Gettin' Outta Dodge

Well folks, there's something to be said for "knowing when to hold 'um, and knowing when to fold 'um." Since the news about Irene is getting worse by the hour, I've decided to fold 'um for a few days. Yes, before Mayor Bloomberg says those dreaded words, "Mandatory Evacuations," I'm pre-evacuating. Going west for a few days, that's all. I hope you'll miss me while I'm gone.
Goodnight Audrey. Goodnight all, and GOODNIGHT IRENE!!!
Love, Anna
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As the World Turns....Hold On Tight!

OK, what's up with the Big Apple anyway? Have I been taking too many bites out of her lately? Let me explain: NYC weather is acting really grouchy and throwing temper tantrums. First off, I arrive a week ago on a Sunday afternoon just as it's raining cats and dogs wearing orange socks, and they said NYC got an unheard of 8" in record time. OK, then another storm hits on Friday night that scared the socks off me because the terrifying noise that thunder made bouncing off the brick buildings around my hotel. And today, an earthquake? Please! I couldn't believe the text I got from Texas:
"Did you feel the quake?" "What quake?" "In Virginia." "You mean the state of Virginia?" Silence.
Well, I'm sitting in a restaurant eating a late lunch and I ask a woman sitting across from me: "Excuse me but how far is Virginia from here?" "Well," she replied, I just happen to be from Richmond and I'd say it was 450 miles or so. Why?" "Seems there has been an earthquake in Virginia," I say. To make a long story short, she looks at me strangely like I was a charter member of the "Doubly Deranged" but then she says something about: 'I've had my phone turned off, but, oh, I see that I have several calls from home.' So she calls and sure enough, there WAS an earthquake in Virginia and now she's looking at me nicely and not screwing up her face anymore and she begins to relay what her husband is telling her....that he went running out of their house and stood there watching it sway, dishes and lamps crashing inside. Finally I get another text from Slow Fingers who says that Fox news is covering the story full time... "They are evacuating buildings in NYC and closing the JFK airport."
So now I'm thinking, "did I just fall down the rabbit hole and hit my head?" Well, by now you know the rest of the story and we can move on. Just as soon as I finish climbing out of this rabbit hole. However, just now a horrendous sounding siren went wailing past my hotel that I'll swear sounded like a cross between a machine gun and Waring blender on steroids. I've never heard anything like it!!
So, what would Audrey have to say about all this?






"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other."

Its true. Nothing else comforts quite like a warm hand holding yours or an arm around your shoulders. Not booze, not the Internet, or mashed potatoes with butter. So stay very close to those you love and forgive them quickly when they mess up. For you never know when that awful moment might come and you'll need a shoulder to snuggle up to while the world turns on it's axis or decides to cave in. We need each other on this swiftly tilting planet, so remember the things you learned in kindergarten: play nicely with each other; say please and thank you; share your toys and your cookies, and hold on to someone's hand when crossing the street.
Yes, hold on tight! And now, I'll say goodnight.
Love,
Anna
Oh my, look who I just saw running down the hall!....He said Hurricane Irene is on the way!!



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Location:E 65th St,,United States

Out of order Bites

Well well, I don't know what went wrong, but the blogs got out of order. The blog: "Things that make me laugh" comes before "Things that go pink in the night. "
But Audrey said to "be strong when everything seems to go wrong," so I'm not fretting. But there are some comments you won't understand if you don't read them in order.
Tomorrow is another day.



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Days 4 and 5, Things that make me laugh

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."
Audrey Hepburn

There's a lot to laugh about in New York. I haven't always been quick enough on the draw to capture on camera all the funny things I've seen, but here are a few.



I have to use this one again.... The pug wearing the orange socks.
Which reminds me of something that once gave me a real belly laugh. A sign in the cafeteria window read: "Shoes are required to eat in the cafeteria." And scribbled in pencil below was this: "However, socks may eat wherever they wish."

The musician in this video is always in the park, usually singing children's songs. He laughs a lot between songs, at nothing in particular. He declined to give me his name, but he was willing to sing Audrey's and my favorite song, Moon River. We had an odd sort of conversation at the conclusion of the video which made me include him in the group of New Yorkers that I respectfully call, The Delightfully Deranged.



