Springs' Time to Shine

For today, a few select scenes of the early blooms and buds from the lower Hudson Valley region.

Violets and vines and bushes and dandelions.

Sidewalk garland made of dandelion, with a side of wood violet.

Forsythia branch on the front porch.

Hudson Valley Spring, 2014

Forsythia and Magnolia in bloom, Pearl River, NY.

Reel Life: A Sensei's Vampire Senses

In order to become a master of the arts, one must succumb to it wholly and completely. Where there is great love, there can be no half way. Once an art has chosen you, you must follow where it takes you, dedicated to the end. That's the price of great passion; utter devotion, and the sublimation of the self in search of the attainment of mastery. Many a sensei has often said that "in the pursuit of perfection, we attain excellence", and so it goes for the artist in their search. We hone our senses to their human heights, hoping to achieve greatness, and in doing so, we may attain immortality, or what passes for it in our human world, limited as that is by our perceptions.


 
I submit to you for your perusal two such examples of artistry and devotion in cinema, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" and "Frostbitten": one, the story of a lifelong chef in his noble quest for mastery with his chosen elements through the Art of Sushi, and the other a perfect show about the joys of a well-done horror movie; there's camp, humor, fun, gore, suspense, and irony. Sometimes, there isn't an obvious harmony between the movies I select, but the cognitive dissonance of what appears to be a random selection, that then stitches itself into a matched set before my very eyes, forming connections by what feels to be of its' own will, but is indeed of my making. Everyday magic is the ability of the best human minds to stretch out to reach the edge of it's vast limits through the daily discipline of practice. In doing so, the master vaults way past the average person in abilities, attaining powers of craft that allude the individual incapable of such acts of constancy.  Look, and see.

Mysterious Chow

My first meeting with "Mysterious Chow".

I've walked past the white house on the corner for months now, and until recently, I hadn't noticed the leash wrapped around a tree on the front lawn. At first I thought there might be an abandoned baby's toy on the lawn too, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a brightly-colored doggie chew toy. Huh. I wonder what kind of dog lives here? I hadn't seen one out, ever.

Wow! So pretty! But, so many questions....

And just like that, there it was, one beautifully sunny Spring afternoon when I was walking back from the library: a dog right there on the front lawn. And what a dog! It was a gloriously maned Chow Chow, its' gorgeous long fur lit from behind by the late day sun, streaming regally in the breeze, reminding me afterwards of a Chinese painting about a mythical dragon, or a fanciful lion, the splendid beast of a thousand fables. I was so surprised that I cried out a loud "Oh!" and "Heyyyy!", then proceeded to make kissy sounds and other rude noises at the it, while "Chow" rightly ignored me, only giving away its' peripheral attentions by shifting away from me when I tried to call out to it again, a little further up the hill. A perfect mien and bearing, too! "Chow" was aloof, attentive, aware, cautious, and supervisory. That's the sign of a solid, strong mind in a dog, just what you want as an owner. Hmmm....I wonder if "Chow" is a boy or a girl? What kind of owner does "Chow" have? So many questions....

"I see you. And?" So it went. I'd get a glance, then the brush off.

The next time I saw "Chow", I was determined to make friends so I could get a closer look, maybe find out his or her name by reaching for the cluster of dog tags around its' neck, a gesture that's typically too intimate with a relatively unknown animal. How to proceed? It's a chancy proposition to walk onto a stranger's lawn and just introduce yourself to a dog. Luckily for me, this a daffy, doggy sort of town, (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/09/dogs-dog-statues.html), so, with a bit of hesitation, I moved in closer; first, by standing by the opening in the fence to the front yard. When the dog seemed OK with that, I walked around the yard a little, talking to it in a soothing, cooing way. Finally, I sat down on the front steps. "Chow" surprised me again by immediately getting up to sniff at me, tail wagging slowly back and forth. Excellent! Friendly, but hesitant and curious. That's real progress with an animal.

