Photo of the Day: Hazy Holiday at Hammonasset

Photo c. Christine

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Hammonasset State Beach, Madison, CT

What a way to bring August to a close.

Sumer Fridays 2013: Yarn & Order, Book 'Em Nettie

Maybe it's just me, and/or a sign of my years, but in order to keep track of all the various projects and deadlines I have going in various parts of my life, I've had to create and--more importantly--post lists of all the various things that I would like to accomplish. Like my annual holiday timeline, this list is posted in a very visible spot in my kitchenette and it serves as a constant reminder of things I should or could be doing, instead of goofing off on say, the Internet.

list c. June 2013

By the end of last year, the two-sided list for 2012 was full of annotations, cross-outs, and check-offs, but there were still things I didn't get done. Some of those items carried over to the 2013 list, and were supplemented by new goals, projects, and things to-do.

We're half way through 2013 now, not to mention all the way through June, with its Summer Fridays and Miscellaneous Mondays, and my 2013 list does not have nearly enough things crossed off.

On my most recent Summer Friday, however, I tackled one of the biggest, and long over-due projects -- The Shelves. New York studios are not known for their spaciousness, so you have to be creative with storage and judicious about adding to various collections. For me, that means yarn, media, books, and various collectibles live in the same scarce shelf space, and it was time to reorganize, alphabetize, shift, and cull. The catalyst was that I really needed to find room to integrate nine volumes of this blog printed out into book format ... 

Then there is also the fact that I keep an inventory list in Excel, of materials listed by type, author, publication date, genre, and locations on my own shelves that needed updating since I did it last in 2010/11?

Yes. I'm that person! Hello!? Have you met me? I am a librarian. If my own isn't organized, they may revoke my card. (Which reminds me--I owe annual dues.)

First, everything not a regular "book" had to come off and be put into various type piles, and then alpha/author rows came down to be dusted, inventoried, and then either re-ordered or culled. (It was also laundry day, thus the bed stripped of linens down to the bare mattress. The house was totally a mess of stuff drying or all over the place. The "Rs" could have interrupted my ZZZs if I didn't finish.)

At first things went quickly. The first two shelves saw me getting rid of 18 books. But after that, it was slow going ... At one point I thought it was going to be the death of me and I sent out a message to the effect of: If you don't hear from me later and they find my body under piles of paper/shelves, please tell my nieces/nephews I loved them very much. But then I buckled down again.

I usually do little culls as I go along i.e. one book in, one book out, but it got away from me in the last year or so, especially recently with a collection of ARCs, new/growing scrapbooks, and the new blog books. The design trend lately is to organize bookshelves by color, but that would make me CRAZY. As it is I have two authors out of alpha order and I itch. Of course, it's because those two authors need two-three shelves each ... That's totally normal, yes? It's not an obsession, it's a collection.

After: 3 of the 4, Cameo by Maxxie

Part of why it took all day was because I was dusting, reorganizing, editing the spreadsheet, doing research on Amazon.com, Wikipedia, and Goodreads, adding to my wish lists for missing pieces of the collection/replacements for VHS to new formats, and then sending out e-mails to people to see if they would take things off my hands. (Only one taker for one of the 30+ items that eventually need new homes!)

One more Summer Friday down - one more thing off the list. I've got to tackle the clothes collections later ... I'm scared. Two bureaus, two closets, 2 under bed storage buckets ... Two summer months to go.

Summer Fridays 2013: Third Same as First

Look, I know I had mentioned other plans for these Summer Fridays, but sometimes ...

Volunteering to help a good institution and a good, nay GREAT, friend is more important than doing other things.

Friday saw me heading up to Katonah again to lend a set of hands to Christine and Caramoor as they prepared for their Opening Night Gala for their 68th Summer Music Festival.

I was a little early, so I enjoyed the view and a pastry from Noka Joe's.

I'm glad I did. It was full speed ahead. So full speed ahead, that I didn't take photos. Not that I really had anything exciting to photograph. It was a working day, full of Gala prep. Plus, I was under a self-imposed "embargo" on Gala details. I was there to help -- not goof off. Aside from Christine and Chrystal, her entire staff--from the CEO, to the Dir. of Development, to the other fund-raising staff--were new to Caramoor. She and I knew what was ahead, for the Gala and the Festival. It was time to buckle down. I brought snacks to help everyone through the day. I even kept some people hustling. (I know I got looks about it, but they'll "get it" later.)

The day consisted of many tasks, like double checking ticket buyer lists, alpha and table lists; doing research via online and  database records on real estate holdings; helping with stacks of filing and sorting; organizing and stuffing over 250 gala gift bags with 2 types of perfume, stationary, a stress ball, brochures, and tissue paper, etc. (how to get 10,000 daily step in - walking around and around and around a worktable; moving, unpacking, relabeling, and repacking 15 large cases of wine; and ripping, stuffing, and playing a type of  ticket bingo/concentration with all the gala envelopes. After all of that, who needs a gym? But whoa, have I TOTALLY lost my Caramoor/Festival muscle tone and stamina. 

