Culture Watch

Sonya Zalubowski writes: One of the most thrilling moments was our visit to the Alcazar in Segovia, the castle with foundations that date to Roman times, where Isabella and Ferdinand reigned in the 15th century. We stood in the very throne room where Christopher Columbus once knelt before her. The people are surrounded by remnants of a succession of cultures ranging all the way back to prehistoric to Roman, Visigoth and Moorish, to the kings and queens whose rule dominated Europe as they sent out Portuguese and Spanish explorers, to 20th-century despots and finally present day governments more »

While it is certainly admirable to pay off your mortgage before you retire, our experience is that retirees and pre-retirees over-estimate the impact. In today’s world of low mortgage rates, paying off the last $100,000 of your mortgage, may free up cash flow, but isn’t saving you much in interest cost. You are still left with paying insurance, and property taxes, which will continue to go up. If you consider the fact that the IRS allows for a building to depreciate over 27.5 years, it stands to reason that you may need to almost completely replace your home over 25-40 years. And if you are banking on your home to pay long-term care costs or for a move to a more elderly friendly environment, you might be disappointed in what you get. more »

New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition (Floor 2, Gallery 999, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall) opens with a dramatic installation that emphasizes the universality of jewelry — precious objects made for the body, a singular and glorious setting for the display of art. Great jewelry from around the world will be presented in a radiant display that groups these ornaments according to the part of the body they adorn: head and hair; nose, lips, and ears; neck and chest; arms and hands; and waist, ankles, and feet. more »

Julia Sneden wrote: It's embarrassing to think back over the sheer volume of presents I've received over the years. A few stand out: a beautiful, winter-white skirt of soft wool embroidered with pale blue and silver snowflakes that I longed for but knew we couldn't afford, that turned up miraculously anyway ... an opal ring that my great aunt had promised me when I was sixteen ... from my husband, a pair of books by Carmen Bernos de Gasthold, the first Christmas we were married ... a present my eldest son selected all by himself for me when he was about eight, blue ornament earrings paid for from his allowance ... the Double Crostic books another son gives me yearly ... a copy of Babar the King brought me by my adult middle son ... photos of my grandchildren taken and compiled into a little book by my clever daughter-in-law. more »