{Monday} Moments: Taking a Bite

Took a tiny bite out

of the Big Apple for two

and a half days with my

family last week, before

taking the train to Maryland

for Thanksgiving with my

brother, his family and

our parents.

I arrived with the flu and

promptly fell into bed in

their nice, dark guest room

for the next 18 hours.

When I first woke up,

thankful to feel a bit better

on Thanksgiving Day, I lay

cozied up under the down

comforter, thinking back to

all the fun memories we had

made in NYC.

Lit a candle at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was the first visit for our

kids, and my hubby and I were

grateful that they are teens and

able to navigate busy streets and

crowded places with confidence.

Beautiful Central Park

Dylan's Candy Bar

Having them with us was like

seeing the City for the 

first time.....

Times Square

Rockerfeller Center, where the big tree was still under wraps.

The glorious Statue of Liberty

F.A.O. Schwartz

Bergdorf Goodman had our favorite windows!

The moment that stands out in

my mind from our brief time

in NYC didn't happen at a show

or on Times Square, though.

Instead, it occurred when we

went to pay our respects to a

small but powerful memorial

outside the corporate headquarters

of my husband's employer in

midtown Manhattan.

It was created by artist Richard

Fleischner to remember the 358

employees who lost their lives while

at work on September 11, 2001.

The inscription reads:

Our lost colleagues are, above all,

your adored children and parents,

husbands and wives,

sisters and brothers, 

your cherished relatives and friends.

Each person's unique signature 

 is etched on the wall behind

their name.

I couldn't help wonder where

the signatures came from, since

all the documents from their

offices had been destroyed.

A check?

The closing document on a

first mortgage?

Their driver's license?

Did Michael or Sharon have

any premonition of what was

to come when they dashed off

this particular signature?

I chose to think not, as I studied

the various styles of handwriting

and each name, representing a 

life taken far too soon.

At that moment, I chose to

believe that they had signed

their names on an ordinary,

sunny, happy day.

And as we moved on from

the memorial, merging into the

teeming sidewalks, we became

enveloped in the upbeat energy

that is Manhattan during the

holiday season, physically leaving

those 358 souls behind on a 

glass wall, but carrying the moment 

forever in our hearts.

What moments do you bring

to our virtual water cooler, today?

Big or small, informative, fun,

beautiful, crafty, delicious or

thoughtful, 'tis the season to

share, as we embrace this

wonderful thing together 

that we call life, for the
Michaels and Sharons and
others no longer here
to celebrate it with us.

xx

Suzanne

PS:  I am leaving the {Monday}

Moments link open all week, so

pop back any time to catch up on

a variety of special moments!

PPS:  I will be announcing a

giveaway later in the week; it's

going to be a goodie : )

{Monday} Moments

Saturday morning I loaded

my duffel bag into the car 

and made the short drive 

to spin class, the first tiny

snowflakes of the season

dancing merrily on my

windshield.

{Our driveway}

My teens were still asleep

and my husband was 

at the gym.

I wasn't rushing to drop

someone off.

I wasn't rushing to pick

someone up.

I wasn't rushing to a meeting

or to the store to get something

that I'd forgotten earlier.

{A local favorite}

I'd given myself plenty of 

time, so I wasn't even 

rushing to spin class.

One of my favorite 

songs was on the radio.

I turned it up.

I smiled.

{Lake Minnetonka}

I make this drive three to

four days a week, but am

usually hustling to get there

and don't take in the details

of the drive.

Saturday was different.

{The florist was newly decked-out.}

As I sang along to the radio

and absorbed the minutia

of my brief drive, I felt a

funny leap in my chest and

I knew it was nothing but

pure

happiness.

I was joy-full.

{Summer drive-in turned Christmas tree lot.}

My mind wasn't racing 

ahead to the rest of my day,

or chewing on something

that had happened in the past.

I was fully present.

The first Christmas gift

of the season and it was

to me,

from me.

{Ready to drive out of the drive-in.}

In these holiday weeks

ahead of us, I wish you all

moments like this in the 

midst of the hustle and bustle.

Happy moments.

Present moments.

{Even the lamp posts seemed joyful!}

Stitch them gratefully

into your own life's quilt.

And most 

importantly,

en-joy!

xx

Suzanne

PS:  What moments are you

sharing around the virtual 

water cooler, today?  I will 

have the Moments link open all

week, so bring 'em on any time

that works for you.  Can't wait

to hear what you've been up to.....

Mystical Magical

Imagine.....

The Flower Lady

a pet seahorse

the size of a dog

fancy ladies who

wear huge flowers

as hats  

floating in the

sky with butterflies

the size of kites

or in the ocean on

a scallop-shell boat....

Sea of Poppies

Viewing his on-line

gallery is like stepping

into the pages of a 

magical book.

Last year I read about

Harrison Howard's work

for the first time on a blog.

I was smitten.

The Maze

Harrison's Flower Girls,

as he calls them, are

whimsical watercolor and

gouache paintings inspired

by fashion illustration,

children's book illustration,

flowers and decorative arts.

I call them

gorgeous.

Rendezvous at Night

Since I love a good story,

I was equally taken with 

the tale of a Pennsylvania 

boy who had his first art 

exhibition at the age of 19, 

selling all 24 watercolors,

except one.

Harrison went on to become a

renowned muralist, painting

for clients with names such

as Vanderbilt, DuPont,

Firestone and many other

renowned families.

The Coral Gardener

Currently he is creating

smaller paintings and limited-

edition giclee prints from his

studio in La Jolla, California,

like those I first saw last

fall on a that memorable 

blog post.

I left a comment.

He read it and

commented back.

The Reader

Serendipitously, the post

I had up at the time was about

my daughter's dream to be

a working artist someday.

Howard generously offered

some words of wisdom from

the perspective of a professional

artist ~ and new friend.

The Letter Writer

I asked Santa to Please bring

me a Harrison Howard giclee

print for Christmas.

My mom beat him to it : )

Because I had included Harrison

in a little post that I'd done about

artists that I admire, he gave

my mom his special price.

Christmas 2010

Love that.

I hope to add more of these

mystical-magical prints 
to my first one and start a

collection of art from this

talented and kind gentleman.

If you'd like to indulge your

own sense of whimsy and step

into a beautiful, imaginative

world for a few minutes, then

visit Harrison's gallery, here,

and prepare to drift away

to some new lands.

Garden Work

{I am not affiliated with his

gallery in any way; I simply

want more people to learn 

about this amazing artist!}

Magic becomes art

when it has nothing

to hide.

~ Ben Okri

Here's to finding

magic in our own

lives.

xx

Suzanne