hello again (with a link to the first day in london)

 

i finally finished a baby blanket i began a year ago. i had stopped halfway around while doing the i-cord border. (it's a purl soho pattern, their super easy baby blanket with their daily wool worsted yarn, and i think i used size 8 needles. they say the yarn can go in the washer and the dryer!)

i'm not sure who i'm giving it to! it was supposed to be for a neighbor's new baby who is now a year old . . but now we have another friend who just had a baby in june . . i'll have to let you know what i decide!

i just finished reading this book. it actually went all the way to london with me . . but i never read it. it just took up a lot of space in my suitcase; too much space! i have a thing about taking at least one library book when flying . . it's a superstition, but i should at least make sure it's a paperback. 

across many mountains is a beautifully written account of artist sonam dolma brauen's trek across the himalayas with her mother, father and little sister in 1959 when fleeing the chinese occupation of tibet. it's heartbreaking and inspiring and informative of how the tibetan people lived prior to the invasion and what they went through (and go through) during occupation. it's written by sonam's daughter and i couldn't put it down once i had read the first three chapters. (sonam dolma is the artist whose artpiece chanda and i participated in at the rubin museum a few years ago - there are four links here to the workshops and events.) the book also shares about their time as refugees in india and the life they created for themselves in switzerland.

this (the tree in the courtyard) was also a lovely book to read about the years that anne frank and her family hid in amsterdam during world war ii - all told from the perspective of the horse chestnut tree in the courtyard which was within sight of the building's attic window. (i think eva recommended this.)

chanda and i met ellen for ice cream today and were able to give her a party favor from the wedding (which she has in her hands - a vintage napkin holding italian candied almonds and an almond nougat).

we had homemade pistachio ice cream at the restaurant across the street from where ellen lives. they have such good food . . greg and i have eaten here several times.

and chanda made dinner this evening! we had vietnamese lettuce/rice rolls . . 

chanda is trying to get the rice paper out of the package . . 

she then soaks it in the warm water in the bowl to her left . . 

we sliced cucumbers, carrots and mint leaves and chanda made a delicious peanut dipping sauce. (she also warmed up very fine rice noodles that were wrapped up with the vegetables in the rice paper.)

then we played bananagrams and greg won as he was the first one to use up all his tiles.

i finally put up a few photos ("back in londontown") from our first day in london on saturday, july 18th (we flew out friday night, the 17th). i hope to be better at posting our days together on this trip than i was in 2022. 

it's actually thursday night right now and a cool front has blown through after a heavy rainfall. i actually closed the window next to my computer as i felt cold (and greg is in bed curled up with a blanket! so shocking!). every day and night has been hot since we arrived home on august 2nd . . and that's typical for summer in nyc!

at the beach

 

greg and i drove to the house for a short visit. we left in the late morning after his zoom work meeting and were out east in time for a late lunch. we were at the beach by 3 pm . . blue sky, cold water and a nice breeze. it felt so wonderful to be swimming again.

dinner at our favorite place . . 

i had fried clams with the bellies and cole slaw; the others had fish and chips and fish tacos. at night i watched the knicks game with warren and adam . . and they won! i couldn't believe it! the game went late so kathy and greg had gone to bed but said they heard my joyous yell. nyc went wild. korrina and deychen sent me videos of the boisterous cheers heard from their apartments and the mayor posted on instagram: thursday. parade. manhattan.

from korrina . . 

and from deychen.

such an exciting night!

----

my aloe is doing better now that i added one of the babies to the pot. 

we went to church this morning and said good-bye to pastor bill. he's retiring and moving to michigan to be closer to his daughter and his wife's family. we'll miss him. 

the beautiful stained glass window . . 

we then had another lovely afternoon at the beach before heading home. the water was colder today than yesterday, which surprised us. it was so cold that i couldn't stay in as long as i would have liked. my hand started tingling and cramping. 

i've been reading the scarlet pimpernel as eva shared that she and flora were reading it for the second or third time together and i thought i would join them. i have never read it before and don't want to put it down. i highly recommend it!

the beach roses were all in bloom . .

all too soon it was time to head home . . 

