Lots and lots of letters

[caption id="attachment_2152" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Outgoing mail[/caption]

Letters, I've got letters.  I've got lots and lots of letters ready for Mr. Postman.  He'll take these letters away and point them in the directions of  Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, Virginia, South Carolina, New York and points beyond.  You see, I've been catching up on my correspondence.

Though I am known as  A Lady of Letters, one who writes at least one or two letters each and every day, life does occasionally step in intruding on my delightful letter writing ritual. I do hate when this happens, but life is not perfect.

There is however a saving grace to this intrusion.   If I've been deprived of my daily letter writing routine I feel entitled to take the first free day that happens by in order to catch up on all my correspondence.

Imagine the fun ... an entire day of letter writing with no guilt, a day spent writing letter after letter until I'm back on track. This week all the letters I'm sending off have cups drawn on the envelopes filled with coffee,  tea, or whatever drink my letter friends prefer to imagine.

It's nice to have a few trademarks.  These drink-filled cups on my letter envelopes are one of my trademarks.  Do you have a few marks which tell your letter friends at a quick glance that you've come to call on them?  I hope so.  Trade marks are fun.   Think of the apple for Apple computers,  the golden arches for McDonalds, the  mermaid for Starbucks...

My letter friend Kathy from Pennsylvania likes to draw pictures on her envelopes.  These pictures are often stick figures involved in the activities which Kathy's involved in at the time.

Sometimes Kathy draws simple flowers in sunshine.  Trademarks don't have to be fancy.

Kathy is very musical.  She sings in an orchestra chorus so she'll often sign her letters with a musical note.  That note is a trademark.  She also signs her cat's name to her letters because Alice the cat is dear to Kathy, a best friend you might say.  Along with Alice's name Kathy often draws Alice.

Alice's  picture on Kathy's envelope is another of her trademarks.   Trademarks are fun!

Sometimes a trademark is simply a most unique and handsome handwriting.   My pen friend Bruce, formerly of Arizona but now residing in heaven, had such a handsome handwriting.  When  he would be writing with his fountain pen in public places people passing by would notice his script , stop, and comment on how charmingly old fashioned and elegant his handwriting  was.   Bruce loved this.  Who wouldn't?  I would see the tiniest corner of Bruce's handwriting  peeping out from behind other letters in my mailbox and  instantly  light up knowing  Bruce had come to call.

Another favorite correspondent, Harry  of Virginia now also residing in heaven, grew pansies in his window box expressly for my letters.  The pressed pansies would grace his letters, but usually  a pansy sticker also graced Harry's envelopes.  Trademarks.  Trademarks are great!  Now I see a pansy and guess who comes to my mind.  Trademarks will help you be remembered.

Variety may be the spice of life, but a few "regular" personal marks used in your letter writing will say"You"even before pen friends spot a return address  - like Charlie Chaplin's cane or Liberace's candelabra , your trademark  will add an extra personal note to your letters and it's these personal notes which make the Art of Letter Writing the  very personal art it is .

Shall we have another outing?

[caption id="attachment_1934" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Flying the friendly skies to California once again[/caption]I'm in the mood for a little culture.  How about you?  Let's go to Pasadena, California and visit the Huntington.  The Huntington is a wonderful private non-profit collection-based research and educational institution founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington. Huntington was an exceptional businessman who built a financial empire that included railroad companies, utilities, and real estate holdings in Southern California.

The Huntington is a huge place composed of a library containing rare books and manuscripts in the fields of British and American history and literature.

It is also an art gallery composed of two separate buildings.  The Huntington Gallery, completed in 1911, originally was the Huntington's residence.  You would love walking through its rooms of elegant furnishings.

Just look at this gorgeous dining room.  While the Huntingtons were not known to have entertained regularly, the dining room was nevertheless suitable for important functions.  One such occasion was a dinner for the crown prince and princess of Sweden, who visited the Huntington mansion in the early 1920s.

Every room is exquisite.

I'm sure you would be most impressed with the building itself, never mind the extensive art collection it contains.  When planning the residence Henry Huntington first envisioned a more modest retreat, but his uncle's widow, Arabella Huntington, whom he would marry in 1913, was looking for home on a grander scale.  Looking at one of the staircases in their home I think you would agree Arabella achieved her grand vision.

