As I was saying…

Posted on August 7, 2010 by ruthek

The party was a great success: good friends, loving family, good food. What more could anyone want. Actually, I should have wanted less food. I'm afraid of what the scale will say at the rehab on Monday.

On Friday I went out with Robin and Steve and Dana and John, to the Museum of Finance on Wall Street, after which we walked down Broadway to Soho. It was a good walk, but not enough to make up for all the calories. Dana and John left us to go to a play with Renee; Robin, Steve and I met up with Charna and her Chicago roommate at a vegetarian restaurant, called Franchia. Good place.

Today, I was on my own. Charna is out with friends. R and S are in Jersey. Renee is still suffering, although not nearly as much. I went down to the village to another street fair. The vendors were much the same as last week, but I always enjoy people watching.

As I walking toward the fair I spotted these amazing towers looming overhead. I took lots of photos, trying to get something satisfactory, but didn't check out the building until I had walked through the entire fair, taking lots more pictures. To my amazement, the building is a branch of the New York Public Library. It's gorgeous, although you can't see much of it, aside from the towers, because of scaffolding. I visited three floors on the inside and looked through two scrapbooks about the building. Amazing place.

Back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. I've spent lots of time here reading about book making and looking at exhibits of artists' books. Now I want to get back to work.

Continuing New York

Posted on August 3, 2010 by ruthek

Saturday I met up with Sybille again and went to the Jewish Museum to see the Curious George exhibit. It's amazing to know these people went through so many terrifying episodes to leave Europe during the Second World War, but still retained their imagination, creativity and the ability to appeal to children.

Later in the afternoon I went out to New Jersey to visit with Robin's friends, Ron and Ilana. Two of the guests write art criticism for an online journal called Art Critical.com. They specialize in contemporary art, not exactly my cup of tea, but it was fun talking with them. I went from being Robin's mother to an artist in my own right. Very nice.

Sunday morning, for the first time in several years, I went to a street fair on Columbus Ave. There were some vendors I had not seen before, and of course, my old favorite: Mozzarepa, another guilty pleasure.

Love the lady's dress and hairdo.

Renee came home on Sunday afternoon in terrible pain. She had fallen during the night and hurt her back. I helped her unpack then went out for dinner with another friend.

Monday morning I met Mary over at MOMA to see the Matisse, then a nice visit over lunch. Finally, it was time for the appointment that brought me to New York: my contact lens optician. I will have new lenses when I get home and I have prescriptions for two different pairs of glasses, one pair to use without the lenses, one to go over the lenses. I went back to the apartment and brought dinner in for the two of us.

Renee is feeling better today. I went looking for papers for bookmaking, again, and actually found something I liked and could afford. Lunch was at an Indian buffet on 56th St. where I sat in the window and looked at this strange old building that fronts on 57th. I'm always fascinated by these seemingly forgotten bits of real estate in very high-priced areas.

After much walking I limped back to the apartment; a satisfying day.

More New York week

Posted on July 31, 2010 by ruthek

Again I'm playing catchup. I've been too tired to write in the evening and too busy in the morning. Today, I won't leave the apartment until 11:30.

Wednesday afternoon, I went out to Riverdale. Although I've driven through, returning from work on days when the highway was completely tied up, I never stopped. I went to visit Evy, a member of the stitching group I belonged to in New Jersey. She and two others were our Manhattan contingent. Evy is a musician and a collector of strange and interesting things. She calls her apartment a mini-museum.

We spent time talking, looking at all the stuff, listening to music. In the evening, Ellen and Pearl, two more members of the "stitch" came to see me. I miss our Sunday evening get-togethers, so thoroughly enjoyed this evening.

Thursday, before meeting Sybille at Grand Central, I went over to the main branch of the New York Public Library to see the Declaration of Independence. I was particularly interested this year after tutoring Abdul to get his citizenship. I'm sure I learned more than he did. Someone should start a program to have all of us "natural born citizens" help immigrants get citizenship. It might make us all smarter and more appreciative of our status.

With a little more time to wait I went to the Transit Museum in Grand Central where they had a wonderful exhibit about art in the subways. For fifty cents I bought a booklet showing pictures of the art in all of the stations. Maybe someday I'll try to see all of it.

Sybille and I had lunch at a lovely Moroccan restaurant then walked through Bryant Park and spent some time listening to the piano player. It's lovely and strange to have a piano in a park.

Friday the humidity finally left us and it was a beautiful, sunny day. I went to Chelsea to Printed Matter bookstore (not what I had hoped), then to ET Modern, a gallery opened recently by Edward Tufte, who has published wonderful books on presenting information in graphical form. He has now become a sculptor, and I'm still trying make some sense of what he is doing; sense, that is, in terms of being works of art. Oh, well.

I finally got up to the High Line, an old freight railroad line that has been beautifully converted to a public park. I only walked about four blocks of it; having already walked miles before I got there. But, I will return.

My afternoon ended with tea and a long visit with Jacqueline, my photographer friend from Kyoto. She's still photographing Japanese temples and gardens, and I'm still wishing I could go with her.

