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

An Abundant Life - Being Cared For

I usually write about smaller companies or individual people I know or meet who are doing extraordinary things, but every now and then I meet someone or have an experience that is part of a much larger and more well known, even world renowned business, and I feel it's important to write about it because not only is the company doing wonderful things but the individual people I meet who are part of the company are wonderful too.

A little over a week ago I heard from a woman who I've written about before who works for Chanel Beauty at Saks Fifth Avenue. She was inviting me to come in for a facial because their salon was newly reopened, and I've had such beautiful experiences there in the past I was so excited and happy to make an appointment.

With everything that has been going on it felt like a dream to be invited to visit the salon and be taken care of by a skincare expert, and for that one hour they encouraged me to just let myself relax and enjoy that time and those moments and leave outside the doors my cares and all the things I've been thinking about and trying to figure out.

From the moment I was in that lovely room, it was as if I could suddenly just be. I had been receiving all kinds of messages for so many days and even that day just before I walked into my appointment there were more emails that I had to respond to. But when I put my phone on silent and began the salon experience it was as if everything simply had to wait and it was all right to take that time and be cared for.

The music and the lighting and the comfort of the room combined with the luxurious skincare and wonderful skill of Brooklyn who is the skincare specialist gave me the opportunity to fully relax in a way that I hadn't thought possible when I walked in. At times I drifted off, not into sleep but into a very peaceful place where I could enjoy the moments of time and the scents and sensations of the experience.

I am so grateful that I was invited to be taken care of in this way, and so grateful for the care that was given to make every moment of my visit so beautiful and so special! Saks Fifth Avenue and Chanel as a company have long been favorites of mine as I've written in these pages before, and it's the quality of the products, the quality of the experiences when visiting, and the quality of the people who create such beautiful hospitality and customer care that make for lovely memories and moments and a luxuriously abundant life.

A Skincare Experience

At Chanel Beauty

At Saks Fifth Avenue

New York City

https://www.saksfifthavenue.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Dancing History

I have always loved ballet, from the time that I was a very little girl listening and watching Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite, and later as I got older and I began to take dance lessons and found myself for a few beautiful dream filled summers in Saratoga Springs where the American Ballet Theatre had their summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.  I had somehow found out about the summer camp that I went to there at Skidmore College through an article or ad I think in the New York Times because I was completely filled with a school girl crush on Baryshnikov after seeing him perform on TV and going to see the movie "The Turning Point" which I think if I'm remembering rightly I went to see because ballet and Baryshnikov were highlights of my life.

Much earlier than that I"d found a book at a favorite bookstore, The Andover Bookstore in Andover Massachusetts where I'd ask my Mother to take me for a treat and she always let me pick out one book for an upcoming birthday or holiday and sometimes if it wasn't too expensive she would let me have it that same day. The book I found was titled "The Royal Book of Ballet" and it had stories of some of the most famous ballets with some of the most beautiful illustrations, kind of like a children's story book but all about ballets. Through reading that book over and over I learned about many of the ballets that I later was able to see when I was at the summer camp in Saratoga Springs.

The American Ballet Theatre was at the time when I was immersed in my ballet summers one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world and it still is. I love going to ballets, even now that I don't dance any more myself, but it is that company and those years that still give me the most beautiful memories because American Ballet Theatre creates such an all around excellent and truly gorgeous and lushly filled experience of performance, with dancers, design, music, costumes, lighting, set design and performance spaces all at the highest and most beautiful level.

On Friday afternoon, just as I was getting ready to leave home and go the YES Gallery, the beautiful Artist Alberte Bernier who I have written about in these pages before sent me a message that she had an extra ticket to go to see "Onegin" performed by the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. With everything else that has been going on along with the heat wave that we've been experiencing, I was feeling exhausted, and the forecast also mentioned that rain might be a possibility. At first I was thinking I'd have to say thank you but no, and then I remember the words of a dear friend who has been sending me regular messages every day to encourage and inspire me and in many of her messages she encourages me to enjoy life and be happy. When those words came to my mind, instead of saying thank you and no I said thank you and yes, and I found myself planning my schedule around the evening at the ballet.