The floor to ceiling windows are wonderful.  I had such windows in my last 1829 house.  I miss them.

The rooms are painted whites and off whites with gold accents.  The look is very elegant and peaceful.  I might copy Huntington's color palate should an addition ever materialize on my own home.

The 2,900-square-foot hall was added in 1934 for displaying the Huntingtons' Grand Manner portraits.  Now called the Thornton Portrait Gallery, the addition followed a trend begun with the Wallace Collection in London and the Frick Collection in New York, where grand homes were converted into museums.  (That's my son Patrick standing in the gallery).

The loggia on the east side of the house represents a concession by the architect.  Archival documents show that Myron Hunt preferred a modest terrace on the east side; Henry Huntington envisioned a bolder, more spacious "outdoor living room."  Huntington ultimately prevailed.

I think Huntington had the right idea, for a grand home like his truly needed a bold and spacious loggia rather than a small modest one.  Don't you agree?

Of course such a wonderful residence has wonderful vistas too.  It must have been fabulous to live in such a grand home, but all along Henry Huntington intended his home to function as a public gallery, which is why less remarkable spaces such as bathrooms and the kitchen were not saved.  It opened to the public in 1928, a year after Henry's death.

[caption id="attachment_2144" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Sculpture of George Washington by Pierre-Jean David[/caption]

The Huntington 's art collections occupy two separate buildings on the grounds.  A third structure, The MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, hosts changing exhibitions.

If you visit the Huntington you will find the finest collections of European art in the nation and  The Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art bring together American art from the colonial period through the middle of the 20th century.

Besides all this the Huntington contains  an incredible Botanical Garden.  There is too much to see at one in-person visit or one post visit.  People are truly blessed who live in or near Pasadena, California for they can and should return over and over again.

I hope you have enjoyed popping over to the Huntington with me today and I hope you manage to get there one day in person.  Join me again and we'll return to the Huntington one of these days.  Till then look for the beauty that's all around you.

 The beauty we focus on becomes us.

More on the subject of The Art of Letter Writing

This morning I had the pleasure of writing  a new old  friend.  Let me explain.  My letter will be going off to Barbara in Rhode Island.  I was quite excited to be writing her because Barbara and I had lost touch for many years and only recently did we reconnected.  If you're like me you love making new friends, but your old friends are very precious.  Only with old friends do our old memories come back to life and sharing  old memories, sharing anything,  doubles the joy.

I first met Barbara years ago in Boston where we both were  teachers and newlyweds.  That was an exciting time for both of us so it will be fun to not only catch up on our current lives, but also to revisit those great old times we shared together.

My first letter to friends is always written on stationery I create by assembling decorative papers in the form of floral bouquets.  Do you have a ritual for choosing  your letter papers?  There are so many possibilities: store-bought papers, greeting cards made into letter books, photo note cards, watercolor drawings ... the choices are endless.  So that I don't get waylaid by the decision-making process of what stationery to use I've created a list of my options.  Now, at letter writing time, that list helps me decide who gets what papers.  Creating rituals -  who to write,  when, where, how, and with what,  helps make letter writing almost automatic and definitely more fun!

And it's not only the letter paper, but also the envelope that can be decorated many different ways.  This week my letter friends are getting a cup of coffee or tea, whatever they prefer.  Most of my pen friends have great fun designing their letter envelopes.

Here's one from my pen friend Janet.  In this  letter envelope she's playing with rubber stamps

and here's another of Janet's envelopes where she's in the mood for some Summer fun.

Janet loves to take pictures.  Do you?   She shares these pictures in her letters.  You know what they say - one picture is worth a thousand words.  Pictures really make letters come to life.

In this summery letter Janet created a collage of many of the images she saw and photographed in recent days. She put the images  together, even drawing a "Happy Summer" sign for the airplane to pull through the sky.  You may also notice she was writing on stationery that looked like a real sky, a nice touch for her airplane.  The hot air balloon says "FUN" and that's what Janet's letters are - real fun to see!

