Presenting: The Fall Art Show
Hanging the Show
The curatorial team of Peter Sibley, Philip Monteleoni, and Linda Edwards (on the walls) and Carol Monteleoni and and Sarah Plimpton (in the vitrine) started reviewing the chosen art a few days before the show to identify best placements. Then came the hanging . . .
The Show in a Festive Mood
Music by Shelley Robinson
The Art . . . and the Artists—or Some of Them
Want to see more? Go to Robert Fulton, first floor, right off the bridge and follow onward to the front door.
Photos by Carolyn Reiss
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Grow Old Along With Me . . .
Profound advice and observations for our Kendal Years . . .
Never sing in the shower! Singing leads to dancing, dancing leads to slipping and slipping leads to paramedics seeing you naked.
I see people about my age mountain climbing. I feel good getting my leg through my underwear without losing my balance.
So if a cow doesn’t produce milk, is it a milk dud or an udder failure?
I’m at that age where my mind still thinks I’m 29, my humor suggests I’m 12, while my body mostly keeps asking if I’m sure I’m not dead yet.
You don’t realize how old you are until you sit on the floor and then try to stand back up.
We all get heavier as we get older because there’s a lot more information in our heads. That’s my story and I'm sticking to it.
Contributed by Beverly Aisenbrey
When One Door Shuts, Another Opens . . . After a While
The FDR closed its metaphoric doors on October 25 in anticipation of a Refresh-ing experience. Ruth Dinowitz and friends gave it a proper send-off . . .
. . . complete with party horns (yes, that’s what they’re called—we looked it up in Wikipedia)
Jorge, as ever, the perfect host
The final order goes in
I Never Knew That
Leonardo da Vinci May Have Painted Two Versions of the Mona Lisa
Smiling at viewers from behind a glass enclosure at Paris’ Louvre Museum, the Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous painting in the world. But is it possible that this one-of-a-kind Renaissance masterpiece from Leonardo da Vinci is actually two of a kind? That’s the stance of the Mona Lisa Foundation, which holds that another version of the 16th-century painting, often known as the Isleworth Mona Lisa, portrays a younger depiction of the sitter from approximately a decade earlier.
Isleworth Mona Lisa
Deriving its name from an owner of the painting based in Isleworth, England, the Isleworth Mona Lisa largely remained out of the public eye until being unveiled in Geneva, Italy, amid a 2012 publicity push from the Mona Lisa Foundation. Beyond the resemblance between the older and younger subject, the foundation points to the results of examinations that indicate both artworks were from the hand of the same artist. Historical evidence also suggests the existence of more than one Mona Lisa, as the painting was recorded among the possessions of Leonardo’s servant in 1525 despite having been sold to French King Francis I seven years earlier.
While the double-version theory has its supporters in the art world, others are hesitant to make a definitive connection. For one thing, the Isleworth Mona Lisa was rendered on canvas, while Leonardo mainly painted on wood. There are also numerous copies of the Mona Lisa to be found, including one that was apparently painted alongside the original by one or more of Leonardo’s apprentices. And then there’s the matter of the objectivity of the Mona Lisa Foundation, which was formed by the international consortium that owns the Isleworth Mona Lisa, to prove the painting’s authenticity. With the artist silent on the topic of this iconic artwork through his surviving journals, it’s likely that the question of whether he did indeed produce two versions will remain as much of a mystery as the subject’s enigmatic smile.
Source: historyfacts.com
Contributed by Jane Hart
For Your Funny Bone
Contributed by Barbara Wallach
Contributed by Barbara Wallach
Contributed by Donald Butt
Art by Hart
Out of the glare of the New York City Marathon, a certain hare and tortoise were at it again
Everyone in Dr. Turtle’s waiting room had a 10:10 appointment
Zelman’s big break was his role as a scoop of coffee ice cream in Banana Split
Ms. Prink had a habit of dreaming upside down
The Bledsoes found the new super-duper shopping mall underwhelming
Art and photos by Jane Hart
Eternal Forest, by Sheila Benedis
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
In and Around Kendal
October Kendal Birthdays
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
A Presidential Visit to Rockwood Park?
Carolyn Reiss and Allie were strolling through our neighboring park when what should they spy but the presidential limo—complete with insignia. They looked around for secret service and golf clubs, but saw none. What was going on?!
Presidential Seal
Turns out an episode of the Netflix show The Diplomat is being filmed there November 18 and 19, with the helicopter and the whole shebang. Who knew?
Photos by Carolyn Reiss
Autumn Comes to Rockwood Park
Reaching to the skies, by Edward Kasinec
Photo by Ed Lannert
Out and About
Anticipating Winter’s Frosty Blasts
Joe Bruno sent news from Quebec, where folks really know winter. Joe ventured into a department store and discovered how Canadian gentlemen prepare for winter temperatures—right down to their skivvies . . .
Photo by Joe Bruno
Easy-Going Sightseeing in Bentonville, Arkansas
Barbara and Al Wallach found sightseeing easy in Bentonville, Arkansas . . . when grandson Sebastian is available, that is.
Kendal Trip to the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden
Adventurous Kendalites recently traveled to The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden, in North Salem, NY, a museum with Japanese art and a 3.5-acre Japanese stroll garden.
Museum grounds photos by Bob Abramovitz
Phelps’ Serenity Garden Debuts. . . Hmmmm
Photo by Edward Kasinec
Weekly Construction Report
During the weeks of October 27 and November 3:
Continuation of framing, HVAC, and electrical on the T-Level and C-Level
REMINDER—Main Kitchen, Formal Dining Room, and Transition Area will be closing the week of October 27 and starting the transition over to the temporary kitchen.
Icon's New Bulletin Board
Need a ride? Have theater tickets you can’t use? Looking for new dentist? Need to borrow a spring bake pan?
Did you know that you can use ICON’s Bulletin Board feature to reach out to Kendal residents with such practical questions? It’s easy to do.
Check the ICON Menu (left side of the ICON screen).
Scroll down to and click on Bulletin Board. You’ll see a listing of “topics.”
Click on the small “New Topic” box (on the far right directly over the Topic list). A new screen appears.
Give your message a brief name in the “Topic Subject” space. In the “Description” box right below it add your question.
All finished? Just click the small green “Create” box in the far right side beneath the “Description” box. As simple as that.
Give it try!
With thanks to Mimi Abramovitz for this advice.
Raising the Roof
The Big Day came—and so did the Big Crane. The Terrace Room got its roof and Res Web’s photojournalists got the pictures.
The Day Before—and the photojournalist Gerry Mahoney asks, “Are we building an ark?” Well, it does look like it might rain . . .
Ah ha! Not an ark at all . . .
Photo by Philip Monteleoni
Ready to receive the new roof as the sun sets on the day
Photo by Ellen Ottstadt
The next day begins . . .
It began in the early morning: Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane. No! It’s the Super Crane!
Photo by Edward Kasinec
The crowd awaits . . .
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Photojournalist Harry Bloomfeld takes over
With the frame in place, now comes the “filler”
Ready on the grid
That section’s done . . .
Philip Monteleoni helps out as the first section is completed. . .
What next?
And Harry Bloomfeld picks it up from there . . .
Steady as she goes . . .
The beginning of the end . . . of the beginning
Revelry Redux
Last week featured two amazing events: Oktoberfest and the Spelling Bee. Res Web documented both, but since then we’ve received a few more for the memory book:
First off: Oktoberfest—in motion, no less! With thanks to Ellen Ottstadt for the video.
And now a reminder of the thrills and spills of the Spelling Bee:
Not only were the spellers there, so was the audience! The house was packed!
And the winning team was delighted!
Grow Old Along With Me
Profound advice and observations for our Kendal Years . . .
Continued from last week . . .
It’s weird being the same age as old people.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be older . . . this is not what I expected.
Life is like a helicopter. I don’t know how to operate a helicopter either.
It’s probably my age that tricks people into thinking I’m an adult.
Marriage Counselor: Your wife says you never buy her flowers. Is that true?
