Long Island

Last week Mitch and I took a mini road trip to Long Island to see the Treehouse Shakers perform in Huntington.  I had booked Coyote's Dance with Huntington Arts Council on their outdoor stage in Heckscher Park (part of the Summer Arts Festival, Family Series) and it would be a twilight show and gorgeous.  While I'd been to Nassau over the years, I hadn't been back to Suffolk in eleven years and I was excited to make this less about work travel and more about fun -- beaches, seeing the hold sights, etc.  I loved not having to be "on" but just exploring again.

Once one gets past the crappy Belt Parkway traffic (past Kennedy airport) and well into Nassau County, it's so beautiful on the island.  We arrived and checked in at our "day in" only to quickly realize it was a real dive (as in, pay by the hour, trucker stop, enter room from the outside, smokey/dingy, something out an after school special hide out place).  It reminded me of that horrid little place in Parsippany from years back and now with a 4 year old in tow, I could not in sound judgement stay.  L.I. - for being home to many a swank New Yorker's home or vacation home - has its fair share of lodges and motels and even on a budget, I really wouldn't recommend one stay at one of the "lodges."  As my good friend and I joked, avoid anything with "Sleep" and "Roadway" in it as well.  Fork over the dough and get something nice.  It makes all the difference in the world.

A few calls and a dinner later, we were checked into the fabulous Long Island Sheraton in my old hometown and my bad motel experience was behind us with a credit back to my account.  Funny how things work out.  I feel like we were destined to be in Smithtown for most of our stay.

Sunset over Smithtown

I spent a lot of time just driving....driving around, driving to get lost, driving to find.  Find my old house, my old school, a beach, a park, the diner, and just to see how things changed and how they stayed the same.  Driving to reminisce and tell "when I was a kid" stories to my son.  We found our way to Sunken Meadow State Park on the north shore, complete with a big kids' jungle gym area, a beach, bath houses, mini boardwalk, snack stand, and a glorious albeit rocky shoreline.  We had glorious weather the entire three days and that Tuesday July 10, it was a sunny 79 degrees on the beach.  We didn't have all our beach toys but we still enjoyed the time to just sit and be.  To look out and see CT across the Sound...to take in the beauty of the coast.

 

My old house -- Village of the Branch, Smithtown, NY (top) and the Post Office (bottom)

I loved seeing my old house (and the swing set in the backyard) and amazed at how many stories and memories I could recount with such clarity and enthusiasm to my child.  I loved that Mitch wanted me to show him all around, show him my old ____.

I had an existential moment over fro yo that Tuesday wondering what if...what if we had stayed?  What would have happened?  Who would I have been?  Who would my friends have been?  I'm sitting here with my son in 2012, twenty-six years after we left Smithtown.  He might not even be here, at least not in this way, had we stayed.

 

 

Sunken Meadow State Park (view of the beach umbrellas that dotted the sky on the mini boardwalk; view of the beach and Long Island Sound; my son a little "meh" over the stone beach)

It was too deep and philosophical for me in that moment, over Red Mango fro yo.

Somedays I miss NY in ways I cannot describe.  I may not even be able to articulate it well here. It's not about wishing something had played out differently, wishing we had stayed, wishing I was a true New Yorker.  It's a different sort of miss, of longing.  It's something that maybe only someone with as much wanderlust would understand.  It explains why, when I return, to the city or the island, I feel immediately like I belong.  Like I could live this NY life.  It's rooted in a love of and need to travel/explore/immerse and appreciation of one's personal history.  That despite the family hardships of that time, it really was a terrific town and for me, at that time (aged 6-9), it was formative and impressionable.  A lot of wonderful memories there.  Most of all, I'm grateful for that wanderlust that brings me back to enjoy every ounce of what that island offers.  Grateful I can now share it with my little guy.

Here are some pics of our time on L. I.  I cannot say enough fabulous things about Huntington -- Heckscher Park, the ponds with ducks, the huge kids' playground complete with sandboxes, the outside theater, the overall experience.  What a family centered town.  Had we more time, we'd have gone back and just wandered around, maybe fed some ducks, seen the museum that is right there in the park, even explored downtown Huntington.  Treehouse Shakers had a terrific audience that evening and I am proud of them and the community for supporting the arts.  A special shout out to John Chicherio at Huntington Arts Council and Jim P. at Long Island Children's Museum - always great to see colleagues.

Heckscher Park - view of the park with the lakes and ducks; Treehouse Shakers perform Coyote's Dance

Summer Reading List

I asked my Philly Social Media Moms group for summer reading lists as I prepare for a trip this week and the beach in two more weeks.  I'm pretty lucky if I can read two books a year these days but I'm happy to say that with my Kindle, I've been doing a little more than usual.  Since the holidays, I've downloaded and read Scary Mommy and started Swag by Lisa Bloom.

Here are a few more to add to my pile - in electronic form or print - from Amazon, my favorite online shop.  Disclaimer -- I'm a lover of historical fiction and a few of these are historically based and focus on anthropological looks of a certain time.

