An Abundant Life - Design Abundance

This past week was the Boutique Design New York fair, which is also known as BDNY. I've been blessed to go for several years now and it is always one of my favorite experiences. I love to go to different design showrooms and celebrations and fairs, but there is something very special about BDNY because so many of the people there are smaller business owners and designers and crafts people. I always find something new and wonderful and beautiful and inspiring while seeing some of the people who I have met before, and each time I go I have so much fun meeting new people and saying hello to the designers and businesses I already know.

Visiting with the different designers and companies is always so inspiring, and the event itself is always so joyful! I always find new people and places to connect with and ideas and designs to bring back to my gallery and also to recommend for other projects. There is so much to see and do that it feels like being in a playground of sorts, one that is filled with and abundance of design, ideas, inspiration and beauty.

A Visit To BDNY

At The Javits Center

New York City

https://bdny.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

   

An Abundant Life - Artful Music

I wrote a little bit last week about the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour that was on Sunday, November 3, and this week I wanted to follow up with some of the music that was played in the afternoon and evening of that beautiful day's celebration. Visionary Module who has performed at the gallery before was there in the evening to create his always wonderful music with some covers and some original pieces, and there was another band that played in the afternoon by the name of Plunk, Steven Dworkin on accordion and cello, David Gould on percussion, and Kevin Kemper on guitar and electronics, who play experimental music and described themselves to me as "a free improvisation music trio that combines acoustic and electronic, melodic and textural sounds into a unique experience." They were all that and more, and the combination of their wonderful music with the changing afternoon light in the gallery made for a gorgeous sound installation and immersive experience. Both Plunk and Visionary Module invited a wonderful group of friends and the gallery had such a lovely feeling to it throughout the day and evening.

Because of my own schedule, I had arrived early that day to set up and was waiting until I had everything moved around and completed before changing into the dress I was planning to wear. It was a pink sequined gown that I'd found just recently at the Hoboken Thrift Store, a wonderful place that I've written about in these pages before. It was very comfortable, but it had a little bit of a train, so I didn't want to be dragging it around and risk tripping on it or damaging it while I was moving everything into the places where they needed to be for the event. Fred Watson who arrived in the afternoon took the most wonderful photograph of me in it, and I'm so grateful to him as always for his support of the gallery and of me and his good hearted celebratory spirit. When I first put the dress on it was still very sunny outside, and with the light shining in the windows the sequins on the dress danced on the walls like stars. A visitor took a video of me that I haven't yet seen, but the memory of it still reminds me of how beautiful and special that day was because of all the wonderful people who were part of it.

The Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

By Fred Watson

Dress From The Hoboken Thrift Store

Plunk

Steven Dworkin - Accordion And Cello

David Gould - Percussion

Kevin Kemper - Guitar And Electronics

Live At YES Gallery

Visionary Module

Performing A Cover

Live At YES Gallery

Visionary Module

Performing An Original Creation

Live At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Celebrating Art

I've written about the Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour in these pages before, and in the past two years since I opened YES Gallery I've written about the joyous experience of celebrating the Artists' Studio Tour as a gallery that is participating in the event. This year it is today, November 3, and I had the wonderful opportunity to welcome some musicians to the space who are new to me by the name of Plunk, a trio who perform experimental music. Though they are new to me, they are not new to Hoboken as they have been living in Hoboken and making their wonderful music together in the area for some time now.

Along with Plunk I also had the wonderful opportunity to welcome back Visionary Module and in a lovely way to see these different musicians interacting with each other as one of the members of Plunk had heard from a friend that I sometimes had experimental music at the gallery and Visionary Module was one of the people who has brought his experimental music to the space. When I told him about Plunk, and that I had met them because they had heard about his performances at the gallery, he decided not only to play but to stop by and listen to their set. It's so beautiful when Artists can meet and see and listen and be inspired by each other.

I'll be writing more next week as the day itself is so busy that I won't have time for more than just this little blurb for now. It's such a joy to experience the Artists in the space and also to be able to welcome the community for wonderful celebrations like this. When we celebrate Art together in welcoming community settings and celebrations, every moment brings another beautiful memory and inspiration abounds.

Hoboken Artists' Studio Tour 2024

Celebrating Art and Music

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

  

An Abundant Life - Community Space

A few weeks ago I met the Council Member at Large in Hoboken at the Hoboken Art and Music Festival. There was a work of art in YES Gallery by the Marvelous Artist Joel Liscio who I have written about in these pages before. He creates collage pieces of different sizes, and he happened to have brought one to YES Gallery when I first opened that had a variety of current affairs photographs from the cover of Time Magazine circa 2019 included in it, and that particular magazine had a group of the Democratic Leadership in the United States. Shortly after that, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ran together and were subsequently elected, but at the time that he made the piece we didn't yet know who Joe Biden's running mate would be, so Joel titled it "Who Knew?" when he brought it to the gallery in 2022. 

There are some topics I stay away from in the gallery, religion, politics, anything too risqué or anything violent, because I want people to feel comfortable in the gallery and not have to feel as if they are being asked to take sides or make statements or agree or disagree with anything they see. I want visitors of every age and every background to feel welcomed. When Joel brought that piece along with the others in his collection, he didn't know if I would take it because of the political images, but I thought it was a wonderful piece and so very well made and aesthetically pleasing that I gladly included it, knowing that if anyone asked me if it was meant to be a statement, I could explain the story behind it. 

