Off to the Met

We got a day off from this new job, and thus, we hightailed it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art since there were some wonderful new exhibits - including quite a bit of Oriental art.  The great thing about the Met is you go to see one thing, and something else pops up which is better than what you went to see.

This time that honor goes to "Essential Korea".  We just sort of wandered into these galleries on our way to the Kyoto exhibit.  It turns out the South Korean government sent some national treasures.  And, Korean art created in the 12th century looks like something turned out in 2019.  The clean, modern quality of this country's art was striking. 

We began with the moon.  The Met has an exhibit focusing on moon photography in honor of the 50th anniversary of the United States landing on the moon.  Prior to satellites, the best photos of the moon's surface were actually taken by a couple of Frenchmen in the early 20th century.  Those pictures were interesting from an historical point of view.

What was really amusing was the 1969 'console TV' in which Armstrong's first step onto the moon was being played in a constant loop.  People were sitting around and watching that TV just as people did 50 years ago.  I was working the graveyard shift at the nursing home the summer of 1969 and just by chance, the day/night of the moon walk was my day off.  Remember how dramatic it all was, and how it took hours and hours for that 'first step' to happen?

I also wanted to see the new contemporary art exhibition called "Epic Abstraction - Pollock to Herrera".  And, once more, something unexpected.  There was this absolutely phenomenal pink granite statue which was nine interlocking pieces held together by two pins.  Drake speculated the pins had to be on the bottom.  Pins sunk into the floor would hold the sculpture steady, so it wouldn't fall over.

Noguchi - "Kouros" - 1945

 I saw a new artist, Sam Gilliam, (well, he's new to me), who attracted my eye with his color palette. 

This is called "Whirlirama"

 And, to my delight there was an enormous piece by Louise Nevelson. (She's one of my fav modern artists.) She was a native New Yorker who took 'found art' to a new level.  Her pieces are instantly recognizable - they are all painted flat black and are assembled pieces of wood (and other stuff) she has 'found'.  All major museums in the United States own at least one of her pieces.  This piece was about 15' x 15' and incredibly intricate.  It took her 13 years to complete it, and she thought of it as her crowning masterpiece.  Upon her death, she willed it to the Met.  Her art is surprising and fun.

Mrs. N's Palace

What I thought would be the number one exhibit was basically the history of art created in Kyoto - the ancient name for modern Tokyo.  This exhibit was one superbly beautiful object after another including more priceless treasures sent over by Japan.  Here's one of my favorites 

 This is a document box from the early 1700's.  My picture doesn't really do it justice. 

There were several screens, but my favorite was this one:

 From this angle, there's a slight optical illusion.  It looks like you could 'walk across' this golden bridge.

There was also an exquisite kimono filled with hand embroidery.  Not surprising I was enamored with this piece. 

There are also some odds and ends of American decorative art. as well as Drake posing in front of a set of baseball cards which he swears he owned as a child.  (These priceless cards were tossed in one of their many family moves, and is, on occasion, still discussed.....)

As always there are tons of pictures

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GLyX4r2vbU6SaCzAA

I'm Standing Up

My platform is small.  The number of people who will actually read this silly blog is small.  However, unlike many I DO have this small platform.  For some time now I've been inching closer and closer to the realization we are running concentration camps at our Southwestern borders.  We call them 'detention camps', and we don't deliberately exterminate anyone.  However, if, let's say, children die in our custody; well, that's just their bad luck isn't it?

We've allowed an economic and race issue to overwhelm our societal moral compass.  Well, hey, it's REALLY about border security not economics and race, you say?  OK, I accept your premise.  Now, how do you justify the conditions in the camps?

The President and the Vice-President tell us that everything in the camps is just fine.  Well, it's not.  People are being held without adequate sanitary facilities.  People are being held packed into locked rooms so tightly that everyone in them can't even lay down to sleep.  Even if they could, there's no bedding.  People are being held without access to shower facilities for weeks.  Then, there's the children.  How are they about border security?  How is denying children basic living conditions ever OK?  And that's on top of separating them from their adult caretakers.

