Saturday, July 20, 2013

Let's Revisit That Reunion

We are so fortunate to have generous and loving children.  Perfect example of that are these photos below, some sent to me from Ray, others posted by Lorelei.  And, of course, there's a little story for each of them.

After the village's Independence Day parade, we went to a restaurant overlooking a waterway and dined out on the deck.  Under shady umbrellas, of course.  The little cousins waved and yelled to the boaters passing by and dropped pieces of bread for the duck.  No matter that there were no ducks to be seen - - too many boats?  too little duckfood?


  There was very good food - - lobster rolls, french dip roast beef sandwich, fish tacos (or was that shrimp tacos), fresh corn on the cob, and good fries. And lemonade and iced tea and cold beer.  Ray and Joe split this very red beast for their lunch.
Big one for lunch - for two of the guys.
But before the big red monster was eaten, somebody had to get close for an examination of the creature.


If you ever want to have breakfast with Gaby, you need to get up very very early.  I think she must open her eyes when the first sun's rays peek into the room.  Anyway, Joe and I get up early also, and we have our coffee and she has what her loving mother serves to her.  And then everyone is happy. 
This is what a well-fed granddaughter thinks of being held by her grandfather.  Cute smiles all around!
Andreas is an artist and Lorelei is director of an art gallery.  So it was pretty natural for them to go off to visit the Parrish Art Museum, recently relocated in a bright big new building on the Montauk Highway.
We know who the child is; we don't know who the man is.  And the painting's artist must be Fairfield Porter.  I once had a friend who mentioned his name as the only "representational" painter worth anything.  I had no idea what she meant.
There's a wonderful children's museum somewhere out on Long Island and we spent time there late one morning.  While Ray conducted some business via smart phone, Tara and Matt did many things together, and I followed the cutest girl in the place as she practiced walking and walking.  She's only 14 months old and still getting the hang of it.  I watched her walk up a ramp - a bit of a challenge, more difficult than balancing on a level floor.  We went outside for a few moments - glory be, it was HOT.  So before any photos were taken, I made sure that we were comfortable in a bit of shade.
Not much shade, but enough for baby girl.
On Friday night we broke out the boxes of sparklers and introduced Matt to the idea that he could hold sparks in his hand.  Carefully demonstrating how to hold the flashing wire, how to wave it around, run with it, make zig-zags in the air, and how to dispose of it when the flashes are gone.  It didn't take long for him to understand.  

Sparklers for four after sundown!

The holiday ran from Tuesday afternoon to Sunday morning.  It's always hard to leave, to drive away from people you love.  And this holiday had more than one of those - - Lorelei and her family left on Thursday for the long road trip back to the midwest.  When I hugged her goodbye, I said that I was not going to let go so she could not leave.  I felt the same way on Sunday, hugging Ray and Tara and the kiddos.  It was a very good holiday.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A Brief Family Reunion.

Our son Ray and his wife Tara hosted a little family reunion at their vacation home on Long Island.  There were 6 adults, 2 little boys, and 1 little girl.  I was so looking forward to this get-together that I think I was packed and ready to go days ahead of time.  And, of course, my camera was charged up and ready for action.

So we arrived on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of everyone else.  For four hours we had the house to ourselves, and what a gift that was.  Then around 6 PM or so, our daughter Lorelei, her husband Andreas and their 4-year-old son arrived.  Followed very quickly by Ray, Tara, Matthew, their 4-year-old boy and the prettiest little 14-month-old girl ever, Gabrielle - a/k/a Gaby.  We buzzed around looking for dinner to prepare for all the hungry travellers, so I left my camera in the handbag.

Next morning I took photos of the little boys grabbing for grapes

That bowl had been half full when they started  . . .

and little Gaby in her high chair attacked cheese, cheerios and some dark bread.

Though she can hold a fork and bring it to her mouth, she thinks finger food is better.

And then, as we all prepared to hop into the swimming pool, the worst thing happened (well, pretty bad, anyway) - - My camera went missing.  For the next several days I looked everywhere.  So did all the other adults, with many questions - - when did you last have it?  are you sure it's not in your handbag/ your suitcase/ your pocket?  So my wonderful photographic record was never to be.  Fortunately there are other photos - - not so many as I would have taken, but a few, to convey the flavor of the period.

The house has a half-wrap-around porch behind a hedge of hydrangea.

Mostly white ones, with hints of blue in some and pink in others.  Ray took this photo.

The village had an Independence Day Parade on the main street, and we set ourselves up beneath the (partial) shade of a small tree. We had flags and whirlygig and balloons out of sight up in the tree.

The baby? She was asleep in her stroller just beyond the striped chairs.  Ray also took this.

The parade started out with Veterans of Foreign Wars - - really old fellows from WW II, not so old fellows from Korean conflict, then my contemporaries from the Vietnam war, and so on down to the current unpleasantnesses of the decade past.  Then the Minute Men from the Colonial Era, with their little cannon and their muskets, then fire trucks, fire engines, ambulances (heaven help the South Fork if a big fire broke out), bands, parade celebrities, floats, and the local American Indian tribe dancing behind a float.

That evening I insisted that after dinner and before the sun set we must go to the beach.  The little four-year-old from far away should visit the ocean for the first time. This would not be like the ride he took across Long Island Sound on a ferry boat.  He should smell the salt air and get his feet wet in the chilly Atlantic waves.  So we piled into the car, including the barking dog who doesn't like riding in the car, and drove the short distance, parked the car, walked across the warm sand, and there it was.

That's me in the foreground.  The boy in blue knew enough to pull  up the legs of his shorts.
And he took this foolish shot as well. 


As twilight deepened, this child who lives far from the sea had a wonderful time.
Lorelei was the photographer of this one.
So the holiday ended and we packed up and drove the long highways back home.  I seriously considered the camera gone forever, and went out to search for a replacement.  Fortunately I came home empty-handed, and two days later came a message from Ray:  Camera found - it had been hidden by throw pillows.

It's hard to see hidden between the seat cushion and the sofa back, but there it lay!
So the very next day, carefully packaged in not just one but two bubble packs came home the camera, courtesy of FedEx.  And to prove that it arrived safely:

Ta-da!
As the man said, "All's well that ends well."

Friday, July 12, 2013

At the Venice Biennale 2013

Sarah Sze represents the United States in this year's Venice Biennale.  Her work is both painstaking and random.  I first saw one of her pieces at the Whitney in New York - - it was large and made mainly of wires and string, feathers, bottle caps, Q-tips and things that I don't recall - - sited in front of one of the upper Madison Ave. windows.



For the Biennale she's got the entire U.S. Pavilion to work in.  Here are two introductions:  a piece that appeared in Wired yesterday:  http://www.wired.com/design/2013/07/sarah-szes-beautiful-works-of-organized-chaos/#slideid-156021  and a video sponsored by Sotheby's:  http://www.sothebys.com/es/news-video/videos/2013/07/Sarah-Sze-Venice-Biennales-US-Pavilion.html





Thursday, July 11, 2013

A new (to me) neighborhood in Paris

Paris is a place of neighborhoods.  I don't know many of them.  I just read a short essay about one that I'd not known, the Butte-aux-Cailles, in the 13th arrondissement.  Here's the link:  http://www.bonjourparis.com/story/butte-aux-cailles/