In many of Janet's letters there are little fold-out pages (little booklets) attached to the letter's page.  These fold-outs contain even more pictures.  When I get a letter from Janet I feel like I'm carried away to wherever she wants to take me.  Good letters will do that you know.

In her most recent letter she shared  a series of performances she attended relating to the American Revolution.  Janet lives in Virginia and this program entitled "The Road to Revolution Heritage Trail"  linked historic sites and institutions in Virginia interpreting the life of Patrick Henry, orator of the Revolution and Virginia's first governor.  Reading about this program was good, but seeing her photographs of the men playing the parts of George Washington, Patrick Henry and the French marquis, Lafayette was even better.

Janet has so many pictures to share in her letters. They're everywhere - in the letter, on the front of the envelope and even on the envelope's back. Her letters are a visual treat besides being full of interesting commentary and thanks to her interesting envelopes the postal workers who handle her letters get a little treat too.  I bet you wish Janet was one of your letter friends.

[caption id="attachment_2096" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chicago[/caption]

Well, I love to include photographs in my letters just as Janet does. Last week I was in Chicago enjoying an architecture river cruise through the city and you know how I feel about sharing my joy - so I took a million pictures all along the ride in order to have the fun of sharing that experience via pictures with my pen friends in future letters.

[caption id="attachment_2093" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Two of my many photographs of the Chicago river cruise.[/caption]

If you have a camera I hope you're using it not only to capture images for your own pleasure, but also for the  pleasure of your letter friends.

But of course the best things about letters are all the thoughtful ideas they convey.  More than in-person conversations letters seem to draw ideas out of us and they are a marvelous vehicle for sharing, sharing our own ideas and sharing the ideas we come upon while reading.  When writing a letter  we have time to find that book we're enjoying and copy the lines we love.  Yes, it's slow-going, but this helps us not only focus on those ideas but also remember them.

 In Janet's last letter she talked about creativity.  She wrote:  "In the beginning God created ... that was God's first action and I think God created us to be creative creatures.  One quote I recently came upon was a statement by Frank Lloyd Wright.  He said 'The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.  If you... ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it.  Your life will be impoverished.  But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.'  So if we keep trying  to convey creativity and beauty in our letters I think we'll be using our time wisely, don't you?"

I agree.

And what do you think?

What beauty and creativity have you shared with someone today?  It's not too late.  You can write a letter any hour of the day or night.  Go ahead.  Make someone's day!

Write a letter!

A little Romance please

[caption id="attachment_2035" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Dinner for two[/caption]I admit it.  I am a  romantic.  I've been this way for as long as I can remember.  I probably was born with a romantic spirit, but the films I watched growing up only exaggerated my romantic tendencies.  As a small child I loved the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  I'd swoon (along with my mother) over the music, the dancing, the wardrobes and the  romantic situations those actors  encountered.

Later it was Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant.  Remember the film "An Affair to Remember"?  I loved it! Then Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly came along.  These ladies would  inspire me.   They were the embodiment of  grace and  beauty.  Their films made life seem beautiful -  "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "High Society", "To catch a thief" and so many more.   I couldn't wait to grow up, dress in elegant clothes and carry on in the romantic way these ladies operated in their films.

Of course the world changed.  Most people don't 'dress up' so much anymore.  The world has gotten so casual, too casual if you ask me.  (But I still love to 'dress up'.  Don't you?)   Simplicity seems to be the way of the world these days.  Most people don't want to fuss with special sets for life no matter how romantic they might be.  Just too much trouble they say.  (But I love to fuss every now and then and I hope you do too).

To help me live romantically I make it a point to take mental notes (or paper notes) whenever I'm reading  a book or watching  a film containing  romantic ideas I might make my own.  Special touches added to  ordinary days can't help but make life even more special.  Some of these touches are truly simple and not much work at all, but I think even the ones that require extra effort are well worth the trouble for they break the monotony of daily life and create peak aesthetic experiences.

Being romantic means remembering that we are the heroines of our own lives and it's therefore up to us to create the magical moments that make our heart sing.