Well, obviously, "these people" (let's be sure and make them 'other' - not 'us') should just stay in their own countries.  My question is this:  How terrible must their living conditions be in their own countries to risk themselves and their children to come here.  In this day of instant access, do you think these immigrants seeking asylum don't know about the camps?  I guess even these deplorable camps are preferable to starvation, rape, torture and death, so they must not be so bad.  If you don't think so, then you haven't used your 'instant access' to hear or read about the facts.  Here's your chance:

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/politics/elections/2019/07/16/migrant-detention-centers-described-2019-us-government-accounts/1694638001/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/border-patrols-oversight-sick-migrant-children/593224/

Did you just skip over those links?  OK - fine.  Don't read about the camps.  Pretend not to know about them.  Here's another consideration.  Are we a religious nation or not?  We tell the world we are.   Most of us believe in God.  Most of us identify with the ethics espoused by the big three (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) when asked.  I am a Christian.  More specifically, I'm a Methodist.  My brand of Christianity speaks out against injustice by action.  This is my action since UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) isn't being allowed into the camps to bring relief even though they have been involved in humanitarian crisis around the world since post WWII.

I refuse to be silent and by my silence endorse the conditions at detention camps.  Stand up.  Tell your friends.  Ask your Congress person why they are letting this happen.  Stand up in your church and ask why are we letting this happen.  If you believe all the media is corrupt and with an 'agenda', well, here's some media it's pretty hard for a Christian to dispute:

"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.

They also answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
(Matthew 25:42-45 - New International Version)

If you choose to do nothing because after all, you're only one voice and can't make a difference, then, so be it.  I don't believe that.  I stand with Edmund Burke:  "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."

Give a Girl a Day Off...

We got a surprise day off from the nanny gig last Thursday.  So, what would you do?  Well, we walked 3.8 miles and climbed 9 flights of stairs as we made our way via bus, subway, and foot half way across Brooklyn and two-thirds of the way up Manhattan to the West side of Central Park and back again.  That's 'museum mile' which per foot has to be my most favorite mile in the world.

We took a trip to the Guggenheim.  This is the first 'weird' museum ever built.  It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the man who was the first American to collect modern art.  Guggenheim wanted a venue which would break all the museum building rules.  Well, he got one.  You either love this building or you hate it.  Here's what I mean:

Exterior of the Guggenheim 

Looking down on the six levels
all interconnected - a gigantic wheelchair ramp

Looking 'up' from the bottom floor

The view is of Central Park, but there are no windows.  Thus, there's no 'sunlight' to fade the art work.  The only natural light comes from the ceiling which is a humongous sky light. 

The sky light ceiling

We headed there to see an exciting new exhibition.  The Guggenheim asked six artists, who had previously exhibited at the museum, to dive into the collection and pick paintings and sculptures to exhibit using any criteria they wished.  Each level of the museum hung the choices of one of the six artists.  One floor was paintings hung 'salon' style of famous artists.  The catch was the paintings hung were not in the style for which each artist became famous.  For example:  Representational landscapes by Kandinsky (the first abstract artist).

We'd seen work by only one of the six artists - a Chinese guy who uses gun powder to 'paint' his pictures.  We actually saw a small exhibition of his work in Italy.

A Cai Guo Qiang 'gunpowder' picture -
he was the only artist of the six to hang some of his own work in his area

Another artist chose abstract expressionist paintings from the 1940's, '50's and '60's.  The modern female artist chose to display female artists from the Guggenheim collection.  Another picked collection pieces done in black and white.  Did I like every picture?  Nope.  Were there some jewels I'd never seen before?  You bet.  Some of you will not even bother to look at the pictures, but I urge you to do so.  There are some brilliant pictures and sculptures.    

You could see this exhibition in two ways:  You can gradually walk 'up' the six levels, or you can take the elevator to the top level and walk 'down'.  We chose 'up' because it's actually easier for me to walk up than down, especially if we are doing the walking in a leisurely manner.  ("Down" puts too much pressure on my fake foot joint.)

After touring the Guggenheim, we walked 500 feet down the street (in the pouring rain) to the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design.  This is actually a Smithsonian museum, and it always has fascinating exhibits.   We were not disappointed this trip:  The museum was exploring design in nature.  This was an interesting concept.  One which captured my attention was the 'body burial suit' 

The dead body goes into the 'suit', and instead of a coffin, the 'suit' is buried.  The suit is sewn with some type of mushroom fungus which helps decompose the body.  The picture below shows vividly  what happens after burial in the suit.  This seemed to me to be an excellent idea, but I'd like my burial suit to be RED.     