Mysterious Chow with "concerned" face and waggly brows. So cute!

"Chow" impressed me further, after inspecting my clothes, bag, and shoes, by backtracking to my first steps around the yard and a bush, to the steps I now sat on, matching my fresh scent on the trail I had just made, to the bottom of my sneaker. Smart! I liked "Chow" even more; that's a very advanced skill for a dog to show. I encouraged it to do so, as it made one last sniff of my sneaker to complete the loop. Very clever, "Chow". For my bravery, I was rewarded with my next clue: I spied a Tennessee Department of Health dog tag around its' neck, the kind that's required for pet vaccinations. Aha! "Chow" was from far away. That could explain its' recent appearance on the front lawn, and the white pickup truck in the driveway, but, was "Chow" a boy or girl? I couldn't tell. That's the thing with furriness. What's "Chow's" name?! I couldn't make kissy sounds and yell out "Chow!" every time we met. I'd have to go deeper, but I decided that was enough for the day. "Chow" had this adorably concerned expression, wrinkling its' brows and turning to look at the door and windows to the owner's apartment, as if to question whether or not to proceed. Circumspect, also a most excellent personality trait.

And also very shy!

The next time we met, I had a brief encounter with the dog, because "Chow" was tracking a fat, old, black and white Welsh Corgi walking (or waddling?) with his/her owner in the park across the street, busily marking its' territory around the yard, as far as the leash would go. That gave me my next clue in the case; "Chow" was probably a boy, but I still didn't know for sure. He (or she?) then did something really interesting. He stood right in front of me, with me standing on the sidewalk below, he above my head on the lawn and, as he barked out loudly to the dog, he peed right in front of me. Wow, "Chow"! He was saying in a very clear way, "Don't mess with her! She's my friend!", then he went into a full-on showy display mode, prancing around proudly in circles, barking and kicking up huge clods of dirt and grass, to spread his Royal Chow scent around. Thanks, "Chow"! What a pal.

Branching out to attend to guard dog duties.

The very next time I walked past the white house, "Chow" was lying down, a bit outside of my view on the sidewalk, beside the stone steps, with a German Shepherd puppy standing over him, barking playfully in his face. Okay, now there's two dogs; an aloof and proud Chow, and the other a possible future attack dog. That's a bit much, even for a hardcore "dog person" like me, which was probably the exact message the transplanted owner intended, what with years and years of New York City based crime dramas implanted into every newcomer's head. And when a young women came out by herself, I knew that was it. She didn't look like she was from these here parts, poor thing. Must be frightening to be an out-of-towner in New York, even in a place as relatively safe and beautiful as Rockland County's bucolic Hudson Valley region. This ain't the South, fo' sho'. She pulled the Shepherd puppy indoors by its' collar, as I stood by the opening in the fence on the side of the yard, deciding what to do. I loved "Chow", who was playing an adorable game of hide-and-seek with me behind the stone steps, but I didn't feel comfortable taking liberties with another persons' pet, especially with someone who had clearly not given me an invitation to do so.

"Are you catching this?!"

So, I did what any "nosy" New Yorker would do: when "Chow's" owner came out again to interact with him, I peppered her with a series of rapid-fire, but friendly, questions. Who knew when I would get the chance again? Their appearances were so sporadic and uneven, it could be months before an opportunity presented itself to me again. She was a bit tense, preferring to bite off short one word replies before finally graduating to a complete sentence, under the easy persistence of my obviously good-natured ways, thus bringing an end to my little mystery: "His name is Grizzly." Yeah! Perfect! Well, of course it is! And that's exactly what he is: a shy, sweet, fluffy, big, beautiful Grizzly Bear Dog. Happy hunting, dog lovers! Be safe.

Still, he will always be "Mysterious Chow" to me.

Earth Day, 2014

The first flowering wood violet of spring.

