Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
Before you leave a comment, STOP, consider this: Our comments are part of our digital footprint on the internet. They tell the world how we think and respond to information. I know YOU took time out of your busy schedule and landed here. I’m rooting for you to say something inspiring that will help others who read my posts. THANK YOU! ❤
Inspiration: Happy Holidays To All!
“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” Mary Anne Radmacher
Inspiration: Happy Holidays to All!
“Sending You and Your Loved Ones Blessings and Best Wishes for the Holidays; Have a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!”
A Simple Request…
Dearest Santa,
Thank you for the blessings you showered on us this year. Thank you for the new friends and fresh opportunities. We are all grateful… My wish for the coming year is more goodwill, grace and abundance in the world, and less misery, meanness and scarcity!
Please don’t mix these two up like you did last year! 🙂
With love & gratitude to all,
xoxo
…
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Buone vacanze!
Joyeuses Fêtes!
ハッピーバカンス！
节日快乐！
أعيادا سعيدة!
С праздником!
С Рождеством Христовым!
تعطیلات مبارک!
हैप्पी छुट्टियाँ!
¡Felices Fiestas!
גליקלעך האָלידייַס!
Շնորհավոր Տոն!
Boas festas!
Happy Holidays everyone and thank you for your support, blog love, visits and comments! May abundant grace always meet you at your door… More Below. 🙂
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between…
“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.” William Blake
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between... Lights. Camera. Action! Heading for the stairway between buildings
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between… Bridge between worlds, between buildings....
Between life and death is everything else. I tried to capture the rest in these pictures. I hope you like them. I love William Blake’s quote above as it speaks to the doors to life that we open as we venture into the world… Symbolically, those doors can be pathways, stairways, bridges, props, gates, love, food and everything in between; it’s imperative that we enjoy the life we have. Above, my friends were walking towards the stairway in Caen and I loved the way the street lights hung over them and how they were framed between the buildings. The passageway/bridge connects the Chelsea Market building with another in Manhattan.
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.” Mohandas Gandhi
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between… Drinks between family and friends...
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between… Famous McDonald's sign between many others in Paris...
Between friends, there is always time to gather and share food, good wine and perhaps a few … secrets. I took this picture at the Met Museum’s members dining room. The folks in this shot were having such fun and I loved the way the wine and water glasses were in the middle of their festivities; a testament to their jolly good time. Now if we could all enjoy each other and not fight so much in the world, anything would be possible. More below. 😉
“What difference is there between us, save a restless dream that follows my soul but fears to come near you?” Khalil Gibran
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between… Between the customer and seller - dessert.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between... Lady of the fountain between pathway at Straus Park in Manhattan, NY
Nothing should stand between us and our favorite desserts. Dessert is one of my favorite foods and I’ll eat it anytime. Even though my mother stressed the importance of eating our vegetables and other foods before sweets, I’ll eat dessert first whenever possible. Above, Patisserie Paul was my favorite hangout in Caen and they had the best fruit tarts. Straus Park is a beautiful oasis in the middle of a busy Broadway on the upper Westside. I love the layout and people gather there often. Always More below… 😉
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait…
“The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait... At home...
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait... Same place, same day. 😉
This particular challenge posed some difficult moments for me. Like my blogger friend at This Man’s Journey, I didn’t want to expose myself to an additional level of scrutiny by declaring that the visuals you see of me mean more than just what they are; a representation of a small part of my life. Of course, some of you might see the irony in this share because I do have pictures of myself on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and a few other social media sites. However, I put them there for site requested verification and they are not identified as self portraits. There was something quite daunting about the term, self portraits, as it brought up visions of Van Gogh, Picasso, Frida Kahlo and all the greats whose self portraits continue to thrill the masses. After all, I am a bit of a shy person. Who knew, right?
“The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait... In a hotel bathroom in Seattle
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait... aiming for an old world feeling here - in Seattle
Nevertheless, as I considered what made me feel so vulnerable about this exercise, I had to admit to myself that like anyone else, I don’t like being judged or making such sweeping declarative statements that might suggest my pictures are the be all and end all… It is for that reason that I kept a picture of myself off this blog. I don’t want the content and context of this blog to be viewed through the lens of my portrait and what it might mean to others… There’s something soothing about selective anonymity as it helps clear the mind of the debris accumulated from years of stereotyping and second guessing each other. You understand, no? 😉 What is also interesting about this subject is that I do take lots of self portraits in hotel bathrooms when I travel… just one of my quirks. But they are for my memory’s sake and private consumption. Anyway, I have added a few for your perusal. Your feedback is always appreciated. Happy Holidays!
“We demand that people should be true to the pictures we have of them, no matter how repulsive those pictures may be: we prefer the true portrait in all its homogeneity, to one with a detail added which refuses to fit in.” Pamela Hansford Johnson
Weekly Photo Challenge: Self Portrait... In a NY hotel room after that massive power outage...
I took this photo in the aftermath of that nasty October storm that knocked out our electricity for several days. I wanted to hold a memory of that time and also because, admittedly, I always take pictures in hotel bathrooms, I had to have it. I like that frenchified beret as it actually brings back memories of my time in Paris. I dressed like that almost daily… What a hoot; the natives must have been so over me and my Parisienne ‘l’artiste a besoin de lutter un travail plus créatif ‘ left bank (La Rive Gauche) look. I love comfortable clothing and black is a favorite color that I wear often. I don’t know about you, but I can take photos with my glasses on or off and though you can’t see them, I am wearing them. Oh yes, the room was comfortable. More below. 😉 Happy Holidays!
