My Aunt Monica Mumford, R.I.P.

Monica on the left, the last time I saw her in Sarasota, Florida, with my uncle Brian and my mother. 

Two weeks ago TD and I flew to Colorado to visit my sister Cynthia and Barb, and my father in his new residence there. As we were driving back to the Denver airport to depart, my brother Thom called with the sad news that our aunt Monica Jane Mumford, who we called Monnie, had passed away unexpectedly after a short illness in Sarasota, Florida.

Monica was a wonderful free spirit and adventurer in my life. When we were kids growing up, we were close to the siblings of my mother - Ellen, Monica and Brian. For example, Brian took me on my first airplane trip, from Albany to Philadelphia, where we visited my grandparents in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Monica and Ellen lived in an apartment in New York City, and my mother took my brother Thom and I there to visit them. We went to the Barnum & Bailey Circus and I was so excited at Madison Square Garden that I thought my head was going to explode. We went to visit the F.A.O. Schwartz toy store, which was then housed in the building where the Bergdorf Goodman Men's store is today. The top floor had the most complicated and wonderful operating train sets. The Four Seasons restaurant was the destination at cocktail hour (my mother was quite fearless in bringing two young boys into the iconic restaurant). The waiter brought me a glass of tomato juice wedged into a pile of shaved glass in a small bowl "for the bambino."

Three sisters - Ellen, my mother, and Monica, at our last big family Christmas holiday get-together, which my parents hosted at home in Connecticut –

Later Monica lived alone in a studio apartment and worked at an ad agency. Thom and I went to visit her there and she took us all around New York City including down Christopher Street, which was then actually gay. Again, with the exploding head. She bought Thom a denim jacket which was the coolest thing I had ever seen. She introduced us to New York, which had a big influence on both of us, to say the least. As a single gal in the city in the 60s, she had great style. I still remember her meeting us as we got off the train at Grand Central Station in a snappy navy blue and white outfit.

Sunglasses, leopard print coat, head scarf - our very own Jackie O. –

Funny memory - when my great aunt May died at home in Herkimer in the late 60s, we all went to the funeral. My grandmother, who was a stickler for clothes and how people were dressed, gave Monica a hard time because Monica was carrying a black patent leather handbag with shiny gold trim. Patent leather and shiny gold were not appropriate for a funeral. (Of course I remember all this minutiae.)

Monica was always up for an adventure, always interested and excited about something new, and always supported my creativity. Visiting my grandparents in Haddonfield, New Jersey, she bought me a jewelry making kit and encouraged me to make jewelry in the basement - paper mache flower earrings and a pin, which my mother kindly wore for a short time. Monica still talked often about our O'Donnell family and had wonderful stories to tell plus she gave me family-related gifts so she was an invaluable link for me back to the past. She smoked constantly but she had long, thin elegant fingers which made smoking look impossibly chic. A great curiosity and imagination plus a lovely melodious way of speaking made her the most delightful company, in person or on the phone.

A love for animals was a lifelong passion and she always had a beloved pet dog. When I was young, she had a bird, a yellow parakeet I think it was, which she named Pourquoi, as in "Why did I buy this bird?" She led an unorthodox life and went her own way. After high school, Monica entered the convent for a short time. Here is a picture of us together at 611 at that time. I was not yet one year old.

She wrote me a note on the back of the photo -

"Bart - Eve of year when I was going into convent. You were my best thrill before I did it -"
We were good friends for a very long time. I will miss her a lot.

A Trip to Florida with a Jaunt to Palm Beach

TD and I recently spent a week in Florida and it was such a treat to get away from the frigid Northeast winter. Neither of us are big fans of winter... We flew Jet Blue down to Palm Beach Airport. As the plane took off from LaGuardia and headed south, I got a dramatic view from my window seat of the Hudson River looking down toward Manhattan and New York Harbor beyond. It's so much fun to fly.
In Florida, we stayed at TD's brother's condominium located near the ocean between Stuart and Jupiter above Palm Beach. The condominium is in a marina and it's build right on the water so we had wonderful views of blue water and sky.


In that water each day outside the condominium slept a huge manatee which we had never seen before. It was like a big whale, and interesting to watch it move around during the day.
To the ocean beach we promptly went.

TD and I love an ocean beach.

During the week we went to different beaches along the way. We were lucky with the weather - sunny and bright every day.
On Wednesday we drove to West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. West Palm Beach is home of the renowned Antiques Row along South Dixie Highway where many antique stores are located, and I have always wanted to go there. We parked our rented black Jeep and strolled along the highway to visit a number of shops.
I really liked Wilson Antiques with its white walls, metal chandeliers and dark wood furniture - a great, handsome look.

Coco House and Company features wonderful bamboo furnishings, which I love as I've said on the blog many times. To me, it's exotic and elegant but not too fancy - there is something casual about it. We chatted with the affable owner Serge de Laville who is originally from the south of France and has plenty of Gallic charm.

A couple of doors down is Cote Jardin, which offers French antique furniture and garden antiques. Behind the store was a pretty garden and another cottage to investigate.

We had a delicious lunch and then drove over the bridge to Palm Beach. Strung along Worth Avenue is every major luxury brand you can think of including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Chanel, Gucci and Tiffany. Of course I had to visit the Ralph Lauren store. In signature Ralph Lauren style, the staircase was lined with paintings, but the colors of the art in the Palm Beach store were lighter and paler than in northern counterparts – very pretty.

We stopped at the famous Breakers Hotel for a drink in the bar. The Breakers was built in 1926 to resemble an Italian palace. It was pretty great.

The rest of the week we spent at the beach in the sun and taking dips in the ocean. After the beach we would swim in the heated pool at the condo complex.

