sábado, 20 de septiembre de 2008

sad beauty

Viewing some pics taken in a recent one day trip to the south I was overcome with emotion after seeing first hand the devastation that this hurricane season has caused in the crops. Complete plantain, banana, corn and grape fields are still under water a week after the storms. Thankfully not many lives were lost, as opposed to our neighbors Haiti and Cuba.

jueves, 18 de septiembre de 2008

is that a duck in my wrist?


I was able to make my first softy a few days ago. I chose a pretty simple pattern found here and couldn’t be happier with the results. After it was done, it hit me: “What was I going to do with a little duck?”, so I added a blue ribbon to the bottom and some Velcro, and voila, a new pincushion!

domingo, 14 de septiembre de 2008

the last day

The Hudson’s version of an Englishmen's club is anything but traditional. Don't let those Haunted Mansion fake books fool you, we are not here to read, we're here to play and this is what we're doing.

There's no doubt about it, the grape Fanta pool table, as I’ll call it, is the centerpiece and “she” knows it (I don’t know why, but with those solid legs and dressed in that color, the table definitely looks like a gallega lady just coming out of mourning). Hanging above “her” is an oversized domelike lamp providing just enough light to showcase this solid purple beauty. Long gone are the days of drunken commoners playing pool at their favorite seedy joint.

But nothing is more suitable for a place that once hosted the Sesame Street studio than the fifteen black and white pictures of coquette cows donning their best Sunday hats. Forget the coffee table books here and there, with those black and white chubby girls who can look at anything else?!?

Champagne flows by the bottle and lively conversation is enhanced by Amir, the always engaging host tending to our every need. It’s a shame that there's no time to visit Mogadore, suggested by our newly acquired friend as the best Moroccan restaurant in the city. But don't worry dear friend, as the now Governor of California once said: "I'll be back".

Warning: If the room temperature is low and you’re only dressed in your underwear, it’s NOT a good idea to sit on the custom made aluminum chair to blog. Hey Phillippe Stark, can you say butt-freeze??

sábado, 13 de septiembre de 2008

NY day 2

When I think of Miami I think blue, annoyingly happy acqua blue. When I think of NY I think black, sleek, slimming, deceiving and trendy black.

Fortunately my mother died. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom, but mourning her has made me feel a little less out of place in this steel mass that houses assembly-line-always-wearing-black people. Suddenly I'm not asked why am I always in black shirts and, unlike Tati, no one has approached me asking me if I'm a tourist.

NY has no sidewalks, it has catwalks. Perfect people gliding by, no sounds coming out of them but still screaming fashion. Is it the way their heads seem to carry an imaginary book? Or is the way their arms barely sway? Who knows! I just know that doing the NY walk is impossible with the hips I have, but that hasn't stopped me from trying.

viernes, 12 de septiembre de 2008

The Hudson is now my favorite hotel in NY

So far I'm liking what I see. Starting with the bald Godlike creature greeting us at the door and the ascent to boutique hotel heaven thru escalators suited for a subway.

Check in under the chandelier, holographic light bulbs, as real ones are just too kitsch to have at The Hudson.

An then up to our rooms, up in elevator limbo. Red "EXIT"'s bleeding their lights in the dark barren hallways. Am I being taken to an experiment room behind one of those generic doors? I'm numbered, 972 tattooed in my card (thank God not in my arm). Is this what my future is going to look like? I'm doomed.

An then my door opens, soft heavenly glow filtered thru chiffon barriers. Dark wood, mirror and art as nightlight. The required tiny white formulaic b (as in "boutique") bathroom , clean, crisp. My future looks surprisingly brighter now. Too tired to think I jump to my nest. Soft pillow? Hard pillow? I've entered a world in which those are the toughest decisions I will have to face. And so, as my head hits the hard allergenic pile of mush my eyes adjust to the light I find myself wondering: "What is that popcorn ceiling doing here?!?!"

More later.

sábado, 6 de septiembre de 2008

in case you're wondering

I guess I'll have time to do a little crafting. Hey, I'm just trying to find the silver lining here.

miércoles, 3 de septiembre de 2008

warning

Even though I may seem somewhat sane in my posts, I actually have no idea what I’m doing.