Cropping the year away?

The possibility of going to an all day crop/meetup in Lower Manhattan was so tempting that I went along for the day. I actually left them still cropping at 9:30pm with many of them planning to keep going until 2am!
I spent part of the morning getting my photos sorted and realize I have nothing that is current or inspiring enough to create too much from. Perhaps I'm being a tad harsh..... but I do need to get some photos printed for the new class I'm doing with Debbie Hodge . But I managed to gather a heap of photos and pages and then made a trip to the supermarket. Cheryl, the meetup organizer, has over the past few months been asking members to bring along something for City Harvest - I bought some tinned food and also some contributions to the snacks for the day.
A short train journey (four stops) and I was at the venue. And I wasn't the first to arrive. Eager scrapbookers were there on the dot of 12 noon!.
Cheryl is so generous with her time and the company's office space. She had set up tables in a range of spaces (which she does on a regular basis I just can't do Friday nights!). I found a possie and set myself up and by sheer chance I was near the heater- it had begun to snow outside.






I started on my Art Journal pages and manged to get two more done . I was really pleased with the results of both pages. Sue had given me a book on Art Journaling for Christmas and I read it all the way to Melbourne on the plane (plenty of time then to peruse!) and combined with the great inspiration and instruction from Dina Walkley at Get it Scrapped I feel quite inspired and confident about what I am doing. Can't wait for the new class later in the year to add to my repertoire of ideas and processes.


The day proceeded with members coming and going so that at any one point in the day there were about 26 people scrapping and chatting. Just before dinner time the noise level did plummet and rose again once everyone had partaken of Cheryl's great Crockpot of chili and the trimmings- this is what I mean about her generosity.

Conversations drifted around a range of topics- home and family being one main one. The exploits of family conversations were derived from the photos people were using and then there were the work related conversations or the lack of work which was a bigger theme with many being affected by the downturn in the economy.

I eventually left at 9pm as I was quite tuckered out. I got four pages done and two journal pages done so an okay effort I think.

A New Year

Happy New Year to all!
Having had a flying visit home to Australia for Christmas was a great journey but quite disorienting. The result was a New Year morning where I really felt achy and as Leunig said in one of his cartoons (not this one couldn't find the actual one) I not only felt achy but as though I had been to the "tired and wan-arium".
It wasn't due to celebrations from the night before but I reckon a combination of jet lag having arrived back in NYC after 24 hours traveling and 8 days of meals and celebrating in Melbourne prior to that. So even though I dragged myself out of bed late I then threw myself back in to bed for 4 more hours. Hopefully this isn't an indication of my pattern of days for the remainder of 2009!

Eventually I felt okay enough to struggle out of bed and did a page in my newly formated Art Journal. I really like the process of visually representing the thoughts of the day or moment or time.
We (Julia, Sue and I) then headed over to Julie and Dave's on the corner of 47th St- this merely involved a short walk around the corner but it was absolutely freezing!!! We rugged up in coats scarves, hats and gloves and were so pleased we only had a short distance to go.
It was a New Year drink we had been invited for and took a couple of bottles of wines and I showed Julia how to use her furoshiki I had given her for Christmas to carry the wine in. I didn't have a photo but the links explain what we did. At Julie and Dave's they had made some Aussie style tucker including home-made sausage rolls and some lovely soup. There was some delicious nibbles and so after a couple of hours we made our way back home and spent the remainder of the evening scanning through the internet and watching TV.
By the end of the day I felt okay and hopefully have put most of the nasty side of jet lag to rest.

