Census 2010 -check!

I was very excited to hear 2010 brought with it the census-the ramifications and magnitude of a project like the census fascinates me.
Thus I felt really bad about missing the April 1st deadline for getting my census forms into the mail.

When I started hearing local public radio stories about how low N.Y.'s return numbers were (currently 64%) , what neighborhoods had the lowest rate of returns and which U.S. states had the highest compliance rate (Wisconsin @78%) - I knew I had to make the second deadline:tax day / April 15th.

Ours is indeed in the mail and I included a thank you card-really an apology card for being late-thus the extra stamp on the outside. So glad it is done & so excited to be a part of this historic count. I hope everyone else has done theirs as it is vitally important to getting funding and services at a time when both are so short in supply due to the economy. For more up to date info. on the 2010 census go here. Very fascinating...

hmm...

Versions of this sign have been popping up on tress and sign posts around the neighborhood since April 1st. I am not sure what to make of them ...

Life on the 4th floor...

The oven broke a few weeks ago. It had been working on and off rather sporadically since we moved in . (the first Thanksgiving we had at the apartment it was so off that the turkey was bloody and had to be cooked in pieces...) It shut down for good on Feb. 4th and this meant we were without a way to cook much in the way of food. (I say "we" to be polite. My husband is not know to go anywhere near a stove and when he does panic attacks and temper tantrums worthy of a 4 year old ensue-not to mention fears of food poisoning...) So "we" (read the husband) decided we could get along with a convection oven. While I wait for our electricity bills to sky rocket (consequence #1) many things have gotten shifted around in our already tiny kitchen in order to make room for this new oven. ( consequence #2) Poor Sandi (and the lone plant) have been shoved into a corner -not a good combination but so far, no harm, no foul. Here is Sandi in her new resting place-a roasting pan , a perch from where she can observe everything.

Spring

Spring is here. If the higher temps do not send that signal (and you can ignore the early bloomers) then the slew of "painter for hire" signs might . This is one of the best signs I have seen in a long time-I might have been tempted to carefully take it down and bring it home to frame but for the fact that it is a work related advertisement . I also wanted to leave it up for the rest of the neighborhood to enjoy. I am not sure why they felt the need to announce they offer both male and female painters-I would have gone with "We are an equal opportunity employer who have a well qualified , experienced & 100% certified staff"...all of whom seemingly have large lips...(?)(kill me, I'm an artist so of course I focus on the drawing!)

"A Single Man" : the house

I went to see "A Single Man" tonight and was very taken with all of the elements everyone else is raving about. The visual beauty of the well designed movie, the lush score , the adorable dogs and the heartbreaking scene where George nestles his face into the fur of a random stranger's dog . If you love animals you have done that. And if you are a person in touch with all of your senses you know how very much the sense if smell can take you back in time and evoke otherwise lost memories.

But it is the house that really caught my attention. And I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of the architect though there are hints of that favorite of mine : FLW. This home is more than a mere setting for scenes in the film-it is so striking it becomes another character -captivating you with it's lines & colors. It was designed by John Lautner & you can bet I will spend some time this weekend pouring over everything I can find on the Internet related to his work. It is one of those rare abodes that make me feel like I would be eternally happy if I were lucky enough to live in it. (And it is for sale...)

2010 Census

( The census is coming ! The census is coming! So I guess I have to work that into my blog somewhere : )


I have been noticing some interesting population shifts that the 2010 census folks might want to take into account. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of snowmen in my Queens New York area in the last few days. I do not know if these folks are here to stay or just passing through but their presence has been noticeable & one wonders what their impact will be on our area.

All of the snowmen I have personally met (most are pictured here) have been charming and delightful -reminiscent of similar folks I knew from my childhood growing up in Queens and snowy winters from long ago. I met the very last gentleman pictured with his "family" in Forest Park on Saturday. The nice young man with him told me his name was "Egbert"

(Census silliness aside I have to admit to loving these snowmen. As an artist I find them to be wonderful reminders of the universality of childhood creativity and any artist will tell you there is no better medium to make a sculpture out of than snow . I loved watching the collaboration between the generations as men got built and I couldn't help but notice the instantaneous joy I felt seeing snowmen throughout the neighborhood. They symbolize what I adore about winter & what snow meant to me as a child. To this day the news that snow is coming brings joy to my heart and I have to think this is at least in part due to the many happy experiences I had as a child . To me there has always been something magical about snowfall and snowmen are the winter equivalent of summers sandcastles-equally magical and here for but a moment in time...Thank you to all of the folks who made these guys. You made me incredibly happy! )

SNOW

I feel like the world is coming to an end-soon. Stores are filled with folks manically shopping for food-any food. The check out lines are mega long. Shelves are, in some cases , bare.

WTF...

I grew up loving snow=the more, the merrier. I did not fear it. I did not panic. I played in it until I was frozen. Now-a-days folks treat snow like it is some terrible , toxic mystery. A force that could kill you if you look it's way for too long. Not the stuff of snow cones, snow balls and snow forts.

I sound silly but doesn't everyone have food in their home? Is anyone really in danger of starving if we get a little snow? Is peril only a snow flake away?

Silly, silly, silly people.

I am going to work tomorrow . I'll be the one wearing boots and warm, comfortable clothes. I'll have a thermos of warm tea in my bag and there will be a big smile on my face.I have not written my will -just in case I perish - and I do not understand how we all became such wimps when it comes to a little bit of snow.

P.S. One other thing: there has been such an over abundance of salt spread everywhere this past week that you see it's dust in car head lights at night and can actually TASTE it's presence in the air if you are unlucky enough to open your mouth to speak. What an over reaction to some frozen water........