This afternoon my hubby, Jack and I went in the car to venture off to Staten Island, the one borough in New York that I have never been, to visit with our cousin Nancy the artist. She is currently living there in a beautiful loft apartment not far from the Staten Island ferry, giving her very cheap access to New York City. It was a miserable day in the neighborhood, crazy dark clouds on top of thick white clouds interspersed with ribbons of blue sky, Nancy could well have painted the sky, she is very, very talented, and what better way to spend an icky day than to go and visit with someone you love, even for just a little bit.
We left her place at five because all of our cell phones beeped with an emergency warning of flash floods in the area until five thirty, so we said our good byes in the rain, Nancy kindly walked us to the car.
Her apartment is seriously nice. The open space has been smartly separated into the living section and the artist’s work area. Her work area was full of hints of future sculptures and the space was resplendent of light from two walls of window after window and a large skylight. It, as a working space bathed in natural dream, was every artist’s dream. Nancy is so happy with her loft, her work shop, her projects and her art. I’m happy for her, she truly has a happy home.
On our way back, my hubby decided to take us back to my mother’s house via the city. We took Battery Tunnel into lower Manhattan and emerged looking up at the Freedom Tower, it was a beautiful sight, it’s almost completely done.
We then drove up West Broadway through Soho reminiscing about out many forays to really lovely restaurants throughout the years. The trip down nostalgia lane continued through the Chelsea District, midtown, up until East 57th where we turned to take the Queensboro Bridge. It was one of the best car rides that I have taken in a long time, seeing all these points of interest and having an instant happy flash of a distant memory and cementing the reality that my hubby and I have truly lived in our 23 years together. We have tons of adventures under our belts and it’s nice to be nostalgic about it every now and again.