When Kamala Harris was announced as the Democratic candidate for President, I started seeing all kinds of Artists creating pieces especially for this historic time, and the Hoboken Dems were a group that I became aware of that were having events and that had at least one Artist's work as part of a promotion. I wanted to get in touch with them in some way and when I went to the Hoboken Art and Music Festival I saw someone at a table there for the Hoboken Dems, and it turned out to be the Council Member at Large. He was very busy that day speaking with people, so I waited my turn and quickly explained why I was there, he gave me his number and I gave him my card, and the following week he visited the gallery to talk about having an event there.

This past Thursday night was the night that we chose, and it was such a beautiful evening. The group of people who attended were all so wonderful, and Joel who is also a Sommelier chose the wines with his always wonderful palate. The marvelous Cosmo Gallaro and marvelous Jack Mork who have played at the gallery before provided music from some experimental pieces they've been working on recently, and the refreshment selections curated by one of the members of the Hoboken Dems were so special and lovely. When the Artist OnlyTheArts heard about the event he sent me a message saying that he was planning to make me some Kamala Harris T-shirts. He had been making them and was nearly out, so he did a special screen printed run of what he has titled "Mamala" shirts. He brought me a framed version too along with the shirts on the night of the event, so now YES Gallery has a little bit more of politics than before, but in this historic time it feels right.

The Hoboken Dems are such a supportive community grass roots organization that the focus of they work that they do is so much about all of the things that are important to me and have been for my whole life, from the time that as a young child I learned from my own family about the community issues that affect us all. In my adult life everything that I do and believe in has community and youth development based aspects, and that is why YES Gallery is what it is. I felt on the night of the event that my parents were smiling over everything that was happening there, and the community space that has been created seemed to grow even brighter.

An Evening With Hoboken Dems

At YES Gallery

With Featured Artwork And Sommelier Selections

By Joel Liscio

Experimental Music

By Cosmo Gallaro and Jack Mork

Mamala T-Shirts By OnlyTheArts

And Wonderful Refreshments Curated By

A Member Of Hoboken Dems

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Gift Of Art

There was a lovely woman who walked by YES Gallery one day and was standing outside looking in. When I said hello and invited her in, she hesitated at first but when I continued to speak with her she walked up the stairs and inside to continue the conversation. She told me that she had been walking by for some time and had been admiring the art through the windows and open door, and that one painting in particular caught her eye. She was looking for a gift for a very special young woman she knows and she thought the colors of the piece would go with things the young woman had in her home. It was also very bright and cheerful, and so she thought that the feeling it gave her would be something nice to share as a gift.

The painting she had been drawn to is by Jason Brian Fox who I've written about in these pages before. There are several of his pieces in the gallery, and the particular one that she was looking at is framed and matted, and because of the size and quality of the framing it is more expensive than some of his other work. She had told me she was on a budget and when I explained the reason it was priced the way it is, I offered to contact the Artist and see if there was a way he could make a piece for her that used similar colors and style, but that would be within the amount range she could feel more comfortable with.

When I contacted Jason and explained the conversation, he said he would try his best and when he finished the piece and brought it to me at the gallery he really had created something, that though different because it was on canvas and not on paper and matted and framed, was very much along the lines of the other.

A little over a week ago the woman stopped by to pick it up and bring it to the young woman she knew as a gift. She had seen a photograph of it and then had seen the painting itself, and when the day came for her to take it, I wrapped it for her, showing her how to do it in the careful way I had been taught by another Artist in case she needed to unwrap or rewrap it for any reason. 

After delivering her gift she stopped by to tell me that the young woman loved it, and it was one of those moments that make me so happy. It's a joy to help someone find a beautiful work of art that means something to them, and a joy to help connect an Artist with the person who in some way their work was made for. Jason named it "Struggle Becomes Salvation" as a reminder that sometimes in life we will face struggles and difficulties, but that through that we will draw closer to God. Having the opportunity to share that with this lovely woman as well led us to speaking more about our own experiences and faith, and that was a beautiful gift as well.

"Struggle Becomes Salvation"

A Commission For A Very Special Gift

By Jason Brian Fox

Shown Near The Original Piece

That Caught The Imagination Of A Visitor

At YES Gallery

408 Sixth Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Trip Across The Pond

A number of years ago I met some wonderful people from London who were living in New York. They had lots of friends and lots of fun and they invited me to join them for parties and visits to some very wonderful places. One thing they always said when they spoke about the Atlantic Ocean was to call it the pond. I'm not sure why this is something that is said, but I always thought it was an interesting and somehow funny way to think about a large and mighty ocean.

This past week I went to Long Island City in Queens, and though the trip was under the East River and by subway is a very short trip, when I started writing this blog I thought about the expression the people from London I knew used to say and for some reason it seemed just right. The journey I took that day may have been a quick one from the standpoint of one subway stop to another, but from the way I felt before I went to the way I felt after, it was as if I had been on a much longer adventure.

The reason for the trip was to meet with Dena McCoy who I know through Instagram and our mutual friend Ivonne Camacho who I have written about in these pages before. Dena had written a book titled Greed & Grace which I will be writing more about in the coming weeks, and I had been very interested to hear more about it, but it was for another reason that I first reached out to her. She had been posting music and performances by her daughter, Ava, and the posts and music and performances were so beautiful that I felt as if I needed to send her a message and offer to write about Ava and also Dena in my blog. They are both so talented that I thought they might not be interested in meeting with me because they most likely had lots of people contacting them and very busy lives, but I was honored to have Dena respond with kindness accepting my offer. We made an appointment to meet in person, and that is why I found myself traveling to Queens. I'll be writing more about Dena and Ava and their beautiful creativity soon, but today I'll write a bit about Cafe Henri and the walk I took with Dena to the waterfront after our lovely brunch.

