Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tracery of Trees


A very foggy morning --unusual for New York -- we're heading to Long Island in a rental car.


Time to escape all this for a moment.....



and take rather bad Hipstamatic photos as we speed along.


I am quite besotted with bare branches --always have been. They always remind me of Shakespeare's sonnet #73

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals all up in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long. 

This is the same picture as the top one --an echo or a rhyme perhaps


These branches are above a gas station where we stopped to fill up


and these beside the Northern State Parkway.

Notes: Carol Gillot of the lovely blog Paris Breakfasts just wrote a most amusing post about our dog Buster. We loved it and Buster's head if now full of his importance!

The winner of the Novica gift code is Mary who commented on the last post.  Mary please contact me so you can find something lovely.



Saturday, December 8, 2012

Chelsea Market, Marrakesh and a Giveaway


Since we live within walking distance of Chelsea Market, we're down there pretty often.


Their main Christmas tree is wintry and very unusual.


On closer inspection it turns out to be all sorts of dried rhododendron leaves and grasses and twigs --as artificial trees go it's rather lovely.


Tis the season to bake cookies at home, but if you are too lazy/busy Sarabeth's does it all year round....


I recommend the palmiers (and all the others!)


Ah, but here is what we've come for --a glimpse of Morocco which we still manage to miss. Our friend Mohamed Elmaarouf used to have a shop in Chelsea Market all the time and now he's back for the holiday season. His web site has much better pictures than I do. Imports from Marrakesh.


The colorful costume of a water seller  like we used to see in Djemma Elfna. The hat is especially splendid.


Here is our friend Mohamed Elmaarouf with some of his rugs....


and more carpets and cushions. The sequins sparkle


and look almost like the Christmas tree in the first photo.


Brasses gleam


not to mention the tea pots and slippers. I want everything!

And now the giveaway: as they did last year the kind people at Novica have given me a $50 gift code to send to a reader of this blog.  They wanted me to mention their new gift finder which makes looking for unusual hand crafted presents from round the world even easier. I will choose the winner on Monday  --so you have time to send off for something lovely before the holidays.



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Lights



Tuesday evening on 5th Avenue where I had gone to hear a talk by Susan Isaacs at the Fiction Center -- except that when we got there we discovered we had got the wrong night. So we looked at all the lights instead.



So tall and white and bold.


Saks had lovely windows of children creating patterns with light -- and their clothes look comfortable and charming at the same time.


Is that a relative of Buster's beneath the tree?


Ah, the magic of snow globes to shake and shake!


Lots of people around, therefore lots of police. A most elegant horse.


The building is belted in glitter with icicles falling....


And something like trees maybe heading upwards.....


So much to look at and take photos of.....


like these snooty ice maidens in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman


with their slightly wistful friend


in some mysterious performance


where peacocks abound


and almost drown me in feathers.




Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Children at the Public Library




Frances asked if I wanted to go with her to the Christmas party the Public Library. Of course! It was wonderful fun and so beautifully organized. So much to see it was almost overwhelming. Jugglers and bands and.....


Mother Goose


and the elves making ballon animals and headdresses


I rather wished I were five and could ask for one.


Everyone was super cheerful


and wonderfully skilled.


Even the gold baseball player was impressed.


Everyone was dressed to suit the season


a positive whirl of scarlet and gold


so much to wonder at


Time to take a rest on the stairs though the boys are still rushing up.


What a very tall person....


Last the grandeur of the building. In addition to all this there was music and food and singers and storytellers. A great time was had by all!


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Signs of the Season




For some reason (hurricanes, elections, snowstorms?) I'm feeling ready for the festive season to begin. Bring on the glitter and the decorations --the more the merrier. Here at the barber's at London Terrace. 


Here on 22nd Street.


Reading on the subway....on the way to the crafts fair at Grand Central Station.


The UPS guys are extra busy.


I went up to 36th Street yesterday to buy some fasteners for an old coat and stumbled into a shop that sells zip fasteners and clips and buttons and every possible device you can think of. It was an Alladin's cave of fastening bliss. The bling! the joy! The possibilities.


Button heaven....


Then I spotted the real bone colored ones in the middle -- so I bought some. (Thank you New York State Teachers' Retirement check). Maybe I'll start attaching them to the elf hats.


I rarely go to 36th Street, but I'll know where to go when I next need metallic tights....


or purple elbow length gloves.



The young man from Alaska selling Christmas trees outside CVS has a sideline making charming reindeer.


Even I've been elf-busy making sketches for cards.