Hi everyone, its Robbie Cheadle here with my first post in a new series called Simple Pleasures: Reading & Eating. This series comprises a book review combined with a recipe which could be anything from a cocktail to a dessert.
The book I am reviewing for this first post is Size Always Matters: Don’t be part of a statistic, start losing weight today by Sally Cronin.
My review of Size Always Matters: Don’t be part of a statistic by Sally Cronin
Picture caption: Cover of Size Always Matters featuring a red apple wrapped in a measuring tape
This is a fabulous and informative book to help everyone eat better and be more aware of the nutritional value of what we put in our mouths. I am not overweight, and I never have been, in fact, I struggle with losing too much weight through stress and anxiety. The information in this book is just as useful for someone like me who can also use guidance on better eating to help reduce my specific health issues. This book is packed with factual information on the impact of a huge variety of vitamins and minerals on the human body and deals with every aspect of health. The author also points out that part of her eating disorder was anxiety and stress related so it actually does go both ways depending on your personality type.
Thank you to Nolcha Fox, editor of Chewers by Masticadores for sharing the next episode in The Soldier and the Radium Girl.
Jake Tanner
27 August 1917
Jake’s battalion had been stationed at the mobilization point of Camp Bartlett in Westfield, Massachusetts for eight days.
The men quickly discovered there was little difference between life at Camp Keyes and life at Camp Bartlett, despite being one step closer to their destination of France. They were housed in tents, and there was a wide-open parade and drill ground where they continued to be trained in the art of trench warfare.
The one notable difference was that visiting French officers, who’d been at the Western Front, directed some of their training.
“That Capitaine Moreau is always on my back about something: salute, eyes to the front, present arms. And there is inspection after inspection. I had no idea our training would be like this. It’s such a waste of time,” Beau exploded one evening.
“They are trying to instill discipline and ensure we keep our uniform and equipment in good order, Beau,” Joe said.
South Africa is home to two species of flamingos: the Lesser and Greater Flamingo. The key breeding site for Lesser Flamingos at Kamfers Dam in Kimberley has been destroyed due to poor infrastructure management by local government. The dam has become toxic, and the flamingo population has been forced to leave, leaving this species near threatened in South Africa. Greater flamingos shared the Kamfers Dam habitat with the Lesser Flamingos but in far fewer numbers. The Greater Flamingo in South Africa is also listed as Near Threatened regionally due to habitat loss from pollution, encroachment and disturbances at breeding sites.
morning
two young flamingos
greet the day
brief respite
before survival dictates
ongoing foraging
Picture caption: My watercolour painting of flamingos
CFFC and Thursday Doors
Dan’s CFFC challenge is Churches so I’ve combined it with my second Thursday Doors post about Westminster Abbey in London.
Picture caption: Westminster Abbey from the queuePicture caption: Inner door leading into Westminster AbbeyPicture caption: The beautiful stained glass windows and chandeliers inside Westminster AbbeyPicture caption: Ornate memorial to James WolfePicture caption: More gorgeous stained glass windows and chandeliersPicture caption: I loved this tableau of Death stalking the peoplePicture caption: One of the inner doorways in Westminster AbbeyPicture caption: this is the area when the coronations take place. You can see the two doors to the sides.Picture caption: This is a close up of the Coronation platform with the two doors
Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth. Photograph by Robbie Cheadle
In the beginning
Patrick Brontë, born Brunty, was the oldest of ten children born to Hugh Brunty, a farm labourer, and Alice McClory. He grew up in the small village of Drumballyroney in Country Down, Northern Ireland. At the age of twelve, Patrick was apprenticed to a blacksmith, and the to a linen draper and a weaver until he became a teacher in 1798. In 1802, he was given an opportunity to study theology at St John’s College, Cambridge, from where he received his degree in 1806. He was appointed curate at Wethersfield in Essex, where he was ordained a deacon of the Church of England in 1806 and into the priesthood in 1807.
Thank you to Nolcha Fox for sharing Part 4 of this series.
Jake Tanner
5 August 1917
“We train six days a week. The mornings comprise of drills. It was fun in the beginning, but the marching, saluting, presenting arms, and right and left about turns have become a bit repetitive after over three weeks.