Cafe Henri is right across the street from the Number 7 Subway stop, the first stop in Queens after leaving Grand Central. I was there so quickly that I didn't have time to send Dena a text to say I was on my way as I had planned. The restaurant is lovely and it is described on its website as a little taste of Paris in LIC which it really is. The menu had everything that I love on it, and I chose an old favorite, Steak and Eggs, that I first had years ago on a trip with my Mother from college when we stopped at a truck stop diner along the highway. Ever since that day I've felt like Steak and Eggs was somehow something very special, and I don't often have it. Cafe Henri made a wonderful one, with hollandaise sauce on the egg that was cooked just right the way I like it and steak that was cooked to my preference as well. Hollandaise sauce was something that I learned about the first time when I was visiting with a boyfriend in Hawaii when I was in college. He said he wanted Eggs Benedict and I told him if he had a cookbook I could make it because I can make anything with a cookbook. I hadn't known that it would have all the steps that it did, but it came out perfectly and he was very impressed with me. After that glowing experience I had it again on a trip to New York when a dear old friend took me to the old Four Seasons and they made it right at my table for my asparagus. Having Steak and Eggs and Hollandaise sauce made this brunch not only lovely on that day but brought back so many beautiful memories. It came with home fries and a salad which were lovely too and along with the wonderful conversation and beautiful kind Dena across the table from me, the beautiful surroundings and the wonderful staff I felt like I was truly in another world.

After brunch we walked to the waterfront, a quick few blocks away. The view from Hunter's Point South Park is a very beautiful and special one, with all of the architectural wonder of the Manhattan skyline in full and very close view. As I walked along the walkway and took photographs, for the last one I aimed my camera and hoped for the best. The sunshine was so bright it was difficult to see in my lens, but the views were so stunning and the sky so blue with the most beautiful clouds that I knew something good would appear. I was blessed with a radiant ray of light that shone directly from the sky to the water, a beautiful symbol of that beautiful day, meeting with the beautiful Dena and talking about life and art.

A Meeting With Dena McCoy

At Cafe Henri

1010 50th Avenue

Long Island City, New York

https://cafehenrilic.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

 

An Abundant Life - Art Month

Yesterday was the anniversary of the day that I was baptized after I was born again. When I woke up in the morning it was early and the sunlight was so beautiful I had to take a photograph of it. As I've written in these pages before, it's a funny thing for me to look at my life now, in comparison to what it was, and it's been eighteen years filled with so many changes and so many things happening that I feel as if sometimes not only am I a different person, but that I've lived several lives. In a way my life has become completely new, but in another way I've been going through such a deep healing process that I'm being reminded of who I was and who I was always meant to be.

Twenty-one years ago I had the idea that I would start an art and community center, and I went into partnership with someone to do that. As I've written before at different times, the other person was not the right person to do that with in any way and two years after that time I went through a dark night of the soul and God reached into my life and I was born again. That's a big story that I've written about before, and I may write more about it again, but today I want to write about the fact that in 2022 I opened an Art Gallery and community space called YES Gallery and that is where I spent my afternoon on the beautiful day of the anniversary of when I was baptized. 

It's art month in Hoboken, and I took a photograph of the outside of the gallery to post and share with people and to recognize the people who help put this beautiful time of art and celebration together. The Hoboken Department of Cultural Affairs, the Hoboken Business Alliance and Main Street Pops do so much for the community, and by putting this month of celebration together with so many people and businesses and Artists it's creating a feeling of art and creativity throughout the city. There will be more to come with news of events and later this month there's a very special group that has asked to have a very special gathering at the gallery. If you had told me in October of 2004 that I'd be writing this now in October of 2024, it wouldn't have seemed possible. But that's why it's so amazing to share this, because the vision was there all those years ago and even though I was stumbling around I'm the darkness and didn't see my way clearly, God brought it to pass, step by step and inch by inch, row by row as the lovely Pete Seeger song tells us, the garden grows.

YES Gallery

Celebrating Hoboken Art Month

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Beautiful Launch

I've written about the restaurant Halifax in Hoboken in these pages before, and also the wonderful Chef Seadon Shouse who is the Executive Chef. Every time I visit is such a beautiful experience, and everything and everyone there is always so excellent, kind, warm, friendly and all of the things that make a true hospitality experience a special one.

When there are special events at Halifax, I always like to try to go, and when I heard about the launch of Kingfisher Vol. II, I knew it would be a wonderful evening. I had gone to the launch of the first Kingfisher, a collaboration with Maker's Mark, and the evening was truly memorable. The first Kingfisher launch was later in the year and it was a bit cooler than it is now, and so this time in a way seemed like a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of autumn with the promise of the cooler weather to come while still having warmer weather to enjoy.

As always, the event was truly beautiful and everything was a delight. They had a special bottle engraver and also hand made cigar rolling along with the wonderful food and specialty cocktails. Each hors d'oeuvres was so special and they all wove together to make such a flavor filled extravagant experience that I am still dreaming about it. The promotional team from Maker's Mark had some very fun and really special gift giveaways, and I was lucky enough to have one of the team members take my photograph so I could post the memory of that really beautiful blessing of an evening.

