Day 6 - Father's Day

We decided to try a new place to walk today and ventured to Marina Del Rey. Not exactly nature, but still a nice walk with reminders all around about what's important in life.

I believe all men are fathers...in one way or another. I am so grateful for my own father, who is celebrating on the East Coast. And I am grateful to celebrate with my husband, a father to 3 girls, 2 dogs and 1 cat.

Day 5 - For the Love of Dog!

I had the joy of going on a walk this morning with my youngest stepdaughter and dogs.  Usually, I  notice some nuances that I haven't seen before but today, she pointed out ones that I have never noticed.  One of these was this adorable dog looking through a fence that somebody so lovingly built so that  he/she could look out and see to the outside.   That's love.

Day 4 - Good for my Art & Soul

Yesterday I had the most wonderful day.  After dancing in my kitchen (see yesterday's post)...  I met with Jeanie Madsen, owner of the amazing Jeanie Madsen Gallery here in Santa Monica.  Every now and then you meet a kindred spirit and she is one of them. We went to Bergamot Station and perused some galleries and had lunch.  It was such a treat to take in other people's artwork and to hear what Jeanie thought from a gallery owner's perspective.  She would throw out ideas about certain pieces that blew me away... little nuances that would enhance a piece beautifully... not change it.  

It's so easy to get comfortable in my bubble and not venture out of it.  Yesterday, I was reminded of how crucial an ingredient it is, to get out and soak up the work of others and feed my art and soul.   I loved seeing Dan Shepherd's work at DNJ Gallery  along with Dale Johnson's work By The Sea.  All of the art, whether I liked it or not, was wonderful to see.  Don't shoot me for making yet another comparison to music but...  It's like listening to a lot of music and absorbing it all and then what comes out is a combination of all the different sounds that made an impact on me.  And another comparison for writing... the adage -if you want to be a good writer, than read voraciously.  It's this aspect that I miss most about formally studying with a professor... I used to love reading the articles assigned and going to exhibits and then writing about what I saw and how I interpreted it.

Just being in the galleries refueled my desires to have my own work exhibited in galleries and museums... I let the energy fill me and when it came time to have lunch at the amazing Bergamot Cafe I could hardly eat!

Yesterday was a wonderful gift and I consider myself extremely blessed to have shared it with such a beautiful and inspirational woman.  Today's image was actually taken in one of the galleries yesterday.

Day 3 - I Got The Music in Me!

 Day 3.

What a perfectly sculpted piece of art... created by nature.
Today, I thought about letting go and how constricted I have been in so many ways. Depriving myself of some things that I know fill my soul with joy and excitement and one of those things is dancing.  On my way home from my walk I was listening to Pandora again, but today they were playing spa-like music, and while I love that kind of music, I was hoping to hear something "groovier" that would get my heart pumping ( you know, like the Miami Vice theme).  I was two blocks away and I had just taken this photo of the cactus and I just went into my play list and first thing I saw was from the Girls Night In mix which was mostly 70's dance tunes. 

So I turned up the volume and started listening to Lady Marmalade and I felt a jolt of energy and started skipping home and by the time I got home I was ready to really boogie.  My husband was at the sink in the kitchen with his earphones in.  He took them out and I took mine out and plugged my phone into the speakers in our dining room and just started dancing in the kitchen and he joined me and there we were, jumping around, dancing in the kitchen and having so much fun!    The next song that came on was a Kiki Dee  I Got The Music In Me  and as I was dancing and listening to the words I was in total bliss, "I'm never frightened or worried, I know I'll always get by."  - "When something gets in my way I go around it"  and finally.... I got the music in me.  

I invite you to try it... just click on the links and shake your booty!  We all have the music in us!!

Day 2 - Silence

I woke up at 5 am today and got out of bed at 5:30, went into our tent room to meditate. Soon after, both dogs, Nico and Luna, followed and together we listened to the birds and stared out into a peaceful green backyard.

Excited, and a little nervous about keeping my commitment to myself, I took a photo of my view just in case I forgot to take one later today.  I thought about the importance of silence.  It felt so good to be silent...like an emptying out of worry and stress.  I am a fairly new consistent "meditator" and the more I meditate the bigger the gift I am giving to myself feels like.  It's so easy to wake up and hit the "automatic" button of the day.... but now, it's getting to the point where it's much easier to wake up and think about 'not thinking' before I "do" anything in the new day.  After meditating, I went for a walk and listened to more DavidJi and then some Heart Meditation music on Pandora, which I really love.  It reminded me of the days when I used to take my Walkman (remember those?) and walk from my apartment on E. 91st St. down to the village,  Bleecker St.,  to see a band at Preachers or The Bitter End in NYC.  I would listen to instrumental music mostly, and it would make me feel like I was in a move and the music was the soundtrack to my movie.  Yes, listening to Jan Hammer, who wrote Crocket's Theme for Miami Vice and the Alan Parsons project.  Today, I felt present, and the combination of soothing music and noticing the flowers and trees, was delightful.  It's June gloom here in Southern California and the diffused light really makes the greens rich and the purple on the jacarandas is stunning.

