The Silver Lining.

I feel like it's confession time again... It's been 3 weeks since my last post. Sigh.

I've realized that I don't post when things get stressful. And I know that stress is a relative term for us all, sure, but gosh has it been stress-filled these days. I won't bore everyone with all those negative details, because as my dear friend reminded me today, "thoughts become things", even the bad stuff. So instead, here's an update:

We officially have had more snow than New York. Look at my backyard nook! That was just 2 weeks ago, after the last snow. And it flurried today!



Right after that, my car died. But, I got a fabulous new one and have dubbed it, The Silver Lining. See, with the positive thinking? I know, it's cheeeeeesy, but hey, whatever works. Here's what she looks like:



And, because of the newly found time that I have, I took a quick trip to New York. Here's what I did:
1. Walked around Central Park to the West Side. I realized I had never been over there! It was peaceful and quiet... and the trees were bare and twisty and the Duck Pond was even iced over.
2. Went to the Met to see the new Jasper Johns exhibit. I have to admit, I was more impressed by the large body armor collection. I was there for about 4 hours and could have used 4 more... that place is a maze of masterpieces.
3. Ate cupcakes at my most favorite bakery... Two Little Red Hens. It's like Anthropologie meets your Grandmother's best & most delicious cake recipes. And it's teeny tiney too with lots of girls baking away specialty cakes and scones and serving the most delicious, syrupy coffee. I just sat for hours and did the crosswords and lost myself amongst the icing. I was glad it was too cold to be outside because it just allowed me to be there longer!
4. Saw the show August: Osage Country at the Imperial. And as the review states, it was freakishly good. I also found it to be emotionally draining (in a good way). Without going into too much detail about the play, one line has stuck with me since I heard it uttered, and it was, "I don't remember what I look like". I could relate to that. (It's the reason why I went to New York in the first place.)
5. Visited St. Paul's Chapel on Ash Wedneday to see the "Unwavering Spirit: Hope & Healing at Ground Zero" exhibition, and well, to finally visit Ground Zero. I had seen it when it was in destruction stage, but never in construction. Honestly, it was like a giant underground anthill of workers - loud and busy. Needless to say, the Church (completed 1766) is architecturally amazing, but what it stands for, even more so. And that fact that it is still standing after the attack... well, being there really puts everything into perspective.

One thing I didn't do was take any pictures. I know, I know. I just needed to disconnect. But I'm reconnecting, albeit slowly. And I'm looking forward to that.

The clouds are lifting.