Highlights from NYC

Cat's back from the big apple! (Is that a proper noun yet?) Highlights include:

1. Outsider Art Fair - getting to see the actual art Cat has studied for so long: hundreds of works by outsider artists, and meet some of the artists.

2. Visiting a chum from student days who works in cardiology at Columbia. Go Susan!

3. Hanging out at New York Public Library, the humanities and social sciences division. Touring the building, visiting the reading rooms, seeing the current exhibit (from the NYPL collections) EHON: picture books from Japan, 8th century to 21st century (WOW!)

4. Driving around Queens with a Queens native (Marian) through neighborhoods that have been around the block...Sunnyside, for example where the housing was built to be a worker's utopia - it's "really cool" (sez Cat), 2-story housing connected in the back with communal gardens.

5. Lots of great food - Indian food at Madhur Jaffrey's restaurant (the great Indian cookbook guru) in mid-town, Greek pastries in Queens, and great Italian food around the corner from Susan's house...beautifully presented lamb & pasta, and a fresh endive, & stuffed fig salad. What was it stuffed with? Goatcheese. (I cried when Cat told me about that one.)

6. Experiencing weather in the 20's and teens. Window-shopping Madison Ave. at midnight with friend Tim criticizing Manhattan fashions while the wind blew and it was 18 degrees. (My gal knows how to have fun.) Apparently, everyone still wears black in NYC, and there is an 80's revival. If only it were 1880's.

7. Discovering the new style of handbag that Cat describes to me as "intestines spray painted gold".

8. Riding the subway, hearing lots of different music in the stations - guitar player, people playing 5 gallon plastic buckets, Andean flute players playing to recorded music.

I don't know about you all, but as good as the food sounds, those handbags might just be worth the trip.

Cheers!