ARTFUL READERS CLUB

"THE KITE RUNNER" by Khaled Hosseini

(Should have been posted Oct0ber 30th but here it is...)

November 9, 2015 

Let me be the LAST to wish you a very Happy Halloween... I hope you all enjoyed the small and large ghosts and goblins at your door Halloween Eve. I planned to post my holiday greeting from China as that's where we were at that time, but China allows only limited internet and none to Google, Facebook, Instagram, or my blog. So, my greeting comes late!! Here's my favorite zombie, Mary Catherine, whom I'm sure would have wished you a ghoulish Halloween had I posted on time!! Thanks anyway, MC!

The book I'm reviewing for this month is THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini. It's been on my list for a long time, so I finally read it to see what people have been raving about since its publication!

This is a powerful, moving novel set in the Afghanistan of the early 70's as well as today. It's a coming of age story about the friendship of two boys against all odds until something terrible happens to change that. With pre-war Afghanistan and the post-Taliban arrival as its backdrop, it's about loyalty, weakness, betrayal, guilt, lies, secrets, acceptance, violence, love and eventually...  redemption: all the ingredients that make for a great book PLUS!!

One of my favorite things about reading is the learning that takes place. If I learn from a book, it's valuable to me. This author taught me about history, language and the geography of his country and about the sport (or hobby) of kite flying and kite running. I always thought you went into a store and bought a kite (or made one) and just flew it! I'd never heard of coating the kite string with cut glass to enable you to  bring down other kites... brutal!!) Further, I really held very little knowledge of Afghanistan before it became another war-torn region of the world, a country we only see in stereotypical news clips. The first half of THE KITE RUNNER takes place in a peaceful Afghanistan... the way it was for a very long time.

There's much death and horror in this portrait of a tortured country, but there's also an emotional richness and beauty that definitely makes this book worth the read... heartbreaking, but redemptive! 

Hope to see you for my next posting about China...

Please join me for a virtual trip!! 

Big Hugs,

abbyj

ART and SOLE ALTERED CALENDAR 

November 8, 2015 

Happy November...time flies, doesn't it? Soon it'll be Thanksgiving... although every day is a day for which to be thankful!! Right?

This month's challenge to alter our calendar picture was as follows:

1) Keep part of the original picture in the new one 

2) Make it shiny...anything metallic, paint, sprays, waxes or metal embellishments (I used "diamonds")

3) Add a theme... make the page mythical and magical... anything fantasy

My original picture was one by Paul Cezanne who lived from 1839-1906. Here's what it looked like...

The alteration included some tiny "diamonds" for shine and my fantasy was thinking about Thanksgiving... the family getting together and that extraordinary meal!! There have been turkeys in our backyard area since mid-September and they're STILL hanging around now!

Wishing you a wonderful month...one that gives you a great deal for which to be thankful!!

Big Hugs,

abbyj

  

PEEK-A-BOO 

October 16, 2015 

 Burgundy leaves

dancing on air

fall, undressing nature.

Autumn woods so vast

the deer...

just a spot in the leaves

fluttering golden

steps amid the colors...

autumn mystery.

                abby lazar

 

MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK OF LIFE 
October 6, 2015 

It began as one man's story but it became the music of a generation and beyond... Berry Gordy's MOTOWN! Truly the story of an American dream come true, MOTOWN follows it's founder, Berry Gordy, through his bout as featherweight boxer to music mogul...the man who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and many, many more. Together, these artists shattered barriers, shaped our lives and brought out a universal love of music across all lines of race, religion and  homeland. 

This weekend, we were fortunate to enjoy the music of MOTOWN in Toronto with our daughter. Many of the cast members from the Broadway production in New York City are continuing on tour with the production... and a production it IS!! The sets, the costuming, the powerful band (that my former son-in-law was part of,) the dancing and of course, the marvelous singing of the songs we (Michael, Michelle and I) have enjoyed for most of our lives. It was hard to keep our hands and feet still as we listened and, often, sang along...much to the dismay of our neighbors!!

Berry Gordy is the Steve Jobs of the music field. He created a genre of music that has become part of the fabric of America... music that multi-cultures created together, and it changed the world!

If you have an opportunity to see MOTOWN, THE MUSICAL, jump on it! It's a guaranteed smile and  happy heart production!!

