hodge the cat!

 
i spoke with morgan today as i had a calendar on order at southwark cathedral that needed to be picked up. while there, morgan spied a ball of fluff by the holy water and it turned out to be hodge the cat! hodge is often elusive so morgan was very pleased, as was i! when we visited in september of 2022, we caught a brief glimpse of him as he meandered by on his way to a favorite hiding place. today he was peacefully napping and morgan was able to get a close up photo and video.

sweet hodge . . !

willa cather on bank street

eva sent an article about willa cather from the village preservation society and today when heading uptown for an acupuncture appointment, i walked by where she lived and took a few photos . . 

the plaque is placed so high on the brick wall that it was difficult for me to read when standing in front of it, and i had to raise my arms over my head for a pic with my phone. basically, it says that she lived on the second floor of the house that was on this site from 1913 to 1927, at which time it was torn down. she wrote many of her famous works when residing here, including the song of the lark, and my antonia. 

here is a link to the article eva sent me: village preservation - two remarkable women on bank street.

the superintendent of the building was outside sweeping the leaves from the walkway.

a windy day

it was such a cold and windy day that milly's owners left out a coat for her to wear, which she did not like!

she was very unhappy and laid back down so that i had to entice her to get up with several treats.

she felt better then . . 

it's quite a warm and dapper coat!

and she really needed it because it was very cold and windy . . 

brrr! 

though cold, it was such a beautifully clear and crisp day . .

thanksgiving

on wednesday morning we loaded up the car with ourselves (and korrina who met us at home), sweet potatoes, a berry tart and a dish of creamed celery to drive to connecticut to celebrate with my sister and her family.  

we picked up chanda in new london where a school friend had dropped her off.

refreshed with matcha tea and coffee we continued on our way . .

wednesday dinner . . (antipasta and stuffed shells - all delicious) . .

a walk after the antipasta and before the stuffed shells in the cold air . .

playing a game of "bowl" before dessert (for the first round what is written on the piece of paper is described by as many words as necessary, as long the actual words of the saying, book or movie are not used; the second round is acted out; and the third round is a one word description) . . 

afterwards we celebrated kathy, korrina and chanda's birthdays with a berry tart we had brought from duane park patisserie.

both girls received earrings from kathy and kathy received two books from us: the lost queen of egypt by lucile morrison and the miraculous journey of edward tulane by kate dicamillo. (korrina also received two books - yes, chef by marcus samuelsson which both kathy and i would like to read; and notes from a young black chef by kwame onwuachi, which kathy and warren have already read ! and which i'll have to borrow from korrina).

korrina cut up ten granny smith apples and arranged them in the pie dough i had made at home and which i rolled out for her. we baked it for thanksgiving day dessert.

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thursday . . thanksgiving morning . . 

in the morning kathy and warren prepped the turkey and put it in the oven while also popping into the den to catch the marching bands and floats from the macy's parade on the tv. in the photo above she and korrina are researching something online . . maybe checking to see how long the turkey should roast for . .

working on knitting projects . . 

zooming with adam and morgan . . 

and a walk after the parade ended and before an early meal . . 

after dinner, greg and i took korrina to the train station where she caught a train for home as she has work tomorrow.

a second night of "bowl". .

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the day after thanksgiving . . 

on friday chanda, kathy and i had fun visiting the nearby shops (the country barn and several local artist gift shops) and then enjoyed turkey leftovers for lunch.

warren and jason worked on clearing leaves out of the roof gutters.

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saturday we drove home and chanda stayed in town until this morning, when she was able to get a return ride to school with her friend. 

another birthday

today i was busy with doing laundry, boiling sweet potatoes, making creamed celery and pie dough and running out to help ellen with class. it was also korrina's birthday and greg was reminiscing about the very first doctor's visit we had with her just three days after her birth when we saw the thanksgiving day parade balloons being inflated. we had just left after the visit and it was dark and cold, and the parade workers and volunteers were busy with the huge balloons which were lying in the empty side streets on their bellies, only a quarter full of air.

i spoke with her on the phone and she was having a fun and quiet day off from work. we'll celebrate with family during thanksgiving.

balcony scene

pluto will often chase zuzu around the apartment. she always gets very annoyed and ends up bopping him on the nose, causing him to fall backwards (sometimes off of the scratching post upon which he usually clambers to try and be near her). when i took this photo all i could think of was the balcony scene from romeo and juliet.

sunday afternoon walk

greg and i rode the citibikes downtown and then walked around the area he works in . . where he showed me his favorite haunts (all the different places he likes to have coffee in the morning and lunch in the afternoon). when we first began our walk, i noticed this couple each taking a video of the area with their phones, ending with filming each other . . 

and then they compared notes. i thought they were very sweet together.

we stopped at the mcnally jackson bookstore . . 

and at the restaurant where we ate with morgana in december of last year.

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and in the evening . . 

victoria got ready for her trip . . 

and sent a photo of when she arrived home just in time for sunset (3 pm).