8:18 at night . . chanda was home to help us bring up a few cat items from the house - two cardboard scratching posts and a large set of plush steps to help pluto climb onto the bed or the armchair.

books, knitting and dinner

these are the latest books i've been reading. call the nurse by mary j. macleod follows her life in the north of scotland, working as a nurse for a small island community. it was a christmas gift given to me a year or so ago by kathy and warren and i'm surprised it took me so long to dive in. i loved it and found her stories to be profound and also very amusing. humanity can be so silly and so deep at the same time. the community that surrounded her was warm and supportive with many funny quirks and a long history. 

i came across the traveling cat chronicles at jefferson market one day when i returned a library book. i didn't want to put it down once i began reading it. the cat narrates his life shared with a man who one day decides to take him to visit several childhood and college friends. each visit shows us a little more of the man's life and how he and the cat understand and care for each other. it was a beautiful and touching read.

i finally began the applied i-cord border on the baby blanket i'm knitting for milly the dog's owners. their baby was born in may and i hope to have it ready to give them in a few weeks.

i couldn't resist getting fresh corn from the green market this morning and we had it with sausage and carrots. it was wonderfully juicy and sweet.

last day of june

we did laundry all weekend and i did more today . . 

and also made sure i sat down in the courtyard to read for awhile while the towels washed . . 

a very good book! 

knitting and a book suggestion

i'm doing a test knit for a favorite designer friend - the yarn is wandering flock's singles in colorway holograph dreams. i'll post more about it when she publishes it on thursday. (i have to finish it and take more photos. and jason is coming for a visit so we've been cleaning and straightening. it's very busy around here!)

nature and science writer david quammen combined his articles for national geographic and other publications about africa into one book which i was able to borrow from the library. he writes about accompanying ecologist j. michael fay on an infamous trek across central africa, meeting chimps with jane goodall in the goualouga triangle in the republic of congo, observing lion and elephant habitat in tanzania and mozambique, and tracking the ebola virus in ivory coast - all making for some very exciting stories. i really enjoyed reading it.

yesterday evening greg and i took three large pillows morgana had inherited from victoria to housing works on 17th street. the pillows are very nice but we really don't have the room for them! (we've been straightening up for a visit from my nephew.)

an art project and the latest book

i've started reading the heartbeat of the wild, by david quammen. it's a collection of his writings for national geographic, emphasizing how important it is to keep remote regions wild for the health of the animals living there, and for the health of our planet. i just finished three essays about walking through the jungles of congo and gabon with conservationist j. michael fay and the next essay is about walking in the forest with jane goodall.

the facade work on the outside of the building continues and cricket is always curious.

this morning began with an art exhibit at this little one's preschool.

he had fun explaining his fire house to us and all the important parts that comprise it (such as the fire pole, the hose, the garage . . ) it was fun to see all the children's projects that they had spent several days creating.

cats and another book on a rainy night

it's 6:30 pm and it's pouring rain right now. greg just got home and had to change as he was sopping wet. he says: it's a deluge. zuzu did yoga with me this afternoon and pluto is healing from a skin infection over his right eye. chanda took him to the vet yesterday and received ointment and ear drops, as they think it stems from an infection in his right ear. cricket is now meowing, asking for a second dinner.

things are not the best around here lately. i think many of us feel like we entered a surreal episode of the twilight zone.

the rain on the window panes actually feels calming.

here's silly cricket who likes to climb in and out of an llbean box i haven't broken up and taken out to the recycling yet:

and here's pluto with his eye half closed after getting his ointment. you can see a bit of the rash on his right lid.

and . . a book recommendation: the vanderbeekers of 141st street, by karina yan glaser. it's a fun - delightful - read and tells the story of the five vanderbeeker children who try to win the friendship of their landlord at christmastime. i particularly love how it takes place in nyc (and includes a map to their neighborhood). it's good for all ages and if it had been around when the girls were little, i'm sure we would have read it aloud. the best part is that this is the first book of seven. (the author has said that she was inspired by all of a kind family.)