I couldn't resist using this photo. I stood gazing at this statue in the store window with a big grin on my face until finally an elderly-looking salesperson came outside and engaged me in conversation. "What is it? I asked, laughing out loud. "Art, that's what it is," the man replied. "What's it made of? I asked. "Don't know that lady, but I know this: that it's a $3000.00 piece of genuine art." "Genuine?" I asked. "Yep, it is. Would you like for me to wrap it up for you, lady?" "No, not today, but I'll think about it," I said laughing as I left.
So, I'll go home and think about it. Well, you know how much I love art, don't you.? Especially if it's genuine.!!!






Some other window displays that made me laugh.




This photo was taken inside the fabulous FAO Swartz toy store. Build your own Muppet. If I had had an extra $99.00 I would have bought one because they all made me laugh. The price sorta made me laugh too!!



This pair cracked me up. I wish I had gotten a video of them when they first saw each other.


And this photo of Audrey and James Garner on the set of The Children's Hour makes me laugh.

My friends, I dearly hope that you can find much to laugh about in your days. It sure beats dwelling on all the negative news and the blistering heat.
Thank you, Audrey, for laughing and smiling a lot. To see you smile makes me smile; to see you laugh nearly makes me cry because of the joy you have brought to others.
"It was only a sunny smile...but it scattered the night like morning light, and made the day worth living."
Goodnight all.
Love,
Anna
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Things that go Pink in the Night

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
Audrey Hepburn

Interesting color, pink. Add a bit of white to a strong, roaring red and voila, you've
got a soft, purring pink. I didn't care much for the color pink as a child, which seems odd because these days pink seems to be every little girl's favorite color. But in that crystalline moment 43 years ago when a nurse first brought me my newborn daughter all wrapped up in a pink blanket, I was hooked. She was pink from the top of her little bald head to her plump little feet, and just like that, I was in love with pink.
So today, in honor of Audrey, I put on my pink Lacoste shirt, grabbed my camera and took pictures of everything pink that I could find.
Here's what I came up with, beginning with my own personal pinks.







My personal pinks.



My new Starbucks thermal cup



Flowers from a friend.








The only pink carriage on 59th Street








Uggs. Sweet!






Barney's store windows





Bears at FAO Swartz


Furry little evening bag at Bergdorf's. I nearly got arrested taking this one.








Perfectly Pink...good for kissing





Sisters at 7th Avenue Street Fair





Street fair ware





Window dressing





Pooch at the street fair





The most divine strawberry shake from Godiva Chocolate shop, made only of ice, strawberries and white chocolate. Nectar of the gods, surely!



Ok, well I thought about him overnight and even though he may be genuine art, the answer is no. For that amount of money, I could have Strawberry Godiva shakes every day AND the furry pink handbag from Bergdorf's.

Yes, Audrey, tomorrow is another day, and perhaps I shall be one of those happy girls who laughs a lot and burns off excess calories in the process. I certainly believe in the power of pink, just like you, and I believe in miracles too. And it was you who once said, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible.'" Goodnight, dear girl.
And goodnight all.
Love,
Anna



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Day 3...Apple Bites

"Hey Girlfriend, shall we do our exercise routine to start the day?"
Well, that didn't last too long. Her legs are twice as long as mine and I'm pretty much a wimp. I think I'll just call for the car now and go do some shopping. Shopping always helps me get over severe muscle strain.






I'M KIDDING, of course.

What I really meant to say is, come along with me while I explore my new neighborhood. I'm staying at The Affinia Gardens Hotel, very well- located on 64th St. Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. What this means is that I'm not too far from the major museums and my favorite haunts on Madison and Lexington Avenues. There shouldn't be one thing that I will need that I won't be able to find right around my hotel or within a few blocks. Why, even when I decided to buy a grand piano for my NY apartment, there was a Steinway and Co. store just a hop skip and a jump away.





JUST KIDDING !!!

But golly, golly, they are beautiful and the store is amazing.

Anyhow, back to exploring the neighborhood. Every day on my way to art school I walk past lovely townhouses that line 64th Street.