Barbara Taylor Bradford,  author of eighteen best-selling romance  novels, and this book, "Living Romantically Every Day", agrees with me completely.  If you're looking for a little romantic inspiration you'll find it in one of her books.  I was inspired to whip up one of Barbara's  romantic picnics, making it my own with just a little tweeking here and there.

Barbara suggested taking the picnic out into the country or out on the lawn, but  there's been a lot of rain in Hudson lately so I didn't want to go through a lot of bother only to be "rained out".    I  therefore decided to set the stage for my romantic picnic indoors on our enclosed porch.

My first step was to iron a very pretty tablecloth to cover my table and add elegance as fine linen always does.  I love a white tablecloth for dinner and my favorite restaurants always have them.

I know there are people today who wouldn't think of using linen.  Some people don't even own an iron anymore, and others who do might use it to press a shirt or dress, but never bother to iron a tablecloth, especially one with a lot of cut-work  like mine, cut-work that requires special attention.   But I don't mind the extra work.  It's for a great cause.

I love fresh flowers and buy them every week because  flowers are just too beautiful and red roses seemed to be just what my table craved for this romantic indoor picnic.

Because dinner wouldn't be served till after dark candles were a necessity.  Where was that candelabra I used to place  Liberace -style on top of the grand piano?  Found it!  Five candles would create just enough light for our indoor picnic, but not too much.  So far so good.

Of course I needed some china, and since it was Summertime, a floral china seemed just right.  I love this pattern and usually choose it for meals either on the porch or out on the patio.

And glasses would be needed for the champagne and water.  This special elegant romantic picnic required crystal.  Many of us have all sorts of pretty things, but use those things only for holidays or special events with guests.  Well, this picnic was a special event and I did have a guest.  The guest  was my husband.  But I've known elegant women, widows and other single ladies, who have gone through all this preparation just for themselves.  Why not?  The Loreal people have it right.  We are worth it, aren't we?

 I added the flatware and the napkin to my table setting and it was all set.

It was my hope that Bill, my husband, would appreciate this setting  created for our picnic dinner, and it was also my hope that the setting would bring out the Cary Grant in him, but even if it didn't, I knew it would bring out the Grace Kelly in me.

Wouldn't you feel a little different, a little more elegant, if you were about to have a meal at a table appointed with such care?  Of course you would.

Though in the light of the late afternoon, this table, set beside the french doors of the porch

and the wall of windows with light streaming in, didn't look very romantic, the scene was to change once the sun went down, the moon came out, and the candles were lit.

 Now to tell you about the food I planned. To me the food was the least important ingredient for this romantic evening, but I was sure my husband would feel differently, so I followed some suggestions found in "Living Romantically Every Day", Barbara Taylor Bradford's book, and  I  whipped up a fruit salad

[caption id="attachment_2060" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Assorted fruit with a garnish of mint from my garden[/caption]

 dressing for  Salad Nicoise

[caption id="attachment_2061" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Parsley Vinaigrette Dressing[/caption]

  The dressing is composed of shallot, olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh parsley, dry mustard, salt and ground pepper.

[caption id="attachment_2067" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Salad Nicoise[/caption]

And  Salad Nicoise  is composed of baby red potatoes, green beans, English cucumber, tuna, eggs, tomato,and Nicoise olives.  I'm sorry this image is a little dark, but I forgot to take the picture in the brightly lit kitchen.  By the time I served the salad at the table I was working with candlelight.

I did remember to take a picture of the walnut tartlet which became our dessert, and here it is.

[caption id="attachment_2065" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Walnut tartlet topped with a bit of whipping cream[/caption]

My husband arrived home from work and was happy to see the champagne was chilled and a special evening was in store for him (and for me too!)

He poured the champagne and our romantic picnic began.  It wasn't long before the sun went down and the candelabra was lit.   The music was playing and our porch was transformed into a  most romantic setting for a lovely evening together, a special evening that we'll remember for a long time... at least until I come up with another such event.

Romance isn't really about champagne and candlelight, but it sure helps every now and then.  When we  take the time to create special settings, little surprises for those we love, and insert small  gestures of beauty and  kindness into our daily lives, we are able to live romantically every day and if you're like me, a true romantic, this is the only way to live.