“Sarge says drills are important to teach us discipline, teamwork, alertness, and attention to detail, so we do it willingly enough. He’s a good man, a good teacher.”
Jake’s voice was lighthearted, reassuring them that everything was going well.
“You looked great out there, Jake,” Ma’s voice was soft. “The skirmish drill you boys conducted after the parade was well done.”
“I’m glad you thought so, Ma.”
“Go on, Jake,” Kate said. “What else are you learning?”
“At noon, we do an hour of calisthenics. We enjoy that hour. After lunch, it’s field training until 5 p.m. The field training’s not bad. There are dummies for bayonet practice and mock trenches like the ones in France.”
Kate’s blue eyes danced with interest, enticing him to say more about the training, but Ma’s face had an odd, pinched, white look, so he didn’t.
Jake also didn’t mention the choking dust that hung in a cloud over the fields and tents. It was better not to talk about this unpleasant and constant companion, which settled on all the men’s skins and uniforms, irritating their eyes, and scratching their throats, which were always dry, no matter how much water they drank.
Instead, he regaled them with an interesting tidbit: “The camp is fully electrified, isn’t that amazing? Sarge enforces the strict light-out at 10.30 p.m. policy, and you should hear Mike complain. You know what a night-owl he is!”
I’m hosting a new photography segment on LatinosUS. You can find out the details by following the link.
My photographs in this post are also for the One-Day One Photo challenge by Marsha Ingrao and Dan Antion to celebrate and remember the life of fellow blogger and photographer, Cee Neuner. If you would like to participate in this tribute, please read Dan’s post here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/11/06/a-bridge-for-cee-1day4cee/
I’ve closed comments here. Please comment on LatinosUS.
Today, I am thrilled to introduce an amazingly prolific and multi-talented artist, Valentina Cirasola. Valentina is not only an artist, but she is also an artwork herself with her inspirational fashion and jewelry designs.
Over to Valentina!
Tell us about your passion for interior design. You especially enjoy designing kitchens. Why is that?
I never intended to design a lot of kitchens in my interior designer career. I was almost compelled to do it. Studying the American customs, with the eye of an emigrant, I soon realized that kitchens and baths are big ticket items when selling a house. If these two spaces are designed with all the amenities required, with modern technologies and some luxury, they raise the price of the house and allow a faster sale. Although Americans eat out lunch and dinner most of the week, having enviable kitchens and bathrooms is their obsession, even if they use only the microwave to warm up food.
I enjoyed designing kitchens for all the technicalities, they were all custom-made with exotic but not extinct woods. Designing all the other rooms were just as fun, especially when clients allowed me to express my creativity. I enjoyed designing furniture and built-in units that my trusted Italian wood worker executed with professionality and meticulousness. I cared to design original homes to reflect my clients’ personality and lifestyle.
(In a few rooms, you will see some of my photographs hanging on the walls).
A selection of Valentina’s home interiors photographs:
Picture caption: I love this entrance. It is amazing!
You love color. How do you incorporate color into your designs?Are your clients receptive to bright colors?
Returning to the concept of house resale, my clients had lived in safe colors that sell the house fast, until they met me. After seeing me dressed in pleasant, well harmonized colors was easier to convince them that a little change of colors would improve their well-being, vibrate their lives and confidently sell the house when it was time to sell. One of my clients said that walking in her living room, she felt like eating the colors, as I chose them from my food list I had planned for that day.
I adore Valentina’s use of colour!
You have a unique and exciting fashion sense. What advice do you have for people wanting to spruce up their wardrobes?
My designing career started in Italy as fashion designer and stylist. It was my real passion after I achieved the Italian degree in fashion. My wardrobe became an example for others, as I put on only what I liked and not what the fashion industry dictated. My advice is: 1. Buying a few quality pieces, not necessarily signature pieces, that can be easily mixed with colors and styles will save money and time when getting dressed.
2, Never buy trendy pieces that will go out of style in six months.
3. To make the task easier, one must become familiar with the personal season colors, textures, patterns and the right metals for jewelry to add light to the upper body area.
