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Update on our life and my book

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle 96 comments

I mentioned we canceled the Victoria, BC, trip and went to Pot Angeles in Washington. I booked the flight coming home from Seattle. My husband didn’t want to rush, so we went to Seattle the day before returning to Southern California.

I read about the Chihuly Garden and Glass in a blogger’s post. Since we would be in Seattle for one day, I made a reservation to visit this magnificent exhibit. The museum is right next to the Space Needle. Here’s what the website says about Chihuly. https://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/about/dale-chihuly

Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.

In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly co-founded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as fine art.

His work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

An update on our life

My husband and I are moving to Portland, Oregon, to be close to my daughter and the grandkids. I have always wanted to do that and even wrote blog posts about my desire. But my husband was not ready. On a couple of occasions, I went alone to be with my daughter and the grandkids for Thanksgiving or Christmas. My husband, Lynton, stayed in Southern California to be with his mom during those holidays. Lynton’s mom passed away two months ago. His siblings are busy with their extended families. He seems to be free from the obligation to stay in Southern California.

When we were in Port Angeles, Lynton expressed an interest in moving to Portland to be close to the grandkids.

I searched for a home right away. Then contacted the realtor whom I worked with for the last 15 years. After one week of communication back and forth, we signed an offer on August 28th on a home within a 13-minute drive from Mercy. Mercy and Will toured the house and sent us the videos.

We’re working with the agents and signed a listing disclosure to sell our California home.

We’re packing and will have everything in a storage unit by the 15th. We’re going to Portland on the 16th for Autumn’s BD. The agents will show our house while we’re gone.

Everything happened so fast. My head is spinning. We’re excited about the move. At least we don’t need to travel every six weeks to see the grandkids.

An update on my book

The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival is now available on Amazon.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Winding-Road-Journey-Survival-ebook/dp/B0B86QWXTN

My launch tour is from Monday, September 5 to Monday, September 12. I’m grateful to my wonderful friends who will host my tour.

Monday, September 5 – Jacqui Murray @ https://worddreams.wordpress.com

Tuesday, September 6 – Dan Antion @ https://nofacilities.com

Wednesday, September 7 – Liz Gauffreau @ https://lizgauffreau.com

Thursday, September 8 – Pete Springer @ https://petespringerauthor.wordpress.com/petes-blog

Friday, September 9 – Robbie Cheadle @ https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/blog

Monday, September 12 – Denise Finn @ https://dlfinnauthor.com/blogs

I hope to see you at these launch tour stops.

Thursday Doors: Toledo, Spain – Part 2

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle 78 comments

I have uploaded the ePub file of my book The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Yay! I’ll let it sit for a few days just in case. I’ll set up for the pre-order on August 1, and will have a short launch tour the first week of September. We’ll be gone most of August to spend time with the grandkids, and take a short vacation in Canada for our anniversary later in August. I don’t want to publish the book yet because I don’t want it to be unattended.

This is part 2 of my Toledo, Spain post.

We traveled to seven cities in Spain and spent one to two days in each. Typically, when we arrived in a city, the tour bus drove us around some major sightseeing sites. Some tours are included in the package, but some are excursions which required additional fees. I usually paid for all the excursions, so I don’t remember which ones are included in the basic package.

We arrived in Madrid and took a quick tour around town. The tour coach drove about 45 minutes from Madrid to Toledo. Toledo is about 89.6 square miles. It didn’t take long to go on foot to view some sights. After we did some sightseeing of the exterior of the buildings, we toured the interior of The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca. We also visited the Museum of Swords. I’m presenting the locations in the sequence of our itinerary.

The Church of San Román (Iglesia de San Román) was constructed with a Mudéjar design during the 13th century. It is one of the oldest in Toledo. Inside are stunning horseshoe arches characteristic of Islamic architecture. They are decorated with Romanesque and Arabic frescos painted with warm hues of orange and red. The structure is now the Museum of Visigothic Councils and Culture. The photo on the right is from Wikipedia.

The Primatial Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo (Catedral Primada Santa María de Toledo), known as Toledo Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church. The cathedral of Toledo is one of the three 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain and is considered to be the magnum opus (a great work especially the greatest achievement of an artist or writer) of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun in 1226 under the rule of Ferdinand III and the last Gothic contributions were made in the 15th century when, in 1493, the vaults of the central nave were finished during the time of the Catholic Monarchs.