In honor of this year's Earth Day, I'm posting a photo I took of the first wood violet I picked this year; touching in its' petals paper-thin fragility, yet strong enough to survive a winter-like frost, or a dusting of snow. That beautiful paradox about the temporary quality and tragic beauty of all life on our planet is a fitting tribute today, as we celebrate the gifts we have been given in this world. After all, what is could be more perfect than Mother Nature? Enjoy the day.

Spring Snow

Overnight accumulation in the morning. Surprise!

Nature runs a bit wild on the coasts: there's hurricanes, blizzards, and sometimes extremes between warm and cold on the exact same day. We had snow at night recently, which means we woke up to it glinting off cars and sparkling in the sunlight atop freshly budding flowers, like the daffodils and forsythia; a rare but beautiful sight. 

Walking to work one April morning....in the snow.

The noonday sun burns it away quickly in the Springtime, but it leaves you with the uneasy feeling that anything can happen to you at any time, and that's the truth about reality. It's a good reminder for us about what it means to be human, and that means we are still (and always), subject to the laws of nature (despite our progress), laws that operate on a time frame that often comes in conflict with ours. There's a lesson here to be learned somewhere, but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

No? OK. For you "slower students" out there, it's this: 
you can't win in a war against Mother Nature. 
 

Street Signs: Below Poverty Levels

On the other side of the tracks.

Streetscapes

Building in afternoon light.

I've always enjoyed photographing industrial elements like piping and building ducts, so much so that one fellow art student remarked to me on a road trip, "Look, Marie! Trucks! Quick! Take a picture!", pointing derisively out the car window when I raised my lens to photograph a carrier loaded with cars the next lane over. But I love craftsmanship wherever I see it, in any form, and that point of view forms the basis of my design intellectualism to this day. I come from a working class background as many New Yorkers do, and I can't imagine our lives today without the massive industrial projects and undertakings of our forefathers. It's everywhere we look. After all, my great grandfather not only made metal work for bridges and buildings, he was skilled enough to render The Last Supper entirely out of copper, in a framed piece of art that still hangs in my mother's house. 

Fuse box.

You can't manufacture that kind of history and continuity on demand without passion and heart, not even at the best art school in the world; a place where craft still counts, even back when I attended it as a tower made almost entirely out of ivory. Snobbery is always out of date, no matter the era, because the future will always belong to those of us still willing to get our hands dirty, which includes the mistaken idea that using our hands is somehow a base affair. I hope my former classmate, where ever he wound up, somehow managed to rise above his class-based leanings. It couldn't have been easy to be a Van Zandt, no matter how old and privileged his family name is (was).

Stay classy, people 
 

Street Games: Whiskey and Sidewalk Chalk

A bottle of Fireball whiskey....

It's amazing the things you find when you're walking around, paying attention to the details. I regularly take street photos, and afterwards, I'm surprised at what at get, because it's usually more beautiful than I think it is, though occasionally it's the reverse. There's only so many sunset photos one can absorb with fresh eyes. I shoot regularly because I'm trained to, so the compositions and the juxtapositions happen automatically for me, but sometimes associations reveal themselves to me much later, after that quick, five-second pic.

...now turn this way!

In that sense, photography hasn't changed for me at all. Part of the excitement was seeing an image slowly ghost itself onto paper, floating in its' chemical bath, and watching that happen, only truly knowing then what you caught previously on film. Technology doesn't replace what I do, it just prevents me from breathing in the sulfur and selenium of the old, traditional, black and white chemical photography process, and for that, I'm grateful.  

What do you see around you today?

Toys: Having a Ball

The pink ball.

The ubiquitous toy for almost every kid on the planet is some kind 
of ball, of various makes and models. But like an empty playground, there's something sad, lonely, and forlorn about a discarded ball 
that's been tossed away. It's only as good as the child who plays 
with it. Or maybe I was just melancholy that day.  
What takes you back to childhood?

Out of this world.