You have to admit it's a novel idea. 

Without a doubt the goofiest exhibit was the one in which a man created artificial limbs for himself which ended in goat hoofs as well as an artificial stomach which could process grass.  Then, the joined a goat herd for three days; in essence, he became a goat.  Then, he wrote a book.  

I'm so intrigued about this guy; I'm going to read his book!

And, finally, I got to see an entire room of hand done French embroidery from the 18th century.  I was in heaven.  I got so enthused, I gave an impromptu lecture about hand embroidery to a group of  total strangers touring the exhibit.  I'm sure they thought I was a nut bunny.  They didn't run away, but I felt like an idiot afterwards.  Here's an example (not of my idiocy) but of the displayed embroidery.

This is a piece of fabric pre-embroidered by hand.  It's meant
to be cut into a vest to be worn underneath a waist coat

 If the day wasn't thrilling enough, we then took the subway during rush hour from the Upper West side of Central Park to Crown Heights in Brooklyn.  (Crown Heights is our neighborhood.)    If you think you see lots of different people on the streets, well intensify that by a power of ten and you have the subway.  There's no telling who or what you might see on a subway.

We managed to score seats early, so the trip of about an hour was pretty fascinating.  I kept thinking about all those movies of the 1950's (think Judy Holiday) where crowded subway cars are prominently featured.  Subways are the niftiest way to get around town.  There's one major exception:  Don't be on a subway during a New York blackout.  Actually, just try to be home during any major blackout - like we were last week when the blackout of 42 years ago was recreated in quite a bit of Manhattan - and not in a fun way.  We were lucky.  Our tickets to the Lincoln Chamber Music concert was the day AFTER the blackout, so we were unaffected.

I'd say we made proverbial hay with our day off.  As always, pictures links below for anyone who's interested.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jF7x2s1fiVfcM3Yi8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/T82LQQpPSZvLEeWe6

  
 

Morphing into a Brooklynite

Pretty soon I'll just be a normal Brooklynite.  I'm already calculating whether to wait for transit or just say, "Forget about it - I'm walking!".  Today I walked 1.8 miles, climbed seven flights of stairs and rode on three different subway lines to get from my house to Lincoln Center. 

It's really hot and humid here.  After all it's a wet heat.  That's opposed to the 'dry heat' of the desert.  I had to laugh.  Today, the temp was 81 at 7pm.  A balmy evening in Arizona.  However, in Brooklyn the wet heat factor kicked in, and the 'real feel' temp was 86 with about 70% humidity - certainly edging out of balmy.  For those of you who don't know, 'dry heat' refers to the real feel of the temperature in the desert.  With 10% (or less) humidity a temperature of 108 has a 'real feel' of 100. 

I'm still sweating buckets here.  And believe me, after so much time in dryer air, I don't 'glow'; I sweat.  The highest summer heat hasn't even arrived yet!  Forget makeup.  One of my smartest buys was the dozen paper fans I bought from Oriental Trading Company.  It's really helpful all the buses and subway cars are heavily air conditioned.  It's just walking to them or waiting for them that's so hot.  I was in a subway car yesterday so frigid it was deja vu - back to a Houston shopping mall.  The sanctuary of the church I'm attending is NOT air conditioned.  In 1890, that technology didn't exist.  With the interior space of the sanctuary domed, I'm not even sure how you could retro fit it.  So, church is starting a hour earlier tomorrow to compensate for the summer heat.

I still talk to too many people.  The neighborhood is just full of people I want to get to know.  I was chitchatting with our concierge weekend relief person, and it turns out her young son is in the Air Force.  He's stationed at Corpus Christi.  Being a New Yorker, he doesn't have a driver's license.  He was complaining to his mother that he was the only person walking on the streets.  We both agreed he's going to have to cave and get not only a license but also a car. 

There's also a guy who wears a different hat every time I see him.  He parks a vintage black Cadillac on our block, and whenever I see him, he's always standing beside it.  First, we inclined heads.  Now, we're speaking.  I'm just hoping he's not the neighborhood drug dealer.  He's always sort of hanging around.  However, I've never seen him doing any 'business', so I'm probably just being paranoid.  More likely, he's an Uber driver.  Uber drivers are like bees that swarm around the streets.  Mostly, they drive black SUV's.