It's with so much gratitude that I write this blog post, for the team from Maker's Mark and the team at Halifax and all the staff there who always make me feel so welcome. The Artist I had invited to join me that evening said that it was exquisite and I agree with him completely. There is an art to hospitality as there is to culinary art, and Chef Shouse and all the staff at Halifax are truly wonderful Artists in all they do to make every moment so beautiful and so special.

Kingfisher Vol. II Private Selection Event

A Collaboration With Maker's Mark

At Halifax

  225 River Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.halifaxhoboken.com

Photograph With So Much Gratitude

To The Gorgeous Leona

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Better Days

Someone visited YES Gallery the other day who told me when he walked in that he had walked by and gotten to the corner and then he felt like he had to turn around and walk in the door because he wanted to know what that place was. We talked for a while and he said that he couldn't put it into words but being in the gallery made him feel really good, and then he said, "Like being on a mountaintop with the sunrise, like better days are coming." 

Words like that mean so much to me, because I want people to feel good when they are in YES Gallery. The mission of the gallery is to provide an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to be welcomed and have the experience of a gallery, and when I hear how much people enjoy their time there it makes me feel really happy. 

I say "thanks to God for anything good that I do" all the time when people compliment me on something, and YES Gallery was created and keeps evolving and growing with God's divine help. Visitors always say they feel something special inside and even walking by, and they tell me how beautiful it is and that they like it and feel comfortable. During the time since I first opened the doors I've had so many memorable guests and events, and it's really so beautiful to have all these beautiful memories of people who have shared their lives and words and art and time with me there. 

When this recent visitor described how he felt, I took in his words as the words of a prophet. Mountaintops and sunrises speak volumes about coming out of the valley and out of darkness, and his words "like better days are coming" is something that I think we all need to hear from time to time, even when things are ok. When there is uncertainty in our world as there is now and challenges for every day life, hearing that better days are coming is a reminder that though we may not know exactly how or when or where we're actually headed, it will be a change for the better from where we are now, wherever it is and however we get there.

When I woke up this morning early, I saw the sunrise reflecting in a mirror I have on my windowsill. It's a special mirror that an Artisan made, and I put it in the window because I wanted the sun to reflect on it when it rose. The room where it has a window that faces east, and at different times of the year because of the angle of the window the sun changes slightly in the way it shines through. Seeing the reflection this morning reminded me of the beautiful day when I found the mirror and met the Artisans who created it, and it reminded me that with just a little change in the weather and time a beautiful mirror can take on a special glow, and if I wait and trust and keep on doing the things I feel I must, the things I am hoping for and working towards will begin to glow with a new light as well.

Morning Light

In An Artisans' Mirror

Evening Glow

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - YES Blessings

A few weeks ago someone I know stopped by YES Gallery and said that he'd been wanting one of the paintings by Danilo Peguero that he had seen when I first opened in August 2022. He has been telling me for a while that he thinks I have some really wonderful work in the gallery, and when he stopped by he told me that the painting by Danilo had a very special meaning for him.

I love the stories that people share with me that I can share with the Artists about what their work means to someone else. It's really a beautiful thing to be able to share how their work has touched someone else in a powerful way, and it's lovely to be a part of sharing that story when it's someone they have never met and who has never seen their work before walking into YES Gallery. Art has a way of connecting people and bringing people together, in conversation, in emotion, in feeling and experiences of times and places. Each time someone walks into YES Gallery the stories that the Artists tell and the story that I tell through the gallery installation reach new people and begin to create more branches of the stories as they move and grow through new eyes, new experiences, and new responses.

Danilo Peguero is one of the Artists who I've written about in these pages before, and his work was the first focus when I opened the gallery. He painted a portrait of me live at the gallery, an experience that was truly a wonderful blessing, and I've regularly kept two more of his paintings in the gallery since that first grand opening show. People always respond so well to his work because it is so beautiful and so well done. His technique is of the highest excellence, and his intention is to make every painting one that will have lasting impact as work of museum quality. The piece that the Collector of his work chose is one that always has many admirers, and right around the same time that we began discussions about it, someone else arrived in the gallery who was looking for pieces for another Collector and she pointed out that same piece. As the timing worked out, it was the first person who was able to secure it, and the way it happened was such a beautiful experience for me that made it even more of a meaningful and lovely story to share with the Artist.

The painting is a beautiful one and I will miss seeing it, but knowing that it is going to a very happy new home where it will be cherished and loved and admired by even more new eyes who visit and see it is a blessing. This experience was a truly beautiful one, that brought people together in a very deeply meaningful way. It's a blessing that brought so many blessings to me, and also to so many, and helped remind me of how beautiful the world and people can be.

"Hair Coloring Beauty Parlor"

By Danilo Peguero

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Another Time

I had been thinking of writing about something else for this week, but then when I was on my way home on Friday night, I saw the Tribute Of Light in the night sky over Manhattan and I realized that with everything else that had been going on in my life, not only were we in September but we were coming up to September 11 and though I had definitely thought about it along with everything else, I hadn't really taken the time to reflect on that time and what had happened in 2001.