The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady - Kate Summerscale

Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World - Lisa Bloom

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0) - Cheryl Strayed

The Receptionist: An Education at The New Yorker - Janet Groth

Then Came You: A Novel - Jennifer Weiner

 

 

 

 

Summer Bucket List

There are a few cool activities already on our summer schedule -- BBQs, Knoebels, the swim club, Coney Island and a trip to Long Island to see roster artist Treehouse Shakers perform, for example.  But here are just a few others to do/see in 2012.

Art Projects
Make Christmas cookies in the summer
Visit a farm
Pick your own

Plant seeds
Picnic at the park
Water park
Dutch Wonderland
Crayola Factory

Science or Natural History museum
PA small towns
Annapolis/Eastern shore of MD
Pittsburgh
Beach
"Brave" in theaters
Shakespeare in the Park
Arden Theater

Gaggle of Chicks, a Plop of an Apple -- A New York City Tale

This is a repost from my Piccadilly Arts blog originally posted on May 17.  I've added a few more pictures.

Last week my son and packed our duds and made for the Big Apple.  A mommy and son adventure complete with trains, performances, playground time, ice cream treats and more. The reason for our jaunt up NJ Transit's Northeast Regional line was to see both Treehouse Shakers' Hatched and Windmill Theatre's Plop.  Treehouse Shakers performed their new piece for the littlest of audience members at Ailey Studios and Windmill Theatre performed at The New Victory Theater.  But why stop with theatre?  We are in NYC!  So I scored us a sweet deal on boutique hotel (thanks, BookIt) in Midtown East and made sure we had down time for cartoons and playing at Madison Square Park.

 
Mitch colors before the performance at The New Victory 

I admit, one of my favorite parts about my job is that at least for a few more years at least, I can share my TYA knowledge and connections with my almost four year old.  As my mom likes to say, he's a really cultured kid.  He was a cultured baby too.  He's been to IPAY and a few conferences and retreats and mingled with artists since he was 3 months old.  He's seen several theater pieces at the New Vic studios, seen Zany Umbrella Circus and Treehouse Shakers twice now.  We see what we can, what's most appropriate for him, and we schlep far and wide.  It's especially great now that he's SO verbal to hear his recounting of the experiences.

 "I saw a farm show, Mommy!  And the chick went 'cheep cheep, cheep, cheep.' And I saw a bird, a cow and a lambie!"

The above photos I took after the performance.  Kids and their families sit front and center and have an opportunity to truly experience life on an American farm.  It's told through the eyes of a baby chick that has just hatched and we watch her learn to walk, take in her surroundings from roosters, cows, lambs, and birds.  Sprinkled throughout the narrative area chances for the children to pet, feed, and hold baby animals.  The puppetry and scenery are just exquisite.  Perhaps one of my favorite elements of the performance is the live music.  I never would have visualized this piece with live music and yet it gave it a whole other layer of stimulation and authenticity. I was truly touched at how beautiful this show was and how utterly American it felt to me.  I see loads of international performances for this audience that are phenomenal as well but Treehouse Shakers captured what it means to be an American in this piece via something as authentic as a farm, and more importantly, a child's first visit to a farm.

These pictures were taken after Plop.  Plop is based on the picture book The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky and the Australian Windmill Theatre produced and performed this adorable piece for preschoolers.  The "plop" is the sound of apples falling from the sky (a fabulous contraption) into a bucket of water and making a rather loud plopping sound, scaring away two little rabbits.  Filled with terrific audio and engaging visuals, this blends fairy tale with fun. My son spent about ten minutes after the show playing with all the musical instruments.

A few video snippets to follow of each show but for now suffice it to say, both were audience favorites and make anyone working in our Theater for Young Audiences field proud -- this is exactly the sort of work that should be noticed, curated, funded, and supported.  It's thoughtful, meaningful, interactive and fun.  Kudos to both companies.

Here are a few more from the trip.

Just A Little Boy

As a mom of a little guy about to be four...foreseeing endless baseball games in the coming years (and/or track meets, soccer games, etc.), I saw this today on FB and had to post.  It's so sweet and humbling.

I believe we all have to face/endure/forge through disappointments, set backs and as my grandfather would say, "Don't let the bastards get you down!" Teaching girls and boys about winning and losing gracefully, about team spirit, about trying and moving forward or knowing when it makes sense to walk away, how to handle the conflicts with dignity and integrity -- definitely. We have to lead with hope and compassion as well as wisdom and empathy that comes from what we've lived.  But let's not lose site of the fact that some times the boy at the plate is indeed 4 or 6 or 8 years old.  With feelings. 

Monoprint Tutorial

Saw this on Etsy earlier tonight and I cannot wait to try it out with the little guy.

Source: etsy.com via Chrissie on Pinterest

I was just a little obsessed when I saw this technique. I don't even need the wood. Just the organic process transferred to paper is enough to make me giddy.

