"Keeping it Sweet..."

...today's "Fancy Full Heart"

was inspired

by a trip to Vienna I took, solo, a lifetime ago.

My heart is indelibly adorned

with dreams of "Apfelstrudel mit Schlag*"

and

flowering gardens with wild peacocks,

and

the images of the instantly intoxicating cafe life

of this elegant, magical city.

Vienna had it all for me...

a powerful, poignant history, extravagant palaces,

graceful parks, meandering streets,

captivating architecture,

scrumptious culinary delights,

wineries, forests, old railway stations,

surprises around every corner,

and

hearty, generous people.

She was my launching pad for a summer filled with

alpine adventure.

She is one of my most favorite places to be...

maybe, because she played such an

important part in my

personal "coming of age" process

all those years ago.

My only regret about Vienna...

and

that exuberant, carefree summer of travel...

was I met her during my pre sketchbook life...

which, honestly, in reality,

I cannot believe ever existed. :)

Psst...JGL...

at the time, this was that "big trip" that found ME...;)

♥

“All journeys have secret destinations

of which the traveler

is unaware.”
~Martin Buber

♥

*Warm apple strudel with hand beaten whipped cream...

definitely something from heaven above...:)

"A Fantasy Trip To Catalonia..."

...and beautiful Barcelona, Spain

was the inspiration

behind this "Fancy Full Heart" for today.

Barcelona is filled with rich historic footprints.

One legend

actually speaks of the founding of Barcelona

by the mythical Hercules

some 400 years

before the building of Rome itself!

Barcelona

is filled with deep Medieval influences as well.

Catalan modernisme architecture

(often known as Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe),

developed here between 1885 and 1950

and

left an important legacy in Barcelona.

A great number

of her buildings are World Heritage Sites.

Barcelona

is the showcase city of the architect Gaudi

and

his famous church Sagrada Família.

When I was little, one of my best friend's dad

was an architect in Chicago.

Among other things, he designed churches.

As a special treat

my friend and I would go with him to his office

on weekends.

I was a paradise to me.

It was filled with industrial sized drafting tables

and pencils and pens and fancy rulers.

Simply,

it was a luscious, lavish banquet of art supplies.

I decided then...

that I would be an architect when I grew up.

But...that was never to be.

Maybe that is why

I am so fascinated by Barcelona. ♥ :)

Barcelona is also a city of energetic night life.

I think

she would probably also suit me well

as I can

usually be found late night...

into in the wee hours of the morning...

sketching, painting, and unknowingly greeting

the next day.

I also love the evocative allure of

Barcelona's passionate flamenco dancers...

rose in hand...shoes beating wildly.

I love

her gentile mantilla clad ladies.

I love

her motherly nurturing

of Picasso as a young and talented artist

so much so, that it is said

he regarded her in times of sadness or nostalgia

as his true home.

Ahhh! What a city of legendary art, and artists,

and architecture...

what a lovely lasting gift and legacy.

May we each be so fortunate

to be so well loved,

so well regarded, and so well

remembered in the pages of history.

Maybe, we should each

start to refresh and refine and polish

our personal, family, and life legacies now.

♥

"The legacy we leave

is not just in our possessions,

but

in the quality of our lives.

What preparations should we be making now?

The greatest waste in all of our earth,

which

cannot be recycled or reclaimed,

is our waste of the time that God has given us

each day.”
~Billy Graham

"I Left My Heart..."

...in San Francisco...

High on a hill, it calls to me...

to be where

little cable cars climb halfway to the stars!

The morning fog may chill the air...

I don't care!

My love waits there...in San Francisco

above the blue and windy sea.

When I come home to you,

San Francisco,

your golden sun will shine for me!
~George Cory and Douglass Cross

1954

♥

Ahhh...the jewel that inspired this song

was in turn

the inspiration for today's

Fancy Full Heart:

the beautiful, elegant, Victorian, storied,

cosmopolitan, laid back,

wild and crazy city of San Francisco.

This day...

may you find a special song in your heart

that sings of

treasured memories too!

And remember,

always...

“If you're going to San Francisco,

be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”
~J. B. Phillips

♥

"Ancient Greece..."

...was my inspiration for this Fancy Full Heart.

I am a lover of ancient history...

from Prehistoric times up through

the Ancient Greeks.

I love all the art,

the architecture, the mythologies...

the unexplained mysteries...

the romantic legends, poems and stories.

I am fascinated by it all.

I enjoy imagining I am an archaeologist

out in the field uncovering wonders of the past...

no matter

whether it be a broken pottery shard,

or a bit of an arrowhead,

or a royal tomb...

to me they are found treasure...keys to the past-

they excite my heart!

Ancient history has bestowed upon us

a lavish bounty of gifts to enjoy

and

powerful lessons to learn.

We must remember to be thankful for it all.

This gilded heart

celebrates the best of the golden ages

of those special peoples who came before us...

their pinnacles of art and learning...

their triumphs, discoveries...

and

their positive influences on modern society.

♥
“Difference between savage and civilized man:

one is painted, the other gilded.”
~Mark Twain

"Haat Cha!...Cha, Cha, Chaaa...!"

Inspired...

by the very heartbeat of life itself...

the delta city of New Orleans, Louisiana

pulsates non stop

with expressive tones of jazz

and spicy flavors of syncopated rhythms.

These life forces run through the veins

of her resilient residents

and have mesmerized visitors from afar.

Day or night there is color and festivity and

exuberance...
very much
like another grand city even further south...
South America to be exact.
Rio!
Almost instantly,
images of swagger, and shimmy, and
hypnotic swaying, and outlandish costumes
captivate imaginations
and fill hearts with the zest of Carnival!
♥
My "Fancy Full Hearts" for today
celebrate man's ongoing romance with Music.
From her classical, subdued melodies
to her improvisational jazzy riffs...
we celebrate her!
From her soft, subconscious, toe tapping gentility
to her euphoric, primal, driving beats...
we celebrate her!
For her ability to addict our spirits
with exhilaration and intoxicating freedom
and
to magically dress our persona
with
swagger, sway, sauciness, and shimmy
we celebrate her...
with the fullest...of hearts...:)
♥
Haat Cha!~ Cha Cha Chaaa!

"Music
produces a kind of pleasure
which human nature cannot do without”
~Confucius

"Joie de Vivre..."

Inspired by the romantic city of Paris, France

my Muse

set out to fill this heart to the very brim

with

a certain "je ne sais quoi":

romance, artful lines, light, classical elegance,

and a lavish dose of

"joie de vivre."

May your heart also be filled to overflowing with

the joys of life you find everyday

all around you.

♥
"If you are lucky enough

to have lived in Paris as a young man,

then wherever you go for the rest of your life,

it stays with you,

for Paris is a moveable feast."

~Ernest Hemingway

"Introducing..."

..."Fancy Full Hearts"

my annual Valentine series for this year.

This heart evokes the spirit of the desert southwest...
during

its bright and colorful sun-filled days...

and

during its cool, velvety, magical nights.

You are invited to join me this entire week

as each day I will travel

with a fancy and full heart

and celebrate

the spirit and magic of beautiful locations

worldwide.

♥
“Experience, travel -

these are as education in themselves.”
~Euripides