Happy Half Year to You! (PART TWO: March and April 2011

In March, I posted a few entries about my appreciation for the trainers at the Apple Store on the upper westside of Manhattan, and if you'd like, you may refer to those posts by clicking here and here. Since that time a few trainers have left that store, including Tim Larsen, whose doing so was addressed in a comment, made by someone who read a blog posting that I had made this past November.

WW: Look or Ask For "Words In Our Beak" (*Wednesday's Wisdom)

VOLUME ONE WAS in book culture's UWS STORE

Last Friday, January 12, 2018, I posted information within my entry here on Blogger, that included a copy of an email (which can be seen in the next paragraph) from Cody, the events coordinator of an Upper Westside book store in NYC, book culture On Columbus. (Views of the store can be seen in the collaged-image atop this entry.)

"Hello Patricia,
Thank you for your interest in Book Culture! Unfortunately, our calendar is already at capacity for events for the upcoming season. We are not able to host you. It looks like we've sold some copies, though, so I'll make sure it's back in stock soon. I wish you luck with your tour!
Sincerely,
Cody"

In the aforementioned entry, I also stated "I'm thrilled to have received this news (Cory's email) for as anyone who has been to book culture On Columbus knows, the store is AMAZING! I hope that peeps living in #NYC as well as the surrounding area can pop over to #bookcultureOnColumbus and have a look at it."

Yesterday, after taking a walk in Central Park, I took the eighty-first street exit in order to pass by book culture On Columbus, to see if my book, Words In Our Beak Volume One,

SEE PRESS RELEASE

was now included in their stock.

I'm so excited to let you know, dear reader, that you will find Words in Our Beak in their "outdoors & nature section," but, if you don’t see it, ask! It’s shortish size and white spine cover have a way of hiding....especially if there is only one or two copies left.

Happy New Year — Chinese New Year that is.

The figurine, who is featured in the image directly above, joins me today in wishing you, dear reader, a very  Happy New Year — Chinese New Year that is. This date of 2-16-2018 marks the beginning of the Lunar Year, which happens to be The Year of the Dog.

This occasion has nothing to do with the calendar year being named The Year of the Bird in honor of the one hundred year anniversary of  The Migratory Bird Act.

Honoring the (5) Great "new brand" Pumpkins (National Pumpkin Day 2019)

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but this entry is being published in honor of National Pumpkin Day!

One can hardly think of pumpkins without thinking of The Great Pumpkin made famous by Charles Schultz's Peanuts character, Linus, who can be seen with Sally (directly above) taking delight in a pumpkin patch, where they are awaiting the arrival of him/her.

This year I have five great "new brand variety" pumpkins and a few "standard" pumpkins, all of which I got from various farmers in the tri-state area who come to the Greenmarkets on the UWS.

John Lennon Was Assassinated Forty Ago (Tuesday's Truths WK 200)

This evening will mark the fortieth anniversary of John Lennon being shot in front of The Dakota where he had one of his homes. That building is one block west and seven blocks south of the UWS street (79th) of where I saw this tree featured in the image directly atop this poting.

Monday's Musings: It's not just for the birds, raccoons also do people-ing.

Yesterday I reported on TLLG's Facebook Page, the following: when I was walking up Columbus Avenue, heading towards the greenmarket and green-flea on the UWS, there was a large raccoon who was doing some people-ing from a treetop near to some scaffolding; as evidenced in the picture atop this entry, where the creature can be seen seen "spying" on all who happened to pass by.

Birds & Baseball

According to the FB Home Page for the Charles M. Schulz Museum, where the PEANUTS comic strip atop this entry is from, Spring Training (for baseball) began yesterday. I confess I don't follow the sport now since Julia V has died in 2002 (seven years before my first post here on Blogger) Julia was a homebound woman who lived on the UWS and I visited her on a regular basis through a program sponsored by The Church of the Blessed Sacrament.

Julia was a baseball fan (understatement), therefore, in order to have something to talk about a topic she would enjoy I listened to coverage of the sport on the radio, followed the newspaper headlines and watch a few games with her. I didn't keep with the the sport after she passed, but, I do know that a few teams have a bird as their mascot.

