zugaikotsu

As the wheel spins. its hard to believe it that time of the year again. But the signs are all around as we have slipped off of daylight savings time in the last week, it gets dark at 5. It is slightly surreal how it seems so late in the darkness when the evening is yet young. In the store I feel they have audacity to be playing kriss miss music already, but after all it is approaching mid-November. The starbuck's cup is emblazoned with a holiday motif in brick red.

Although there was lake effect snow flurries friday thanks to a west wind blowing over the great lake Erie, today is another Indian summer reprise in the mid 60's f. The girl shops with me in short sleeves, sweater and scarf close at hand, and I in burgundy plaid.

Sunshine greeted the lazy sunday, though a cloud deck now makes for milky sun. It seems the sun is setting all day as it is so low in the southern sky. There is talk of what dish to make to contribute to the family meal. Rosemary, sage and carbs dance in my daydreams, as do apple pies, cider and acorn squash.

Late autumn drives with the girl at the wheel are so much desired. The last rusty oaks hold their leaves in the edge of the passing fields.

It is to be expected, September 1st is upon us. The last couple mornings have been foggy and chilly with temps in the upper 40's. Leaves are begining to appear on the ground, golden and brown. Its still green, but the golden high summer and browning weeds are begining to change the landscape. I always get nostalgic for the passing of summer, stateing again and again, "Its the last nice day of the year" It will likely be sometime in October before that truly comes to pass. It was certainly a full, well rounded and well spent summer. Still, eager to lay on the stony beach at the fave lake shore once more. That last attempt to work on the already fading tan.

Then again, one begins to become eager for the cooler weather, to don fall clothes, to layer again, wear boots and such. Its about time to put away the shorts and swimsuits and unpack the sweaters.

Today is the coolest day of summer since its peak. Cool, almost calling for a jacket. Almost. Yet two days ago it was broasting near 90. The high priestess and I stolled an Arts and Craft fair and it was truly oven like. The stalls had actually little to inspire us, it was mainly the ceramics that called to us. The dark green and blackish glazes, and one set of bowls with a rustic, matte, folk art application. Those still dance in my thoughts. There were some beautiful photographs mind you, it seemed that $130 was the price point for such desirable photos.


Later we retreated to the lake side of a tiny finger of water. Cooler it was and we debriefed over all we had seen at the fair. Melville's mermaid supplied us with cooling treats (though I more often than not, seek to avoid being ensnared in such corporate nets), but to take refuge on rocks under a tree by the waters edge was divine.


The weekend prior had found the high priestess and I leaving an afternoon party, swimming with Rex Goliath Pinot Grigio and brie and making for the mall. An unlikely mall stalker for sure, but the lure of Anthropologie and Arie. Again Melville's mermaid was there and quenched our desire for iced caffeine. Some sale items were to be uncovered and taken away as shopping bag booty.


Inside we had heard the pouring cats and dogs. Upon exiting, the edge of night offered billowing deep blue cloud towers marching away to the east. The passing thunderstorm retreated with mauve lightning bolts within which momentarily illumnated the billowing cloud shapes in the darkness. Straight above the clear sky was the most charcoal blue and there a single high star twinkled in the twighlight.



Weekends with the high priestess are as one could imagine: magical.

Friday afternoon arrived at Irvington, New York, just north of New York City. Grabbed a large but forgettable latte at this 1950's style cafe. Take commuter train into Grand Central Station, then head up the 4-5-6 to 86th street. It was Ms. J's first time in Central Park so we circumambulate the Met strolling the steamy, misty, paths in the hot late afternoon haze. Stopped and marveled at the Cleopatra Obelisk. Waited in line for Met admission, unfortunately there was an hour and half wait for the Alexander McQueen special exhibit. We eschewed this hype and delved instead into the Egyptian wing of the permanent collection. Our focus was the animal carvings and little sphinxes and figurines. We eventually ascended to the Asian Art area. In a recreated Chinese courtyard that was fitting for a Crouching Tiger style duel, we could hear the rain pouring onto the glass atrium above. The aptly named Moon Viewing Terrace was enchanting. We strolled the ancient art taking in Babylonian hippogriffs and sphinx-esque zoomorphic creatures.

The McQueen mania line to see the Savage Beauty Exhibit snaked throughout the Museum. We finished out our Met tour with a visit to the painting section where I showed off some of my favorite highlights including the Mucha, and the Schiele and Klimt paintings that would foreshadow the next days Museum.

