Holiday decor central

In the outer boroughs of NYC there are many wonderful holidays scenes to behold each holiday season. I visited several streets in Dyker Heights this year -front yards filled with inflatable lawn ornaments, tons of lights and even several "live" Santa Clauses (how does a parent explain all those Santa Clauses?) It seems like this is actually a business and several of the homes sport signs advertising the companies that do this type of work. While the artist in me would to do this sort of thing-on such a grand scale-I currently work somewhat smaller-call it holiday office decor. If you are too busy to put up decorations this year -or just find that you are not in the mood-contact me and I will do it all for you! Attached are 2 examples of my most recent work:

Chanukah in retrospect

The last of the menorahs and candels have been packed away until next year. The Christmas ornaments & lights have taken their place in our home, fend off the long, dark &helping to cold nights.

Here are som final scenes from this year's Hanukkah & one photograph depicting what I like to call the Hanukkah aftermath=lots of wax everywhere

Each year I am left with just one question : How do you spell "Hanukkah"?

night 2,3,4,5

Today brought our first snow flurries.
Here is a photo tour of the neighborhood menorahs. One stands in Station Square. The other in Mac Donald Park and the others , from our collection.

Night one of eight

Last night was the first night of Hanukkah & in celebration I dusted off the menorah. This one was given to me by my mom & dad -perhaps for my first Hanukkah 7 or so years ago. I love it for it's simplicity -it's so clean and the design gives you all kinds of nice options. I also love it because it is so easy to clean. The vast majority of menorahs are awful in this respect.

My husband's family does not really celebrate this holiday and seems not to have transmitted any traditions from one generation to the next so I have been left on my own when it comes to Hanukkah. I do like to exchange small gifts each of the nights and include the associated fried foods (It can be hard to find a good potato pancake-I am going with Trader Joe's this year) .

Last year I ran out into the cold dark night to find jelly donuts -finally striking gold at the local Dunkin Donuts. One of my favorite Hanukkah memories involves a hospital I used to be the Artist-In-Residence at. Throughout the day they had announced on their PA that they would be holding a celebration in their lobby .Staff, patients and family gathered for song, food and celebration. It was very impromptu, more folks showed up than expected and there was something very warming about coming together with strangers who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to stop and celebrate for a few moments.

trains

Some photos I took from a visit today to the N.Y. Botanical Gardens holiday train show. The show itself is a family tradition for many New York families . It is interesting to view the ever expanding collection of miniature versions of N.Y. landmarks like Lady Liberty, Yankee Stadium, the planetarium (I still call it that),the airport ,the Guggenheim and other well know sites. The detail is amazing & it is a joy to watch as visitors young and old marvel at this version of the city's skyline-all while trains glide by.If you love plants like I do -there is nothing like the lush setting on a cold winter day!

L.I. boulders for art?

NPR ran a story today on an artist who will be collecting boulders from Long Island for a sculpture show at the Guggenheim in 2011. See story here.I am not sure how I feel about this. Actually, I object strongly. Many of the "boulders" on Long Island are the only thing that remains unchanged as the land has gone from farms to sod to vineyards , houses and malls. Why would I want some artist to take them, changing the landscape forever-"just" for some art?

Quick trip

We made a very quick trip out to Long Island on Wed.

The usual winter wind had already set in, making the otherwise warm and strongly sunny day very chilly. The clouds were traveling fast. The sand was blowing off of the beach and into the sky like a sunlit hazy fog. The beach was empty but for 2 gulls.

We made the trek to Orient Point-just in time to see the ferry load and leave and passed through Greenport on the long trip home.

Just outside East Marion we came upon 2 cars stopped-one had just hit and killed a deer. So sad.

Several farm stands were still open but had closed by the time we passed them on the return trip. I would have loved some cider. Fresh apples and cabbage. Brussel sprouts.

Off season is my favorite time to visit Long Island. It is so quiet and peaceful but for that strong, constant wind.