One Word Sunday: Meat/Meet

Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday’ this week, gives us a choice of ‘Meet’ or ‘Meat’.

I’m very fond of taking photos of memorable meals and remembered this outing to a restaurant in Johannesburg with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson, where we’d arranged to meet with two other friends. What a fun outing that was. The place was abuzz with chatter and laughter.

The burgers were a sight to behold and very delicious. Mine was chicken and bacon with lots of extras.

The others chose the more traditional beef burgers, but all contained meat.

I hope I haven’t made you feel hungry with my photos. Now, I’m just longing to go over to South Africa again and meet up with family and friends over a great meal.

Hope your Sunday is going well. If you’d like to join in Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday’, just click the link and post your meat/meet photos.

One Word Sunday: Lean

Debbie’s theme for this week’s ‘One Word Sunday’ is ‘Lean’.

My most obvious choice would be Italy’s world renowned ‘ Leaning Tower of Pisa’. This structure, begun in the 12th century is the free-standing bell tower of the cathedral complex in the medieval Tuscan town of Pisa. It stood upright for almost five years, but when construction was almost completed, because of the compaction of the dense clay on which its foundation was laid, the tower started to lean over to one side. Further work on it was halted for a hundred years, but since then more floors were added, which of course caused the tower to lean over even more. It’s quite a miracle that the tower is still standing and in 1987, the tower, the cathedral and the baptistry were together declared to be a ‘Unesco World Heritage Site’.

But how about this fun image of me in Punta Cana, exerting all my strength to hold up a leaning palm tree at the resort where we stayed? As you can see in the background, it wasn’t the only palm tree which looked as though it was about to fall over.

I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. To join in Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday’ just click the link.

One Word Sunday: Point

For Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday-Point’, I’ve chosen this image of the iconic Chrysler Building designed by William Van Alen, with its beautiful spire pointing straight up into the clear blue sky over Manhattan. Construction was started in 1928 and completed in 1930 and its Art Deco style has made it one of the most famous buildings in New York. The interior structure is made of steel and Van Alen’s ‘big surprise’ which was kept from the media and the public, was the secretly built 185 ft spire which only at the very last moment and to everyone’s amazement, was hoisted through the roof and bolted into place, making it at 1046 ft the world’’s tallest building. The following year, its height was surpassed by the Empire State Building, but today it is still the tallest brick-built skyscraper in the world.

To join ‘Debbie’s One Word Sunday’, just click the link.

I hope you’re all enjoying a relaxing weekend.

One Word Sunday: Simple

The theme for Debbie’s ‘ One Word Sunday’ is ‘Simple’. Just prior to the Covid19 pandemic which sent everyone scurrying for safety, we visited an art exhibition here in West Palm.There were so many interesting paintings and sculptures, but this one by Andy Warhol really caught my eye. I asked myself, “Why on earth would anyone paint a simple can of chicken noodle soup and a can opener?” More to the point, “Who would buy such a painting and where might they hang it?”

So I simply went to Google my good friend and educator, only to read that Mr Warhol, a little-known artist back in 1962, opened his first solo exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles with his thirty-two paintings consisting solely of images of cans of various flavours of Campbell’s soup. His painting method was quite simple in that he projected the image of a soup can onto his blank canvas, traced the outline and details, then carefully filled it in using old-fashioned brushes and paint. What could be simpler than that?

When asked why he painted soup cans, his simple explanation was that he liked soup and had eaten Campbell’s soup for lunch every day for twenty years. At first his soup can paintings were ridiculed, but when a few people began to show interest, they were bought as a set for $1000 to be paid over ten months, by the now legendary contemporary art dealer Irving Blum. In 1996 Warhol’s soup cans were recognized as museum-worthy art, by no less than The Museum of Modern Art, which bought the set of 32 paintings from Irving Blum for upwards of $15 million, not too shabby a return on the original selling price of $1000.

I wish you all a simply wonderful Sunday, especially all the loving mothers out there.

One Word Sunday: Wind

Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday-Wind” brought to mind our trip to Yellowstone. Driving through Montana one windy evening and just as twilight was falling, we arrived at the sight marking ‘Custer’s Last Stand’ at the battle of Little Bighorn which was fought in June 1876. Custer was leading the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Unit of only 210 men, when they were confronted by thousands of fierce Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. The battle lasted for less than an hour, at the end of which, General Custer and all of his men lay dead.

It was eerie feeling standing there looking out over the windswept plain and imagining the ferocious fighting which had taken place there.

The black-faced gravestone marks the place where General Custer fell.

To join in Debbie’s ‘One Word Sunday’ challenge, just click the link.