Tuesday's Truth's: The Ninetieth Segment: Another Day in the Life of Having NF-1

This is my ninetieth post within my Tuesday's Truths series here on Blogger and I'm using it as an opportunity to share a recent experience that I had when I was at a Starbucks on the the UWS of NYC, but first let me ask you a quick question:

Have you ever found yourself nonchalantly walking down the street, going about your every day business of living, when suddenly — from out of nowhere — a stranger calls out to you, points to a perceived “flaw” in your overall physical appearance and asks you, “What is that?”

Friday Follow Up: "Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree ...."

The nearly one year old photo atop this entry features Christmas tree sellers from Gaspé, Quebec, Canada; and it is one I featured in my Christmas Day post for 2017.

I'm including it again within this entry because I've reconnected with JM, the woman in the middle of this image.

People-ing on the UWS!

 

Check out a European starling doing some people watching (or people-ing) on the UWS of Manhattan.

This bird type is featured in my new book, BIRD TALES and has a story within the third volume of Words In Our Beak.

Édith Piaf + "La Vie En Rose" Insights (Wednesday's Wisdom)

One hundred and three years ago on this day in 1915, Édith Piaf was born. Followers of this blog may recall that her singing was a a favorite of my dearly departed friend, Donna De Solis, and that Piaf's rendition of La Vie En Rose, which  she is singing in the video atop this entry is one that I used in a memorial DVD which I created in honor of Donna's memory at the request of her son.

I've just learned via a comment (by Joshua F) on this You Tube video that "La vie en rose literally means life in pink. It's a French expression roughly equal to 'rose-colored glasses', but without the negative connotation of the English expression. It's about seeing the world in a brighter and more idealistic way- directly in the context of the song, this is because of a lover, but because it was released in 1945, it served to soothe and inspire a France still recovering from the horror of Nazi occupation."

Prior to my reading the comment I had read in a Google search "La vie en rose literally translates to Life in pink and it would be better translated to life through rosy (pink) glasses. The idea is to depict a state where everything appears rosy and cheerful to you. It's about a state of bliss when everything around you is a source of joy..." 

And in that search I also read, "Ah, la vie en rose! The quintessential French phrase for non-French speakers, popularized by Édith Piaf's love song. It comes from a very common and popular expression ''voir la vie en rose' which literally means ''seeing life in pink.' In English, it's often translated as ''wearing rose-colored glasses..."

Sunday's Statements: The "odd warty growths" (One Side-Effect of Being a Muscovy Duck)

The bird seen in the photographs atop this entry is known as a Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata). I encountered the creature last Wednesday (9-20-2017), when I took a walk along a Hudson River pier located in NYC's UWS.

Ta Da! I have a new article in "i Love the UWS"

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ MY BOAT BASIN ARTICLE

Today is not part of my blog posting schedule for this week, but this entry is being published in honor of the fact that another article (see screenshot above) of mine has been published (by Mike Miskin) in his on-line newsletter which focuses mainly on the UWS, and rightly so, after all, his daily publication is titled iLovetheUpperWestside. You may also click here to read my article.

October 1st 2018

St. Thérèse de Lisieux

Another October 1st is upon us and as always the day honors St. Thérèse de Lisieux, a saint whose framed photo (seen in the image directly above) hangs above my desk. As I've mentioned a number of times here on Blogger, including an entry I made in 2011, I moved into my apartment on her feast day in 1992.

Many of my years here have not been easy, with health-related issues frequently interrupting my work. But I'm hoping for some success with my endeavors (selling my photo-art, kaleidoscopic, as well as fauna-based) which I have had uploaded to my gallery pages on Fine Art America, and/or my booking presentations that feature issues related to my Words In Our Beak book series) will alleviate some of my financial burden.

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of spending part of my "Saturday in the Park," with Jenny (one of Cam 's biggest fans who is also an advocate for us being given an event at a bookstore on the UWS).

Another New Yorker Wears My Face-Mask

NEW YORK STATE LOGO

I love that NYC residents (for the most part) are wearing face-masks in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus). Hence in this post, I'm including (directly above) a copy of a modified I-HEART-NY image (that I saw uncredited on the web-page for the state of NY's Twitter account). I love it even more when they are wearing face-masks which I've designed. 

