Life Update

 The summer just flew by this year. Life seems to get faster and faster. I am so grateful for my health which has allowed me to keep up. I will start with the negatives of the summer. Elijah suffered a very difficult depression this summer which has simmered down with three medications but is still ongoing. He was faced with crippling anxiety that crushed him. Unfortunately, when his probation period ended at the packing job he had, the boss let him go. He was somewhat relieved because it really wasn't a great fit. She micromanaged the very small business to an extreme degree. His stress level has made it impossible to get him back into the work force in the last 7 weeks or so. Instead, we have concentrated on driving. Dear husband took it over and they are driving 6 days a week. He is very close to taking the test and has made great progress in the past few months.  We are praying that this will help to build his confidence. 

The other negative is Rebekah's car died and we haven't yet found a replacement that will  meet her demanding travel needs. She is currently sharing Grandma's car. 

Rebekah has had a splendid summer. She went to multiple summer dance intensives and had a great experience with each and every one of them. She liked Sarasota and Joffery NYC the best. She was invited into the training program of Carolina Ballet in Raleigh, NC and Joffery NYC, but decided to decline the honor because they were tuition based. She did however accept a contract from Carolina Ballet Theater in Greenville, SC. She received an apprenticeship with this small ballet company and is stipend with ballet shoes. The commute is a grueling 1.5 hours each way ( with lots of construction and three highways with mountain driving) and she needs to travel it 3 to 5 times a week depending on rehearsals. However, she loves the company. She has lots of opportunities to perform on large and small stages. Her first performance is next weekend. Because it is a small company every one is very much needed and an apprentice gets to dance in every show right along side the fulltime company members. She even has some solo roles already. On top of  dancing, she is still plugging away at college and works with Tim two days a week. 

Rebekah in the dorms at Carolina Ballet in Raleigh

This Rebekah statue was stunning at the High Museum in Atlanta

David and I made a quick weekend trip down to Atlanta with Elijah  one weekend so that he could visit and online friend. It was a nice experience for him and David and I had a quick retreat of our own. We visited the High Museum and the Atlanta zoo. They were both delightful. 

My darling little nanny child is three now and off to preschool. I only see him occasionally now. His mother is pregnant though, so we might work out childcare for the new little one in the future. I am trying to figure out my life and what I want to do in the Spring. 

Tim and I went for an overnight to Duke for all of his cardiac appointments. We had a gap between appointments and went to the North Carolina Museum of Art. It was lovely and fun to get out and have  one on one trip with Tim. His appointments went well and he is good for another year of cardiac health. 

I will be posting about NYC separately. Our last hurrah of the Summer was an overnight trip to Atlanta to see Green Day. Elijah once again visited his online friend. Dear Husband was our great supporter and enjoyed his down time eating junk food in the hotel and watching the history channel and Tim, Rebekah and I went to the concert. It was great. Rebekah and I had about 6 hours of sleep in the hotel before we had to head out to get Rebekah back to Greenville for her ballet rehearsals. It was a whirlwind, but fun. 

One of her summer intensives was a contemporary studio and they did an photo shoot. She got some great shots for free. They were included in the intensive program. 

We are already racing into fall. I hope Elijah turns a happy corner in the next few weeks. 

Blessings, Dawn

Sarasota Florida - The Ringling Part III

 The Sarasota Ballet, where Rebekah was dancing, was right next door to The Ringling. I decided to buy the annual pass after looking at it online and seeing how much there was to do at the Ringling complex. I figured I was in Sarasota for two weeks (one week on my own during the day) and I didn't want to sit in a hotel room, but also didn't want to use lots of money shopping or on entertainment. The annual pass seemed like the perfect solution. It allowed me to go in as many times as I wished and see the art museum, two circus museums, the Ringling winter family home, walk the 20 acres of gardens and have access to a restaurant and a cafe with a discount on food. I was right. I went every day I was alone and twice with family. I became a regular that the check in staff recognized after a few days.  I never got bored either. I very much enjoyed my morning walk through the gardens visiting all of the wild life. There were hundreds of lizards and dozens of birds each morning. Then I would go through one of the museums. I visited the art museum several times. Then I would have a late  homemade lunch with a purchased ice tea from the cafe and sit and read my book for an hour or two until it was time to pick up Rebekah. It was a perfect solution to combat the heat and really take in the scenery. 

John and Mable's winter home ~ Ca' D' Zan

Art installation overlooking the bay.

Doesn't this pool look enticing. 

Banyan Tree

The roots on the Banyan tree are amazing. 

