This time, this place, this happiness.

.............

Nae bad. 

See you next time New York.

Stunt Double.

I awoke Tuesday morning to this,

 

An introduction, a greeting & a farewell.

..............................

The new adventures of "Where's WoodCat II?" begins.

Keflavik Airport Reykjavik, Iceland

They had the softest, cuddliest blankets too.

Street Art Festival. #25

The festival had happened whilst we were away on Vacation. Its venue, the former GRTC bus depot on Cary Street. Driving back through the city on my last night, I asked to take a look. Night-time photography's not exactly my forte - nonetheless, here's a few to look at: 

 

Last Lunch.

At some point in the final weeks, I was being quizzed by friends on where I had yet to visit. 

Ah yes, that institution:

The Manly Man made it happen. 

Mostly I was excited by cinnamon Bourbon apples.

We Like To Party, II

The best of British was on the Menu. A trio of visits: K.Roger, Yellow Umbrella, 'Vine.

Once upon a time, there was Fish, with Chips. 





 ... which was good but not exactly right.




Then there was eating out at Penny Lane,
overseen by a friendly Liverpudlian. Not bad:







: Mk. II involved Tater Tots with homemade tartar sauce.

But still, we had yet to triumph at home in the ways of F&C.

Prep: chunky-cut chips.

Made in England?  We'll have it.

Decorations out front & back.

The Manly Man had decided upon Bangers n' Mash, which went down a storm 

amongst the guests, with all that delicious onion gravy on top: 

And #2!

Success #1!

Hurrah!  Homemade!

 I wanted to make my mark with a county offering.
Yorkshire Puddings, Mk. II.

Emily also had similar ideas ... What a gift! What a girl!

Yup, the Michiganite succeeded where our trio of genius
(myself, The Manly Man & Mr. James Martin)
went, um,  sculptural....

Julie also lent a hand to the proceedings. Given that I'd miss the State Fair in late September/early October, she brought the best of the State Fair (along with bonus Tater Tots!) to me. Deep-fried battered strawberry oreos. I kid you not. They were ... Tasty. Um...

Sarah's event-organising paid off well. So many lovely faces to hug goodbye & wish me well: 
Marcia & John, Sarah, Lynn; Laine, Molly, Julie, Robyn; Geoff & Peder, Scott & Tiff; Emily & Martha; Billy-Christopher; Luke, Tommy, JoelBear. Such a wonderful party, so well-loved.  

Oktoberfest!

Raleigh-bound.

Good to be back at my home-from-home. This time I hijacked the bird as well.

On the deck.

Out at lunch.

"Our bar & backwood are made from salvaged pieces of mahogany from New York's historic Luchow's restaurant, open from 1882-1992. The bar & wooden tables are built from century old reclaimed wood from North Carolina mills and Neuse River docks. The chairs come from Time's Square Horn & Hardaart, one of Manhattan's last automat restaurants."
So there we go... History!

Playing in the park..

 

Editor-in-chief.

 

& by the Capitol.... 

Under the bed with Maggie-dog.

Good times!

Kindness, #24

" The Light of Human Kindness is an interactive mural in RVA that will explore
the relationship of light & darkness and what can happen when art, technology
& kindness come together to illuminate the power of human connection. "

 

"The project begins with our simple human stories."

" Once the stories are collected & written on the wall at a community event,
Richmond artist Hamilton Glass will paint the mural over the very stories
that hold our shared humanity & goodness. "

" The 1,000 (LED light bulbs) installed directly on an 80 foot wall in Cary Street will then light up one-by-one in real time as people from Richmond & around the world complete acts of kindness inspired by the mural art or their own experience of needing light during a dark time."

 

"The mural will also invite folks to experience the power of human connection by interacting with the wall itself using conductive properties and other cutting edge technology. The collective energy of one hand touching the wall while linked with a physical human connection to others will also power the lights. "

Style: "Costume Queen"

A feature on the same lady whom Sarah & Marcia worked for in dressing the extras of "Lincoln". I liked her list &  no. 2, well, absolutely! 

Keeping It Real

Five ways I design for authenticity.
by Amy Andrews Harrell

1. Do my homework.
We use museums a lot. For Spielberg's "Lincoln," I went to the Library of Congress to research and I got to see Mary Todd's pearls that Joanna Johnston recreated for Sally Field. For "Killing Kennedy," I went to Dallas to the Sixth Floor Museum. They had huge blowups of the iconic photos so I was able to see, for example, that when Oswald was arrested and he was brought out of the police station, he was in penny loafers. They were very worn and obviously something he wore a lot. I never would have seen that in a regular photo. I was consumed of course by Jackie's pink suit and at the museum I was able to come face to face with an enormous color enlargement of the collar and saw how it was quilted so I could get the authenticity of that. I was very excited. It was another piece of the puzzle.

2. It takes a village.
Wardrobe and costume design is much more than a one-person job. I would not be able to do this without my team's friendship, talents and support. They lifted me up on this. On "Killing Lincoln" alone, I worked with [assistant costumer designer] Brad Watson, [sewing shop head] Kathy Washington, [tailor] Robert Surratt, [costume supervisor] Rene Jones, who was nominated for the Emmy with me, [set costumer] Amelia Zontini, and [uniform supervisor] Dana Bogdanski.

3. Details are everything.
We don't know how to do halfway. On "Killing Kennedy," we had Rob's belt buckle, which was a very nice silver Brooks Brothers belt buckle authentic to the period, we had it engraved for him JFK even though no one would see it. I guess it's because I'm insane, but that kind of made it real for the JFK we created.

4. Collaborate with actors.
One of my most important jobs is collaborating with the actor to interpret the character. I have to make sure the costumes fit but I also sometimes educate the actor on the costume, even how to wear the costume or how to walk in the costume. For Booth, tie pins were important because he wore a particular type of tie that needed them and so Jesse [Johnson] and I would pick them out.

5. Pay attention to the "motion" in motion pictures.
I'm very excited about the way costumes move through space. I always have been. I guess I'm a method costume designer because I just imagine the history and everything it took to bring that moment in time to life. In whatever era I happen to be designing, I picture costumes in motion rather than standing still, like how a person will look walking down the street.

Thattaway? No, *Thattaway!*