End of the Bridge

Spent most of my day working, getting stuff ready... But was excited to meet Seth and a friend who's been staying with us (from home) in the city early this evening. We headed to Washington Square Park where I again found myself wondering why I don't go there at least once a week. It would be perfect... to go after work... and our subway runs right by it. We must schedule this in!

After the park, we headed for dinner and beers at McSorley's in the East Village and then down to City Hall to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. It was beautiful and a little cooler than it would have been in the broad daylight. Plus, I had fun taking night shots (mostly blurred... on purpose... watch my other blog for those.) And I got this cool shot on the Brooklyn side of the bridge where you head up the stairs to get on or off the walking path of the bridge.

The Walking Man

Last month, while I was in Union Square waiting for Seth to get off work, I saw a group of people sitting together wearing all white with black goggles. I had no idea what they were about or who they were... Then, yesterday, while in Union Square waiting for Seth again, I saw this group of people in another location, standing together. This time, I found out who they were from a flyer.



This living sculpture is called The Walking Man (notice the walking man image on their shirts). According to the flyer it is made up of real people that all dress and act exactly the same. They are a mock society, and a conceptual race of man. If you are interested in more information, check out their site at www.ParkerWolf.com.

Art below the Bridge

Another shot from yesterday... This piece was beautiful. A collage of so many pieces sewn together into a piece of art.

Sculptures

Spent the afternoon in Dumbo. The park has summer sculptures, just like they did last year... but this year, I think they are better, much better. Aren't these mirror hands wonderful? There were so many others too! Can't wait to share them! (And I have some photos to add to one of my photo projects! I hope to have them up tomorrow...)

It's a Fact

Seth and I are officially the LUCKIEST aunt and uncle that ever existed. And P is officially the coolest nephew!

Saturday afternoon was spent playing, wrestling, and scheming a sneak out to the toy store with P. The scheming was hilarious. He decided that Seth and I would help him sneak out of the house and head to the toy store so he could get a toy. Our jobs were to donate just a little more cash, coins preferably, but he'd take the paper money too, and to create a distraction for his mama, who was cleaning in the kitchen. It was all whispers... And acting like nothing in particular was going on if she glanced our way or looked like she might catch on. He was sure his mama wouldn't notice him gone, if we could just get the door unlocked and out. :)

As we parted, P rushed to find me a gift. Sweet boy. He actually gave me one of his subway cars (the F train) from his collection. I slipped it back in his mailbox before we headed off (I had enjoyed his kindness but knew he would enjoy playing with it much more than I would... the thought is all I need :) What a brilliant and wonderful little boy! So happy to be a part of his life... to take in his energy and excitement.

24 Things Check-In

Checking in with my list of 24 Things... Kind of fun to have this list, posted by my computer, as a reminder of the things I am wanting to do, as a way to keep pushing myself. It's so much like New Year's Resolutions, which I usually lightly think about and maybe even jot down, but never take too seriously (I think the pressure of it just overwhelms me and turns me off quickly.)

Soooo my 24.

1. Have been doing this (and even got a fun note back from one of my friends with a great little illustration :) My letter this week was sent using one of my new cards I got from here. The ones I've been sending for this have to hand written, and I have been trying to do about one a week minimum.

2. Need to work on a song again soon... Hasn't been on my mind for a while.

3. Not yet.

4. Working on 2 projects right now... :) Strangers and 100 out-of-focus photos.

5. Not doing yet. I take photos of people in the streets, but I want to do something a little more formal... Need to post some stuff or get word out looking for someone to photograph...

6. No class yet. May come next spring.

7. Writing almost everyday, in one way or another. Been doing morning pages almost regularly. Hoping to keep this habit going in the fall when I return to work.

8. Not yet.

9. Did a little here... Still have the paints out on my kitchen table and have a stack of small paintings (nothing wonderful... but the experience of focusing, painting is soothing enough for me.)

10. Not yet.

11. Not yet.

12. So far, so good.

13. I guess so... Want to keep it going, even if it's in the smallest forms...

14. Not in the plans yet.

15. Not yet.

16. Talked about this one with my grandmother recently. She said I just needed to do it. Pull out the materials and start hooking.

17. Not yet...

18. Looked at one the other day at the antique store. It was $25... but I think I can find one on the internet for less.

19. Getting more comfortable with the M and Av settings.

20. Yes. Started this week. Spent last evening experiencing a new type of yoga... It was truly refreshing, more spiritual than I had experienced before, but cleansing. Then checked out a studio this afternoon, which I really liked. And I think I'm going to a meditation session tomorrow morning there too. If I can make yoga and meditation a part of my life, I might be a little healthy (physically and emotionally) this next school year. It's nice to go and just focus on where I am at that moment, to let go of everything that I carry and wash over and over in my mind. I think I'd like to go one to two times a week regularly.

