Work

Light and clouds

Summer stoop

The stoop, it's a great opportunity for a little gardening. A few pots — flowers, herbs or even vegetables — can give the most basic set of stairs great curb appeal.

Stoop planters are a great way to add green when you don't have any outdoor space. One on each side of the door helps define the entry: pots on each step provide a lush look and abundant greenery. 

So recovering from jet lag and getting to work and managing my challenges of a photo a day and documented life and blog!

She's b-a-a-a-ck

Tiina arrived Wednesday night after the Kitchen Tablers had left. Sue and i sat and chatted and waited and finally the front desk buzzed 16P and "Miss Tiina is here!"
And indeed she is. Just like old times.
Tiina, Sue and I arrived in NYC at the same time to be consultants with AUSSIE. We had such great times together, Friday night catch ups- me coming from Bay Ridge- the other end of the R line- Tiina from the Upper Eastside and Sue from Midtown.
Now it is time for us to catch up and enjoy each others' company and this wonderful city. Yee Ha!

Subway journey

The J train is an interesting commute... catch the Q or N to Canal and then up a flight of stairs to the J train platform. Yesterday when i did that trip there was a rather large rat at the end of the platform that I kept a close watch on as I waited for the train to arrive.It was scared onto the tracks by a young fellow commuter :)
We journeyed swiftly or as swiftly as a J train goes until we pulled into a some stop in Brooklyn where we waited on the platform for a while then the announcement that a train was stopped ahead of us and needed so mechanical issues addressed so someone was going onto the track for a look see (my words not theirs).
Next it was announced the next stop would be Broadway junction involving expressing through a few other stops. Fine by me we'd catch up time. Then we did another express to get further ahead of the train behind. Then we pulled into Crescent Street and again going express- given that Cypress Hills where I was headed was the next stop I got out of the train along with a number of other commuters and as the train pulled out of the station this was the sight we could see...

 

A sharp intake of breath! What happened here and how long will it remain like this.

I turned around to look at the other side of the platform and what a contrast !

Soon another train arrived and I traveled in a rusty old train dragged out from somewhere. A boy from the school i was heading to was made anxious by the delays as he wanted breakfast at the school and he was/did miss it.

Back in NYC

A conversation with Michele has put new purpose back into my blogging. Well getting back into it is the idea. We were talking about a reminder of an event and she had looked back at her blog and realized that it was around this time that our new kitchen was installed in 2011. Then she had looked at other things happening over the past couple of years.
I've been thinking about that conversation and since thought that I really should get some retrospective use of my photos and my blog so hopefully I'll be able and inspired to continue to do this and get things up on here.

Some of my fellow commuters

Having returned from the USVI I've spent a couple of days writing for work and it was the day to go and present some of the writing to the school. This journey involved a trip on the J train which goes over the Williamsburg Bridge. Great views down the river on the Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridges. All around me people were on their phones reading playing games and chatting to someone. I watched one woman who was holding her phone to her ear and I wasn't sure if someone was on the other end of the line as she was talking very quietly and chewing gum so it appeared she was talking constantly. This made me think (again) that some of those people one sees on the streets of NYC who are always talking to the voices they hear only need to hold a phone to their ear or even just have one of the blue tooth things in their ears to fit into the city people-scape.

I stopped off at 34th street and heading to the office from the N train. This bridge between buildings caught my eye. I've since looked it up and found the follwoing on the "Forgotten New York" website
Filigree and decoration like this would be deemed unnecessary, ostentatious and needlessly expensive in ensuing decades. Since 1925, when the overpass was built, inter-building bridges have gotten ever more utilitarian and boring.
But, when Gimbels’ Department Store, Macy’s great rival, decided to bridge West 32nd Street at its 6th Avenue flagship, they hired the Shreve and Lamb architectural firm. A few years later, the same firm designed the Empire State, the King of All Buildings.

