rainy day

it was cold and rainy today (but not cold enough for my down jacket . . i've been wearing my denim jacket with two sweaters . . ). m and c were supposed to go to an early afternoon duncan dance class, but they ended up staying home instead and working on schoolwork projects. after they finished their work they watched a little of cheaper by the dozen (with clifton webb and myrna loy) as they both just finished reading the book. korrina worked on her playwriting homework at home and then at a cafe, and then joined us for dinner. i made african peanut stew. it felt wonderfully hot and satisfying after traipsing about in the chilly night air (m and c both had ballet at 4 and 5 pm).

out and about

chanda has been asking for a few days now to walk along the highline. we hadn't been since . . september. we needed to visit a shop in chelsea called three tarts to pick up a gift i had ordered for my friend's birthday, so afterwards we walked to 20th street and 10th avenue and came home along the high line (after a respite at la bergamote for a pear tart and a strawberry tart). these are a few of the pictures we took. we couldn't believe the woodland crocuses were already blooming. new york city has not had a winter this year.








it was a very bright and sunny day. construction had begun just to the west of this picture, between the high line and west street. the whitney museum is being built, along with a headquarters for the high line.

ballet class observation day

after dropping chanda at her modern dance class with ellen, i walked to manhattan youth ballet to observe morgana's ballet class. natalia was her first teacher for technique, and then deborah taught the pointe class. it was my first time seeing natalia teach. i had observed deborah two years ago (here and here). morgana first met natalia while dancing for mr. patrelle's nutcracker these past two years. she loves having her as a teacher. natalia is firm, yet gentle, and always encourages the girls to do their best while working correctly.

this first movie shows natalia presenting a developé exercise at the bar.

. . a combination across the floor . .

. . and the adagio.

one always ends technique class with an adagio. i think i found it dull when i was 12 (i always needed to be moving . . fast), but now it's my favorite part. no matter how few lessons you've had with ballet, the adagio allows you to reach gracefully out and bow and dream that ballerina dream.

and then it's time for pointe class with deborah . .

and a final pointe combination across the floor: boureés. the beautiful piano playing you've been hearing is from school accompanist mira tsidulko. morgana loves having her play for the class. she inspires the girls to have fun with their dancing.

after class, morgana and i stopped at whole foods to get the remainder of the ingredients we needed for artichoke and pesto pizza with mozzarella and olives, oregano and a little lemon juice.

sweeping the days under the rug

we've been back from my mom's and dad's house for a week now, and i don't know where the time went. we went ice skating twice (since it was the last week), and i attended a traditional nutrition guild class about making broths, but other than these activities, i don't feel like we've accomplished very much. ellen's dances need to be started, main lessons finished, and the apartment fixed up a bit . . there are bags of salvation army clothes that need to be discarded, and even some empty boxes from christmas presents that still need to be put away . . everything i do seems to be done in slow motion . . it was also difficult to come home again . . i still feel like i'm living on the edge of a cliff without the mulberry branches waving outside my window. montauk was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. i'll try and put up some posts about it . . but, honestly, i feel like i'm up against a towering mountain of stones and all must be sorted and put in their proper glass jars and the task is so colossal that i'm unable to start. or i begin and then get confused because i can't remember which color or size goes in what jar.

you tame pigeons,
you turtle-doves,
and all you birds beneath the sky,
come and help me pick . .
the good into the pot,
the bad into the crop.
(from grimm's cinderella)

celebrating greg's birthday again?

 yes, because we forgot to bring his presents along with us to montauk!

 so i made a cheese cake with cranberries on top . . 

but i didn't make it early enough for our luncheon dinner. we celebrated early today because korrina was going out of town to visit her friend in new jersey. greg had to settle for candles on a birthday cookie.

chanda and i had picked up the jam and the coffee from the scandinavian store on park avenue a few months ago.

ciao, bella!

for dinner we had beet salad with squash soup and italian bread.

with a dessert of delicious cheese cake with cranberry topping!

wednesday and thursday dinners

 this was a delicious giada recipe with penne, parsley and clams. we had it wednesday night.

thursday night we had steamed broccoli, baked potatoes and a roast chicken.

monday: baking cookies and a visit to amagansett

 there's been an ongoing monopoly game going on. jack likes to keep watch.

 taking a break from the game to make chocolate chip cookies.

we only have a hand mixer at home, so nana's electric mixer feels fancy!

 

 delicioso!

the game resumes . .

 in the afternoon we went for a drive to amagansett.

we walked around the square and stopped for tea and coffee at jack's. chanda found a fascinating book about a young man who's dream it was to make a boat of cork.

 meeting up with nana and nonno.
 

hanging out at jack's . .

greg's 50th birthday celebration

we had salad, ziti and apple pie.