Keeping In Season with Cabbage and Beets

The Mix.

I've been trying to cook with the seasons when I can, given time, money, and location restraints. That means I follow and use a handy little iPhone app called "Fresh Right Now" (no longer available, so please petition the company that created it to bring it back: http://www.digitaloddities.com/apps/ios/FreshRightNow/), set to tell me what foods are fresh and available in the Northeastern region of United States. It's a more rigorous and responsible to shop, eat, and live. 

Reducing and simmering.

By choosing to stay within those guidelines, several things happen at once. Buying only locally-grown produce has deeper ramifications than you'd think: it's a brief shipping process between the fields and local stores, so it's fresher, needing less chemicals to stay fresh because of that quick turnaround (and staying "green" by using less fossil fuel and pesticides, so there's no leeching into the groundwater), it's American grown, which benefits our farms here, under the scrutiny of our USDA standards, and it pumps money back into the local economy, creating a healthy, small, manageable system that's less dependent on the financial ups and downs of the world at large.

Mellowing into a beautiful, rich, warm red.

Not an easy trick to do, admittedly. It helps that I know how to choose local foods well, and that I cook every day, so I bring a lot of experience to the table. But by picking local foods within season, I feel better physically because the food is fresher and grown with less chemicals, I support my community of farmers, and I get a more well-rounded and balanced diet that changes with every season, which pretty much guarantees that I am always eating a rotating group of fruits and vegetables. By not constantly consuming far away foods laden with hormones, antibiotics, and traces of chemical agents, I get nutrition which, after taste in food, is a big part of the health game.

Shiny, happy, cabbage and beets.

With spring and St. Patrick's Day, our hearts and minds here turn naturally to cooking with cabbage, the winter vegetable staple of so many Northern ethnicities. For sure, I am not a fan of the wilted boiled cabbage of yore, so I updated it with beautiful red beets and a balsamic vinaigrette, braised and reduced in organic coconut oil. It tasted better than any cabbage dish I've ever had, imparting a sweetness and complexity I've yet to discover in that blank canvas of a vegetable, the humble cabbage, now lifted to a side dish worthy of the moist chicken breast sitting next to it on the plate.

Chicken breast with worthy side dish.

Lick the plate clean, and you've made yourself a little piece of happy that was grown right near your home. A worthy goal for any family. What's your next taste adventure?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Beets-and-Red-Cabbage-3191.

PS: I made some changes to this recipe, as you should, based on fridge and pantry items. I added honey, skipped the parsley, frying it in a combo of coconut oil and a butter-like product from Olivio that's derived from coconut, in lieu of butter.
 

Around Town: Bryant Park

I was in town on business recently (and early, as usual), so I took a walk, choosing to go once around Bryant Park, killing time before my appointment, catching the cheerful site of gardeners doing some early springtime gardening. It's such a great time of year. Enjoy the sites!

The First Day of Spring

Springtime in Stuyvesant Square Park.

Stuyvesant Square Park.

Flowers in bloom, Stuyvesant Square Park.

Clusters of buds like barnacles.

Hello! Welcome to the new season. In celebration, I've put up a series of photos I took in 2013, when I lived (for a brief time) in Stuyvesant Town, a neighborhood in lower Manhattan. It was the first time I'd ever lived in the borough that is officially New York, New York, and as a native New Yorker, I had other surprising (and rare) "firsts", too: I discovered parks, foliage, trees, flowers, plants, and people I hadn't encountered before, as the glorious, gorgeous Spring of last year unfolded before my eyes. Here's to the newness, and yet timelessness, that marks the first signs of Spring. Enjoy!

Nature: Winter Weary

This is that time of the year when we wish the snow and cold would just go away, and indeed it does. Spring comes when we need it the most; when we feel like we simply can't with another snowstorm, and as usual, Mother Nature gets it just right. That pretty pile of snow has turned to a dirty mess, depressing and ugly, like a muttering homeless person on the corner whose public indignities insult the well-shod foot of an Upper East Side matron. 