Today, I also saw our neighborhood homeless person.  He's a tall skinny guy with a beard halfway down his chest who is creating his own home in a 'nook' next to a building.  Last week he found a wooden kitchen chair painted turquoise in the trash.  Yesterday, when I went over to the grocery store (with my rolling cart), I noticed he had found a rectangular shaped sofa which he turned on its side bottom facing out, cushions facing in.  It's kind of a fenced off pod room.  Sadly, today he had a skillet and was beating on an cast iron fence as he walked down the street.  I'm guessing he's one of the mentally ill who's supposed to 'self medicate'.  What a sick joke.   

We also watched the Macy's Fireworks show live.  No, I didn't go down to the Brooklyn Bridge Park with the crowds.  We just went to our rooftop.  There were fireworks in every direction - mostly illegal ones, but we got to see enough of the Macy's show that I was completely satisfied.  There were about a dozen people on the roof, and everybody agreed this beat fighting the massive crowds on the East River waterfront. 

If you're into fireworks, well, here are my pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8nqugPZ3YWBGZYpA7 

Walking down the sidewalks here is always a treat. Today, I actually saw an Indian couple who were close to our age.  Mostly, there are young families, couples, and young singles.  We sort of stick out anywhere we go in the neighborhood.  I also saw a woman in a full burka walk by a woman in skin tight shorts with black spiked Mohawk hair and tattoo sleeves on both arms.  What a contrast!  If you just listen, you can hear several languages in a three block walk.

This week we hopped on a bus and went to a true Salvation Army Store.  It was in a warehouse (no a/c & hotter than blazes), but I was able to buy some extra glasses and a couple of coffee mugs without having to take out a loan.  Compared to my Sun City thrift stores, this place was really meager.  I was fortunate, they had everything I wanted. 

It's actually more fun to troll the stoops on trash day as you walk by, but there's no telling what you'll find.  Sarah found a tambourine for Cedric, and this week I found a Lonely Planet Guide for Budapest.  Who knows, maybe we'll catch a flight and head over one of these days.  We'll just jump on the B65 bus, get off in about 3 stops at Nostrand, walk one block to the Eastbound LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) and exit Jamaica to catch the air train to JFK airport - a piece of cake.   

     

Back to Work

Let me tell you, it feels weird to be back at work  after being retired for more than ten years.  Drake and I talked about this prior to starting the 'grandson' project, but I don't think either one of us remembered clearly the utter relentlessness of getting up and going to work each day.  The last time we made this adjustment we were 21 years old, and it was a hell of a lot easier then.  

Neither one of us realized how much energy we've lost by frittering our time away each day just doing what we felt like doing.  Now that we have a full time job, it doesn't matter if pain keeps me awake for hours at night, the alarm still goes off at 6:30 am.  Prior to the 'project', I would just sleep in.  So, it's tiring, but really rewarding.  I had the experience of raising an infant while Drake dutifully and truthfully, joyfully, headed off to his office each day.  His head was in the 'helper' mode, not the 'caretaker' mode, and that was a big step forward from his Dad's generation who were in the pat the kid's head mode, and say, "Go ask your mother." when any child care issues arose.  

This is not to say Drake doesn't have the same energy and relentlessness issues I have, but he's also struggling to get up to speed on infant nurturing.  He's doing some limited reading, but mainly, he takes his cues from me because he's never cared for a small child on a daily basis.  He thinks he's not good at it, so he keeps rejecting the obvious:  Grandson adores him, and panics if Drake suddenly walks out of the room.  Drake brings the male dynamic that infants in the past have not had the benefit.  I've said all along our son-in-law's extended childcare leave (six months) benefited both him and the child.  Grandson expects 'care' equally from both of us thanks to the full time care taking by each of his parents.  They were both so very lucky to have extended family leave time.  

As usual with any project we've ever undertaken, we've each carved out 'areas' of responsibility, and no, mine aren't all the dirty diapers.  We are both completely committed to not just offering physical care, that can be bought and easily learned, but rather tailoring enrichment and activities which bulls eye Grandson's individual development.  Additionally, we are trying to keep up with a second household's 'chores', so our kiddos can spend every possible minute with their new child.  They both love their work, but they can hardly wait to get home.  Each day is a 'race' to see which of the two will get home first since who arrives first gets the baby first.    