Therefore, this past Monday, I was thrilled, when by chance I happened to see my friend's (RF) partner (CM), who can be seen in the next image)...

MY DRAGONFLY-THEMED FACE-MASK

... at an outdoor space on the UWS, wearing my dragon-fly themed face-mask.

I knew RF had purchased my cardinal-themed mask back in June because she emailed me a picture of her wearing it (a copy of that particular image can be seen below and is one you might recognize as I've featured it in prior entries here on Blogger).

MY CARDINAL-THEMED FACE-MASK

If you'd like to see and or learn about my collection of face-masks (which include one with my kaleidoscopic image printed on it, as well as one that has my impressionistic black and white photo printed on it and of course the ones seen here), info can be found within a page on my website, patriciayoungquist.com

The Fifth Day of Christmas

Today's the fifth day of the 2016-2017 Christmas season. It is a day when according to a song (The Twelve Days of Christmas), that someone's true love gave to them five golden rings, four calling birds, as well as three french hens, and a partridge in a pear tree. The Christmas ornament seen in the photograph atop this entry is representative of today's gift that a true love gave to someone near and dear to him/her. And it's the gift I plan to bring it to a married couple that live not too far from me at some time today. I hope they will enjoy this bird-themed ornament as much as I do, but then, I'm someone who deeply appreciates birds, as evidenced by my posts here on Blogger, as well as by my entries on tumblr, Facebook, hometalk and Pinterest.

As I mentioned in yesterday's Blogger posting, John R. Henderson, has studied the meaning behind the lyrics to the twelve days song, and has posted his findings on a web-page which he has titled the 12 Birds of Christmas. Here's what Henderson, who associates pheasants with the fifth day of Christmas points out re this bird type and the giving of five golden rings on this fifth day of Christmas:

"They may not sound bird-like to you, but these are ring-necked pheasants. Not native to Europe, pheasants had been introduced there during Roman times and were quite common throughout Europe before the rise of Christianity. Pheasants were symbols of the element of Fire and sensuous sexuality. The number Five also represents sensuality and magic. Ever wonder why there is so much emphasis, rhythmically, to this verse?"

Mr. Henderson's theory has certainly given me something to keep in mind the next time I happen to see a pheasant. My encounters with this bird type have been minimal, the last time I saw a pheasant was this past spring.

Tuesday's Truths WK 87: Thanks to some great souls, progress is being made (S-L-O-W-L-Y)

FEATURED IN MY PRESENTATION AT IONA PREP

This "segment" (week eighty-seven) of my Tuesday's Truths series is a shout out which is dedicated to Morgan M, Ruth F, Fr Rudy, Robert W, Joan B; as well as Mr. D and his wife.

They are all emotionally supportive of my taking the next step in trying to secure bookings for my presentation (Who Am I?) regarding wildbirds that have been included in my Words In Our Beak book series.

VOLUMES ONE AND TWO

You may recall, dear reader, it is a presentation that I initially made at Iona Preparatory School this past Tuesday.

As of this Blogger posting, I've now sent queries (re my being a presenter) to a children's museum on the UWS, to a Jewish Community Center which is also on the UWS, to a "higher" prep school in my hood, to a nature center in Ossining, to nature centers in Connecticut, to nature centers in New Jersey; and to a few bookstores. Any suggestions of other places that I might approach are truly appreciated. Meanwhile, here is the purchase info for my book series.

FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

Hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can be found wherever books are sold.

MY BOOK SERIES

Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books. Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2021:

When the third volume of the hard-cover version of Words In Our Beak was released, I withdrew from promoting my former versions of Words In Our Beak. 

The very first one is an iBook and went into Apple's book store in 2015.

This was followed by an ePub version...

... that is available on Amazon and was also published in 2015.

Subsequently, Words In Our Beak's digital versions were published as a soft-cover book (with slight variations) by MagCloud in 2017.

Its press release can be read by clicking here.  

Now with the release of BIRD TALES....

