I said in my previous post that I would try to document any interesting happenings during my week off. Overall, the past few days have been fairly uneventful, though at least it’s been restful. On Thursday I took a solo trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s a massive museum, so I really only explored the sections which interested me, which was chiefly 18th & 19th century European art. Of course this is only a fraction of the whole collection, but my feet were still aching by the end of it! Some highlights for me were: a mechanical table commissioned for Madame de Pompadour, the 18th century French interiors, and the new British galleries which include a display of one-hundred teapots.
This lovely portrait was done by Vigée Le Brun in 1783, long before painting was considered an acceptable occupation for women
The teapots at the British Galleries
Friday is now my favorite day of the week, because that’s when the new episode of Girls Planet 999 comes out~ I wake up early on Fridays just to watch the live-stream. This Friday I also took the extra time in the morning to bake pizza from scratch! That was the first time I ever made dough from scratch, and I must admit that it came out perfectly.
On Saturday, we went to Chinatown for dinner. I tried milk tea with mochi in it, which was an interesting experience, and not one I’m sure I’d wish to repeat. We also got caught in the pouring rain without an umbrella. I feel that sometimes, such as this one, it is actually fun to get caught in the rain. ☔️ Maybe because it’s been so hot and humid, that the rain felt more refreshing than a nuisance.
Which brings me to the present day. We are in the middle of a hurricane so I’ve been stuck inside all day. The rain and wind haven’t been too bad here, but the lack of sunlight is dreadful. I was feeling very brave after the pizza on Friday, so I decided to try baking my own bread; it is proofing now. Hopefully it will turn out well!
Wow, that painting by Vigée Le Brun is beautiful…. Your adventures sound lovely ! Congrats on success on your homemade pizza, dough is really a tricky thing, so it’s especially impressive that you did it so successfully on first try!
Please stay safe during the hurricane, it’s pretty unusual for them to hit so far north on the east coast. Where I live, we experience hurricanes/tropical storms fairly often, and being at sea level, we just kind of grow used to it, but it’s still a very serious issue to be taken very seriously. I hope you’re able to stay safe and comfortable until the storm has passed.
Your friend,
Luna
In all fairness, I think the recipe I used for the pizza was on the easier side, as it didn’t require any kneading. But I would like to try some more complex recipes in the future ~
Thankfully, the storm pretty much amounted to nothing more than a long rainstorm–at least in my area. I did see some reports of flooding elsewhere, though thankfully nothing nearly on the level of Hurricane Sandy. But thank you for your concerns ;~; It’s true we don’t usually get serious storms up in the northeast, but I did stay inside all day yesterday just in case.
My Lady,
I am pleased to read that you seem to be enjoying your relocation to “the city that never sleeps.” Interesting that, while it is a city where we think of its inhabitants as rushing about and brushing over the world’s finer details in an attempt to save time, you appear to be practicing the art of spending it.
That is to say, taking the whole day to explore only what interests you, baking things, and getting caught in the rain etc. These are the actions of one who is measuring time by the heart, rather than the clock.
My perception of your writings is no doubt influenced by my own current state of mind. I’ve taken to thinking about the topic of spending time quite a bit lately. That being said, it has also been very rainy, hot, and humid where I am as well–might I tease the possibility that it is the weather responsible?
Forever Yours,
Pinstripe Prince
Dearest Prince,
I appreciate your romantic sentiments about my approach to spending time. You may be disappointed to hear, however, that I just started a new job, and I’ve been thrown into the hustle and bustle of New York working life after all, at least for the time being. Such is life. Hopefully things will calm down soon, and I can get back to baking bread and playing in the rain.
I have also been thinking quite a lot about the topic of time–how precious it is, and yet so easy to take for granted. I think the weather is certainly a factor, but generally speaking, the pandemic as a whole has made me reflect a lot on such things.
Thinking of you,
Lady Nicole
Dear Lady Nicole,
I am glad you enjoyed your visit to the museum. Please let me know which section you loved the most. Also, do they have a gift shop as well?
Hi Luisa, so lovely to hear from you~ I think the part I personally enjoyed the most was the interior design and period rooms. Basically, they recreate rooms from the 18th and 19th centuries–the ones I looked at were mainly from fancy French hotels and the like. There are barriers so you can’t actually walk through them, but still, it’s the closest I’ll probably get to seeing what the nobility of that time and place would have lived like.
Of course there is a gift shop— a very sizeable one at that! Museum gift shops are a lot of fun to browse through, aren’t they?