Change of Address

An elegant window display on 20th Street.

Maryam would love the albino peacock.

My main blog is now here

New Blog Address

Antique Shop on 22nd Street

My main blog has moved here

Random: or the Interconnectedness of Things

Every morning I look to see what's on my camera from the day before,

 since I try to post really current things - however dull.

 It is better to have a theme for a post  -like "A Day at the Beach"

but life tends to be a bit random -- one makes the connections later.

Yesterday morning lots of fire trucks rushed to a hotel

 on the other side of the road

 but it must have been a false alarm.

In the evening, I tidied my desk so I could close it.

 All sorts of interesting bits and pieces in there:

 the  business card

from the shop where Buster's collar came from

 and matches from India.

In the afternoon a cat slyly observed us on 22nd Street.

This morning, at six o'clock, the moon was still up.

Robert Frost suggested that 'way leads on to way.'

So here is the path:

men in uniform lead to mailman

black cat leads to black cat behind bars

bars lead to bars on the roof of the building

over which we see the moon 

Running Out of Puff : or a Slow Day in Blogland

Terrifically hot and muggy. Yesterday afternoon I said, 

"Let's take the dog for a walk."

Immediate torrential downpour, enlivened by the approach of a woman clad

 entirely in scarlet. By the time I got my camera out, she had passed by.

The rain made plants in planters sparkle.

Tomorrow, one of the best writers in blogland, Weaver of Grass, 

is encouraging fellow bloggers to write about what inspires them.

I love the idea of inspiration, of having a lovely muse breathe

 exciting things into my ear. Please join in if you feel like it.

Sunday in the Park with Bloggers

A sunny Sunday in Bryant Park

The Bank of America Building all sheeny and modernismo.

Luckily, wherever you are, leaves and plants soothe.

Judy brings hummus and tomatoes. Margaret brings

  cucumber sandwiches. Cherries and walnut cookies

complete the feast. Judy says after lunch that  something

 is going to be happening in Times Square.

We walk there and discover all manner of people: those who insist that

 God speaks directly to them and that He requires them to shout it at us.

Those who find clothing semi-optional......

We discover the Naked Cowboy's cowgirl

 and all sorts of tourists.

Then, to our delight, there is dancing in the street. 

Planned impromptu, but fun anyway. The sun is very bright.

The cops check the paperwork of the event's planners.

Everything in order.

Thinking About Blogging and Real Life

I began blogging about two years ago when we lived in Morocco

and I wanted to keep my family posted on what we were up to.

 My first blog didn't even have pictures. Then I got a digital camera

 and met Maryam whose My Marrakech

remains a joy and delight.

It was Maryam who introduced me to wonderful bloggers like

 Constance of Rochambeau and 

Stephanie of Rodrigvitzstyle

In New York last summer we had a lovely real world lunch party for

 Constance's birthday--which is today!

I became friends in real life with a group of very talented people. 

The photograph above was taken by Susanna Gordon

 one of the most gifted photographers I've ever met.

It is part of a photo shoot Susanna did with her niece A. 

and will almost certainly be the cover of Jane and the Essex Serpent

a book for children that I'm currently editing.

Child, water, woods. Magic.

Blogging has enriched my life in so many ways.

I recommend it highly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONSTANCE

Plates

Like Charles Lamb, I like old china.

I like new china too.

Below is the cereal bowl I use every day.

 (Yes, I know it is a "rimmed soup bowl". )

I Meditate on Plates

they reap the corn two centuries ago

in  some hot european field

where two men stand bent slightly over sythes

and women stoop to gather what's been cut

it was ever thus

this rustic idyll

congealing under weetabix

in tasteful monochrome

villeroy and bosch

dishwasher safe

to grace a polished table

the sweat! the smell!

long hours under scalding sun

I'd hate to be a peasant then

broad-fingered ignorant

and numb to everything 

save aching back and shoulders' burn

I'd long to loll

in shade beside the cows

beneath the heavy trees

I wouldn't think that I looked charmant

wouldn't care to decorate a dish

my labor turned to prettiness.

Second string cereal bowl.

Below a partial list of bloggers who said they were posting about plates.

Please leave a comment or e-mail me if your name isn't here and it should be.

List:

Barrie Summy

Brenda Bryant 

Christina of Soul Aperture

Constance of Rochambeau

Lala of My Castle in Spain*

Paz of Paz's New York Minute

Willow of WillowManor

Cait O'Connor

Merisi*

Deb of BonBon Oiseau

Dale from Australia

Margaret Gosden

Weaver of Grass

Leslie

Poetikat

Karen of Artsortments

Lori of Jarvis House

The Kitchen Logic

Terry Rafferty

Frances City Views Countrydreams

Viv from Whitby

Juliet the Crafty Green Poet

Derrick at Melrose Musings

Caroline at Coastguard

Sue of The Armchair Traveller

Susannassketchebook

Back Valley Seasons

Bluecreekhome

* coming later

Sunday in the Park with Bloggers

Deb of Bonbonoiseau had a brilliant idea: a chicknic in the park.

The rain had stopped at last.

So we all agreed and offered to bring food.

McCarren Park in Brooklyn.

There was an excellent balance of things that are good for you

and morally pure like tomatoes, melon, fruit salad

and stuff that is wonderful like

vanilla pudding and stuffed peppers wrapped in bacon

and stuffed eggs and cake.

