City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

Weather continues to be strangely mild for November, and I have resisted bringing out any winter coats from my closet.  Instead, I've been combining various layers to keep warm while out and about.

Tomorrow is what we call Veteran's Day, and I honor that with a view of a poppy bought in London last year.

I've not net quite finished the knitted jacket that's in the background.  Time has been filled with all sorts of other matters needing attention.

About a month ago, I transferred from a downtown work location, reached by a subway commute, to a location that is within a short walk from my home.

My employer remains the same, but now I work in a luxe mall in this skyscraper.  It is the same and not the same.  I like having my routine shaken up a bit.  It's good to have the option of walking to and/or from work, but also good to have the option of a very quick subway ride when my legs are tired.

Just across Columbus Circle from the skyscraper is another tall building that bears the five letter name (begins with a T) of a current contender for the United States Presidency. 

I admit that these two buildings are not amongst my favorite city views, but each serves an economic purpose.  The following photograph from within the mall, shows the seasonal lights that have been installed already as part of the Holiday decorations.  Every few seconds, the fixtures' colors change.  Beyond those starry lights you can see the giant window that provides a view of the southwest corner of Central Park.

I've also been busy on my days off, both enjoying meeting up with friends, and also beginning some of my own Christmas projects.  Having seeing this book mentioned by Emma over at her silverpebble site, I realized that it was a volume I'd love to add to my crowded book shelves.

I was thrilled to find a very inexpensive, used copy of the book in quite good condition, and have been studying its beautiful pages, getting ideas to incorporate into this year's Christmas Tea Cup watercolor painted cards.

Last week, after filling several sketchbook pages with sketches, I settled on a design and the painting has commenced.

Other wintry pursuits are also underway.  I found these red mittens quick to knit, on double pointed needles, using a Lopi yarn, much thicker than yarn I usually select.  Now that I've got the hang of it, I might be making more mittens soon.

I've got some other Christmastime knitting projects underway, but will keep those a secret for now.

I've lived in the same West Side neighborhood for over 25 years.  Lincoln Center is a ten-minute walk away.  Yes, I have attended concerts there, indoors and outdoors.  I have been to plays.  I have been in the audience for many ballet performances, even seeing Fonteyn and Nureyev.  However, I have never been to an opera in the Met.

This deplorable record is about to change on Saturday, when I will be seeing Lulu.  The production was designed and directed by a favorite artist, William Kentridge.  

Long ago, I saw the black and white film, Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, that covers the same tale.  It is not a happy tale, but surely a dramatic one.

I'm going to take a nap on Saturday afternoon, so that I will be able to give my full attention to the production on Saturday evening.

Also on the cultural front, I am about to begin Slade House by David Mitchell, which will have a bit of connection to his recent novel, The Bone Clocks.

On a much lighter note, I thought I'd share with you all this cover of a recent issue of The New Yorker magazine.  It's title is Rolling Out the Gold Carpet.

There are other matters that are consuming lots of my waking hours, but I'll leave any exploration of those to another time.

I'm happy that so many of you all visited my Halloween post and left comments.  It's grand to hear from you.