I needed to get some pages printed off for the house purchase. A simple matter one would think however for who knows what reason the US still use feet and inches and also has paper sizes that no one else in the world uses. So having something printed on A4 was an issue. However I found via the web a  place where I just emailed my attachments and they printed them off on A4 paper (or perhaps they cut some paper down who knows).
I could have had the pages sent back to me but i chose to walk to 55th and Lex. A pleasant day to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city.
The difference in walking around the city during the working week is that there are so many more food trucks out offering a huge array of "cuisines". The "Halal Guys" have two carts on either side of the corner of 53rd and 6th. The queues are always long- apart from anything else i couldn't be bothered with the queue. I found a review/comment online about it....

The yellow umbrella is the food cart

 As it accompanies all places that are super hyped, I was bracing myself for some disappointment. It was a little cart at the corner of an intersection, and the line was short: only about half a block long. My friend got me a classic chicken and rice bowl, which was basically.. a bowl with chicken and rice. Nothing more nothing less, exactly what the name implies. After I got my bowl, I was instructed to a section devoted to the sauces. There was a thick white sauce, and a lighter red sauce. Do not be fooled by this "lighter" red sauce. It is one of the spiciest sauces I've ever put on anything ever.

I think the white sauce is where the money's at for this place. It is a mayonnaise-based sauce that is simply delicious with the food in your bowl. Most people drench their bowl in this sauce, and I followed suit. I have to admit, the seemingly mediocre bowl of chicken and rice suddenly tasted unique and delicious. However, I think the bottom line is that this place depends 100% on their white sauce, while their rice and chicken is nothing special. Still not a bad deal for like 6 bucks, and they give you a lot! Overall, these places never live up to their hype, but I think Halal Guys comes pretty close. It is a place you definitely want to check out if you're in the area.

A full plate

The oysters were divine!

 This is not one meal nor is it one day but one has to photograph one's meals as one travels.

Prawn risotto

Linguini and prawns

A meet pie, chutney and salad- yum!

Blogtoger #29 Arrival

It's tempting to post the photo of my visa page which arrived in my passport however I am not going to only because the photo is so severe and I'd like to think that that is not what I am like!

 However that being said the day finally arrived when I could walk to the post office and pick up my parcel containing my new visa from the US consulate. A bit of a false start to the collection...I walked over the the post office and as I was getting my delivery notification card out I went to get my driver's licence out and realized it is in my other purse back at the house.

So a brisk walk home and a brisk walk back and I was able to hold my passport and visa again. All very comforting.
It is the perfect time to be in Melbourne... today that is given the weather and the gardens are just lovely.

Have had windows open and balmy breezes blowing and the scent of the mock orange floats in on the breeze.

The roses are loving the sunlight and the warmth.

All the foliage and the flowers make the entrance to the house look so different from the times when I have been home in the winter.

Back in NYC

“Our great and glorious masterpiece is to live appropriately.”
-Michel de Montaigne

 

This was a quote from the Happiness Project  daily quotes. It kinda summed up my day. 

What is a great way to spend part of a weekend in NYC and thus live appropriately? Go to a class with Dina Wakley and get inspirations left right and centre. 

Sorry Dina about the bad photo

Getting to the venue , Westbeth Gallery involved a train trip to W14th St. In the same carriage as me on the subway was a man carrying a standard lamp, tourists tracking their journey on subway maps and me carrying art supplies. Who knows what other interesting things were going on in the relatively crowded carriage at 10am on a Sunday. 

Walking through the streets of Greenwich Village along cobbled streets and paved roads taking the twists and turns that Map Quest guided me through it was delightful just to look around at the lovely brownstones and the wrought iron rails and fences as well as the occasional window boxes.

The class was fabulous- as one would expect of Dina. 27 participants, all intent on getting their piece of work done. She showed us a range of techniques for backgrounds for art journaling or for anything really. It was messy and speedy- so that in the three hours I have a nearly completed little book.

