Of Abandoned Buildings and Neil Gaiman

Hey, Friends.

Yesterday was a good day.  It started out with a nice walk with my friend (we'll call her Gertie to keep it nice and anonymous) and ended with an evening at the Fisher Center at Bard where we got to be the first people on the East Coast to see the first episode of American Gods, followed by a discussion with Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

I had to take some photos, of course.  I took a lot of photos, actually.  You see, when Gertie and I picked the location for our walk we decided on a park we hadn't been to in a while.  I somehow managed to totally forget that there was this awesome abandoned building full of graffiti there. Needless to say, once I saw it I had to go in and check it out.  Gertie chose to stay outside as she was afraid the building could be falling down, or the roof could collapse -- you know, little things like that. Probably a wise and sensible decision, but I chose to go on in.  I mean, it looked sturdy to me, and she'd be right outside to call 911 if it should fall on my head.

Looks like a nice, sturdy brick building, right?

Not creepy at all

We went around to the back to make our approach, as I remembered the back half of the building being pretty much wide open for easy access.

Exploring an abandoned building. pic.twitter.com/ScBI4gAFds

— Tammy (@tammyshampoo) April 15, 2017

That should give you a pretty good feel for the building as I entered.

There were a couple other people inside who must have come in from the front of the building.  Not gonna lie, they startled me at first.  There was a bag in the corner that looked like it had some clothes and a mattress, so I was afraid it was going to be a pissed off person that was living there and wanted me out.  Nope.  Just two fellow explorers checking out the scene.

I happen to love graffiti and consider it to be art.  I know if you handed me a can of spray paint I could never pull off anything this good.  I had to take pictures.

This was my favorite

I don't know, but it looks happy

Flower

Stay classy

Fair question

"When it's something you live for".

I don't know if these are song lyrics or what, but there were random phrases throughout the building.

The corner of a larger area that said Peace

The wall next to it

Closer view of the artist's statement

Not at all creepy that there's a rope hanging from the ceiling over the one raised object on the entire floor.  (It wasn't a noose.  I checked.)

Pyramid and eye

A much less colorful corner

Cherish this moment

"If I could change my name I'd run away" -- can't read the last word

After I had my fun time playing in the abandoned building, we ventured back out on our walk.  It really is a beautiful area.  Things are just starting to look green and Spring-like.  It also makes it easier to notice things.  The last time we were here the leaves were all on the trees, everything was in full bloom.  Yesterday you could see much further off the beaten path.

I wouldn't advise eating the fish.  It is the Hudson River. To each their own.

Never knew that building was back there. 

There were a lot of fallen trees and damage that had occurred over the winter.

Little bit of greenery

Washed ashore

Some jackass felt the need to tag a tree.  Really doesn't surprise me that they wrote this either -- they clearly give as much of a shit about the environment as this administration.

Ruins of a building

Back along the water's edge

It really was a beautiful day to get outside and spend time in a park. That also means following the rules.  You are not supposed to be camping or setting fires in this particular park, and yet there were clearly people doing both of those things.  We could see the tents down by the water from a distance. More troubling, you could also smell the fire.  Now, I'm going to assume that they knew what they were doing and had made the fire safely and responsibly.  It is more than a bit disconcerting to be walking through the woods and suddenly smell fire -- especially when said woods are dry as hell and full of dead, fallen trees and last autumn's crunchy leaves.  It's like walking through a tinderbox.  It's stupid to do at all in an area that does not permit camping or fires, dumber to do it when it is an area full of incredibly flammable material, and idiotic to do it when you would be trapped between the Hudson River behind you and a fire in front of you with no escape. Don't be like these people.  Enjoy nature and follow the rules -- keep yourself and others safe!

Later that evening I went with friends to see Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller discuss the new Starz series American Gods at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard.

It's a really cool building

They said we were the first people on the East Coast to get to see the first episode.  I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman to begin with, so this was fantastic!  I can't wait to see the whole series when it starts airing later this month.  I'm not going to share any spoilers, but I did take a few pictures.  If you're just dying to know what it's about you can Google it, or read the book!

Neil Gaiman giving the introduction.  Yeah, we had good seats.

Discussion with Bryan Fuller

Up close and personal

So that was my Saturday, Friends.  Pretty damn good day.  I hope you had a great day as well. 

Happy Easter or Passover if you celebrate -- or just have a terrific Sunday if you don't.  

