I’ve been enjoying walking outside in the cold and foggy weather seeing Christmas lights and decorations that sometimes span the sidewalk. I passed one house where they had a collection of snacks and water for the delivery drivers bringing packages- such a great idea.
I’m often driving home from work when the sun is setting and just love the light show and views of Mt Diablo. Listening to ‘One Beautiful Thing From This Year’ where KQED staff offered their reflections, I added this to my list.
One morning I hiked up the hill at Newhall Park and marveled over whole neighborhoods that were hidden from view under a layer of fog. That day I listened to ‘What’s Making Us Happy This Week’ on Pop Culture Happy Hour – my morning walk definitely qualified!
It’s been quite a social week, going out for lunch and dinner several times with friends. I saw a truck covered in Christmas lights one night and tried pozole and pigs feet for the first time. Yum! I also watched Love Actually, one of my required Christmas movies. And as usual, I cried in both the opening and closing airport greeting scenes!
I didn’t have to work on Friday so I went into the city to see a couple of exhibits art exhibits that I didn’t want to miss out on. First was the de Young Museum for the Tamara de Lempicka exhibit. I got to the museum just after it opened so the exhibition was not crowded. It was wonderful to be able to take my time enjoying the art without lots of other people around. Her use of color and the combination of curves and straight lines in her paintings is so intriguing. The way she portrays bodies and makes them the centerpiece of her paintings is arresting.
My next stop was the Legion of Honor for the Mary Cassatt exhibit. Because the museum had already been open for a couple hours by the time I got there the exhibit was very crowded, which made it harder for me to be able to enjoy and interact with the art. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to be able to see her artwork in person. When I was on a trip to Boston about 25 years ago, I bought a canvas banner from a Mary Cassatt exhibit that had been held a few years earlier, primarily because the painting of a young child at the beach reminded me so much of my kids. For years the banner hung outside in the patio of our house and now my daughter Annemarie has it hanging in her bedroom. I was thrilled to see that the painting was part of the exhibit. It was great to be able to see the other kind of art that Mary Cassatt did and to learn more about her, in particular that she was considered quite a rebel for that time. Not so much for the subjects of her art, since most were women and children which was considered appropriate art for women to make. She was a rebel because of her impressionistic painting style. I love how she captures emotions so well – especially those of young children. You can just sense the boredom or frustration or concentration for the looks on their faces.
I went for a walk on the coastal trail, getting muted blue-gray vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working on a cover letter for a part-time, virtual Interim Executive Director role for a relatively new association. The position sounds interesting as it involves mentoring an upcoming ED and working to establish a strong board. It also appealed because being virtual and part-time would give me the opportunity to go on some more Workaway adventures and make progress on my book while earning some income! I ended the day watching Miracle on 34th Street (the 1994 version which is one of the few remakes that is as good as the original, IMHO) with my Mom. I’ve still got a few more holiday movies I want to watch – Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Year Without A Santa Claus and The Little Drummer Boy. I may need to watch one every night. 😊