Sadly, due to the late, 1-train-an-hour, schedule from Katonah, I had to leave by 11:15 p.m. before they were really done for the day. You do experience the most interesting things on the late night commuter trains, like skunk smells, like drunk college kids, insomniacs, etc. Skunk is a particularly fragrant odor when mixed with drunk people fumes and the smell of stale urine on train platforms.

Here are some of my other tips from the day: 

~ Volunteering is good, but can be exhausting too. Don't be too proud to file, shred, or aphabetize piles of paper if that's what the institution needs.

~ If you ever plan to attend a special event, please a) RSVP in a timely fashion b) pay attention to invite & c) thank the event staff. They're already tired BEFORE the event.

~ FINALLY: Do visit Caramoor. The grounds are lush, offerings diverse, and the staff is marvelous.

Did you know it was recently named one of CNN's top 8 outdoor music venues? Really!

Here's an Instagram from Caramoor from Opening Night;

"Tickets are printed, musicians have arrived, ushers are ready, and our Gala has begun! What a perfect night for #openingnight for Caramoor."

via @caramoor Instagram

Although I didn't go up again on Saturday for Opening Night, I already have plans to visit again in July, for another Caramoor "alumni" reunion. Can't wait!

Manhattan Monday - Wandering the Line

As the Big J's fiscal year came to a close, I realized that I had some personal days off that I would "lose" if I didn't take them, so I took a couple of Mondays off. Fortunately for me, one of these Mondays aligned with a day that my friend Michelle was planning to visit from Miami.

Last Monday, I spent the day running errands around Manhattan. First I had to take the train in, get poppy seeds from Spice and Tease at the Grand Central Market, get money from the ATM, tickets from the machines, and then schlep over to a branch of the New York Public Library. Turns out the iconic Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street with the lions protecting it, doesn't have a drop-box for returning items. Good thing the Mid-Manhattan branch is katty-korner to the big cats. I don't like to have over-due items. It's a professional guilt thing.

Then it was off to the Chelsea Market to get some goods for various parties last week before meeting up for lunch with Michelle. The Market is a little touristy at times, but if you know where you are going and exactly what you want, it's easier.

 

(blurry iTouch photos from inside the Market)

It had been a while since I'd been, and turns out the shop, The Nut Box, that I was going to see has revamped down from having pre-packaged and bulk fruit, nuts and candies, down to just pre-packaged. I *might* have gotten too much, between that shop and the Chelsea Market Basket Company. I didn't realize how much I actually was hauling around the rest of the day until I got home and unbagged 9.5 POUNDS of assorted nuts, snacks, grains, and fruit. No wonder my shoulder was killing me.

After a deliciously long chatty lunch at The Green Table (get the red quinoa falafel platter, trust me), some coffee for Michelle and a wait in the line for the restrooms, it was off to wander the High Line.

The last time I visited the High Line was in the winter, with Jane, a few years ago. What a difference a season or two can make (and switching cameras!) The second section was open, lush, and the area is blossoming up around it. In addition to art being made on the Line,

 art is being added by Line, by buildings around it,

 

 and on billboards in the area.

 

It is so nice to see the hard lines of the City open up to green spaces, 

 to have spots of color, unexpected views, have nature disguise and reveal new things.

 Like the various backyards, patios, and other special spaces that people carve out for themselves.

It was so easy to fall back into conversational rhythms, relax, regroup, and get caught up in the High Line, that the sudden summer thunderstorm that rolled in was a surprise. 

Whoops. There are the clouds. Maybe it's not a good idea to be elevated, on a line with metal tracks, or hiding out under the metal scaffolding that leads to the part where section II and III of the High Line will meet up. Needless to say, Michelle and I got out of there, and wandered through the rain and puddles back to the subway to head back to Grand Central for our trains back to various destinations.

Thanks again, Michelle, for always making time to squeeze me into your New York itinerary! I'm so glad that we're able to pick up where we leave off - and that you get my weird sense of humor when we stumble across weird vignettes like this!

Summer Fridays 2013: Waiting for Godot

Not really, but Waiting for the Cable Guy doesn't have the same oomph.

My second Summer Friday for the year was not nearly as exciting or adventuresome or altruistic as last week. I spent it cleaning, waiting for the cable guy, paying bills, waiting for the cable guy, and then taking a nap, because ... waiting for the cable guy was exhausting. (Actually the last week of work and the weather was exhausting.)

For months, I've been dealing with some equipment issues that kept my at-home Internet activities limited to my patience levels (which, to be honest, varied on how crappy the connection speeds were). I managed to work around them for a while, but it was painfully slow - even when I was using the back-up wifi connections. I knew I needed a day for a service call, so was waiting for summer Fridays so I could I just have a day.