Gaudi Gaudi and Montserrat

The ever reliable cab/tour driver turned up exactly on time and took us on our personal tour of Barcelona. First through the narrow cobbled streets of the old quarter (where we are staying) past the Cathedral and the Brandenburg style gate to the business area and onto La Famiglia Sagrada. LaFamiglia is the most grand and differently ornate cathedral designed and commenced by Gaudi but unfinished due to his death, then the Spanish Civil war (I think- must check), the World War and the cost of its completion. However now it is being worked on and getting closer to completion which is fantastic but it mean there are cranes everywhere which does interfere with ones possible photo angles. We walked around the perimeter of the building and then back to our reliable tour vehicle.
Next stop was Gaudi Park- it is actually called Park Guell as it was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy. The park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. There is a walkway supported by twisting rock pillars that seem to be growing out of the ground like tree trunks. It was photographers heaven trying to capture the shapes and colours.
But there was more to see in our tour so back in the car and off to Montserrat. The Benedictine Monk retreat at Montserrat offered some of the most spectacular mountain views of Catalunya. There is a holy grotto and our guide timed our trip so that we were there in time to hear the Montserrat Choir boys recital. There is no better way to admire the beauty of a church than to be there when the choir is singing. I had visited the monastery in 1980 and my memory of it included the black Madonna and really very little else so it was lovely to be able to admire the views yet again.
Despite the time of year it has been warm enough although on the mountains a long sleeved t-shirt and vest weren't quite enough.
Back in to town and the end of our tour, where our guide dropped us at the Picasso museum, at least at the end of the lane along which is the museum. We availed ourselves of the opportunity to try some gelati and strolled along the lane. Sue left us as she needed to get a little work done for one of her schools which had sought her help- so she headed back leaving us to stroll through the museum. Picasso is not my favourite artist I have to say although there are enough of his early works and some of his later work that I do like. I didn't particularly like his ceramics despite the fact that they said it marked a change in the way ceramics were done?!
The adventure continued after our sojourn at the gallery- we had to find our way back (without Sue our GPS) with a rather skimpy map. However we managed very well as luckily the "placa" we are staying in is one of the points of interest and we were able to find little blue tourist signs indicating our way.
We ended our day with.... tapas having strolled around our area doing a little shopping and some more photos.

Where do I begin?

Barcelona!!!! What a wonderful place! The main parts we have explored have been to do with Gaudi and still I have not had my fill.
When we arrived here yesterday, all five of us, we needed a larger car than one would normally so we found a company with larger cabs. I wasn't going to travel by train or bus again to get to our apartment. We had be on the go for 12 hours after a days work and as far as I was concerned we didn't need to use public transport- get me there the fastest way possible. So eventually Sergio arrived- charming and Spanish- sorry Catalan and absolutely chuffed to be driving Julia Roberts! (That's another story).
He was wonderful drove us to where our apartment is in the middle of the old district (where no cars can regularly go but cabs can) and then found the apartment in the middle of the Sant de Josep Oriel Placa (the Spanish sorta doesn't translate here). When I say in the middle it's actually above a Tapas bar which has become our local tapas. I digress.... our cab driver was wonderful... he not only worked out where the place is but rang the bell and schlepped our luggage and arranged to be our personal tour guide tomorrow to take us out to Montserrat and other locales.

We spent the remainder of the day seeking our equilibrium- that is trying to work out who and where we were. We made the most of our local Tapas place and then walked around the local shopping area. Of course we got lost as it got dark and shops shut and shutters cam down and things looked different but we made our way back through the windy narrow streets to our square and our apartment on the first (2nd for USA) floor apartment. Oh our apartment! It is a 5 bedroom place with three bathrooms and an enormous kitchen and a smaller lounge room.
And so to today- it is Sue's birthday and she has had a grand day as have we. She chose to try on all her birthday gifts at one time including the funny hat Judy had me bring for her
Breakfast was late and a feast of scrambled eggs and the grand idea of getting coffee from our tapas bar. It was great coffee and they actually had home delivery!


Once we were finally organized we headed for the subway and for our first Gaudi locale. La Pedrera, the Gaudi apartments, another having first spent time working out the train system and watching the amazing street performances.
A late lunch (3pm) at ....Yes a tapas bar ... and onto the next Gaudi gorgeous environment Casa Batillo. Talk about photographers heaven we snapped and snapped and then departed from the building and headed back to the Ramblas and walking toward home but first a stop in the market for some food for dinner (9pm) and an evening at home.
The day has been one glorious vista after another.

Heading off.... again!

