The Girl's Art Journal

The Girl is 12 years old now and enjoys art as much as I do. She loves to visit galleries and museums with me, and sometimes we work side by side in my studio. I haven't created an art journal entry in a while, but I thought I'd give you a taste of what's in hers.

Her favorite gift last Christmas was a big set of colored Sharpies. She loves to do bright graphic designs on index cards and glue them in her journal. She takes her Sharpies, cards, and her mini clipboard with her when she travels. I loved this citrus-y design. 

 

She is enrolled in a drawing class. She took her first lesson last week and then produced this image on her own at home. Her drawing skills far exceed my own. She told me she hasn't finished the feet yet, and then she laughed and said, "It looks like the chipmunk is wearing cleats!"

I hope to get into the studio this weekend and create something. I can't wait to see what she makes next.

The story behind the story of our trip to NYC

We booked our trip to NYC to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular back in August. Non-refundable tickets for the show on November 14 and for our travel.

In late October, I had a flare up of a health condition and was both flattened and unnerved by how sick I felt. There were weekly doctor appointments, medication adjustments, and a day or two when I just crawled into bed and had a private pity party. I wondered whether I'd be able to make the NY trip.

Then in early November, I began to turn a corner. Whether it was the new meds or just my body settling down, I don't know, but I was having more good days than bad days and feeling better. I thought I might not be able to do a ton of walking on our NY trip, but I felt confident I'd at least be able to go.

Then the Girl became sick with the flu. Fever. Aches. Chills. Coughing. I was torn between taking care of her and trying to keep some distance. I kept saying to myself, "No one in this family can catch the flu this week. No one can catch the flu!" In my head, I made contingency plans, determined that if one or more of us couldn't make the trip, someone we know would be gifted with our tickets and get to enjoy it.

But as y'all know from my previous post, no one got the flu and we all made it to NYC! Yay!

But that isn't the end of my story.

I had carefully packed my bag and my medications and thrown a bottle of Tylenol in for good measure, just in case. I was prepared! When we were hours from home and more than halfway to NYC, I opened my bag at the appointed time to take my medication and discovered one pill was missing from my stash. One Very Important Pill. A pill that I need to get through each day.

I sat in shock while The Man kept saying, "How is this possible?!!! How is this POSSIBLE? How could you do this?" You'd think I'd just committed an act of terrorism. He was that incredulous. I gave him The Look (everyone who is married knows about The Look), and he quickly regained his composure and stopped the panicky exclamations. 

We arrived in NYC when I was five hours past due taking my Very Important Pill.  I was feeling OK, and we began walking around mid-town Manhattan, seeing the sights. The Girl went to the American Girl Store and explored four stories of dolls and accessories. Onto Rockefeller Center to see the famous Christmas tree, the skating rink, the mighty golden statue of Prometheus. We soaked up the atmosphere, walked down Broadway, and headed to Times Square.

It was there at Times Square I saw my own holiday miracle: a Walgreen's hidden behind scaffolding and sandwiched between shiny stores and Jumbotrons. YES!

I went into Walgreen's and headed upstairs to the pharmacy. I was hoping someone there could get me my Very Important Pill. Joy, a friendly pharmacy intern, waited on me with sympathy and a big smile. I knew the name and dosage of my drug, but didn't have the prescription number nor did I have my pharmacy's phone number or ZIP code. It was not a Walgreen's and not on their network, and Joy didn't have a computer with Internet access. She had to borrow someone's smartphone to Google phone numbers, but she got the right one on the first try. A call to my hometown pharmacy, and I was on my way to getting my meds.

I was now more than six hours overdue for my pill and beginning to feel Less Than Well. I told my family to head out to Times Square and have fun and I'd call them when I had my meds in hand, but they stayed with me. My son wouldn't leave my side. Less than thirty minutes later, Joy, my new best friend, handed me my pills, and we left Walgreen's looking for a place to have a late lunch. In order to take my pill, I needed both milk AND food or I'd be hit with some serious stomach upset.

