Dia Beacon, New York

On our last trip to New York, just a couple of weeks ago, we made a day trip to a museum that is about 80 mile north of the city. The place is called Dia Beacon and it is the Dia Foundations Beacon N.Y. location. They have a location in the city and this location we visited houses their large format and site specific pieces.

So we got up Sunday morning and I must say, I was a bit hung over. The first thing I did, while Lisa and Stacey got ready, was go out and get a slice of pizza. Joe’s Famous, known for it’s hangover curing powers. That slice and a bacon, egg and cheese croissant did the trick.

Then it was off to Grand Central Station to catch a train up the Hudson River to the Dia Beacon. This was quite a train ride. The Hudson is a mighty river and the train ran right beside it for most of the trip. That would be one hell of a commute everyday, it was beautiful. It was a good time of the year to see the colors of the trees as they changed for the season. The river itself is something to see, at one point we saw an old castle that had been built in the middle of the river. It was nothing but a shell, but you could tell exactly what it once was and it was very cool looking, just sitting out in the middle of all that water.

Click on this link to the Dia to learn more and to see the art on display. We were not all that happy with what was on display, but that didn’t ruin the trip for us. There was some art we enjoyed and the building it was all in was great. It had been a box spring factory and around 2002 Dia moved in. It is a huge space with tons of natural light. Acres and acres of old hardwood floors that show the wear and tear of the years as a production plant.

I think the train ride there and back, as it was getting dark were really the highlights of this trip. To bad we don’t have more train service in America, I would love to be able to hop on a train down to Mobile or over to Birmingham. I guess the demand just isn’t there. Instead we all just hop in our car. So sad.

Southern Lit

I remember my Mom taking us to Fairhope when we were kids. My cousin used to take her kids, our god children, but Dauphin Island is a lot closer to them now.

My Mom would load us into whichever car someone in the family had given us and she would take us “over the bay”. We would swim from the “beach” at the foot of the very large “Cement Pier”. I remember lots of time spent at the “Cement Pier”

Then when I was in High School I remember taking dates to eat at a restaurant on the pier. So I have a history with Fairhope. Swimming at the pier. Eating at the pier. I remember a guy catching a Sheep-head fish at the end of the pier. My little brother and I watched as this guy reeled in this very angry fish. My wife, what’s her name, went to Fairhope High. So did her twin brother, what’s his name.

I think the last time I was in Fairhope was about 7 or 8 years ago and I was hanging out with a chef friend of mine. We were just loafing, checking out antique stores and stuff. I remember how we thought the guys who ran one of the shops thought we were gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Well now days Fairhope is an artist colony. Lots of writers. Probably lots of other artist as well, but I only know of the writers. Sonny Brewer comes to mind first. Then I think of Frank Hollon, some folks think he’s the funniest writer in the world.

We were there the day after Thanksgiving looking for another meal. We were actually visiting with Staceys’ brother and his family. Man did they feed us. We had pork roast, we had black-eyed peas, we had greens and cornbread and best of all we had gumbo. My sister in law made it and I think it was her first time. She went to her Paw Paw to learn how to cook it the way he did and man did he learn her. To top it off, she added the left over turkey, that along with sausage made for a very good gumbo. It was an excellent second Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving = Southern Food for the Heart and Soul

Down to the deeper south for the holiday and a really good meal. My family has been preparing and eating basically the same meal longer then I’ve been around. My Moms family had a maid named Ida when she was a child and Ida cooked most of the meals. It was no different for Thanksgiving. The main thing I remember was the dressing. It was so good and seasoned with sage. She taught my Mom to cook, including the Thanksgiving feast. My Mom taught anyone that wanted to learn the same recipes. The dressing is simple, like all the dishes for Thanksgiving, but if ya want it to taste like Idas and Moms, you gotta do as they did. Today I bet there are ten or so people in my extended family that can prepare that dish just like Mom learned to.

This year my Dad cooked most of the meal. That’s not unusal, Dad does a lot of cooking these days. The dressing was good and tasted just like I remembered it tasted. The rest of the meal was made up of other family recipes. My grandmothers spinach cassrole, rice and gravey, turkey of course and a new twist on sweet taters. Dad stuffed hollowed out orange rinds with the sweet taters and then topped that with a pecan, burbon, butter sauce and baked it for awhile. Man that was a good dish. It was all good and I ate two plates of everything and then took a plate home for a midnight meal.