Cross That One Off

Hey there, Friends.

You know how people talk about their Bucket List -- all the cool things they want to do before they die?  I think most everyone has a lot of the same things on their list:

1) Find true love/soulmate/man of my dreams
2) Travel the World

You get the point.  What about visiting the World's Largest Kaleidoscope?  You know, assuming you knew that it existed and could be visited.  That would totally make your list, right Friends?  It might be way, way, way down the list -- I'm not saying it has to be top 10 or anything.

Well, it does exist and you can go visit it!  Turns out the World's Largest Kaleidoscope is about an hour drive from where I live.  How have I never visited? Such an oversight had to be rectified immediately. I had the day off, the weather was beautiful, and we are about to get pummeled by a blizzard.  Time to squeeze in an adventure before the snowflakes start to fall.

I set off with Google Maps as my trusty copilot.  It's true, Google Maps and I have had some issues in the past, but it was on its best behavior today.  I made it to my destination without any problems.

There it is -- World's Largest Kaleidoscope

I went inside and found the entrance in the Kaleidostore. Since I was the only person there I was going to get a private screening.  I got to choose from 4 different shows that they have.  I went with the newest one, Stardust.  Apparently it was made based loosely on Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Sounds cool to me.

We get to the room, and the guide explains that there are back and neck rests to use.  She said that since it was just me, what I really should do is lay on the floor with my head in the center. That's what she does when she watches it alone.  Your neck doesn't get sore from being at a weird angle, and since the speakers are built into the floor you can feel the music pulsing.

I'm game -- that sounds awesome!

So she shuts me in, the lights turn down, and I get situated on the floor.  I tried to get some video, but it really isn't quite the same as seeing it in person.

Imagine you are staring at this overhead

It was very relaxing, and a little trippy.  If you go and are alone or in a small group you definitely need to lay on the floor to watch.  The bass pumping through the speakers will you give a massage while you watch.  

My advice?

If you go you definitely need to make it a day trip and find some other things to do in the area.  Stay at the spa for the weekend, go hiking, find some things to do in Kingston or Woodstock.  The Kaleidoscope show is only about 5-10 minutes long. It is cool, and I'm glad I went and got to experience it, but the hour drive each way to only do that was kind of bummer.  Poor planning on my part.  Learn from my mistakes!

Still pretty

Through the Eyes of My Nephew

**Note:  Hi, Friends.  I started writing this a few days ago, but never had a chance to finish it.  I wasn't sure about posting it now, but I think perhaps my extended family members could use a little levity.**


Hey, Friends.

Remember how I told you that my Mom and I were surprising my niece and nephew with a trip to Washington D.C.?    We saw all of the monuments, went to several of the Smithsonian museums, and to the National Zoo.  We got back last night, and rather than give you the normal tourist recap (although I did take a ton of pictures to share at some point!), I thought I'd give you the highlights of the trip as recalled by my 8 year old nephew, Austin.

I have visions of him being asked to write about his summer vacation when he starts school again down in Texas, and my brother and sister-in-law being horrified when they see what he has written. This could be considered preparation for what they may hear coming out of his mouth at some point.

A little bit of backstory first...

Austin loves to ask "Would You Rather" questions when he is bored -- like driving in a car, riding on a train, or waiting for anything.  Normally these are more along the lines of, "Would you rather have to smell everything with your hands, or have your ears on the bottom of your feet?"  Shortly after they arrived for the summer, he asked my brother and I, "If you were homeless, would you rather live in your car or live outside?"

He was amazed when my brother and I both said we would live in our cars, and wanted to know why. I tried to explain that it would be a little safer, I would be dry and kind of comfortable, and I would have someplace to keep my stuff while I tried to find a job and get another place to live.  This is the conversation that followed:

Austin:  I would live outside. I could just walk to Grandma's house.

Me: I have a car. I could could drive to Grandma's house.

Austin: Okay...but what if you had a car but no keys? Ha!  What would you do then?

Me: I would still live in my car. I could walk to Grandma's house too.

Austin: I would live outside, but I'd have a skateboard.

Me: Why do you need a skateboard?

Austin: Because then I could be like Marty McFly in Back to the Future and get rides on my skateboard by holding on to the back of people's cars!  Zoom, zoom!


Just keep that in the back of your mind while we move on to the main story.