Source: wearedesignbureau.com via Chrissie on Pinterest

Creativity

Source: neutralnotes.tumblr.com via Lyle on Pinterest

I LOVE this pic of a children's room, naturally from Ikea. I used to hate Ikea. Hate it. I still have mixed feelings about a lot of the product (some way too modern for my taste, not liking the cheapness of it all) but for a kid's room, it's perfect. They go through phases and stuff so quickly and there's no sadness when it's time to move on (or it broke) because I haven't spent a ton on it...and there's always something just as cute and imaginative around the corner. I suspect that is why I love Ikea for children...it embraces the abstractness of art and the wonder and imagination of being a kid and captures it so well in the products. It goes against the whole controlling/matchy-matchy of PB, Babies R Us and the like.

Source: digsdigs.com via Linda on Pinterest

Some IPAY Inspiration

I was MIA most of January between both APAP and IPAY - the first being the industry's huge national conference and the second being my niche conference for youth programming.

IPAY this year was in gorgeous sunny hip Austin, TX.  Seriously, who knew Austin was TX?  It's like a red headed stepchild (or maybe blue headed?) in the otherwise red state.  So fun, so hip, full of young and old alike but you totally picked up an artsy vibe immediately.  The city's slogan is "Keep Austin Weird."  Well, that was enough for me!

The weather for January was in the 50s (lows) through the mid-70s (highs) and I walked for miles schlepping from the hotel to the theaters to the funky shops, to just exploring the walking trails along the river.  I wish I could have seen and explored more but I'm happy to have seen the little bit of U of TX at Austin, the see south Congress St and take it in like a local, and dine out at authentic BBQ and Tex Mex joints.

Below are some pics I took from the first "showcase I saw" -- more like an exhibition.  Architects of Air out of the UK create these amazing sculptures that you walk through. This was my favorite, probably because I couldn't stop photographing every square foot of it.  It was an abstract artist's dream.

My Favorite Things

A repost from Piccadilly's blog from this week.

A fellow blogger recently posted about how she'd been inspired by one of my favorite movies, Love Actually, and the words "Love really is all around." She let those words be her guide as she decorated her house - specifically her Christmas tree - for the holiday. Stenciling those words on ribbon she encircled the entire tree in the ribbon and adorned it with handcrafted framed ornaments of her family.
It got me thinking. If I had the time to do something similar, what would it look like?  Most likely "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.  Then I thought - in lieu of ribbon - I'd write a holiday blog post about my favorite things, especially at this time of year.

Classic Movies
I am watching Meet Me In St. Louis as I type.  My Pop Pop introduced me to classics with the Sound of Music around the age of 5 so it's no surprise that I love that movie, and tons of others, and feel the need to watch them all one right after the other during these relaxing post holiday days.

Cocoa and Lights
A cup of cocoa and a stroll through a park, Macy's Light Show, or even South Philly looking at all the lights (and plastic praying Blessed Mother hands) goes a long way, especially with a 3 year old in tow. I love white lights most of all, especially when entire streets are lined in them.  Cue a little Celtic music and it's the most romantic setting.  My son is entranced with all lights (and scary blow up Santas, etc.) but it's OK...it's all magical to him and experiencing the holiday through his eyes is joy.

Vintage
My love of vintage runs the gamut but this time of year I especially love gorgeous vintage dresses, old photographs (in general but mostly of my family), mid century ornaments, and Christmas albums on vinyl.

Handmade
It was something of a lean holiday in this house but it made me grateful for my artistic side.  For years I've given paintings from various classes, b/w photographs taken and framed, and most recently, hand crocheted scarves and dishcloths.  Needless to say, a few daycare teachers received Trader Joe's coffee, cookies, mugs and a crocheted dishcloth.   I appreciate all handmade goodies, be it jewelry, little ceramic magnets and stones, ornaments, pottery, you name it.  And I love spending time hunting for that perfect handmade item for the artists and creative folk in my life.

Italian cookies
My Grandmom nails pizzelles as well as her lemon cookies.  I experiment with ricotta ones but I have yet to try the pizzelle iron.

Pointsetta
Red, white, and tons of them.  My Pop Pop would get them for my mom every year and they would adorn the house.  Flanked with evergreen swag and red bows, it's so classic Christmas to me. And it ties into my next favorite thing.

Nature
I know it's dreary out and we almost never get a White Christmas but I love nothing more than bits of nature brought indoors this time of year -- pine cones, green, berries.  If it was up to me I'd have THE Charlie Brown tree (I'm not a fan of fat bushy trees).  Brandywine River Museum has an annual "critter sale" - critters made from all natural elements, assembled by their volunteers - and I have a dog, squirrel, and bear and they are the coolest and simplest ornaments. There's also a bit of hope that shines on December 22, the first day of winter, knowing we gain a little more light with each day until June...always worth celebrating.

These are just a few of my favorite things...and if I look around I can see a little piece of each in my holiday decor, mood, and spirit.  Piccadilly wishes you all a wonderful holiday season and Winter Solstice.  May you find the time to rest and recharge, be with your friends and family and to quote one of my favorite bands, "Be here now." Enjoy and be grateful for the gift of the present moment.

By Chrissie

Every so often I circle back to these words, words I originally uncovered on a piece of paper (I believe at church?) back in 1999 when I was feeling confused and lost especially about relationships.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

Several years ago I would see this very passage engraved on the Jeanine Payer "Palmer" bracelet.  I still covet this bracelet.