My Town Friday Shoot-out – My Favorite Color

I have been wondering how to pick my favorite color – rich Italian red or Soft pastels – or royal purple, bright yellow of spring flowers – peach and mauve of a late sunset or the reflective gold of a sunrise. All color, if in the right texture, can be my favorite. I think I actually see in color more than in shape or size. So to pick one color, I looked in my closet and through my drawers – they are dominated by Turquoises and purples of all shades – so if I have to pick, I will call my favorite color Turquoise. Turquoise comes in so many variations. If we were talking about the stones, the variations run from the deep clear blue of Indian stones to the nearly green turquoise from the American Southwest. Now to tie these colors to Houston, Texas which is My Town this week.

A couple days ago I wrote about visiting downtown Houston and the beautiful lines and colors I found there. The blue sky reflecting in the glass of a new building was almost the shade of the Indian turquoise. But what really caught my attention was the Margo Sawyer sculptures in red /orange and in turquoise / blues. Just to prove that this is the color that draws my eye – I took photos of the red but walked around, and around again looking at all the hidden corners and doors of the turquoise one. The door into the stairwell is just the right color and down at the bottom – another turquoise door.

See the lights on the stairwell walls – it is from clever little windows set into the exterior panels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I drove around running my little errands, I notice many uses of the color turquoise dotted across the city; the awnings for the Mexican food restaurants is common. Downtown – down the street from the convention center the new Minute Maid stadium uses turquoise liberally as its accents.

Inside the convention center the HUGE supports have lighting that creates a rainbow of colors – including hews of turquoise.

and for today – the interior, second floor of the convention center Hilton the same colors of the stadium is used to create soft and comfortable space to relax with business associates or friends before retiring to your room.

Downtown Houston

On Saturday and Sunday, Patty and I, and Marissa were downtown at the George R Brown convention center for a volleyball tournament. I am not the best spectator – I prefer to be in the middle of the action. Remember my complaints about the bloco during carnival in Friburgo – the time spent sitting and waiting? I enjoyed watching Marissa play, she is super energetic and right in the middle of the game but to sit for 6 hours is just beyond my abilities to chill out. I had to get out every hour or so and walk around. With my camera. I didn’t do any people watching, just enjoyed the colors and the architectural lines of the buildings.

George R Brown Convention Center – built in 1987 and expanded in 2001 – the convention center was dubbed by one of the local artsy papers as the least photogenic building in the downtown area. I would disagree. I took photos inside and out and if I knew what I was doing might have gotten some really good photos.

Discovery Green park – The last time I was at the convention center for a – convention – across the street was a large – ugly – concrete parking lot. Now there is a green area with ponds and fountains and restaurants – benches and walking paths –even with it being the tail end of winter it was beautiful and had hundreds of families enjoying the outdoors and the bright sunlight. Under – yes Brazilians read this – under the park is a car park for upwards of 600 cars. Isn’t that clever – and all day event parking is only $10.00.

The best of all, a 151 paneled, 1500 aluminum boxes in 65 colors ‘Synchronicity’ designed by artist Margo Sawyer, which is actually the cover to the stairwells down into the parking garage. I will show the other one in a second post…. This was the highlight of my day…. no seeing Marissa’s team win second place was the BEST.

Hilton Americas-Houston - Attached by a walkway on the southern end of the convention center is the new convention-center Hilton. I don’t mean to advertise this hotel chain, I don’t have a clue of the pricing or the value but the inside of the building is beautiful. In two areas are chandeliers made of what looks like blown glass. While I was there wondering around with my camera (I am sure that they wouldn’t have let me take photos if anyone had been paying attention) I kept thinking this is a concept in line and color and light …. My eye was just pleased by the spaces I saw inside and out of the convention center Houston.

Its spring!

There is no doubt in my mind that it is spring here in Texas. In the shade it is cool, the breeze which is more than a breeze but less then a wind, is cool and the sun is HOT. The trees are blooming and there is sign of our famous azaleas are beginning to bloom.

My new header photo was taken in Friburgo, this green orchid a gift from a friend for my birthday. In Brazil it is the habit to bring flowers to the hostess no matter what the occasion - I think it a great habit, don't you? I took the photo in my kitchen - not optimum apparently but I wanted the yellow walls to be the background and didn't check the shots before leaving last Thursday, they were all blurred. I need a tripod.

On Thursday this week, I drove downtown to have lunch with the girls at the office.....and stopped for a moment at Memorial park to see what was happening..... Spring is in the air.

