Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Art is Expressive

Science magazine researchers report that a red disk painted in Spain's El Castillo cave is 40,800 years old - and possibly older - making it the oldest known European cave art. Could Neanderthals have painted it?

I confess that I am an NPR Science Friday fan. Listen to the entire story on NPR's podcast.

The point is that mankind's need to express himself artistically goes back a long way. Here, at Traditions, we love our art work. We have hundred's of subjects, sizes, colors, and figures that touch on our human need to express ourselves. And like the cave art of Spain's El Castillo, the images do not need long explanations. Art touches our emotions in a unique and individual way.


Here are just a few:

Aspen Trees
Harbor Boats

Beached Boat

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

43rd Annual Kansas City Symphony Designers' Showhouse

There is only one week left to see the 43rd Annual Kansas City Designers' Showhouse, located, just off of the Kansas City Plaza, at 47 W. 53rd Street.

The historic house was built in 1909 for businessman and civic leader Wallace Goffe and his wife Beverly. The style is English Tudor Revival. The home was designed by famed Kansas City architect Henry Hoit and later remodeled in 1937 by his successor firm, Hoit, Price and Barnes. In 1984, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The walls of the Showhouse are even rows of coursed limestone. the roof contains a steeply pitched gable and there is half-timbering on the central bay which projects from the second story, supported by curved volutes.

The houses of the district were built to the natural contours of the landscape.Thus, many of the houses in this district are located on rises with steps leading to the main entrance. There are uniform setbacks from the street of 40 feet.

Read the full story of the house. Kansas City Symphony Alliance

The Showhouse is a project sponsored by the Kansas City Symphony Alliance, a volunteer organization dedicated to promoting classical music throughout the Kansas City area, and in particular the welfare of the Kansas City Symphony. Hundreds of volunteers and the area's top designers work together to create something magical. Traditions Furniture is proud to again participate in the decoration of the sun room.


Traditions designers, Linda, Kathy, Julie, and Carol went for a coastal theme. This is in keeping with the naturalness of the setting and lightness of the sun room, which catches the afternoon sun. The upholstery is by Stickley Furniture. Stickley is perhaps best known for American Arts and Crafts, but, as the room demonstrates, there is a softer side to Stickley. The art is modern, pulling in a blue shade to complement the azure blue of the sky. The sideboard is Pasadena Bungalow by Stickley. The matching lamps are faux stone.

There are many other designers who have contributed to the beauty of this year's Designers' Showhouse. And, while we would like to show you everything, we will give you just a tease. Better that you come and see for yourself, and support a great cause, The Kansas City Symphony Alliance.


Saturday, May 12, 2012

How do I love thee?

Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13th

It seems to me that we often search for ways or words to express our love to our mothers. Ways never seem adequate and words can never express the depth of our feelings. After all, how do you repay one who has spent her entire life with one objective - loving us. Then again, love is expressed in so many different ways. Love can be shown with a simple a smile on a cloudy day, a flower chosen at random from a garden, or a kindness unexpected and unrequested.

While Mother's Day is celebrated one Sunday a year, we should all remember that mothering is a 24 - 7- 365 day-a-year job. Mothers don't stop loving us, and neither should we stop appreciating all that our mothers have done for us throughout the year.

If I had to choose the words that come closes to expressing my love for my mother, it would be the classic lines from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Express yourself

Here is a simple test to take:

Don't think about it, be spontaneous: close your eyes, lean back, and accept the first color that comes into your mind.  Don't second guess yourself, don't analyze your choice. Your choice of a color tells you a lot about yourself.

This color does not have to be one you wear all the time, for different seasons and different days, even different times of day or occasions require a change in mood and color. But you do have one or more favorite colors that excite you the most and makes you feel alive.

