December 19, 2015 {352/365]
"Nature's far too subtle to repeat herself." - Paul Muni
Amid the bright lights and decorations of the season, take time to notice the unique and understated.
Subtle
Une bonne journée
December 17, 2015 {351/365}
"Develop a passion for learning and you will never cease to grow." - Anthony J. D'Angelo
Today, I had the pleasure of presenting a mini French lesson to the Pewaukee High School Humanities class. These students have autism, Down Syndrome, dyslexia, and other severe learning challenges, yet they were reading and speaking French in less than thirty minutes. I was so inspired by their enthusiasm, their encouragement of each other, and their genuine delight in their own accomplishments. Today, I was proud to be a teacher.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful!
December 16, 2015 {350/365}
Despite the beautiful decorations and Christmas carols everywhere, I'm finding it harder to get into the holiday spirit this year. How can this be December in Wisconsin? Our first significant snowfall just before Thanksgiving covered everything with a lovely blanket of white and I began dreaming of a White Christmas. But lately, it has been raining for days. I know I should be grateful that I don't have to scrape windows, shovel driveways, or navigate icy roads, and I count my blessings that our new home is on high ground. It's probably unrealistic, yet just imagine the winter wonderland if the temperatures were about 15º cooler. They say an inch of rain would produce ten inches of snow. Do you think it would help if we all sang Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!?
Snail Mail
December 15, 2015 {349/365}
"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart." - Phyllis Theroux
Most of the year, I visit the mailbox about one a week. Bills and unsolicited ads don't motivate me. Yet at Christmas time, I look forward to getting the mail everyday. I love the holiday greetings and newsy letters that help me feel connected to friends and family near and far.
Collection
December 14, 2015 {348/365} Baby Brownie
"Collect things you love, that are authentic to you and your home becomes a story. " - Erin Flett, designer
Meet my "Baby" -- a 1934 Baby Brownie camera. Made of fragile bakelite and originally costing only $1, this tiny camera, designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, was very popular with World War II military personnel. I wonder if my dad had one. I almost overlooked this tiny treasure while searching for a piece of furniture last month. (I did find a great piece, by the way -- a card catalogue from the late 1910's/early 1920's. More on that to come...)
I've never been a saver. As a literature major, I certainly have a selection of books, but would you call it a collection? Never one for knick-knacks or tchotchkes (or any clutter for that matter), I don't even buy t-shirts or postcards while on vacation. I prefer natural souvenirs like shells, sea glass, or heart-shaped rocks, and of course, my own photographs, although I've only printed one. Yet, suddenly, I seem to have a collection of vintage cameras. Earlier this year, there were two. Is two a collection?
First there was this Zeiss Ikon Nettar, circa 1934 (also known as Bob 510). I did express an interest in vintage cameras while strolling through an antique shop with friends last fall. I like the idea of beautiful artistic pieces that create more beautiful artistic pieces. Eric bought this pre-war, German camera for me last Christmas. I especially like the bellows and that tiny red accent!
Two months later, I received this Kodak Brownie Target Six-16 as a birthday gift. Produced between 1946 and 1951, its clean, linear design reflects the emerging mid-century modern aesthetic. Now with the addition of my Baby Brownie, I have three vintage cameras -- an official collection. So what's next?
Maybe a Beau Brownie, circa 1930-1933: Walter Dorwin Teague's deco design and colors are stunning. Given the choice, I don't know which one I'd choose. (These are displayed in the Milwaukee Art Museum.)
Or this Kodak Bantam Special, circa 1936: I love the Art Deco design of the black, enamel, clamshell case! (This one is also on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum.) Peak inside: It's a gadget worthy of James Bond!
Shoreline
December 13, 2015 {347/365}
"There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more." - Lord Byron