The views from 16 P (urple).....

Quintessential water towers stacked in the distance

With a dusting of snow!

Makes me think of West Side Story!

The lower section of the "Pencil Building"correctly known as the world Wide Plaza

Look down,  look down!

All packed

Now all that is needed is the removalists/movers to come and help get me to 16P

The container

 On the flea market walk I carried this purchase, sans contents.

It is supposed to be a  Canadian sugar mold but I could only find out about Mexican ones...

Used in Mexico and the Southwest during the 1800's and into the early 1900's, sugar molds were used to measure brown sugar for sale where scales were not commonly available. The sugar was packed into the wooden sugar mold, tipped out, wrapped and sold, so this antique sugar mold has seen some action!
A common use for antique sugar molds today is as a candle holder, vase or anything else you can come up with, put your creativity to work! Antique sugar molds are versatile and add a wonderful rustic charm to any decor.

I guess the Canadians used it them in the same way!

Enjoying the journey

At Christmas they had an interactive display

Walking to the Upper East side along Broadway

One could almost feel Parisienne

This live cat is in the window of a dog grooming store. It is of course a very sunny spot.

 The class I was going to was ...
Work on a large canvas 16"x20" and create a mixed media painting, quilt style, representing what is in your heart and dreams.  How can you represent yourself and your family through an exploratory painting ….including small snippets of your life? We will work on a loose grid to create our painting.
We will explore many mixed media techniques, including painting on unprimed canvas, vintage fabric and crinoline.
Our home is where our art is….

This one is mine

I have never painted or worked on canvas before so in the "Live" year i am embracing all things as best i can and this is my production.... not sure where it's going to go in the new apartment:)

It is a statement about me.

Chi's work. she is amazing.

Enthusiasm

Hands fly up
An enthusiastic response...
 to the teacher's question.

Keeping up with the mixed media art journal

I walked up to 89th Street to Michele Luxemburg's craft apartment out of which she has her Little Bird Creations meetup.

In savouring the moments along the way I refrained from sampling and savouring the Saturday special other than to photograph the sign and check that it did indeed have peanut butter, banana and chocolate on the "wafel".


 
What a gem Michele is, kind, generous, enthusiastic and gorgeous. On this particular occasion the project we/I were/was working on was the 2013 Calendar challenge....

Here is the description for these classes... an ongoing project called the "2013 Calendar Challenge". For those of you who follow the absolutely fabulous Kate Crane's blog, "The Kathryn Wheel", you know that she creates a layout for each month of the year and fills in small tidbits of information for each day of the month as an ongoing project. At the end of the year, she has a beautiful art journal that she is able to look back through and remember important events that happened during the year and also all of the wonderful art supplies and products she created with.
Included (for a small fee) in these particular meetups will be full use of my paints, sprays, stencils and stamps. You can register for any of them. It is not mandatory to register for all of them. Just sign up for whichever dates you think you'd like to attend. I have enough room and supplies for 12 at each meetup and if they become sold out, I will offer an additional date that month - so please, no need to worry or feel pressured about spending money ahead of time as I know we are all budget conscious.
We'll create our pages together - usually one month in advance. For example: we will work on the background for January's layout in December. In January, we will work on February's layout..etc..etc.  If you feel like jumping ahead to do other months on your own, that's great! These Calendar Challenge dates are just for us to work together on this particular project and share tips, ideas, artwork, etc.
And - even though the title of this series has the word "Challenge" in it - please don't fret. As always, there will be no judging, deadlines, etc. I just threw that word in there to MOTIVATE us to keep up with this fun project.

From that description you can see what I mean about generous!  The time flew!
I didn't want to do the loads of hearts and red that is often associated with February but did want the theme to be the "love" month acknowledging that aspect of the Happiness Project and having a theme for the month. My love month focus is on what I love. The list above the image is the start of the list of things I love.

On the walk back to the subway I passed Brooks Brothers and the picture and window dressing caught my eye. And so a little research later I am a little wiser about the photos...

American clothier Brooks Brothers recently spotlighted it’s relationship with American presidents on its website.  Brooks Brothers was started in 1818 as H. & D.H. Brooks & Co. in New York City before being renamed Brooks Brothers in 1850 when it was taken inherited by its owner’s three sons.
Many people would probably guess that Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter might have dressed from Brooks Brothers, but they might not know Brooks Brothers has been associated with the presidential office and the US military back to 1860s.  In 1861, future president and then-Quartermaster of the Army Chester A. Arthur placed an order with Brooks Brothers for 300 Union regiment overcoats. Then-General Ulysses S. Grant was also fond of the having his uniform tailored by Brooks Brothers.  In later years, Theodore Roosevelt would have his dress uniform for the Spanish-American War ordered from Brooks Brothers.
Even a somewhat fashionably bland Abraham Lincoln purchased a black frock coat from Brooks Brothers which he wore to his second inauguration.  This may have influenced the belief that black is only appropriate for servants and funerals, as Lincoln would wear the same frock coat at the time of his assassination.
Only one president since then seems to have openly refused Brooks Brothers help.  During the 1980 election, George H.W. Bush was accused of being a “Brooks Brothers Republican” to which he opened his jacket point out he was wearing a J. Press suit.

Quotes

Our building posts quotations in the elevator- I guess it is a bit like De Bono's solution to slow elevators although we already have mirrors inside the lifts- they do need to put the mirrors outside the lifts too to resolve that feeling of slow lifts/elevators.
I digress...
The Chesterfield quote captured my attention as looking at people is what I often do rather than looking into them.
That superficial look at the person you are taking with or working with is often the reason why things haven't worked out.
I think this quote links in nicely with Covey's habit #5 Seek first to understand then be understood. In looking and thinking about these links i looked back at the 7 Habits and haven't explored Habit #1 for a while and that is Be Proactive. In looking at that habit i realized that my word for the year, Live, is very strongly linked to Habit #1!

Life doesn't just "happen." Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you. The choices, after all, are yours. You choose happiness. You choose sadness. You choose decisiveness. You choose ambivalence. You choose success. You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear. Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice. And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.

Lalique in Henri Bendel windows

Un petit chou in a garden bed in NYC

Habit 1: Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able." They don't blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame for their behavior. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather. All of these external forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice.
Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas--Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.
Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern--things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies in is a giant step in becoming proactive. 

Chi, me, Fran and Vee heading out the door NYE

An so this year I have  chosen to Live- to get out there in the crowd on New Year's Eve- to enjoy the company of those I am with and to seek and find other places and times to enjoy living in New York City and the year that is 2013.
Savouring the moments and creating a space between the stimulus and the response!

Proof that...

Black gessoed cards before class; took my paints

 ....one can do a post in a hurry!
Wanted to put up my photos of the day creating the little 52card book.  Thank you Seth Apter for a great class and thank you Michele at Little Bird Creations- magical!

The class outline and others and my creations...

A deck...52 cards. A year...52 weeks. Make the most of this synchronicity by creating a one-of-a-kind, mixed media journal that you can use to document a year in your life, week by week.

Participants backgrounds

Jessica's backgorunds

In this workshop we will start by taking an ordinary deck of playing cards and, by using paint and paper, end up with a unique and personal journal small in size but large in impact. Along the way you will learn the secrets of creating textured and layered backgrounds, the basics of collage composition, and tricks of the trade to tie it all together. The uses for your creation are limited only by your imagination and can include a place to hold your weekly journaling, goals, documentation, affirmations, drawings, photographs, thoughts, love notes, or anything else. In this workshop, you will always be dealt a winning hand.

My collaging so far....

Michele capturing the proud artists.

Here we are!