if i lay out newspapers or towels, jack likes to lay on top of them. he likes to hang out wherever it is i'm working.
the apartment is totally upside down, as we're room re-arranging and re-shelving books, sanding and staining brackets, and drilling to hang the new shelves. m and c had fun pulling out the old dollhouse and all it's accoutrements.
we visited ikea in red hook today in order to buy some shelves for the walls. c had fun measuring the height of a chair she would like for a desk in the new room we're organizing for her.
at the check out it felt like we had hundreds of shelves, but looking at this picture there seems to be only a few!
usually we stay downstairs when visiting my mom and dad. but this time we stayed upstairs, and m and c had a lot of fun picking out their sheets and making up their home away from home.
my mom and dad have a player piano and the girls love playing it themselves, and love having it play for them. they know how to work it much better than i do!
i drove out to montauk today, with k and her friend james, and chanda. we met my sister out there and rolled in the waves at kirk beach. it feels so wonderful to be by the sea . . . .
the weather has been so changeable. this morning it started out cool, with a lovely breeze. then, this afternoon, after a little rain, it became so hazy and muggy that you felt as if you were walking through a steam bath. now the wind is picking up again, and it sounds like it might storm. morgana is at HB right now, as she has a performance. c is there watching it, along with korrina and her friend james. g is working a coop shift. ahhhh, i just heard a little thunder.
before m had to leave for her performance, and before we had eaten a little dinner, it was so hot that we decided to bike by the river for a little bit, and sit on the grass in the shade to read the penderwicks on gardam street. we had a nice time reading, but we were incredibly hot! it's been hot this summer, but this humidity, and the way it goes up and down, can be a bit distressing!
this morning i woke consumed with a myriad of things to do. i made a list, and it was way too long. i realized that i wouldn't be able to accomplish a quarter of it. this happens to me whenever we get ready to leave the apartment and go visiting (tomorrow morning we're leaving for a short visit to montauk). so, all the chores i've been procrastinating with, now come back to haunt me! rather than trying to get everything accomplished, i decided we needed a little quiet circle time. we got out our knitting and spinning, sang a few songs, read a poem, and worked on our "from memory" zoo sketches. then it was time to take jack to the vet!
poor jack. his ear has been a bit swollen for a month or so now, but g and i let it go. these past few days he's been more and more lethargic. yesterday when m went to move him from licking a friend's leg, he cried out in pain. then, this morning he woke from a dream also yelping in pain. so, it was time to call dr. elliot and take him in. it turns out that he has a yeast infection in his ears and on his paws. i have ear wash and ear medication, and paw wash too. i hope he starts feeling better soon. and now i better pack and make some pickles before we leave!
we went to the prospect park carousel today. c has been asking to go for months now, (well, she's been asking since her last visit in october!), so today we rode it twice. it really is one of the most wonderful carousels.
i really enjoy the sound of the calliope, and the carousel goes round at a nice fast speed!
after the carousel we stopped at the zoo and saw our favorite california sea lion, stella. she's been there since k was six or so, and m tells me stella even sang happy birthday to her!
we also visited the lefferts house and played a round of nine man morris.
before the carousel and the zoo and the lefferts house, we were at the coop doing an 8 am make-up shift. we had childcare today, which some of us didn't enjoy as much as checkout. c was rather glum because her tooth was hurting. it was very loose and needed to fall out!
m had a nice time reading and singing with the children.
after the shift, before going to the carousel, i figured i better get c some soup, since she hadn't eaten anything as she couldn't chew because of her tooth. she was very morose . . until her tooth finally came out! she was in such discomfort that she finally succumbed to pulling and wiggling . .
hooray! hopefully, the tooth fairy won't forget to visit . . as she once did (it must have been a very busy night for her).
if i lay out newspapers or towels, jack likes to lay on top of them. he likes to hang out wherever it is i'm working.
the apartment is totally upside down, as we're room re-arranging and re-shelving books, sanding and staining brackets, and drilling to hang the new shelves. m and c had fun pulling out the old dollhouse and all it's accoutrements.
we visited ikea in red hook today in order to buy some shelves for the walls. c had fun measuring the height of a chair she would like for a desk in the new room we're organizing for her.
at the check out it felt like we had hundreds of shelves, but looking at this picture there seems to be only a few!
it was time to pack up and drive home today, as morgana had a rehearsal for her HB acting show. before we began the trip, however, we visited gin beach for a swim. the water was so wonderfully cool, and we walked along the stone pier and sketched the seagulls and fog horn on the other side of the inlet to the sound.
i also found two treasures for myself . . a tube of california baby sunscreen, and a mexican beach blanket (similar to the ones i like to get on the cape).
we spent the afternoon at south lake. it was a very quiet day. hot. muggy. i wanted to read and knit, but i ended up just sleeping under the umbrellas. the heat just makes me sleep . . makes me feel old too! i remember being 15 years old and reading my way through heat waves . . i especially remember reading ursula le guin's the tombs of atuan one very torrid summer . .
this is a great swallows and amazons pic . . which we would like to read again!
we had delicious summer zucchini and chicken apple sausages for dinner, mixed with leftover bunny peace macaroni! chanda didn't think this combination would be very good . . but after trying it, she declared it delicous. we also had fun using nana's special pasta bowls.