Big Hugs,

abbyj 

ART and SOLE CALENDAR CHALLENGE 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

 I can't imagine that it's October 1st and here in Central New York, it's feeling very Fall-ish. Leaves are crunchy underfoot and the colors of the trees and bushes are turning into vibrant, rich shades of gold, red, rust and brown...it's the most beautiful of our four seasons.

The beginning of each month is "reveal time" for the ART and SOLE CALENDAR CHALLENGE. This month, our task was to:
1- Keep part of the original art in the finished piece
2-Technique- use water, bleach or rubbing alcohol to remove color to create a pattern
3-Add- add something or use the style of a famous artist. Tell us which artist and why you like him/her.

The October artist on my calendar is American painter, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925.) The picture is a portrait of "Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter Rachel." Here's the original...

and here's my reworked piece based on the art of  Vincent Van Gogh, brilliant but unstable Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. I love his style because of his bold, vibrant, energetic and confident strokes... confident  in spite of his troubled life.

Thanks for checking in...I hope you'll return for my next posting. Stay well... I wish you a happy heart!
Big Hugs,
abbyj  

ARTFUL READERS CLUB

SEPTEMBER: THE DARK MONK

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 

This is the second book in a trilogy by Oliver Potzch. Amazingly, it's based on the author's historical research into his own family tree. What we have is a Bavarian town in 1660 surviving after the Thirty Years War... medieval times. It's winter and a time when most people are indoors at night. So, when a parish priest is poisoned, no one is witness to the deed or to the sign he manages to scratch into the frost before his final breath. He had fallen dead on top of a crypt, under which was  a hidden tomb of a Knight Templar.

The town's hangman (and alternative doctor,) Jakob Kuisl, ascended from a long line of hangmen before him, is very well versed in untangling mysteries as is his daughter, Magdalena and town physician's son, Simon. Add to the mix, the murdered priest's aristocratic sister and we have the investigators!

The search is on for the parish priest's murderer as well as the alleged "fortune" left behind by the Knights Templar. But this group isn't the only gang after this information and legendary fortune. There's also a team of mysterious and treacherous monks always close behind...and highway gangs of thieves roaming the woods and countryside.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did Potzsch's first book, THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER. The reason... the language used. There were an overwhelmingly large number of "modern" terms... almost modern slang" that fit into a book about TODAY, but NOT 1660! It really took away from the medieval feeling of the book and brought it down for me.

On to next month's book....enjoy your month ahead and please do stop by for regular blog postings.

Big Hugs,

abbyj

A BIT OF UMBRIA and TUSCANY 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015  

Two happy people... mother and daughter... ready to join our friends, Kristi and Bill Steiner (hosts of ADVENTURES IN ITALY) for a whirlwind tour of a few of their favorite hill towns in Umbria and Tuscany. I wish our time away had allowed us more visiting time in these towns...to meet the people and join in their everyday life as we do in Orvieto where we stayed...but we would have had to extend our trip. Another time, perhaps...

The above photo is of Michelle and I at the bottom of the long trek up to the 2,500 year old town (founded by the Etruscans) called Civita di Bagnoregio. Atop a plateau of volcanic rock overlooking the Tiber River, this tiny village boasts a population of 12 in the winter and little more than 100 in summer. It's beautiful...like visiting a fairytale place, because it was difficult to see everyday locals "living their lives."  The tough trek up the steep hill was worth it...the only vehicle traffic they have is that of motorcycles transporting goods up to the residents (or shops during tourist season.) Here are a few photos of Civita...

 

The lovely nooks, crannies, cobbled  labyrinthine streets and alleyways of Pitigliano was our next stop. 

Also dating back to Etruscan times, the first record  dates only to 1061. It has a booming population of almost 4000 residents and has been known, throughout history, as "little Jerusalem" owing to the historical presence of the Jewish community that has always been well integrated into the social context of the village. Although there are almost no Jews left in town, the synagogue (1598) is still officiated from time to time. 

Here are some images from the rest of this lovely, ancient town... chock full of extraordinary ancient doors (still in use,)

shrines built into the rock,

 and superb architecture.

By this time, we were all fading a bit. But, we did fit in one more visit...to SORANO,

an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a tuff stone (tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption) over the Lente River. The first mention of Sorano was in the 3rd Century BC when it was Etruscan (of course.) The most current census was in 2001 when  a population of almost 4,000 was reported. 