21. Working on it. Hopefully 20 will help me achieve this easier.

22. Up and going. Still need to make some changes to the look of the site, but whatever for now.

23. So far, so good. The real challenge will be when I return to work in the fall... Making myself go when I'm busy or when I'd rather just go home and lay around.

24. Looking for the brighter side of every day.

Camping Trip

Last weekend, Seth and I headed back to the Delaware River for a few nights of camping. Last time we were camping, we were in New Jersey... this time, we were somewhere in New York. I'm sooo not familiar with any of the area around here, so I couldn't even tell you what towns we were near, what towns we went through... I just rode along and was happy when we arrived. :)

I took my camera, intending to take in the view and capture it... but I didn't really pull out my camera at all. I did take this photo... Right after we had discovered the pair of sunglasses that I had somehow lost in the car on the way up. The pair I lost ended up wedged in the seat and when I pulled them out, they were bent with one of the sides knocked out! Ooops. Good thing Seth had bought another pair on his ride up (Of course the ones I lost/broke/ruined were his and not mine :)

My favorite part of the trip was the rafting/float trip. The original plan was to get tubes... Until we'd heard that the river was really shallow in some areas and people would get scraped up by the rocks... So then it was canoes, but our final decision, which was the best, was the big rafts that can fit 4 or so people. It was amazing... Floating, relaxing, laughing. We did a little swimming, despite the cool, cool temperatures of the water... To the point that I kind of forgot how to swim when I jumped in. My body just couldn't quite function right, so there I was dog-paddling while my body got over the shocking cold water :)

The other part I love about camping is the food! Friday night, I put together our meal using veggies and chopped beef pieces (used for stews). When I was a kid this was called a Hobo's meal (or something of the sort). Our friend calls it the Camper's Special. If you look back here, you can see photos of it on the fire. The second night, we had steaks and veggies cooked over the fire. And for dessert... Smores!

Staten Island Ferry

Another must for visitors... And this one's free! We took it at sunset... I was surprised that we actually made the Exact time that we wanted. We watched the sun set as we headed towards Staten Island. We watched the City light up as the night took over the sky.

From the ferry, there are views of the Brooklyn Bridge and South Street Seaport.

I wonder what was happening with you at that same moment? I saw these words. Never noticed them before. Don't know why they are there... But now I have them captured. :)

We have wonderful views of the Southern tip of Manhattan.

And sailboats. Lots of sailboats. I think we even saw a pirate's ship (uhhh probably not a real one...)

And my favorite... The stunning silhouette of the Statue of Liberty.

New Yorkers Are...

So kind, right?

*click for a closer view...

Museum Planets

A trip to the American Museum of Natural History is always a must for visitors. I tagged along with our visiting friends last month. I've been a handful of times, but I never get bored in that museum. I definitely have my favorite rooms... But every time I go there, I find something new to explore, something new to learn. (I just wish I could keep it all fresh in my head!! Hate losing information...)

I want to go back one more time this summer and create a scavenger hunt for field trips... Or maybe they already have one done. I need to check into that.

Washington Square Park

Why do I not spend everyday in Washington Square Park? I absolutely love it there. It truly was love at first sight. I remember my first experience with WSP. I wondered around, watched a great magic show performed by a street performer, took photos, enjoyed the people. When I moved here, it was under construction for what seemed like the longest time... and I didn't go there, other than to walk through from time-to-time on my way to get drinks for Happy Hour south of WSP.

We had friends come and stay with us for a week in the middle of July, and this park was a must see for us. We chose an evening so that Seth could join us after work. It was wonderful. I didn't actually want to leave... They pretty much had to drag me out of the park. We watched a variety of performers and saw so many people... so many creative, unique people. I do love New York City for this reason... Everyone can just be. It's so different in the Midwest, where judgments tend to fly when people conflict with the "norm". I'm sure it's like that in a lot of places... But it doesn't seem as thick in the air of this city.

The new fountain... One your can actually get into! This little boy obviously Loves it.

Photo originally posted here.

Photo originally posted here.

The Rhodes

Where's New York?

I just realized that I have been a complete bum hording photos of my New York City summer adventures. I haven't really even posted One photo of what we've been up to here in NYC this summer... How did this happen? I haven't been doing too much, but I have been out... and I do have things to share (Chris, I hope you are happy! Your messages to me are starting to give me motivation to get some stuff up!! :)

Upon arriving in Soho, I spotted bubbles taking over the intersection.
From there, I felt like every corner I turned were bubbles... Those guys know how to promote their bubble guns, and what kid doesn't love having the power of bubbles to spread throughout the city streets?

One of my favorite things about New York is the "art" seen everywhere. Soho definitely has a collection.

And more art...

One thing I love is finding something I've seen in a photograph. I live in New York City, but I do not even begin to know every part of it. A while back I saw this photo here. I thought it was such a great find... and then, I stumbled upon it!

I've seen this one stenciled onto the sidewalk in a couple places around that area...

