The Story of Bell

 

 

 

     TD and I are terribly sad to say that we had to say good-bye to our sweet cat Bell last week. The whole thing has been hard. We've had her for sixteen years and she came from Herkimer, New York, upstate, which is the town that my grandmother grew up in. Bell had a short illness and it got untenable for her so we had to bring her uptown to the vet to say good-bye. She was our third cat after Katie and Rose, and honestly, taking a pet to the vet to say good-bye and going through that with the pet is my least favorite thing to do in the world. 

   We've had a cat since around 1996 and we often had two cats at a time so if one cat passed, we always had another to come home to. But with Bell we were down to one so when we came home the apartment was empty. I am still talking to her and we are still looking for her habitually, on the bed, on the couch, on her favorite chair. We've not been able to pick up her water bowls or throw out her food and medication; I don't want to erase her presence. 

   Besides being very pretty, she was wonderful cozy company and followed us around the apartment. If I was reading in bed, she would get on the bed with me. She would let me hold her tail or hold her paw; we'd hold hands. If we went out of town, we had someone come in and feed Bell, and we always looked forward to being with her on our return. When we came home, she'd be a little miffed with us. There was a short period of readjustment. Our pets have their own personalities and she had her own life and spirit in the apartment.

    All of our kittens came from upstate New York. In 2008, we were in Herkimer visiting the Bellinger Rose B & B in the house at 611 West German Street that my grandmother grew up in and then run by Chris and Leon Frost. In search of a kitten, we went with our kitty carrier in a rental car to the Herkimer County Humane Society. 

    An older woman very nicely took us through the facility and showed us all the kittens in metal cages what were up for adoption. Finally we got to a back room and there was a little white kitten with black markings who was about a month old with her mamma cat. The woman opened the cage and let us hold her. The kitten clung to my tee shirt and wouldn't let go. I always say she chose us. We decided we wanted the little white kitten and took her to the front desk. There we were told this kitten was too young to be adopted and we could not take her. 

     We left frustrated. The next morning when I woke up I was still thinking about that little kitten clinging to my tee shirt. Over breakfast at the B and B, we told Chris and Leon Frost our sad tale. They very kindly offered to go get the kitten for us when she was old enough and we could come pick her up. We will be forever grateful to Chris and Leon. They picked up the kitten who lived for a short time at the Bellinger Rose B and B, my family's former home. And so we named her Bell. 

   Chris took a short video of the kitten on the front stairs and sent it to us. We were going to drive back up to Herkimer to get her but Chris and Leon reported that they had some kind guests who offered to drive Bell down to Flushing, New York. So Ted and I took the train with our kitty carrier up to Yonkers and met the couple who so nicely delivered Bell to us. The whole thing was kind of a miracle; it was meant to be. We took the train back home, the three of us. 

   We had sixteen happy years with that girl. She was a part of the family and we miss her terribly. 

 

 

My Stories for the Brown Harris Stevens Design Blog

For over four years, I've really enjoyed writing features for the Brown Harris Steven blog about architecture, art and design. Brown Harris Stevens, the legacy real estate company established in 1873, has a robust blog covering design, lifestyle, homes, and more. The features I've written about architecture, real estate, design, and style have been leveraged into BHS social media posts and paid advertising to increase awareness and drive engagement; blog traffic has increased by 20%. The assignments have given me the opportunity to visit some fascinating locations in New York City and share them with readers. The city is filled with architectural history and interest; all you have to do is look up! You might enjoy my stories:  

Instant Icon: 15 Central Park West 

The Beautiful Beresford

The Gracious Plaza Hotel and Apartment 1901 

The Pleasures of Madison Square Park 

 The New Design Destination: The Ticking Tent

Crate & Barrel Honors the Architecture of the Flatiron District 

The Allure of the West Village and 70 Perry Street

A Deep Dive Into the Colorful World of Mario Buatta

The Little Street in the Financial District That Shaped American Art 

The Artful American Architecture of Delano & Aldrich 

An Insider’s View of the Metropolitan Museum and the Healing Power of Art 

Reflecting on the Life, Work, and Art of Legendary Writer Joan Didion

Ann Getty's Eye: The Getty's Astounding Personal Art Collection Comes to Auction 

On the Block: The Beautiful World of Hubert de Givenchy

Winslow Homer and the Invention of American Art

How Landscape Architect George Vellonakis Revitalized New York City’s Parks   

'Majolica Mania,' a New Exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center   

New York's Most Stylish Homes by Photographer Simon Upton 

FIT Celebrates the Rose in Fashion 

Arrange Flowers Like Marc Chagall’s Granddaughter, Master Florist Bella Meyer

Central Park: An American Work of Art

Live in the Timeless Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower 

See Inside Architect Ralph Walker's Iconic Walker Tower 

 The Surprising and Unexpected Frick Madison

"Posh Portals" Celebrates New York City's Best Entrances

The New Moynihan Train Hall by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 

A Lower East Side Carriage House with History 

A Chelsea Original: “The Night Before Christmas” for Brown Harris Stevens 

Live in the Rich History of Fort Greene 

McKim, Mead & White’s Harvard Club and Harmonie Club 

Decorate Like Carrier and Company  

The Met’s “About Time” Exhibit Celebrates 150 Years of Fashion 

Actor Richard Thomas on the Allure of "The City's Most Ornate Building"