Me: To be honest, I never knew she sold flowers.
Continued next week . . .
Contributed by Beverly Aisenbrey
I Never Knew That
13 Thrilling Facts We Bet You Didn’t Know About Halloween
By Isabelle
Get your adrenaline pumping in a haunted house, carve pumpkins by the bonfire and eat your yearly allotment of candy in one sitting. It’s easy to see why Halloween is one of the most beloved holidays of the year–especially in the US. Let’s look at 13 hair-raising facts about October 31.
1. Once upon a time: Believe it or not, the birthplace of Halloween is not a sugar factory. The holiday has been around for about 6000 years. It is believed to have originated around 4000 B.C. in Ireland.
2. Dead or alive: Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival of “Samhain”—the celebration of the end of harvest season. Back then, the Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead got a little blurry and the dead would come back to life and wreak havoc among the living. One way to scare the dead? Wear costumes and masks.
3. Ka-Ching!: Right behind Christmas, Halloween is the second most commercial holiday in the US. Americans spend about $6.9 billion on Halloween—most of it for candy, costumes, and parties. A surprisingly big chunk is also invested in Halloween costumes for pets.
4. What does the Titanic have to do with it?: Out of the $6.9 billion spent annually in the US alone, $2.08 billion are spent on Halloween candy. How many sweet treats can you buy with that money? Roughly 600 million pounds–which equals about 6 Titanic ships.
5. Candy breakdown: The average American eats about 3.4 pounds of Halloween candy—the weight of a small chihuahua in a Halloween costume!
6. Let’s talk about sugar: Trick-or-treating, aka dressing up and asking the neighbors for candy, can be a deliciously successful endeavor. Kids consume about 7000 calories on Halloween. (You would have to eat 66 bananas to reach 7000 calories.)
7. Boo!: Are you afraid of Halloween? Then you might suffer from Samhainophobia—the fear of Halloween.
8. Which witch?: Try wearing your clothes inside out and walk backwards on Halloween. According to traditions, this will make sure you see a witch at midnight.
9. A big ol’ pumpkin: The world’s heaviest pumpkin grew in a Swiss garden. It weighted 2,096 pounds—as much as a small car.
10. Jack O’Lanterns: Pumpkins and Halloween go together like candy and. well, Halloween. Carving pumpkins on Halloween is not only fun, it’s also believed to scare away evil spirits. So carve away!
11. Follow the rules: Trick-or-treating is really only for kids. Some cities in the US have even gone as far as banning kids over the age of 12 from trick-or-treating. In some places, teenagers who cheat and trick-or-treat can face a fine up to $1000. (7,000 calories worth of candy is surely not worth the fine!)
12. Itsy bitsy spider: Don’t be scared if you see a spider on Halloween. This is believed to be the spirit of a deceased loved one who is watching over you.
13. You (probably) spelled it wrong all along: The correct spelling of Halloween is actually Hallowe’en.
According to Meriam-Webster.com, the spelling of Halloween derives from its earlier name All Hallows Even (or eve) which took place the night before All Hallows Day, now known as All Saints Day. All Hallows Even was shortened to Hallowe'en, and later to Halloween.
Source: Creativecommons.org
Image by Nomadic Lass, Flickr / Creative Commons
For Your Funny Bone
Art by Hart
Grammy had fretted over Olive’s adventures for 37 years
Celia’s magic act was full of suspense, but the ending was a sigh of relief
Halcyon-Rudge carried a lot of baggage
David had grown tired of all his toys
Wilford, a disappointingly drab maple leaf, decided to hibernate and try again next year
Art and photos by Jane Hart
Eternal Forest, by Sheila Benedis
Art and photo by Sheila Benedis
In and Around Kendal
Kendal Walks for Alzheimer Awareness
Photo by Harry Bloomfeld
Fall Comes to Kendal
Photo by Aruna Raghavan
Photo by Carolyn Reiss
Well, They Are Getting Older
Our friends the goats are getting closer and closer to our front door. Could they be thinking of retirement?
Photo by Edward Kasinec
Evening Splendor
Photo by Barbara Wallach