An Incredible Week that included Daniel Radcliffe!

My niece, Sarah, waiting to see the show. 

What an incredible week! I saw Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" and I found Dark Chocolate Hob Nobs.

Daniel Radcliffe was amazing. He has such energy and spirit...and he's adorable! As was John Larroquette. The show itself was uneven, but Radcliffe, Larroquette, Mary Faber, Ellen Harvey, and especially, Christopher J. Hanke, who played the nephew...were hilarious and right on.

There were some standouts in the chorus also.

And I must give a nod to a favorite actor who had a more serious role, Michael Park...who was dreamy and commanding.

It was a fun show. Like watching a favorite nephew who has grown up and is doing well...because for many of us...we've watched and loved Daniel Radcliffe since he was 11 and now he's a man. And those of us who have been adults watching him over and over again all those years, because admit it, we watch the Harry Potter movies many more times than once...well...many of us feel pride in the man he has become...though we've done nothing to make him so wonderful, it just feels like we've known and cared for him for a long time.

I'm excited for July with the bittersweet event of seeing the last Harry Potter movie...plus, I'm anxiously awaiting Mr. Radcliffe's new movie, "Woman in Black."

Oh yeah, the Hob Nobs...well, if you've read my blog before you know that Dark Chocolate Hob Nobs are my favorite cookie. They have been unattainable for a year or so here in the States. They are made in England.

I did some research on the Internet. I could have them shipped from England, but as luck would have it, there was a British store, Myers of Keswick, down in the West Village that had them in stock. So yesterday, I made my way down to the shop and bought three packages. MMMMMmmm! Are they delicious!

Wishing you all a wonderful week full of your favorite things...whatever they may be!

A Delightful Visit to P.S. 87



Enjoying the Book of a young author / illustator

Friday, I visited Ms. Theresa's class at P.S. 87 as part of their "Everyone Reads Week."


First, I read and discussed my book, "Not Afraid of Dogs," with the students. Then I was able to show them my new book project, "Turtles Can't Race." 


It was wonderful to hear the students' comments, ideas, and questions, and to also receive feedback from their very insightful teacher. 


One of my favorite parts of the visit was seeing some of the students' work: their poems, illustrations, and the incredible park that they had planned and built in model form. The park model is so cool and now sits in the center of their classroom.  


What an amazing group of young people! If I were to go back to grade school...I would want to be in Ms. Theresa's awesome class. 

American Museum of Natural History - Membership Renewed

Really? There's a dinosaur behind us.

As NYC tour guide for Sarah, my niece, I knew the American Museum of Natural History was a must.

For years, Mr. Green (Bill) and I were members. We spent many a Friday night touring the quiet hallways. Then the tragedy of 9/11 caused the Museum to shut off the majority of the museum on Friday nights and only keep open the planetarium.

After that, our membership became irregular.

Yesterday, I renewed the membership. It felt great. I love knowing I can pop into the museum anytime I want...and not have the feeling that I need to stay and get my 'money's worth," like you do when you buy a one-day pass. Plus, as a member, I get to take the very short and fast admission line. 

Yesterday, we ambled in and out of many exhibits, so Sarah could get a feel for the museum, we weren't planning to stay 'that' long...but found upon leaving that we'd been there for the afternoon. It's easy to get lost in all the interesting exhibits.

I love this museum! 

Play Dead

Sarah and Bill, not sure when I'm going to take their picture

My niece, Sarah, has made it to New York at last! On her first night in New York City, Bill and I took her to see "Play Dead" down in the Village.

What a wonderful theatre experience. I've been blessed to have a few of those lately. All of them quite different. "Freud's Last Session," beautiful in it's realism, "Peter and Wendy" for its magic, "Play Dead" for its theatricality. All of them for their clear and brilliant writing, their amazing honest acting, and their visual perfection in setting.

"Play Dead" is a fun show...like being a kid again...waiting and wanting to be scared...and also having the adult brain that can understand the deeper implications of what's going on.

Todd Robbins is so comfortable, benevolent, and fun on stage that the audience is happily lead wherever he wants them to go.

This was a night of theatre that exceeded my expectations. As they all have lately. I'm not sure if it's because I'm in the mood for theatre or I've been lucky in my selections, or because I've avoided heavy dramas...which are the stinkers of my past experiences that make me long for that time and money back.

The last three shows, actually four, if you count, "Born Yesterday," which I should...have provided plenty to think on, as well as entertainment, humor, and beauty...ingredients that help us, as humans, survive the drama that is life.


Click here to read helpful and interesting information from Todd Robbins blog: Modern Con Man

Fabric is a Great Medium

In preparation for the next stage of my tree branch...turning it into a piece of art...I washed a selection of cotton fabric scraps.

I'm going to wrap the branch in strips of fabric and then create leaves and flowers to 'grow' on it.

Sort of like recreating what it once was...only in fabric.

I used to wrap branches all the time when I lived in a big farmhouse in Kansas. I had a surplus of branches in my yard and a house big enough for little fabric covered trees to sprout everywhere.

The idea for wrapping things in fabric came from my friend K.T. Walsh, an incredible artist from Kansas.

One night we were sitting together at the thrift store she managed. After closing, she picked up a pile of stuff and started wrapped random items with fabric and making these incredible 'flowers." I loved the process and the product so much that I'm still doing it 15 years later.

K.T. has always created with objects at hand. I aspire to that myself. : )

It's a good way to live...knowing that really we always have what we need.

New Chapter for the Branch - drying up

The leaves and flowers on my little cut-off tree are now dried out and curling up. It looks as though the days of the branch being alive are over.  Sadly, the cuttings that I made didn't take. Next, I'm going to try planting the seeds that are in the now dried flowers.

When I was a child, my father showed us how to make cuttings from willow trees. I remember it being so exciting...like magic. We started with what looked like foot long sticks with tiny green leaves, the sticks grew roots in water, then we planted them in the garden next to our patio where they could grow a little bigger under our care, then we moved them to their permanent location. There they grew huge. 

Every time I looked at those trees, I had such a great feeling. I was part of their beginning. 

I have a next stage planned for my little tree...actually, what I had planned for the tree when I brought it home in the first place. Just wait and see...

Still, I do hope I can grow a new little tree from the tree's seeds. I like the idea of its life going on.

Freud's Last Session - Great Play

This week, Bill and I saw "Freud's Last Session" by Mark St. Germain. What an amazing play!

This production was so real, I felt that I was in Freud's London study watching Freud and C.S. Lewis in conversation. The credit for this belongs to the flawless production. Every element was perfect: the amazing acting - real and engaging, the script - a terrific blend of thoughts and emotions, the direction - which kept the show entertaining as well as thought provoking, the set - perfect in it's complete detail.

And no small feat, the attention paid to the little production details, a radio being turned on and off and the same with lamps. Now, you may say, why would I notice those things? Well, I do. And I really don't like it when an actor turns of a light or a radio and a beat passes and then the thing really goes off. That was not the case in this production. When the actor turned something off or on, it was off or on. It was real time.
That's how detailed toward a beautiful reality this production was.

If you live in NYC or close, buy your ticket. You won't be disappointed. This show is well-worth seeing.