It is almost Thanksgiving- well next week anyway and for AUSSIE consultants in NYC it is a chance to add a few days together and head off one some adventure. This year Sue and I have some other friends traveling with us and we are heading (any minute now) to the airport and our flight to Barcelona where we'll stay in an apartment for a few days and then join our Celebrity Cruise of the Western Mediterranean.
To say we are a little excited is to put it mildly. The thought of no work and lots of fun for a large number of days (14 to be precise- 10 on the cruise and the rest in Barcelona and traveling) is almost more than we can think about.
So yesterday was spent packing and washing and repacking. Now having rushed home from work the last few items are in the trusty suitcase (and my laptop ready for emails and updates of blogs) and so to the airport! Yay!

Gobsmacked!

Having worked hard all day with the Assistant Principals network I got back to the apartment. I usually check the mail as I arrive home and this time there was a parcel for me. I thought all my online shopping had been delivered and perhaps this was the parcel Michele had said would be arriving soon, but no it was a US postal service box.
I was even more puzzled as I only vaguely recognized the sender's name. Back in the apartment I opened it and there nestled in a cloth bag was a "Comfort Afghan". Each square of the rug has been crocheted by a different person from different place in the US and assembled by Alex Lundgren. A familiar sounding name but I just needed to investigate a little further.... and sure enough she is one of the group of wonderful women who visit, learn and share through the Debbie Hodge Get it Scrapped website and classes.
How incredibly kind, thoughtful and comforting to know that there are people... friends , who will put such care and thought into supporting others whom they don't really know. They do know that times can be difficult and they find a way to comfort and nurture you.
Thank you Alex and all those wonderful women who spent time creating their part of my Comfort Afghan Rug.

An Island adventure

Having spent last Monday visiting new schools it was time to actually start working at them. Today's one was on Staten Island. I was pleased to note that near the school there was an express bus stop. Great! Wrong- they don't start running in that direction, ie Manhattan to Staten Island until later in the morning. It takes about an hour at least on the bus, depending on traffic, so the 7:30 am express bus wouldn't get me to the school before 8:30am and given that they start at 8:02 (don't ask me why that precise time) then I wasn't going to be able to catch the express bus there.
So it was time to check out the internet and hopstop. That was an adventure in itself too trying to get the quickest, shortest combinations of train and /or bus and /or ferry.
The decision came down to the "1" train to South Ferry, the Staten Island Ferry and then a taxi- this would all take about 1.5 hours so given that my departure time was 6:30!!! Sparrows weren't even up let alone f**ting!
But in true either "Pollyanna style" or "Stephen Covey- the only person you can change is yourself style I decided my attitude to it all needed to change and so it became the next step in the big adventure that is education consultancy in New York City.
It was my first time on the Staten Island Ferry. I didn't even know how to find where it was once I got to South Ferry but did the usual commuter thing- followed the crowd. I didn't even have to go outside- it's all linked very nicely thank you very much.
The ferry ride was quite peaceful- no stopping and starting for 29 minutes or so and there wasn't too large a crowd. The crowd steamed off in Manhattan before we boarded. I was on the wrong side to see the Statue of Liberty (duffer) but I had a grand view of the Verrazano Bridge. Although the windows were so salt laden it was difficult to get a really good view (on the camera) of anything.

Once off the ferrry there was a rather nasty time with acquiring a taxi- I know the drivers have to make a living but being "stalked" at that time of the morning (at any time really but early on a Thursday morning) is pretty yucky. I eventually gave in to one of the greater stalkers and actually had a decent trip to the school.
By this time I felt I'd done a day's work already but still had to work- and work hard I did. The leadership team of the school spent the day with me working through what they do and what plans they have and ways we can develop them further.
Then it was time to make the return journey. The literacy coach offered to drive me to the ferry- how nice was that given that it was about 20-25 minutes away. She said she used to visit her sister on Staten Island when she was living in Manhattan and basically said it was a "water bag and compass trip".
This time I sat on the side that would give me views of the Statue of Liberty. It was such a grey rainy day that the views were murky but she is still an inspirational thing to see. I got home about 5:30 and had to do my photocopying for the Assistant Principal network workshop but even so that couldn't take away from the great feeling of achievement I had in getting to and from Staten Island- only 14 more trips to do!