And now, Friends, I present to you:

AUSTIN WENT TO WASHINGTON -- THE HIGHLIGHTS

My Mom decided to ask Austin what he remembered and liked best from his trip to Washington D.C. when we were on the train back yesterday afternoon.  It had been a long trip and he was getting a little punchy by the end of it. **Note to My American Friends -- you might think you are going to be overwhelmed with patriotism here.  You would be wrong.**

1) "There were a lot of homeless people.  Remember this morning there was that man sleeping on the sidewalk outside the hotel?  And there was the guy singing with the boom box, and the other day there were the people outside the grocery store?  And then there was that guy in the restaurant with the cup? And then there was that monk-guy who kept trying to give Aunt Tammy things so she would give him money and he didn't speak English?"

And then my niece, Lili (she's 13) jumped in with: "And the hotel had instructions in a book for tourists on what to do so they didn't get robbed!"

Austin: "It did?  But the key to use the elevator was really cool."

Me: "So Austin, remember the other day when you said you would live on the street if you were homeless?  Would you change your answer now?"

Austin:  **thinks about it** "No.  I would be homeless and sleep in the yard at Grandma's house. She would let me in and give me food, and money, and a shower when I asked."

Me: "But did you see Grandma give any money to the homeless people?"

Austin:  "No, but that's just because she didn't know them.  She knows me.  She would give me food and money when I asked."

The homeless people really made an impression on him.  Any time he is asked about his trip the first thing he says is that there were a lot of homeless people.

2) "It was hot!  Like really, really hot."

He's not wrong about that.  This is the day we went to the National Zoo.

"We had to walk everywhere, and it was all outside with the monuments.  And Grandma kept making us drink water all of the time so no one would faint."

Touching the Washington Monument.  Getting a little meta as I take a picture of my niece taking a picture of herself touching the monument.

 My niece had her own thoughts on it.  "And there were the people with the cross in front of the Lincoln Memorial singing about Jesus.  That was okay, but then they tried to start making everyone believe what they did and that wasn't cool.  They shouldn't have been doing that, especially there."

3) "And remember when we got back to New York, at Penn Station?  Grandma and I saw a guy get arrested!"  There was a brief argument after that, in which my niece basically called bullshit on it.

"No, he did!  Grandma, remember?  Lili and Aunt Tammy went to the bathroom, and we saw that guy walk up to the police desk holding the other guy's arms behind his back!  And then a different police man took him away!  It was so cool."

"And there were all of these Army guys walking around, like from Homeland Security."

"And remember they had the dogs walking around with the police, and they were sniffing everybody and their bags!  And they made the announcement that you shouldn't try to pet the dogs or play with them because they were working."

Lili had a few questions about traveling by train.  "I don't get it.  How come they can't be more like the airport?  The airport can tell you which gate you are leaving from hours in advance.  Why do they have to wait until the last 10 minutes before your train is supposed to leave?  Do they really not know which track you will be on?  It just makes everybody hurry and push trying to get there and get a seat.  And then people fight over where to put their luggage.  Aunt Tammy had words with that one guy who wanted to move my suitcase far away to make room for his own."   She's not wrong.  The crazy rush at the last second seems like it could be avoided...and I may have had a few words with a guy who tried to move her suitcase.  Sorry, buddy.  We were here first and we are using the overhead that is actually over our seats.  You're sitting nowhere near us.  Move along.

Friends, you might be wondering like I was, didn't Austin like anything about the trip other than police activity?

Yes.  Yes, he did.

"I wanted to ride on the giraffe (carousel at the zoo).  He was so cool, but then I had to switch to the ostrich because the giraffe was too tall so it didn't go up and down."

Giraffe joy

"I also liked the lemurs.  They were really cool."

Those are the highlights of our trip to our nation's capital, according to Austin.  I'd like to apologize in advance to my brother and sister-in-law for any mental trauma we may have given him.

Sshhh! It's a Surprise!

Hey, Friends.

So, my niece and nephew are here visiting for the summer.  My brother was here for a week as well, but he has already made the return journey back to Texas.  Now it's time for fun and adventures with his kiddos.

Every summer my mother and I try to take the kids on a trip of some sort.  Last year we went to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, Great Wolf Lodge, and America's Stonehenge.

You may recall past trips have not always gone so smoothly.  Take our trip to Hershey Park, for example: started out awesome, but then there was a tornado and it turned into a hot mess.  Don't remember that bit of fun?  You can read about it right here!

