Nine Tips And Reflections on Painting

Moving house is stressful but not far behind that is the work of having your home painted.

I have spent the last three weeks getting my apartment’s first paint job —and some serious plastering —  in over a decade.

The real work for me was packing up each room, then unpacking so the next room could be addressed. The bedroom moved into the living room, the kitchen into the dining area, the dining area into the living room. Entryway decorations lived in my car. It gave me time to think:

Beach and History: An Unlikely Coexistence

Lively, sunny, exuberant Rockaway Beach, New York City, presents some surprise opportunities for reflection.

Sweatshirts and Sandy Feet: My Happy Place

It was a warmish sunny October Sunday, perfect for an impromptu drive to Jones Beach after the summer crowds.

It was far from empty; there were families and couples enjoying the peace.

A Rockaway Day: How to End A Summer

It’s probably the last summery day we’ll feel for a while here in New York, so I did another first-ever: I took the bus to Rockaway Beach.

The ride itself was weird: I got a seat a few stops after I boarded. Its previous occupant’s phone dropped out of his pocket. I hollered to him as he disembarked, waving his phone at him. He was thankful. I chatted with a nice couple and admired the family seated across the aisle. When the family got up to leave, I saw  that they left their lunch carrier under their seat. I held it up and some people banged on the windows to get the family’s attention. As we handed off the lunch someone noticed their phone on that seat as well. I laughed and, inexplicably, called after them in Spanish, their language,  “y el teléfono también.” I don’t normally speak in tongues, and I am sadly monolingual. Or maybe not any longer?

My Watery Muse

I need water.

Not the glass of drinking water that’s an arm’s length away. I need to wake up each day near the kind of water that undulates, has personality. For almost a decade I lived on Long Island’s south shore, not on the water but near enough to smell it from my house. A quick drive or bike ride took me to the canals. (I no longer remember what bay the canals fed from.) One exit on the highway led to the ocean beach. The energy there relaxed me and made me happy.

Atlantic City in the Very Off Season

I needed me some ocean.

So when a friend asked if I’d like to join her in Atlantic City I gave the only correct answer: Yeah! Atlantic City is a gambling town on the ocean at the very southern end of New Jersey. Off season, in February, the casinos are busy and the boardwalk is almost desolate. But it’s the best route between attractions. I kept reminding myself that the hardy locals here do this every day.

Atlantic City is a few degrees warmer than New York, which sometimes makes a difference in precipitation: rain versus snow. Cold versus freezing cold. Able to take some pictures versus “I can’t. My fingers are frozen.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

But seafoam in the wintertime is refreshing.