Tag: coloring

Tidy Tidbits: Diversions

JWF 3 Comments

COLORING CRAZE CONTINUES

I knew that public libraries had signed on to the coloring craze for adults, but I was surprised to learn (thanks to my younger sister) that research libraries have joined in with a sort of challenge this week. Specifically, they are offering up images from their special collections for anyone to download and color, with the hope that the colorers will then upload their completed pages to Facebook or other social media with the hashtag #ColorOurCollections. Really nifty idea! It plays into the fascination with coloring and exposes a wider group of people to the treasures in these collections. Participating libraries include the organizer, New York Academy of Medicine, along with Biodiversity Heritage Library,  New York Public Library, Baylor University, University of North Carolina and several others. The contest ends February 5th, but I’d be willing to guess you can still find the PDFs after that date. Sharpen your pencils!

YOUNG MUSICIANS TO WATCH
We had the pleasure, and a pleasure it was, to see and hear sister and brother violist and violinist Elizabeth Beilman and Benjamin Beilman.  They are charming conversationalists and talented performers. Elizabeth was principal violist for the Sarasota Orchestra for two years and recently moved to Salt Lake City to join the Utah Symphony. She’s a graduate of Juilliard. Her brother, Benjamin, is part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is also pursuing a career as a soloist. He’s a graduate of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Since childhood, they have played together many times and were totally in sync in the several lovely duets they offered us.

It was interesting to hear Elizabeth say that while she initially played violin into high school (beginning at age 5), she ultimately found the viola more to her liking and more intellectually stimulating. Both of them enjoy playing chamber music and stressed how important it was both there and in an orchestra to be very aware of the other players. I also learned that Elizabeth filled in for a violist in Maine one summer at the Bay Chamber series in Rockport (concerts I have enjoyed) which solidified her switch to viola and brought her a very noted teacher.

EATING AROUND
We’ve recently tried two new (new to us) restaurants for lunch, one in Sarasota and the other in Bradenton. Duval’s in downtown Sarasota specializes in seafood and offers a number of tasty and inexpensive lunchtime specials, including a soup/salad/half sandwich option. I sampled the Caesar salad and turkey sandwich (a very large half on a baguette) and my spouse devoured his gazpacho and Caesar salad. Service was friendly and swift, especially considering how busy they were. Good thing I made a reservation!

We also met friends at the Bradenton outpost of Cedar Reef Fish Camp. Located in a strip mall not far from an I-75 exit, but decorated as befits its name, it was perfect for the Pennsylvanians en route to Captiva and surprisingly delicious! Two of us had the daily special of cedar planked salmon (served with rice and some sautéed squash and red peppers) and the others enjoyed the crab cake sandwich and the fish and chips. If it were closer to home, we’d eat there more often!

Header image:  Page from Color Me Stress-Free

Tidy Tidbits: Pastimes

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Happy 2016!  I’ve now been blogging regularly for a year and hope that my readers have enjoyed the journey.  This week is a grab bag of a new diversion, a play, a new restaurant and a book.

COLORING CRAZE

When the Wall St. Journal publishes an article about adults coloring, you know this fad has traction.  Public libraries are offering coloring activities for adults, and coaches and therapists offer coloring workshops as stress relievers.  If you search Amazon for “adult coloring books,” the result is a whopping 11,000+ titles.  Narrowing the search to just “best sellers” in that category nets 673 books. Topics for coloring range from mandalas, butterflies and flowers to cities, undersea creatures, and all sorts of abstract designs.  We’ll see how long this fad lasts; one forecaster said connect-the-dots would be next, but that sounds dull in comparison.

Time for a confession:  I succumbed to this craze.  I like playing with color, yet lack the artistic talent possessed by my sisters—one paints watercolors, the other has taken up sketching from nature—so coloring intricate abstract patterns or flower designs with markers and pens is my thing.  For Christmas, I received three coloring books, all different, along with micro-line pens and fine point colored markers.  The books include Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden (one of the biggest sellers in the U.S. by the artist who was an early proponent of coloring for adults), Color Me Stress-Free (not that I consider myself stressed in retirement!), and Four Seasons:  A Coloring Book.  I’ve only just started adding color to these pages but so far I find it relaxing, addictive and just plain fun!

THEATER

View from the Bridge.  This Arthur Miller play now on in New York was new to me.  I probably should have read it before attending the performance, but since seeing it I have.  The staging is spare, only an enclosed arena-like space with clear benches on three sides and a doorway into the house on the other side, with no scene changes and virtually no props.  The space functions seemingly as both indoor and outdoor space and all the action from the opening scene of two longshoremen showering and getting dressed after work to the final one of everyone piled together takes place here. A lawyer acts as Greek chorus and roams around mostly outside the arena, except when he is actively engaging with longshoreman Eddie inside the square.

The play focuses primarily on Eddie’s all-consuming relationship with his niece Katie, but there are also issues surrounding immigration and the threats presented by “the other” with the arrival of his wife’s cousins from Italy and their aspirations to have a better life as American citizens.  Powerful and moving.  I found that the stripped down set forced me to concentrate on the dialogue.

NYC RESTAURANT FIND

This new place was so good I almost hate to share it. Prompted by Pete Wells’ (NY Times restaurant critic) inclusion of Santina on his list of best new restaurants of the year, I booked for lunch.  Around the corner from the Whitney Museum, it’s an attractive, but packed that day, window-walled space.   I would call the cuisine neo-Italian and the standout dish for us was squash carpaccio.  Layers of thin slices of caramelized delicata and butternut squash were topped with agrodolce and honey, a sprinkle of herbs, and tiny dabs of mascarpone cheese.  Beautiful to look at and a wonderful assemblage of flavors.  Second place goes to the paper thin chickpea pancakes that can be rolled up around your choice of funghi, avocado mash or other options.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Sous Chef:  24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney.  If you’re a foodie and you want to better understand what goes on in the kitchen behind the swinging door, then you’ll be caught up in Gibney’s fast-paced narrative.  Covering an entire day from early morning through the after-closing wind down,  Gibney delivers an energetic account of kitchen procedures, politics, and personalities from Chef (the top dog) down the line to the dishwasher.  Who does what when, how dishes are timed, and how a group of folks with disparate styles must work together as a team to feed you, the diner.  Fascinating!

Header photo: Page from Secret Garden colored by yours truly