Morning conversation with an 18-year-old 
— Are my jeans clean?— D'you know where my belt is?— Have you seen my other jeans?
— Well, did you take the belt off to wash them?
A few minutes later:— Where'd you put all those clean socks?A few minutes later:— Have you seen that letter from college with all my info on it?A few minutes later:— Where'd I put my iPod?— Have you moved it? I'm sure I put it here with my phone — where's my phone?A few minutes later:— Is it Thursday today?
Rare air
Well, we certainly landed okay when it came to the apartment we stayed in in New York. The pic above shows the view from our complex's roof terrace! Honest!We had a very roomy two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with an enormous living room and fairly flash kitchen, and a balcony, in a historic building right opposite the NY Stock Exchange.In the pic below, taken from the steps of Federal Hall, where George Washington made his inaugural address after becoming the first US President, you can see the NYSE to George's right, and our roof terrace over his left shoulder:
The entire 40-odd-storey building and the building next door, which is right on the corner of Wall Street, were once upon a time the headquarters of the JP Morgan financial corporation. In 1998, they were both due to be demolished to make way for a new stock exchange building and office tower, but that all screeched to a halt after 9-11.Instead, the two buildings were made over by Philippe Starck, converted from offices into very trendy condos and apartments. There was an Hermes shop on the ground floor, and in the lobby there was a ginormous crystal chandelier hovering just over the floor, recycled from the original Morgan Chase office building.I don't understand why I have no pics of the inside of our apartment — but it was very groovy, and totally unlivable. A triumph of design over function. One bedroom was almost open to the living room, save for being slightly higher and having a half wall.The main bedroom suite had no windows, and the wall between it and the front bedroom didn't go all the way up to the ceiling, to allow in a sliver of light and air.And Will ended up sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a cupboard that was slightly bigger than his bedroom here at home!The living room furniture was all very black, and very uncomfortable. You just can't lounge on a hard, shiny black leather couch with a low-slung back!But we had so much fun, and were hardly there during the day anyway.The amazing thing was the roof terrace, called Starck Park ...
... with its water feature like a giant tap, and glorious view of the facade of the NYSE. 
It also had a ping-pong table, a huge dining table where you could hold dinner parties, and an open-air fireplace. Yum.Security was understandably heavy in this area. The roads are all closed to cars, and there are patrol boxes and security guards everywhere. Ground Zero is only a short walk away — and it was really very spooky to consider what must have been happening in this area on that fateful day.The location was otherwise excellent. It was a walk away from Tribeca, SoHo, Battery Park and the Hudson River ...
... and a stone's throw from the out-of-this-world apartment of Nick's grandparents, who have 120-degree windows with a view of New York Harbour and across the Hudson River to the Jersey shore — this is just part of it, with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (click on it for a bigger image):
We were also a short stroll away from the famous Wall Street Bull. How that poor beast must have suffered at the hands of our late-night revellers ...
(Thanks, Iman, for your pics!)
Seven and one in a wheelchair
Our five fabulous days in New York for Lily's 21st birthday (Sunday) went far too quickly, and this morning, sitting in the sunny silence of San Diego, I'm missing my girl and all the noise and excitement of being (almost) all together in that amazing place.
We thought for a while that Simon would join us, and be there to buy his baby sister her first legal beer in the US, and we were so disappointed when he couldn't make it. Will made up for it, though, sticking close to his sister, sharing wheelchair pushing with Nick and Larissa for the miles and miles we walked, and helping her about.
Of course, when we started planning this trip, we had no idea she'd have a broken foot and be in a wheelchair — but she didn't let that cramp her style, dampen her enthusiasm, or get in her way at all. 
From crowded Subway trains and tiny historic pubs, to Broadway and the top of the Empire State Building.There were six of us to start with: Will, Lily, her boyfriend Nick, her room-mate Larissa (who turned 21 the Sunday before), David and I. Then, on Friday night we were joined by Iman, one of Lily's old school friends from Subiaco. 
Iman is studying in Washington DC and working until December as a Congressional intern in the office of Don Young, the sole Representative from Alaska, and a Republican to his gun-totin' boot straps.
Iman (pictured above with Larissa) is staunchly un-Republican, though, and it was great fun to catch up with her and hear all her stories — especially about election night, when she was at the Democrats' sparkling celebration party in a DC ballroom.She also really knew her way around in NY, having studied here for a while last year, so she was very handy when it came to negotiating our way through the Subway, one of the major lines of which had been closed for renovations. Chaos!
On Sunday morning, early, we were joined by another old Subi mate, James, who's been in the US since August, working as a volunteer on the Obama campaign, doorknocking and 'getting out the vote' in Detroit, Ohio, Philadelphia and Virginia. More fab stories! It's a pity we couldn't have had longer with him, but at least he got there for Lily's birthday.
Look familiar?
How'd you like this black widow? She was in our garage this arvo — same untidy web as the redback, same beautiful body shape, same shiny black, and look ...