4. Make-up and hair must communicate with the complexion and eye colors. The hair is like the frame for pictures. We frame artwork to highlight it and to add value to it. If the hair color doesn’t highlight the face in a natural way, the face will look like a cheap picture.
5. Be original, be yourself and not a copy of someone else.
Tell us about your books? What is your main purpose in writing books about your design ideas?
I didn’t have a particular purpose when I started to write books, other than enjoy writing, but then I thought, since I haven’t had children, it would have been a shame to let all my knowledge go to waste, so I decided to leave it written down so that anyone who wants to learn part of my design art can do so by reading my books, articles, or various publications. In any case, when one becomes an author, one acquires a certain aura, and the books I’ve written helped me open several important doors to advance in my career. That I knew it was going to happen, and I was so honored my books were well received.
You also produce some beautiful artworks. What are your favourites? Please share pictures.
I started painting after many years I had left it thinking I would not paint anymore. In my design work, I spent many hours, days, months and years designing by hand the spaces I was hired to remodel.
My free hand dictated by my free spirit was “put in a box” by hard precision architectural drawings, calculations, rules and codes. Although nobody does hand drawings in the architectural style anymore, it is a revered art form in this field. I was proud of my ability to hand-draw architectural spaces, room perspectives in multiple points, axonometric, birds eye views of rooms and gardens and much more. The freedom of painting from fantasy is a totally different thing and I missed it for years. Today, I am in a new phase of my life. Being a color analyst and therapist, I am only working with personal color harmony. It made sense to return to painting art and interpret the world they way my eyes see it.
A selection of beautiful floral artworks by Valentina:
Thank you, Valentina, for being a wonderful guest.
About Valentina Cirasola
Picture caption: Profile image of Valentina Cirasola
In my third book RED – A Voyage Into Colors, I wrote:
“…and I was born. I saw the rainbow and heard my mother’s colorful voice. Since then, my life has been a succession of colorful events, it was like opening a window onto a world where color is the main protagonist, giving meaning and value to everything.”
I was born to be a protagonist in my life. I had ambitions and goals to achieve, but I had to do it in another dimension, where I was more in tune with my free spirit and creative nature.
At a certain point, many moons ago, I took the biggest leap of my life. With a fashion degree in one hand and lots of courage in the other, I moved from Italy to the United States without knowing a soul. Thinking back of my life as an emigrant is still very painful, it wasn’t easy at all, but I knew what I wanted, how to find it and how to achieve it. My Italian savoir faire, my passion for colors, style, and love of beauty would have taken me places.
After studying at an American University, I became an interior designer and opened my own design studio, where, for decades, I designed beautiful and harmonious homes.
In my home designs, colors were never an afterthought; they were always the foundation of each project, and everything else began with colors. I used spectacular colors combined with lighting effects that created evocative atmospheres, without ever losing sight of my clients’ needs for a comfortable and livable home.
My American degree made me more than a simple decorator, it gave me the opportunity to learn about architecture and how to execute drawings with architectural rules. I learned all aspects of building or remodeling a home; learned about all hard surfaces and material that beautify a home; I learned to design furniture, lighting, stair, floor, gardens and much more. I was busy for decades.
Over the years, I wrote several books and even hosted my own television talk show on a Californian station. The show was based on Design Universe as I saw it.
My message has always been to not be afraid of colors.
I have encouraged people to see colors from a different perspective to discover what colors can do and how they can transform anyone’s life.
After I achieved all my goals, put a check mark on everything I pursued and had a successful career, I asked myself: “what else was there to do?” I was at a crossroads and had to decide fast my next plan, as if my life was starting again.
I searched for new things to do, but every search took me back to colors. When I thought I knew everything about colors, I found a private school in England that would teach me more about this fascinating subject. Then a Brazilian color expert came along and learned colors with a different twist. I became a color therapist and a color analyst.
Now, I dedicate myself exclusively to personalized color harmony, through which people discover their own power and emotions.
Other than traveling, painting, gardening, entertaining, visiting museums and enjoying theatre productions, chroma-harmony is my next phase of my life.
roberta-writes.com 