I sent a picture of this gazebo to my husband and told him I wanted one, LOL. I don't think one is forthcoming. 

The Ca' D ' Zan kitchen had two large Stoves.

I've noticed in famous vintage homes that the ceilings tend to be my favorite thing about them. The Ringling home did not disappoint. The following two pictures are of the ballroom ceiling which has the history of dancing painted on it. 

The art museum was stunning. There are 21 original galleries that opened in 1930 and several new galleries that hold modern and Asian art. One of the most amazing things about this museum is the five Rubens. They are 12 feet by 17 feet. They are colossal. Ruben only made 11 colossal paintings. The Ringling has five of them, the Louvre has two and the remaining four are thought to have been destroyed in a palace fire.  My pictures do not do them justice. They are stunning. 

One of the truly remarkable things about the Ringling museum is that it was always intended to be for the common man. John Ringling insisted that it always be free in his lifetime and he left in his will that it remain free for at least one day a week and it still is to this day. He did charge a large parking fee during his lifetime because he said if a person could afford a car during the Great Depression, they could afford to pay for parking to help the museum grow. 

I loved this atrium in the art museum. It was open to the sky which provided a constantly changing picture.

Life size replica of David in bronze.

Portrait by Velazquez

The above portrait by Velazquez is regarded as the most valuable painting in the museum by some experts. It is a painting that was transformed several times by Velazquez himself as Philip IV wanted to portray himself differently throughout his reign. If you look very closely at the knee in person, you can also see that Velazquez "signed" the work with a self portrait of himself. Court artists were not allowed to sign their works during that period. 

The other two museums at the Ringling are devoted to the circus. One holds many artifacts from the Ringling Circus including John Ringling's personal rail car. The other museum holds The Howard Brothers Circus Model. This is an impressive model that Howard Tibbals started building in 1965 and added to until April of 2021. It is 3,800 square feet and tells the story of the circus coming to town from pulling into the station, construction of the tents to the full show and breakdown late at night. It is truly a sight to see. 

looking down on one small part of it from the second story. 

The details are remarkable. 

The animal tent that the public could visit before the show. John Ringling felt this tent was about education since it was often the first time for people to see exotic animals such as lions and elephants. 

My own little circus girl in a clown car. 

I really enjoyed my time at the Ringling. It was well worth the money for the annual pass. It was a lovely way to pass the time and truly immerse myself in a world I knew very little about. 

Blessings, Dawn

Sarasota, Florida - Fireworks, Aquarium and Dali Part II

Rebekah had a two-week ballet intensive in Sarasota, Florida, and I went with her. My stepmother, Sue, came down for a few days. David and the boys flew down for a few days to Sarasota. 

Elijah has always loved art and Salvador Dali was one of his favorite artists as a child. We decided to go to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. I believe it is supposed to have one of the largest collections of his artwork in the world. It was okay as art museums go. Of the four art museums I have found myself in this summer, this was the most expensive and the most underwhelming. There really was only two galleries and a small room with student art. We didn't see a single melting clock painting, much to Rebekah's disappointment. It was just...blah, in my opinion.

I do think Elijah enjoyed it. 

Rebekah and I were on our own for the Fourth of July. We decided to go out a day early to a neighboring community that was doing a fieworks display. The weather was iffy for both days, but our chances of seeing fireworks seemed more likely on the 3rd. We parked at the mall to walk over and were greeted with a violent thunderstorm. We retreated to the mall and waited about an hour. It calmed down and we walked over to the festival that was going on before the fireworks. Our favorite thing was the free pineapple and watermelon -- there were tables full of fresh fruit, and the volunteers encouraged us to take as much as we wanted. Delicious!!

Rebekah found this fun t-shirt in a Sarasota thrift shop.

The fireworks were great. We had front row seats looking over the lake. The fireworks were called soft fireworks and were very quiet. The family of ducks on the lake were completely undisturbed during the show. 

The sunset was amazing, too. I will say this...Florida has some amazing sunsets. I would never want to live there...but the sunsets!

We spent one afternoon at the aquarium when the boys were in town. We saw some impressive sea creatures that you don't see often. They had two sea turtles and an adorable manatee. We also really enjoyed watching the giant crabs and otters. Both were putting on a show. We also enjoyed petting the cute little shark. 

Elijah communing with the lobster. They had a long conversation. 

My stepmother was hesitant; but in the end, she petted the shark. 

I am so glad that the guys got to join us for a few days. We really did have some fun times. The last part to our trip will be posted this weekend. 

Blessings, Dawn