So we ate and ate, and then ate more and talked about weddings

and blogging and various other topics of burning interest to all.

Bloggers are pretty good at words, food and connecting.

We talked of farflung bloggers like Maryam and Janelle

and wished they were with us but wondered if we were too dull.

On the way home, an old lady thanked the young man who helped

her off the bus. A VERY GOOD DAY.

Sunset and Blogging

Looking out of the window provides hours of harmless entertainment.

On Sunday evening we had an unusually spectacular sunset.

My new camera picks up bright colors, unlike the last one where I had to crank up the colors every time. 

Tangobaby has a nice sunset today.

Willow of Willow Manor mentioned Tangobaby.

You see how we run in circles and cross-pollinate.

This is looking west down 23rd Street. The two alien spaceships, lower left, are the (one) light over the dining table.

This picture was taken between the other two looking slightly northwest, and the sinking sun is reflected in the windows of the buildings.

Reflections on the Blogosphere

I was having a conversation with a fellow New York blogger the other day and she said she might have to stop blogging for a while out of sheer exhaustion.
Unlike me, she is a very polite person who feels she has to go to all the other participants on a blogging event.....
Some now have several hundred.



Anyway, for people who come here to see New York stuff, this is the newly returned Intrepid.
Pretty amazing, seen from the bike path, and, I'm sure anywhere else.
Back to my theme.
I'm spending way too much time in the blogosphere.
Do I have a life? Sort of.
Lucky I don't have a day job...........



These are typical tall buildings at Columbus Circle when you come out of Central Park.
To revert, I read my e-mail and daily blogs in the morning.
I like blogs that entertain me and are upbeat. I like blogs that are quirky.
I read the comments too and am driven wild with fury sometimes.
No point in this whatsoever.



Nice fall rose hips in a garden way down town.
Having a blog and looking for things to share is sort of fun.
Then you have to look at the blog stats and wonder why a zillion people haven't commented today.
Did I offend someone?
Should I care if I did?
So and so hates me.
I am back in middle school.........Hm......



The shadow of a tree on the wall of FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) on 8th Avenue.
What should I say to my fellow blogger?
That blogging should be fun.........but it's sadly addictive.

Sunday in the Park with .........Everyone

After a wet and blustery Saturday, Sunday dawned fine.
So we went to the park - along with almost everyone else in town.



The young man just learning to walk.....



And the young woman taking photographs.........



The architectural bits are very picture -skew as one of our children used to say.



I don't think the swan was very impressed by these two young girls and their dogs.



The park is a good place to read the paper.......



.............or play music........



..........but most people wandered about.........



.........and eventually had to go home.

ps. this entry goes against my usual principles. I try to keep them to 5 pictures or fewer.
Since I have the attention span of a flea, I get tired reading long, long posts.
Once someone posted a list of 100 things she intended to do........I lasted about 15.....
Obviously, blogs are utterly personal and we all have very different tastes.
Thoughts?

Sunny Weather

Sunny afternoon - too good to waste inside.
How many more of these glorious days will we get?
Walked down towards 11th Avenue.
All sorts of gasp-making construction.



Who will live and work in these palaces?
I admit to thinking they are rather wonderful and inventive.



The Richard Meier Building is, indeed, glorious and grows on one.



The reflections are an integral part of the experience and very subtle.
Robert is being like Waldo.



The first pictures are rather bloodless.
In the morning, I spotted these future bloggers at Union Square green market.
Someone had given them little green cameras.
Someone else put grapes on one young man's head.
I bet their blogs would make good reading.

A Last Look at the Garden

Although I'm back in New York, I'm reluctant to leave England.
As Sarah Laurence puts it, I've got blog-lag.



This little thatched hut/shack/folly which houses croquet mallets and such like
might be a home for a hermit - or a hobbit.



He could sit under the horse chestnut tree and wait for conkers to drop on his head and look out through the mist to cows on the horizon.



Or he could plan what to do with the very large stone ball outside his door.
Suggestions anyone?



Or he could wander down the garden path and think what plant should be put in the urn.



At the back door to the main house, a metal bucket waits to be filled with useful things.

Bloggers Unite

A sultry Sunday afternoon.
A good excuse to meet bloggers in the real world. Here we all are at Le Pain Quotidien in ABC Carpet - where I'm sure lots of the salads have arugala in them. We make friends immediately.
Ming the Merciless (who sounds terrifying but, in fact, is very charming) organized the little get together.
What unites us is that we love blogging and are unabashedly liberal. This blog is not about politics at all, but I really enjoy one of our number's thepalinator.blogspot.com



After lunch what would be better than a 'little lie-down'? Here is the fainting couch all ready in ABC window.
A question, if this couch was actually in my house would I be able to resist the urge to get it properly upholstered? Looks very artistic in its current state. A close up shows the amazing pillows.



Tea sets to remind me of Morocco...............



As an anti-climax I go home on the bus - my favorite mode of NYC transportation.
In blogging mode, I cannot resist taking a picture at the bus stop. (Corner of 23rd Street and 5th Avenue.)

Bloggers at the lunch included:
Ming ( as above)
Lisa of Gramercycafe.blogspot.com
Alexa of theroadismine.blogspot.com
Chuck Pefley who had flown in from Seattle
Eliane of nyc-daily-photo.com
Lori of MissBinnyc.blogspot.com