On the Market: Jayne Wrightsman's Extraordinary Home and Collection

The Enduring Appeal of Emery Roth + Bing & Bing

 The West 67th Street Artists' Colony Historic District

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art is Open with a 150th Anniversary Exhibition 

Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy for Brown Harris Stevens 

Remy Renzullo x Carolina Irving Tableware Collection

Rosario Candela's Mansions in the Sky

Eileen Fisher + West Elm 

Bonus:

Bart Boehlert for Architectural Digest 

175 Chrystie Street - A Brilliant Vision 

Bart Boehlert Online Portfolio 

Italian Days

The Milan Duomo, which has been worked on for over 600 years.

TD and I on the roof of the Duomo, which is decorated with sculptures, pinnacles, spires and flying buttresses.

The cool and chic Villa Necchi.

At the charming shop Solamente Giovedi with its delightful proprietress Enrica Stabile.

Bello Lake Como.

The wedding ceremony of my nephew Aaron (right) with his beloved Brandon.

     TD and I are back from a recent, memorable trip to Italy. The main event was the wedding of my nephew Aaron to his beloved Brandon at a villa on the edge of Lake Como. But first we visited Milan. Both destinations were new to us and we had a wonderful time. 

    In Milan, we met our dear Dutch friends Jeannette and Dick from Amsterdam, and we stayed at the old world Antica Loconda Leonardo hotel in a second floor room that had a balcony overlooking the garden and courtyard below where we enjoyed breakfast in the morning. Milan is a big, bustling, working city, and we ventured on a hot day into the City Center to visit the great Duomo Cathedral and take an elevator up to it roof which is decorated with over 2,000 statues. The next day was not as hectic, with a visit to the chic and refined Villa Necchi house museum, which was the home of the stylish Necchi family that made its fortune in sewing machines. I loved the cool, spacious elegance of its rooms. 

   I'm pretty good with directions and quickly mastered the Milan trolley car system, which I like much better than an underground subway; you see so much on the street level from a trolley car. TD and I took two trolleys to get to Solamente Giovedi, a delightful shop that I have been following on Instagram. We went through a locked gate and the guard directed us through a courtyard where we ascended some steps into a magical shop of vintage furniture, fabrics and objects. We met its proprietor, the extremely charming Enrica Stabile and chatted for a while. She took us up into the loft where she and two employees sewed pillow covers from French fabrics by hand. I bought a green vintage plate which I carried home on the airplane. It now stands on our fireplace mantel and I love its bright color. Then Enrica suggested a great place for lunch two doors down. 

   On we went by train to Como for the main event - the wedding of Aaron and Brandon. There was a volley of celebrations -- a family dinner on Thursday night, a wedding cocktail party on Friday, the wedding on Saturday and a brunch on Sunday. All were lovely and wonderful.

    The wedding in particular was a dream; the boys conjured up a vision and created an unforgettable event. Saturday afternoon we arrived at Villa Pizzo perched on the edge of Lake Como and walked down an ancient gravel path to a terrace over the lake where chairs were set up for the wedding ceremony, which was officiated by Brandon's two sisters. After the ceremony, we walked back up the path to a cocktail hour set out of the lawn, all beautiful and elegant but relaxed. Then it was inside for a dinner with gorgeous pale golden flowers, delicious food by a Milanese chef, and great wines. A gifted DJ led some raucous dancing and later there was an after-party in the villa with colored lights on the ceiling. TD and I headed out to get a car back to our Airbnb around 12:30 or 1:00 am. It was all so fun and we were so happy to be there to celebrate the boys with family and friends. A couple of days later we flew home and now have great memories. Everything worked out very well - flights, hotels, reservations, trains, drivers, etc. We hadn't been to Europe for awhile and it was great to travel again and discover this special part of the world.

In Orient, New York

 

        TD and I have been lucky to be introduced to the hamlet of Orient, New York, on the very eastern end of the North Fork of Long Island. We've been doing some house-sitting and pet-sitting for different friends here. The area was new to us; we had not previously visited here and it has become a favorite place. Orient was founded in pre-Revolutionary War days when five families were granted land by the British throne. Members of these families still live and own land in Orient. The area is rich in history that is carefully preserved at the Oysterpond Historical Society, which has seven buildings on its bucolic campus.

      Out on the East End, the light is clear and bright, which is why artists have always been drawn to it. When driving out to Orient, the road passes over a narrow causeway with water sparkling on both sides and the houses of Orient visible in the distance over the water on the right. Driving over the narrow causeway is almost like traveling to an island and leaving the real world behind.

     The hamlet of Orient is a completely charming with one main street called Village Lane running through it. White houses with black shutters or weathered grey houses with white trim and white picket fences create a fairy tale setting. In the spring, yellow daffodils dot the front yards and big yellow forsythia bushes bloom, so the village is all green and white and yellow and grey; there are no awkward colors that jar the eye. I love being near water and Orient is surrounded by water, with the Long Island Sound to the north and Gardiner's Bay to the south. Orient Harbor laps up along the town's shore, and the Orient Yacht Club extends out onto the water on a long narrow dock. 