Our seats were wonderful and the performance was the highest experience of excellence and beauty. The space itself is such a very special one to be in, and the whole evening, including the company of Alberte was enchanting. At so many times I found myself completely immersed in the story I was watching unfold, and it was such a beautiful blessing and gift to have been able to join Alberte for this stunning and captivating performance. Though the story is a sad one, it was so beautifully done and the evening was thoroughly delightful. I felt as if I was back in my childhood and teenage years at times, with eyes filled with wonder, and my heart and spirit are filled with so much gratitude to Alberte for the invitation and to those who made the evening such a beautiful and very special one.

At "Onegin"

Performed By The American Ballet Theater

At The Metropolitan Opera House

Lincoln Center

New York City

 https://www.abt.org/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

     

An Abundant Life - A Treasure Of Time

I've written about the Hoboken Thrift Store, which is also known as St. Mary's Advocates, in these pages before and about the wonderful things I've found there over the years. Now that I have YES Gallery to go to, I try to stop by the thrift store on my way on days when they're open and I have time because although it's a few blocks out of my way, it's just a few blocks away. Taking the extra time to go there is always so much fun, for the people I meet and see and speak to there and for the wonderful treasures, sometimes clothing or shoes, sometimes decorative items, and sometimes things I wasn't expecting at all but that are so wonderful that I have to bring them to the gallery.

On Saturday I stopped by and the first thing I saw when I walked in was a woman speaking with children outside. She was giving them directions on how to behave in the store around adults and giving them the opportunity to choose one thing each they wanted as a gift from her. When I heard her words and the way she was speaking, it reminded me of me with my own Mother when we were going to a thrift store together or to another place where she was letting me choose something, just one thing, that she would give to me. I told the woman at the counter about how overhearing the conversation reminded me of those times with my own Mother, and then I told the woman when she came into the store. The woman behind the counter knew the woman with the children and I overheard as they were talking that they were her grandchildren. As I started my own shopping, I heard one of the little girls saying, "Excuse me," to people shopping as she tried to go by them just as she had been told to do by her Grandmother. There was something so sweet about the whole thing and it made me feel so happy, my own memories mixing in with these new moments of joy.

Almost immediately when I began looking at the shelves that have homewares and decorative items on them, I saw what looked like an antique clock. It was on a lower shelf and not easy to see, but I didn't want to get it out myself in case it was fragile so I asked the woman behind the counter about it and she got it out for me to look at. It was a beauty and of course it had to go back with me to YES Gallery. When I got there I dusted it off carefully and tried to figure out how it worked and if it was still working. It didn't have the keys to wind it and set it, but I was able to move the hands and when I put it to just a hint before 3pm, it began to chime. Then I noticed there was a place where it could open in the back, and it was very dusty inside. As I was cleaning that part of it, the minutes started ticking. I set it to the correct time and after a few moments I heard a single chime because it was at the half hour.

Finding this clock was such a wonderful dream come true because I've always loved them and I think somewhere back in my memory someone in my family, a grandmother perhaps or maybe a family friend or other relative, had one. I remember someone showing me how one worked once, distantly in my long ago childhood days, and I've seen them over the years and always thought it would be so lovely to have one.

I made a short video that I'll share here, with the antique clock on top of the antique dresser that I wrote about a while ago when a dear friend helped me bring it to the gallery when I'd found it around the corner and didn't know how I'd get it there. They're both from around the same period of time and the dresser is where the Souper Dress from the 1960's hangs, so it seems the treasure of time has found a place it can pass the hours in where it can feel right at home.

An Antique Clock

Another Treasure Found At

St. Mary's Advocates

The Hoboken Thrift Store

536 Garden Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

http://www.stmaryadvocates.org/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan