Roadtrip East: Geneva

One of the best things about traveling is that wonderful encounter with an old friend or a new one, and Rick and I both managed to maximize that one! The first occasion occurred in Geneva. While Rick was working with a client, I had the opportunity to connect with my friend Cathy, who last year moved from San Francisco to upstate New York.

We hadn't seen each other in 18 years, so it was fun to touch base in person. Cathy met me at the hotel and it was back to Belhurst for breakfast and some photos. It was fun seeing this spot in the day time!

Then we went off to Ventosa winery for a bit of tasting. (I don't usually do wine tasting right after breakfast but we stayed at Belhurst a very long time catching up on life!)



Our time together wasn't finished though. One of the crown jewels in Geneva is the Smith Center, a beautifully restored theatre located in the city's downtown.

I am a sucker for restored theatres and this one didn't disappoint. Neither did the Smith's business manager, Jessica, who took us on an unscheduled tour of the auditorium.

Designed in the Richardson-Romanesque style, the Smith Opera House opened in October, 1894 with "The Count of Monte Cristo," starring James O'Neill, whose son, Eugene, would become one of America's best-known playwrights. (Later stars in the early days included George M. Cohan, John Phillip Sousa, and actress Ellen Terry.)

In 1929 it was renovated as an "atmospheric" movie palace, combining Baroque and Victorian decor with twinkling stars on the ceiling, Like many theatres of the period, it fell into decline in the 1950s, a victim of home television viewing and eventually mall multi-plexes. It closed in 1978 with many structural problems including a leaking ceiling and failed heating system.

But by the 1980s, a group had organized to save the theatre, which was painstakingly restored to its original 1894 facade and 1931 atmospheric interior. The complicated and expensive restoration began in the 1990s and now the theatre welcomes traveling musical acts, theatre and other performances, along with the occasional film.

The auditorium seats 1,500 people. Along the sides are some splendid gold panels and sculpture.

The overall look is dramatic, as one might expect from a theatre and the details are exquisite.

I was particularly fond of the sculptured busts in the side entry ways.

Here's a closer look at some of the gold work.

                      

Even the ends of the seats sported the gold medallions.

                   

I was equally impressed with the box office in the front lobby.

                         

Jessica snapped Cathy and me goofing it up there!

After leaving the Smith and stopping in a couple of the town's shops, it was time to say farewell to Cathy and head toward Massachusetts. A toast to old friends! And yes, we've something else to anticipate in Massachusetts besides again seeing Rick's brother and sister-in-law. Another reunion with a long-missed friend would wait there -- this time for Rick!


And on a completely unrelated note, I am currently contributing to a wonderful new online magazine, Modern Creative Life. Check out my article "What's Next" HERE.

Roadtrip East and a Celebration

I love road tripping! And when you can combine business (Rick's) into fun (for both of us), it's all the better.

We were headed East, the ultimate destination being Massachusetts, where we would be hawking his wares (software, that is) at a trade show. But the first day of the trip took us through Canada and into upstate New York, where we stopped for the night in Geneva, NY.



A dear friend had given us the equivalent of a dinner gift certificate at Christmas (we pick the restaurant!) and we decided to use the occasion to celebrate 20 years together. (Actually, 23 if you start from when we met!)

For all intents and purposes, you could call it an anniversary dinner, though contrary to popular opinion we aren't married and live in separate houses two blocks away from each other. We figure that this arrangement has kept us together when closer quarters may have failed! I think of Greg and Kevin, Rick's son's, as my practically-step-kids or loaner kids, as we've been together since the boys were 7 and 10!

We met when I went to look at the duplex he was renting in March 1993 (I didn't take it and ended up across the street). We were neighbors but not particularly close until after I moved a few blocks away a couple of years later. This occasion was really a celebration of two dates, three years apart!

So, the timing was right for us to use our gift while we were on the trip east and settled on Edgar's in the beautiful Belhurst Castle in Geneva as our celebration stop. And it was fabulous!

Belhurst Castle was actually build as a private residence between 1888 and 1892. It's an imposing building, located on Seneca Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes. The brochure tells me it is built of sandstone in the Romanesque Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (A more comprehensive history of this fascinating home can be found HERE.)

We only saw its main floor, with an imposing porch (converted into a dining area) and several smaller dining rooms. A cozy bar and a more informal restaurant were down the hall. The upper levels are used as hotel rooms (and no, we didn't stay there!).

It's earlier history included use as a Prohibition speakeasy, a supper club and a casino.

There are wonderful touches everywhere you looked. One of my favorites was the magnificent fireplace with a mosaic of Neptune.

And as you might expect, dinner was terrific, from the bread and crackers with three types of butter to the soup (seafood bisque), salad, main course (salmon for me, a super pork chop for Rick) and dessert (apple raisin bread pudding). We had looked at the steak and our server warned us that the night before someone had found it tough and since it was the same cut of meat, she wouldn't recommend it. I found that honesty refreshing.

When they brought dessert, it was accompanied by chocolate covered strawberries. That would have been dessert enough!

And yes, we were full. And yes, we were very, very happy! And yes, we'd return in a heartbeat!

Next time we'll visit a little more of Geneva. It's a wonderful place! (This post is linked to Thoughts of Home on Thursday! Check them out for other fun links!)

Let the Spring Fling Begin!

A Little Bird told me that it's almost spring. There are, of course, a number of signs. Snow that doesn't stick for long, brighter and longer days, displays of Easter candy and decorations in every store.

Time to get busy!

I brought up the first batch of Easter from the basement. As I go along, I'm trying to cull through what I'll never use again to donate or share. These have all made the "keeper" pile!

The smiling bunny is one of my favorites. My mom bought him long ago and he's always the first thing I bring out each year! He just makes me smile!

I'm fond of my girlie bunny and bird in its nest, too. The bird often finds its way into a centerpiece -- it's low and we can see each other over it!

This bunny and birdhouse are also favorites. The bunny -- I don't remember where he came from; he's been around a long while. The birdhouse was from my birdhouse-building spree a few years ago. Maybe it's time to do some more!

Not much is in place but here are a few sneak peeks. This is the top of the china cabinet...

...and from another angle!

My favorite spring swag is on top of a different cabinet.

And last year's forsythia wreath from Southern Exposure is back! My next workshop there is at the end of the month and I can't wait!

Oh, I'm not done yet!

Come back later for more!

If I Ruled the World and Other Musings

If I ruled the world... and other thoughts.

Modern Creative Living

If I ruled the world, everyone would check out Modern Creative Life, which goes live on Tuesday, March 8. It's an online magazine dealing with creativity in the broadest sense of the term, creative people and everyday life pulled together by the remarkable Becca Rowan (who explains it HERE -- take a look!) and Deb Smouse. I'm pleased to say I am a contributor, so pop by and check it out!

Speaking of creativity, a feeble attempt at a sunset. Yes, I will be doing it over, as I continue my quest from my last painting post!

Politics

If I ruled the world, debates would not get out of hand. Listen, people in the networks -- you have an on-off button for the microphone. So, here's the deal. Candidate speaks for given time period. All other mics are off. Then each candidate has the opportunity to comment for given time period. After the first warning bell, they have time to finish the thought, then the next one gets to speak. Down the row. All mics off except speaker. You can interrupt to your hearts content and no one will hear.

This would make life much more informative. Less dynamic, perhaps -- chaos is dynamic. But definitely more helpful

Cookies

Girl Scout cookies are addictive -- but they aren't nearly as good as home made! (The recipe for these calls for leftover cooked oatmeal! Who knew?!)

Dining Out

If I ruled the world, small appetizer plates for $12 would have more than two (albeit jumbo) shrimp, one teeny fried oyster and one teeny fried tomatillo. Even if it is a lovely restaurant and the food very good.

(That said, the beignets for $5 came in a pair -- and when the waiter overheard me telling my friend to order dessert for her birthday, he gave them to us free.) I'll go back -- but pass on the shrimp!

Books

If I ruled the world, everyone would have a copy of Vivian Swift's wonderful new book, "Gardens of Awe and Folly."

My back-ordered copy arrived last week and I gently turn each page, admiring the illustrations and equally admiring her captivating text -- as informative as it is fun.

Vivian visits nine gardens in cities around the world including Paris, London, Edinburgh, Rio de Janerio, New Orleans, Long Island...



Total heaven.

Weather

As I write this, we have plenty of snow. By the time it's published, who knows? If I ruled the world it would be spring to stay!

It's been an odd winter and for once, I'm not complaining about the snow because even though we get a ton at a time, it doesn't stick around very long. That said, it'll be awhile before I plant any flowers!