Tribute In Light is something that is so important as a reminder. It's been more than twenty years since the view of the skyline was forever changed and along with that view so many people were lost or deeply affected by what had happened. I was living in a neighborhood near the site at that time, and experienced the events of that day on the rooftop of my building, living through the days afterward in a city that was in shock and mourning. They key word that I thought about on Friday night when I walked up the hill and saw the Tribute In Light was life. I was living through the days afterward and I am living now, and even when life seems difficult or even frighteningly filled with worries and cares, I am alive and have my health, and that is a blessing that I need to always be thankful for.

In the twenty-three years that have passed, so many things have changed in the world and in my own life. There have been wonderful times and difficult times, celebrations, loss, renewal, uncertainty, joy, pain and growth, but the reminder of September 11 for me is that though I was nearby I was safe, and to remember that day in all its horror is to remember that being alive is a gift.

Tribute In Light

Viewed From

The Top Of One Hundred Steps

Jersey City Heights, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

     

An Abundant Life - Storehouse Blessings

Last week two people I know, Aima and Jean Pierre, set a time to come by YES Gallery and bring me dinner. It wasn't just any dinner, it was a homemade Ecuardorian specialty called Seco de Pollo that was made by a Chef who grew up in Ecuador. When they arrived at the gallery with the dinner, I saw them walking down the sidewalk with a suitcase and several bags, and I couldn't figure out what they were bringing or where they were going afterward with all those things until they arrived and said that everything they had carried with them was for me. The suitcase and bags were filled with food, pounds of rice and flour, potatoes, apples, bananas, pasta, a loaf of rye bread and cans of tomato paste, and there was more food too, chicken and kielbasa and ground Italian sausage that they kept in their apartment refrigerator and dropped off the next day when I could bring it home more quickly. 

It was such a beautiful surprise and blessing to have all this food arrive, and the dinner the Chef made and that we shared together was so wonderful. I'd never had that dish before, and he shared about the history of it and also the secret ingredient, something called naranjilla that I hadn't known about or heard of. It took me a few days to bring all the food home, and I had leftovers of the wonderful meal he made too. It's times like that when I am so grateful for the wonderful people who walk into my life and for the care and support and love they share.

As I've written before, there has been so much going on that sometimes it's difficult to schedule my regular events, and this past week was so filled with some very challenging logistical things that having this wonderful dinner brought to me and being surprised by all of this wonderful food and beautiful blessings made me feel like there was a space being made for me to just enjoy and relax and take in the goodness in life. It's wonderful when people surprise us with kindness, and to be blessed in this way is a miracle all of its own. As I look around my own kitchen now and see the jars and shelves filled with provision and my refrigerator and freezer filled to nearly overflowing, with the meals I am making nourishing my body, mind and spirit I feel like I am surrounded with caring love. When our storehouse is blessed we feel taken care of, and I am so grateful for that feeling and blessing that was shared by these beautiful friends.

A Wonderful Seco de Pollo

Made By The Marvelous Jean Pierre

And Served With Love

At YES Gallery

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Two Years And Growing!

This past Friday was the two year anniversary of YES Gallery. August 23 is also the day when I moved to New York City a number of years ago, and I chose that date for the Grand Opening of YES Gallery when I opened the gallery in 2022.

As I wrote recently, there has been so much going on that it's been difficult to schedule events or even to know when I'm going to be able to have a celebration at the gallery, but I saw a window of time around the opening date and I decided that I had to celebrate it because it's a beautiful blessing in my life to have the gallery, and it's in many ways a miracle that it opened at all and that it's still open. There have been so many wonderful things that have happened since the Grand Opening day, and wonderful things that began even before that day, and having a celebration was not only something that would bring some fun and joy, but it also is a reminder of how much I have to be grateful for.

I was able to set the date and make the invitation, and I had wonderful plans to do something special that night, but I wasn't quite sure what would actually happen until the day before when I sent the invitation to Jack who performs at the gallery sometimes with one of his bands and sometimes solo under the name of Visionary Module. He and I had spoken about some ideas he had for the date, but nothing had been decided, and I wasn't sure if he was available or not because I hadn't had a chance to follow up with him and make a plan. When he received the invitation he asked if I'd like him to play solo that evening, and I enthusiastically said YES! It's always such a pleasure to have him perform and the friends who join him to watch and listen and be a part of the celebration are always wonderful people.   

A few days before the anniversary, a rainbow appeared in the sky outside the gallery. When I first opened in 2022, something similar happened, and it felt so much like a beautiful reminder of the promises of God that encouraged me when I opened and encouraged me now. The day of the event was so beautiful, with temperatures and sunshine and light summer breezes that made me remember how lovely August days can be. As I created a video while Jack played, Jeremy Roche who has work in the gallery appeared to say hello. It's always such a blessing to see him and to have him arrive as I was creating the video of Jack and the gallery felt like perfect timing. One of the visitors had parked their turquoise bicycle right near the YES Gallery sign, and that seemed a perfectly lovely and fun touch too. There is so much joy at YES Gallery, and these wonderful people bring so many blessings that make the joy overflow.

A Beautiful Two Year Anniversary

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

With Live Music By The Marvelous

Visionary Module

And Wonderful Guests

Including Jeremy Roche

And A Wonderful Turquoise Bike

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

  

An Abundant Life - A Walk In The Park

As I've written about in these pages before, I've been traveling back and forth to Massachusetts for a while now because of some business that is very important and part of my own life in a very deep and meaningful way. A few times I've written about the wonderful place I've been staying while there, The Ritz Carlton Boston which is a newer hotel, and also my own history with the first Ritz Carlton that was there that is now under new management as another hotel. My life history has so many parts of it that are part of Boston and Massachusetts, and I've written about that too, but today I want to share a little bit about the last trip I took and how a walk in the Public Gardens brought back so many memories all at once that I found myself feeling like I was walking back in time.

