Potpourri

Speaking of the sublime

to the

ridiculous...

Lana falls in love with another, smaller box; an apartment building staircase that is large enough for living and a driver who, not believing the wide turn side, acted it out on a New York street corner!

Lovely New York - A Fine Place to Work

Does it get any more wonderful than this? These are just two examples of the amazing nature I get to see and work around every day!

Then of course there is lunch... 

this one, Central Park on a beautiful day. I make lunch, usually cheese, bread, olives, popcorn and hot sweet tea.

And when we are working the views are rarely disappointing...

Morning Glory!

At the last gardening class the teacher gave us a packet of Morning Glory seeds, we had to use it as part of the final exam. I have NO outdoor space of my own but I really wanted to germinate the seeds, so I did - hilarious when the moist paper towel in a plastic bag went very suddenly from flat to about an inch high. Well who could kill little germinated seeds, not me, I planted them in a pot and my oh my did they start to grow by leaps and bounds. I got to see the cotyledons or seed leaves pop up to help with photosynthesis (left) until the true leaves grew. I got a fluorescent light to help out and saw inches of growth each day and now have stems and leaves growing up a paper trellis we fashioned in the kitchen window (right). Don't know about watching paint dry but it is fun to watch a (fast growing ) plant grow!

Showing Off

So here is the deck before and after my power washing. How lucky am, I edited Pulitzer Prize winners and I did this, very cool in my book!

Power Play

Talk about satisfaction, oh my goodness, this is cleaning heaven! It is just a part of two decks in a backyard that I am power washing. I thought about very little, loved just doing each inch, watching it transform. It is not to say that I have not loved being a journalist, especially working with the best images and most talented photographers in the world, it's just that this is like a second chance to see what makes me tick and I am so grateful for it.
I still have the second deck and the brick work to finish up tomorrow, I will post comparison shots if they work out.

New Life

Finishing up the 'quiet season' for the irrigation business, which has been anything but quiet for me. It was the first time to love my life without a news obsession or deadlines, without a worry about what would await me after the couple short weeks of a vacation. I have been quiet by myself, loud with friends, took an very intense gardening class, complete with homework, quizzes and a final exam and I have cared for my house plants within a inch of their lives! I worked 9 hours today, helping to clean and organize a large workroom as well as help design and fabricate unique drain covers to will help a senior residence in Queens avoid future flooding of the classrooms. I have found that beside for working with photographs and people I love to work with my hands, really work. Here, the sun shining through a new leaf (so appropriate) on my Alocasia Polly.

Not Snow Nice

As blizzards go, the first (hopefully the last) of 2010 in New York City is nasty. The snow is heavy and wet and grey almost the moment it lands. I got a couple of nice moments this afternoon but they are the exception. Almost as distressing as the snow was the news coverage but I am not going to get into a rant against it, we have had enough opinions!