... the red flash is underneath, on her belly. It also seemed a little bigger than the redback.I hope you're impressed with how close I got. David was watching proceedings and said, "I hope they don't jump!" At which point I got up in a hurry.:: Here's a shot Will took of himself, with big fat smug smile, leaning on the stage at the Dandy Warhols' concert in San Francisco at the weekend. 
We saw them here in San Diego a few nights before Will did, and they were bloody fantastic.:: We're waiting for the US version of Kath and Kim, which starts tonight in just over half an hour. I've seen a trailer, which looked okay, but the review in this morning's LA Times was not too hot, while very complimentary about the Australian original.:: I spied this rubbish on a table in the living room soon after Will got home from college yesterday ... 
... and was about to yell to him to chuck it in the bin when I noticed the contents.
It's fun having a sculptor in the house!:: We're off to Albuquerque and Santa Fe tomorrow. It'll be cool and dry, cold even, with autumn colour ... mmm! I'll be back in a little over a week — see ya!
Added slightly later: Forget to say — Bloglines isn't very reliable is it? It seems very haphazard about showing new posts, so I've probably missed quite a few. Kind of ruins the point really.
Also — I finally posted Larissa's quilt off to her this afternoon! All finished, quilted and bound, ends sewn in ... yay!
Time out (again)I'm home alone for the rest of the night (until David arrives home with Lily, some time after midnight) and I'm supposed to be emptying the dishwasher, putting away the shopping, cooking the weekend's meals, tidying up, and folding the dry washing to put it away... but I just had to stop to show you two of Will's brilliant new artworks.
They start off as elaborate drawings by pen, and then he photoshops them. I just love the colours in this one — it reminds me of a William Morris design.
(Illustrations copyright Will Zampatti, 2008. Please don't reproduce without permission.)
— Are my jeans clean?
Well, we certainly landed okay when it came to the apartment we stayed in in New York. The pic above shows the view from our complex's roof terrace! Honest!
The entire 40-odd-storey building and the building next door, which is right on the corner of Wall Street, were once upon a time the headquarters of the JP Morgan financial corporation. In 1998, they were both due to be demolished to make way for a new stock exchange building and office tower, but that all screeched to a halt after 9-11.
... with its water feature like a giant tap, and glorious view of the facade of the NYSE. 
It also had a ping-pong table, a huge dining table where you could hold dinner parties, and an open-air fireplace. Yum.
... and a stone's throw from the out-of-this-world apartment of Nick's grandparents, who have 120-degree windows with a view of New York Harbour and across the Hudson River to the Jersey shore — this is just part of it, with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (click on it for a bigger image):
We were also a short stroll away from the famous Wall Street Bull. How that poor beast must have suffered at the hands of our late-night revellers ...
(Thanks, Iman, for your pics!)
Our five fabulous days in New York for Lily's 21st birthday (Sunday) went far too quickly, and this morning, sitting in the sunny silence of San Diego, I'm missing my girl and all the noise and excitement of being (almost) all together in that amazing place.
We thought for a while that Simon would join us, and be there to buy his baby sister her first legal beer in the US, and we were so disappointed when he couldn't make it. Will made up for it, though, sticking close to his sister, sharing wheelchair pushing with Nick and Larissa for the miles and miles we walked, and helping her about.
Of course, when we started planning this trip, we had no idea she'd have a broken foot and be in a wheelchair — but she didn't let that cramp her style, dampen her enthusiasm, or get in her way at all. 
From crowded Subway trains and tiny historic pubs, to Broadway and the top of the Empire State Building.
Iman is studying in Washington DC and working until December as a Congressional intern in the office of Don Young, the sole Representative from Alaska, and a Republican to his gun-totin' boot straps.
Iman (pictured above with Larissa) is staunchly un-Republican, though, and it was great fun to catch up with her and hear all her stories — especially about election night, when she was at the Democrats' sparkling celebration party in a DC ballroom.
On Sunday morning, early, we were joined by another old Subi mate, James, who's been in the US since August, working as a volunteer on the Obama campaign, doorknocking and 'getting out the vote' in Detroit, Ohio, Philadelphia and Virginia. More fab stories! It's a pity we couldn't have had longer with him, but at least he got there for Lily's birthday.
I left all my paper-cutting gear out while I was in New Mexico, and Will decided to have a go. These are all his work. While I drew my designs before cutting them, Will just got stuck straight into it with the scalpel.
The dancing skeletons (below) were part of an assignment he had at college to come up with designs for the Day of the Dead (October 31 to November 2).
... and I was able to pick up a bit more to add to my collection at home! Love it. 
How'd you like this black widow? She was in our garage this arvo — same untidy web as the redback, same beautiful body shape, same shiny black, and look ...
We saw them here in San Diego a few nights before Will did, and they were bloody fantastic.
... and was about to yell to him to chuck it in the bin when I noticed the contents.
It's fun having a sculptor in the house!
Also — I finally posted Larissa's quilt off to her this afternoon! All finished, quilted and bound, ends sewn in ... yay!
They start off as elaborate drawings by pen, and then he photoshops them. I just love the colours in this one — it reminds me of a William Morris design.
(Illustrations copyright Will Zampatti, 2008. Please don't reproduce without permission.)
