It's Coming

Being a snow junkie, this picture is intended to please the Snow Gods and give me a bountiful winter.

Turkey Day Mountain Pines

I took this picture on Thanksgiving Day from the White Mountain Hotel. 'Nuff said.

 

©2012 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

Glass Lake

Last week, as I was driving on route 16, headed to North Conway, New Hampshire for Thanksgiving, I could see, in my peripheral vision, something beautiful and remarkable. I didn't know exactly what the spectacle was, but I knew it was something special.

If we value beauty, and we're open to receiving it, our consciousness picks it up like radar, even if we don't know what it is. We can feel it around us, even if we can't clearly see it.

When I turned my head to look at whatever I had already felt, my jaw dropped open and I let out an expletive. I turned around, parked my car, and just stared at this incredible lake, as smooth as glass, reflecting the mountains and trees and sky above it. It was breathtaking.

Whilst I was there, another visitor appeared. We talked and took pictures together. He told me it was very unusual for this lake to be this smooth, and it had been this way for days. So we were both witnessing something not only truly beautiful, but truly rare. Fleeting. Transient.

I said to my new friend, "This is a good omen for the upcoming day of thanks", and he agreed.

Indeed it was. For I had a wonderful, fun, joyous holiday full of laughter, love and live music.

And beauty. Lots of beauty.

©2012 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.

Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi?

When I stay in a hotel for any more than two nights, I Clintonize the room. In other words, I make it mine. I stake my claim. Mark my territory. Plant my flag.

Some of that has to do with male territorialism. Which is still alive and well in every man, whether we know it or not. I combine that primitive behavior with the art of self expression to create a room that screams my name when you enter it.

I use Christmas lights to give the place a festive ambiance. I burn scented candles to make it smell the way I want. This time of year, it's balsam fir. Sometimes I bring a picture. I've got my dad with me on this trip. You'll always see fruits, nuts, and other healthy snacks strewn about the room as well, because I always bring some of those. Right away, my computer gets set up and my belongings get unpacked and put where they belong.

I love this ritual. It's important to me. It makes my stay more enjoyable. More joyful. It's home on the road.

The next time you travel for an extended period, personalize your room. And then tell me about it.

 ©2012 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

City Sunset

One the things I miss most about living on the water is the accessibility to witness sunsets and sunrises. It's much harder to get the full splendor of those daily miracles since I live in my current urban location. The next place I live, even if it's in a city, is going to have good visual accessibility to the coming and going of our nearest star.

That said, because I'm such a sunrise and sunset junkie, I do very well in witnessing and digitallty capturing them. No matter where I am. 

©2012 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart, and Red F Publishing. All Rights Reserved.