Memories abound where my mother is concerned, but I do have a favorite. Although it is a singular experience, when we attended Alexander McQueen’s retrospective, “Savage Beauty,” that summer day in 2011 exemplifies noteworthy traits that my mother had in droves. Although the Metropolitan Museum of Art allowed its members to skip the monster line or attend on Mondays, their “closed” day, just to be part of the fun, my mother (who was a member) and I, stood on the 2 hour line with the masses. This curated event of a hundred ensembles and seventy accessories was unprecedented and there was no way my mother would not be part of the crowded excitement; “By the time the exhibit closed, over 650,000 people had seen it, making it one of the most popular exhibits in the museum’s history, and its most popular fashion exhibit ever” (Savage Beauty Exhibition). #1: My mother loved a well-dressed party.
Tag Archives: Travel
#SummerWins
Adrift on whim I spiral here and there during the short summer in Vermont. On the luckiest of days I answer to
no one, dismiss errands, and banish have-to’s completely. Apparently, according to several research studies, “The mere thought of pleasant alternatives made people concentrate less” (Konnikova). Beyond my morning ritual of brewing a cup of strong black tea, I set my day’s course as casual as possible. Hot afternoons are spent near a local lake, cooler evenings cruising along on the bike path. In my back field, among the hillside of green ferns, purple flowers grab my attention; I waste away an afternoon photographing countless budding lupines. My fascination over this wildflower originated from a children’s book, Miss Rumphius, which I read to my daughter over and over. Lupines produce offspring freely, and these grow to flower and make more lupines than you can count. Fields are quickly over-run with these colorful spikes and while the environmentalist might look at them as an invasion, I see the rainbow of lupines as pure joy!
ordinary is extraordinary
Fresh eyes are what we all need from time to time, and this week, hosting my dear teacher-friend from Geneva (while her 19 students are all being hosted by my student’s families), we 
discovered much anew in our daily routine, stuff we don’t even give a second thought to, as, well, something now worth renewed admiration. Take rural mailboxes for example. The string of boxes mounted on a long board about a 1/4 mile down my road represents just how far the mail carrier will come to deliver. This simple fact elicited quite a discussion, even an excursion for photos, and a flurry of excitement afterwards: yes, adventure in the ordinary. Same with the covered bridges that span many of our small waterways here in Vermont. I stop the car and we step out to hear the rush of a high spring river, a chorus of curious crows, and the banter of sweet chickadees, all while investigating the ordinary bridge that we often cross without a thought. But oh my, what a beauty!
Nine Cent Girl 