Right now, the baby is all about absorbing as much language as he can hear.  He soaks it up like the proverbial sponge, cuing in on the words, your eyes, your lips, your tone and body language.  I can already tell he's 'sensing' the meanings of some words especially when he hears them in the context he expects.  He's parroting his version of talking and trying hard to communicate his needs.  He's also working on crawling which has been super frustrating for him.  This boy is BIG.  At eight months he already weighs as much (if not more) than our daughter did at one year.  He's built like a concrete block with huge hands and feet.  It's so hard for him to coordinate all that mass.  No wonder gymnasts tend to be small, compact people.  He's getting there, and we are encouraging him to try and try again.  Oh, and he's also teething.        

Then, we have the family issue.  None of us have ever lived so closely to family.  Drake and I 'lived away' from our parents, and so did our son-in-law's parents.  Our kiddos aren't quite sure how to handle their parents living one mile from their house.  Of course, one of our big incentives for doing this was to be able to actually spend some more time with them, but they just want us 'gone' when they get home in the evening.  It's not really a problem, but I can see this is going to be one more thing which is a change in a year of changes.

This adventure is going to be a race:  Can we physically take care of this huge baby?  Drake has to do most of the 'lifting' because neither of us want my back issues to become acute.  Will we run out of stamina?  Can we sustain not only child care, but laundry, housework, household management issues, and minor repairs?  Will we feel a growing sense of isolation in a community dedicated to the raising of young children.  It's always strange when on our half year adventures we go from being the 'youngest' in Sun City to being the 'oldest' at the new location.  Now we live in a place where we are definitely the oldest by far.  Additionally, we live in an area where we are significantly in the minority.  Crown Heights (our Brooklyn neighborhood) is half black and half Hasidic Jewish.  We live in the black portion of the neighborhood.  We take the bus to and from 'work', and I casually noticed one day last week we were the only pale colored people on the bus.  

I am fighting back.  First, I've learned in NYC while it's not OK to talk to random people, it's OK to talk to people in your neighborhood.  I getting to know the bus drivers, and now one smiles at me whenever I get on our bus.  I'm also recognizing people who ride the bus with us every day.  To combat my own personal loneliness, I've found a church.  It is a Methodist church founded in 1846 housed in a Romanesque building completed in 1891.  (Romanesque architecture was a big 'thing' in the last 20 years of the 19th century in New York, and nowadays, communities are trying to preserve these examples.) It is unusual in that instead of a gable (triangular) inside, it's domed with large, simple stained glass windows.  It's really beautiful, but the pews tend to get a bit uncomfortable after two hours - that's the typical length of the service.  

This church is known for its music program, and they have a magnificent organ and a professional drum set which is used with every piece of music. The choir doesn't just sing one carefully prepared anthem, but usually several.  The spirit can start moving through the congregation and the anthems can take on lives of their own.  Also, the call to worship is very joyful and can last several minutes.  The preacher tries to stay within a 15 to 20 minute prepared sermon, but again, that doesn't always happen.    

Everyone is very welcoming but still a bit taken aback I'm there and keep coming back.  (It's that white/black thing again.)  I've been handing out origami animals to the young children surreptitiously during the service and that seems to be a big hit.  A new preacher arrives next week, so the church is in emotional upheaval - their current pastor has been there seven years which is an eternity in the Methodist system.  Methodists don't believe in the 'cult of personality' like the Baptists do.  The Methodist system has Bishops who move preachers around  districts like bingo balls.  I'm pleased the new preacher is a woman.  

Anyway, this church has the added attraction of being on the bus line, and it's only four stops away.  The next closest church is 'Spanish', and mine just isn't that good.  There's just a really good vibe to this church which has made me want to return each week.  Making friends is going to be hard.  I'm just going to bide my time until they get used to me.  I'm also going to pick up my bona fides in January in Arizona.  (Those would be my United Methodist Women mission pin and my Emmaus cross.)  This congregation works hard at delivering what the community needs, and I'm sure I can find a way to contribute.