Here's a hint. Your modem connections are supposed to show more green lights than just this. The "send/receives" should be steady.

It's also very handy to have a tech brother on stand-by to walk you through terminology and sites to do testing of your stuff BEFORE the cable guy comes. Thanks J. That speedtest.net site (left) is handy. Also it's also super handy to know that your download speeds shouldn't be .09 , or below 1.0 anything!

I will grab my validation where ever I can get it. To wit: the first thing(!) the tech said when he saw my set-up was: "We don't even USE that equipment anymore." Hello! No wonder it wasn't working. I knew I wasn't going crazy the last (mumble amount) of months. Basically the modem was toast. I have a new one now - and it's like night and day! From .02 or .09 Mbps downloads to 18+. AH, streaming video and sounds, how I have missed you. Oh dear. Skype ... that means I have no excuses anymore.

The only real problem is that now that the connections are fast and secure again, I'm totally distracted from reading. I am not kidding when I say that I'm in the middle of those five books up there, the bottom one which I started in JANUARY and can't seem to finish.

Thank Goodness I have the next two Mondays off, in addition to a series of other Summer Fridays. Maybe I can finish them. I also do want to get back to my plan of Island Hopping, but there are other little projects like Waiting for the Cable Guy I need to finish this summer, like retroblogging, and oh, this....

THE BANE OF MY CRAFTING EXISTENCE.

Summer Fridays 2013: Washed Out

After a very long, busy, hectic crazy winter, and an equally as intense spring, Big J employees start counting down for our much-beloved Summer Fridays. About May we start to dream of all the things we are going to do with these days off.

What we often forget to factor in is Mother Nature's odd sense of humor seasoned with a hefty dose of payback. May is also the cusp of Atlantic hurricane season - which the "authoritative" source Wikipedia says is "...currently defined as the time frame from June 1 through November 30."

June is when our Summer Fridays start.

Yesterday's first June Summer Friday is when the first named storm system of the season swept up the Atlantic coast and ended up drenching parts of New York with four to six inches of water.

Mother Nature is ticked off and karma's name was Andrea.

Unlike some of my colleagues I watch the long-range forecast. I knew it was coming. I had no outside plans. I had movies stockpiled, as well as projects, but instead decided to venture out and do some volunteering up at Caramoor -- of course. A busman's holiday seemed to be a good way to get out of the house, help out a worthwhile organization, see my friends, and really - a way to transition into the concept of a day off. I'm a workaholic .... it takes me a while to get the idea I'm not supposed to be working.

It was soggy on the train platform going north in the morning ... and for some reason, my train car smelled like wet dog!

But even in the rain, Caramoor is pretty as a picture. What's the old saying?

Red sky at night / Sailors delight 

Red sky in morning / Sailors take warning 

Rooster crows: It is grey / Rain rain, please go away

It was delightful to spend the day in familiar territory, even if most of the faces these days are new. I got to help out with the collation and stuffing of membership materials, all emblazoned with the new logo. This is the new member bag - which Christine took on our beach day trip a few months ago. 

via @caramoor's Instagram

Here are Talia and Karla are putting together pre-festival membership packages! Packed with parking passes, menus, etc. Those folder were packed with information, and should be hitting mailboxes sometime next week. I saw mine ... er. ... someone named Anon Y.. Mous ... got a special delivery ahead of the pack.

Did I ever point out these semi-hidden murals in back of the Administration building? Shame on me.

Look at all these colors and textures of this office building. How do I work in a big grey box every day? (Oh yeah, the many many reasons, including burn-out, paycheck sizes, and summers being not so busy.)

 

I ask you, though, how can you stand in the area between these two pictures, turn left, and then, in all certain earnestness, ask people coming out of these buildings: "Excuse me, where is the Box Office?"

 ??

Really. If Caramoor had a quarter for everyone that did exactly that ... THERE ARE 2 SIGNS ... RIGHT THERE!

On the way back through Katonah to the train, I spotted the only kind of bike I will ever consider getting ... an adult tricycle. (After my "shark" experience on the Cape - no two-wheelers for me.) I could actually tote groceries in this blue beauty. Plus, isn't the view on the Katonah platform much nicer?

One last note. When tropical storms come through, with their bands of wind and rain, umbrellas are pointless. You are going to get wet. It's just something you accept. So I stood out on the platform - in my "water-proof" hat. I understand the concepts "drowned rat" and "soaked to the skin" so much better.

Partly because ... well... Grace struck again.

What was a little rain on my head and shoulders when I was already wet from the ankles up anyway?

I was tromping through the swampy woodlands at Caramoor from the office to the car park, when I ended up knees first in the mud. The blur of green on the left there -- the exact moment it happened.

 WHOO HOO! Summer Fridays. Always an adventure.