 

Continuing to live appropriately for the city I stopped at a little Italian restaurant and had a delightful lunch of spaghetti carbonara and some lovely bread and olive oil at a little restaurant called Malaparte. I have since checked their reviews which are mixed but I loved it. 

I had a brief respite back home and continued to live appropriately by going to a singing lesson with a meetup group called Vocal Brilliance. There were only 5 of us in the beginners’ lesson that went for two hours. I learned a lot and have some things that I can try to practice if I can begin to be more serious about trying to improve my singing. Is it ever too late to do something about that?

Back home and I was truly exhausted. I perhaps am leading and over stimulated life but then that is appropriate for NYC.

Working on a Saturday

Got back to NYC late last night. Work was on for the day. The first professional development day for the year. A chance to catch up with other consultants and find out what our work will look like for the year give the school year plans. 

The contrast in views from the past week has not been lost on me.

They don't write themselves...

Along the beach in St Croix

An unbleached shell just sitting on the sand 

 

 

It has been an embarrassingly long time since I have posted and it has dawned on me today that blog posts don't write themselves :) so i have put fingers to keyboard and will drivel on for a little while so that at least I can say I have begun posting again.Part of the reason has been the traveling back and forth to the Virgin Islands for work- you can be lucky sometimes... however often there is unreliable internet there and I'm usually exhausted by the end of the day... excuses excuses... which makes me think I should list things that don't "do themselves"

So here I go..
1. The washing doesn't wash itself
2. My bag doesn't pack itself for work with the right things like the notebook I should have taken today!
3. The apartment doesn't clean itself although the list that we have of doing a bit at a time is helping keep it very clean.
4. The silver jewelry doesn't keep itself shiny and I end up with black fingers from cleaning it
5. The Met card doesn't refill itself ...unlike my phone card which does when it gets below a certain point
6. Dinner doesn't cook itself... and it's that time now.

Blog-tober Ninth

I am certainly back in the "big smoke"!
The day was a day of grabbing on to moments and sharing great and simple times with friends.
The street market was on in 8th Avenue I spotted that- hard to miss really- on my way to get breakfast. So what else was a gal to do but get a banana crepe and a pineapple and mango smoothie!
Friends joined me as I found my way up 8th Avenue to Columbus Circle where we had a coffee and a long chat. They left and I met up with another friend to have a picnic in Central Park. Easily organized after we shopped for food at Whole Foods.
Lovely chats sitting on a rock in the park eating and watching the baseball game and kids at a party playing on other rocks with "swords" and all manner of costumed and casually dressed folk going by.
We walked back to have an iced tea in a cafe and then went our separate ways at the subway- she to explore more me to meet up with the first lot of friends to go to see "The Ides of March"- good movie- what did he say in the end?!
Home for a home cooked meal- how different a day from that on St Croix- photos later

From this to this

It was time to return to NYC... the day dawned sunny and coolish. The morning light was inviting..

A few shots adjusting exposure and shutter speed- finally understood that lesson!

The flight was due to leave Melbourne at 1pm but was late and so late into Sydney a real rush to the plane and the great disappointment of no upgrade so I spent the flight in an exit row and managed to get around 7 hours sleep- as I have said in the past- sleeping is one of my greater skills.
We rushed from the LAX flight to the flight to JFK.
Began to relax in the business class eat and oh darn they needed to move some passengers to enable others to board the flight so we were upgraded to first class. Yay!
Finally got home in NYC earlier than expected- at 8:30pm- 25 hours after we left home.

We went from this ...

The bird feeder in the back garden

to this...

Getting sorted

It doesn't pay to rush things, especially my blog! Earlier in the month I wanted to post my invitation to the Photography Exhibition which I did but in doing so I took the quick way out and inserted the table which i had used for the invitation format. In doing so I completely mucked up (I have to say I used far stronger words at the time) my blog- perhaps you noticed the ginormous font for some components of this witty little tome? And the choice of pink for the large declaration of "Followers". I was practically shouting all over the place. However you will notice I have it sorted and created a bit of a different look for the blog at the moment.
Now I still need to catch up on the days of February as I did so well in January-every date blogged.

