Blog Posts

If you know me at all, you know I’m very anti-gun. They scare me. I don’t get the sport of shooting and we’ve all seen (or personally experienced) the horror that comes from the barrel of a gun. So saying that firing a gun is a departure for me is an understatement.

On my latest trip to Texas to see friends in Fort Worth, I had the opportunity to go to a shooting range and knock another ridiculous experience off my ever-growing list. They had skeet, rifle and pistol ranges and after waiting 45 minutes on line, the four of us chose one .22 caliber handgun and bullets that we would share. It was very strange. We were clearly out of our element, surrounded by men, women and kids and the gun culture that Texas embraces. We were outfitted with a couple targets, protective glasses and ear protection and given more than a little attitude from the girl at the counter when she learned we were New Yorkers. They still seem a tad bitter about us Yankees.

Off we went to the range, where I jumped every second or two when a gunshot rang through the air. I had NO idea how loud actual gunfire is. I do have some sensory issues with loud noises, but this went above and beyond. Even with the ear protection it was loud. Very loud.

At the firing bench we got a short instruction on gun safety, loading and unloading the magazine and proper pistol grip and at the first “cease-fire” we hung our target and started shooting. They are (rightly) very stringent about gun safety. Each time we switched shooters we had to empty the magazine, lay the gun down and never, ever, point a loaded or unloaded gun anywhere but at the target. This is obviously a very important key point in using as gun. It’s also one that non-gun people like myself, tend to forget. Ok. So more than once I found myself wielding a gun around. Thankfully I never had my finger on the trigger and no one was injured, but boy I can see how accidents could easily happen.

Kim getting schooled in proper pistol grip

Additionally, at the “Tactical” range next to us there were many people (including young women) shooting assault rifles. This was beyond my understanding. I get that it was target shooting. I get that Texas is an open carry state and guns are a way of life there, but after all the mass shooting and violence this country has experienced, it took me off my pins.

When all was said and done, I shot about 25 rounds, hit the target every time (for which June is now sleeping with one eye open) and actually had fun. I don’t ever plan to hold a gun in my hand ever again. I got past the fear of shooting, but I don’t think I’ll ever get past my fear of guns.

Suggested by me to try to overcome my fear.
Completed 3/3/18

I like to cook. Sometimes I even love to cook. I can follow a recipe like nobody’s business and occasionally branch off into my own experimentation. I’m not much of a baker. I mean I can make a cake from a box, can decorate cupcakes sufficiently and make a mean brownie thanks to Ghiradelli Brownie Mix, but one thing I’ve never attempted is bread baking. Enter T-Mobile.

Interesting segue, right? Let me explain. We switched carriers from Verizon to T-Mobile and along with it came this delightful little T-Mobile Tuesdays app which gives you free stuff every Tuesday. I’ve gotten free movie rentals, free Restaurant.com certificates, free photo printing, and my favorite – a free cooking class with Panna.com worth $20. I could choose from a variety of classes – pies, southern home cooking, Mexican street food, Korean cooking and tons more. What caught my eye was Master Bread Baking. I mean BREAD! Who doesn’t love an artisan bread? And how hard could it be? Oh, allow me to explain…

The first lesson was to make a sourdough starter. I’ve heard of this but had no idea what it was and what it took to make one. Apparently the best artisan breads around the world are made with sourdough starters that have been around for centuries. Consider that for a moment when you pick up your young bread at Panera.

Starting with a digital scale, organic grapes, water and dark rye flour I began the 22 day process of creating my starter and lovingly turning it into a healthy, bacteria laden “stiff mother” (yes, I giggled on that too) which can literally out-live me, provided I continue to feed it once a week. I don’t take care of my real mother that well!

Now that I had my “mother” it was time to bake my first loaf of bread. Lesson two – the 30 hour Sourdough Bread. Yes. This is a loooong process, requires five different flours – white, wheat, dark rye, light rye and buckwheat and necessitated the purchase of a cast iron dutch oven in which to bake this delectable treat. Over the course of three days I went from levain to dough to the final result – an absolutely beautiful, aromatic and delicious sourdough loaf. And the best part is that thanks to T-Mobile, this $20 class was FREE. I mean, okay, I had a few expenses. At last count the different flours alone cost me about $60, including one I had to order online. Really who knew how hard it would be to find light rye? The cast iron dutch oven set me back $40 and the Pullman pan for the white bread loaf (for class number three) was $30. So…uhm…so far I’m in for $100+ but again, the class was free!

It is fun though, and I’ve made the sourdough loaf three times thus far. The biggest challenge is timing all the steps and rest periods so I’m not baking at 3:00 in the morning. There are a total of six lessons in the class and besides the upcoming Pullman Loaf I’ll be baking Baguettes, Pancito Potosi Rolls (whatever that is) and Ciabatta. I’ve also been making garlic herb butter and homemade butter from whipping cream. Seriously, what’s the point of artisan bread without “artisan” butter?

Bottom line – if anyone wants to make their own Sourdough, I’d be thrilled to share the recipe, technique and more importantly, my mother. She makes a brilliant loaf of bread.

Began 12/4/17. Continuing forever.
Suggested by Pam Castellano

When I tried my hand at Stand Up Paddleboard back in July, I met a lovely young woman named Leah. I was telling her about my 60 X 60 quest and she gave me a wonderful suggestion for my list – To complete The Artist’s Way. She explained it as a 12-week program that sparks creativity. I told my friend Suzanne about it and she immediately bought the book assuming obviously the message was for her since she’s the one who suggested the paddleboard. I know. But that’s one of the things I love about her – she listens to messages from the universe. Anyway, she completed the program and said she wasn’t sure I’d like it. I ignored her, bought the book and began the program in October.

