all that's past is prologue...

If you want to get a sense of my prioritization, just take a look at my "Goals" list for the year (in addition to a NY resolution of SHINE, I have 12 goal categories with 4 instances each, things like "Travel" and "Read 4 books form the bookshelves." Some I've finished and am on extra credit checks with, like "Try 4 new restaurants or bars" and "Go out with 4 people I don't usually see." But I had not gotten very far with "Complete 4 professional development events." So this week, I not only attended all the sessions of — but also presented at — the Non-Profit Finance Conference. As we met to discuss the session, someone said "What is your biggest fear for the session?" "That they'll think I'm stupid" was my response, so fast I didn't even know it was coming out. Well, I'm here to say that the session went swimmingly, mainly because I was FOR SURE surrounded but the three smartest wo

For the end of the trip, we headed back to the Amsterdam area. This time, we actually stayed in Haarlem, about 30 minutes away from Amsterdam (for any number of reasons, including a cheaper place to stay, parking, and easier access to some of the things we wanted to see — and most of all, seeing something new.) We completed the drive back from Berlin to Haarlem, which was, more or less, as boring as the drive from Amsterdam to Berlin. We did get to stop and check out Potsdam, which was adorable. Checked into our hostel (Hello, I'm Local), which was adorable, and had a light dinner there. Then, we headed into Amsterdam, where Patrick had snagged tickets to the Vermeer exhibit. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I could fill this blog with pictures of the pictures, but they would not do it justice. Suffice it to say that Vermeer is one of my favorite artists, and I was familiar with almost every work in the exhibition. But seeing them all there together, and their relation

And now … Berlin. My friend René calls it “the city of my soul” so it had a lot to live up to, which it mostly did! We stayed at the Abion hotel, right at the Spree river, at Bellevue station so just a little in (former) west Berlin. We had been told that the drive from Amsterdam to Berlin was deadly dull and long; we did not believe it, but it was true! We did take a quick lunch break in Hannover on the way. We arrived in Berlin, checked in, and then, since one of my Bucket List items was dinner at  Michelin star restaurant (Patrick and I have eaten at both Chez Panisse and Bouchon, but it appears they have lost their stars?) we headed to Cookies Cream for a vegetarian prix fix menu that was amazing. Patrick and Beatrix were amazed that I figured out where it was (follow the dark alley you see in the speeded-up video) and it was an amazing evening of food. Maybe more on this later.   Despite being 4-stars (in theory), or hotel was not necessarily all that comfortable (again, separat

I suppose since we're now on our second night in Berlin I should at least  say something quick about Amsterdam! (more weighty thoughts later)… Basically, I return to Amsterdam for the first time since that long-ago summer night when I was the age Beatrix is now and David and Tim Wick and I walked canal past canal, bar past bar, finding the perfect place to have one class of red wine so VERY many years ago…   Due to a last-minute situation, we switched hotels and our new place (Hotel des Arts) was perfect. A beautiful room, a canal view, friendly staff. We arrived in Amsterdam and walked from Centraal Station to the hotel, just taking everything in. Then checked in and took a quick nap.   From there we walked to Kalverstraat and had our first cone of famous Amsterdam frites at a street stand. We walked through the “9 Streets” neighborhood to get to the Anne Frank House, arriving a little early four our tour. Lots of cute shops on the way. The AF House has changed quite a bit — the r

When I was young, Summit Avenue was a tunnel of elm trees. I sadly can't find any pictures from that time, but it was fairly similar to this: Then, during the 1970s, Dutch Elm Disease overtook the tree stock, and they were all cut down. My mom was not a major community activist, but I remember going to one meeting with her and the neighbors clamoring angrily about it and the city talking about ways to avoid it happening again. I dressed up as an elm tree, complete with a line of red reflective tape around my middle, that Halloween. When I bought my own home in 1993, I was actually surprised that all the trees on our block were the same . Shouldn't there be a diversity of planting, so that there would not be a repeat of the elm trees? I became involved on the Summit-University Planning Council, and listened to city officials tell us that the only way to handle planting urban blocks was a monoculture. It seemed...odd... The past few days, I've watched them cut down scores of