A few days in New York City

 

When I am in New York, I am in a constant blur mainly because I never really sleep all that soundly, and I am walking around like a zombie. This visit is no exception. 

After a long hiatus, because we are now living in a time of the hiatus, the hiatus seems like a fitting word to describe our current state of being. After a long hiatus, I a. went to Brooklyn on the SUBWAY and b. saw my good friend Kate. 

Kate knows Brooklyn like the back of her hand. She is also a fellow reader who remains deeply appreciative of books, bookstores and the print culture that is alive but struggling pretty much everywhere. She took me around Greenpoint after a pilgrimage to the mecca of used clothing, namely Beacon's Closet. 

Why the psychedelic colors? Because I continue to discover all the little bells and whistles in the photos app. The "white point"? The "grey point"? The "black point"? But also, seeing the here with the there, and trying not to pay too much attention to the real. 

Finally, one of my "classic" snapshots of a subway subject whose attire was summery, casual, urban, relaxed. 

Did I find anything at aforementioned mecca? Yes. I realize that in my blog posts so often I mention a "find" without showing it. Here is the latest one. I was helping Kate look for a fall jacket. I showed her this one, she said no, so I said yes. Hence, this heretofore will be my "Kate" jacket. 

Late summer

 

Today I wore a sweater for the first time in a long time. It's an old one, Free People, bought at a store that doesn't exist anymore. Worn over the Agnes B. dress that I found at Revolution in White River Junction, VT. and that I mentioned in the previous blog. 

I am also playing around with the timer on my phone, which yields interesting results, especially if you then play around with the "Layout" App. I am not into apps, nor into the latest online tool with which one can spend hours tweaking  photos and drawings. I am simply having fun. Trying to relax. Trying to find ways to stay sane and mindful while the world that I am familiar with keeps disappearing. 

Take the retail stores for instance. 

Main Street is having a lot of trouble surviving the pandemic. The store where I bought the sweater closed its doors long before the pandemic. The owner retired. But nothing came to replace it. It was called "Folk" and it sold not only clothes, but also objects from all over the world, tapestries, pillow covers. It was a capharnaum. The space was small, but you could spend hours going through piles and piles of stuff. 

Meanwhile. Meanwhile I keep discovering new gardens thanks to friends who have them. 

Nothing helps the mind settle and travel at the same time like a garden. This one feels so intimate and inviting. Luckily, I was invited in. I was even offered a glass of wine. 

Other friends have this window. I was stuck on the phone during dinner at their house, a call I had to take. I kept looking at that window, hoping that I would be able to photograph it while it was still light out. It looks like it could be in a manor house somewhere in Northern Europe. 

And this book. I have been discovering Isherwood this summer. On a quick trip to Maine, I stopped in a used bookstore and found this biography of his parents. I love the cover. 

Despite our inability to travel, despite all the horrible repercussions of this pandemic, I was able to find ways to associate what was HERE with what could be THERE. In the end, here and there are not all that far apart, it just takes a little imagination.