FOUR HOUSES OF VINCENT VAN GOGH THAT I VISITED

One of the things I incorporated into my trip to EUROPE in April was to visit FOUR different homes where my favorite ARTIST, VINCENT VAN GOGH had lived. 

ONE - 

In 1853 VINCENT was BORN in GROOT ZUNDER, NETHERLANDS. We found the HOUSE, but it was raining and we couldn't find a place to park, so we simply drove past it a couple of times. Sadly, I didn't get any worthwhile photos.

TWO - 

At AGE 25, VINCENT lived for A FEW SHORT MONTHS in WASMES, near MONS, BELGIUM, to finish his training as a PASTOR (like his father). 

This dwelling is currently being restored, so we weren't able to go inside. They have painted it a VIBRANT RED, although I'm pretty sure it was not this colorful when he lived there.......

They are also restoring the house to the right to become part of the new MUSEUM.

As you can see, it's located in a very simple neighborhood.

Some views of the restoration from the side and back.

I LOVE the variety of colors of the BRICKS!

And looking at the inside, through the glass........

THREE - 

At AGE 26, VINCENT moved to the nearby village of CUESMES, into an annex of the house of Marcel Decrucq. VINCENT lived here for JUST OVER A YEAR. 

The house was saved from ruin in the 1970's and opened to the public less than 5 years ago as a museum - MAISON VAN GOGH (Van Gogh House).

 This is a recreation of his small living space (from left to right) inside the house.

While here, he took up DRAWING again. With continuing inspiration from the artist MILLET, VAN GOGH completed a number of drawings.

Keep in mind that these seemingly rudimentary DRAWINGS and WATERCOLORS were completed when he was just 26 YEARS OLD. This is where he became a PAINTER!!

The area is called THE BORINAGE, best known then for the extraction of COAL. Men, women and even children under the age of 14 worked in the mines. The death toll was high and their living conditions were poor. All of this made a lasting impression on VAN GOGH, which you may notice in some of his later art.

FOUR - 

Our next VAN GOGH stop was NUENEN, NETHERLANDS, the town where at AGE 30, VINCENT moved back in with his PARENTS for TWO YEARS. He had not seen them during the prior 2 years, so his parents were hesitant, but they offered him some space for living and for a studio. 

This is the house where they all lived.

I LOVED this little town.

After his father died from a heart attack, VINCENT moved out of the house and into a PRIVATE STUDIO in town. About 6 MONTHS later, he left for ANTWERP, BELGIUM.

Across the street from the house is the TOP-NOTCH VINCENTRE, which made it totally worthwhile driving out-of-the-way en route to AMSTERDAM. I highly recommend it. I'm now wishing we had planned for more time in NUENEN to explore a bit more.....

Photos of his FAMILY - his parents at the top, VINCENT (the oldest of 6 children) in the center, his brother THEO (his wife Jo and their son Vincent Willem) below-left, his other brother CORNELIUS (the youngest - 14 yrs younger than Vincent) bottom-right, and his 3 sisters, ANNA, ELISABETH, and WILLEMINA.

A drawing from when he lived in THE BORINAGE.

One of the rooms held wonderful replicas of items from VINCENT'S life in this town. They were CREATIVELY and BEAUTIFULLY displayed.

While in NUENEN, VINCENT produced A QUARTER of his works!!! 

It is here where he painted THE POTATO EATERS. He said that this was the BEST THING THAT HE PRODUCED while living here. 

The museum displays copies of several different versions of this painting (and some studies) leading to the completion of his FINAL MASTERPIECE. You can really see the PROGRESSION TO PERFECTION from these examples.

VINCENTRE is a MARVELOUS MUSEUM.

Our last VAN GOGH stop was not a house, but a museum of his ORIGINAL works in AMSTERDAM -  the EXTRAORDINARY VAN GOGH MUSEUM (seen in the photo below, behind my NIECE LESLIE, her husband BRADY and their 2 daughters, HAZEL and SADIE). It's filled with ORIGINAL drawings and paintings. It's a MUST-VISIT if you are a VAN GOGH fan. 

BUT, plan ahead and purchase your TIMED TICKETS before you leave home or you won't get in. It's extremely popular and so well laid out, you will come away with a real sense of his artistic progression and the TALENT that he developed over his short lifetime. He died by suicide when only 37 YEARS OLD. And he died a PAUPER. So hard to believe.....