    The community is dedicated to historic preservation so the area has been left largely blessedly undeveloped. Farmland stretches from the Sound down to the Bay. Vernacular farm houses have large wide front porches. All the natural, undeveloped land makes it the perfect place for wildlife to thrive. Varieties of birds sing all day long -- fat robins, red cardinals, little grey sparrows, red wing black birds. Hawks soar along the coastline looking for food. I saw a hawk overhead and a big black crow flew up behind it and hit the hawk midair and chased it away. Swans paddle in the waters and geese honk as they fly by in formation. It's a challenge now to keep the bird feeders full because the birds eat the food so quickly. 

  Bunny rabbits hop across the yard. At dusk a family of deer comes out to graze. We've seen a couple plump raccoons. The whole place is like a Walt Disney movie. 

    The sea is mesmerizing to me the way it stretches out infinitely. In Orient, the shoreline curves in arcs creating graceful coves. Farmland runs down to the sea creating beautiful maritime landscapes. Orient feels to my like up-island on Martha's Vineyard, another favorite place. The calm water meets the shore in pebbly beaches. In the summertime we put on rubber water shoes to walk into the pebbly water. It's wonderful to float in the warm still water when it's hot out. 

    In the house where we are staying now, the bright sun comes though the window in the morning, bathing me in light. The orange and pink sunsets looking north of the Long Island Sound are breathtaking. At night, a silvery full moon rises over the tall black trees in the woods. Nature speaks to me; this is a spiritual place. 

    Orient is a timeless mix of rich American history and beautiful nature -- a priceless combination for me.

Joni Mitchell and My Brother Eric

I'm still thinking about the Grammys. It was one of the best awards shows I've seen in a long time. There were several beautiful performances including Tracy Chapman with Luke Combs, and Billie Eilish. Miley Cyrus was on fire. And then there was the luminous and miraculous Joni Mitchell who at age 80 gave her first Grammy performance. I've loved Joni Mitchell since I listened to her poetic album "Court and Spark" in my dorm room and dreamed of going to “People’s Parties.” Joni Mitchell suffered a serious brain aneurysm in 2015 that left her unable to walk or talk. At the Grammys, she performed the moving "Both Sides Now," which brought tears to the eyes of those in the audience. A few days before my brother Eric died, he sent me a text message that said that he had posted a song at the end of his latest Substack article that he thought I would like. It was "Both Sides Now." The version that was in the movie CODA. Of course it was stunning and I texted him back that I needed to see the movie. He responded, "Def." "Both Sides Now" is a rich, gorgeous song about love and loss. For me it has become a heartbreaking reminder of my brother Eric and all that we lost.

"Maestro" Starring Bradley Cooper

        For a New Year's Day treat, TD and I went to see "Maestro" starring Bradley Cooper as the great American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Wow, that's what I call a satisfying entertainment. I do recommend it. If you are in New York City, do go see it at the Paris Theater on 58th Street, which Netflix has recently renovated. The big screen is brilliant and the sound is incredible. 

     We bought tickets online as one does and planned to get there a little late to avoid all the previews as one does but when we arrived and slipped into our seats the picture was already starting! I guess no cheesy previews at the Paris Theater, note to self. I was surprised that the seats were not big and spacious and tilt back like you find in movie theaters now, but they were still comfortable. 

    Bradley Cooper wrote, directed, produced and stars in the movie about the great musician. In the first scene he appears as a 70-year-old Bernstein, tanned and wrinkled, and it took my breath away to realize  that it was actually Bradley Cooper, the makeover was so complete. Though Bernstein of course had an amazing career, this picture is mostly about his private life -- his marriage to actress Filicia Montealgro, played luminously by Carey Mulligan, and their children including a daughter played by Maya Hawke, who is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. 

    Ok, I have an Uma Thurman story. Back in the day when I worked in the Accessories Room at Bergdorf Goodman selling hats and gloves to the ladies of the Upper East Side, Uma Thurman came in for a scarf. I showed her a beautiful gossamer cashmere and silk mushroom-colored scarf and she lowered her head and wrapped the scarf around and then lifted her gaze to reveal those big, gorgeous movie star eyes directed right at me. 

     Leonard Bernstein was famously bisexual. When I first moved to New York, my friend David hung around in Bernstein's gay circle. The movie recounts how after awhile this took a toll on Bernstein's marriage and his family. While it plums his personal life, I would like to have seen in the movie more about his professional life and the challenges and triumphs of creating his masterworks including "Candide," "West Side Story," and "Mass." There was a fun bit at the beginning of the movie that included actors playing Jerome Robbins and Aaron Copland. Betty Comden and Adolf Green show up at a party. Stephen Sondheim is mentioned. I would love to have seen more scenes like this but thoroughly enjoyed the story including a long, stunning scene at Ely Cathedral in England with Copper/Bernstein conducting Mahler's majestic Resurrection Symphony. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan are both wonderful in this picture, and of course the music is gorgeous in this tribute to an American genius. I say Oscars all around.