The Museum of the Army (Museo del Ejército) is a national museum attached to the Ministry of Defense. The history of the museum began in 1803 when the royal military museum was established in a building in Madrid known as the Palacio de Monteleón. The building also served as a barracks for artillery units, and it was attacked and looted by the French when they suppressed the Dos de Mayo Uprising of 1808. The museum was reestablished, but in 1827 it was divided into two sections: the Museo de Artillery and the Museo de Ingenious. The collections were moved from Madrid to Toledo in 2010.

The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca (Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca, which means ‘Synagogue of Saint Mary the White’) is a museum and former synagogue in Toledo. Erected in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, it is considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. The building was converted into a Catholic church in the early 15th century. The synagogue is located in the former Jewish quarter of the city. It is one of three preserved synagogues constructed by Jews in a Mudéjar or Moorish style.

We toured the interior of The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca. The columns are in white. I waited a long time to take a phot with no people in it.

The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes (Monasterio de San Juan de Los Reyes) is in the heart of Toledo’s Jewish Quarter. The late-Gothic style monastery was built in the 15th century to commemorate the political victory of the Catholic Monarchs. The structure is beautifully decorated both on the inside and out. The interior features a combination of late Gothic-style detailing on the bottom floor and a Mudéjar design on the top floor.

Museum of Sword – Toledo steel, historically known for being unusually hard, has been a traditional sword-making, metal-working center since the Roman period, and came to the attention of Rome when used by Hannibal in the Punic Wars. It soon became a standard source of weaponry for Roman legions. Toledo produced all of the swords for the film trilogy and apparently some of the rings. This should explain the number of Lord of the Rings-themed shops that are around town selling swords and memorabilia.

We toured the forge of the Museum of Sword where a blacksmith demonstrated the process of forging a sword. This facility is for demonstration only. The current facility is moved to somewhere that produces large quantity of swords.

Lynton is checking out the Japanese samurai sword

Toledo Puente de Alcántara, a 13th Century Boorish Bridge, is a beautiful historic bridge situated below the medieval Castle of San Servando. It is an elegant arch-style bridge that stretches across the Tagus River which surrounds the historic center. The old Roman bridge used to be the only entry to the city for pilgrims. While the Puente de Alcantara originates from Roman times, the bridge we see today was rebuilt in the 10th century after it was damaged.

This post concludes my presentation of our tour in Toledo, Spain. I hope you find something interesting in the architecture and history.

Thursday Doors: Toledo, Spain – Part 2

Thursday Door – Toledo, Spain

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle 68 comments

Sorry that I scheduled this post on the wrong date. It went live last night when there was nothing but a couple of photos. I’m still not quite ready for a complete post because I’m in the middle of formatting my new book, The Winding Road. I got the final file from my editor last week. I did the corrections and listened to the computer read to me multiple times. The computer reads every word, it’s a good way to catch some typos and other errors. I uploaded it onto KDP and ordered a proof copy. Then I had the computer read to me again and followed the book. You know what? The computer didn’t catch a missing punctuation and a few typos. Anyway, I sent out the file to have a designer convert it into ePub for the eBook. So, I had to tell him to redo the ePub file.

I hope to publish my book in the first week of August because hubby and I will visit the grandkids. After that, we’ll take a short trip to Canada.

This post will be Toledo, Part 1.

After touring Madrid, we went on to the next city, Toledo. The tour bus drove 42 miles south-southwest of Madrid and arrived on the other side of the city. Toledo is situated on a rugged promontory washed on three sides by the Tagus River.

We stopped for a while to admire the panoramic view of the city’s surroundings. I took quite a few photos of the city. Then the tour bus took us to tour the city. The tour guide was very informative to introduce us to some major buildings, structures, and churches in Toledo. We only visit the outside of these buildings. The only place we toured inside was Santa Maria de la Blanca Synagogue. I will have some photos of the synagogue and several other places next week.

Panoramic view of Toledo, surrounded by Tagus River on three sides

The Santiago del Arrabal Church (Iglesia de Santiago del Arrabal) is a 13th-century Catholic church built in 1245–48, at the orders of Sancho II, on the site of an earlier building, possibly a mosque. Many characteristics of Islamic architecture, such as the horseshoe arch, have remained in the present building which is built in the Mudéjar style.

