willa cather on bank street

eva sent an article about willa cather from the village preservation society and today when heading uptown for an acupuncture appointment, i walked by where she lived and took a few photos . . 

the plaque is placed so high on the brick wall that it was difficult for me to read when standing in front of it, and i had to raise my arms over my head for a pic with my phone. basically, it says that she lived on the second floor of the house that was on this site from 1913 to 1927, at which time it was torn down. she wrote many of her famous works when residing here, including the song of the lark, and my antonia. 

here is a link to the article eva sent me: village preservation - two remarkable women on bank street.

the superintendent of the building was outside sweeping the leaves from the walkway.

monumental women (and a little bit about the convention last night)

well .. the rnc reached new heights of bombastic behavior and lies last night. it was nauseating, sad, and worrisome. it made me feel disgusted and angry that certain members of congress would allow a president to pervert our constitution and democracy in such a way. this is frank bruni's op ed on the display. i might link to more articles as they come out.

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on a more hopeful and celebratory note, i was up this morning for the 8 am dedication of the suffragists statue in central park by the monumental women organization. it was streamed live on their website and on their facebook page. it was wonderfully inclusive, respectful and happy. there were congratulatory speeches and a beautiful rendition of america the beautiful. it was really fun to watch (albeit online!) and i highly recommend that you click on the links and share in the excitement.

here is the link for the vimeo on the organization's website - the speakers for the film, which includes a conversation with the artist, begin at 36:35, and the actual ceremony in central park begins at 49:43. for a special appearance by hc, go to 1:14:10.

here is the link for the facebook page video - the film begins at about 13:01, and the ceremony begins at about 28:11. hc is at 52:34.

above is fdny firefighter (and first female vulcan president) regina wilson's rendition of america the beautiful. you can hear it fully on the website here at 51:58; and on the facebook page here, at 30:18.

and it's now thursday . .

the forsythia is in bloom everywhere. the above picture is of my mom's forsythia bush out on montauk that we got for her years ago. every year it never ceases to delight me.

here are the buds on my mom's lilac bush. it's slow in growing each year and we always wonder if it's going to come back. there's a similar bush in our courtyard here in the city. there's probably some special nutrients we could add to the soil to make them stronger . . i just haven't researched it.

 it's been a funny week with all the running around i've been doing. i can't believe it's thursday already. it's a really beautiful day . . cool and cloudy . . only 59 degrees. i like that it's not too warm. it just feels great to be back home. google is celebrating british scientist hertha marks ayrton. you can read the telegraph's article about her here. in her life she registered twenty six different patents! she also was awarded the hughes medal by the royal society for her work on electric arcs and ripples in sand and water.

school work and nelly bly day and pics from austria

it's been quite warm for early may.

my aloe plant baby, from the aloe i brought back from a visit to florida awhile ago.

we had lemon curd on homemade sour dough bread and green tea in the afternoon . . 

and chanda worked on her essay in her lesson book about the magna carta, the royal charter of rights agreed to by king john of england in 1215, guaranteeing church rights, protection of barons from illegal imprisonment and limitations on feudal payments to the crown.

today we read about nelly bly (born on may 5 in 1864), an american journalist known for her record breaking trip around the world (72 days) in 1890, along with her investigative reporting about mental institutions by going undercover and spending ten days in a women's asylum on blackwell's island, now known as roosevelt island.

we had a cold salad for dinner since it's been so warm.

morgana sent a few photos from austria . . beautiful alpine flowers . .

and one of manu's chickens taken in her yard.

tomorrow is nana's birthday . . we sent off a card in the mail with our love and good wishes and we'll call in the morning and sing happy birthday to her.