Day Six, New York

Posted on July 28, 2010 by ruthek

I meant to post every day, but can't seem to stick with it. Here's what happened in the last few days. On Sunday evening, I went out for lobster dinner with Barbara. I haven't had lobster in years, and I loved it. It's probably another one of those things I shouldn't have. Not because of the lobster, per se, but the butter. I was good, didn't use the extra quarter pound they gave us melted, but, nonetheless, there was butter on the lobster.

I'm so tired of the shoulds and shouldn'ts. Eating has gone from being a source of pleasure to just another maintenance thing. I'm hoping losing weight will make my legs feel better, choosing mobility rather than pleasure, but I've decided that when I'm 80, not so long from now, thin or fat, I'm going to eat cheese, fruit, bread and ice cream, exclusively.

Back to NYC: Monday the weather was decent, humidity was manageable, nice breeze, so I opted to walk around and do a little shopping. I took the subway down to 34th St., then walked up Sixth Ave., and visited all the bead stores. No, I wasn't looking for beads. I was looking for interesting fibers I might use for book binding. That's where my head is these days. I didn't find much, but it was a lovely walk ending in Bryant Park, one of the great places in NYC. Then some bus riding, more walking in the East Village, finally a nap back at the apartment, then dinner with Rose.

Bryant Park pics

I am fascinated with the thing at the top. No idea what it is.

I like the way those curves work together.

Yesterday I met Phyllis at the Met. We started at the Picasso show, which I thoroughly enjoyed, then went to the American Woman, a Costume Institute spectacular. The thrust of the show was to equate women's independence with fashion–obvious nonsense, but a good show. Ended the day with dinner with Julia, at a nearby Indian place.

Another Second Ave. subway pic. I've never seen a machine like this.

The rain is here

Posted on July 25, 2010 by ruthek

And I managed to get back to the apartment before it began. The heat and humidity have really gotten to me, so I'm enjoying this brief cooling off. I didn't do much yesterday; met Jody for coffee for an hour, then an hour at the Strand Bookstore (air conditioned now, thank goodness), a small trek through the farmer's market at Union Square then subway back uptown. Not what I originally intended, but easiest by far.

This morning I went to the Met and spent many hours enjoying their air conditioning. In fact, some of the galleries were freezing, but I have no complaints. The East Asian wing, my favorite, was closed until 11. While I waited I took some pictures of the wonderful arches in the oldest part of the museum.

I found a new Tang dynasty horse I'd never seen before.

This wonderful embroidery, symbolizing longevity, was in a show about Chinese Birthday celebrations. The blue grid is a reflection from the ceiling.

I went up on the roof to briefly warm up and found this huge bamboo construction. It made me think of a roller coaster.

Sitting in the new installation of art from New Guinea I was amused to see several family groups come over to these masks and imitate the open mouth expression in their pictures.

I tried to go to the Picasso exhibit, but it was so crowded I just walked out. Here's my last look at the Met as the crowds poured in.

Day One – New York City

Posted on July 23, 2010 by ruthek

The thing about living on the 28th floor is the lightning is right outside, not above you. Fifteen minutes ago I returned from a short walk. It was still hot and very humid, felt like walking in water. Now the skies have opened up, thunder is almost continuous, lightning is right here and lights from the cars reflect off large pools of water.

I arrived in NYC very early this morning: about 1:30 am, after an extra long trip on the Mega Bus, the one that advertises fares as low as $1. It wasn't the price that I found so enticing: it was the wi fi. I had this idea I would be able to use my computer throughout the entire trip. It didn't work that way. I was able to get connected, but through most of Pennsylvania there was no internet access. (Not much phone access, either, when you get right down to it.

The bus had trouble leaving Pittsburgh because of some kind of demonstration so we were most of an hour late before we really got started. The bus was OK for a bus, but trains are better: more leg room and walking space.

Now for the price: I've been planning this trip for a long time. When I first looked at the bus, I could have booked the round-trip for $3 ($1 each way and 50 cent service charge each way). By the time I made sure Renee wouldn't be here (so I wouldn't be walking in and waking her at 1 am), the price had gone up: $8 for the entire trip. Then Julia called and said she was making a birthday party for David and herself on the day I was leaving. Would I postpone my departure. Sure. That cost another $5. Then Robin asked why I wasn't coming home in time for Shabat dinner, Charna would be there. That change cost an additional $15 or $16. I think I've spent about $30 for these tickets: still a big bargain.

Ah, but we're not finished. Steve wants to come to Julia's party and Charna would like to come to New York (she's still in Chicago). I think Robin and Steve will drive, Charna will fly from Chicago, and we'll all go back in the car. Fine with me. I'm not sure I want to get back on that bus.

After a very late start, I spent most of today walking around the city. Work on the Second Avenue Subway still has the neighborhood torn up. I went to the Center for Book Arts and saw two great shows. Mage, you would have liked the poetry books. Not chap books, but wonderful ways of combining words and graphics. The other show had several pop-up books and other books with cuttings. They have artist talks on the next two Wednesday evenings. I may try to get back there. I took some classes there while I was living here. Wish I could do it again.

