City Views, Country Dreams

Happy St. Patrick's Day from New York.

Although by the time some of you all might see this post it will probably be March 18, I did want to share a bit of what is still the 17th in NYC with you all.

 In preparation for my upcoming post-retirement relaxed schedules, I thought that I would walk over to Fifth Avenue today, rather than opting to use the subway or bus.  I smiled to see this topiary-to-be in the works in front of a neighborhood brownstone.

I had an errand to tend to in a major NYC store, looking for a few new cosmetic products at Bergdorf Goodman.  It was fun to walk around the edge of the Sheep Meadow as I headed diagonally southeastward.

Lots of green on the meadow, but not any people.  They were all crowding the midtown Fifth Avenue sidewalks, having a good look at the big St. Pat's Parade.

My shopping errand was unsuccessful, and so I decided to walk back uptown through the eastern edge of Central Park to find a Fifth Avenue sidewalk parade viewing spot that was less crowded than midtown.

The weather was mild and around midday any forecast showers were not yet appearing.  Great to see lots of daffodils.  Lots of security measures were also on clear display.  I am never quite sure whether seeing police and police vehicles, helicopters and park police, too, actually makes me feel more secure.

In any event, I managed to get my first glimpse of the marchers around East 70th Street.  Orange headgear on the two young ladies, and several police officers apparent on the edges of this photograph.

Pipers and drummers, and a green hair bow.

These lads had grown bored with the parade and decided to have a rest on the wall around the Park.

The band in the above photograph were dressed quite formally.

I am hoping that in some of these pictures you'll be able to see the green stripe painted down the center of Fifth Avenue.

Isn't this young lass lovely?

A very large green hat and some bright green trousers at this corner.

You can tell from this photograph that the parade watching crowds were rather skimpy uptown.

This band clearly had been practicing their marching and music playing.

The above photograph shows a variety of approaches to the wearing of the green.

If you click to enlarge the above photograph and look at the upper left corner, you might be able to see one of the low-flying helicopters that looped up and down over the parade route.

I still cannot believe how long this young lady was able to carry her friend on her shoulders.

Look at this little cutie in her frou frou skirt and green hat and tee shirt.

The fellow in the following photograph was not having a very profitable day trying to sell his souvenirs.  In general, I thought the mood of the day was a bit subdued.

I had difficulty trying to take photographs of the large banners.  Some bystander always picked a not-perfect-for-me moment to step into the frame.

These beautiful horses got a well deserved round of applause.

Beautiful horse and rider.

This parade contingent were twirling large banners very skillfully.

Not everyone wore green.

Can you imagine marching two miles carrying those shiny large horns?

Ah, finally I got a clear view of one of the banners.

Here's another band that's clearly been practicing.

And here is another beautiful banner.

And here come more pipers.  And another marching military group.  I admit that I have mixed feelings about seeing such young folks expertly marching along with weapons.

There was suddenly a change in the weather, with a bit of cool breeze and some very dark clouds began to arrive from the west.  Having trusted the weather forecast that there would be no rain, I had no umbrella with me, and decided it might be wise to start my walk back home across the Park.

The dramatic dark sky in the above photograph was in deep contrast to brilliant patches of blue sky still visible to the east.

A "living statue" performer was preparing to begin his/her act, and I paused in my walk to take some photographs of this preparation, as well as more pictures of the gathering clouds.

The parade still had at least another hour to go at this point, and I felt sorry for the bands and marchers who stood a chance of getting wet.

You can see a bit of blue sky in the upper right corner of the following picture, and can also tell from the shadows at the feet of the folks waiting for refreshments that sun was still shining.

But turning just a few degrees to my left, I glimpsed a very different scene.

I am pleased to report that the rain held off until very late in the afternoon.

I'm sure that the performer in white was also glad that rain did not fall.

Here is just one final view of those dark, low clouds.

I continued my walk home, and took just one more photograph.  The following photograph is of the side door to a busy pizza/felafel cafe at the corner of my street.  If you click to enlarge the photograph, you may be able to read the printed sign on the screen door. 

It says Not an Exist.  Do Not Open.

Hoping you all have had a fine St. Patrick's Day.

Thank you all for visiting here, and for your very kind comments on my previous post.  Five more work days before my retirement.

City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

Many thanks to you all for all your words of encouragement on the retirement news I included in my previous post.  I've now less than ten work days left, and this month of March seems to be moving at a very quick pace.  I am pleased to report that the weather has been mostly warm and sunny.

