studio rehearsal, a vet visit and the cherry blossom festival

 i always enjoy our wooster street dance rehearsal breakfasts. we stopped at chobani and i chose to have yogurt with pistachios and cocoa nibs and clementine slices. chanda had the lychee nut and mango option. they also have delicious looking oatmeal with yogurt cream and fresh fruit, and sandwiches with cream cheese and salmon on thin sesame bread. i can't wait to take my sister when she comes to visit. i think she'll really like it.

morgana called while we were eating and i talked with her while chanda started rehearsing. she's been busy with her french studies and it seems that all is going well. she'll leave for london again in a week for an acting audition with guild hall.

 a fellow classmate had rehearsal time immediately after chanda today.

  one of the prettiest bathrooms . . !

 today was much cooler than yesterday and it seemed to put everyone in a much nicer mood. 

 everything felt so muted and pretty.

in the distance is the empire state building looking misty on this quiet sunday morning.

 miss liberty surrounded by chocolate chip cookies at bird bath bakery (which was once vesuvio bakery).

 i listened to two sidewalk vendors discussing the rent control increase as they set up their tables. last year there wasn't an increase, but the board voted tuesday night for a one to three percent increase for one year leases, and a two to four percent increase for two year leases. it doesn't sound like very much, but i know for some people who haven't had an increase in living wage, it's a lot. i also know that for small landlords, the increases are not enough to keep up with building maintenance and building taxes; especially the taxes. buildings with rent control apartments are not exempt from having their taxes increase. the taxes increase at a higher percentage than the rent. it makes it difficult.

 after visiting purl soho on broome street and buying some tea and two skeins of yarn for another sock project, greg met me at the health food store and helped carry home some groceries. then we took hermione to the vet. she has an abscess or tumor on her bottom. the doctor was hoping it was just benign mast cells, but it wasn't. the sample has now gone to the lab for a more thorough diagnosis. i don't know what we will decide if it's cancerous.

when we got home and hermione happily escaped from the confines of the cat carrier, madeline had to have her turn inside. she even closed the door and sat and groomed herself. she's such a nut!

after her dance rehearsal, chanda had gone to the sakura matsuri festival at the brooklyn botanic garden. she really enjoyed it and was able to hear the taiko drumming and see the tea ceremony. she said it was incredibly crowded.

the lilacs are in bloom now, also. i can smell them just by looking at this picture.

 dinner this evening was roasted chicken with turnips and carrots, and german red cabbage. i was so pleased with how everything turned out! honestly, i don't remember being so pleased with a meal made by myself in a very long time. usually i always enjoy dinner more when the girls cook. but for some reason, everything tasted especially delicious this evening. i just managed to get everything right. i was especially impressed with the red cabbage. i don't think i've made it in years. i sautéed onion and an apple, then added the cabbage with red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar and a bay leaf. the recipe i was using called for juniper berries, which i didn't have. i'm determined to get some for next time! i also really liked the turnips roasted with the chicken. they had a really good flavor. i also used morgana's herbal sea salt that she brought back from austria: a special extra ingredient!

jumping into summer

 everything is bursting . . and today was so warm that it felt like summertime.

 the tulips have already lost their heads in abingdon square park, and now the dogwood and peonies are out.

 eighth avenue had a street fair . .

 and chanda had a dance rehearsal. she always has trouble getting the cover off her phone in order to hook it up to the studio's speakers.

 she hasn't decided on a costume yet for her modern dance piece but the title will be plight.

 we met greg for dinner at coppelia on 14th street. it's been around for years but greg just discovered it. he's excited because they serve very good cuban fare.

 i had octopus in crunchy blue corn meal with pico de gallo and sweet potato fries (they were out of the yucca fries), chanda had a veggie burger with latin chips, and greg had an omelette (??).

picking up the laundry . . the warm weather really put me in a grumpy mood (chanda too). it's funny how it does that.

lunch with korrina

 waiting for korrina at greeley square (horace greeley was the founder and editor of the new york tribune) . .

 and checking out the easy-to-read new maps we have now.

 a quote from horace greeley that jason read to me: "fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. only one thing endures, and that is character."

 i thought korrina might be taking us to brian's new workplace, but she looked at me with disdain and said, "that's a fried chicken chain."

 we went, instead, to wonjo!

 and it was excellent (from top left to right: spicy daikon, spicy zucchini, spicy mackarel, i don't remember the bottom right, cold garlic broccoli, a potato salad type concoction with carrots and cucumber and the last one all the way on the left i can't remember).

 it was so nice to have her describe each of the dishes, because i had no idea what anything was.

 my tofu shrimp, clam and octopus soup. the broth was delicious.

 i chose to have the bibimbap, which is a popular dish. i had it with chicken, and with it came seaweed, spinach, sprouts, mushrooms and rice. it's served in a very hot metal bowl and the rice forms a delicious crust on the bottom. you're supposed to stir it up completely. i hadn't done a good enough job so the waitress came over and stirred it for me . . now i know!

 we had the best seats on the second floor by the window. i kept saying that she needs to bring greg and chanda here.

 amazing cinnamon, honey and ginger tea.

 afterwards, we walked with her to work to see her restaurant's farm that she's helping set up.

 i can't remember what plants she said these were . . 

these were garlic . . 

----

korrina then went into work and jason and i walked to theordore roosevelt's birthplace for the 4 pm tour. the tour guide was informative but talked so fast! it was the quickest tour i think i've ever been on. my favorite tour guide was the first one we ever had . . but i haven't seen her since. her name was alice and i loved how she wove the facts of the house in with the story of his life there (my post about that visit is here). i suppose i could ask about her someday!

lunch with greg

 jason and i took a walk along the high line to chelsea market while chanda had a ballet lesson.

 when she got back, we walked along the river to meet greg for lunch.

 all the serviceberry trees are in bloom.

 i think these are coots.

 the day was one of the first humid days we've had in awhile. there was a beautiful cool breeze blowing in from the water, which was a nice contrast to the very warm sun that came out from the clouds.

we took him along the boardwalk . . 

where i pointed out my favorite city bird . . 

the mockingbird (the dark spot on the topmost branch in the center).

and then through penny park.

time inc. finally has its sign up.

 waiting for greg to come down.

waving hello for a pic to send morgana who had texted during a break in her classes. 

morgana's thursday snack at shakespeare and company.

greg had a morning of meetings and would have an afternoon of meetings . .

in between he had lunch with us. his cafeteria is nice and always has good food. we had salmon with a green salad and a farro salad. chanda chose different items from the salad bar and jason chose items from the hot bar.

i also had a ginger tea with honey and lemon.

 the outside dining area . . 

 overlooking the harbor.

 after lunch we walked through the oculus, which is the new subway station beneath the 9/11 memorial, and then up to the memorial and the freedom tower. then jason went on a walk to the old five points neighborhood that's described in the books he's currently reading (the gangs of new york, published in 1927) and chanda and i walked uptown.

 she went to ballet class and i went to the library.

 and then finally home past gay street and the rainbow cross (just another day in the neighborhood).