 Express yourself with color, it will bring you joy.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Like a Lamb


Is there truth to the saying, "In like a lamb, out like a lion."? March weather can be temperamental. This year, for example, March has been unseasonably mild. So mild that I have been going around singing Phil Collins' Another Day in Paradise. Okay, the lyrics to the song don't quite make for a happy feeling, but the words are still catchy.

It has been relatively speaking a beautiful Spring. The daffodils are in bloom. The birds can be seen, going from branch to branch in search of a place to nest. The grass is now green. The seeds have begun to sprout. Let's hope that our paradise continues for awhile and the tornadoes will not come out.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Wine Tonight

I am a bit of an oenophile - not seriously but happily. The word oenophile can mean a connoisseur of wines or a lover of wines. I fit nicely into the second category.

That means that I don't stack unopened crates of wine in the cellar. My nose can not distinguish a Granache from a Sangiovese. Nor, do I spend hundreds of dollars on a wine that I will longingly look at, but not drink. No, wine is meant to be enjoyed, and I do love a glass or two with dinner and with friends.

In moderation, wine has a calming effect at the end of a hard day's work. And with friends, we can uncork a bottle and share worldly thoughts around the dinner table.

I select a bottle not because of the price, but by region. A bottle of Chianti or Valpolicella reminds me of Italy and it goes great with pasta. Both wines are from Tuscany, home to Florence, Pisa, and Sienna.

A fine wine from the Rhone Valley suggests to me the countryside of Provence. where grapes have been grown since the days of Julius Caesar. These fruity wines complement veal or chicken. A bottle of the saintly sounding, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, either red or white, reminds one that even the popes enjoyed a glass or two.

For something a little more robust, then select a French Bordeaux or Spanish Rioja. Of course, there are great American wines that come from regions all along the west coast. Most famous of these are the California counties of Napa and Sonoma. There, movie director Francis Ford Coppola has been happily fermenting grapes for decades.

The point of this worldly excursion is to demonstrate that one can stay at home and yet travel around the world for the reasonable price of ten to twenty dollars a bottle. That is, unless one is dining out at a fine restaurant.

Loving wine as much as we do, Traditions Home has surrounded itself with much with which to celebrate wine.

Consider our unique wine furniture made out of old wine barrels. The newest item is the coffee table seen to the right. A great item together or separated as end tables.

There are dozens of items to choose from, including tables, bar stools, a lazy Susan, relish trays, and, of course, wine bottle racks. And, all of these items are made in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia. What will they think of next?

 If you like to show off your selection of wine, then choose from the many styles of wine holders available. We have wine holders that accommodate just one selection or a dozen.

Of course, we can't stop there ... .

We have jewels for the bottles, whimsical sayings, art work of your favorite wine region, ice coolers to keep that favorite bottle chilled, and, even a French bistro table and chairs to sit around while you sip.


 It is all in fun. So, whether you are a girl or a boy who likes wine, Traditions Home is the place to come for furniture and gifts. And, if we are having a party, you just might find we have selected a favorite wine to share with you.


Thursday, March 8, 2012

Last Snow Before Spring

Our Wichita Spring Fling is tonight, Thursday, March 8th from 5 until 8 p.m.. If you are out and about stop by for some refreshments and fun. And, if you are in Overland Park, well, that party is yet to come.





Last Snow before Spring

Spring in the air
There is snow, but I don’t care
The flowers know it
The robin knows it
Spring, sing Spring - everywhere

The golden sun warms the earth
Soon old man winter will fade
And in a Holly tree a robin will perch
Nesting with blue eggs laid

While by the garden gate
Or in the Trumpet vine
Keeping guard is her mate
Until a tiny new chirp signals all is fine.

Spring gives us hope
Of something new to share
Spring brings a smile
To hasten away our cares

Let this last snow linger a day or two
Before grey clouds become blue skies.
Yet how will I sing, where will I go?
What will I do? At winter’s last sigh.

Even if the weather is not,
I am ready
To celebrate Spring…
At Traditions' Thursday fling.