An Abundant Life - A Vacation In The City

A friend wanted to have dinner around the holidays, and I was feeling like trying something new so I looked up restaurants in Jersey City and saw one named Frankie that I hadn't been to before. The website described it as being Australian food with a wine list that featured natural wines, and so I made a reservation and we took a little trip down under for the evening.

Frankie was a lovely place to go on the cold winter night when we went there, and I'm looking forward to trying it again when the weather is warmer too. The menu is full of really wonderful things, and the night we were there I was in the mood for fish and chips and so that's what I had along with squash soup that was lovely, but I could honestly have had anything listed. The food was fresh and good and the flavors really inviting in the way that having a dinner with a friend can give us the time to enjoy the tastes and scents of our meal. The environment definitely felt like we were somewhere else for the time we were there, and though it was weather for bundling up in, inside we were cozy and comfortable and with the decor there was definitely a feeling of being on a bit of an adventure to somewhere much warmer.

On nights or days in the city it's wonderful to find places like this that give us a new view of life that we might not have had otherwise. I have friends and family who have lived in Australia and though I have not ever gone there myself, in a beautiful way I feel like I was able to get a glimpse of something on my visit to Frankie that might be a taste of another place while on a vacation much nearer to home.

Frankie

264 Grove Street

Jersey City, New Jersey

http://www.frankieeatsjc.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Opening Up To Reach The Sky

There are times when someone gives me a book at just the right time, and recently that happened when I received a gift in the mail on my birthday of a book I had not heard of before. I had been invited last fall to participate in a focus group for a new online course that was being created. The topic was one that is important to my work and the organization that invited me to participate is one that always has wonderful resources. Because the course was a new one and the online platform was being tested, the course was made available for free to those of us who helped with giving feedback in both the actual course and the online website experience. The course was excellent and being able to take it was a gift in itself, and then a little while afterward I received a message from the organization that was testing the program that I'd done so many things to help them and had answered so many of their questions and requests that they wanted to send me a gift for my participation and the work I had done in support of their development process. They sent me a list with items to choose from and one that stood out to me as being something that I'd enjoy was a deck of cards with inspirational and motivational sayings printed on each one. When the package arrived, they had also included a small notebook with the words "The Best Is Yet To Come!" written on the cover and a book by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander titled, "The Art Of Possibility".

When I was younger I played viola, and in my teens I began auditioning for youth orchestras and events in the New England area. I was a member of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and played with All State and some of the other opportunities at different colleges and chamber music societies. At some point or other I auditioned for the New England Conservatory Youth Chamber Orchestra and though I don't remember how long I was with them, I do know that I met Benjamin Zander who at the time was a member of the faculty there.  I may have met him in other places too because the classical music world tends to be that way, with many interconnections of people who are part of different groups and orchestras meeting and playing music together over time and years.

I was intrigued by the book because I sometimes use the title "The Art Of (fill in the blank)" when I am writing about very special and creative people, and the idea of the Art of Possibility was one that I liked the sound and thought of. The fact that it arrived on my birthday was another thing that made me feel like I was going to enjoy this book in a very special way, and so when I began reading it I was prepared to take it in and savor what it had to share with me.

The book is written in chapters that represent different practices that people can explore and learn and engage in to begin to open up our lives to the idea of possibility instead of seeing things as having to be one way or no way or just going about our lives feeling defeated when things don't go the way we expect or want them to. It's hard to describe here what is so special about this book except to say that it is lighthearted and joyful while still containing very deep and life changing truths. I find myself laughing and crying in very good ways, and being moved by the stories the authors tell in their examples of how the methods they have developed to find possibility can bring so much good to life and the world.

"The Art Of Possibility" is not a very new book, but its messages are timeless. Though it was published in 2000 which seems like a lifetime ago now, its messages are as fresh as if they had just sprung out of the pages today. We need more books like this in our world, stories that bring creative thinking to every day challenges and that have the ability to help us look outside of ourselves and our own preconceived ideas to see that what is available to us is always abundance and joy and new beginnings if we can only choose to think outside the boxes that hold our expectations and past experiences and allow for something new to grow.

"The Art Of Possibility"

By Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

https://www.benjaminzander.org/about/the-art-of-possibility

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Beautiful Story

In 2019 I became aware of the wonderful Artist, Author and Designer Jerome Pumphrey through Instagram. I was following him and then he wrote a beautiful children's book "The Old Truck" with his brother Jared that I pre-ordered and wrote a blog post about. Along with the pre-order there were all kinds of wonderful gifts of illustrated cards and pins and a beautiful canvas reusable bag, and so I began to get a sense for more of the wonderful work these two brothers were doing.

One day I saw a post on Instagram that he had created an illustration for the film "The Never Ending Story." I had seen the film as an adult just a few years before because a friend who had loved the film as a child had shared it with me because it was such an important film in his life. When I saw the post about the illustration I wanted to give a copy of a print of it to this friend as a birthday gift, and so sent Jerome a message explaining why. He told me at the time that he didn't usually make prints for people and so he didn't have a way of selling it to me, but that if I would respect his copyright and not share it with anyone else except for this friend, he could send me a file that I could then have made into a print. I happily agreed, and he sent it to me, recommending that I have it printed on card stock and said that I could find a place online to do that. I was grateful for the help with suggestions because I am not a visual artist or a graphic designer and I would not have known where to begin with a project like this.

