I'm participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge this week. Thanks again Joyce for your thought-provoking questions!
1. How do you define beauty?
I try not to since it's so subjective, but I am moved by the natural world as well as art (including the written word). Sunsets, waterfalls, flowers, butterflies, etc., are all pleasing to my eye; paintings and poetry nourish my soul. Music can be beautiful too. This may sound weird, but math is beautiful to me, in a philosophical sense. Cats are full of beauty. Clearly, in my mind, beauty has many disparate facets! As far as humans, eh, whatever. So much of what we think we find physically attractive about other people is culturally defined, and I try not to buy into that.
2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)
I have not traveled overnight by train, though I have fantasized about taking a extended vacation around the USA via train post-retirement. From what I've heard, unless you spend a fortune on deluxe accommodations, this is pretty uncomfortable, so as with many things, overnight train travel will most likely remain in the fantasy realm. Of course I have taken the train ~ back in Chicago, I often commuted by train instead of the bus. I've taken the train to visit my eldest who now lives in San Diego County, which is super convenient if I'm not bringing a bunch of stuff with me.
3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.
Welp, back in my days of marriage/ dating I was definitely walking on eggshells much of the time, but I haven't done any of that in 10 years, TG, so none of these terms really apply to my generally peaceful life at the present time. PS: I had to look up bandshell.
4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell?
Tacos are delicious, especially the vegan tacos at a place near me that are made with mushrooms. I'm not a huge fan of pistachios or clams, but I do enjoy cooked oysters in stuffing. Way back when, I used to eat raw oysters, but I learned that is not a safe thing to do any longer. Eggs are great, but the yolks are so high in cholesterol that I limit my consumption to every couple weeks. Just having the whites isn't appealing to me.
5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate.
Eh, not so much for me personally, as I have had so many of them now. Generally, my friends will have a little celebration for me (and vice versa, if they desire). My daughters and I acknowledge birthdays with sweet messages and sometimes little gifts, and naturally my grandchildren's birthdays are a big deal for all of us because they're still little. I was actually going to write a post to a prompt this week about the worst birthday I've ever had, but I didn't feel like diving into all that negativity.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
It would be sad to leave this post without mentioning seashells, which I love. I have a few broken ones around my plants because I think they look cool. Back in the day, I had some huge seashells, though I don't know what happened to them. My mind is a complete blank on the topic. Did they break? Did I give them away when I moved? I have no clue. I also love pasta shells ~ is there any kind of pasta I dislike? Doubtful...
Oh, for some odd reason, my gmail spam folder lately is full of crap about Shell gas cards. What's up with that?
I can understand math feeling beautiful. It has a kind of symmetry and pattern to it that is pleasing to the mind.
ReplyDeleteThere are actually a lot of cross-cultural commonalities about standards of physical beauty. I think it's only in the West that a substantial number of people have convinced themselves that it's culturally defined.
The only places where I've taken extensive train trips were Germany and Japan. Train development in the US has been something of an afterthought. We're so fixated on cars.
Shellacking: How a snail would describe a slug.
Birthdays don't seem like such a big deal for adults. For a child every birthday is a significant milestone, but being 38 isn't much different from being 37. Maybe they become more significant again when you get really old, as each year survived becomes a milestone again.
What fun and varied answers, especially your comment that math has beauty in a philosophical sense, I found that really original! Elvis shelling around in the kale is great too, by the way. And that spam about Shell gas cards, that's a funny coincidence with this week's theme!
ReplyDeleteThanks Infidel and Diana! I was lucky to have some extra time this morning to respond to the Hodgepodge questions 🙂
ReplyDeleteHa,I am the same way with beauty. My mind went right to nature and art and creative things. I remember missing my high school train trip to Disney and being thankful after hearing about them sleeping upright in the train seats where no one really got any sleep. I think it would be fun if I could afford the sleeper cars as it seems like the motion and sound would be soothing.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem fun if you’re willing to spend extra!
DeleteYour first sentence in the response to the birthday question had me chuckling. The alternative to aging is, of course, death. It's bad to die young but it's bad to make it to such an old age that you can't really care for yourself either. My husband would say that math is beautiful. I like that you mentioned the written word with regard to art. I feel like often literature/poetry/essays are not considered art when the written word clearly is.
ReplyDeleteThere’s so much beauty in the arts! Dancing too… Olympic ice skating…
DeleteFriends of ours traveled by train in the Banff area but slept in hotels at night. That might be the best of both worlds : ) We used to vacation in Marco Island (FL) and the beaches there are all shells. We have so many wonderful shells from those trips and I keep some displayed still.
ReplyDeleteOoh that trip sounds perfect!
DeleteThey have revised their take on the cholesterol in eggs. It's not as bad as they used to make it out to be.
ReplyDeleteGood news! 😀
DeleteI have to agree with you on what you said, "So much of what we think we find physically attractive about other people is culturally defined, and I try not to buy into that."
ReplyDelete❤️
DeleteThere is so much beauty in our world, it really is hard to define it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to travel on an overnight train but they are so expensive.
I thought of seashells too when I was answering the question. hehehe
Now I want to take a beach walk!
DeleteGlad I'm not the only one who had to look up bandshell. (And a few others). I really like the idea of shells around your plants. I'm sure that is really pretty.
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