Housework

If I ruled the world, I would be more like Lizzie. I'd leave the dishes where they are and just sprawl out and play.

Well, no chance I'll have a maid to pick up the kitchen, so I'd best get over that one! (Lizzie and I are having a disagreement. She seems to think she's the Dowager Countess and I am her maid. I seem to think it should be the other way around.)

She's winning.

I've been running behind on visiting and comments and probably will for the next crazy week, so please know I'll be by soon!

Trying to Make Practice Make Perfect

It has come to my attention -- by me, in fact, though I'm sure others may have noticed it -- that I have a tendency to creative laziness! And I don't mean just procrastinating. I mean "not going for the gold star."

I've often told Rick, who diligently practices his classical guitar every night, "I love hearing you play. I just hate listening to practice."

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book "Outliers," speaks of how those who "make it" tend to have about 10,000 hours of prep work, writing and rewriting, painting and repainting, coding and recoding computer software.

I may take my time with a project -- or not -- but then it's done and on to the next one. A new canvas, arrangement, crafty bit. Creative ADD. There was a time in the 1980s during the peak of my knitting period that I was turning out a sweater a week, some reasonably complicated. I can't say all of those were made to gauge, that they all fit or that there weren't a million flaws. Off the needles, on to the next! (But I did use good yarn -- it takes just as much time to knit good yarn as cheap and it lasts much longer and holds up better.)

And yes, I proudly wore every single one of those sweaters. (And I still do, a couple of them.) But most? They were just OK. Not good, not great, not spectacular. Only a few things, like handwarmers and purses, really felt like they were done to the max. And I wonder -- if I saw them now would I feel the same? Probably not.

Now, I'm not saying everything I turn out is junk or that I don't agonize over some things and do them till I get them right. I do. (Rick's book is an example.) I have tons of photos of Harry the Heron because some are better than others -- sometimes because of me, sometimes because of camera or conditions. I can rewrite till I'm crazy.

But I've been a lazy painter.

A week or two ago I was reading Vivian Swift's inspiring blog. She is one of my favorites, partly for her wonderful humor and equally because almost every post includes a painting lesson of sorts, as we paint along with Vivian. (By this I don't mean I get out my paints while she is painting but her readers watch her through photos. Step by step.) Vivian's newest book, Gardens of Awe and Folly, will be released March 1 (my copy is on backorder!), and now she is at work on her next, featuring the gardens at Giverny, one of my favorite spots in the world.

As Vivian was working through a painting she repeatedly said, "That's not it."And did it again. And again. Four times.

And I thought, "Gee, if Vivian Swift has to start over four times, who am I to think I can just finish and go on to the next thing!"

I thought of my friend Kate, whose remarkable "Birdiferous" calendar has only 12 pages, yet she spends countless hours on each one. I realized with more than a bit of shamefaced humiliation, that I can turn out things fast and maybe just fine. But not necessarily perfect. And yes, I still am learning but then, isn't that when practice is most essential?

My realization took me on a journey back through my photos where, like Vivian, I found one of Giverny, though in my case, the town, not Monet's home. I started with a color pencil sketch. (Size: approximately 4x4.) The photo is blurry -- old camera -- but it isn't much better clear!

A little blobby. Not a lot of detail here. Maybe not the the right medium for the subject. So it was on to gouache. (I'm working on watercolor postcards, 4x6, for size comparison)

Round one, so-so. The trees need work and it's simply a little flat. (And that gate was driving me crazy.)

Round two, better. I started with a partially done sketch This time I did the gate first -- get the bad thing out of the way. I'm not all that happy but it's better than round one. The trees and flowers are a bit better too, I think. I kept trying to remember some of Vivian's methods and incorporate them. Safe to say she has no competition from me, but I am learning, getting the feel of the paint.

Round three. I began with my initial light sketch and some gentle color blocks.

Then I started putting in the trees, the garden, the detail on the walls. And back to that damn gate. Finally I realized I probably need steadier hands or a smaller brush to do the gate and pulled out the white gel pen and black Pitt markers.

It looks better. Actually a lot better, as I found myself adding more details. It has a bit more depth, I think and the flowers and leaves have improved, though the gate is still impossible. (But Rick liked the wall better in an earlier version!)

Maybe it's on to number four -- although I have to admit, a couple other subjects are calling my name!