The process of getting sorted continued to be the theme of the day. Part of my goal while here was to tackle the bungalow.

Our bungalow is, as is tradition, is out the back of the house in fact it is at the back of the back yard and the back wall of it forms the back fence to out property- the line between our property and the neighbours behind.

According to Wikipedia ....

A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many (but not all) of these definitions include being detached, low-rise (single, or one-and-a-half storeys), and the use of verandahs. The term originated in India, deriving from the Gujarati બંગલો baṅgalo, which in turn derives from the Hindustani बंगला baṅglā, meaning "Bengali" and used elliptically for a "house in the Bengal style". Such houses were traditionally small, only one story and thatched, and had a wide veranda.

The term is first found in English from 1696, where it was used to describe "bungales or hovells" in India for English sailors of the East India Company. They were known in Britain and later America, where it initially had high status and exotic connotations, and began to be used in the late 19th century for large country or suburban houses built in an Arts and Crafts or other Western vernacular style - essentially as large cottages, a term also sometimes used. Australia, the California bungalow was popular after the First World War. In Britain and North America a bungalow today is a residential house, normally detached, which is either single story, or has a second story built into a sloping roof, usually with dormer windows ("one and a half storeys"). Full vertical walls are therefore only seen on one story, at least on the front and rear elevations. Usually the houses are relatively small, especially from recent decades, though early examples may be large, in which case the term bungalow tends not to be used today. Later it became used for the spacious homes or official lodgings of officials of the Later developers began to use the term for smaller houses.

Fascinating? Forget all that and go back to the first part of the the description/history which uses the words "hovel' and "low rise" and "detached" because that is what our bungalow is. It could tell some wonderful stories as it has accommodated lots of people over the years we have lived here. It has two rooms and each room has a window out into the yard- they even open. It is accessed by traversing the backyard and in bad times avoiding the clothes on the clothes line and the "barkers eggs". It has electricity but no water so access to the bathroom facilities is gained by traversing the yard and coming in to the house. And so to my day and goal which was to help prepare the second room for Michele's god daughter Michelle to reside in. She is starting a Fashion Design course and needs accommodation. We really can't accommodate her until there is room for her things. So I spent 6 hours doing what I do best, well one of the things I do best- apart from sleeping (got 8 hours on the plane)- I tidied and sorted and extracted the junk from the treasures that have been accumulating in the bungalow. 

All that is left to do now is sort out my snowdomes- some serious decisions need to be made and sort out some of my books.  I have to admit I am a tad achy now- it was a very warm day and I kept myself at it taking advantage of the "fog" of jet lag where one's brain is quite numb.

Daze Eleven December

Thank you to you who visit my blog I really enjoy your company, even more when you leave comments. Thank you Barb in particular- my one regular commentator.

A night out with friends- dinner and then Jazz at Lincoln Center- Diane Schuur. She can hit the notes but last night was tad lack lustre-perhaps it was the space and she works better in an intimate environment or perhaps she was just tired as she'd done the 7:30 show and this was the 9:30 or perhaps she just wanted to be elsewhere.

Today's preparation for 2011 was the following prompt (like this one very in line with the Happiness Project decluttering!)

11 Things 

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

1. Self put downs. I don't need to think I'm fantastic but I do need to stop thinking I am useless and pathetic!
2. The wrong food. Too many times I have gone for the quick feed- time to get it managed better.
3.  Reasons not to be creative. I established a space now I need to work there regularly.
4. Get rid of the pebbles and implant the big rocks a la Stephen Covey. Find the time to pause, and savour the moments- the one life I have and am living to the fullest.
5. Last minute-itus. When it comes to some things I do leave them to the last minute- things like birthday wishes, answering emails, phone calls, bill payment- time to get in and get over it.
6. Excuses not to blog. I'm awake! I can blog!
7. "Just putting it here for the moment". I need to start just putting it away where it belongs or throwing it out so that the piles of junk don't have the chance to accumulate.
8. Excuses not to walk. Bite the bullet and do it- either from the next subway stop or a special walk on the weekend.
9. Rescheduling writing time. Other than the one time a week I meet up with the writing buddy, I need to stop postponing it and schedule it into my life more regularly
10. Mailbox overload. Just because they think I should be on their mailing list doesn't mean I should be. I need to stop the catalogues and the junk promotional stuff that clutters up my life
11. Turn the page not the channel- I want to read more both professional things and novels- expelling some of the TV from my life would be a good move.
    

