February Fun..

                "To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent - 

that is to triumph over old age."                                            Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Leaving you in suspense!  I will share that I had a wonderful treat, and pajama party, in my New Home with my two favorite people.    Katie had a two week break from her stint in Sierra Leone, and came back to the US for much needed R&R.  Due to yet another storm in Boston, her flight from Newark to Boston got cancelled.  I got her for a day and night!  My Angel gypsy cab driver was literally waiting for her at Newark and drove her right to my door.  (Thank you so much, dear man.)  Katie and I had a lovely long chat.  She napped.  Kristi came and we watched cheesy tv and ordered in sushi as good New Yorkers do.  It was nice to taste the great food from a restaurant in my new ‘hood, Ko Sushi. 

Eve Ensler and VDay celebrated One Billion Rising for Justice in glory on February 7 ^th at Hammerstein’s Ballroom again.  It was an evening of intense “conversation” and performance, surrounded by beautiful art, voices, joy, and dance.  Again, I was proud and honored to act as Volunteer Coordinator.  There were many special moments, surrounded by dear people who have become friends.  (It was a special treat to have Kathy Najimi sit next to me, and Rosie O’Donnell in front of her, and be a very small part of their conversation!)

From its website

NYC being a city of feasts of things to do, it was with some disappointment that I couldn’t spend too much time at the Athena Film Festival this year as it was the same weekend as VDay.  But, I did manage to get up to Barnard to help a bit, and very fortunately caught the closing film, Difret.  A beautiful, amazingly poignant film about one of Ethiopa’s oldest traditions, abduction into marriage; it was a special treat to have Director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and Producer, Mehret Mandefro join the audience for a Q&A after the film. (with their gorgeous toddler as entertainment relief playing on Dad’s lap!)
involved with the

A gallery in The Frick (from its website)

As the month progressed even more visitors came to play.  Some stayed with me, others in a special hotel.    Funny, I hadn’t been to The Frick in almost a year and I found myself there twice in a week with my Guests.  I love The Frick.  The art that that not so nice Robber Baron collected is amazing, and more than a little impressive.   From there I shared The Boathouse with my special Friends and Cousins.

Kim Nalley (from her webssite)

Dizzy's

My Friends were in and out as they traveled to Copenhagen.  My Cousins were in for a mini-vacation so the time I had with them was like a Marathon of special fun.   Following our time exploring art and brunching at my Boathouse, we relaxed at their very special hotel overlooking Central Park from the South.  Then to help complete a bucket list item of theirs: having a cocktail at every Four Seasons in the world, my arm was twisted.  From there we meandered to Dizzy’s Coca Cola Jazz Club at Lincoln Center (which is actually at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle) for a great set of music with Kim Nalley singing songs of love.  As if that weren’t enough for one day, we celebrated a nightcap at the Champagne Bar at The Plaza and were surprised when told that last call was quite early for a private party. (We just missed the 40^th Anniversary Party of Saturday Nigh Live!)

A piece of Maggie's work.

A couple of days later, we met in Chelsea at Freight and Volume Gallery to visit a special exhibit indeed.  A family friend’s daughter had her first show; Margaux Ogden and her “Down the Rabbit Hole”.  What a thrill!  From there we poked around some other galleries, thoroughly enjoying the balmy day, 28 degrees.  We actually walked up to Midtown as it felt so good to be outside, and enjoyed a pre-theatre cocktail at Bar Centrale.

Constellations (from its website)

Kristi was able to meet us for yet another special treat: Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson in “Constellations.”  Being at a loss as to how to begin to describe it, I thought this description by The Hollywood Reporter summed it up well, for me, “Exquisite, hypnotic, & richly affecting.”  It was a wonderful weekend of playing, exploring, and being in my NYC with very special people!   Thank you, again, my Dear Cousins, for sharing so much, especially your precious time with me!   Xoxo

Manhattan Cricket Club (from their website)

Lunch with a Dear Lady who started our Library writing group at a neighborhood fav of hers, Pesce Trattoria (www.trattoriapescepasta.com); Oscar party at another dear friend’s home with “the Girls”; wine tasting preceded by dinner at my dear FFF friend’s Burke & Wills/Manhattan Cricket Club; seeing another FFF friend play in Chekov’s “Three Sister’s” at the The Stella Adler Studio (For my writing class at Gotham I wrote a review of it!) all rounded out the dreary, cold month of February.

Of course, it wasn’t all play and frivolity as many CPR classes were taught from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Astoria to New Jersey.  One of my favorites so far was putting a “babysitting” class together for some Girls Scouts.  It was a compliment, indeed, when a science teacher who had taken one of my classes in the fall asked me to teach her Girls a class!

Thank God for all these events and adventures, as even though I hibernated a lot from the cold, I did make myself get “out there.”