It's gross, and we want it to disappear. Fortunately, the seasons are much more sensible than people, and like an unwanted guest, sloppy and drunk at a party that's gone on way too long, Winter leaves us with one final gasp of its' icy breath, giving way at last to sun and warmth. We sense the ground moving beneath our feet, and as humans, we respond accordingly to this ancient rite of passage with glad, open arms. See you in the Spring! It's right around the corner.

A classically picturesque winter scene.

Red berries in snow! Charming and Christmas-y.

Sigh...I love winter. So pretty, and it's such a beautiful day today.

Wow! The town looks so good covered in snow.

Great. Now I can't walk on the sidewalks. That leaves me with the road.

Ugh. And now it's filthy, too. Is that dog pee? So gross!

Nasty frozen, dripping ice/dirt cavern blocks the sidewalk. Boo!

Done! I hate everyone and everything. Look at this shit!

At Home: A Bit O' Green

A cheerfully full-bodied plant.

I've been busily putting on the final touches to the studio apartment I moved into. This morning's delivery by the local florist (thank you!) filled the space with lovely (and necessary) greenery. I've written before about the principals of Feng Shui (the ancient Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing the human existence with the surrounding environment), but in the end, despite whatever philosophy or system you use, you have to go with your gut, and what feels right. We now know hard science backs up the health-giving properties of indoor plants, and that's just good, solid common sense. Plants clean the air of toxic chemicals to give off oxygen, the stuff of life for us.

It's not easy designing a space. Along the way, I've discovered quirks with this old house: slanted, deeply warped original hardwood floors, with burn marks from flying embers of long-dead fires that roared on the brutally cold nights of an upstate New York winter, and the occasional dropped cigarette butt from former tenants. It's been lived in a long, long time. The man who delivered my rugs, freshly laundered by their family-run carpet cleaning service, (who I recognized from high school back in the day), told me one of his buddies lived in this studio years ago, and so it is in small towns: we're all connected.

Hello, sunshine! A new plant greets the day.

You can tell that the wealthy farm family who originally built the house knew exactly what they were doing, down to the last detail. The back of the house faces the East, letting in the first light of the day, which woke up the animals in the yard, and also the farm hands, way before alarm clocks and daily commuting existed. Almost every night I see a glorious sunset that dips below the rolling hills of the Hudson Valley, where the big porch has held a chair with a gazing person on it for hundreds of years. And that's what great design is really about. No detail, no matter how small, is left out.

Soon to appear here will be the the final layout of the place, with lots of pretty pics showing "before" and "after". I know the design will change with time from the way I have it now (a new chair or two, moving stuff around), but it'll do for now, and it's finally ready for receiving guests and visitors, while life just keeps rolling on.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Toys: Yeti Freddie

Yeti Freddie and his lovable side.

This software app I use occasionally for E-Blasts sent me a toy because I signed up for a newsletter. Nice! I'm a sometime collector when time, space, and budget align, most notably of the Tim Burton and Simpsons kind.

When I first ran aground from the recession, I set up shop on eBay to sell what I could. I sold a few items and made about $300-$380 total, but given the time it took to take all those digital pictures, tweak them, post them online, create the Internet storefront, manage the customers, print labels, pack them up and ship them off, it was really not worth my time. Oh, well. I didn't have the hunger faints that week!

I don't predict this fella will have great resell value, but I still took care opening the packaging so it would remain in as good as condition as possible. Nerd habits die hard. And now he lives in a cavern created within the bookshelves, a cheerful reminder that the fun hobbies we enjoy somehow always find a way back to us in good times. 

It's an Abominable Snowman situation.

He likes pencils, too.

At Home: Eucalyptus

Sprigs of eucalyptus in the shower.