I also like to try and surprise the kids with something.  Last summer I took my niece to see and meet Heffron Drive, and to go see Taylor Swift.  My nephew got to go crazy and bounce his heart out at an indoor trampoline center.

This year's trip begins in a couple hours, and the kidlets have no idea where they are going.  It's a total surprise.  Oh, they know we are taking them someplace today -- they just don't know where, or how.  No details whatsoever.

I feel like I can spill the beans to you at this point, Friends.  Yes, my niece could potentially see this and the surprise could be ruined but......

Honestly?  She is not going to drag her ass out of bed any earlier than she needs to, and I highly doubt her first coherent thought is going to be to check here to see if I shared the news.  I'm willing to roll the dice at this point.  She is too much like me: night person.  I hate getting up early in the morning.  I know there are people who can just wake up at the same time each morning without a problem, but that is not me.  If I don't set an alarm for work every day then that is just not going to happen -- I will sleep right on through.

Back to my point.

The surprise this year?  My mother and I are taking the kids to Washington D.C. for the weekend. On the train!  Extra bonus fun?  My nephew has never been on a train before.  This is going to be awesome!

We started laying the groundwork already.  Dropping subtle hints in a way.  They'll figure it out after the fact, I'm sure.

Sunday night my mother showed them National Treasure.  Monday night I showed them Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.  I really thought they would question why we were watching the second movie of that series and not any of the others, but they didn't.

My original plan was to show them the movie Monday evening while we were hanging out, and then I would tell them about the trip.  They could freak out and get excited, started Googling things about D.C., etc.  When I told my brother about the plan, he suggested something a little different.  It's only a tiny bit evil, and that's the plan I went with.

We didn't tell them anything.  They just know they are going somewhere.  Some place out of New York State.  And it required packing a suitcase.

It's driving them insane!  Like my niece has been harassing my brother via text message to try to get him to tell her since my mother and I won't.  My father has been making up stories and trying to convince them that we are taking them to Niagara Falls -- I don't know why he chose that location, but he has been rolling with it.

So this morning we will be getting on the train, and even then we aren't telling them where they are going.  And it will still be a surprise for a bit longer.

How, you might be wondering?  Won't they make an announcement on the train about the destination?

Yes, Friends, I'm sure they will. I thought about that.

You see, the first train we take just goes to Penn Station.  If the kidlets are awake enough and paying attention they will think they are going to New York City.  They will probably assume that it is their final destination.  With any kind of luck they will not figure it out until we get on the train at Penn Station and head to Washington.

And then their brains will probably explode, and they will start asking about what we are going to see, will we see the stuff from the movies, etc.  That's how they roll.  My nephew will be excited and asking a million questions, and my niece will be Snapchatting  and Instagraming (are they words? They are now!) the whole experience for all of her friends back in Texas.  She's the social media queen.

TTFN, Friends.  I've got to finish getting my act together for our imminent departure.  If you're just dying to know how this all plays out, you can follow along on our adventure via Twitter.  I'm @tammyshampoo and I will be updating there.

It's Quite a Yarn

Hey there, Friends.

Yesterday I got recruited to go on an adventure with my Mom. I was responsible for navigating our course and any parallel parking that might be necessary.  What was our adventure about?  I'm so glad you asked!

Yarn Shop Cruise Passport.  Yeah, you read it correctly.

My mother loves to knit and crochet, Friends.  She is involved in several different groups.  A friend in one of her groups told her about this...game? contest?  I'm not sure what to call it.  You visit all of the yarn shops in this passport, and at each location you get a stamp and a little prize.  Once you fill your entire passport by the deadline you are qualified to go on a cruise on the Hudson River, and win some other prizes.

I myself don't knit.  Oh, my Mom has tried to teach me, but it just isn't my thing.  I succeeded in making one scarf, and it was it was a hot mess: full of holes and saggy, all off kilter.  The recipient wore it at least once, so I count that as a win.

My role in this adventure was purely navigating and having a sense of direction. This is something I obviously did not inherit from my Mom.  In her mind if you turn right you will be going North -- doesn't matter what direction you were facing previously, right will always be North in her world.  I can't even tell you how many times we have had a version of the following conversation:

Mom: And I couldn't go back the normal way because of construction, so it took me forever to get home.

Me: Why didn't you use the Garmin?

Mom: Didn't have it with me.

