Splendor at Tanglewood

                         Program cover of week long music offerings at Tanglewood.

Listening to quality music is truly one of the greatest gifts of being alive.

Tanglewood, located in western Massachusetts, is a place where music is revered.

It's the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and  is like a little piece of paradise on earth.

The music played there often squeezes the soul.

Internationally known artists fly in and out of this part of New England to perform at Tanglewood.

Sunday afternoon became a splendid few hours of life while listening to the master cellest, YoYoMa and other musicians play in Tanglewood's shed.

Tickets inside the shed tend to be very expensive but one can choose to bring or rent a chair and set it up on the expansive green lawn. 

Afternoon performances lack the star-studded skies of evenings but they are still glorious.  

The sun beats down and gives tans or is slightly hidden by umbrellas that dot the lawns in every direction.

Tanglewood is a fabulous place to just sit and people-watch.  

The audience comes from here, there, and everywhere!

To have the opportunity to listen to a concert at Tanglewood is truly something to be very, very grateful for.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF MUSIC TO LISTEN TO?

Original Floral Art

 

It's always exciting to find original floral art, signed by the artist.

At the super duper church yard sale this weekend, a most beautiful painting made my heart beat faster.

It is signed by Maria Aponte.

It depicts flowers in lovely shades of pink and coral.

My cousin pointed it out to me and it was love at first sight.

Unbelievably, it cost only $4.00!  

There is a gallery wall in the bathroom but I have no idea how to hang this painting as it's glass covered and not light in weight.

This is a rental, not my own place, and Command hooks have not worked well at all when it comes to paintings.

Right now the lovely new painting is propped up against the wall near the floorboards. 

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO HANG ART?

Angel Girl

Every year around this time, there's a humdinger of a church tag sale in a community within driving distance of the apartment.

No matter how many times it's attended, it never, ever disappoints.

The people who organize it make everything look top notch.

For instance, glasses of all kinds are washed to sparkling, dried, and placed in boxes and then topped with plastic wrap.  

There's enough Christmas stuff to fill a cathedral.

And many of the art pieces are always precious.

The sale takes place over a few days and Thursday was day one.

It was sooooo much fun to attend.

The beautiful white angel, with a lighted bouquet of flowers and long flowing white ribbons, is just one of the items purchased.

More will be shown in other posts so if seeing pretty things is your jam, come back to visit!

Plants, Sunshine, and Windows

Living green plants absolutely add to the beauty of life.

Putting them in front of windows doubles the effort.

When morning sunshine starts to pour in through the greenery, it's cause for joy.

In many of the apartments and houses lived in throughout the decades, there were always windows with sunshine coming in.

More often than not, it filtered through lacy curtains.  Yeah, old-fashioned is okay around here.

In the current small apartment, there are only two windows so sunshine comes in sparingly at the beginning of the day in one window and at the end of the day in the other.

That's kind of sad for someone who loves sunshine coming in through lace-covered windows.

Plus, the apartment is way too small for lots of plants.  

On the bright side, gratitude is deep for a place to live.

One can always go to other peoples' houses to see great big beautiful green plants in front of large windows!

A Different Kind of Kiwi

 It's always fun to look at the decorations and collections of people.

The wooden sculpture-of-sorts in today's post caught my eye. 

A very intelligent almost 11-year-old told me it looked like a bird similar to the kiwi, of New Zealand.

What?  The fruit, kiwi, is known to me.  The bird?  Not so much.

A quick check with the amazing Internet know-everything, I learned that the kiwi is a bird from New Zealand.

It cannot fly and is completely noctural.

It's about the size of a chicken, according to some data, and lays very large eggs.

Kiwi birds also have nostrils at the tip of their very long bills.  They find their prey by sniffing!

There is a lot of information about kiwi birds. 

It's good to learn something new every day, including that a kiwi can be more than a fruit!