On the smooth side, I'm getting into this delivery lifestyle.  I have my breakfast foods delivered to my workplace each Monday, and my house groceries delivered to the apartment each Saturday.  It's so much easier to do the big majority of all my shopping online.  Competing in the crowds is always going to be an issue here after life in the West.  Brooklyn has 2.649 million people in a 67 mile area.  Phoenix has 1.6 million people in a 517 mile area.  That pretty much says it all.  It's easier to get places in Brooklyn and the other boroughs (especially Queens and Manhattan), but harder to get services.  We honestly don't really miss having a car, and I think the added walking has improved my overall health.

This is just the first installment of this 'theme' which I will revisit from time to time over the next year.  However, now, I have to go get ready for the American Ballet Theater performance of "Swan Lake" starring the best damn ballerina I've seen in 40 years.  There are some big compensations to going back to work. 

P.S. - No idea what I did to screw up the format, but next post will be better. 

Met Member

This week I checked off one of my heart's desires.  Don't get too excited - this is a small one:  I joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  It is thrilling to be a member of one of the premier museums in America.  I've always wanted to join, but what was the point unless you could 'attend' the special exhibitions.

I've been to the Met so often over the past eight years I know all the 'regular' stuff.  For me, the real treats are the exhibitions.  Not only is the 'stuff' great, but I always learn something.  The visit this past week was no different - well, other than I'm a MEMBER!!!!  Did I mention that?

OK, so first, there was 'Play It Loud!'.  This exhibition contained instruments of famous rock and roll artists from about 1955 to the present.  Here was my favorite part of the exhibit

(I'm not crazy  -  I'm looking for a spotlight, so my face will be lighted, and, of course, that's when Drake snapped the picture) 
The instruments are self-explanatory.

If you're looking for something more modern, well how about this piano:

Lady Gaga's piano - she played "ArtPop" on it when she guested on the Tonight Show

There are tons of famous instruments belonging to a myriad of famous names.  If this is your thing, well check out the pix.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LGc1P7xiBxLKfFP56

Next, here's a quirky one.  It was billed as "What did Art Cost during the Renaissance in Northern Europe".  The 'unit of currency' is one cow.  One milk cow during this era was worth one month's salary of a skilled worker,  or two month's salary of an unskilled worker, and that price remained very stable. The exhibition consisted of pieces made in Northern Europe during the Renaissance era.  There were sculptures, paintings, jewelry, pottery, tapestries, etc., and each piece was valued according to how many cows each piece was worth. Here's the premise:  

Tankard, gilded silver with rock crystal and precious gems - worth
158 cows

The one thing that really came across to me was even in the 16th century it was damn hard to make a living if you were an artist.  This exhibit was fascinating in that it made me look at objects from a whole different P.O.V.  As always, there are pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vBvDkwUJr7Ug2Azr7

Here's the exhibit which taught me something I didn't know.  It's called "The Tale of Genji".  This is a 52 chapter book written in Japan in the 11th century by an aristocratic Japanese woman.  The equivalency in importance to Japanese culture and literary heritage is as Shakespeare is to Western culture.  I'd never even heard of it!  People have been talking about it, thinking about it, writing about it, and representing it in art for one thousand years.   The government of Japan sent things to this exhibition which are considered national treasures and have never before left the Japanese mainland.  It blew my sox off, I can tell you.  Here's the 'title page' of the exhibition:

That's a representation of the woman who wrote the book
and me - looking happy

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qW39LEVsxP4SxMLn9

Finally, the last new exhibition is called "Camp".  This was the theme this year of the most famous party in New York City:  The Met Gala.  The exhibition paralleled the 'gala'.  Mostly, it's about a definition of what is 'camp', when it originated, and how it's been taken over by the fashion world.  There were lots of examples of the extremes of runway haute couture fashion.  It started with Oscar Wilde and displayed pictures, and caricatures of him as well as some original manuscripts - like his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.  "Camp" was definitely his thing.  The over the top fashions are the true stars though.  And, there's a Caravaggio exhibited which, in Drake's opinion, was the only thing worth seeing in the exhibition.  Well, he was totally wrong.  This was outrageous fun.  And, just for my new mom daughter, here's what all new moms wear during routine baby care..... at least the 'camp' ones.