Friday night at Annie's

The very last Friday night at Annie's apartment in NYC. She heads back to Australia all too soon. She cooked here wonderful soda bread and had lovely smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Not so Wacky Wednesday

The sun was shining and blue skies sparkled... the weather was too good to go to the gym and walk on the walking machine so instead I donned my walking shoes and headed out on to the street- what a novel idea!!
It's actually too cold in winter to brave the walking outside and so taking advantage of the not back to work yet time and the lovely weather was pretty smart I thought. And indeed it was! Along 48th then up and across Broadway along 57th and then up 7th and across 59th and into Central Park at the Artisans Gate. Others had the same idea and appeared to have had the idea for some time- that is to walk in the park ... there were kids running on the path (a trip and skun knee very closely averted), dogs on leads with their owns ambling behind or beside them, people on their way to work, mothers with kids in prams perhaps taking a cut across the park to get the kids to child care or merely giving them an "airing". There was a sense of purpose in most people and animals there given that it was early the birds were beginning their day long search for food. There were few people sleeping under trees- all a different place from yesterday's lark in the park.
I really only skimmed the edge of the park heading across to Central Park West and into Whole Foods to check out what they had available in the Japanese groceries as I've planned a shared dinner for Thursday evening.
Having spent about 15minutes in Whole Foods I headed back down 8th Avenue and across to Broadway going with the lights so crossing the road a couple of times to keep moving. Then into 49th St and through the Crown Plaza car park to 48th St and home. All in all an hour out much longer than I would have been on the machine in the gym... next step will be to walk and then begin the weights program. As I said in my blog on Monday "Today I am watching... my weight increase! Eeek the gym has to happen as does the careful consumption of appropriate food."

A great start to my day and I had decided that really needed to tackle my writing contribution to Shirley's and my books. We have a contract to write a teacher and student book title yet to be finalised as is the actual writing. So today I got stuck into the teacher part on the constitution of Australia. Could be really dry but hopefully it works for those who need to know and understand it.

Thank fully I have made contact with the two schools I know I'll be working with this year and so my planning and work can begin! Despite the vow and supplies to eat in this week I suggested and we went across to Hurleys for lunch
and there was Tasha the bar tender who has moved to Santa Monica but returns to visit every so often and we just managed to go there on one of the three days she's in town. Word had spread and heaps of people were coming in to say hi and have a chat and a laugh. She is a lovely woman and great bar tender.

Julia and Margie came over and we spent time compiling our photos from Santa Fe
and the trip out to Abuqui and Georgia O'Keeffe country. It is such a long process to put them all together and then edit it down to a reasonable size viewing collection. Sue is going to make an imovie with them so that we all can have a great "slide show" of our journey together.

Margie left part way through to get some snacks to take up on the roof for drinks which was how we ended our day - sitting up on the roof as the sun set and the light faded. A gentle breeze blew so luckily we had jackets and could sit and enjoy the evening chatting and sharing ideas and stories.

Whacked on Wednesday

Sitting in the Red Carpet Club in LAX waiting (hours) for our flight to Albuquerque and drive to Santa Fe.
I am now back in the time zone of Get It Scrapped to a certain extent. Although my brain is mush and still working on Melbourne time- 6am Thursday... hence the feeling of being whacked!

As to the challenge Sharyn set:

Today I want to know where you go. Where do your computer journey's take you?