Me: So just head towards the river.  Doesn't matter which side you are on, just head towards the river and you'll find a road you recognize, and then you'll know where to go from there.

Mom: But if I don't know where I am, then how do I know where the river is?

Me: Because it's the river!  It's a huge landmark!

Mom: But if you can't see it then you don't know where it is.

Me: OMG you were my Girl Scout Leader!  If you can't see the river, use the sun.  That will give you East and West.  

And it repeats.  It's an endless cycle of her not having a sense of direction, and me being flummoxed by the fact that she can't vaguely figure out which direction to go.  

Back to the point, Friends.

So, the yarn shops participating in this passport deal are all over the Hudson Valley. She and some of her knitting friends are going to visit 3 of them together on Tuesday.  She has already recruited my Dad to take her to the ones south of here because she doesn't like driving in all of that traffic. Yesterday we were visiting two shops on the other side of the river, and she needed my navigation skills.  I am also more familiar with the area as a lot of the parks I like to hike in are over there.  She has this all plotted out based on when the various stores are open.  This is serious business, Friends.

The first stop on our adventure?

Saugerties

Lucky enough we were able to find a parking spot quite easily, and my parallel parking skills were not needed.  

I noticed as were were driving that there were all of these horse statues in front of different businesses.  They are apparently part of the Gallopin' Around Saugerties Street Art Project run by the Chamber of Commerce.  They are pretty cool.

The unicorn was my Mom's favorite.

We also found this one nearby.

This one looks like it is made of chocolate

He was nicely color-coordinated with the building across the street

This liked this one a lot

This one is my favorite, of all the horses we saw.

After we were done horsing around (ha!), we made our way to the The Perfect Blend Yarn and Tea Shop.  

The Perfect Blend street front

Display in the shop

It was a very cool, pretty place.  My Mom got her passport stamped, and then she had a list of different yarns she wanted for various projects.  Mainly the list was to try and keep focused so she wouldn't just buy a shit ton of yarn.  

Not being a knitter myself, I was checking out all of the cool colors and designs.  They had yarn there from all over the world!  I had no idea there were so many different types of yarn -- and I don't just mean the thickness or colors.  There was yarn made from wool, cotton, silk, bamboo, mohair, alpaca, and even yak.  Yak yarn!  

Cozy scene, interesting looking wooden thing

So that's what it does!  Still not sure what it is doing, but at least I sort of get it now.

After my Mom had made her purchases, it was time to head back to the car and continue on our journey to shop #2.  Saugerties seems like a pretty cool place.  I'll have to go back and check it out when I have more time to just wander around.

Love Knot

We didn't get to far in our journey before we were stopped by a train.

There was some impressive graffiti on a few of the train cars, but didn't get a picture

Thankfully, it was not one of the super-long, 100+ car trains.  We were headed to a shop with a New Paltz address.  We drove through New Paltz, and the directions kept going.  We got there eventually, but it seemed to me like we were closer to being in Gardiner than New Paltz.  The boundaries around that area confuse me.  It has also caused chaos in Library Land, being between two different systems, but that is a long story and I don't want to bore you to death.  

We finally reached our objective: White Barn Farm Fiber Shop.

Like the name says: white barn

This place was interesting for different reasons.  Yes, there was lots of pretty yarn and colors.

Very cute display

It also had an area of local yarn.  Like really local.  The woman who owns the store also owns a flock of sheep, and it is the wool from those sheep that is in the local yarn.  There are also yarns from other people nearby, or yarns painted by people nearby.

Can't get much more local than that

I was also digging some of the funky decor.

Sheep in a hat...maybe of his own making

My Mom got her passport stamped, and while she was paying for her purchases I was checking out the bulletin board by the door.  My attention was drawn to a big handwritten notice, and I felt the information was important enough to take a picture to share here:

I hope it came out clear enough for you to read it, or at least to be blown up and read.  

And then we made our way back home, actually passing through Gardiner.  My Mom has been there before for the Cupcake Festival, but she still didn't really know where she was until she saw a pretty obvious landmark.

It's pretty memorable

It was a successful adventure.  I'm pretty sure my part in the great Yarn Passport event is now over, barring assistance being required to make it to other shops before the deadline.

I'm not a knitter, but I would recommend checking out both of these stores.  While it is all yarn, the selections available in each place were very different from one another.  Plus you get to do a little exploring and have a quiet, calm sort of adventure.