I'd pinned something onto a Pinterest board months ago, in anticipation of actually using the tip some time in the future, unlike your average Martha Stewart-like devotee who has no intention of working with her hands. No offense ladies, but I'm no voyeur who fantasizes about other people's wealth and leisurely pursuits. I ain't got time for that. Unlike those of that ilk (again, no offense), I actually started making stuff before I was completely aware of it, like so many of us early humans. Unlike the rest of the herd, I splintered off into that specialized camp who actually succeeds in creating regularly, to such an extent that I knew better than to ignore it. I decided to make it my life's work.

To be honest, I have nothing against dreaming housewives. I spend a lot of time at home, and I've always enjoyed my own company and making spaces feel livable and healthy and good, like many, many women have before me. Even as I knew my life would be fuller than most, I cherish the time I have for hobbies, especially those devoted to hearth and home. So when I pin something onto a bulletin board, either of the cork kind or the newfangled  digital version, I really mean it, just like everything else I do.

It's that kind of authenticity that people have come to rely on me for, and I cherish that, too. I respect myself, and my audience. Years ago, my doctor (a very intelligent woman, and here's the full disclosure: all of my health care workers are women. I mean, like, every single one. Another feminine bias of mine;) advised me about the benefits of eucalyptus oil in a humidifier or steaming bath to naturally unclog congestion, just like those oily, thick, petroleum jellies of yore, except this is good for you AND it works.

With that in mind, I took another leap, and I promised myself that the next time I soaked in a hot bath, I'd get some actual branches of it to hang around the shower head, letting nature do the rest. What's great about this new bathing system (in addition to cleaning my sinuses without drugs), is re-using some of the dried leaves in a steamer pot that I have on the radiator. More natural health benefits: the steamer filled with water humidifies my environment, and gives off that beneficial eucalyptus steam. I get some branches of it from the local florist that they have leftover from the week's other arrangements. Thank you, Schweizer Florist!

When I come home hours later, the good, clean smell of it still lingers in the air. That's a tip on the house from me to you, which is way cheaper than a bunch of OTC pills and a doctor's visit. Take care out there, and remember, winter's almost over.

http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/homedecor/

Mad Ghetto Skillz: The Shopping Cart

Front lawn to an apartment building. Why not?

Like sneakers hanging off a power line, the lone shopping cart parked at an odd angle, (like the victim at the scene of a crime), is a sign that you're officially in the 'hood. Not exactly gentrification. What's always baffled me about this convoluted carelessness is that it takes wayyy more energy to push a shopping cart beyond the parking lot, up and down and over bumpy country terrain, than it is to use a relatively cheap and easy hand held cart for shopping and transporting. 

It's snowed and I hate shopping, so I'll block the sidewalk.

It takes a lot of work to be the kind of fuck up who ditches carts wherever the fuck you feel like. It's selfish, lazy, spoiled, and self-entitled, like people who spit on subway tracks or push their used gum under railings. Why?! Because that's the hood rat nature; complicated and contradictory, the core that's at the very essence of chronic dysfunction. If you asked someone who does this routinely, you'll get the typically common shit from them you already knew: they're disabled, their back hurts, they have a big family so they need a lot of groceries, they didn't have a choice, they just HAD TO, blah blah blah and why is it their fault? Well, it may not be (or, this being the hood, it probably is in some fucked way they'll try to cover up), but why is their damage our collective problem? 

"Do not enter"?! Fuck you!

Like any other seemingly random ghetto act, talking in circles to someone caught red-handed will get you nowhere fast, which is at the heart of disordered thinking. So, let me officially lay out some solutions for anyone struggling with courtesy as a concept, as a preemptive strike against incompetence: buy your own utility cart for shopping trips (see above suggestion), only buy what you can safely and comfortably carry (like I do), shop on the Internet and pay a delivery fee (if you can afford it), or have someone go with you (maybe a friend or a neighbor...you know, actually help each other out). 

You're welcome, community.