Scribbles and Photos

Mt. Denali - Reflection Pond It's September 22nd and, as I wrote in yesterday's post, Wiggling My Toes , I've been home recuperating from surgery on my arthritic left toe since last Friday.  The whole experience has given me new respect for the "bionic" women and men in my life.  No, not Lee Majors (showing my age here) but rather my mother, with her two hip replacements, one knee replacement, and a hip repair.  My brother-in-law with his knee replacement and my friend Linda with her double knee replacement.  These surgeries are not fun. Fireweed Today started off well.  I finally figured out how to wrap my foot so I could take a real shower (as opposed to my previous foray).  I am more clean and my bathroom is less wet.  And, I got dressed!  More progress. But I am digressing here in this post that is about the vast wilderness that is Denali National Park .  First, a shout out to my wonderful travel agent, Michelle Glass of Entr...

A Frolicking Stray by John M. Erianne I've been off my feet for almost a week now as I recuperate from a Cheilectomy -- a surgical procedure to fix my really rigid and very painful big toe (in medical terms, Hallux Rigidus ).  In addition to removing all the bony spurs, my podiatrist also removed the debris from an old fracture of that toe.  One has to wonder when I fractured it.  My guess is Seattle 2007 when I stubbed it really hard on a luggage rack in the middle of the night.  The rack was in the normal path I would take to my home bathroom but not on the way to the bathroom in my hotel room.  Jet lag, it's a dangerous thing! Preservation Part 1 by Anna Kuchel Rabinowitz AND Ringo by Reina Kubota The surgery was an outpatient procedure and the intrepid Nancy B (aka the B)  picked me up from the hospital about two hours post-op.  The B is a regular traveling companions -- our most recent adventure was a road trip from CA to AZ and back ...

Never forget.   Remembering Today America the Beautiful

Logs at the Mount in Central Park Central Park's Mount (home to the park's  chief composting station ) is one of my favorite places.  Typically, it is filled with mountains of wood chips and logs that have not, as of yet, been chopped up.  It's a haunting place particularly when some of the park's older trees find their way there as has been happening all too frequently of late. “Hiding your motives is despicable / the only way to be pure is to stay by yourself” (Jenny Holzer) Today, the Mount was home to something that was a bit more of a mystery -- a massive piece of broken marble inscribed on all visible sides with words.   There it rested a top a pile of assorted debris with its broken corners carefully pieced together on top.  Unexpected and strangely evocative of a gravestone. "Money Creates Taste" (Jenny Holzer) Upon arriving home, I did a bit of googling.  As it turns out, the Public Art Fund had staged a showing of Jenny Holzer...

Hopper at the Flatiron Building I'll get to who Irwin is in a few minutes but let's start with Edward Hopper whose exhibit I went to see yesterday with my friend Kate.  The Hopper exhibit was the draw for a visit to the Whitney Museum -- a place that I had never set foot in until yesterday.  I haven't been much of a museum goer in my years of living in NYC despite managing to visit museums in pretty much everyplace I travel to (most recently making a stop in Seattle with the express purpose of seeing the Chihuly Museum (some photos from that visit are in Vacation Mode ). This seems to be changing.  I'm even a member of the Metropolitan Museum (or was -- I think I have yet to renew).  What I liked about the Whitney is that having gone to see the Hopper exhibit, I was not too exhausted to visit the other floors and partake of their treasures.  I also liked that they allow non-flash photography for non-commercial, personal use (although they do note that ther...

Last weekend, I wandered around midtown -- starting near the 59th street bridge and ending up over by Bergdorf's.  It was one of those days with fluffy white clouds floating against a blue sky.  The kind of day where buildings sheathed seem to disappear into the sky. Queensboro Bridge Reflection Roosevelt Island Tram Progression 420 East 61st Street North GM Reflected in the Apple Store Solow Building

Earlier this week, I posted a piece on GeriPal -- Remembering David Solomon  -- about one of the great champions of improving care for older adults.  It was a serious piece about someone who I adored and respected.  David recently passed away -- at home surrounded by friends at the age of 90.  I will miss him.  It took me a long time to sit down and write that post but once I did (sit down that is), the piece just flowed out.  Some would call it writing from the heart. This piece is not so serious nor did it take me so long to sit down and write it. It's about yellow trucks.  Just two of them to be exact but they are looming large in my photographic truck collection -- beating out the red truck that graced my Junk Yard  Heaven post and the rusted truck that graced one of my early posts -- One Man's Junk . Big Yellow Truck Blocking the Entrance to the Queensboro Bridge  Maybe it's because these yellow trucks are still working and t...