The times that I've been traveling to Boston before over this past year since last fall have been in weather that is either wintry or rainy or not the best weather for wandering, The other difficulty I've found in taking my usual walks is the timing of how I am traveling and staying and where I need to be when. I usually arrive in the afternoon by train, and the first time I traveled I needed to get my bearings, but after that trip I did find that I had a little bit of time. But the weather wasn't encouraging for walking, and it was so lovely to just stay indoors in such a wonderful environment that the Ritz Carlton and the staff provide that I didn't venture out except when I needed to leave the next morning and head to another train and get to another place, and then at the end of that day I headed straight back to New York. On my way from North Station to South Station, and sometimes if I had a little bit of time on my way from the Ritz Carlton to North Station, I'd look around and try to remember my times in years past in the places I once knew so well, but it's hard to take the time to reminisce when you're trying to figure out the best route to catch a train and you're on a schedule. 

When I traveled in late May, the weather was really beginning to be beautiful, and I needed to meet with someone in the afternoon for part of the business I've been traveling for, but then after that I decided that I'd try to take a walk in the Boston Commons nearby. It's right near the hotel, and I walk through it or around it often to get somewhere else when I'm on these trips, but I decided that afternoon to enjoy the sunset time of golden hour before going inside for dinner and the rest of the evening. That short walk made me want to take another longer one the next time, and so when I was traveling more recently, even though I had less time this time around, I decided to take a longer walk during the longer days of sunlight we have now. 

I began in the Commons, and then walked through from one end to the other, allowing my feet to follow the leading of where I felt I needed to go to rather than letting my head try to figure it out, and I found myself crossing a street and walking into the Public Garden where the Swan Boats are. As I've written in these pages before, I love the E.B. White story "The Trumpet Of The Swan" and have loved it since I was a very young child, and though I knew the Swan Boats were near to the Ritz Carlton, I hadn't realized exactly where they were in relation to the Hotel until I walked in the Public Garden and saw them. Memory is such a strange thing, because all at once when I walked through the gate of the park so many feelings came rushing back, all very beautiful and special. I remembered having a picnic with my first love one afternoon and some of the beautiful walks we'd taken together there, and I remembered being a little girl and asking if I could have my birthday have part of it be taking a ride on a Swan Boat and how excited and happy I was, and other times after that when I'd had so much fun and joy on one of those wonderful boats.

As I walked through the Public Garden I saw the willow trees and the beautiful plantings, the bridge and foot path, and all of the people out enjoying the beautiful afternoon. I remembered things in the way that memory can be, that brought back my own life to me in a way that only deep memories can. Being in that Garden and seeing the Swan Boats and knowing that though all this time has gone by I can still walk there and even take a ride on a Swan Boat if I want to is something so precious and meaningful. There are places that we have in our hearts that we sometimes wish we could go back to, and knowing that sometimes we can visit and see and feel the person we once were is a way to bring us in a fuller circle to who we are now.

The Swan Boats

In The Boston Public Garden

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - By The Beautiful Sea

 Last week I had the opportunity to attend the summer season for Shoppe Object in New York City. When Shoppe Object first started a number of years ago, I attended it then, and because it's such a wonderful experience, whenever I am available and have time to go I try my best to make some time to do it. The organizers host the event twice a year, and in the summer season they also have a special New York Harbor Cruise, and that is an extra special blessing on top of the wonderful blessing of the event itself.

Shoppe Object is a Trade Show for creative entrepreneurs from around the world, and there are so many wonderful designs and creations there that it would be easy to spend every day of the three day adventure, immersing myself in exploring the beautiful designs and objects and meeting the wonderful creative people who have made them. Because my schedule with YES Gallery and my other projects is such a busy one, although I'd like to attend for all the days and all the hours possible, I have to find time between everything else I'm doing and find some time to be away from YES Gallery. It's definitely worth the stretch that it puts on my schedule, because it's so inspiring, and I always meet people who are not only wonderful people who make wonderful things, but I also find really wonderful items to bring to the curated selection at YES Gallery. Last year I was able to bring in some really beautiful sketching and writing notebooks from Gry Mttr, and I began conversations with some other wonderful people about bringing in their wonderful designs and also the possibility of being able to add some wonderful beverages. This year among other exciting creations I found some exquisite candles made with fresh flowers and herbs, and a coffee creator who I had not known about who also has chocolate! There were also some beautiful three dimensional fold out gift cards that were so beautiful and so fun that they gifts in and of themselves that were reminding me of childhood. Gorgeous pencils from a company that I had always liked were there as well and I found out they also have custom orders and other products that can be enjoyed by Artists and Writers and Gallery Owners like me as well as the people who visit YES Gallery. 

This year Shoppe Object was in two locations, on Broome Street and also on the Pier where they have been in the past. After visiting both locations I made my way to the Seaport for the Harbor Cruise, and it was such a truly lovely and inspiring evening after a lovely and inspiring day. Such a beautiful blessing and I'm so grateful to Shoppe Object for all they do to create this wonderful event and make it so special and so beautiful!