I'm also happy to report that I finally completed the cardigan that had been occupying my knitting needles for many months.

I knit it in a four-ply Shetland style wool, using many closely-hued colors.  Since two strands of yarn per row are used throughout, this cardigan is going to be a perfect weight to wear as spring arrives.

I tried to keep lots of notes during the projects, and hope to eventually be able to reconstruct what I actually did, loop by loop, to create some sort of instructions.

One of the reasons that this project took so long was that I stopped progress in order to make Christmas gifts and paint Christmas tea cup cards.  I also spent quite a few days during November figuring out the maze involved in obtaining Medicare Supplemental Insurance and Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage.)  I had been informed that after New Year's Eve, my employer would no longer offer insurance coverage to folks like myself who worked only three days per week.

Then, in December, I got involved in Christmas cookie baking, party going, and catching up with my reading and found that the cardigan's design was too complicated for my being able to read and knit simultaneously.

I actually had to return quite a few books to the library unread, with requests that the librarians add my name once more to the reserve list.  I think that my future days as a retiree will give me some more reading hours.

Meanwhile, I have two borrowed novels waiting to be read.  I don't know much about A Little Life, but think I saw a good review of it somewhere.  On the other hand, Ginny Gall's author Charlie Smith is married to a friend of mine.  I have not yet read his poetry but have read one of his prior novels, and would recommend his writing to you all.

My upcoming additional free time will also allow me to visit more art exhibitions than has been recently possible.  As a member of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (now apparently calling itself The Met) I was invited to a preview of its newly opened Breuer building.  This building formerly was the home of the Whitney Museum, which has recently relocated to very grand new space downtown.  The Met is going to use the Breuer space to display "modern and contemporary art through the lens of history."

This morning I walked across Central Park to meet my friend Elizabeth, so that we could have a look at the Breuer and form our opinions of the new venture.

I could not resist taking a few photographs of the Park's model boat pond.  It was unusual to see it clear of both model boats and ducks.

It's usually about this time year that the little gangplank above is used not only to launch the model boats, but also to give adorable little ducklings a chance to follow their mama ducks into the pond for some swimming lessons.

 I liked the looks of the hellebores in this street level window box on the front of an elegant Upper East Side townhouse.

Elizabeth and I were delighted to discover that we'd chosen a viewing time at which the galleries were uncrowded.

It was interesting to see some familiar works of art in a new setting surrounded by some new neighbors.

There are three floors of exhibition space, with an as yet unopened coffee bar and bookshop on the top floor, and a performance space on the ground floor.

I am looking forward to returning for longer looks at the exhibitions and a testing out of the coffee bar.

Two of the Breuer floors are devoted to an exhibition entitled Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible.  That title can embrace a wide variety of art, including Leonardo da Vinci's exquisitely drawn studies, to Smithson's shifting sand on the floor.

Back home again this afternoon, I returned to one of my own current unfinished projects.  It is to be a fair isle v-neck vest.  The color scheme will develop as I go along.

I admit that I've already unraveled a bit and then re-knit that passage in colors that pleased me more than the original version.

Once again, I will attempt to keep enough notes so that I might eventually be able to write down some clear instructions.

Next Wednesday will be St. Patrick's Day, and it is my hope that my request for having that day off from work will be honored.  It's also my hope that the weather next Wednesday will be as fine as today's has been.  I want to take my camera to the Fifth Avenue Parade so that I'll be able to share a bit of this year's celebration with you all.

Meanwhile, thanks for your visits and comments.

City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

We are speeding along towards the end of February, and there perhaps won't be too many more days for me to wear these pale blue alpaca mitts, knitted from some lovely soft alpaca yarn and a clever Blue Sky Alpaca pattern 1250 that I was given for Christmas.

I very much like the way that the textural lace stitch detail also created a curve to the top and lower edges of the mitts.

Carrying on with some knitting updates, I finally redeemed another generous Christmas present of a gift card from a very interesting website Gnome Acres.  I've used their sock yarns before, and am looking forward to see how this colorful skein will turn out.  

I was working last weekend when some strangely warm weather slipped into the city, and was delighted that the temperature stayed well above the freezing point yesterday afternoon, creating a grand opportunity for a walk over to Central Park.

The snowdrops in the Strawberry Fields area just inside the West 72nd Street "Women's Gate" entrance looked a bit scrawny, but seemed to have outlasted the deep freeze.

As usual, quite a few lawns were fenced off for seasonal maintenance.  It won't be long before these lawns will be full of folks relaxing and enjoying the sun's warmth.