 It was so early, I caught the crows hanging out on some street and when I got closer they flew up onto the roof of a house.

I like my silence, I like my solitude. I'm learning that the more I fill up on it, the more I have to share with others in my life and the more I can be present.

You take yourself to be limited, but you are not.
Discover this.  Stay silent and attentive.
Be earnest about it.  Just be aware of your being here and now.  Reality will find you. ~Nisargadatta

Day 1 - This Magic Moment

When I was in my 20's I was pursuing my music career and living in Manhattan in a little studio apartment. My bed was five feet high on a loft that I had built so I could have my piano in my apartment. My dresser was under my bed. I had pink carpeting and I painted geometric designs on my wall. In one corner I had my recording studio set up, complete with 4 track recording machine and synthesizers. My step-brother, Eddie, built me the coolest wardrobe closet, covered in "mauve" Formica, with a slide out plank that gave me a place to eat. I had two stools from Pottery Barn that I still have since 1985. My apartment on East 91st faced the street and had a tiny terrace which kept me from feeling completely claustrophobic and in the nicer weather I'd sit on the step and play my guitar. The woman in curlers, who lived her life looking out the window across the way, became a usual site and part of the landscape from my fifth floor view. She could probably write this blog post better than I.

During this time in my life, I had the privileged honor of meeting the great songwriter Doc Pomus, thanks to Harold Kleiner. Doc would wind up taking me under his wing as a songwriting student and after some time, he actually wrote a few songs with me and invited me to be in one of his documentaries. For those of you who may not know Doc, he wrote "Save the Last Dance for me," "This Magic Moment," "Viva Las Vegas" and many more well known and loved songs. One of the assignments that Doc gave me comes to mind now as my desire to be a better photographer grows. Doc had me write a song or a part of a song, every day. He said, "I don't care if you like it or hate it or think it's crap, just write it down, every single day and you will hone your skills." I loved his theory about writing songs, that it is not only about talent, but skill as well, and skill, is something that improves with practice and time. Thank you Doc.

I often take photographs in the morning when I am walking in the park or my neighborhood and listening to spiritual fodder...but recently I got away from it and I realized how much I missed it. This morning I listened to a davidji podcast from the Chopra Center, about commitment. Commitment to one's self and to the universe. Sometimes I stray from my commitment to myself and it feels bad. I get edgy and feel a little out of control and lost. So today, I "got back on the horse" and recommitted to my "self"and while having breakfast, I noticed how the light came in through the amazing white flowers on our table. I took a photograph with my phone and I decided, right there, that I was going to commit to taking a photograph every day, without judgment, I will take at least one photograph a day and post it to my blog. If I have something to say, I will accompany it with some text, if not, there will just be an image. I guess this will be sort of a photographic journal.







I hope you enjoy the view...

My Grandma Mollie, the epitome of ageless beauty.

My grandma Mollie taught me by example - never talked about being old, or in pain with her bursitis, which never stopped her from cooking for the whole family for high holy days, or taking me shopping for clothes or making me and my grandpa lunch every day when I worked for him in the Bronx at Hunts Point.

I think I saw her in pants twice... and she looked so elegant with her tapered, light colored, slacks and foo-foo mule shoes...I can still hear them yippy yapping against her feet as she pranced across the Miami hotel's shiny waxed floor. We were on vacation there.

In this picture, in 1972, you can see... this outfit is a product of going shopping with my grandmother who was always more up on fashion than I was. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, I was the quintessential poster child for all things 70's - hot pink velvet hot pant, leather fringe belt, white go go boots and pink puckered shirt... I must have been trying to get the whole fashion thing together in just that one day.  My grandmother is the one standing next to me in the red checkered dress... not sure how me and dad wound up being colored coordinated... but there it is.

In this picture of my grandparents, taken in 1993 in my apartment in Manhattan, more than 20 years later, you can see that she is still vibrant and stylish... and the last time I saw my grandmother, at age 92, she was wearing a red  suit, silk scarf, Italian made shoes and bag to match, not to mention her coordinating jewelry.

The only thing grandma Mollie ever mentioned to me about aging was when she said, "Robbie dahling, you always need to use a very emollient face cream."  She told me this... when I was 20.

What's a story you remember about your grandmother?