JOAN

REMBRANDT'S HOUSE AND STUDIO IN AMSTERDAM

In APRIL I started in AMSTERDAM with FAMILY (they flew home from PARIS) and I ended in AMSTERDAM with FRIENDS.

As FAMILY, we TRIED but FAILED to find REMBRANDT'S HOUSE (REMBRANDTHUIS). We walked and walked and followed the signs, but walked right past the street that it's on...... So, with my FRIENDS, we took an UBER from the hotel and it was HIS responsibility to get us there! Success. Oh, how I wish my niece LESLIE, BRADY, and their kids SADIE, and HAZEL had seen it. They would have really enjoyed it, as did I.  

The interior of his 3-story home is wonderful. He lived there in the mid-1600's!! HIGH CEILINGS with PAINTINGS all the way up, with elaborate FIREPLACES in most rooms.....

...... his BED is in a built-in wood ALCOVE!

Interesting DOORS and TILE FLOORS, a WALK-IN FIREPLACE in the kitchen and a SPIRAL STAIRCASE with a unique HANDRAIL.

STAFF shared the details of REMBRANDT'S working STUDIOS with a demonstration in his PRINTMAKING studio. I was particularly fascinated by this because it was the same process we used when I learned this in college. I actually framed one of my PRINTS and when I look at it, I'm amazed that I created it.

Some of REMBRANDT'S BLACK and WHITE PRINTS show why he's considered one of the GREAT MASTERS!

In the next room is his PAINTING STUDIO.

The COLORS of the PAINT PIGMENTS are so VIBRANT!!  Yet in my opinion, his work took on a darker tone most of the time. 

Notice the HUGE stone next to the PIGMENT TABLE. This was used to grind colorful ROCKS into a fine powder before mixing them with oil, etc. to make them liquidy (is that a word?  Sounds funny......).

On the third floor is another STUDIO and a GALLERY with a couple of REMBRANDT'S PAINTINGS.

All in all, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this MUSEUM if you find yourself in AMSTERDAM. REMBRANDT was a REMARKABLE TALENT and it's INCREDIBLE and FUN to be in the home where he lived and worked from 1639 - 1656!!


JOAN

BOOK - AGELESS SOUL by THOMAS MOORE

This book, about "THE LIFELONG JOURNEY TOWARD MEANING AND JOY" is also a book about AGING. But, it's really more about developing an AGELESS SOUL throughout your lifetime. 

What a terrific book to read when you reach your 50/60/70/80/'s. Then again, it's a terrific book to read at a YOUNGER AGE if you have PARENTS, SIBLINGS, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, UNCLES or FRIENDS who are OLDER, who you care about deeply and if you want to know more about what they may be experiencing. Even someone in their 60's (as am I) can learn about what an OLDER LOVED ONE may be thinking, wondering/worrying about. AND it's a terrific book to read if you're YOUNG, but know you are AN OLD SOUL who is still evolving.......  

Yes, as my friend LISA says, "This book is heavy, deep and real."

THOMAS MOORE shares his observations from years as a practicing psychotherapist and from years of his own personal life journey. He gives the reader a lot to CONTEMPLATE. I really took my time reading it, to SAVOR it,  to MULL IT OVER, to think about and INTERNALIZE each topic that he discussed.

If you are living a RICH, SOULFUL LIFE, I feel certain you will find meaning in this book. If you aren't, PERHAPS you will find helpful suggestions to ENRICH your life and/or to understand better and EMPATHIZE with your  OLDER LOVED ONES. 

There are SO many passages that I feel compelled to share with you. Forgive me for the length of this Blog post, but to me, each passage is THOUGHT-PROVOKING and worth taking a moment (or twenty) to PONDER. Don't rush..... you too can SAVOR. And then perhaps you'll feel inspired to pick up the book and read it all.

Page 33

     ......age may have less to do with how many years a person has been alive and more to do with how that person lives.

Page 35

     You keep your heart active by loving the world rather than hating it.

Page 73

     I feel the melancholy of age almost every day. I wish I could live forever. I don't like the idea of death at all. It forces me to accommodate it in some way, and I don't like that. Life can be difficult, but it's beautiful. What's the alternative, anyway? To make it even more frustrating, we don't know anything about death.