More fun pix:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AECwQgnnFX8WMYhw9

That's the 'new stuff' at the Met.  Did I mention I'm a MEMBER?

   

Starting the Big Adventure

View from our Brooklyn apartment

I have heard our current endeavor referred to as 'a big adventure' more than once as if moving to Brooklyn, New York, is venturing into the heart of a deep, dark, slightly scary, exotic place.  I was actually getting a bit spooked myself about the move.  However, as is usually the case, all the fears of cramped, dirty, unsafe, and noisy have not come to pass.  The move itself went like rollerskating downhill thanks to Drake's expert planning and doggedly determined follow ups.

The move in was not without its moments.  Only in New York would the movers show up on the bus with their crated dog in tow.  They managed to borrow a dolly from the auto detailers across the street, and the rolling luggage cart from the concierge in exchange for leaving the dog in the building lobby.  They cheerfully got all the furniture and goods out of the U-Box crates and up to our apartment quickly.  The U-Boxes were gone the same day they were dropped off in front of the apartment. 

Our apartment turns out to be light, airy, quiet, (minimal street noise), with views of lush green trees.  No one lives above us, and the back of our apartment faces an elementary school.  The 'noise' is of children playing at recess during the day.  And, I've spotted four different kinds of birds including a cardinal pair flitting through the trees.   We catch the bus 200 feet from our door, and it takes us to within a block of our new workplace.  It seems weird to be talking about work after being retired for twelve years. 

So, the real adventure is not the place we've moved, but the fact we've got a JOB.  We are the nannies for our new grandson.  Thank heavens this is a job share.  All the grandparents in our family are committed to getting the new kid off to a good start.  Finding quality childcare, especially for very young children, is a constant worry for parents no matter where they live.  There's the cost which is actually secondary to the reliability, and finally the flexibility of child care.  We decided to offer our services.  We're not cheap, but we are certainly reliable, and we don't charge by the minute after 5:30 pm.

With seven out of ten women with children in the work place, what we are doing is not as unusual as you would think.  We met someone in the building's gym whose parents have been doing this same thing for not only his children but also his brother's children.  Families who live in the same town have always pitched in to help with the children.  The new twist is grandparents are moving to a new location to help out.  It's an old tradition.  The cliche, 'it takes a village' is actually still the truth even in the 21st century and especially in the United States.  It's been an uphill battle to get parental leave in the USA which is standard in the rest of the developed world.  Our son-in-law had seven months leave to be with his new baby.  What company does he work for?  A Swedish one.  We are being handed off a seven month old instead of a two month old newborn. 

If we have any energy left, we are looking forward to new restaurants, Broadway shows, the American Ballet Theater, and my favorite pastime:  New York museums - especially the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It's taken us a week to get settled in.  As of today, everything is unpacked and there are curtains at every window.  I bought all my curtains in Arizona.  I just had to hem them, and Drake had to figure out how to get them hung.  We have nine foot ceilings and no ladder.  I'm just about ready to have some fun before we start work.  June 16th is our start date. 

I've already found something in I absolutely LOVE in Brooklyn.  I'm having all my groceries delivered, and it's FREE.  In fact, I'm pretty much having everything delivered.  This building has an elevator, and it also has a concierge.  He accepts deliveries all day long.  There's also a recreation room with pool table, ping pong table, and foos ball.  There's a movie room and a large gym with sauna, and a laundry room.  We have a designated 'place' with a drain inside the apartment for a stack washer/dryer, but if you buy one, you have to pay an additional $100 each month for the increased water usage.  We turned that w/d space into a pantry, so we'll be using the building's laundry facilities. 

The kitchen has nice appliances, but the storage in the kitchen can charitably be called minuscule.  I have no idea how you'd be able to store food as well as dishes and pots and pans.  However, there's granite, a nice big stainless sink, and a good work area.

Other than the kitchen, the storage in the apartment is good.  The water pressure is good, and we like the shower.  All the furniture I brought with me 'fits', so we are both pleased with our sight unseen apartment choice.  Oh, and it's air conditioned.  I learned my lesson several years ago after spending the summer in an apartment in New Haven, Connecticut which didn't have air conditioning.

Tomorrow, we are harking back to our Texas roots and having a family taco day to kick off summer.  I wonder if Cedric wants onions on his......