Saturday, September 1, 2007

City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York on the first evening of September.

September starts our city's fall cultural calendar. There will be many, many events to attend, exhibits to see, concerts to hear. The nights will begin to cool. Even though now we still see green lawns and roses in bloom, soon we will see leaves turning yellow, rust, red, burnished brown. The leaves will fall.

I have posted some photos of some old paintings. One is from a series that I once busied myself with, interested in the textures of rocks and the beauty of vistas. The other combined another exploring of rocks, or rather pebbles and leaves. The summer during which I painted those leaves had been a very hot and dry summer, very unlike 2007. Green leaves were dropping and lying in crispy ripples all over the Park.

It is always a challenge to come upon changes that we do not anticipate, or welcome. I have seen many of these changes in my life, and am not too sure that experience has made me wiser.

When I was a young adult, freshly in New York, there were many changes to the accepted culture of the prior decade (the 50's) that were eagerly, maybe even greedily embraced. I felt that having moved to this city from where I grew up in the south meant that I had sort of jumped across more than a mere decade.

Ah, but at that same time, my generation as R. Daltrey might say, faced some not so great bits too. The Vietnam War, and the draft affected every family that I knew. It certainly affected how we viewed pursuit of happiness, govenmental responsibility and truthfulness, even our sense of time. Music, theatre, art, film bounced off of this dynamic.

In a way, perhaps that decade was a bit of an extended autumn. Before a winter.

It is swell to be able to trade ideas, and information, and experiences with you all on the site. Sometimes I think that my country has really lost the plot. People are very plugged into various electronic devices for hours each day, and this allows them the luxury to not communicate with each other. Many people ride in cars all by themselves, listening to some electronic device. Cell phones may provide some emergency access that is great, but back when, we just had pay phones on street corners. Many people listen only only to those whose opinions they share.

This has been a tough week on the political front over here. The current adminstration is reaping what it sowed, but we have to reap with it. The many candidates have campaigns that do not promise much in the way of improvement. Another poor harvest this fall.

But, today was a day off and I did get to the local farmers greenmarket and did find some more gloriously ripe tomatoes. I did go to a bank and got some euros and then bought a card. I will put the euros and the card into an envelope and give it to one of my staff members who will make her very first trip to Europe this week. She can use those euros to have a glass of something, in a cafe somewhere, as she realizes that the world is wider.

This afternoon, I treated myself to a view, on television, of the excellent Roger Federer in action at the U.S. Open. It is quite wonderful to see his grace, skill and good manners.

We had a very busy selling week at the shop, and our efforts also included organizing after-closing-hour evening moves of heavy fixtures off the sales floor on two nights, and returning the same heavies back to the floor the next morning. Overnight the cleared maple wood floor was beautifully refinished. It looks like a new floor was laid.

Before I began writing this, I had some sort of plan about what I wanted to express, and it did include praising the generous spirits who have made our site such a pleasure to visit.

I think that I have gone off the path, having not scribbled down any notes to guide me. Since I always think of the blog as a diary, I usually do not want to make preparatory notes, but rather just start typing. So, that is what I have done tonight, the first night of September.

Remember, officially it is still summer!

Pleasant dreams to all.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Frances,
    Lovely blog as usual, you really caught that bitter sweet feeling that I get as summer [ what summer?] slips into Autumn. I'm trying to catch as much tennis as I can but because of the time difference it's on in the evenings and OH is not a great fan. I agree about mobile phones, hate the ruddy things. Toady

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  2. I too hate/love this time of year. I can't believe its September. I'm looking at this in bed next to Hub3 and he wondered what your pictures were and I showed him and he admired them.

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  3. So many lovely things in this blog Frances. As we've had such a lousy summer I can't bear to think we're on the cusp of autumn - especially as we are now enjoying our first real summer weather since April! 25 degrees here yesterday, which, for Northumberland, is very hot.
    Love your paintings too - and Roger Federer. He's my favurite player since Borg.

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  4. I loved this blog Frances, really enjoyed following the meandering of your thoughts. Love the egg cup painting too. Darn it, there was something else I wanted to say but I've forgotten. Shall return when it comes back to me.
    jxxx

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  5. Well francis it really feels like autumn here,the sky is grey and the wind is whistleing,and drizzle hasnt stopped all day..your paintings have such lovely colours..xx

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  6. I always feel that once the school holidays have finished summer is well and truly over. I'm not sure I remember summer ever beginning here this year, however! And before we know it, Christmas will be just around the corner.

    Lovely blog, Frances, very varied and lovely to read.

    Crystal xx

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  7. Hi Frances - I loved this blog as it meandered about like a conversation. A blog like this makes me think of conversations that take place while friends are parallel to one another -I can't see your face as you chat, because we're chopping fruit for cake, or we're sitting side by side in the car. I know - sounds weird, but that's what I like about this blog!

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  8. Frances - your blogs are a breath of fresh air to me - really they are - city air that is I guess!!
    Your photographs are wonderful.
    I carry a mobile for emergencies and really hate having to use it.
    I am not one to talk on the phone for hours anyway and the fact that people do I find very odd - it is jolly expensive at times here to do so.
    I usually love September as sometimes we are lovely calm, still warm weather in UK.
    love mousie

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  9. Hello Francis - I love the peek you allow us into the City and indeed into a small piece of America.

    It is very much Autumn here and the leaves are turning and a suprising number of dead ones are already falling off.

    I always feel that you work too hard and worry about you . . . I feel too that you would be a lovely person to work alongside - fair, but also not suffering foold gladly.

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  10. Thanks for sharing your life and paintings with us. I do enjoy reading your blogs. I went picking blackberries yesterday and there was a real autumn feel to the air, sunny but not that warm. I don't mind though. I like cool weather. Don't work too hard and keep showing your paintings, you have real talent.

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  11. Good Evening Dear Frances,

    A truly interesting and varied Diary, and I love your paintings. My Christmas List - Oils & Canvas, might need your guidance Frances.

    I adore the Autumn, different shades of colours, not too hot, the walk through the Parks with my dogs seem even more special with the rustling of leaves under one's feet. It became quite dark here at eight this evening, with such low cloud, cannot believe we are into September already, this year for me seems to have gone quite swiftly. I have a mobile, but only use in an emergency when travelling by car.

    Best Wishes to you in New York Frances.

    Camilla.x

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  12. I love this blog. I love them all. As you will see if you go to my blog, there is something there for you.
    Caitx

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  13. There's is always an aura of sadness about the onset on Autumn, yet the vibrancy of the colours, the harvest of fruit on bushes and trees, the warm golden glow of a sunny day makes this my favourite time of the year. Rich, coming from someone born in the Spring. However, September is a special month, it gave us you, our wonderful New York correspondent, and don't we love your blogs. Long may you continue to bring a bite of the Big Apple to us. Enjoy your birthday month my friend!

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  14. I did so enjoy this and I loved the egg cup picture. So bizarre but my Nanna had an egg cup almost identical to the green one in your picture. Whenever I went to stay I always used to have it as green is my favourite colour!

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