Roxanne’s Birthday Party

Posted on July 21, 2010 by ruthek

I've been in a number of classes with Roxanne, but we really got to know each other when she showed up in my blog class, and I realized she was one of the most good-hearted people I have ever met. She and her husband are both amazingly kind and well-intentioned. When I found out that Roxanne had never before had a birthday party I knew I had to attend, even though I had two other places I was supposed to be. I arrived late, but I got there in time to sing with Roxanne and was pleased that I managed it.

I'm on my way to New York tomorrow and will be there about two weeks. I've already made plans to meet with friends and go to exhibits. Of course, I'll be posting from there.

Playing catchup

Posted on April 11, 2010 by ruthek

I apologize for the hiatus and promise I'll try to do better. Mostly it was laziness; to a small extent it was income tax. I got so little money last year I get a refund from the feds and only owe the state a very small amount. I use an online service called TaxSlayer. It's very easy and I was finished within a couple of hours. It would be even easier if I was more organized. I was waiting for one form that never came and the other envelopes got shuffled into a pile with lots of other stuff. By the time I found out I didn't need the missing form, the required ones were out of sight and out of mind. Then, of course, I had to find last year's tax, also out of sight and out of mind. It's a great relief to have it all out of the way.

So I'll tell you what I didn't write about: first, the Seders in New Jersey and New York. We were with friends in NJ. The hostess is from Israel, her family originally coming from Iraq. It was a little different from our usual ritual and very interesting. Our kids were still in Chicago–no holiday from college, but the two sons of the host family were there, along with one girl friend. This is very much a family holiday–these friends are just like family. Our New York Seder was with Steve's family on Long Island, again a little different and very nice.

I had my yearly mammogram last week, no results yet. I wasn't going to do it this year, based on someone's (a government health service) recommendation of every two years for women over 75. After Alice's experience, I decided to go ahead with the test. I should have a result tomorrow or Tuesday.

The snow is finally gone, the weather has been mostly wonderful, although not while I was in NYC. There I got wet and froze–didn't have proper clothing with me.

I bought the camera but have had it only two days. I promise a report in about two more days.

Here is the tulip tree welcoming spring.

One last bit of snow. This picture was taken on March 25 after many days of 70 and 80 degrees. The snowpile was created when they shoveled the snow off of the top of the building (parking garage at CMU). Originally it was almost as tall as the building.

It's finally gone.

New York, New York

Posted on March 29, 2010 by ruthek

Rainy Monday in New York City. I can't decide where to go that would make it worth a possible drenching, having at times been very wet in New York rains. I wanted to go down to Chinatown and buy some probably arcane Chinese spices. When I was in Shanghai at that tea tasting ceremony I bought a wonderful, herbal concoction. I saved a little bit in hopes of finding someone who could tell me what was in it. Of course, I forgot to bring it with me. Maybe I'll just go down and buy a selection of sticks and bark. I know there are also tiny rose buds and jujubes.

Today and tomorrow are my last days here. Wednesday morning I drive back with Robin and Steve. Rain is in the forecast all three days.

Besides camera shopping, I've been to Kalustyan, a wonderful place for exotic, imported foods, spices, candies, etc. I could have spent hours there, but I had one more stop on Friday: Japan Society to see a beautiful show of Kuniyoshi woodblock prints. Very satisfying. On Saturday, Renee and I went to the Asia Society and then a movie. Yesterday I went to the Rubin Museum with Phyllis. Two featured exhibits were about death: Remember That You Will Die, and Bardo: The Tibetan Art of the Afterlife. The idea of Remember That You Will Die rather bothers me in the abstract, but the exhibit itself was not troubling; I could only distantly relate to it.

Talking about cameras

Posted on March 27, 2010 by ruthek

Finally decided on my next camera. I love the convenience of my old Sony, but I've never been pleased with the pictures–not enough tonal range. I've been doing research and decided that what I needed was a camera that would give me raw files. I know the real answer is to get a DSLR, but I also know I don't want to carry several pounds of camera with me all the time. There are only a few point and shoot models that meet my requirements and some of them are heavier than I want. Yesterday I went to B & H Photo and held three of them in my hands. Reading the specs didn't do it for me.

B & H is on Ninth Avenue and 34th Street. I think it covers a full New York block on two floors. It is owned and run by Orthodox Jews and mostly has Orthodox Jews working there; lots of them. The place is well organized, but tends to be kind of a zoo; crowds of people. Yesterday morning wasn't too bad. I was able to speak to two different sales people without any waiting. The first young man immediately told me he didn't know anything about point and shoot cameras; I was in the wrong place. That was very nice. Too often I've had sales people give me a totally made up line figuring I wouldn't know better.

The second man showed me four cameras that would meet my needs. I promptly rejected one–too big–and spent time looking at the other three. I liked the smallest one best. Haven't bought anything yet. I'm still in research mode, but I'll probably get the Canon S90. Anyone know anything about it?

100 Books Before I Die

Ruthe Karlin

Category Archives: New York