New York City Highlights & My Favorite New Yorkers!

I just returned from my second trip to New York City! One of the special highlights of this trip was meeting two blogging friends that I enjoy keeping up with.

Laura, from Shorehouse Chic, and Pat from Mille Fiori Favoriti met my friends and I at Grand Central Station for lunch on Saint Patrick's Day. This was my first time to meet blogging friends in person!

We had a great time visiting and eating lunch at Juniors in Grand Central Station. From left to right: Laura, Pat, and myself.
We had pickles for an appetizer, and famous New York City Cheesecake for dessert! Best of all, we enjoyed meeting each other and talking. They are both just as nice in person as they are in blogland!
Pat brought me the cutest little salt and pepper shakers that will remind me of her and New York City every time I see them!

After lunch, Laura went back to work, and my friend Janet and I went with Pat to the Saint Patrick's Day parade. I followed Pat around like a little puppy, and took lots of the same pictures she took, so I'm going to show you my favorite one-this cute little Leprechaun!
After the parade, Janet and I went with Pat to walk around Greenwich Village and Lower Manhattan. We walked through several parks....

We went into antique stores and were surprised to run into this lady from our hometown.....
We went down Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange and wondered where all the money has gone!You may be wondering why I have visited New York twice since January. My son, Jonathan, is an intern at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been there since January, and really is enjoying the city.

The theaters for JALC are on the 5th floor in the Time Warner building next to Columbus Circle.
Here's Jonathan and I by the elevators-he took us up to the lobby of the theaters and showed us around a bit. JALC is a first class beautiful facility in one of the prettiest parts of New York City.
The lobby of JALC looks out over Central Park and Columbus Circle. To the left is one of the Trump buildings, and according to one of our tour guides, he lives in the building adjacent to the Time Warner building.

We were not able to go into the theaters, but you can see the inside of the Allen Room, which has a 50' by 90' wall of glass overlooking the New York City skyline by clicking here.

The pictures in this post were made on Tuesday and on Friday morning. In all I made about 300 pictures and put 33.70 miles on the pedometer!

I love New York and really enjoyed each of my visits there! Spending time with Jonathan, and meeting Pat and Laura helped make my second trip very special!

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Photo Tag

Joanna at This Southern Girls Nest tagged me to do a photo Meme. The directions are to look in the 6th folder and post the 6th picture and write about it.

This is a picture of myself and three of my friends at the Riley Center Christmas party in 2006. From left to right are Robin, me, Karen and Ann. We had a great time! My son Jonathan, who was an intern there at the time, took the photo. We all like this picture-and that in itself is a miracle! LOL

I'm sorry Joanna it took me so long to get around to this. I've been in a blogging slump lately...maybe a little burned out. Hope to come out of this soon!

I would like to pass this on to:

Janie at Southern Lagniappe
Kelli at Sassy Southern Mom
Amber at Forever Amber
Lara at The Simpkins Family
Dawn at Dawns Daybreak
Sally at Smiling Sally
And to anyone else who would like to do this!

My Weekend Trip

Sally at Smiling Sally is hosting Blue Monday. Please visit her for lots more blue!

This weekend I went on a 'girls getaway' trip. This blue picture is a clue...can you guess where I went and what this is?


I bet you guessed the beach! We went to Orange Beach to be exact and stayed in this house. The blue creature in the picture is a jellyfish that was washed up on the beach. They were everywhere!
The house has 8 bedrooms and 7 baths and belongs to 9 families. My friend Beth is a member of one of the families. They divide the time among the families, and each one gets 5 weeks per year at the 'cabin' as they often call it.
You are probably thinking, doesn't look like a cabin to me! And it sure isn't. This picture below is a picture of what the original cabin looked like before Hurricane Ivan came along.


I've been friends with Beth for many years, and visited the house in the picture lots of times. After Ivan, the house was severely damaged and they had an opportunity to buy the yellow house for a wonderful price. It was right next door and the property has been sold to build a condo. So, they bought it and moved it several feet, and now have this fantastic beach house that rents for about 7,000 per week during the prime tourist season. Beth and her family plan to rent their week this summer to recoup some of their investment, so it may be awhile before we are all invited back!

Since I'm linking this to Blue Monday, here's a house next door. No one was there this weekend, and Beth says it is often vacant!So, if I haven't visited you in a few days, you know why! I'll get back around in a day or so!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Special Pumpkin

Jen at Sanctuary Arts at Home is hosting a Pretty your Pumpkin Party! Click on this icon to go to her blog and visit other participants!
I'm just about "Pumpkined" out here at my house. I really don't have anything new to show today, but I wanted to participate because I really love Jen's blog! So I scouted around and saw this wall hanging in my friend Beth's first grade classroom. This quilted wall art featuring a pumpkin was made by her friend Linda a few months before she lost her battle with breast cancer.

Linda was a great friend to Beth and to all of Beth's friends-including me! When she found out that she had cancer, she fought the battle hard not giving up til the end. She created and worked on her art as long as she was able. Her strength and positive attitude has been an inspiration to her friends.

This weekend we will have an arts festival in town, and two years ago Linda was sitting at a booth at this festival displaying projects such as this one. She died in February of 2007.

Her wall hanging looks great in Beth's classroom and has created some excitement and anticipation among the students. Linda would have loved that, and I think she would be honored that I posted a picture of her work on my blog.

So, it is to Linda and her memory that I dedicate this post! She left us all a wonderful legacy in her art work and also in her attitude toward life in general. Linda has been missed by all of her friends! Thanks for stopping by! Thanks Jen for hosting this blog party!