In my mushy brain state the things I can think of are all my "favourites" on my toolbar.... so here goes....
1. Initially my hotmail to check if anyone wants to talk to me- it is my lifeline between homes... Melbourne and NYC.

2. Next like others my work email to check if there is anything I need to act on or react to.

3. Is Get It Scrapped to check out conversations and if I am in the middle/ beginning/end of a class the gallery to hear what others think of my contributions.

4. My blog- to either create and entry or to see if others have noticed my witty entries or life's desperation

5. Friends blogs via my own blog hoping to leave comments and hear the day to day in mates lives.

Ain't friends grand!?!

It has been a long week- is it only Wednesday, Hump Day! Only tow more get ups before the chance to sleep in again. And in this context Anne called around this evening on her way home from work (she did manage to shop on the way!) . The purpose of her visit was to help Sue with her planning for the workshop she has to give tomorrow. What a friend! She sat on the couch and talked to Sue about the games and programs she, Sue, could use and shared lots of ideas and resources. Sue did give her lots of things in exchange but What a friend! She was as tired as we are (getting back into routine in the cold is not easy) and then she had to go home to Queens and get herself organized for tomorrow. Okay so it's not all that far to Queens but it is cold and wet- an icy day with reports of frozen areas. So what a good friend she is- it was lovely to see her too although I wasn't much company having tried to get another Art Journal page done it didn't really work- perhaps tomorrow night.
We did invite Anne to stay to dinner but she wanted to get home to her own hearth and I can completely understand that. I get home and get into (forget about slip) something comfy and slob around the apartment. I was home relatively early tonight as I didn't have far to ravel. This morning "on my commute" there was a guy selling spinning tops- why would you think that would be a big sale item on a subway train? My first thought was that he stole them from somewhere. One young woman was approached and refused and must have said something along the lines of "What's the value in that?" and he then berated her and put the guilt trip on her saying that at least he wasn't on drugs and he has gotten himself clean and he's not going back there. That is great but every day there is someone on the train selling all manner of things from batteries to CD's- these tops topped the lot I think.
On my way home tonight there was an announcement (automatic thingy) saying it is illegal to ask for money on the trains and please help the MTA in their quest to stop this. There are also signs throughout subways telling people where they can donate to legitimate support services for the homeless and others.

Getting back in the swing

The journey to one my schools in Queens is a bit of a trek from the subway crossing a very busy section of Queens Boulevard and finally arriving at the school some 15 minutes later. The advantage of this place (has nothing to do with work) is that on the side street next to it there is a fabulous Asian grocery/ supermarket which has an absolutely fantastic fresh fish section. It is so cheap! I have finally got into the habit of going there on my way home and buying up fish and seafood for our meal plans.
Today I planned to add to our purchase from Fresh Direct as I know the vegetables and fish is soooo much cheaper there. Having (been organized) made a list I knew we wanted a few things like bok choy , asparagus and cilantro. I found everything but be blowed if I could find the cilantro. I asked two of the guys working there then proceeded a funny conversation with me trying to get them to understand that I was asking for cilantro and for me to undertsand their Asian pronunciation of cilantro (whatever it is in Chinese). Eventually we understood and I went to where they indicated and sniffed some crushed leaves. On my way to find the fish sauce I went past them again and said thank you and one of them jokingly said "You should speak Ingrish". Much laughing all round and I departed for the subway with my great purchases.
So now all that needs doing is the cooking of bok choy and prawns- it is so quick, easy and delicious.
Sue was home when I arrived sitting in the same place she has been most days over the break. I am certainly not complaining as she has sat and trawled the internet for accommodation and deals for our final leg of Route 66 which we are doing in April. Instead of staying in hotels if we are in a place for three nights she has managed to find apartments- the deal she got us in Barcelona was stunning. So I am perfectly content to feed and provide drinks to my travel agent! Apart from anything else I don't even need to leave the apartment to get my next vacation organized- just agree to the great arrangements she makes.

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.