Here's a composite of some of what we saw...

(NOTE: Although we couldn't find out the whole story, it seems the holes in the rock (lower right in the composite) were made to insert reinforcing paraphernalia to stop the rock from eroding further!)

Fully exhausted and thoroughly fulfilled, we returned to our beloved Orvieto for some R&R and dinner.

Our trip was just a week, but every moment of it was precious and extraordinary... food for our hearts and souls as well as all our senses. It's a place we'll be returning to again and again... it's part of both Michelle and me. Thanks so much to Kristi and Bill for providing the vehicle for us to journey to Orvieto and the care once we arrived...each time! Looking forward to the next...

Interested?  Deep Sigh :)

MEDIEVAL CENTRAL ITALY 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

  

Just a taste of the eye candy Michelle and I experienced while visiting our friends (and tour guides) from ADVENTURES IN ITALY a short while ago...another mother/daughter experience!

Kristi and Bill Steiner with Michelle and me

We returned to our convent Bed and Breakfast (San Lodovico Institute) for the 2nd  (MLL) and 3rd time (me) to spend a relaxing, educational and fun filled week in our all-time favorite place with dear friends. A few of the shops had changed, but for the most part, the passage of time had been suspended and Orvieto remained the same ancient yet sophisticated city. On top of a huge tufo rock with volcanic origins, Orvieto has scores of Etruscan tombs within the rock and served as a natural fortress with cliffs on all sides back as far as the 3rd century B.C...perhaps earlier.

Orvieto above and the necropolis with some Etruscan tombs revealed below

Our first stop after unpacking and seeing old friends, 

"Mama" Giovanna is the Mother Superior of the Convent

was to head to Orvieto's main attraction, the Gothic and Romanesque Duomo, commissioned by Pope Urban IV in 1290... but, it took several hundred years to fully complete. Although we were disappointed initially because there was scaffolding covering a large portion of the magnificent front, our eyes were directed to what was NOT covered... beautiful detailed mosaics in stunning colors and pure gold as well as large bas reliefs and statues that we'd never looked at so closely.

A FANTASTIC dark chocolate with orange peel gelato before a light dinner 

and our heads hit the pillows!! We felt like we were home...and we were!

We spent a couple of days during this visit further exploring Orvieto, with and without Kristi and Bill. It's a place where only residents have cars so "the rock" is fairly free of vehicular traffic... nice for walking, and walk we did... everywhere! We walked at our leisure, making photos of all the pieces of Orvieto that make it so appealing... stopping to visit with Orvietani who were familiar along the way... Blue Bar Orvieto for hot chocolate, internet and a visit with Antonny and Romina, the owners;

Federico Badia leather artisan and his wife, Hannah (with whom we constructed our own leather-bound journals late in the week,)

and the incredible sculptor, Alberto Bellini, in his shop, La Corte Dei Miracoli di Alberto Bellini.

One of our days, we spent with a world renown chef, Lorenzo, to prepare a sumptuous (and enormous) lunch. We started at the local market gathering the freshest ingredients...

then, under Lorenzo's tutelage, we prepared, cooked and drank wine for a few hours readying our feast...

Our friend  Bill, took advantage of the pasta making instructions, too!

Now, I'd like to share some of the photos of beautiful, peaceful and ancient Orvieto...

This and the following two photos are inside probably the oldest church in Orvieto, San Juvenal. It dates its creation to 1004! Amazing!! The fresco art is being restored bit by bit.

Sculptures of the Annunciation by Francesco Mochi (created 1603-1608)... were originally in the Duomo but have been moved to a museum space. They stand along with monumental statues of the Apostles, also originally in the Duomo. The faces of these sculptures are absolutely ethereal... look at the two below.

This is "our" personal angel who watched over us outside our window. Unfortunately, she's recently been painted rather than leaving her in the original stone. She's still beautiful...

Beautiful and ancient fresco on the wall of the convent kitchen

View inside the convent... the next two as well...

Kristi and Bill showed us some of their favorite hilltop villages in Umbria and Tuscany as well... more exceptional eye-candy! But, this post is long enough...the rest is for another day.

Thanks for  stopping by and taking this virtual trip with me. I hope you'll tune in for the rest of the story. The visuals are worth the few minutes!!

Big Hugs,

abbyj