 

 

My town FSO - Wrought Iron

This week I arrived in Houston for a month with my daughter and her family. Normally when in Houston I have done the week’s shoot-out here. But last week while in Friburgo, I took some photos just for this shoot out and had a planned story.
When I left Friburgo on Wednesday last week I packed my computer bag and at the last minute decided to leave my external drive = my photo archives = my new way of keeping photos I’ve taken for future topics in neat little folders. I thought it is just too much work to haul everything all around airports, to lift the computer bag full of wires, and stuff up into the overhead bins, ‘I’ll just leave it here.’ Completely forgoting about my new filing system ….
Without my photos from Friburgo I had to begin looking here for interesting wrought iron…. nothing, nothing, nothing. Today I remembered that I had forwarded several shots to my photo subject…. and that if I found that email I would have photos to use. I found those 6 plus have a few extras pulled from prior posts. So here is my story, however abbreviated....
In the Friburgo area, wrought iron is used as decoration and as security for doors and windows. It decorates the walls inside and outside of homes, it is used for tables and for chairs. I suppose this is not much different than other towns, what I find unusual here in Brazil, and especially in Nova Friburgo, is that you can go to any number of stores (lojas) that sell these items made right there on site, and if you don’t find what you want, the right size, the right shape – just what you want, you can speak directly to the ferreiro and ask to have something made.
We have a headboard (no photo) in the master bedroom where I took in an ad from a magazine from the States and two weeks later had just what I wanted installed in the room. We had a small corner in the apartment in Rio that needed a small table – which we drew a picture with measurements and after buying a special cut piece of glass – had a just right, small table filling the space. (in the back corner)

I thought that you might enjoy seeing this process…. now you have to realize that most of my photos are in Friburgo – I am sorry that I was not able to show you a complete process…. I will do this in April after returning home. I promise!
For now meet a modern day artisan and his beautiful daughter who runs the store. They very generously let me wonder around and take photos and I thank them ……

Reflections past and present and other thoughts

Today the sun is shining and the birds are singing in Rio  -  today is my birthday.  60.  Do you remember when you heard your grandmother or your mother was 60 and you thought, ‘that's so old’.  Well let me tell you it isn’t.  I would say that it is just as confusing to be 60 as it was at 16, 20 or 40.  I would say that in every decade there is a new set of thoughts and feeling to be conquered, to be understood.   

I would say that this past year was one of the hard ones.  I lost my one very best friend.  I fought the gain of excess pounds, diet and exercise, diet and exercise – eating, sneaking chocolates, baking cookies, did I say eating – diet and exercise, diet and exercise just to end the year where I started – 156 lbs with a slightly different distribution.   I have begun to see white hair mixed with my dirty blond, the hair is thinner and the cut I have always worn no longer works – what to do with that?  Do I go to color?  Permanents which Camillo hates?  My skin is now definitely wrinkled.   Years of outdoor work and play in the sun, has left my skin as an old lady’s skin, with trips to the dermatologist at least every 4 months to remove spots, and scales and other odd looking stuff from face, arms and chest; a fortune in moisture and other anti-aging junk bought and used.

And this year I seemed to question just what I want the next 40 years to be like.  When you’re 20 or even 40 you don’t have these questions – this feeling of uncertainty, fear of making the wrong choices, of desperation that time is too short are all new feelings.  Feeling to be conquered – to be understood.

A jump to a slightly new topic – Last week after the churrasco two American women and I were chatting.  The youngest of the three of us was talking about her father, comments he would make and the resulting feeling of insecurity she has.  The older woman says ‘I don’t ever let things people say upset me. It is their problem if they don’t like me’ or something of that order.  She an only child, adored by her father, growing up with supreme confidence – a strong ego.  While the younger woman and I, both from large families – not the oldest not the youngest of many -  both with critical fathers, both with apparently low to non-existent egos.  I say this – that I have problems speaking in large groups, that I often find myself shy and unsure.  This very self assured woman laughs and says – “you could have fooled me – none of this showed today.”  I am astounded, it feels like a light switch was thrown.  This is the first time she has met me, she sees me moving from group to group at the churrasco, making sure everyone is served, they have what they need, that they have someone to talk to at all times, doing a little dance now and then when the music moves me ….. seeming supremely self assured – confident.  I was thinking later after everyone was gone – is that women she saw who I am now….? Did she see the real me, have I moved away from the other person, have I lost that little girl somewhere along the way.  Has this life in Brazil metamorphosed me (not sure this is a real word but it communicates the right feeling), without me knowing it?  Has surviving in this foreign land helped me in ways I would never have suspected?  To learn to communicate even without good language skills, to know I can take a bus or a plane OR a taxi any place I want to in this land of the Portuguese language.  Out of boredom deciding to take spinning classes and BOXING lessons – using what is available to me in this life instead of pining for what WAS at home – has this changed me into a supremely confident person?  (maybe a reach but is possible)  These are the question in front of me on the first day of my 61st year.   

Today I would say yes to these question – without realizing the difference I am no longer that girl.  This is the benefit to sixty years of learning.  This is a change that happens with time, with experience, with age.