Page 80

     Aging takes you away from an active life to one that is more contemplative and expressive. Melancholy is not just sadness; it contains some of the quiet and contemplative qualities that can be useful or may actually be needed.

Page 93

     As you get older, your life becomes more active than ever in certain ways, and aging means an increase of vitality, not a decrease. But this works best when the inner life has a base and can become more important as the years go by.

Page 97

     Aging with soul is the process of becoming a full, rich, and interesting person. It happens over time and requires your active participation. It isn't automatic.

Page 120

     We tend to think of illness as a physical breakdown in need of repair. But as an experience - emotional, intellectual, and relational - illness may force us to examine our lives, face our mortality, and sort out our values.

Page 129

     Deep relaxation is one of the healthiest things you can do. I'm not talking about avoiding your problems but about living generally in a relaxed manner. Today many people are frantic most of the time while trying to keep up with their busy lives. You can be active without giving up periods of relaxation. Find resources that work for you, even if they wouldn't relax someone else.

     ......I'm asking you to take relaxation seriously and go further with it than you normally think is reasonable.

Page 132

     You have to be proactive with your illness and its treatment. The medical establishment would like you to be compliant, do what it says, accept its pronouncements meekly. But it's your life and your sickness. You have to bring to the discussion your own insights and understanding. You might question taking so many drugs. Are they all necessary? Are they standardized and not suited to your situation? Do any of them affect you so badly that they are not worth the suffering?

Page 159

     "Retired" doesn't really mean retired; in many cases it means liberated, free to pursue activities that were out of reach when a career was dominating life.

Page 161

     The post-career years are a time for new discoveries and old resolutions. They are free time, when you have nothing to accomplish and everything to experience and express.

Page 164

     In your older years nature slows you down, and I like the idea of doing that slow dance with nature, taking my cue from a less agile body.

Page 177

     You can only look younger by first being the age you are. Then you can make efforts to call back the youthfulness you love. Denial of your age doesn't make you young.

Page 182

     Cultivate your power to inspire. The word inspire means "to breathe into," so when you inspire you breathe into another person a reason to work hard and be creative and engage the world meaningfully.

Page 215

     The best way to deal with loneliness is to pursue vitality even in small things. This means keeping alive your curiosity, wonder, spirit of adventure, love of learning, creative character, interest in people, eccentricity, and contemplative lifestyle. You can do these things even with diminished capacity.

Page 228

     Acknowledging another person's success is just part of being a friend. Whenever you feel that words of praise are not necessary, you should offer them anyway. If there is one universal rule about human psychology, it is that people always need and appreciate recognition. The need is beyond emotion. It has to do with the foundation of the self. When you are appreciated, your very grounding as a person becomes more stable.

Page 241

     The older you get, the less you may be preoccupied with the things of the world. You become reflective and closer to wonder. You're not focused as much on making a self, creating a career, or becoming somebody. You are naturally open to a spiritual life and to questions of meaning and purpose. Of course, this is not true of everyone. You have to have thought about your life for a long while to develop a strong spirituality in old age. You have to have aged spiritually.

Page 245
     ...... Liz Thomas said to me, "I don't believe in an afterlife. I'll die and be part of the atoms and molecules of the cosmos." She looked happy when she said this. But I was thinking, "I prefer to leave the matter unsettled. I like to preserve the unknown. I want to cherish my ignorance and make no pronouncements about what happens, if anything, after death."

Page 246
     "God" is a motivating word, not a goal, not a thing, not even a fixed reality. God is real, though you don't have to use the word, insofar as God is an image for expansion of mind and heart without limit.

Page 247
     Spirituality is dynamic and existential, meaning that it's not just an idea, but a process. Therefore, as an older person you are an expanded version of the self you used to be. Spirituality in this sense is not about belief but about who you are and how you live. If you're becoming more a part of the greater world and larger life, then your spirituality is alive. This means constant change and unfolding. An unending process in which the self evolves.

Page 270
     Therefore, if you're interested in aging with soul, you don't read just practical and technical books, you read the humanities, fiction, and nonfiction that raises and deepens your thoughts. Good literature can be part of a spiritual practice. Too often we put unnecessary boundaries around what we consider sacred.