Every restaurant on Times Square was standing room only. Long lines for food. Long lines for a table. I had to climb a set of stairs at the Hard Rock Cafe and it almost did me in. And then they couldn't seat us. So, we were off in search of food, milk, and seating.  And I was feeling Very Unwell, as in "Not Good at All," and the Man was getting tense and nervous. Finally, we found a deli with some seats available--up a long flight of stairs. Oh my goodness, when I hit the top of those stairs and found a chair, I had to put my head down on the table. I was on the verge of seeing those purple dots that float before your eyes right before you pass out.

I thought the food would never get there. I felt sick, overheated, and faint. Finally, my son came up the stairs bearing a tray with food and a container of milk on it. I was so wiped out, I couldn't open the medicine bottle. My daughter got my pill out for me, I swallowed it, drank all the milk, took a few bites of my wrap and waited to feel better.

It took 30 minutes for me to feel less wobbly and steady on my feet. A bit after that, I was confident I could make it down the stairs and walk on the streets again. Happily, my condition rapidly improved and we were able to resume sightseeing, and though the stairs up to the first mezzanine at Radio City were a challenge, I made it! So. Happy. To. Be. There.

Through it all, I was grateful for my family, especially my kids who never, ever make me feel like a burden or a hassle when I'm not well. No complaining, no eye rolling, no sighs, no embarrassment, no thinly disguised irritation. This is not the first time that everything had come to a halt to deal with my health during a family vacation, and they consistently show such maturity and grace. They were comforting and patient and supportive and helpful. I felt so blessed by their care and their attitude. Yes, the show was spectacular, but the most precious moments in the day were the acts of kindness. I will never forget them.

Hello New York City

Got people?

Got glamour? Elegance? Style?

Got Christmas?

This weekend included a whirlwind trip to the city that never sleeps to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. Before we leapt into parenthood, the Man and I took several trips to NYC and I'd also visited there as a kid. Central Park. The Empire State Building. The Twin Towers. Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty. Rockefeller Center. Battery Park. The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Broadway.

On one of our trips, we'd toured Radio City Music Hall and saw the annual Christmas Spectacular, which was indeed spectacular. Magical. Amazing. Memorable. To see a show like that is to understand why NY is the theatre capital of America.

A few years ago, a wealthy client of mine from London was going to be spending a week in New York at Christmas with his wife and asked me for recommendations of things to do and see. They were staying at the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue, and I told them to see if the concierge there could get them tickets to the sold-out Christmas Spectacular.  After making the recommendation, I wondered if I'd done the right thing. They were sophisticated people. Would they consider it gauche?  I shouldn't have worried. After the holidays, the client sent me a note thanking me and telling me how much they had enjoyed the show, how entertaining and impressive it was.

The Man and I were happy to finally take our kids to the city to see the Christmas Spectacular on its opening weekend. I was a good grrrl and did not take any photos during the show, and my small point-and-shoot camera wasn't up to the task of capturing the grandeur of Radio City Music Hall, especially the scintillating sparkle of the biggest and most beautiful chandelier I have ever seen.  A visit to the Web site gives a hint of what the show is like, but videos of the performances don't begin to convey the live experience. If you ever have an opportunity to see it, do it! A special experience for people of all ages.

The view from here

November is such a gray month, but I like the way the landscape transitions from rich colors to soft sepia tones. The days curl into the nights in this quiet space between the glory of fall and the spare lines of winter.

We're in our second day of steady rain and dark skies, a nor'easter. Here's the corner of my deck at noon, taken as I stood in the rain:

I found this shot on the camera. I think it was taken by the Girl on Halloween. "Fall diamonds."

 

Hope you're finding beauty in your corner of the world.

Holiday cards

Over the weekend I grabbed a little time in the studio and made a few simple holiday cards. I wanted to break away from the usual Christmas color combinations and try something a bit fresh. The resulting cards were surprisingly elegant.

The center of this card is embossed in gold and the background papers are black mounted on a white card. The white card "disappeared" during the scan. Oops. You'll have to imagine the white border.

This one also has a gold embossed center panel. The yellow cardstock is an unexpected choice. The stag looks almost royal set against the rich red paper.

The holly branch is embossed a shiny silver on this one. I love how its curves echo the lines of the floral background paper, which is charcoal gray with Wedgewood blue. Aren't the snowflakes pretty? They give the card a wintry touch.

I don't make all my holiday cards, but I do make some. I try to make all my thank you notes. During the coming weeks, I'll be experimenting with more looks and styles.