It might be a while though before this vendor will find many customers wishing to buy ice cream.  Other items are featured on the menu.

As I continued my walk along the western side of the lake, I was delighted to see that the bright sun, clear blue sky, and mostly algae-free water made for many beautiful reflections.

It is unusual for such photo opportunities to present themselves.

Although my pictures are silent, I would ask you to imagine the busy birdsong that accompanied along my strolling.

Lots of bird courtships were well underway.

Shadows were sharply defined by the sunlight.

I was very amused by the sight of this lady with her dog, each of them having individual appreciations of the birds and the lake.

There is something about the intricate designs of all these almost bare branches that remind me a bit of my twisted wire/tomato vine assemblage shown in my last post. 

Although flowers were not yet blooming in the Shakespeare Garden, I did come across these red rose petals scattered over a part of the Garden path.  Possibly a wedding had taken place there earlier in the day?

Some of the hellebore plants I'd seen on my walk seemed a bit worse for wear, post blizzard and deep freeze, but these seem to still have blossoming potential.  I will return to check on them.

Walking along the southern edge of the Great Lawn, I looked up to see this beautiful sycamore tree, still bearing lots of souvenirs.  I did pick up a couple of the quirky little seed balls from the ground as my own souvenirs of my walk.

As my walk took me past the southern end of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was treated to a beautiful shadow show.

I was not the only person stopping along this walkway to take a few photographs.  Perhaps if you click on the following photograph, you will detect the tracks of some sort of heavy work vehicle, that somehow reminded me of those mysterious crop circles.

And here's just one more photograph of trees and shadows, although I don't find the result quite so dramatic against this tall, windowed museum wall.

Returning home, I emptied my pocket and added the natural touch of sycamore balls to some stacked antique china.

And now, for those of you all patient enough to stay with me though this post, I will reveal a change that is about to take place in my life.  I am retiring from my work, and by the end of March will be starting a new blend of freedom and responsibility.

For some months, I've been carefully considering this decision, and making all sorts of lists and calculations to confirm that retirement is a wise and feasable step.  Although I do look forward to soon having additional free time, I will be sorry to no longer have daily encounters with my splendid colleagues at the shop.  

Future posts will be chronicling some of the experiences I'll be having as I make this transition.  Yes, traveling is in the cards, as is more time for creative pursuits, seeing NYC friends, and continuing to expand my curiosity about life's meaning.

Thank you all for visiting and commenting.  It's quite likely that I will soon be posting more frequently.

City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York on a very, very chilly February 13.

As I type, I hear the wind blowing, and the radio has just told me that the temperature is 21 degrees F.  By the time I leave for work in a few hours, it's going to be about 10 degrees.  By the time time I return home from work this evening, the prediction is for about 5 degrees.

How I wish I could stay indoors all day long...and tomorrow, too.  Instead, I'll remind myself that spring is not too far away and add lots of layers of clothing for my outdoor journeys, hoping the subway trains are running frequently.

In observation of Valentine's Day being tomorrow, I wanted to share a funny little assemblage that hangs on my kitchen wall.

Many years ago, I bent a wire coat hanger, added a dried tomato vine and tucked in a slip of paper found in a Chinese fortune cookie.  It amuses me every day to see this little tangle.  The paper fortune reads, "You will make changes for the better."  It's a good fortune to read every day, and then contemplate the potential for the message's truth.

This still new year is going to be a time of changes for me.  I look forward to sharing some developments with you all in the not too distant future.

Meanwhile, I thank you all for your visits and comments, and continue to marvel at the connections that blogging allows us to make.

May I also wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

Large, moist snowflakes are painting the tree branches white.

These flakes do not have the power to coat the streets or sidewalks, and weather forecasters say that the sun will be back around midday.

Meanwhile, I do like the looks of the ginkgo tree just the other side of my front window.  When I first saw its central branch this morning I thought someone had tossed a polka dot scarf into the air that had then been caught by the tree.  Perhaps you all will also be fooled by the snow's effect?

I've always liked these sorts of lacy accumulations.

It's odd that only a day ago, my down-filled coat felt too warm.  I'm hoping that tomorrow's temperature will be warm enough to encourage me to have a walk over to Central Park.  I am very curious to discover what our odd January and February weather has brought to the Park, and will be taking my camera with me.

Meanwhile, thank you all for your visits and comments on my blizzard posts.  That recent snowstorm now seems so long ago.  This morning, the snow is just flirting with us.