The book proclaims to be “A course in discovering and recovering your creative self. A spiritual path to higher creativity.” Okay. I’ve always been a creative person and lately I’ve missed drawing. I stopped many years ago and have been stuck – unable to get back into it. Fear? Lack of inspiration? Confident I’d lost any talent I may have had? Yes. To all of that. My main concern was the “spiritual” part. I am not a “God person.” I don’t subscribe to a religious faith, but thankfully the author addresses this and tells the reader to substitute ‘God’ with whatever word works for you. Sure. ‘Universe’ works for me. I got started.

The gist of it is you read a chapter a week for 12 weeks and complete a number of tasks that allow you to discover the link between spirituality and creativity. In addition to the tasks (which require a lot of writing and more thinking than I’ve done in a long time) there are two other continuing things you must do. One is to take yourself on an Artist Date, described by the author as “a block of time weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist.” I could do that. The other part of the process is something called Morning Pages. This is done every day. E-V-E-R-Y   S-I-N-G-L-E   D-A-Y. In the morning. Like set your alarm ½ an hour earlier than you need to get up and write 3 pages of long hand stream of consciousness writing. This was exhausting, often frustrating and caused more instances of “numb hand” than a pinched spinal cord. I did learn to recognize synchronicity. To put things out there and listen for the answers. One day I wrote a solid two pages about my high school art teacher who destroyed my confidence as an artist – something I’ve been holding on to for the last 40 years. A few days later I learned that she died on October 4th and on October 14th a memorial service was held for her in Northport. I started this journey and wrote my first Morning Pages on October 15th. I was finally able to let go of the grip she had on my creativity. This is synchronicity.

Anyway, you know how sometimes you set your mind to something and promise yourself no matter how hard the journey may be, you’re gonna stick to it? You’re not gonna give up? You’re gonna see it through to the end? Yeah, me either. Six weeks in I was done. WAY done. I hated the writing, I only found the time to do two Artist Dates, and I wasn’t getting out of it what I wanted to. The good news? I bought two new sketchbooks and watercolor supplies. I’ve tried my hand at drawing again, and I played around with the paint, and I swear once these holidays are over, I’m getting back to it. And I did learn to recognize when the universe is sending me a message and when it is, to actually listen to it.

So while I didn’t exactly finish this challenge, I did give it my best effort so I’m adding it to my “completed” list. As someone wise once told me – it’s better to quit than be a loser.

Began 10/15/17. Abandoned 11/30/17.
Suggested by some chick name Leah

Picture this. It’s a crisp Saturday morning in Manhattan. Suzanne and I had just taken the train in and are on our way to a dance rehearsal space on 8th Avenue. The elevator takes us up to a colorful lobby with a sign that says “Quiet Please. Creativity at work.” All around us are young actors, singers, dancers, musicians preparing for their auditions for some of Broadway’s top shows. We find our way into Studio E with 80 or so other hopefuls waiting for our chance to show the Great White Way what we can do! Well, not exactly. We were actually there with Flash Mob America to rehearse the dance we would be doing for an unsuspecting woman, who if all things went as planned, was about to become engaged.

We spent three hours learning (more or less) the rather complicated dance moves to “Can’t take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. You know when you like a song and then you hear it 20 times over and over again and you want to rip your own brain out of your head to make it stop? Yeah. That’s me now. Anyway, the group of amateur dancers was very diverse – young families with children, millennials, middle aged men and women – all with varying degrees of dance skills. I’ve always liked to dance, but for some reason, give me steps to follow and suddenly my hips and torso become fused. The dance wasn’t easy and my otherwise keen sense of rhythm had taken a holiday, but I wasn’t letting that stop me.

The choreographer staged the performance, deciding who would join the dance and when. First she and a “friend”, then two more people, then four more, 6 more and on and on until everyone was dancing. This may come as a surprise, but Suzanne and I were relegated to come in during the “everyone else” portion of the dance. Fine by us. That was the only portion of the dance we “sort” of knew anyway.

We all headed individually to Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. I’d seen it in media forever but had never been there personally. What a beautiful spot! The fountain (dry this time of year) surrounded by the park and the lake was lovely and the perfect spot for a marriage proposal surrounded by 80 dancing strangers.

We were left to mill about like your average tourists as the couple entered the park. The choreographer asked the gentleman to snap a photo of her and her friend. He did, gave her back her phone and as she pretended to look at the photo, she hit PLAY. The music started and the two of them struck their first move. In came the rest of the group bit by bit as the bewilderment, excitement and joy grew. Park goers stopped in their tracks as people started filtering into the fray, creating a large…well…mob of dancers. The couple stood there watching and smiling and when he was brought into the dance toward the end, her surprise was palpable. At the end of the song, he approached her, got down on one knee and presented the ring. They hugged, they kissed and thankfully she said YES!

I’m a romantic at heart and It was so amazing to be part of a couple’s very memorable proposal and start of their life together.

June came into the city to watch the flash mob, so the three of us celebrated our performance with outdoor drinks at the lakeside Central Park Boathouse and finished up at The Ribbon on the upper west side where Rob, Suzanne’s husband, met us for dinner. An absolutely wonderful day from start to finish!

And oh – I would totally do a flash mob again, so if you’d like to join me, sign up with Flash Mob America and they’ll send you an email when they’re in New York. Just think – you too could be an indelible part of someone’s lifelong memory.

Suggested by Me
Completed 12/2/17