A Medieval jewel set where three countries meet, Basel, Switzerland is a city that resonates with history yet looks forward with an air of confidence. It is a place where borders meet and can be easily crossed. Tucked into a crook of the Rhine River at a point where...
Beauty
A Collection of Shells
"What's this, Mimi?" My granddaughter Francesca pointed at a glass vase of shells on my desk. "That's my shell collection," I said. Her blonde curls bounced as she nodded her head, "Oh," she said, "Can I play with them?" "If you're careful. Some are very fragile, they...
Gray Rocks!
Younger people are flocking to salons begging stylists to dye their hair silver. I spent 20 years paying stylists to cover my gray with blonde highlights. Now, gray is the new blonde. Who knew? Last February I decided enough was enough. It was time to go au naturel. I...
Going Gray
I used to joke about how coloring my hair was akin to keeping my portrait in the attic the way the fictional Dorian Grey did – one day, I’d have to face reality. The day has come! I’ve decided to let the gray grow in. In The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, a...
Points of Inspiration
In her very fine visual memoir, painter LeeAnn Brook weaves tales about creativity that go deep into her own process. Each image in the book has a story, and a history that links it to other images and to the artist's life and her previous work. The beauty of Brook's...
Haircut
"You're too vain," my mother scolded everytime I'd obsess over a new hairdo I wanted to try, carefully copied from the pages of Seventeen magazine. I never looked liked the models, but that didn't stop me from trying. I slept on brush rollers, pink sponge rollers with...