I first cross Lexington Ave., then 3rd Ave., then the beautiful flower lined Park Avenue and Madison Ave. until I finally come to Central Park on 5th Ave.
I enter the park at the Zoo and make my way around the winding paths until I find a beautiful spot to sit down and have my lunch.








The park is a very busy place but I always manage to find just the right spot to eat my liverwurst and tomato sandwich. ( this time I am NOT kidding. I love them!)
I saw the cutest pug dog in the park yesterday that had on burnt orange socks!! A dog after my own heart!!!








After art class I walk home down a different street every day, scoping out places I want to return to later. Today on the way home I stopped at Starbucks and bought a coffee press style coffee maker and the MacKenzie Childs store to buy a bar of soap.



Oh, I adore this city. It makes me feel very alive because there is an excitement and an energy here unlike any other city I've ever been to. Yes, even in this mostly concrete jungle of Manhattan Island, one can find beauty, culture, kindness, and lots of friendly people everywhere seeking the good ole American Dream. The frantic pace of life can obscure the significant and the magical moments that parade before us day after day after day. Or we can choose to live every moment- be fully present in every moment -so that we won't miss a single thing. Audrey said it well: "Pick the day. Enjoy it to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come....The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."
Here's to not fretting .... about anything. I have a baseball cap that says on the back of it, No Sniveling. I wish I had brought it, but I won't fret over it.
Goodnight beautiful, mysterious Audrey, and goodnight all,
Love,
Anna



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Day 2 Apple Bites

I woke up this morning remembering this cute picture of Audrey in her robe.


How does she look so beautiful so early in the morning -and always...? Oh I remember now. It's why she is my heroine.


"How to Become a Beautiful Woman" by Audrey Hepburn:
For attractive lips, speak kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone. "
Thank you, Audrey,for being my example.

I can't believe that I am really here in NYC. And for a month. I always did love apples!



Well guess what? I'm in art school. I enrolled yesterday in a watercolor class at the Art Students League. It's a dream come true for me as I have heard of this famous school all my adult life.


Here's a little history behind it. It was the post -Civil War era, and New York City was rapidly becoming the artistic capital of the nation. Young artists we're searching for a place to develop their new ideas about art. The National Academy of Design, home to many New York artists, was threatened by financial difficulties. As a result, a group of devoted and contemporary-thinking art students came together start their own school. In 1875, the Art Student's League of New York born.
The League began as, and continues to be, a collection of studio classes, each autonomous and directed by the creative authority of the individual instructor. Early instructors included William Merritt Chase, Child Hassam, and Thomas Eakins. Many other artists who shaped the vocabulary of art world-wide have trained or taught at the League. They include Georgia O'Keeffe, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, David Lefell, and Sherry McGraw.











Someone once said... "I think everything in life is art, what you do, how you dress, the way you love someone, and how you talk, your smile, and your personality, what you believe in, and all your dreams, the way you drink your tea, how you decorate your home, or party, your grocery list, the food you make, how your writing looks, and the way you feel."
Indeed.
Audrey, you were the "artiest" one of all." Goodnight, dear girl, and good night to you, my friends. May tomorrow be even better than today.
Love,
Anna



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Day 1...Apple bites

Well, this Texas woman made it to town, but not in time for breakfast. I had to unpack first... a month's worth of clothes and art supplies, and rearrange the furniture in my hotel room. However, about noon I did manage to get to Tiffany's for....... ICE CREAM. Yes, scoops and dips and cones in every 5th Avenue window, all laden with tiny jewels and precious stones a la Tiffany mode.





I'll have a double dip of diamonds and emeralds please.





Slurp!!!



All you Texans out there.... remember the umbrella? They actually need those things in this part of the world. It rained 7 inches here the day I arrived.



Alright, I won't be greedy. A single dip of pearls will do quite nicely.

Well folks, I'm anxious to post this and see if it really works like my blog counselor, bless her patient little heart, says it will. I hope you'll come along with me on this adventure as I take some dainty bites out of The Big Apple.

Thank you, Audrey, for allowing me to join you for breakfast at Tiffany's and for being my heroin all these years. Thank you for the work of your hands and the work of your heart and for giving yourself to me and the rest of the world. We are indeed enriched by having known you.
Love,
Anna

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Location:New York City...yeehaw