Heart Heaven And Soul

"Every season has it's own art

 and the art of autumn is to bewitch the people."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

This is a beautiful bench on the grounds of the Nevada Capitol grounds, in Carson City, Nevada. It's one of my autumn visits each year. I usually get there earlier in the season, but this year I was a little late. It's okay though, because I loved the color the waning light cast on everything. The color of the leaves, the ground, the sky... all of it filled my soul! Monday of this week was extraordinary day. We took a ride to Placerville, for some Apple Cider doughnuts, and then continued on to Lake Tahoe and Carson City! My last post was all about Lake Tahoe, and now, here is a look around Placerville and Carson City, Nevada!

I've said that San Francisco is my Heart, and my Heaven, but Autumn is my Heart, Heaven and Soul.

 #8 Leaf Of The Day

November 8th, 2017

Carson City, Nevada 

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

National Wear Red Day

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."

-Bill Blass

Today is, National Wear Red Day, to bring awareness to the #1 cause of death among women, Heart Disease. I will be wearing red today, how about you? The entire month of February is about the heart, and how to live a healthy life. I celebrate every February by doing as many proactive things for my health as possible. I have already made appointments with my physician for my diabetes check, but also for my yearly mammogram. Alan is joining me in wearing red today, and for dinner tonight, he and I are having a yummy homemade Veggie Pizza, made with a Whole-Wheat Honey Crust. It feels good to take care of myself, and it feels really good when he and I take care of each other.

So tell me, have you been taking care of you lately? Do you need an appointment for your annual physical? Do you do any research into the health issues which most effect your gender and age group? Do you get regular exercise? Do you EAT YOUR VEGGIES? LOL. That last question applied to both this entry and our next Round Robin Challenge. If you would like to participate you are welcome to join in, and hey, look, it will not only be a fun way to share your photos, but it will also be a neat little way to show off how you are taking care of yourself!

Here is what I am wearing today...

Here is what I am having for lunch...

Will you consider joining me this month, in making February a more healthy month for us? Share with me a favorite website devoted to health matters, share a favorite healthy recipe or healthy eating tip. I am always looking for new great websites devoted to health matters. How about this... I am pledging to not eat out for the entire month of February, with the exception of the last day of the 25th, when I have a date with Alan. Will you join me in that pledge? Just see how much better you will feel, sleep, and function, after spending a whole month knowing exactly how many calories, sodium content and vitamins you are putting in your body. It's a little bit of work, but aren't you worth it?

Here are some websites to get you started...

American Diabetes Association

American Heart Association

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Mayo Clinic Online

Cooking Light

Hungry Girl

Go Red With Campbell's

Calorie King


If you aren't ready to jump in full steam ahead, then take little steps, but move yourself forward. So many different diseases can be stopped in their tracks, if we just make the effort and comittment to lead healthier lives. I am living proof of that. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and with a few simple changes, I kicked it's ass and today, my blood sugar is well under control. But I would rather not see you have to be faced with diabetes. Start today. Let's get healthy, and stay healthy together. I am right here, if anyone wants to join me. :) And if not... just know, I will just keep asking, because you mean a lot to me.


-OndineMonet
"National Heart Awareness Month"
Berkeley, California
February 1st, 2008
Afternoon

Art About Town... San Francisco

"Personally, I experience the greatest degree of pleasure in having contact with works of art. They furnish me with happy feelings of an intensity such as I cannot derive from other realms."

-Albert Einstein

Art and Albert Einstein... all in one day! Well, just imagine it. I could totally see myself museum hopping with Einstein, who I consider to be one of the sexiest men of the 20th Century. Intelligent, witty, great hair, and a wild sense of humor. If he were alive today, I could see myself and Albert, roaming around, gazing at the various public art displays throughout the Bay Area, and engaging in great conversations about what we think, and feel, as the art inspires us. :) Yeah, I like to dream, and when I do, I like to dream big. Imagine... a day with Einstein.

I love art, especially public art, because there is a certain rare freedom in it. You might see it in passing, while driving past it in your car. Or it might be placed in a park or along the main avenue of the town you live in. It might be a commission of a great artist who is well known, or it might be the first piece of an up and coming artist on the edge of immortality through their creative vision. And as you either pass the art at 35 mpg, or while sitting in a park for as long as you want, the art will have changed you in some small way. You will have had a memory evoked, or a passion stirred... even if only for a moment.

In 2004, the city of San Francisco had heart. That is the year, San Francisco General Hospital commissioned the "Hearts in San Francisco" public art display. 130 beautifully painted hearts were placed all through the city, and were designed and painted by a number of artists, including Tony Bennett. The heart he designed, remains on permanent display, in Union Square. I am sure you remember the entry I wrote about it last year. If not you can read the entry here. Anyway, while I was in the city on Thursday, I had time to stop by, and photograph, one of the other hearts, from the 2004 collection, that remains on display as public art, titled, "I Left My Heart... And Shoes In San Francisco," by artist Stan Dann.

San Francisco General Hospital eventually auctioned off most of the hearts, with the proceeds going to the enhancement of patient care at the hospital. The monetary goal for the auction was to raise $1 Million, as of February of 2005 they have raised nearly $2,000,000. It's so amazing to me, when art goes from raw materials and vision, to a reality that benefits the community. There is something soul stirring in that for me. I don't know, maybe it is because over the years, at times of great sadness and grief, art has always been available to help heal the pain I was in. My friend H. P. tells me that I do some of my best photography, when I am depressed. LOL. He never wishes pain on me mind you, but he does remind me that depression doesn't have the lock on me it once did. When those times of sadness, that everyone has, appear like a dark cloud, he tells me to pick up the camera. So does Alan. In fact, as you probably remember, it was Alan who put a camera in my hand, when I was at my lowest, and encouraged me to find life, not avoid it.

This year, San Francisco General Hospital is again participating in the "Hearts in San Francisco," project, and have recently held a fundraiser, where tabletop versions of the hearts were actioned off at charity luncheon, with the proceeds again going to the enhancement of patient care at the hospital, and a special award was given to a member of the community who had displayed "exceptional and inspirational" behavior. There are four full sized hearts, 60-inches tall x 39 inches wide, that are currently on display in Union Square. I am hoping to get over there sometime later this month to photograph them. This next week, I am planning to finally get up to the Sierra to photograph some snow around Lake Tahoe. There is nothing like the art of natural beauty as well. :)

"A good exercise for the heart, is bending down and helping someone to get up."

-Proverb

-OndineMonet
"I Left My Heart And Shoes In San Francisco"
San Francisco, California
March 8th, 2007
Afternoon