On New York Harbor

With So Much Gratitude

To Shoppe Object

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - The Art Of Music

About two weeks ago or a little more I was at my local supermarket and I saw someone I know who I hadn't seen in a while. Her name is Karina and she is a wonderful singer and performer, and she told me that she was now the Entertainment Director at Saku, a restaurant in Hoboken that I have written about in these pages before and that I always enjoy visiting. She said she would be at Saku that coming Sunday, and so I put the date with her name in my calendar and made a point to be there.

For some reason in our conversation at the supermarket I hadn't realized she'd be singing on that Sunday, perhaps because we were talking quickly as we were both at the end of the day, trying to find our food items and get on our way home. Whatever the reason I had just thought that she'd be there and someone else would be performing, but when I walked in and asked if she was there, the very nice young man at the front entrance told me she was singing in the next room. I was very happy to hear that because I always enjoy her performances, and that night she was singing with Dave, a singer and guitarist who I've heard at other performances of hers in the past when they were with a band. They're both so enjoyable to listen to and they sing and perform so well together that it was truly a fun and entertaining evening and such a beautiful blessing to be in that lovely restaurant that always has such wonderful service, enjoying great food and mixology and listening to wonderful live music.

The following Wednesday evening Karina told me that she and Dave would be at Farside Tavern in Hoboken for Open Mic night. I'd never been there but had always heard about it and seen it as I walked by, and so I added that to my calendar and planned to be there. That evening also was a wonderful one, and in addition to the cover songs that Karina and Dave perform as part of their set list, they sang some originals that they'd written.

The name they've given themselves is "Good Vibes Only" and I have to say it suits them. There's joy and fun and beauty in what they're bringing to the public in these venues with their music and their performance and presence, and it's an art form that for me is always so meaningful. Music and performance, singing and playing wonderful guitar is something that goes back in my own life for as long as I can remember. My brother was a singer and guitarist who played in bands but also sang and played all the time at home, I have been singing and playing something, sometimes guitar though not as well as Dave does and sometimes just singing with other bands and performers, my whole life. Listening to music, going to concerts, singing, making music and performing are such important parts of my consciousness and my world, and having the opportunity to enjoy the music and performance, the voices and guitar playing of Karina and Dave is really such a wonderful experience and only good vibes.

 

Karina and Dave

Good Vibes Only

At Saku

936 Park Avenue

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://sakuhoboken.com

https://www.instagram.com/goodvibesonlynj

And At Farside Tavern

531 Washington Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.farsidetavern.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Community Celebrations And Community Building

This past week the Feast of St. Ann's began in Hoboken, and on Friday, the day of the procession, I was at YES Gallery. I had heard from the marvelous Monte San Giacomo members only club around the corner that they would be offering roast beef sandwiches with hot peppers for anyone who wanted to join them that day, and I made sure to stop by because it's such a special place and a special time and roast beef with hot peppers is a favorite. 

I'd just finished my sandwich at YES Gallery when I heard the faint sound of drums and a marching band, and so I began taking a video thinking that the procession would go by the gallery. They went around the corner to the left first and then came around again on the street below, so I didn't see them but I could hear them beautifully. After taking some time in front of the club, the procession continued on to the church and the festival area. There was something that was so joyful about seeing and hearing this happening on a beautiful summer day, and I found myself feeling so happy and energized with the feeling of community that this event brought together.

 On Saturday afternoon I received a message from one of my dearest friends, the Reverend Maria Isabel Santiviago, who is now retired, that she would be one of the women honored in a celebration at St. Ann's Church For The Deaf in Manhattan for Women In Ministry. St. Ann's Church For the Deaf is the church where we met in 2009 when I first began teaching Nutrition and Health Classes with Cornell University Cooperative Extension in New York City as part of a program called "Making The Most Of Food" which was the expanded version of a pilot program I'd participated in the year before named "Kitchens Of Faith." She asked me if I'd be willing to teach to the Deaf Community if she translated and I said yes, and then we went on from there to collaborate together and teach several workshop series. It was the first time that anyone from Cooperative Extension in New York had taught that community in the 40 year history of the nutrition and health program, and we were highlighted at of of the conferences and in a newsletter for the work that we did together. It was so much work but it was made so beautiful by the people involved and this beautiful Reverend, Maria.

When I heard that she would be honored at the celebration I made plans to go because I'd been wanting to see her for a while and this would be a beautiful way to share time together. I'll be writing more about that in future posts, but for now, I'll post about the St. Ann's Festival in Hoboken with some photographs and videos from the lovely people and celebrations that happened during those days when I was blessed to be at YES Gallery and enjoy the community celebration and hospitality.

A Wonderful Roast Beef Sandwich

With Hot Peppers

Enjoyed At YES Gallery

With So Much Gratitude

To The Monte San Giacomo Club Members

For Their Community Hospitality

The Faint Sound Of Drums

And A Marching Band

Rounding The Corner

With The Full Procession

Continuing On Their Way

To The Church And Festival

The Feast Of St. Ann's Festival

Hoboken, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Musical YES

Last week I wrote about the marvelous Visionary Module and how he helped encourage me to plan an event at YES Gallery on July 14. It really was such a beautiful afternoon and evening, and I'm so grateful that he followed up with me to plan this event that I called the Summer Celebration.

As always, his music and performance made the afternoon such a beautiful and multi-faceted and enjoyable one, as he played guitar and sang b both covers and new material he's written. It's such a beautiful blessing to have such a wonderful musician, singer and songwriter perform at YES Gallery and I have so much gratitude to Jack for helping to make the evenings such a very beautiful and very special one! 

