Monday! I blather about my trip to New York :)
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group gives Kossacks a safe place to check in, a daily diary where we can let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, earthquakes, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It also allows us to find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, earthquakes etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a Kosmail and ask to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
We do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday:
BadKitties
Tuesday:
ejoanna
Wednesday:
Caedy
Thursday:
art ah zen
Friday:
FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:
Most Awesome Nana
Sunday:
loggersbrat
I have probably bored all of you with some of my New York tales...dinners with assorted Mafiosi, seeing a socialite neighbor/friend's mother wearing a black leather jacket at CBGB's, sans rich and famous husband, when I was 16 (after a brief, startled glance, we pretended not to see each other. Difficult in such a small space), the time that Max's Kansas City was raided when I was 16, and I told the cop that I was 34 and had four kids, which enraged him. He said, "GET OUTTA HEAH!" and I escaped, fleeing in a taxi. I told my mother that my friend (at whose house I was supposed to be sleeping, but in reality we took naps in Max's back room, then went to an after-hours or two, then to a coffee shop before arriving at our houses around 10:30-11 am) and I had had a fight. She was actually at the police station, waiting to get bailed out. Oops. We're still friends :) She was a model and singer (still is a singer, has a couple of CDs out) and another friend and I got her off heroin when we were all 18 or 19. Ooh. That was ugly. She's been clean ever since.
Well, I'm older now, and don't go to clubs any more. The glory days of getting out of a limo (when M was dating the Mafia guy whose brother owned a limo company) or taxi and watching the velvet rope get unhooked are gone. These days, I mostly go to old favorites. Some, like Gino's and Elaine's, are gone. On Wednesday night, I went to the Public House (new place) to meet my former college roommate and got hit on by a short British man. Very confusing encounter, as I thought he wanted to meet one of my friends. They are both short :) Er, petite. But it was very noisy, and roomie had to leave, so the other three of us left and went to Le Colonial.
Le Colonial
It has been there absolutely forever. It's a French-Vietnamese restaurant. We had all already had dinner, so we headed upstairs.
I did not take this picture, but H was on this exact settee, and B and I were in chairs. H is rather tall.
Upstairs
On Thursday morning, I went to the Lafayette 148 warehouse sale. I simply adore their clothes, which are quite expensive. So I only buy them on this annual NY trip. I was on a long line for almost an hour, admiring the wigs of the Orthodox women and reading my Kindle. When I got upstairs, I checked my coat (mandatory) and was given the BIGGEST black bag in existence. They're heavy cloth, with long straps. You fill them with clothes and drag them along with you. It's controlled chaos. Many items are one-of-a-kind. Some others, mostly dresses and jackets, are in various sizes. I bought a pair of graphite leather jeans with a huge "Fit Sample" tag inside, another pair of black leather pants with possibly a 38" inseam (mistake or very, very tall fit model), and a few other useful pieces. It's mostly a single-tier pricing strategy--all the items in each category, such as leather, cashmere, jackets, dresses, etc--are the same price. There are a few exceptions, of course. Since I am a real New Yorker, I love bargains. Then when I lug everything back uptown on the subway, my mother adds up all the retail tags and we have a glass of wine :)
My mother went to the ballet that night, so I went to meet my friend S at the JF Lazartigue office for a trunk show. They're French hair products. Ended up with a hair masque and a bottle of serum. The wine was warm, so the sales rep put an ice cube in it. Tsk, tsk. She kept staring at me, and finally said that I looked familiar. I told her that I supposedly look like Swifty's owner's first wife, Annabelle. I have been friends with his current wife for over 20 years. Never met Annabelle, but that may explain why Robert never looks thrilled to see me :)
S, who was engaged to one naughty Turkish man (dumped him) and also fell in love with another, took me to a Turkish restaurant for dinner. They did not serve wine. I offered to treat her to some, somewhere else, but she had to run back to her apartment because Olara, who was supposed to be President of Uganda but got death threats, or something, was arriving at 9. He speaks at the UN and is extremely well-educated. So I went home.
Friday, my mother and I went to see my brother's new apartment. We had a nice lunch at Nice Matin afterwards, then I went and had my face and eyebrows threaded. That was rather painful :( Then I rushed home. Had dinner with my mother at the bar of Cafe Luxembourg, because there was an hour wait for a table.
Cafe Luxembourg
Here's the bar :) There was quite a cast of characters when we were there :)
The beautiful metal bar
We both had the tuna burgers, which are made from ground ahi tuna. Delicious. The pommes frites are also very good, sadly. French fries are my weakness. My mother had salad instead. This is why she is a size 2 or 4 and I am a 6.
Then I rushed off to meet my friends L and H at Monkey Bar, on 54th. I love this place. This is another hangout from many, many years ago.
We were in the seats at the very end, near the wall.
H and I left around 2 am. Those Martinis are killer. I slept VERY late on Saturday morning, then got my departure time confused with my arrival time, and almost missed my plane. Ack.
It was a wonderful trip. I only wanted to see my family and a few close friends, so I didn't announce it on FB this time. Didn't make it to T Bar, at all. Usually I know a few of its denizens :)
I love this city. I feel more alive there, somehow. I BELONG. I do feel a little out of place in the suburbs. My New York now is "old" New York--and some "New," but the treasured old places matter most. It really is a magical city, and was a wonderful place to be born and grow up.
I didn't take pictures because I didn't want to include my friends' faces. I think that only H knows I write for DKos, and there is NO WAY that he would allow his face to be shown. I wouldn't ask, either.
And another New York story: the "new" blinds in my mother's living room and guest bedroom used to belong to the man who designed Lady Gaga's meat dress. He lived in the building, and moved. So the handyman offered the blinds to my mother. I am delighted, because I know that people all over New York have telescopes and I was sick of changing in a small bathroom. I HAD to, because there were NO DAMN BLINDS before. Bad Mommy.
Have a happy Monday, everyone :)
PS-- the picture of Monkey Bar should be attributed to Pinterest.com, but DK eats it. After five tries, I gave up.