From Above

The kids are having a wonderful party in a room from which the roof has been removed. 

There seems to be a preponderance of girls....... and how quiet the level below is in contrast.

Then night fell and the almost full moon rose over the Chelsea Hotel.

Coney Island

One of the reasons for going to Coney Island is to eat all the stuff that's terrifically bad for you
 -- but miraculously has no calories when eaten in the fresh air.

You can wear whatever you want --even blend in with the scenery....

 You can buy all sorts of cool plastic stuff

 and show off your tats

wear extra special headgear when participating in the Mermaid Parade

and sit facing the boardwalk

and listen to music.

Robert' s pictures of the same event are here 

Estate Sale Long Island

How some people love to pore over the things other people want to sell or discard!
 I think it is the thrill of the hunt-- that at any moment the most wonderfu treasure will be unearthed.

To be honest, I only go to these things when friends want to go, but I know they are sadly addictive.

The coffee cups were rather charming.....

.......boxes of other stuff less so

This child's dress  was exquisitely clean.

A Glimpse of Scarlet

........and so this cop goes up to the cash machine......

you can make up your own joke here

Whenever the weather is nice, a group gathers on the benches in the little park at Penn South.

The little girl has a very New York backpack!

This is left over from last week's trip to the beach on Long Island but I liked the walker's costume.

Do you think this couple did this on purpose of was it merely a co-incidence?

People at bus stops naturally organize themselves into compositions.......

Sister Goes for a Walk

Chelsea is home to all sorts of people, including ones who work in fashion and the arts. Though Sister is carrying a bag from Henry Bendel's, her costume is not cutting edge....more traditional somehow.

I think this white costume is summer wear.

And contrasts nicely against the dark window of the diner.

Sister is heading for the bar, but I don't think she will go in....

Chelsea Market/Fruit and Bread

The Old Nabisco Biscuit factory is now home to lots and lots of food shops. Excellent for food snobs and if you aren't one already you will soon become one. An excellent fruit market where everyone goes from restaurant chefs to just plain people....

...and firemen who, when not fighting fires, seem to do a lot of cooking. A handsome, helpful crew held in high esteem by New Yorkers.

They keep the fruit market very chilly, so the check-out girls wear sweaters even in June.

The front door of the same...

Just across the way are the bakers at Sarabeth's busy making the most delicious  bread, cakes and cookies. The nearest to home-baked you can get round here.

Yum!

They even provide a table to sit at to enjoy it all........

My main blog is here 

My Latest Project

Accompanied by my trusty companion, and inspired by Luis in the post above, I decided to adopt a neglected tree enclosure near my apartment.  It was plain, hard dirt with a confetti of cigarette butts. I added some top soil, potting soil and a few pale nicotinia.

Yesterday I went up to the green market at Union Square and picked up a few other little annuals.

The front of the metal railing is missing, so I imagine my little garden will get dug in and peed on and generally abused. But if it only lasts for a few days it will have been worth it. If it survives and thrives, I will post another picture of it.
Go here  for lots of other SHADOWSHOTS

Beautification

                              Where a tree once was 22nd Street

Spring brings with it a great urge to improve and prettify things. An excellent idea. Some people do indoor projects like putting in new carpets or recessed lighting  or things like that. Other than ordering some Le Crueset cooking stuff (for when I feel ambitiously domestic) my thoughts turn to outdoors. Since I don't have a garden I long to take over a little plot of something outside and adopt it in a sort of guerilla gardener sort of way......

....just as Luis Lujan has done on the corner of 25th Streetand 9th Avenue. Petunias rule! I look forward to following his project. Buster is pretty impressed too!

This morning I met Shin Shin from California who pastes huge photos

 of fruit from her garden onto other graffiti. She wants to make things a great deal prettier.....

                              22nd St. between 10th and 11th Avenues.

.... and somehow succeeds.

The new park at the  west end of 23rd Street now has a carousel 

with lovely decorated creatures to ride on. A great hit on a late spring Sunday. 

Things that Go

A rather usual sort of day..... subway downtown.

A walk in the new park at the end of 23rd Street

and a visit to the Museum of the American Indian in the former custom house at One Bowling Green which used to be a custom house. Here a mural makes the Hudson look much busier than it does today.

My main blog is now here 

Family Reunion, Wimbledon, England

Circa 1937

A cousin who was at the reunion with his mother.... who was not

2010

Most people, including me, are already up on the stage waiting for the group photo. The reunion is held in a church hall where they have lots of tables and a kitchen and toys and things for the children to do. 

My great grandfather had fourteen children -- or rather his wife did. (Gosh!) Two died very young in the First World War. There are tables with lots of photos of relatives  -- my father,  aged two, wearing a dress --they did in those days...... and Auntie Rose looking glam on her wedding day.

All generations tumbled together (we wore name tags).  I met several people I hadn't talked to in almost forty years.

And the newest generation played around and had lots of fun......

....dancing .....

...or just looking.......