Get ready, get set, GO!

Ay yi yi.
Finally. The holidays are over. NOW, if I can get through a birthday celebration this week I will finally concentrate on life as it is normally lived, directed by a series of NY resolutions that will aid in all things Amie... a better world....or World view, at least. I do what I can but lets face it, I could do more... I WILL do more.

Last night we made the rounds to a number of NYeve parties. The weather held so we were able to take the bus, which was FREE on NY eve! How wonderful! This is a resolution from last year that has stuck.

We landed back at ground central in time to pick up my Mum and walk over the the Byrd for the first ever NYeve celebration in Carytown. It was a good thing and very educational. I learned what a tough old bird my mom is and that was refreshing. We wound up in a bottle neck with dozens of college age kids pushing though. I looked at my mom fearing she would freak out... NOPE. She had a big smile on her face and was pushing back with her umbrella in place to protect herself! What a relief!

Black Cash was playing - which was a perfect sound for this crowd. Every generation loves the original music outlaw, Johnny Cash. The family lore is that my grandfather spent a night in the drunk tank with Mr. Cash... so I have a particular affection for his music. My Mom liked it. "They were good!" She'll be 70 her next birthday so she's heard a lot of music in her day.
If the Carytown event hadn't happened we probably would have made our way to Art6 to hear Rattlemouth. We don't have many traditions in our household but a long standing one was to dance to the Mummies wherever they played on NYeve. Rattlemouth features 3 former Mummies so its the next best thing.

Problem is, as open minded as my Mom is she just doesn't respond to that kind of beat. She's a tough bird, though! Happy 2007 to all, and to all a good night!

Holiday on Ice!

Harry brought up this scene from the Marx Brother's "A Night at the Opera" during one of our Monday evening walks from the VACR. I don't remember the context of the conversation but I knew it would be the most appropriate source of inspiration for our holiday card this year. 2006 has been a long year full of tragedy and hope. I am more in the mood for Holiday Spirits than Cheer and that's not good! My husband's sense of humor is one of the saving graces of our life together... another blessing I'll add to the list. Ho, Ho, Ho!

Lesson for the Day

Tenneessee Williams

La mémoire est un drôle de brouillard.
Memory is a strange kind of fog. --Valère Staraselski

Something best emplified by southern writers like Tennessee Williams and William Faulker. My dad recently reminded me that Faulkner was a postal worker in his early days. He got some of his best material sitting behind the mailboxes and eavsdropping on the chit chat of the locals when there were lulls. So, even foggier than ours, are the memories of others.

Art Resources to Note

Angels and Infidels MCDLXXXII
Amie Oliver
graphite, gouache and watercolor on paper
18" x 12" 2006

Artdc.org and Artists Space both have wonderful interactive databases that allow artists to upload their work in order to have a presence on the internet. Curators, collectors and artists can get an idea of what kind of work is being created in the region and contact info if the artist chooses to share that information. Hey, getting the work out there isn't easy so anything that brings the artist and the rest of the world into the same universe is a great resource.

Too good to be true?

Excerpted from the NYT and invented by the Double Seven, a meatpacking-district cocktail bar:

This drink is made by melting chocolate in hot milk, then mixing it with shots of Brugal rum (from the Dominican Republic) and Caffé Lolita coffee liqueur. The mixture is warmed with steam from a cappuccino machine and topped with heavy cream shaken to the consistency of yogurt.

According to the NYT, the sweetness of the rum and liqueur rounds out the bitterness of the dark chocolate (and of course I'll use at least 80%) and sipping this concoction through a layer of cream only intensifies the experience. YUM. I can't imagine that this would be better than the famed Cocao Africane from Angelina's Tea Room in Paris... it gives one a buzz without the spirits and I do not exagerate! Still, its worth a try since it isn't likely I'll be tasting Angelina's chocolate chaud this holiday season. If I get the chance I'll make a point of stopping by the Double Seven this winter for the Hot Domincana.

Hot Dominicana
Adapted From the Double Seven
serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

10 ounces Debauve & Gallais or any good 60 percent cocoa chocolate disks
(62 1/2 disks, to be precise)

3 ounces Brugal rum

3 ounces Caffé Lolita coffee liqueur

3/4 cup heavy cream.

1. Scald milk in a saucepan over a medium-low flame and pour into a saucepan containing chocolate. Stir with a whisk over medium-low heat until chocolate has melted.

2. Add rum and coffee liqueur to a metal cocktail shaker and heat quickly with the steam nozzle of a cappuccino machine. (Or scald rum and coffee liqueur in a saucepan over a medium-high flame.)

3. Stir hot liquors into hot-chocolate mixture, then divide among four glasses. Shake cream in a squeeze bottle vigorously for 45 seconds (or beat in a bowl with a whisk for the same length of time), and gently pour into glasses so it sits on top. Optional: garnish with chocolate shavings.

Does anyone know a good substitute for milk? I wonder if goat's milk would work? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Silent Night

Silent Night... tis the season. We unplug our phone to insure silence during the long nights of December. I've learned to embrace the winter here after spending September - December in Paris in 2004. One of the saving graces was the nuit blanche...which Urban Light Works recreated here for a number of years. Light... it is hope... it reflects flights of fancy, growth, optimism.

Silent Night is also an invitational exhibition at 1708 Gallery. Its a new take on a popular formula for holiday sales at most galleries throughout the land. The 2006 version is a silent auction, hence the name. Uh, no - there are no Picasso's in this auction. I had rather look at this painting than most of the "seasonal" cards, et al we're bombarded with this time of year. You can visit the link above to get an idea of the fine art on view at 1708.

Mask at Art6

"Midnight Rouge" is part of the series Angels and Infidels. It is a 24" x 18" mixed media drawing on paper and is framed in a simple black frame with glass. One of my favorites from the series, this drawing is currently on view in this invitational exhibition at Art6. Mask will be up until December 23rd.

Art6
6 E. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219
804.353.1406
wed - sun: noon to 4pm