Bluebird of happiness

When I retired from teaching in June of 2007, I received lots of nice gifts from family members and colleagues.

Since this is Blue Monday on Smiling Sally's blog, I thought I would feature my little Bluebird of Happiness. He was given to me by Georgia, a very sweet lady who happens to be in my teacher sorority.

He is so cute and has a home in the secretary in my bedroom. I just love him....looking at him reminds me of the story and of my friend!

To read the Bluebird of Happiness Story, click here.

To read other Blue Monday posts, click Smiling Sally.

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.
Diane

A night at the art museum

Last Saturday night I went with my friend Robin to the Meridian Museum of Art for the People Choice art show and awards. I wanted to share with you some of the interesting highlights of our evening.

The photo below is of Liz, my friend Beth's daughter. She is an art major at the University of Alabama. Liz was one of very few artists that had two pieces selected for the exhibit. This is a picture of her standing next to her self portrait. Her assignment was to do her self portrait in the style of Chuck Close. She gave this to her mom for Mother's Day!
I really loved this quilt. It is covered with labels from clothing. Here is a close-up of the quilt.This is a stained glass piece from Linda of Cotton Patch Studio (I wrote about them on the Lunch with the girls post.)
And here I am with Robin and Beth!

We had a great time. I am so glad that our little town has this art museum and encourages emerging and established local artists to show their work.

They are looking for a director if you know anyone who would like to relocate here! Click on the link for more info!

Lunch with the girls!

Last Thursday a group of my friends and I drove to Livingston, Alabama for lunch. They are the best group of friends ever! I am keeping Cooper full time for awhile since his baby sitter had a baby, and they didn't hesitate one bit for him to tag along! After eating at Diamond Jim's, we went to a Farmer's Market and bought a watermelon and tomatoes. On the way back to Meridian, we stopped at the Cotton Patch Studio in York, Alabama.

Below is a mosaic mural on the side of the store that the owners have been working on. Charlie, one of the owners, told us that it is really beautiful at night when the lights from the cars shine on it! This picture doesn't do it justice at all. Here are all of us in a photo that Charlie took. Notice that Cooper is really taking in the mosaic art behind him! I have such a WONDERFUL group of friends!

Here's their a sign inside the store. We didn't spend much time inside because the kiln had been on and it was hotter inside than outside if you can believe it. They have some beautiful items that I would love to have photographed. Notice the cute little mosaic birdhouse...one of the items they make there.

I had to take a picture of these planters in downtown York. They were absolutely beautiful! So green, lush, and healthy. It was obvious that someone in this small sleepy town had taken such great care of them. And other planter with a trellis along a store front.... It was so hot that day, but we enjoyed our ride over there and the detour on the way home to see the mosaic wall. Be sure to click on the link and check out the studio. Visiting this tiny Alabama town was fun! Small towns have a lot to offer...if you know where to look!

Trip Report -San Antonio Day 1

Last weekend I traveled to San Antonio, Texas with my friend Janet. We met up with some National Board Certified Teachers that we both knew. They were in San Antonio training assessors to assess candidate portfolios. The first day we went to The 37th Annual Texas Folklife Festival. This event is held at the spot of the 1968 World's Fair. Here are some picture highlights of the day:

Janet and I posing in front of 'Texas Art'
A pair of Laura Bush's tennis shoes in the museumA Piece of Stained Glass with Depression Glass in centerA Silkworm Demonstration
A Bottle Tree Janet and I in the Replica of the One Room School House

You can see from the pictures that we had many wonderful experiences that day. San Antonio is a beautiful city...and the people were so friendly. Come back tomorrow for pictures of the Riverwalk and the Alamo!

Tony and Tina's Wedding

Tonight I went to the Riley Center with Regina, a new friend from aerobics, to the off Broadway production Tony and Tina's Wedding.We had a great time! The dinner theatre was different from anything I have ever experienced. We were 'guests' at the wedding, and the characters interacted with us throughout the evening. The wedding was funny, and it was just like being at a real wedding. There was dancing, and a toast to the bride and groom along with an Italian buffet and wedding cake. Here are some pics that highlight the evening:

Tina, the Italian bride, posing for a pic while conversing with guests

Tony the Italian groom (notice his muscles!)

Diane and Regina starred as wedding guests!

I can see clearly now!

Wednesday I had cataract surgery. It was not nearly as bad as expected. Dr. Jonathan Moore did the procedure in Meridian. If you are looking for a good eye doctor in Meridian, I would highly recommend him.
Everyone was great...nurses and all of the hospital staff at Riley hospital were wonderful.

My eye is swollen and really red, but I can see so much better! I wish I had done this long ago!
One of the first things I noticed was how dirty my house was! My friend Janet said her mother said the exact same thing after her cataract surgery. Guess I need to visit http://www.flylady.net/ and get some tips. LOL

For more information on cataracts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract

And a special thanks to Beth for taking me, and picking me up!
Diane

Cara Grace and Connor

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I created this with pictures of Connor and Cara Grace at McDonald's and the Riley Center. Her grandmother, Karen, is one of my best friends. We always try to get them together for the performances at the Riley Center. Last year we took them to see Willie Wonka and Pinocchio. This season they both saw Suessical and A Year with Frog and Toad.

New Orleans Jazz Fest

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It was so muddy, and hot, and CROWDED at Jazz Fest, but as always the music was wonderful! Jimmy Buffett really knows how to please the crowd. I'm glad we went...and plan to go again!