"If it's Tuesday, it must be . . ." tumblr. Week Six

Tuesday is here again, and you know what that means, dear reader — if it's Tuesday, it must be tumblr. However,  before I send you there, I would like to share a few thoughts about November, since today is also November First.

This past Thursday, when I was walking home to my studio apartment in the Upper Westside of Manhattan, the rain was falling heavily, and even though it was only somewhere between five-thirty and six in the evening, it was quite dark, prompting me to think that soon we'd be changing the clocks  (fyi, the date to do this is the second Sunday in November to leave daylight savings time), and that it would be getting darker much earlier in the evening.
The streets were quiet that evening; and while the hour said it should be dusk, "the state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the dark part of twilight", the darkness, enhanced by the heavy rain, was more than "partial", and it was quite peaceful, as it always seems to be when November approaches.  The very early part of November. The part before it becomes Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving becomes Christmas (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa), and Christmas becomes New Year's and New Year's becomes Valentine's Day and Valentine's Day becomes Easter (or Passover), and Easter (or Passover) becomes Memorial Day, and Memorial Day becomes The Fourth of July, and The Fourth of July becomes Labor Day, and Labor Day becomes Halloween, and then it is November and where did its thirty days go?


It always seems they go by quickly (even if some "single" days can feel like they are a year long), and, because time passes the way it does, November, with the change of colors it brings to the leaves (at least in the northeastern part of the United States where I live), is a good time to remember.


I am aware of the fact that the expression, "remember November" has election connotations associated with it, but my association (perhaps because I am an urban gardener) with remembering and November is to appreciate the changing colors of the leaves which happens at this time. My Ipomocea multifida (Cardinal Climber AKA "CC"), which was lush with emerald-green leaves and bursting with red flowers only  just a couple of months ago (please click here for my September 8th 2011 post about my then thriving "CC"), is now sporting an array of colored leaves (evidenced in two of the photographs included with this posting.These beautiful leaves will soon be falling. and therefore it is essential that I heed the advice offered in Elizabeth Lawrence's quote: "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." 


Ms. Lawrence did not live in this digital age where folks rarely take time to look up from their hand-held devices (even while they are walking across city streets), much less look at nature, but it is November First, and just as the leaves are changing, we too can turn a new leaf in our routines and stop – yes I did say stop — and watch the leaves turn. This is November's answer to spring's adage, "stop and smell the roses"!


And it is almost too late for those who live in the northeastern tri-state to do this, to stop and watch the leaves turn, for we were "hit" this past Saturday by an unexpected raging snowstorm (albeit a "soupy and gloopey one) that knocked many of the leaves off our vines, shrubs, and trees! However, the vines, shrubs and trees are resilient and forgiving: they will give us another chance to watch the leaves turn.


In fact, my Continus Coggygria AKA Smokey Bush, Royal Purple, and Grace, seemed to delight in the icy-soup of snow that pounded on her leaves and branches; she was very cavalier about the whole thing; and she even seemed to be playing catch (and maybe she could teach our — ahem — New York baseball teams a thing or two about catching) with the cold mushy snow that fell upon her. This is evident in the image posted below:

Leaves, as you know, dear reader, are a big part of my inspiration, or I would not have called my blog, The Last Leaf Gardener, as per a story which you may refer to by clicking here. And the leaves of my Continus Coggygria AKA Smokey Bush, Royal Purple, and Grace are no exception.


I have written about this magnificent shrub in a number of previous blog entries including ones which you may refer to by clicking here as well as here and here and here, and you will find more (but not all) by clicking here and here and here. Additionally, I have featured images of my Continus Coggygria's leaves within my Flickr Gallery in a set called AUTUMN LEAVES: "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn,"  and if you'd like to view them, please click here, and look for the set with the aforementioned name.


Moreover, the leaves of ny Continus Coggygria provided the inspiration for an all occasion greeting card which I created called 'Grace' (Smokey Bush). This card is wonderful for sending to someone near and dear to you at any time, but it is particularly nice for sending at this time of year.


This lovely card is featured within the Card Shoppe Pages of my web-site, Patricia Youngquist Photo-Art ,and a link to find its location within the aforementioned pages may be found by clicking here.
      
But, since it is Tuesday, that means it must be tumblr —  and you may get there by clicking here —  but before you do,sit still and watch the leaves turn before they fall completely, before this November First becomes  Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving becomes Christmas (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa), and Christmas becomes becomes New Year's and New Year's becomes Valentine's Day and Valentine's Day becomes Easter (or Passover), and Easter (or Passover) becomes Memorial Day, and Memorial Day becomes The Fourth of July, and The Fourth of July becomes Labor Day, and Labor Day becomes Halloween, and then it is November and you find yourself saying, where did its thirty days go?