My hope is that you feel inspired to read this POWERFUL, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, SPIRITUAL book and that as a result, you will find additional understanding and meaning in your life to more deeply ENJOY the JOURNEY of aging.

JOAN

YOU CAN LEARN THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF FROM YOUR JOB(S)

I'm reading the book AGELESS SOUL by THOMAS MOORE. On page 156 he says about a job that he had as a college student  -

• "In my memory this is the least soulful job I ever had. And yet, I did learn a lot about myself and about the world of labor from that brief experience."

My mind immediately traveled back to my first job after I graduated from college - a temporary situation until I could secure a full-time teaching job (my college degree is in ART EDUCATION). 

So, just married and living in LITITZ, PA, I took a job at a local glorified Farmer's Market so to speak, in their "DESIGN DEPT". We made "artsy-crafty things" to sell in the store, such as dried flower arrangements, terrariums, sand art in bottles, etc. This fed my need to be working with my hands creatively in an artsy way. 

After a few months, I started up a program there of Saturday morning CLASSES FOR CHILDREN, teaching them to do these same projects. I then convinced my boss to "let me promote the store" by taking those classes "on the road" to SCHOOL FAIRS - where I just happened to meet the SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS of the nearby COCALICO SCHOOL DISTRICT. This gave me the "in" I needed for a high school teaching job - I had made a good impression.

From this temporary first job after college, I learned that I had the skills to CREATE MY OWN REALITY. I also learned some things that I DID NOT WANT in my REALITY. 

At the "Farmer's Market" we had to PUNCH A TIME-CLOCK every day when we arrived and every day when we left. I HATED THAT. IT INSULTED MY INTEGRITY. I particularly didn't like the time-clock concept because it felt as if I was NOT being TRUSTED to arrive and leave on time - like they had to monitor my movements. Boy oh boy, I got a real attitude (in my mind) about that and decided that I DID NOT EVER want to work anywhere again where I was being monitored in such a way.

Something else really stuck with me that I had already learned at one of my part-time jobs in college at a local variety store like a K-MART (perhaps it WAS a K-MART......). At orientation, we were each given a CLEAR PLASTIC "WALLET" to carry our personal items around in while working. The rest of our personal items were locked in lockers near the employee entrance. That too drove me OUT OF MY MIND. I resented the feeling that I couldn't be TRUSTED carrying my own purse. Did they think I was going to steal something from the store?? I quit 3 days later.....

As I think back on both of these early job experiences, the way I behave isn't necessarily the way the rest of the world does. There ARE dishonest and lazy individuals out there. So I can NOW see the reasoning for companies to implement such tactics - to keep an eye on all employees AND the store inventory. But what a rude awakening it was, in my early 20's, to discover that the rest of the world wasn't necessarily HONEST and ON TIME, and therefore, protective measures had to be adopted.

Basically, as did THOMAS MOORE (mentioned above), I too learned a lot about MYSELF from these 2 rather insignificant jobs. Being the FREE-SPIRIT that I am, I realized that one of the most important qualities for a job for me (and also a relationship) would be PERSONAL FREEDOM. I didn't want someone checking on my every move AND I wanted a JOB/CAREER where I would be TRUSTED to be responsible for myself.

Those 2 "requirements" didn't happen while teaching HIGH SCHOOL ART. But after 4 years of teaching, and learning additional things about myself, I was fortunate enough to begin my 35-YEAR CAREER in SALES - responsible for my own HOURS, my own ACTIONS and my own EARNINGS - yes, 100% commission income.  

Well, THIS has turned into a RANT....... pardon me, as I got carried away sauntering down MEMORY LANE, thanks to ONE SENTENCE in the book I'm reading........

JOAN

WHAT IS THAT YELLOW FIELD IN SOUTHERN CHESTER COUNTY??

My friend LAURIE WHITMAN ("THE WHIT"), who volunteers at our local MAIN LINE ANIMAL RESCUE, invited me to take a ride to southern CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA to check on a family's fence before they were approved to adopt a RESCUE DOG from them. The plan was then to stop for lunch at THE WHIP TAVERN - "THE WHIP with THE WHIT" as we say....... 

Well, THAT was an easy decision. So on we went!

We thought we had missed a turn. When turning around we saw a HUGE FIELD OF YELLOW in the distance. Intrigued, I talked her into driving toward it, since we were not on a "time schedule". 