We had a good time, it is always fun to get together with the Loud, I mean Hartley family. We ate, drank and sang songs about eating a plate of red beans and rice twice. We all agreed that was a good idea.

This is just the start, we have a extended holiday season this go ’round. After Christmas we have Mardi Gras to look forward to. Mardi Gras comes early this year, Feburary 5th. Most folks don’t like it this early in the year and wish it were later in Feburary, which sometimes it is. I think I’m gonna like it early but we will have to see.

Back in the South

The Brooklyn Bridge is an amazing example of engineering. There are a handful of bridges that lead one in and out of Manhattan, but the Brooklyn Bridge is the only one I have seen up close.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed and opened May 24, 1883. That day 150,000 people walked over the bridge. Only 1,800 vehicles crossed that day. The toll was 5 cents. The 4 main suspension cables used are 15 3/4″ in diameter and were referred to as wire rope. 3600 miles of wire were used to make the cables. They were designed by John A. Roebling, as was the whole project. When Mr. Roebling died from infections caused by an accident at the site that crushed one of his feet, his son took over and complete the job. The total span of the bridge is 5989 feet. It was the first cable bridge ever built.

These are just a few facts about the Bridge. It’s history is very well documented as it was the largest undertaking, by far, of it’s kind at the time. 20 to 30 people were killed during construction. There were probably lot’s more, but not all were reported or recorded.

The Brooklyn Bridge was built using many different engineering techniques for the first time ever. Saturday was another big day for the Brooklyn Bridge, It was our first time to walk over it, into Brooklyn. It was a great walk and you should do it every chance you get.

Do I sound Southern? she asked…..

Do I look stupid, he ask?

We got to JFK Airport about 7 p.m. Friday night. It wasn’t as cold as I had expected. We got a cab to Lisa’s APT. Lisa was at work and I knew she had worked til 10:30 the last two nights, I didn’t expect to see her til about 11 p.m. or so. We actually took a cab to the bar around the corner from her APT, and got a key from her friend. The Minetta Tavern.

We then let ourself in, dropped the luggage and went straight out for a Falafa sandwich. We got one from Maomons and one from Kings. I couldn’t tell the difference. Five Bloody Marys on the flight and I was just hungry.

But we ate it all and then went back out and got a baba ganoush. It was all so very good. Then we decided to go for a walk. A couple of blocks up Bleeker and we came across the PINKBERRY . It is a high tech, Asian comic book influenced, yogurt parlor. They offered their original flavor or green tea flavor with a plethora of fresh toppings. We both got the original flavor with different toppings. They ask my name at the check out counter and I told them “Tracy”. I decided I wanted to change my name to “Kim”. The young lady said that was fine. And the fellow scooping our yogurt, said “I don’t blame you” pointing to his name tage “look at my name”. It read DANA. The yogurt rocked. And as walked up the street eating it, a group of girls asked us “Hey, where’s the Pinkberry ?” .

Then Lisa came home, we hugged and talked for a moment. We told her we planned to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge the next day, she said she was with us. We then all went to bed.

Stacey and I have our own personal bedroom in the West Village, NYC, as far as we are concerned. Right now Lisa has a 1 bedroom APT and she always gives us the bedroom when we come to see her. We always spend a few nights and go to bars, restaurants, and private parties. We always have very much fun and expect the same for this weekend. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and a train trip straight up the Hudson River to the DIA museum in Beacon. It’s about an hour and a half north of NYC.

Leaving the South

Trying to anyway. Get out of town, that is. Going to NYC for a long weekend. Got some fun stuff lined up to do. And of course get to spend time with Lisa, that’s always fun.

The hard part is getting things in order before I go. I was trying to get this bed done but can’t quit get there.

I just finished two paintings, but don’t have time for customer to come check them out. I was working on two swings and got one delivered yesterday, the other will have to wait for next week.

Whats a guy gonna do? I’m gonna get on a plane around 3 p.m. for NYC, and worry about the other stuff next week, that’s what I’m gonna do. Thanks, have a nice day!

Southern Colors

The temperature is perfect. The humidity is gone. Still no rain to speak of. But we do have this going for us. Color. Beautiful fall colors. The trees will just get keep changing and go through an array of reds, golds, greens and yellows, before all the leaves fall, slowly decompose and start all over again. All for your viewing pleasure. I took these photos this a.m. in the front yard, enjoy!