first day of traveling

coming out of the holland tunnel and entering new jersey, 7:46 am. not too shabby! we were off to a good start.

happy to have my new merriweather mug to keep my green tea hot.

driving through industrial elizabeth, new jersey. when i was a child and traveling with my parents to visit our friends in atlantic city, this part of the trip always smelled terrible. 

passing by woolwich, the philadelphia metropolitan area . .

 

working on the vest for the test knit . .

 

stopping at the virginia welcome center . . 

 

for a picnic lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on ezekiel sprouted grain bread).

we were serenaded by a mockingbird that kept flying around and singing from different places such as the tree behind greg and the garbage can next to it.

 

by 5:30 pm we were at our stop for the night, east fayetteville, north carolina. we went to a nearby crackerbarrel for dinner where we had to wait twenty minutes for a table (they were quite busy). i wandered around the gift shop. i have two of these willow tree statues at home. the girls bought them for me many years ago from a favorite card store near my sister. they're very sweet.

 

i was mesmerized by these glitter globes . . there were all different kinds scattered through the tchotchke section of the store . .

 

very tacky . . 

i was also very tired and punchy from sitting in the car all day . . and was happy to head back to the hotel after eating to rest and sleep.

our very nice cat sitter, vicky, sent this photo of the cats trying to get their food out of the refrigerator.

last minute things before leaving for florida

yesterday i made myself a cappuccino and finished my swatch for a vest i'm test knitting. i'm terrible at deadlines so i hope i can get it finished properly.

i also baked biscotti and packed up a bunch to send to manu and family in austria. i had sent a book as thank you several months ago (braiding sweetgrass), but have also been meaning to write a note and send cookies. 

it was kind of a thank you card/condolence card combined as they recently had to say good-bye to their sweet dog lara.

so, all the above happened on monday. this morning, tuesday, i first took the card and boxed up cookies to the post office and then stopped at the vet for special food as the cats' stools have been loose, and also to drop off a fecal sample from cricket (hoping no more parasites!) and then i went to meet ellen for tea and a croissant. we had planned on going to sweet rehab on sullivan street (where we had been for our last meeting) but they weren't opening until 2 pm today, so we went across the street to three of cups instead. we loved it. they had great coffee and freshly baked chocolate croissants made in house.

 

i think it will be a new favorite place to go now (they even warmed up the croissants).

 

as you can see after tea with ellen, i walked milly. i always take a photo of when we start out to send her owners and she sometimes gives me a kiss.

 

waiting for her treat after the walk. 

on the way home i met chanda at merriweather and bought a merriweather coffee mug to keep my tea and coffee hot while traveling. i also spent a lot of time making signs on how to take care of the cats - how much to feed them, where their food was, where the bags were for cleaning the kitty litter, and a note saying "please leave kitchen sponge in this cabinet otherwise zuzu will tear it to shreds."

book recommendations

gladys kalema-zikusoka is a ugandan wildlife veterinarian and founder of conservation through public health, where the surrounding communities most in touch with the gorillas work together for all to thrive. sustainable coffee growing has also helped to give the community funds for schooling, safe water wells and stable housing, thus discouraging poaching and creating a base for wildlife tourism. some of her stories about translocating giraffes and gorillas were suspenseful! her ability to work with the villagers, the gorillas, government figures, doctors and volunteers was inspiring.

 

this no-mow lawns book is very interesting also.

driving home

greg and i went out to the house saturday to mow the lawn. it actually wasn't as tall as i thought it would be, but definitely needed to be mowed. if it rains often like it is now, it'll grow thick and fast like at the end of last summer. we saw that the forsythia is growing well (it had been cut far down to fill out around the bottom) but the "lorax" lilac did not have any leaves and we don't think it will make it.

breakfast . .

packing up . . it was a short visit (we currently have a friend of a friend staying).

a scrambled egg taco at our current favorite spot . . (last night i had blackened tuna tacos). we stocked up on hampton coffee and i picked up a package for my cousin for her birthday and for her wedding anniversary in june.

greg is a burrito guy. i think he had a burrito egg wrap.

one of my favorite sheryl crow tunes came on.

the ride home began very foggy and wet . . 

but the sun came out towards the end and we had fun driving through the old neighborhood in brooklyn.

morning poem

the great sea

the great sea

frees me, moves me,

as a strong river carries a weed.

earth and her strong winds

move me, take me away,

and my soul is swept up in joy.

by uvavnuk

translated by jane hirshfield

spring pics and family lunch

 

i was out at nine am this morning to visit four different optical shops to see about having new eyeglasses made up, and chose one on 14tth street that took my insurance. now i can't wait until they're ready which will be in two weeks. (i received the new prescription yesterday after an eye appointment and vision therapy session - which is when this pic was taken during the walk uptown.)

i love when the trees aren't fully green and the branches are visible through the new foliage.

 

trying to get a family lunch pic . .

 

like this . .

 

talking with morgan who was getting ready to film a friend's movie.

it was a dog walking day . . 

and everywhere the tulips are in bloom.

dog walking

violets

meeting a neighbor . . margo . . (we also met a cute little maltipoo named mochi.)

taking in all the wonderful scents passing by on the wind . . 

ciao for now . .

monday evening

the redbud trees are blooming . . 

 

i ran a bunch of errands in the late afternoon and met greg on his way home from work.

morning flowers

shining sunbright tulips for sunday morning

no rain today

the weather report for today was intermittent showers, but it's six pm now and no rain has fallen. it's been in the 60's all afternoon with a beautiful cool breeze. i spent the morning at the green market and then went for a walk in the afternoon to bring korrina the easter candy from my sister while she was at work (stopping off to say hi to chanda first). 

a thoughtful looking aurélien . . (he's constantly wiggling around while sitting in that stroller) . . 

a happy korrina with her christmas gift from morgan (i had forgotten to bring it to our brunch on palm sunday) . .

i walked home along seventh street and passed this melancholy looking dog in a salon next to mcsorley's. actually, his ears perked up and he wagged his tail after i took the photo. he was very cute.

the wegman's store looks like it still has a lot to do before opening! (which is supposed to be this year, just not sure what month or season.)

when i spoke with kathy last night, she commented on how strange it was to have no leaves on the backyard trees for shade from the hot sun thursday and friday. she asked if we had leaves yet . . and we do. i blinked and they suddenly appeared.

 

happy spring!

summer day

it was a warm day and a warm night and everyone was out. i met greg at the new location of one of our favorite restaurants and on the way home i realized that the cherry blossom tree had bloomed while we were away. (oh, but it was slightly less hot than yesterday.)