Lost Aussie on the loose

Coming Up For Air

Hard to believe that it is now two weeks since the trucks arrived at our new house, bearing nearly 900 boxes and leaving much mayhem to be unpacked, sorted and put away.
We are still not done, not by a long shot, but at least some of the rooms and spaces are beginning to resemble a "home" again.

The house was left in a pretty sad state by the previous owners.  I don't think they paid one jot of attention to the place once our offer was accepted and on the day we moved in we were greeted with overgrown gardens, a green pool, filthy carpets (complete with dog pee puddles) and a long long list of things that need fixing and were somehow 'carefully' hidden on the two occasions we saw the house before we bought it!
(It should be noted that in NY State, a Seller's disclosure is not mandatory...so buyer beware!)

Anyway, we are getting there.  I've spent as many days in the garden as I have unpacking boxes and little by little the whole thing is starting to look ship-shape.

As well as Home chores, I have taken a little time out to start exploring the area.  I've found the Long Island Art League which is a scant 10 minutes from the house and have signed up to take some Pottery classes starting this week (yes - like I need a new hobby!)

I also took the day off from unpacking on Friday to go into Manhattan to meet with my Stamping and Blog friend Christine from Germany and my Brooklyn Artpal, Aggie. 
Christine has been over here on vacation with her Husband and so on Sunday we got together as a foursome and enjoyed some great conversation and Thai food over in Hell's Kitchen.

I'm throughly enjoying all this exploring, walking and yes, I've even driven my car on the LIE! (Long Island Expressway)..though I think taking the train into the City is the saner way to go..I'm not THAT brave!

Ciao For Now

The crew arrive tomorrow to start packing up the house so it's time to shut things down and get busy - no more art, no more play.

I'll leave you with a digital composite of some photos that I took this past weekend in New York, overlayed with one of the new stamp designs (off the Queens of Flight plate) embellished with some hand painting.

See you next week!

Me-Oh-Mime

What delights there are to behold in the big City! 
Central Park in New York on a Holiday weekend was pure eye candy for the camera.  There were rappers, skaters, sunbathers, swimmers and sailors of real (and toy) craft.  Not to mention a somewhat tarnished but lovely ballerina mime, who, for the price of a dollar or two would run through her classical poses in a most elegant fashion.

I think it can safely be said...moving - with anticipation.........!!

Postcards from New York

A few quick snaps from our day out in NYC.

We mostly browsed around downtown by Union Square, the markets, several fab art stores in Soho and a number of fusty old used book stores that we bumped into along the way.

Interesting to note that the prices in the veg market at Union Square were no less punitive than in Delaware and the produce even looked more edible!

Just walking around and absorbing the weekend atmosphere was great.  Plenty of time for stopping off and sipping beer in the summer sunshine and later on grabbing some delicious tapas and a few glasses of good rioja to top off the day and rest our weary feet before heading back out to Long Island on the train.

The jury is out on the mass transit thing though... I am used to London and European subways and train stations where everything is clearly signed and posted.  There is a definite learning curve associated with the "New York" way of doing things!

After enjoying the vibe and the buzz of a big city again, there is part of me that wishes we were doing the downtown apartment thing instead of choosing to live out on Long Island...but I can't see me getting our family of adopted cats to see it my way nor do I fancy parading my pooch out on the street three times a day to do it's "business" as a thrilling way to go!  So I guess day trips will have to suffice!