hugo . . again

we eschewed schoolwork and i allowed chanda to coerce me into seeing hugo again, this time at the ziegfeld theatre on 54th street. the show started at 12:30 and we arrived at the theatre, breathless from running, at 12:29. this time, she and morgana paid for their own tickets with their babysitting money. i think it was well spent at this theatre. the ziegfeld is beautiful. red velvet carpeting, sconces on the walls, plush seats, and a huge screen. it was empty at 12:30. everyone was doing their schoolwork! except us. we sat there with our 3D glasses on and watched 3D coming attractions. everything is being reissued in 3D! star wars and titanic! the adventures of tin tin is also coming out in 3D. it looks good. all these movies. we usually never go to the movies. it's always too loud and the coming attractions are violent and creepy. but i don't have a little one anymore, so i guess i don't mind as much. but it's expensive! there's lots to see but we'll have to be choosy. and i can't say, oh . . i'll just watch it at home on the computer. 3D at home on the computer is not as fun. teens and pre-teens . . they keep you busy and your pockets empty!

we also saw hugo's and isabelle's costumes at the ziegfeld. the jackets were a tweed, isabelle's skirt was plaid wool, and hugo's shorts were corduroy. and we studied the work on the sweaters. hugo's sweater was definitely handknit. and we wondered where they found the shoes! the shoes looked authentic to the time period, and very well-worn. it was fun to see the costumes, and of course i was itching and twitching to snap a few photos . . ha ha!

afterwards, we had soup at whole foods, and then morgana went to ballet at MYB on 60th street, and chanda and i took the train downtown to gelsey's. korrina was at another tech all day . . for act ii of a christmas carol.

the holiday books we read this evening were aunt eater's mystery christmas (! my choice), and the wee christmas cabin of carn-na-ween by ruth sawyer, with beautiful illustrations by max grafe. the night before last we read "the old woman who wanted a gnome in her home," from christmas roses, legends for advent.

a rainy day and the camera goes kaput

yesterday was such a rainy and messy day. we were home in the morning to do a little work, then chanda and morgana went to babysit and korrina went to a tech rehearsal for a different play: the homeschooling holiday play, a christmas carol. i went to my friend janet's house to help her finish hemming several costumes. i did two jackets and one blouse. she still has to decide on some crowd costumes, but everything else is finished and they look beautiful. opening night is thursday.

monday evening greg took my camera to phototech on 34th street. they looked at it and said, "we cannot fix it. we don't have the parts." sooooo, i am currently camera-less, without a camera, no pictures these days. i still compose them in my head. i walk here and there in the rain and look up at the grey sky and frame clouds and tree branches in my mind's eye, and think about ansel adams and how he would walk miles and wait hours for that picture that felt like a puzzle piece clicking into place, seemingly making the world a little more comprehensible and palpable.

these roses on the windowsill were given to korrina on her birthday from our friend marlene who teaches at the herbert berghoff studio. she's a dear.

back in the city

connecticut this morning was warm and misty. the trees in my sister's back yard were shrouded behind a grey scrim. in front the grass was green and wet and parsley still grew in clumps in the garden. it's a little cooler this evening, but not much, and i think it's supposed to be 60 degrees again tomorrow.

this evening, while i set up the holiday nature table and made the bed with clean sheets, greg and i listened to the countdown to the #1 classic rock song. we thought it might be "freebird," but my brother-in-law guessed correctly, "stairway to heaven." meanwhile, i was singing favorite neil young and allman brothers songs in my head . . and lou reed . . hey baby, what's your style . . looking for a heart of gold . . lookin' and i'm growin' old . . sweet melissa . . i'm no angel . . oh to live on sugar mountain, with the barkers and the colored balloons . . you can't be twenty on sugar mountain, and naturally you think you're leavin' there too soon . . leavin' there toooo soon.

ok. enough of the nostalgia trip. morgana had a rehearsal for ellen's concert this afternoon. her dance is looking good, and i can't believe that there's only one more weekend until nutcracker and dances by very young choreographers with st. nicholas day in between, and santa lucia after . .

