halloween day

 we made one apple pie today, and two pumpkin pies. one of the pumpkin pies went with chanda to her halloween party.

 on my way back from picking up my vegetable box, i stopped to get a pumpkin. it was nice to have it be fifty percent off, but it was also much bigger than i intended (there were no little ones). chanda had to come meet me to help carry it home.

 her traditional halloween costume for the past few years: jedi knight. we spent part of the evening at our friends' house two blocks away. my friend janet had all her boys home this evening. one was sewing a costume for a late night party, one was eating dinner before going out to a party, and the other two were spending the evening playing games with friends at the house, and watching stranger things, which is a little to creepy for me. from the reviews i've read, it's also a bit too gory. everyone is too grown up for trick or treating these days! when i came home, greg was just falling asleep, happily stuffed with chili, apple pie and pumpkin pie. i fed the cats, unpacked the vegetable bag, put the chili away, and now i need to put away the pies.

mr. jack o'lantern will have to be finished tomorrow. 

----

there was an incident on our bike path this afternoon. someone drove a car along it and then fired some shots at people down by chambers and west streets. several people were killed and injured. greg couldn't ride his bike home this evening as everything was still blocked off. the traffic was backed up, and everyone was talking about it on the streets when i went to get the vegetables. i spoke with my sister, my cousin, korrina and greg. my nephew called and spoke with chanda, and i texted with san. everyone has been worried, but we're all okay here. it felt strange not having to call and speak with my parents to let them know we're alright.

happy halloween . . a halloween morning

i love my city and all the lovingly crazy people in it. i think i especially love this song and video because it captures the essence of what nyc was like when i first began living here in 1987. the city has changed a lot since then . . but people still flock here to sing and dance and to be free and i guess that's a very 60's thing to say. peace, love and rock n' roll . . those are the roots of this city . . along with greed and corruption, but we won't go there in this moment because it's a happy let's celebrate nyc moment!

a poem for sunday

chanda picked the poem for this morning:

october's party

october gave a party.

the leaves by hundreds came--

the chestnuts, oaks, and maples,

and leaves of every name.

the sunshine spread a carpet,

and everything was grand,

miss weather led the dancing;

professor wind the band.

the chestnuts came in yellow,

the oaks in crimson dressed;

the lovely misses maple,

in purple, looked their best;

all balanced to their partners,

and gaily fluttered by;

the sight was like a rainbow

new fallen from the sky.

then in the rustic hollows,

at hide-and-seek they played.

the party closed at sundown

and everybody stayed.

professor wind played louder;

they flew along the ground,

and then the party ended

in jolly "hands all round."

by george cooper (1814 - 1927) 

 it's been a dark and rainy day. i made apple yogurt pancakes for breakfast (the recipe is from my moosewood cooks at home book and initially it called for cottage cheese, but we didn't have that today) and even though it was about 10 am, it was dark enough for a candle.

 i finally blocked my shawl from the martina behm (strickmich) knit-a-long that i finished in san francisco this summer.

 the yarn is nature's luxury, sheep en soie, colorway: remembering rose.

chanda hasn't felt well this weekend (she's had a headache and chills, though no fever) and has stayed home from her all dance classes and rehearsals (including nutcracker rehearsals). it has poured rain all day and she doesn't have a good pair of rain boots, so it's just as well she didn't go out. she would have gotten soaking wet. if she doesn't buy rain boots, it'll rain more like today, but if she does buy a pair of boots, it probably won't. (i could use a new pair of rain boots also.)

neighborhood halloween decorations, tea and game night

 i used to take many photos of the halloween decorations on the upper east side when i would take chanda to the patrelle nutcracker rehearsals a few years ago. i miss those decorations. i don't think my neighborhood does it quite as well, but here's a few from my saturday walk to the grocery store.

 these signs are, unfortunately, numerous in my neighborhood. dog owners can be so thoughtless!

 the salt store . . 

 i have never understood this place since it first appeared about eight years ago . . 

 greg and i took the bags to salvation army today. there was a long line for costumes next door.

tea with my friend janet at luv tea cafe . . 

playing clue after dinner . . chanda's favorite which she always wins.

on the high line and another shawl

 it was a beautiful day for a walk on the high line. the leaves on the trees are beginning to change color.

 an aster flower . . 

 black eyed susans, which i chose to sketch, mainly because i could identify them!

 i love their beautiful brown cones.

 finishing up her sketch . . 

 of what looks like another aster flower, but the leaves and stalk are very different. they actually look kind of evergreen like to me.

 returning home along the birch tree path . . 

 we're almost done with our second set of seven dvds about the roosevelts. we've really enjoyed this film series, and have especially learned so much about eleanor roosevelt (i now have a biography about her on hold at the library). we also began reading the imaginary invalid (inspired by eva and family).

 as soon as the ellison bay shawl had been pulled up from blocking, i pinned down the next one: loop by casapinka.

 i used all oysters and purls yarn for this (in dk weight).

 almond is the beige color (created by using cutch, a tree extract), akamas is the darker blue, and sea foam is the lighter blue, both achieved with indigo.

i prefer the style of this shawl. the crescent is so easy to drape around my neck when it's chilly outside.

shawl blocking and apple picking

 yesterday i finally blocked my ellison bay shawl.

 the varigated yarn is oysters and purls plant dyed aran (colorway olive, achieved with eucalyptus tree bark and leaves with a little bit of iron added), and the solid green is quince and co's osprey aran in wasabi. i used size nine circular needles.

 chanda took these pics on west 13th street, on our way to the dermatologist this morning. (she's had a little growth on her knee that needed to be check out. it ended up being a giant wart, which we both found amusing. the doctor froze it and it'll probably fall off in a few days.)

 we had lunch at the rubin museum cafe, and then she walked me to lionbrand yarn store on her way to a horton modern dance class at peridance.

 i was supposed to buy a .75 crochet hook for some beads i would like to add to the plum leaf shawl i'm almost done with  (martina behm, again). i walked out with three skeins of yarn for a scarf, and no crochet hook. i had completely forgotten to check for it (oh, brother). i called later on in the week (i'm posting this on sunday) and they said they didn't have that size in stock anyway . . . i think i have another idea for slipping them on the shawl.

 brian and korrina had come by in the morning around 11 am to get the car keys. they borrowed the car for a drive into westchester county to go apple picking. they returned just in time for dinner! honestly, they walked in the door just as we were sitting down to eat! it was wonderful to add two plates to the table and hear about their day.

 they brought cider donuts back for us, which pleased greg greatly.

they have lots of apples for pie and crisp.

autumn decorations

 i think i need to add the bigger pumpkins now to our nature table. when i put this together a few weeks ago, it was still very warm so i only put out the smaller pumpkins and the princess in the forest postcard. since it still felt summery, i preferred having a summery card. however, the days are finally cooler now, and it would be nice to have a more autumnal looking card out.

 our donkey, a fawn and mr. gnome.

 my frog from brooklyn general store, which i bought a few years ago. oh! well, more than a few years ago . . try 2011!!

and here's our fall leaf mobile which we made with a callery pear leaf, a white oak leaf and an oak leaf. i realize that i've forgotten the names for two of the leaves we used: the maroon one and the one directly above it.

chanda would always take care of decorating our windows. she's not as interested these days, and there's no little ones to take over the job or to pester her to help.