WOW!! The closer we got, the more BEAUTIFUL and VIBRANT that YELLOW FIELD became. 

I just HAD to get out of the car to take some pictures! Unfortunately, my photos don't do it justice. Plus the angle of being up close, and not on higher ground, loses some of the impact of the expanse of that YELLOW!

Still curious about what the plant was, we saw an AMISHMAN in a flower garden nearby, so we wandered over to him and asked if the field was TOBACCO.  

In my college days, I lived in the neighboring LANCASTER COUNTY and there were FIELDS and FIELDS of TOBACCO, but it was always GREEN. I had never seen YELLOW TOBACCO, which he confirmed, indeed it was. 

They are going to harvest it tomorrow and will then hang it to dry in their barns. He said that both varieties turn BROWN as they dry. We asked, but he had no idea if they each tasted the same when smoked. 

Who knew? YELLOW TOBACCO. Another FIRST for me!!

On to the FENCE INSPECTION and then lunch at THE WHIP TAVERN, an ENGLISH PUB located out in the countryside in the middle of FABULOUS HORSE COUNTRY, right in the center of CHESTER COUNTY. 

Along the way we saw FARMS, HORSES, GOATS, SHEEP, CORNFIELDS and colorful WILDFLOWERS.

"LUNCH at THE WHIP with THE WHIT" - never to disappoint. GREAT FOOD, GUINNESS on tap, LOTS of LAUGHS. 

It was another TERRIFIC RETIREMENT  DAY!

JOAN

LETTING GO AND ENJOYING RETIREMENT

In 2004 I left KISTLER-TIFFANY COMPANIES and set up an office in my home to continue counseling owners of family businesses. Almost 4 years ago I officially RETIRED. I kept all of my client files "just in case" I'd need to refer back to something for them. But now it's time to LET IT GO. 

So, this past week I took the time to PURGE THE REST of what I hadn't purged about 2 years ago. I actually have only about 1 small file drawer left to go thru, of business odds and ends, but all CLIENT FILES (except my family's) are now GONE. Admittedly it feels weird.

It was an interesting experience to clean out my business files. I reflected on all of the TIME and EFFORT I spent on GUIDING and ADVISING the families I worked with - the charts and diagrams and comparisons and data-collecting...... 

Discarding all of that gave me a bit of an EMPTY FEELING and I realized I was GRIEVING. 

GRIEF doesn't only impact you when you lose a LOVED ONE. Any LOSS can trigger feelings of GRIEF. And GRIEVING any LOSS can take on surprising characteristics and can create thoughts you'd never anticipate.

For instance, I found myself thinking "I had better keep this file just in case....."

In case what? In case I start my career again? In case, in my next lifetime, I need to look at something again? I think not. Totally irrational thoughts. But "LETTING GO" has always been emotionally tough for me. Then I realized it's OK. It's OK to be shocked, to feel sad, to wonder and question......... 

I slowly felt myself coming to terms with the fact that my business CAREER is OVER.

But this doesn't have to be a BAD thing, right? 

It IS JOLTING to face the fact that one's career is OVER. 

Many people STRUGGLE to find SIGNIFICANCE in their life when they leave one CHAPTER and start their next, no matter at what age.

Fortunately, RETIREMENT and I had no trouble getting used to each other. I have found PLENTY of things to occupy my time - READING, participating in 4 BOOK CLUBS, researching interesting topics on the INTERNET, enjoying my friends' cartoons, thought-provoking quotes, and general life experiences on FACEBOOK, writing this BLOG, watching REALITY TV (hee hee), DOCUMENTARIES, and SCIENCE and HISTORY STORIES, going to the MOVIES, PLANNING my next TRIP, TRAVELING, LUNCHING and SOCIALIZING with FRIENDS, taking LOCAL EXCURSIONS for new experiences and GETTING TO KNOW my FAMILY and FRIENDS better. 

Oh, and BEING ENTERTAINED by CLOVER!!!

If you are nearing, contemplating or are deep in the middle of RETIREMENT, I hope you too are finding interesting and fun things to do and are taking the necessary steps to ENRICH your SOUL with meaningful moments and POSITIVE THOUGHTS.

CHEERS!

JOAN