With Jack

After His Performance

At YES Gallery

408 6th Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

With So Much Gratitude

To Jack For A Stellar Performance

And To Fred Watson For The 

Photographs And Collage

He Created 

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Summer Celebration

A few weeks ago I saw one of the musicians who has performed at YES Gallery in the past at an art opening event for at the Hoboken Historical Museum for Jeremy Roche, one of the Artists who has work at YES Gallery. His name is Jack, but he performs under the name of Visionary Module, and he had not only done some wonderful solo performances at events, but he also performed with different variations of his always stellar band at different times and put together a truly wonderful afternoon and evening of four different bands and performers last fall during the Hoboken Artists Studio Tour. He'd been too busy since then to perform, but when I saw him at the Hoboken Historical Museum he said that he felt like he would have some time in the next few months and that he had some new music he wanted to try out. I've been so busy myself with so many things, and sometimes things that come up unexpectedly or that I have very little planning time for, that the last two months I haven't had a chance to schedule an event. When I first opened the gallery I planned to have regular events, and ever since then I've had something every month, but with everything else going on I wasn't sure when I'd have a chance to schedule anything again until Jack told me he had some new music he wanted to try out and I responded that if he had time I'd make time to schedule an event.

When I next heard from Jack he was following up from our conversation, and he said he was available to do something in July and that he'd been practicing his new music. That was just the kind of message that I needed to get me looking at my calendar, and I sent a message back that I thought Sunday, July 14 in the late afternoon and early evening could work if that worked for him. He responded that it did and so the date was set.

July 14 is my Mother's birthday, and it is the anniversary of the day when I said my definitive YES to the person whose space is where the gallery is, to say that yes, I would do this thing called a gallery and take a plunge and a chance that I didn't know what would happen with. It feels so good and so right to be celebrating on that day, and to have Jack playing his new music in the space is a gift. I'll have more photographs and videos after Sunday, but for now, here's a wonderful photograph by Jeremy Roche that I took a screen shot of when it was part of his Artist Talk at the Hoboken Historical Museum, from the afternoon that Jack put together last fall during the Hoboken Artists Studio Tour, and I'm also including the invitation that has a photograph of my own of some gorgeous flowers, roses from a neighbor's front area that they let me cut at the height of their blooming. YES Gallery is always so full of beautiful people sharing their beautiful gifts, and these photographs show a taste of all the goodness and blessings that are shared.

YES Gallery

Summer Celebration Invitation

YES Gallery

During The Hoboken Artists Studio Tour

Photograph By Jeremy Roche

Screenshot From His Artist Talk

Online At The Hoboken Historical Museum

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Very Happy Fourth of July

This week I wanted to take a moment to give a big thank you to Macy's for the Fireworks on the Fourth of July. When I lived in Manhattan I watched the fireworks every year, sometimes from the comfort of my own home or rooftop, sometimes with friends, and sometimes I'd have to walk across town when I was living on the West Side and they weren't on the Hudson River. The first few years I lived in the neighborhood where I am now, I could see them from across the River because they were on the Hudson for quite a while. Then all of a sudden the decision was made to move them to the East River, and because I didn't want to deal with traveling on such a difficult day to travel, I tried to watch them from different places in Jersey City to see if it was possible to see anything. Then a beautiful thing happened, and Jersey City decided to have a big celebration on the Fourth of July with its own fireworks capping off the evening. I didn't know what to expect, but I went to the area where I thought I might be able to see them the best, and with God's leading I found a really beautiful viewing spot and it was a really wonderful experience. That became my regular routine for a number of years, and it was a lovely one.

This year, when I heard that the fireworks would be back on the Hudson River, I was very excited because it made it very easy for me to be at YES Gallery during the day to enjoy that space and visit with people who stopped by, and to do some things that I needed and wanted to do there and then walk over to the Hoboken Waterfront to watch the display. I had heard from friends in other areas that the news was saying that there would be tens of thousands of people expected in Hoboken and that public transportation was adding on extra trains and vehicles to get people there. I had heard that the celebration would be starting at 8pm, and though I knew that would be a kind of a pre-show across the River and that we wouldn't see any fireworks from across the River until sometime after 9pm when it was dark enough, I decided to walk over with the 8pm time in mind just to make sure I could find a good spot for viewing. 

There were so many people, some who had been there for hours picnicking and sitting on blankets, and it reminded me of years ago with my own Mother and Father and how we would make a party of it with a cooler and food and our trusty blanket we only usually otherwise used at the beach. I remember those times as being such happy times, and when I arrived at the Hoboken Waterfront and saw all the families there on their blankets with their picnics it was such a wonderful bringing together of those days and places long ago and the beautiful day and place of today.

The fireworks were spectacular this year. I don't know if it's just because I was so happy that they were back on the Hudson River, but it seemed like they were extra special. I'll share a few videos here to give you a glimpse, but they really were so gorgeous that these glimpses only give a small idea of the way that they made me smile from ear to ear as I watched them, remembering that this very special experience was possible because of where I live now and the life I have that I am so very grateful for.

A Very Happy Fourth of July

On The Waterfront

In Hoboken, New Jersey

With So Much Gratitude to Macy's

For This Gorgeous Display!

https://www.macys.com

Waiting For The Fireworks To Begin

Blessings,

Jannie Susan