... I've been advised to make mention of my early versions of volume one of Words In Our Beak, they do vary ever so slightly in content from the hard-cover version of volume one.

As of this addendum, I do not intend to create digital or soft-cover versions of Words In Our Beak Volume Two or Words In Our Beak Volume Three.

Saturday's Snippet: "emilia" Is A New Place To Get Food On The UWS!

The other day I received an email saying, “a new delivery-only Italian restaurant called 'emila', has opened on the Upper West Side snd offered to send me some food, so I thought I'd pay it forward as a token of my appreciation for your work.”

I was delighted that someone appreciated my work and that they thought of me. I took him up on his offer and contacted the lovely Anastasiia Kozlovska, who with her husband, Sergio Serafin Spera, collabrated with Luca Di Pietro, owner of Taralluci e Vino, a restaurant that is located at the same location as emilia (475 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of 83rd Street located in the UWS of NYC).

Anastasiia referred me to the menu on restaurant's website, where I read, “At emilia, we're all about satisfying food. Everything we do pivots around the essence of Italian cuisine – simplicity and freshness. We believe every dish should be served with casual warmth and care. Just as Nonna would have done it.”

I chose their Fusilli Cacio De Pepe for an entrée and she suggested I order a scoop of Burrata to place on top. When I received an email of what would be delivered to me (which in addition to the main dish included Butternut Squash Soup and Tiramisu), Anastasiia wrote, “I can send you a bottle of white wine!?”

My “goodies” arrived in a bag that included a bouquet of roses (which cam be seen in the photo atop this entry) and a couple of heart-shaped shortbread cookies, causing me to think if this was far beyond “casual” warmth and care! Their Nonna would be most proud.

I have not been able to eat much of anything due to my tremendous pain and difficult in digesting food (as a result of needing to complete my dental procedure). This meal was a true blessing. It has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed eating any food.

My visiting figurines who posed (seen in a the photo-ops posted below) with some of what emilia sent me...

...concurred with me that if my NYC peeps are wondering what to do for this coming Valentine’s Day (which is a week from tomorrow), get thee to emilia’s web-site and order a meal for your true love. Fyi, they are open (delivery only) from Monday through Sunday between the hours of  9am to 9pm. Their phone number is 315.544.3788. and their email is hello@orderemilia.com

69th and Columbus, Southwest corner

Plywood boards that were put up on many places on the UWS as well as in places throughout NYC (which I discussed in my blog post published one month ago today on June 5 2020) as a result of the vandalism and looting that occurred during the recent protests and demonstrations (over the murder of George Floyd) became a canvas for artists mostly in Soho.

However, quite recently the boards "covering" the store known as L'Occitane en Provence (on Columbus Avenue at 69th Street on the UWS) became a canvas too; as evidenced in the picture (posted atop this entry) which I took yesterday.

A Very Different Westside Story These Days (History in the Making)

IMAGE CREDIT

The copy of a PEANUTS comic strip atop this blog entry is from the 5/31/2020 post on the Facebook Page for the Charles M. Schultz Museum. The strip is from 1978 but was posted on the thirty-first  of May (a few days ago) to commemorate Christo, the artist Snoopy is speaking about here and included the FB entry include this explanation:

Charles M. Schulz met Christo in 1975 when the environmental artist, along with his wife Jeanne-Claude, were in Sonoma County working on the preparation for their installation art piece, “Running Fence,” a 23-mile, 18-foot high white nylon curtain that zig-zagged over the Sonoma County hills before plunging into the ocean at the Marin-Sonoma county line. Schulz attended town hall meetings to support the “Running Fence” concept during the planning stages and this began a friendship based on mutual respect and admiration that lasted a quarter of a century.
On November 20, 1978, Schulz memorialized Christo’s work in this Peanuts comic strip. Twenty-five years later, in October 2003, Christo and Jeanne-Claude gifted “Wrapped Snoopy House” [seen in the next image] to Jean Schulz, sharing that it was Christo’s conception of Snoopy’s imaginary doghouse. The work is on permanent display in the Schulz Museum.

IMAGE CREDIT

I first became acquainted with Christo's work when he and his wife put up their art installation known as "The Gates" in Central Park a number of years ago.