AFTER YOU HAVE WATCHED THE LEAVES TURN AND HAVE TIME,  I'd like to hear your thoughts which you may share via the "comments field" below. If you are new to posting this type of thing, you may click here for directions.

Ignatius's PURR-fect Posting

Hello, dear reader, My name Ignatius the Cat, and I belong to a priest (or should I say he belongs to me heh . . , heh. . . . heh). He  probably calls me Ignatius for Saint Ignatius, but I won't tell you what I call him. In any event, he is always taking pictures of me (for obvious reasons) so when I found out about The Last Leaf Gardner Blog's posting about painted rocks with cats as the 'subjects,' and that the artist who rendered them did custom rocks from photographs, I made sure I would look right into the camera when the priest took a photograph of me — for I knew, upon seeing my picture, the priest would not be able to resist having a custom rock made in honor of me.

It worked, the minute he saw my picture, he "commissioned" Phyllis (the artist) to do a custom rock and it came out great, as you can see in an image of the rock posted below.

I am sharing this with you because 'tis the season for Chanukah gifts (you have until December 8th), or stocking stuffers (Christmas is only twenty days a way, December 25th) and for the cat-lover in your life, 'tis the purrfect time to order a custom rock.

You can find the info about who to contact about this via previous posts by going here or here.

And have you done your Christmas or Chanukah cards yet? I know us cats have nine lives, but you humans probably don't, so check out the great selection of greeting cards on Patricia Youngquist's (the author of this blog) web-site where purchase information is also available for invitations that preserve a moment in time, program covers that enhance an occasion, and cards that are about more than communication. 

BTW, Many of these selections are from Youngquist's original prints which can be found on the web-site also.

The Lighting of the Actinida Kolomikta and Actimidia (Kiwi Vines) Soirée: Alternative to Crowded Tree and Menorah Lighting Celebrations

Happy December! There are so many celebrations this month, in New York City: many tree and menorah lighting events mark the onset of Advent, Chanukah, and Christmas. This past Friday, November 26th, 2010, the Friday after Thanksgiving, (which I referred to as Blue Friday in a previous post), the South Street Seaport had a ceremony for the lighting of their Christmas Tree beginning at 6:00 PM. The sportscaster, Jill Martin, played hostess to the festivities, which included a marching band from Brooklyn, characters from the Big Apple Circus, and jolly old Saint Nick. I'm told that Saint Nick posed for photos at no charge while performers who included Darlene Love and The Big Apple Chorus sang traditional holiday songs; and they were even joined by Rudolph (with his nose oh-so-bright) as well as Frosty The Snowman.

If you missed the pomp and circumstance, there is still time to enjoy the tree, which is located at Old Fulton Street amongst the history-filled "community" of the Seaport. The tree will be there until December 19th 2010; and there will be story-time with Santa as well as performances by the singing Christmas tree. Meanwhile you can see the South Street Seaport's tree and the festivities from the ceremony by clicking here.



Additionally, two days ago, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, there was a tree lighting ceremony at Lincoln Square, which is very close to where I live. It is the tree lighting ceremony that normally takes place at  the famous Lincoln Center, but because Lincoln Center is still undergoing renovation, Lincoln Square has been hosting it. Even though I live close to these locations, I don't usually navigate the crowds of people who clamor to see it — although that crowd is not nearly as thick as the one who went to see last night's tree lighting at Rockefeller Center , where tens of thousands of people came to view it —waiting over six hours to catch a glimpse of the "turning-on" of the tree's 33,000-plus lights.

I am not as Bah-Humbug as I sound, I have my own lighting ceremony — in my urban garden — with friends as we enjoy a Vertical Vodka (distilled in France) on the rocks with a splash — just a splash — of cranberry juice, as I "light" the bare, heavily textured branches of my once leaf-filled Kiwi Vines. Perhaps you recall the Kiwi Vines' magnificent leaves from a previous post. 

Now that the luscious leaves have all fallen, preparing for the return to Mother Earth until the spring, I am left with their gorgeous branches twisting and turning around the rail that encloses my roof extension garden. In honor of these lovely branches, I host my Kiwi Vine lighting soirée, the branches and the lights complimenting each other in the wee hours of the night.

Chanukah begins tonight, and there will be a menorah lighting ceremony on Sunday, December 5th 2010 at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, at the southern most point of Central Park. The menorah to be lit is 32 feet and sufganiyot (holiday jelly donuts) and hot Latkes (potato pancakes) are promised, my Kiwi Vine's branches beckon me to stay home and write my Advent, Christmas and Chanukah cards.

