Samantha Taylor Needlepoint NewsDecember
2002 Visit the > Needlepoint
Section of Our Website - Happy Holidays! We hope you visit us in San
Diego - look for Potpourri, Etc. Booths 628 - 630 - 632
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NEWS FROM SPAIN Please Visit > Needlepoint Kits |
NEWS FROM SPAIN Spain. Poised between Europe and Africa - this proud - passionate - hauntingly beautiful land bewitches more visitors than any other country on earth. Glittering beaches - bullfights - fiestas and tragic gypsy music have become the source of travelers´ legends - yet beyond the sun soaked resorts and dramatic spectacles lies another Spain of tranquil fishing villages and windswept castles - and still another - brand-new Spain of avant-garde nightlife - modern cafés and inexhaustible vitality. The days are too short now to truly enjoy a trip - so - until this changes - we will spend our free time exploring Madrid. In the 1920s it was Paris - in the 1960s London - but Madrid seems to have been designated the stylish European capital of the end of the 20th century. There is much to tell you about Madrid - so we will only describe the Royal Palace this visit.
The Royal Chapel, showing the dome ceiling. It
is almost impossible to describe how large - opulent and beautiful
this palace is. It was constructed between 1738 and 1755 and
became the residence of Carlos III in 1764. Inhabited until 1941 -
the palace is now only used by the Royal family for state occasions. An informative Site about The Royal Palace of Madrid.
It is interesting the different personalities cats have. By our experience - they all have a unique character - you never find one quite the same as the other. As T.S. Eliot remarked "The great thing about cats is that they possess two qualities to an extreme degree - dignity and comicality". "I am glad you have a cat" - TSE wrote to his godson - Tom Faber - on 20th of January 1931 - "but I do not believe it is so remarkable a cat as My cat ... " If you have time - re read the Old Possum´s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Elliot - or listen to his poems interpreted by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the Musical titled - CATS. "But when the day´s hustle and bustle is done - Then the Gumbie´s Cat´s work is but hardly begun. And when the family´s in bed and asleep - She tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep. She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice - Their behavior´s not good and their manners not nice - so when she has got them lined up on the matting - She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting." - The Old Gumbie Cat
Our Favorite Recipes (and Restaurants). Sobrino de Botín (Madrid) - Since 1725 - this restaurant has been celebrated for its roast suckling pig - prepared in a 200-year-old tile oven. Hemingway mentions it in The Sun Also Rises. The roast Segovian lamb is equally delectable. There is little subtlety of flavor here-only food prepared by time-tested recipes that have appealed to kings as well as Castilian peasants. The aromas waft clear across Madrid's old town.
Restaurant Sobrino de Botín is reportedly the oldest operating restaurant in Europe having been established in the 17th century in an old house that was built in the 15th century.
As
you know - in the winter the days are short and the Sun - low in the
sky - produces the shortest day of the year - the winter solstice.
This is the day when the Sun is the lowest in the southern sky. Each day after the winter solstice, which occurs on December 21st, the Sun's path becomes a little higher in the southern sky. The Sun also begins to rise closer to the east and set closer to the west until we reach the day when it rises exactly east and sets exactly west. This day is called the equinox. In the spring we have the Spring Equinox about March 21st. There is also a Fall Equinox on September 21st. Many - many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root - an ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration.
A side view of the trilithon horseshoes at Stonehenge An utterly astounding array of ancient cultures built their greatest architectures -- tombs - temples - cairns and sacred observatories -- so that they aligned with the solstices and equinoxes. Many of us know that Stonehenge is a perfect marker of both solstices. More about Stonehedge
Take a few minutes - or more - and call a good friend. Do not mention a thing about what is bothering you. Listen. Take another few minutes. Look up at the sky - enjoy the spectacle of a single bird in flight. Now - another few minutes and enjoy asking a person in need if you may help them. The world is moving too fast. Are we truly a superior society? 1,000 years from now - How will others define our perishable chips and speed? In Spain - we live amongst standing symbols of the past. The Caves of Altamira - (for example) - host sophisticated paintings dating 15,000 years ago.
Take a few minutes and put all of this in order - do not waste time thinking about your problems - there are too many more important things to do! Read about the past - learn where you came from and where you are going. Contribute to changing what is not good. Above all - stop saying - I do not have time.
We Love to Hear from Our Friends.
Please write to us. If you like we will publish your correspondence in our next newsletter and web site. Tell us about yourself - your needlepoint "addiction" - what you would like us to add or remove from our newsletters ... or any of your favorite anecdotes! If you prefer to remain anonymous be sure to include this at the end of your note. Just click below and write - it is that simple. Take some time. samantha_taylor@jvoichdesigns.com
*How
delightful to get your news letter on my computer this morning. I
look forward to exploring your web page. Here it is windy, cold and
dry as winter comes. I stitch and sell needlepoint (among other things)
in my store in Wheatland Wyoming.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE - Rustle - left - - soon after we received this note. A two year old - victim of cancer. We are very sorry.
Sent to us from a Friend in Connecticut - please read this - it is very funny: Single black female *The following ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal:
I'll
be at the front door when you get home from work - wearing only what ___
A gift is a wonderful exchange - both ways - giving and receiving. We enjoy both immensely and, for this reason ...
... we would like you to have a Samantha Taylor 2003 Calendar for your desk. To receive our gift - please e-mail us - requesting the calendar and your mailing address: samantha_taylor@jvoichdesigns.com Now, do not feel pressured to make a decision, we will be offering this gift throughout January, to give you time to make the proper choice - yes or no - please think about this seriously.
*Di me de que presume - y te diré de que carece* *Tell me what he brags about - and I will tell you what he lacks* This saying is often used in Spain to define a person who is not humble - or who is a hypocrite. This saying is used when a person tells you ( for example ) how honest he is - or what a good person he is. They prefer to see the act and not hear one brag about it! This is all for now. ˇHasta Pronto!... and Thank You for taking the time to read this.
View all of Our Needlepoint News - I August 2002 I September 2002 I Oct. - Nov. 2002 I December 2002 I Jan. - March 2003 I April - June 2003 l July - August 2003 I September 2003 l October 2003 l News - November - December 2003 l January 2004 l February 2004 l March 2004 l August 2005 l October 2005 - [ News ]
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