in the hotel. She makes her dinner selection; I arrange, with some language difficulty, for delivery to her room, and at her request, sit with her while she eats.
Meanwhile, David has made contact asking us to meet him, along with Sergei, the translator assigned to Rosalyn, for cocktails in the hotel bar. We meet, decide to have dinner in the Bierstube in the hotel……………wonderful comfort food, the vodka flows freely………….fascinating conversation regarding the state of the Russian nation post USSR.
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Although devastated by the rescheduling of Rosalyn’s concert, we are consoled by the anticipation of our visit to the Hermitage.
The following morning we set out, walking through the triumphal double arch, we see the Hermitage in the distance –
across the Palace Square, the Alexander Column – the tallest in the world – dwarfed by the monumentality of its surroundings.
The Hermitage – former Winter Palace of the tsars – is an incredibly impressive edifice – so hard to imagine that what lies within can compare to the building itself. Inconceivably, my imagination is outstripped by reality…….artifacts of all kinds, jewelry, porcelain. gilded furniture, coaches of the tsars,
the huge Rembrandt – Abraham with knife raised to obey God’s order to sacrifice his son Isaac, his hand stayed by an angel – made me weep
and again the massive canvas by Rembrandt – Return of the Prodigal Son – more tears
(Rembrandt images via the internet)
After having inquired at the ticket window about the Hidden Treasures – again the language barrier – we are still looking for the promised exhibit of the Impressionist masterpieces brought to the Soviet Union after World War II………. We’ve been sent up the Jordan Staircase,
my western mind expecting to find a high profile display – billed as a great revelation, another reminder of the Holocaust, an event in itself appealing to our sense of outrage and of the dramatic. We expect to stumble upon a well identified area containing the exhibit. We are sorely disappointed! Saturated by what we have seen, and frustrated by what we have not seen – we decide to move on……..
Filed under Art, Exteriors, Family history, Travel
The Biltmore Santa Barbara………
(now the Four Seasons Biltmore)
In 1995, still quintessentially old Spanish luxe,
perched on the edge of the continent, at eye level with the Pacific.
Always de rigueur for cocktails, mixing locals and out-of-towners; offering a lounge with fireplace and seating to encourage conversation and conviviality.
On that Tuesday in late May, at the appointed time, under the chandelier hanging in the portal
through the entrance, down the steps into the lounge………..
………seated with Rosalyn, David and Hillary Hauser – a local journalist – drinks are ordered:
Rosalyn: Virgin Mary – amended to Marguerita — Hilary: Tequila – lots of lime — David: Scotch and soda – amended to Scotch on the rocks — Susan: Chardonnay – Sonoma
In the midst of light conversation, Rosalyn abruptly turns to me, ‘I’d like to see the pictures’, referring to my offer to bring pictures of George. As David (dutifully) engages Hilary, Rosalyn and I peruse the pictures as she relates (with much drama and gesturing with her petite hands) how she and George met, then fills in the months leading up to their marriage and his death so soon thereafter.
‘George proposed on New Year’s Eve 1963, in New York after dinner and the theatre, in Times Square as the ball dropped at midnight.’ Not feeling able to immediately give him an answer, she returned to London. ‘He followed, took a flat around the corner from my home, pledging not to leave London until he had my answer.’ They were married in September of 1964 in London. ‘I put him on a plane at Heathrow in October to return to California where he was to sell his house and find one for us’……..she later saw it………‘a pink palace up on the hill in Pasadena’. They were to have a pied-a-terre in New York and her home in London as well. ‘We planned to rendezvous in New York for Thanksgiving.’ Instead she received an early morning phone call telling her that George had died the previous day, the eighth of November 1964.
As we continue to talk of George and our family, Rosalyn asks: ‘Why don’t you come to my next concert, dahling?’ ‘I’d love to…where is it to be and when?’
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Filed under Exteriors, Family history, Interiors
Quite sure that my children were equally as remarkable……..I now have time to savor and record (so that I can remember!!) some of my grandchildren’s words:
watching ‘Peter Rabbit’ in the garden with the three year old….
suddenly Peter disappeared…….‘where did he go’ I asked……(very seriously) ‘Nona, I think he went into the…’ (pause – searching for, or not knowing the word hedge), ‘ I think he went into the rectangular bush’.
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Returning a sock left behind on his last visit…….(relieved) ‘Oh, I thought it was gone forever!’
Filed under Exteriors, Family history, Garden, Nature
During these same post-war years (see part 6), Rosalyn Tureck was engaged in concerts tours in Europe and around the world; guest conductor and soloist with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. Lecturing, performing, recording,
writing and teaching, she divided her time between Pound Ridge, New York
and London
In 1961 Rosalyn married.
The following appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune:
might this be the end of the connection…….????????
Filed under Exteriors, Family history, Interiors
Susan Wennerstrom | W designs 