the above picture reflects what it looks like outside today, even though it was taken this time last year. the leaves are carpeting the courtyard with a beautiful brown and gold glow, and will probably be blown into a plastic bag tomorrow morning. the air is not crisp . . but i have high hopes for later on in the week . . the trees in connecticut were bare, and the trees here are getting there . .

in connecticut

we made good time getting to connecticut this morning. we left at about 8:30 and arrived by 11 am. we had an early thanksgiving dinner, beginning with delicious pumpkin soup. then we celebrated chanda's birthday and she received two chronicles of narnia movies: the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, and prince caspian. we ended the evening playing a round of charades using quotations rather than movies and books, as we usually do. i was very tired, and was glad to finally go to sleep! maybe i was just so full of turkey and apple pie and gingerbread . .

friday

we spent the morning reading, and the afternoon knitting for the craft fair. morgana made needle felted snails and two bags. chanda is making gnomes. i was knitting a scarf as a birthday gift for a friend of theirs, but i fell asleep, so i slept the afternoon away . . it was nice having an afternoon that i could sleep away! it's time now to figure out if i need to make a new pumpkin pie or a gingerbread for my family tomorrow . . i don't think i have all the ingredients . .

thanksgiving day

we were supposed to travel to connecticut today to spend the holiday with my family. however, my sister came down with a sore throat and fever and, thus, we have postponed the trip until saturday. since we had a turkey meal tuesday evening, i reheated turkey slices in a gravy sauce (which i learned to make on the new york times website via a cooking video). i raided our frig and found a cauliflower morgana had picked up with greg at the coop. i steamed it and then covered it with melted butter. we also had mashed potatoes and creamed celery. to end the evening we played charades and "racko." i don't know where greg found racko, but i think it's a game he used to play with his grandma many years ago. he usually manages to win, as he did this evening.

this morning we went ice skating at bryant park and watched the parade floats waft by. our friends were there and we had a nice time with them before breaking up for our respective dinners. on the way home, morgana, chanda and i walked by lord and taylor to see their holiday windows. the theme this year asks "what is christmas made of" and the windows display many framed childrens' drawings of their favorite aspects of the holiday season: sledding, looking for a christmas tree, decorating, building a snowman and baking. of course, all the moving figures then enact these activities. it's always very enjoyable to see. afterwards, and before getting on the train for home, we stopped at le pain to get some tea and hot chocolate. we also met tsering to get the second harry potter movie, so the afternoon was filled with movie watching and cooking.

we also read a few thanksgiving books (between this evening and yesterday evening): thanksgiving day, by dianne m. macmillan; the wampanoag, by kevin cunningham and peter benoit; squanto and the first thanksgiving by joyce k. kessel; the peterkins thanksgiving, adapted by elizabeth spurr; thanksgiving poems, selected by myra cohn livingston; and (last, but not least, one of our favorite fun holiday poets) it's thanksgiving, by jack prelutsky, illustrated by marylin hafner.

off to see . . hugo!

today we took the f train to brooklyn to the cobble hill cinema to see hugo. we didn't get the early start i was hoping for, so it was difficult finding seats. however, morgana and chanda finally found two together, and greg, korrina and i found three together (after two kind-hearted fellow movie goers moved over) in the last row. the rest of the theatre was comprised of 8th graders from a near-by school. they had to be shushed a few times, but overall i thought they were well-behaved for what i would label a more "artsy" type of movie than the majority of movies that are produced for middle school children.

hugo was fabulous. it was fun, endearing, magical, believeable, just a little frightening in parts, and heart-warming. it's a movie i could see over and over again. there are wonderful little details that i know will burst out at me at second, third and fourth viewings. since i hadn't read the book first, i had no expectations. i really look forward to when the dvd comes out. i am reading the book now.

afterwards, we walked to mazzola bakery on union street for coffee, cappuccino and tea. we also had the best canolis we had ever tasted. they were so fresh, and not at all too sweet. morgana and chanda had delicious butter cookies filled with jam. it was so good that i daydreamed about living across from it and running out for morning pastries.

brooklyn general store was right up the street, but it started to rain again and we all had things to do back in the city: chanda had ballet class, korrina had a friend to meet, and i had a pumpkin pie to bake.