Leaving the Met, although the rain had passed, the atmosphere was very close, humid and dank. We took the subway downtown to the East Village for dinner at Tsampa, my all time favorite NYC restaurant. The dark, candle lit ambiance was the perfect retreat from the chaos and overstimulation of the City. The Tibetan fare was like a comfort food that one never knew before. It makes sense to follow gazing at Ancient Buddahs, by sampling the cuisine that evolved from it.

Saturday, we left the hotel and arrived again in Irvington, the upscale village on the banks of the Hudson river. This morning we get breakfast at the Black Cat Café  that I had spotted the previous evening. The ice coffee was perfect and the breakfast burrito, although pricey, made for the perfect fuel for the day. We had just enough time to make the train with two minutes to spare.

Again we return to 86th street, but this time we visit the Neue Galerie, the museum of German and Austrian art for its special exhibition: Vienna 1900. Luckily it was extended! First stop is the famous, (and most expensive) Klimt masterpiece the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. It truly is like a gilded goddess. I consider it one of the most important paintings, it is right up there with the Mona Lisa, Starry Night or Botticelli's "Venus on the half shell." Sharing the room is an Egon Schiele painting that is in the same dark pallet as the offering hanging across the street at the Met. In a dark chamber behind the famous Adele painting were a variety of explicit sketches by Schiele and by Klimt. Upstairs were a variety of works showcasing the intertwined evolution of art and design in turn of the century Vienna. We were delighted by the unexpected Jan Toorop work that dominated one of the galleries. It was dark and mystical and included a sphinx. The furniture on display was also inspirational.

After browsing the bookstore we visited the Café for lunch and some Viennese style coffees, and traditional dessert. It was all very decadent, not to mention rather upscale. After our meal, we returned to Central park for more explorations. Saturday was much more crowded and with the crisp, sunny weather there were ample sunbathers as well as tourists.



We explored Belvedere Castle and sought out the Alice and Wonderland statue. We had planned to sit here and gather our thoughts and sketch, but the nearby puppeteer who was entertaining children was rather distracting. We relocated nearby to the sailboat pool and sat next to an old man busking old world Gypsy style tunes on accordion and kick tambourine. It made for the perfect ambiance. Later afternoon we headed down to Nolita for some shopping. I surprised Ms. J by taking her to Evolution with its mix of macabre and Natural History. This tied together with our recent Philly trip being in a similar vein to the Mutter Museum visit. Mac and Sephora cosmetic stores were explored as well as Free People and the gourmet-foodie destination of Dean and Deluca. We sought more specialty coffee at the Mott Street Gimmee coffee and split a sumptuous vegan cinnamon-raisin pretzel procured at Dean and Deluca. It was an interesting twist, pardon the pun, on the traditional New York street food, and consumed on an perfect summer night in the City.



The art supply store closed upon our arrival, but we wandered by a vintage clothing store that lured us in with an epic purple dress on display. I inquire about the grand garment and learn it was being offered for three thousand dollars and was a deconstructed gem originally from 1910, linking to our gallery visit at the beginning of the day. A quick supper and a pilgrimage to the Bowery street Whole Foods closed out our NYC visit.

Like the microcosm of the Met, where one cannot simply take in all the art in one visit, New York City itself cannot be taken in in just one weekend. But we chose quality over quantity and our time was spent savoring a few choice bites of the big apple.

(Late June) Saturday mid day we rode the commuter train into Philadelphia. Riding the rails was an appropriate way to arrive for the day that I had planned for us. It was a surprise date for my companion. The 30th street station was a giant grand chasm-like space reminiscent of Penn or Grand Central in NYC. As we passed through the enormous open art deco space, the boarding announcements boomed through the place with a stylized vocal delivery. Giant Art deco eagles guarded the bridge into Philadelphia. After a few blocks walk we approached the Physicians College, Ms. J thought it looked interesting. As a matter of fact it was our first stop, the Mutter Museum. She was excited and curious, though she did not know what was in store. The museum starts out with a wall of skulls, each documented as to its age and origin and cause of death. Mostly they came from Europe, there was even a skull from Transylvania. Opposite the skulls, were archaic, yet ornate Nineteenth Century surgical tools, still shiny and displayed in the original velvet line cases. There were many full skeletons, and a whole host of medical oddities. It was in the bowels of the museum that one finds the giant, liquid filled jars with two headed fetuses and the like. I am all about skulls, the pristine white skulls, but the deformities and maladies were a bit hard to take for me. Feeling slightly perturbed, I really began to crave the stiff drinks I had planned for later. We exited the David Lynch-ian crimson clad curtains of the Medical museum out into the hot sunshine. We strolled across Center City Philly, admiring the ancient architecture of the city that once was, now filled with unworthy, un-notable restaurants and the lure of retail clothing options. At precisely 5 pm we were near the Old City Hall, and it tolled the hour with a deep, ominous bell which definitely added to the archaic ambiance of the day.