k and j had to return today for school and work. i made a nice breakfast of german pancakes, and the morning time slipped away . . . . fast!
before we knew it, k and j were running for the train . . in the above picture they had a good six minutes yet before the train would take off, so they had time to find a nice seat and get settled. others didn't! m and c and i had fun watching people run up the ramp with just seconds to spare!
when i was four and my aunt moved to california, she gave me a book called amy loves good-byes. whenever morgana and chanda and their friend tessa wave good-bye, i always think of my aunt and the book she gave me . . and i do always feel a little sad . . and we had a fun time with korrina and james . . good-bye! good-bye!
usually we stay downstairs when visiting my mom and dad. but this time we stayed upstairs, and m and c had a lot of fun picking out their sheets and making up their home away from home.
we spent the afternoon at kirk beach and a very large seagull stole my bag of ginger snaps! there was still a lot left in the bag and he opened his beak up wide and carried the whole thing off. i was rather amazed. i've seen them eat scraps from plates, and snippets from chip and pretzel bags, but i've never seen them carry off a bag of cookies!
at least it didn't get our lunch, (sigh) just my dessert.
i also worked on my ishbel. it's coming along nicely, but i think i may run out of yarn at the tip . . so i ordered a skein of knitpicks' shimmer in purple just in case! (i had to also put an order in for a 47 inch cable for the veronik avery mountain shawl i hope to start soon).
my mom and dad have a player piano and the girls love playing it themselves, and love having it play for them. they know how to work it much better than i do!
sunday we went to ditch and a storm started brewing. i was quite skeptical that it would build enough to rain on our parade . . but rain it did. it poured!
jason and i broke camp and ran to the car with boogie boards, chairs, towels, knitting bag and book bags while the rain started to fall. by the time we got back to the intrepid builders by the shore, we were drenched.
they kept working and created a beautiful stone and sand castle which korrina wanted me to capture with my camera. but for once i was being careful with the camera and i had left it in the car, since it was raining.
j had a ferry to catch at 6:30. after running home from the rain and having a bite to eat . . he didn't have much time to get there. chanda and i drove his backpack over and met him at the dock. he ran onto the boat at exactly 6:30 pm!
he called me later to say that adam had picked him up in new london and they had stopped at harry's in colchester for a milkshake. i'm glad it worked out. i wasn't feeling like a very responsible aunt to have him almost miss his ride home!
i drove out to montauk today, with k and her friend james, and chanda. we met my sister out there and rolled in the waves at kirk beach. it feels so wonderful to be by the sea . . . .
the weather has been so changeable. this morning it started out cool, with a lovely breeze. then, this afternoon, after a little rain, it became so hazy and muggy that you felt as if you were walking through a steam bath. now the wind is picking up again, and it sounds like it might storm. morgana is at HB right now, as she has a performance. c is there watching it, along with korrina and her friend james. g is working a coop shift. ahhhh, i just heard a little thunder.
before m had to leave for her performance, and before we had eaten a little dinner, it was so hot that we decided to bike by the river for a little bit, and sit on the grass in the shade to read the penderwicks on gardam street. we had a nice time reading, but we were incredibly hot! it's been hot this summer, but this humidity, and the way it goes up and down, can be a bit distressing!
this morning i woke consumed with a myriad of things to do. i made a list, and it was way too long. i realized that i wouldn't be able to accomplish a quarter of it. this happens to me whenever we get ready to leave the apartment and go visiting (tomorrow morning we're leaving for a short visit to montauk). so, all the chores i've been procrastinating with, now come back to haunt me! rather than trying to get everything accomplished, i decided we needed a little quiet circle time. we got out our knitting and spinning, sang a few songs, read a poem, and worked on our "from memory" zoo sketches. then it was time to take jack to the vet!
poor jack. his ear has been a bit swollen for a month or so now, but g and i let it go. these past few days he's been more and more lethargic. yesterday when m went to move him from licking a friend's leg, he cried out in pain. then, this morning he woke from a dream also yelping in pain. so, it was time to call dr. elliot and take him in. it turns out that he has a yeast infection in his ears and on his paws. i have ear wash and ear medication, and paw wash too. i hope he starts feeling better soon. and now i better pack and make some pickles before we leave!
we went to the prospect park carousel today. c has been asking to go for months now, (well, she's been asking since her last visit in october!), so today we rode it twice. it really is one of the most wonderful carousels.
after the carousel we stopped at the zoo and saw our favorite california sea lion, stella. she's been there since k was six or so, and m tells me stella even sang happy birthday to her!
we also visited the lefferts house and played a round of nine man morris.
before the carousel and the zoo and the lefferts house, we were at the coop doing an 8 am make-up shift. we had childcare today, which some of us didn't enjoy as much as checkout. c was rather glum because her tooth was hurting. it was very loose and needed to fall out!
m had a nice time reading and singing with the children.
after the shift, before going to the carousel, i figured i better get c some soup, since she hadn't eaten anything as she couldn't chew because of her tooth. she was very morose . . until her tooth finally came out! she was in such discomfort that she finally succumbed to pulling and wiggling . . 
hooray! hopefully, the tooth fairy won't forget to visit . . as she once did (it must have been a very busy night for her).
