Manhattan Musings

The view from our hotel room provided some fun capturing shadows in the late afternoon sun.


photo by ~Brian
One of the most amazing meals of my life: Eleven Madison Park... A truly indescribable culinary experience.

This one is too pretty for words. The bridal dress really is my favorite element of the wedding, along with the bride of course. photo by ~B


Loved this persons form of street art as graffiti taggings that engages the viewer to think; challenging the usual impression that it's just vandalism.
"even a nobody like me can make a difference"



wonderful play on color and perspective. photo by ~B

Fallout Shelter

selves portrait
This beautiful poem in a shop window inspired me to want to remember it... Every turning of the season they put a new poem up to inspire passersby to remember their connection to nature within the concrete jungle of NYC. For the full poem, see below.





It was a surprise to discover these beautiful portraits of women that grace the front doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral. I was so moved by their beauty that it prompted me to do more research about who these amazing women were. On the left is Kateri Tekekwitha, Lily of the Mohawks; the patron saint of ecology and the environment. She is the only Native American to be canonized and died at only 24 years old! Her feast day happens to be today as I write this, July 14th. The other woman is Eliza Beth Seton who was the first American born woman to be canonized for her legacy of charity work.



This is a jewel of a find in the Metropolitan Museum; a special "maiden cup" for use during wedding ceremonies in the 1600's. I'd love to see this come back in fashion, I'm sure it must have been a very exciting part of the ceremony.

Shop window poem: by anonymous

The oceans exhale, the forest sighs, the volcano belches, the air is born.

Air is the most intimate of all the elements. It caresses us, it pushes us. It reaches deep inside our bodies. It clears our minds. Air speaks in us a language all of it's own. It carries the scent of the rain, the smell of the fire, the fragrance of the flowers. It plays with our senses in a magical way. We understand the language of the air as we gaze at the clouds, we dream of flying in the wind. We blow our kisses to our loved ones. It carries our prayers to heaven and lifts the sound of our voices. It is always present always near.

It is the realm of the spirit. The air can jolt us, frighten us. It can roll with thunder and blow tempestuous in the storm. It can tap at our windows and slip past our doors. It is unpredictable.

Air is the elemental symbol of thought, of dreams, of magic! It is the element of heaven. In it we release our hopes, we look to the future, we marvel at the butterfly and we envy the bird. We celebrate the vastness of the heavens and the element of air.