We arrive at part two of the surprise date, Farmers Cabinet, an eclectic eatery/bar in the guise of an old speak easy. The place is extremely dark, decorated in rustic Victorian. We opted for sitting in the open air front and to dine upon a large wooden cask. Instinctively we had sat on the cocktail side, as opposed to the beer side with its overwhelming selection of brew. On the liquor side we are served up vintage style drinks as well as creative concoctions with names like Ritual Seduction and Sacrificial Dance. The food menu had an equally unusual selection of fare to choose from. There was certainly a foodie lovers emphasis on local and in-house made items. We were brought a small loaf baked with dried apricots and served with their in-house raspberry preserves. There were light things offered like cheese and pickles, salads too. We opted for a cheese and dandelion green tart to start. It came served in a small cast iron pan.  The warm summer air and second round of cocktails has us feeling quite fine by the time our crab salad sandwich arrived. We also split a coffee inspired cocktail that was very dark and heady, and allowed us to be seduced by the dessert menu and we finished the meal with a rhubarb ice cream sandwich made with phyllo and topped with strawberries.

The next day we made the trek to the Brandywine Museum. We took advantage of the Sunday morning free admission. It is situated in a wonderful, rolling, valley area which is documented in the historic art work there. It is the showcase for the Wyeth painting dynasty, and although some of the Wyeth work is remarkable, much of it is lacking, especially that orange tinged work of the modern day Jamie Wyeth. I did love seeing this Andrew Wyeth painting of boots and discovering that they belonged to the beloved Howard Pyle .The highlight was in the illustrative gallery which had a large selection of the works of Howard Pyle. There were some rare monochromatic, multi-media illustrations of his that I wish I had snuck a photo of, for I cannot find examples of them online. This entire Brandywine school has a tri-corner hat theme, be it historical revolutionary war paintings or the more literary pirates. I was disappointed to not have caught one of the special exhibits as they have had in the past, that would have been more to our liking.

On our final day in the Philly area we journeyed to the John James Audubon house. It seemed to compliment our other sorties being a combination of Natural History and of art. There were a host of taxidermy birds on the second floor, creating a semi macabre theme. I was a bit shocked to learn that an early Audubon went out and shot his bird specimens, then posed them with wires in preparation to drawing them. He was an outcast though, as he was not educated as a scientist, therefore he was not a accepted by the scientific community. Likewise, a self taught artist, not trained in the Academy, he was shunned by the art community as well. Still, what he accomplished was the start of one branch of conservation and environmentalism. We walked the bird sanctuary, and it was teeming with birds, as if they knew it was a safe haven. We also glimpsed a Great Horned Owl in a rehabilitation enclosure. The Owl also observed us.

On the piece of birthday cake that is your life, are you saving the rose made of frosting for the last bite? There's no need to hold off on enjoying the good stuff today. Dig right in, and don't worry that there won't be more coming along soon. You have to relish the gifts you are given today, and use them! Do not put them away for a rainy day, save them to share with someone else or anything like that. What you have been given is yours to do with what you will.

Put all that creative energy to good use! Whether you do something for someone hot (like a batch of brownies, maybe?) or just yourself (a writing project that makes you feel even smarter, perhaps) is entirely up to you.

An idea for a romantic vacation comes to you in a dream, and you wake up feeling wonderful. Don't be too quick to dismiss the idea of making the dream a reality. Run the idea past your sweetie -- and start a vacation fund!

Your loved one is a complex character with a lot of layers, but you're doing a great job cracking the code. They may put up barriers to keep others away, but they're more than willing to let you in.

Into the narrow little barrow of your slumber warren, like two little rabbits. Stripped down to the essence of the matter, it was the temple of you. Hands gliding over the sesame oil landscape, calling forth cooing elations from the serene visage of the high priestess. Front to back, top to bottom, right to left. Strolling though the foot hills, the dizzying climax of the mountain top. Then to sip the cool waters and slip into dreamtime.