Glory Basking, Old School

Kid #2 had been longing to bask in the glory that is the Palm Court of The Plaza Hotel.  We went for breakfast, when the menu was a little less tight.  

The Plaza is still highly decked out for Christmas--the Gatsby-inspired lobby tree still revolves.

There are places in New York where the waitstaff are old-school:  gracious middle aged men in suits with French accents.   This Palm Court is one of those places

We were on our best behavior--very un-Eloise-like and not as charming.  I only spilled a little.

The Plaza has a long and storied history.  The Stones have stayed there and the Beatles.   The Great Gatsby was made there.  Truman Capote had his '60s-era legendary black-and-white ball there.  (Look at Frank and Mia below.)

Lara, let's have tea in the Algonquin lobby when you come here next.  I can't, I can't believe it's been nearly a year since we had the idea for this blog.  More on this soon.

Speaking of Lara, ave you read Lara's fabulous vision board post below this one?

Frank and Mia, in cognito

Look at us being fancy.

The Plaza called for hot pink.

Season of Loose

As of now, I have no idea what to say.

This is the beginning of the season where we tend to forget about tight places--where we seem to be collectively allowed to be in a bubble for about a month and pretend we are rich in all ways.

We are loose this month, aren't we?  And open and giving?  Right?

We have license to be generous--and act like we have more than we do?

Am I right?

But to revert to tight, I have a strict policy about not playing any Christmas music 'til December 1st--and it's been annoying to walk into shops and hear it--but because I am on the cusp on this season and because I have to post SOMETHING decent tonight, I'm going go loose and give you one of my favorite seasonal tunes.

My favorite Christmas song is a song that never gets played (by a band in which two of the three members happen to be Mormon). Go ahead: sing.  Be loud!

Getting Loose with Gilbert and Sullivan

Hosting part of my extended family today.

After walking from the upper end of Central Park to the bottom, we ended up at Carnegie Hall for The Collegiate Chorale's stellar un-costumed performance of The Mikado starring Kelli O'Hara (from Broadway's South Pacific) as Yum Yum (and my mother-in-law in the chorus).

I am now head over heels in love with this musical in which tight-place scenarios are constructed then lampooned (flirting is punishable by beheading, for ex).  Is this what I'm supposed to be doing with my real life tight-place scenarios?

What I noticed in the performance tonight is that Gilbert and Sullivan deliver the most delicious harmonies ever.  And the soloists and The Chorale more than did them justice.  If truth be told, I prefer what I saw tonight to anything I can pull up on YouTube, including what's below:  the finale from Mike Leigh's movie of Gilbert and Sullivan's rather fraught working relationship, Topsy Turvy.

I highly recommend this film.  Watch a little here!

Untightness

I wanted to say more about coming out of tight places in relation to the spring holidays we've just come through.

During the Passover seder, for example, it is almost an obligation for the participant to be loose and relaxed, to slow down the flow of events, ask questions, make commentary.

Most importantly, you're almost supposed to recline in the classic Greco-Roman style.  Or if that's not possible, to take on that kind of orientation, to take your time . . . in tribute to the fact that your people are no longer enslaved in acknowledgement of freedom you have come into.

Likewise, for Christians, Easter is all about moving from the tightness of sin and death into the looseness of the atonement and eternal life. (And wasn't Gethsamane one of the tightest of all places?)

For earth worshipers, the Estrus holiday is all about moving from the tight dormancy of winter--the cold unyielding earth--into warmth and grownth.

 Is all of this that easy?  Or are my little conclusions just very English 101?  I'm okay with that if so.

 And is this essential movement towards untightness why I love both of these holidays so much?

Anyway, I took these photos today at the loose, free-flowing carnival that is New York City's annual Easter parade.  And I've come to think more about how untightness can have less to do with my material situation, and more to do with my whole orientation to my world.

Anyway, just thinking . . . .