I love the blue skies and water of the Sunshine State. It's 15 degrees in New York today. Wish I was back there now!

A Trip to Miami South Beach

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TD and I last week took a fun five-day trip down to Miami South Beach for some much needed r and r. We have been down several times before, and we always enjoy wide sandy beach and the surf of the Atlantic Ocean while being close to a lot of great restaurants and stores. It's an easy getaway. The flight is less than three hours and once we get there we don't need to rent a car because everything is within walking distance. We were on a 7am flight out of LaGuardia and swimming in the warm ocean by 11:30.
We checked into the charming Villa Paradiso which in one block from the beach, and were looked after by the helpful Anna.

At night we strolled around in shorts. A colorful Cadillac was parked in front of the Marlin Hotel; the car and the building go back in time.

South Beach was developed in the 1930's, and claims to have the largest collection of buildings featuring Streamline Moderne Art Deco architecture. I love the pastel colors and cubic lines of the apartment houses. It looks to me like Old Hollywood. I said to TD, "Can we move here?"

Voluptuous bougainvillea smothered a dusty pink apartment building at dusk.

At night we walked along Lincoln Road, a long pedestrian row lined with stores, restaurants, galleries and bars. In the 1960's Miami Beach architect Morris Lapidus designed Lincoln Road as it appears today, and I think it must be one of the great public spaces in the world. It is always crowded with visitors from all over the world, and offers great people-watching when you sit down to eat dinner. One night we had authentic Northern Italian pizza at Spris, and another night we ate at the lively Sushi Samba. On Collins Avenue we had a delicious Italian dinner at Spiga (sit on the porch) but the best dinner we had was at the newish Yardbird Southern Table and Bar (thanks Beth). Oh, I can still taste that fried chicken.

But mostly in Miami, we sit on the sandy beach and swim in the warm water. It feels like a relief to the body and spirit to be enveloped by tropical nature after a winter in the city. Even the clouds cooperate.

At the beach I am happy.

A Trip to Florida

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Darlings, we're back from Siesta Key, Florida, where we had a swell sunny vacation. Siesta Key is an island off of Sarasota, and boasts a really beautiful beach which is made of soft white sand and bends around in a graceful crescent. The water is an aqua green color but when a cloud comes along and blocks the sun, the water becomes more blue.

The palette is white, blue, green, khaki sand: those are the colors I wear in the summer time.

We were visiting my parents, and also in the neighborhood is our friend artist John Pirman as well as my mother's sister Monica and brother Brian, so there were a lot of good old O'Donnell stories told about my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and even my great grandparents. You know these stories are based at 611, the family homestead in Herkimer, New York. Though they are not all jolly, I love to hear the stories, and I always hear something new. It's an Irish thing I guess.

Monica gave me a wonderful gift – the bronze-color blotter which was on my grandmother's desk. Back in the day when people wrote with a fountain pen, they blotted over the written ink so that it would dry. The handle of the blotter is shaped like a dog's body which is topped with a gargoyle-like head. Its curving bottom would gently dry inked paper. Monica and my mother both thought it might originally have come from 611. I love it.

Here it is on my desk. The small bowl on the left is a gift from my mother, also from 611. The two snap shots in the frame show 611 and also the garden outside the house. The antique stapler you may remember I bought at the Pop Up Flea because it reminded me of the stapler my great aunt Zibby had on her desk at 611. Do you see a theme emerging here? Seriously, I like having things around me that resonate with memories and meaning.

Monica also gave me this photograph taken at 611.

On the right is my great aunt Milly and her groom Orange James Fikes on their wedding day in 1931. On the left is my great aunt Kay and my grandfather George Mumford, in the wedding party. Isn't this picture dreamy? So beautiful and poignant to me.

A Trip to Florida

Henry James wrote that the most beautiful words in the English language are "summer afternoon." I think my favorites are "We're at the beach!"

TD and I are back from Florida where we visited my parents in Sarasota/Siesta Key. Siesta Key has one of the prettiest beaches I've seen -- a long graceful arc of fluffy white sand, sparkling turquoise water, and infinite blue sky. In the winter my parents take a cottage on Palm Island. My uncle Brian and aunt Monica are nearby too and we visit our friend illustrator John Pirman so it's a nice trip.

We spend as much time as we can on the beach.


I brought an Irish novel to read, At Swim, Two Boys, by Jamie O'Neill. I love the way the Irish write; they reverse the order of words, like the title itself, which American-style would be Two Boys at Swim. Also, when things are good, they say, "That's grand."


At rest, TD.


I went for a run on the beach with no shoes which I haven't done in a long time but I love running in the shallow water where it glitters in the sun. After the run, I bent over to splash my face and my back gave out. Ouch. Couldn't move. Gave out the next day too. So on Saturday afternoon I found myself in downtown Sarasota in a darkened office lying stomach-down on a massage table with my face in that donut hole thing getting massage therapy. Not exactly what I planned for my beach vacation, but what can you do? I was glad to have someone look at it. The massage therapist said I was a "weekend warrior."

On Sunday it rained so we drove into town to poke around. Some things were closed but we found a great used book store, Parker's Books, with aisles of books carefully bound and shelved.


We drove to Towle's Court Art District, a small artists' colony of galleries and studios housed in a historic enclave of Old Florida-style bungalows and cottages. Shoogie Boogies was open, a charming gallery selling photography, soaps, and garden accessories.


A small black cat kept watch over the proceedings.


By Sunday afternoon the sky had cleared and the sun was out. On Sunday nights before sunset at the beach drummers come out to "drum the sun down" so we bicycled over. Dusk is my favorite time of day, when the light is fading and everything looks softer and less intense. As the sun descends over the water it casts a silvery light that is magical. A lot of people came out to the beach for a walk.


It was grand.