sunday bike ride

i made my mom's pancakes for breakfast this morning. it has been awhile since we had them. i think it's really my favorite breakfast to have - just flour, milk and eggs, and then we roll them up with jam (red raspberry this morning), maple syrup and butter . . and also fresh strawberries. greg and i then went for a bike ride . . it was such a beautiful day and i just wanted to feel the breeze by the river. the trees along the bike path form a beautiful canopy lately, and the flowers along the path were so fragrant. the sun was very warm, but the air was cool. we rode all the way down to the battery. there's been construction for the flood mitagation and they have been building up the land with ramps, but some areas have re-opened. 

the fountain by castle clinton (it was a fort from 1808-1811) . .  

the couple sitting next to us on the bench was having their caricature drawn. the woman sitting with the sketch pad on her lap (to the right of greg's face) worked part of the time, and then her partner took her place and finished the drawing. i thought that was interesting.

the water just glistened today (in the distance is the statue of liberty).

then suddenly we were at "the willows." the girls and i would ride our bikes here when homeschooling. we would read and work on whatever knitting project we currently had. sadly, the two willow trees are no longer here. they slowly died off after being inundated with sea water during hurricane sandy. i was glad to see that a lovely birch tree (seen on the right) had been planted in a willow's place.

(here's a 2009 willow visit . . greg is with us here, as it was labor day weekend . . korrina isn't. she was often off at a ballet class or a stage managing gig, a group homeschooling class, or just with her friends, which is probably the case here since it was a holiday.)

looking southwest toward the statue and ellis island.

we next passed a favorite monument - the mother cabrini statue . . 

"maria francesca cabrini, mother frances xavier cabrini, 1850-1917, italian american who dedicated her life to helping children and the needy in new york and around the world."

and then it was time to pick up a citibike for greg and head back home (i had my bike with me).

----

morgan called when we returned and sent a photo of the current craft project: a child's size quilt is being sewn with leftover charity shop fabric and liberty fabric (from the wedding napkin favors). i love the jumble of colorful prints.

we watched an episode from the new ted lasso season . . 

(cricket is eyeing my italian cookies that were supposed to be for adam, but since the car broke down we never made it out to the house for him to have any. by the way, the car has been fixed - the mechanic replaced a "sensor" and it is now running very well!)

morning poem and sunday photos

she sights a bird

she sights a bird--she chuckles--

she flattens---then she crawls--

she runs without the look of feet--

her eyes increase to balls--

her jaws stir--twitching--hungry--

her teeth can hardly stand--

she leaps, but robin leaped the first--

ah, pussy, of the sand,

the hopes so juicy ripening--

you almost bathed your tongue--

when bliss disclosed a hundred toes--

and fled with every one--

by emily dickinson (1830-1886)

----

pancakes for breakfast with chanda and greg . . 

morgana did some springtime replanting and weeding . .  

dinner was delicious leftovers from last night.

korrina - enjoying a day off with wash.

a warm day (and night)

 

breakfast with greg in the morning . . 

we went on a walk into soho. i think it went up into the low 80's.

we played uno this evening and chanda won again!

it's so warm tonight that many people are staying out late (it's past midnight), walking through the streets, singing and talking and shouting. there were fireworks at 11:30!

getting warm . .

i made grits or polenta this morning for breakfast. we like it with butter and lemon, a little bit of salt and pepper. it's been awhile since we've had this on a saturday morning . . then greg went for a walk and i cleaned up my desk and went through email . . 

after which i met him at a local coffee shop (kobrick's in the meat packing plaza) . . and we found out that today is their last day. their ten year lease is up and they're not renewing - not surprising . . the rents go up too high, but we'll miss them. i had their raspberry mocha . . sweet and delicious! 

we walked up to 24th street and 9th avenue to check out a pet store since the one we usually frequent closed during the fall. we picked up a bag of greenie treats for the cats . . and walking home it grew too warm! i was way over dressed. i think it went up to 46 or so. warmer weather is definitely on its way.

for tonight - a simple dinner snack of leftover salad and jovial gluten free mac and cheese.

first sunday of spring

a, cat, having, attained, ninehood,

shall, fear, ninthhood!

a, rule, to, prove, catness,

or, negation, of, cathood.

catness, cats, and, nineness, proves.

ninthless, cats, prove,

immortal, cats.

wherefore, ninthhood, is,

is, to, be, feared, 

this, step, to, ten!

so, cats, also, count, ten.

by josé garcia villa (1908-1997)

----

chanda chose this poem to read this morning for our sunday breakfast (french toast, coffee, orange juice and chicken apple sausages).

a sunny day

 
coffee, soda bread and sunshine this morning . . 

and dinner with greg at ciccio's after helping ellen. it was such a beautiful evening . . you could feel spring in the air and we were enjoying walking around the neighborhood.

broccoli rabe, lasagna and cocoa ravioli with butternut squash in a wild boar ragu.

and one of the best desserts i've ever had: a creamy custard with cherries and mint.

excursion to the lower east side

breakfast in the morning with chanda before meeting ron and andy in the afternoon for a tenement museum tour.

the weather is starting to warm up and people are walking about in short sleeves and sweaters.

today we viewed the apartment of the moore family, immigrants from ireland in the 1860's. bridget moore arrived in 1863 when she was just 17 years old and met her husband joseph a year or two later.

they moved to 97 orchard street in 1869 with three young daughters. prior to being on orchard street, they had been in the five points neighborhood which was notorious for crime and poorly maintained buildings. orchard street had been built in 1862, and was a step up for the family. 

here is a map of the neighborhood in which they moved three times. after being on orchard street for one year, they moved to elizabeth street, which was just a block from the church they attended: old st. patrick's cathedral. prior to orchard street, they lived at 65 mott street (the five points neighborhood) and then 150 forsyth street. (a map of these residences along with more information about the moore family can be found here on the tenement website.) 

sadly, not too long after moving into 97 orchard street, bridget and joseph lost their youngest child at the age of five months. of the eight children they had together, only four survived into adulthood and joseph lost bridget when she died in childbirth at age 36. 

here is a photo of a granddaughter of bridget and joseph, with her husband at their home on long island, and if you click on the tenement museum website above, you can see a photo of their great great grandchildren.

after the tour we began walking to a restaurant on mott street for dinner, and passed 65 mott street where they first lived. we think it would have been an older building.

laughing together over ron's use of an artificial intelligence voice (which he named james) for his phone requests. 

restaurant hop kee.

after dinner we ended up walking past their church on mulberry street . . 

and then we all headed home.