and if you are wondering about the bereft of photographs . . my camera's lens is jammed and inoperable. i've had it repaired once already and am not sure if it's worthwhile to spend another hundred to repair again. the top picture is the very last one taken by my camera, and the bottom two are from korrina, taken with her friend's canon powershot SX30 IS.

tuesday afternoon

chanda and i came home and looked forward to a quiet time. i cooked a turkey greg had bought from the coop: only nine pounds. it fit easily into my everyday roasting pan. we also made maple candied yams, green beans with onions and turkey bacon, and cranberry lemon pie. then we curled up on the bed to read and wind some yarn. it was cold outside, and it felt good to be in the warm apartment.

the tunic janet made fit nicely.

. . stirring the maple sauce for the yams . .

. . reading and winding yarn . .

it was a delicious dinner . .

the birthday party

chanda and korrina shared an ice skating party this year. we headed out the door for the subway with sandwiches and brownies at 8:30 am. greg was off from work.






it was a grey day, and had rained during the night, but the ice was fine. there weren't many people at 9 am, but filled up towards noon.

korrina wore her new skates. it made me happy to see her speeding around on them.

janet combined two beautiful old sweaters she had for a new chic tunic.

camille made the most beautiful fingerless gloves.

and deychen had one of korrina's favorite authors, tamora pierce, sign her latest book for her. she waited on line at books of wonder last sunday for it. ms. pierce wrote "korrina rules" in k's book, and "deychen, legendary" in deychen's book. the girls thought her choice of words for them was incredibly psychic!

we made "moon cookies," a recipe from my friend marisa. they have almond flour and honey in them and are delicious! we also wrapped up paperwhite bulbs for everyone to take home and plant in pots on their windowsill.

it was a fun morning . . and i looked forward to being home for the afternoon!

celebrating korrina's birthday

we celebrated korrina's birthday today. chanda had fun picking out several old baby pictures of korrina to place on the table. i put them behind a current picture to share with everyone before dinner.

chocolate bar chocolates are popular this year!

this is the yarn chanda and i picked up from annie and company saturday evening. madelinetosh pashmina. the blue is so rich looking!

korrina asked for thai wraps for her dinner. we had it for brunch as we all had activities in the late afternoon, and korrina was going to be in rehearsal with her stage managing gig until late at night.

korrina's friend tyler ate with us . . and was a little perplexed at how to wrap everything up at first . .

i wrapped a few with lettuce at first, but then preferred to just use the rice paper.

birthday cake was pumpkin pie, and since i had only baked it that morning, it was too warm to hold up the candles. oh dear.

oh well. it tasted good!

we were supposed to have haagen dazs dulce de leche ice cream with the pie, but greg couldn't find it in the grocery store. korrina was not happy. but she got to have some during her rehearsal when a friend went back to the store at night and found it for her. happy birthday, korrina!

il cantuccio and ice skates

i stopped by one of my favorite cafes to buy delicious fig and prune cantuccio cookies for my friend marisa for her birthday (which i think was on november 2nd). the shop was already decorated for christmas and looked very festive and pretty. after dropping the gift off for her husband to take to the bronx with him when he visits her (she has been staying with her mom who has been very ill), korrina and i went shopping at paragon sports by union square for ice skates. she's been without skates now for three years. i miss having her skate with us, and these skates will probably last quite a number of years. i don't think her foot is growing much anymore, though i suppose it still could. she'll be eighteen tomorrow.

(before going shopping i took a picture of the crepe myrtle tree in our courtyard. it's been looking particularly lovely lately with it's yellow and green leaves and blue berries.)


(i've also been enjoying shuffling through the leaves on the ground, and listening to the children playing in the courtyard. these guys were little just a few years ago . . now there making a lot of noise all on their own . . )

korrina and i sat in one of the new outdoor tables areas that has sprung up all around the city before going into the sporting goods store. i sipped a peppermint mocha, and she sipped a pumpkin spice latte.

she ended up getting a pair of jackson glaciers, which was the very first skate i bought her years ago when she first started taking lessons at wollman rink in prospect park.