Blue Sky Somewhere

Gray morning. Overcast New York City. I hate days like these. I just want the sun to come out and shine and brighten my mood. When I moved here, over a year ago, I was blinded a little bit by the excitement and my love for my new City. It took me until last spring to realize that the skies here are just not as blue as the skies in other places. (Of course this makes sense... the pollution that hangs over the city fades the blues... Yummy right?) So, I've come to appreciate Blue Blue skies.

These shots are from our July trip to Colorado. As you can see, Colorado knows how to do it! The clouds create a kind of art in the sky with a perfect blue background.

Check out these SKYplay clouds... Isn't this great?! I linked to this collection from here a while back.

... Maybe I need to create one of these! Especially since I don't see clouds and blue skies that often... This could be my way of keeping them in my life :) And I have plenty of blank walls in my apartment.

And while I'm linking to lovely sky photos... Check out these stunning cloud photos of Georgia's... Here and Here.

Which Way?

A week later...

Wow. I just don't know what has gotten into me... I cannot seem to find motivation for much of anything! Maybe it's the lack of Having to do anything (Summertime Blues?)... Maybe it's the humidity and heat (but why am I complaining... It's much cooler here than it is in Kansas, and I dealt with Kansas heat all my life...) I don't know what it is, but I really cannot find motivation for much of anything lately.

I finally got out of the apartment today. Took clothes to the thrift shop (of course did some shopping myself), went to find a new coffee-maker. Ours had to be thrown out for reasons I am not going to disclose (but it most likely wouldn't have happened if we were in Kansas... but it's definitely Not out of the ordinary for NYC)... Seth and I had just been talking about how this happened to a microwave that he'd thrown out not long after he moved here to NYC, and then, boom, it happens to our coffee-maker! Of course, we cannot live without coffee! (We can buy it down the street each morning, but it's just cheaper to buy the machine.) So I left the apartment with two bags of things and came home with two bags of different things!

Maybe I need to make some coffee... Is 5 p.m. too late for coffee? I don't want to be up all night...

I just cannot get over how unmotivated I am. I don't even know what I have been doing with myself. I guess I have been doing some things... I just have so many other things I had planned on doing that aren't getting done! I haven't really taken photos in a couple weeks. Took my camera this last weekend on our camping trip but only took 5 photos... (2 of which were of this sign) I painted a little, wrote a little... Found some fun interactive art websites for my little friends. Created a website with lots of links and information for my little friends for the next school year...

I have to be coming out of this slump soon... Right?

Interesting happening of the week... My mother called me Monday around lunch time. I figured she was calling on her lunch break to see how I was since I hadn't talked to her in a few days... She was actually calling because she was home alone during an insane storm. Kansas gets storms and tornadoes... But my families' farm had never been hit this bad. Broke out windows in the house and caused water damage to the west part of the house (kitchen and upstairs bedroom)... Knocked the garage down and took a barn... The barn was older, and I knew when Mom said the garage was down, one of the barns had to have been gone too. They got roof damage and trees limbs everywhere... Powers out (crazy line damage). I think I would have been Terrified if I had been there, and even more if I were Alone, especially when those windows broke. It wasn't a tornado though, just wind... Really strong wind (around 90 mph).

They'll be without power for a while. Seems so crazy. A year and a half ago, when I was living back in that area, we lost power for over a week because of an ice storm. Before that, I don't remember losing power like that... and now, within less than 2 years, they'll go days without. Anyway. Wish I were there to help with the cleanup... It would give me something to do.

O and fun news this morning... I won!! And the other day I received this from when I won last month!!

Missing in Action

I've been meaning to get on and put a note up to say hello... And finally, I'm just stopping everything and doing it now (since I got a facebook message about my where-abouts and the current state of my un-updated blog).

I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted! I never go this long between posts :) but it's been a busy week for me. We spent the weekend hanging out with friends (... except Sunday, we were in bed recovering from Saturday's roof-top party...) And this week, I've been working, planning, thinking, typing, copying, reading, and using my brain to overload! Back to commuting 2 hours a day, back to getting up early, back to feeling tired (something I did Not miss at all in July)... but only for this week, and then another couple weeks off. I'm getting ready for September. I want this fall to go better than the last. Somehow, I spent July really loading up on motivational juices, and this week, I've been focused Only on work. I haven't even opened google reader (and I'm not even sure I want to at this point... I'm sure I have 100s of posts to catch up on).

It's nice though, having this motivation, excitement. I really lost touch of it last year... And I think being so exhausted may have had something to do with it. I must keep up on sleep starting in September!

Hope all of you have had a wonderful week. I'm working for the rest of the week... watching episodes of Weeds (season 4) and Six Feet Under (season 1)... going camping this weekend at the Delaware Water Gap... praying that my eye doctor's appointment doesn't result in another round of the dye injection and intense photos of my eyeballs (but pretty sure it will because I still have that spot in my vision for the beginning of the summer)... trying to find the motivation to go out in the yucky New York summer humidity to get my books that are on hold at the library...