The Mosque of Christ of the Light (Mosque Cristo de la Luz)is a Catholic chapel and former mosque in Toledo It is one of the ten that existed in the city during the Moorish period. It is located near the Puerta del Sol, in an area of the city once called Medina where wealthy Muslims used to live.

The Church of San Ildefonso (Iglesia de San Ildefonso Jesuitas) is a Baroque-style church located in the historic center of Toledo. It is the second largest temple in the city after the Toledo Cathedral. It was built in the highest part of Toledo and offers a gorgeous view of the city from the top of its twin towers.

The following photos are the narrow streets. They are really narrow. Probably the neighbors can see each other across the street. These streets reminded me of the movie The Italian Job with three Mini Coopers. I could see the Coopers could run through these narrow streets. Some narrow streets are twice the size of the photos included here. Small cars like the coopers can go through them. The pedestrians would compete with the cars for the space though. Lynton pulled me closer to the wall once when a car came by.

I’ll have a lot more to share with you next week. Spain was one of my favorite countries for visit. I hope to go back someday.

I think of Darlene Foster and Joy Lennick as I write the posts about Spain. They have a lot more personal experiences to share with you.

Thursday Door – Toledo, Spain

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Summer Vibes

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle 66 comments

Andre is the guest host for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week. His theme is Summer Vibes. He posted some biking, mountain climbing, hiking, swimming, diving, sailing, surfing, kitesurfing, and beach sailing photos.

He said, when it comes to the style of spending this most valuable time of the year, wishes would differ following their personal preferences.

I spend a lot of my summer in my garden

I love the cheerful sunflowers. The bees like them as well.

This baby grasshopper stayed on the African lily long enough for me to take a few photos. It’s the size of a grain of rice.

The monarchs have been doing very well this summer. I’ve raised about 50. There are still two chrysalises and one caterpillar. Then I’ll be done for this year because I’ll be away quite a bit the rest of the summer.

I also take summer trips with my husband and family

Hubby Lynton dived in Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Our family went on a whale-watching trip at Huntington Beach.

Photo on the left, Lynton and I went hiking at Waimoku Falls in Haleakala National Park. Photo on the right, we watched the crashing waves on Makena Beach, Maui, Hawaii

I love to watch my granddaughters having fun in the summer

Autumn and Nora were building sandcastles at the beach in Three Creek Lake Campground, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.

Autumn is getting good at paddle boarding at Three Creek Lake, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Summer Vibes

What are your favorite summer activities?

Lens-Artists Challenge #197 – The Rule of Thirds

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle 84 comments

This week, the theme from Tina Schell, for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is focused on one of the most well-known and widely used rules of photography, the Rule of Thirds. She said, “For those who would like to study the concept further, there are many online descriptions and examples. Adobe offers an excellent summary here. Basically, the rule is a compositional guideline that encourages placement of your primary subject on at least part of three equal rows and three equal columns as illustrated below.”

The Adobe article entitled: How to use, and break, the rule of thirds

Rule of Thirds Grid

The idea is to place your subject on one (or more) of the grid lines, or even better on the dots, theoretically making the image more pleasing to the eye.

I’ve been taking photos since I was a teenager when there were only Black & White photos. As indicated in the Adobe article, “The more you do it, the more it gets ingrained into your head.” I apply the Rule of Thirds most of the time in my photo compositions.

I learned drawing and painting at a young age, the Rule of Thirds also applies to the composition of drawing, painting, and some other forms of art. I’ll post my photos and two of my paintings in this post.

There are many kinds of butterflies in my garden, Swallowtail, Monarch, Mourning Cloak, and Cabbage butterflies. A Monarch came back from the south early this year and is busy laying eggs. I collected 10 eggs so far. Three are in the chrysalis form, two are growing strong, and five are 1/8″ babies. I’ll post some Monarch photos later. I saw a Nymphalis antiopa, known as Mourning Cloak, a few days ago but didn’t take good photos. I took the following one a while ago.

There are many turtles in the lake within walking distance from home. This colorful turtle was sunbathing when I walked around the lake one day. The entire colorful body is attractive. The reflection of the sunlight made part of his body draw more attention.

I took the following photo in Maui, Hawaii. The crashing waves evoke my imagination. I strive to take photos with droplets dancing in the air as the waves splash the rocks.