Time went on and I tried to find a place online that would print the pdf file that I had, but I wasn't having any success. I didn't want to bother Jerome again because he had been so kind and so helpful already, and so I kept looking. My friend's birthday came and went in February of 2020, and then the world as we know it changed, and though I still kept trying to find the right place to print this beautiful image, it seemed to get harder and not easier because of everything else that was happening. From time to time I'd meet someone who would say they might be able to help me and at some point in early 2021 another friend offered to try, but then while we were talking about it he said he would want to change the image and make it darker because he preferred it that way and that of course was not what I wanted at all out of respect for the Artist and because I loved it the way it was.

Time continued to go on and I continued to search, and then one day just a few weeks ago I found a company I hadn't been able to find before online called Sign Bliss. They create signs and posters for businesses, and they have a variety of things that they print on including card stock, and they prefer printing from pdf files. I went through the process of selecting sizes and paper, and uploaded my file. Because I am not a designer, I hoped that what I was creating would work and I made my purchase. I could have asked them for help through their customer service which they offer in a very friendly way, but my project was such a small one and I didn't want to bother them with it, and as everything seemed like it looked all right, I took a chance that I had figured out how to do it.

When it arrived it was absolutely beautiful, and the turnaround time was so quick it was just in time for my friend's birthday. The whole experience with this company was so wonderful that I am wondering what else I can create with them next. Sign Bliss it absolutely is, and so true to the company's name that I had to write about them and let everyone know that there is a company like this that made the story that began with a friend's favorite film and connected to an Artist's lovely work be a story that is a beautiful one.

  The Never Ending Story

A Beautiful Work Of Art

By Jerome Pumphrey

Made Into A Lovely Poster

By Sign Bliss

https://www.instagram.com/wjpumphrey

https://www.signbliss.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Fine Dining

This year for my birthday I couldn't decide what it was that I wanted to do. Usually I have an idea, or sometimes I think I'll just wait and see what happens, but even then the waiting and not making a plan is a choice. But for some reason this year, though I wanted to make a plan, I kept feeling like I just had to wait because all of the things I was thinking about doing didn't feel just right. In a way you could say I was living like Goldilocks when she comes to the house of the Three Bears, I'd come up with a thought and I'd think, that place isn't quite right, or I'd think maybe I'd have a big party but I couldn't think of the right place where, or then again I'd think that maybe I'd just do something small, but again the places that came to mind weren't hitting the feeling of just right.

As the month wore on, friends started to invite me out to dinner to celebrate, to send and give gifts and do all the things that make my birthdays so special, and so for a time I was thinking that maybe I'd just wait and see. But all the while I kept feeling as if I needed to make a plan and so I kept thinking and looking at possible places to go. For a while I had the vision of going somewhere with a fireplace, or maybe going away for a few days, but I kept coming back to the idea that I just wanted to take some relaxing time around the day and not have to think about traveling far. Finally a few things happened that helped me decide that I wanted to do something very small and quiet and special, and to invite just one very special friend to celebrate the day with me. He and I have birthdays that are near each other and in other years he has always been a part of my celebrations large or small, and so this year with so much uncertainty in our world and people I know who I have invited to larger parties in the past not wanting to gather in groups, I decided that this one special friend would be the perfect person to spend a much more in depth and personal time with.

When I was looking online at possible restaurants, I found a listing for a place I had not heard of before called Maritime Parc. When I looked at the website and saw that it was in Liberty State Park, I realized I had walked by it one day when I was on a long summer afternoon journey with the same friend I was planning to enjoy my birthday with. At the time when I had seen it I hadn't realized it was a restaurant and had thought it was a place for events, but though it is in a location that is perfect for weddings and other parties and they do lots of them, there is also a regular restaurant with an indoor and outdoor dining room and bar. The Executive Chef and owner is Chef Chris Siverson, who had designed the space and the menu with care to create a special environment to enjoy local foods and the freshest ingredients in the finest of dining experiences. When I looked at the menu I noticed that the night of my birthday was the night of the week when there is a burger night special with oysters, both things that I love, and the rest of the selections sounded like all of the things I like. I sent a quick message to my friend and told him I'd made my choice, and said that the burger special was so reasonable we could order other things too.

The day of my birthday was a very cold one, and my friend and I bundled up and walked through Jersey City and over the footbridge into the park as the sun set. We arrived for an early dinner and from the moment we walked in we felt right at home and welcome, in the way that an excellent restaurant can be both elegant and casual, welcoming, beautiful and warm. The staff are delightful and friendly and professional, showing true hospitality to guests and making sure the evening is an enjoyable one in every way. The menu is excellent and every item on it was something that I wanted to try. We did have the burgers, and ordered some appetizers and sides, grilled oysters, roasted delicato squash, grilled octopus, and Brussels sprouts in a wonderful Caesar sauce. Everything was served beautifully and tasted the way that truly excellent fine dining is, giving moments of pure enjoyment that stop conversation to just taste and say how good it is. We shared a beautiful bottle of sparkling rose, and had an excellent bottle of red wine with our burgers. The desserts were inventively delicious and lovely too, and a wonderful way to end this very special evening.

Maritime Parc is one of those places that makes you feel like you've gone somewhere special for a vacation, and it's a restaurant that is so beautifully designed in every way and has such an excellent Chef and excellent staff that every moment is an enjoyable one. I'm looking forward to finding reasons to return to try more things on Chef Siverson's menu and enjoy the lovely views in different seasons. With a restaurant like this, the idea of fine dining is lifted up to reach new realms.

Maritime Parc

84 Audrey Zapp Drive

Jersey City, New Jersey

https://www.maritimeparc.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan