FRIDAY 14TH AUGUST

The clouds above us join and separate,
The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns;
Life is like that, so why not relax?
Who can stop us from celebrating? (Lu You 1125-1210)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-


“Wang Xizhi” by the Chinese painter Qian Xuan (1235-1305)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Three more of my haiku -

sketching the roses -
time and time again falling
petals change my view

a speck of yellow
among the blue wild flowers -
one small buttercup

sunny afternoon -
the fish and their shadows make
the pond seem crowded

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Debussy played by Jascha Heifetz and Emanual Bay



-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou are gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.
(Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Finally, someone has put together this slide show of 44 paintings by a number of 19th century artistes. The whole thing lasts 6 minutes and 44 seconds, but it's well worth watching.



-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-