I hope you will consider reaching out to those near and dear (and even not so dear) to you with a handwritten holiday correspondence, and I invite you to look at my selections of event program covers, invitations and greeting cards for these seasons via my web-site where purchase information is also available. Meanwhile, enjoy the sight of decorations wherever you may live, and remember to enjoy the various branches too.

Upcoming Feast Days: Chanukah & Advent Shattering Darkness Part Two: Advent

What I posted yesterday bears repeating especially since this is "part two" of that entry so to reiterate: "It is good to reflect on the symbols of light and hope that mark the Jewish Feast of Chanukah and the Christian Feast of Advent, a time when "Jews and Christians use the symbols of candles and lights to shatter the winter darkness."

(This quote from an excerpt of Archbishop Prendergast's speech at a testimonial dinner honoring Rabbi Erwin and Mrs. Laura Schild.) As previously noted, both of these feast days begin on different days every year, and this year Chanukah begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 1st 2010, while Advent begins today, Sunday, November 28th 2010. Chanukah's celebration lasts eight days ending on December 9th 2010, and Advent lasts until December 24th 2010. Since I am involved with making invitations and greeting cards which are often used to commemorate these holidays, I read many blogs about them and recently discovered Prendergast's speech on a blog posting by Deborah Gyapong.In yesterday's post, I wrote a little bit about the origin of Chanukah. Regarding Advent, it is a season of preparation and the beginning of the Western liturgical year. One of the practices of Advent is the use of wreaths and candles. Traditionally there are four candles, each representing a given Sunday during the four weeks of Advent. Most often purple and rose colored candles are used as seen in the image posted at the top of this entry. However, in some instances, the color blue is used. In any event, when the purple and rose colors are used, the practice is this: a purple candle is lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The rose colored candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, in order to commemorate Laetare Sunday which is the fourth Sunday of Lent at which time a rose is used.



The purpose of this post and yesterday's post is to acknowledge that during the season of Chanakah and Advent, the followers of either feast are invited to go beyond the outward symbols of their ritual. Gyapong writes it is a time to be "an example and to give others a reason to hope and believe." My collection of cards and invitations provide a way of reaching out to others in a meaningful way during this season and beyond. Please visit my web-site for details.

Upcoming Feast Days: Chanukah & Advent Shattering Darkness Part One: Chanukah

It is good to reflect on the symbols of light and hope that mark the Jewish Feast of Chanukah and the Christian Feast of Advent, a time when "Jews and Christians use the symbols of candles and lights to shatter the winter darkness."

(This quote is from an excerpt of Archbishop Prendergast's speech at a testimonial dinner honoring Rabbi Erwin and Mrs. Laura Schild.) Both of these feast days begin on different days every year and this year, Chanukah begins at sundown on Wednesday, December 1st 2010, while Advent begins tomorrow Sunday, November 28th 2010. Chanukah's celebration lasts eight days ending on December 9th 2010, and Advent lasts until December 24th 2010. Since I am involved with making invitations and greeting cards which are often used to commentate these holidays, I read many blogs about them and recently discovered Prendergast's speech on a blog posting by Deborah Gyapong. Gyapong writes "Chanukah means 'dedication,' and commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by foreign forces and the Jews' victory over the Hellenist Syrians in the year 165 B. C. For the rededication celebration, the Maccabees desired to light the menorah and looked everywhere for oil, finally finding a small flask that contained only enough oil to light the menorah for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. The message of Chanukah may be found in the name of the holiday itself: dedication —not only of the temple building but of individual lives to the pursuit of high religious and human ideals."





There are many traditions associated with the Chanukah holiday which you can read about by clicking here. It is also a time for sending cards and giving gifts. I have found that clients enjoy using my kaleidoscopic note-cards (because of their intricate colored patterns) for this purpose. A sample of a card from this collection can be seen at the top of this post. It is called "Sunset in Riverside Park" and was discussed in length in a radio interview for 1010 WINS; in a segment for John Montone's New York. You may hear that interview by clicking here.

My kaleidoscopic card collection (and other selections) can be found in the unique store-front pages of my web-site, where purchase information is available. All of my kaleidoscopic cards are derived from original prints which can be ordered in a variety of sizes. I wrote about this in a previous blog entry, where I included an image of a framed art print, showing how it was seen in a gallery exhibition. I posted this image in that entry, and you may see it by clicking here to view.

If you celebrate Chanukah, I hope the promises of its season grant you the desires of your heart and fill you with peace. If you celebrate Advent, I will be posting about it tomorrow which is the First Sunday in Advent.

Whatever your feast is, the two I have mentioned here or something else, may it bring you and yours peace, and shed light to all nations.