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How will you leap?

2/23/2016

This year is a leap year--which means we get a "free" extra day. What will you do with yours? Imagine you had one day left on this planet, and suddenly, someone gave you one more. Would you spend it watching bad talk shows or a violent film? Would you be pigging out on junk food? Would you spend it gossiping? What would you do with that day to make it your finest? I have some ideas!

Smile and say hello to everyone you meet.
Pay for someone's coffee or donate to a local charity.
Go for a great long walk--preferably with someone you love!
Make a beautiful roast, or soup or stew--something slow-cooking that you can throw in the crockpot and enjoy by candlelight for dinner.
Watch an old movie you've always wanted to see.
Read a poet you've always wanted to "discover".
Bake a pie, preferably with a child or partner or friend.
Play with your pet.
Watch the sunrise and sunset.
Call a friend or relative you haven't talked to since forever!
Do a puzzle or play cards.
Have a long, hot bath with some baking soda and a beautiful essential oil.
Meditate on the gift of this extra day.

Leap Year provides an opportunity to consider just how arbitrary time is (we can't even invent a calendar that captures the rotation of the earth around the sun accurately). It reminds us that time is a fleeting human creation, yet it runs our lives and contributes to so much of our angst (over getting things done, aging, being late). Stop (for at least 24 hours) worrying about efficiency and take the time to slow down and appreciate the day.

Happily Leaping with Joy for an extra day--Lisabeth

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A new york state of mind

2/16/2016

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A week ago, I took a four-day trip to New York City with my daughter. It was our sixth such foray together to the Big Apple. It has become a special "girls trip" where we always go to two musicals, visit the MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walk Central Park, eat at Pigalle (a French Bistro) and the Cosmic Diner (a Greek family-owned eatery). We stay at a hotel right off of Times Square and always spend Monday night seeing a 3-D movie (this year was Kung Fu Panda 3). We also try to see something architectural: last year it was Grand Central Station/Terminal and the Chrysler Building, this year it was Radio City Music Hall. We also stop at Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany's, to gawk at the outlandish fashions and balk at the outrageous prices. I always buy my obligatory $5 pashmina (this year's is emerald green and black paisley).

I would never want to live in a city like New York (every memoir I've read relates how miserable finding any place livable can be). The daily noise, dirt, and frenetic pace would get to me. However, there are real benefits to visiting cities, and especially to visiting the most "city" city of them all: NYC. I like to bring back some lessons from that experience every year and thought I'd share my ruminations.

I love the walking. We are all a bit too attached to our cars. If at all possible, made a promise to walk somewhere once a week (coffee shop, deli, grocery store, drugstore). Accessibility can be an issue, but I am fortunate in that our "downtown" is less than five minutes away. I need to start the car up less, and get my walking shoes on more!
Visiting Museums: As I mentioned, we always go to our two favorite art museums and that makes me realize that I should be taking greater advantage of the museums in my area. When does one tire of looking at the beauty and achievement held within their walls?
Find a good, family-owned diner in your area. One of the reasons we love the Cosmic (we ate there twice) is that we recognize the staff (I think they've all been there for decades) and they offer homemade food and lots of it. I had a lovely moussaka. It isn't fancy fine dining, but so what? (I'm not a fan of fussy, overpriced fare). Reliability and friendliness matter far more.
Eat once a day. One of the ways we make travel easier, more affordable, and healthier is by only eating one meal out (usually saving that for evening). We have a "snack" sort of breakfast (bakery and coffee/juice) and take snacks for touring (protein bars, nuts and small apples are all favorites). We'll grab a cup of tea and eat our snacks--and yes, sometimes we are a bit pathetic eating our protein bars shivering on a bench, but that makes us appreciate our restaurant meal all the more. If you know you are going to have a restaurant meal for dinner, try eating very lightly leading up to that.
Take in a musical--plenty have been turned into films (or originated from films). Les Miserables, West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, An American in Paris, Chicago--just to name a few. Enjoy the singing, dancing and drama on a Saturday night.
Watch a movie set in NYC. When Harry Met Sally (our New Year's Eve tradition), Saturday Night Fever Desperately Seeking Susan, The Godfather, a Woody Allen film, Big, Working Girl, The Devil Wears Prada, and many many more. Take in the atmosphere vicariously.
Read some history. Donald L. Miller's Supreme City is a huge book, but a great narrative that can be read in bits and pieces.
Play with "urbanizing" your style. Go for smart color combos: All black with red accessories; black and tan; off-white and tan; charcoal gray with navy accents; chocolate brown with leaf green accents. Think sleek and smart. Finish your look with large sunglasses and a dramatic lipstick (though I can NEVER pull the lipstick off myself, always look 25 years older or like a kid that got into her grandmother's cosmetics).

New York City is a great place to visit, but when I return home I find I not only have an appreciation for what I've seen, but also a renewed love for where I live. I could never handle the vulgarity of Times Square on a daily basis! But, having a "New York State of Mind" for a short time allows me to value the quietude of where I am and the access that I have to so many cultural elements through travel, either real or from my armchair and computer.

Artfully yours,

Lisabeth

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How will you leap?

A new york state of mind

Lisabeth Robinson

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