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).

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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!)

another day, another tow

 

c'est la vie . . 

saturday adventure

 

greg and i were on our way early saturday morning to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and nephew out at the house, however, we ended up having car trouble. we called aaa and had the car towed to the repair shop we've been using in long island city, and then took public transportation to meet the car there. we took an uber to the long island railroad, and then the 7 train from grand central. it was the first time for me to be in the new grand central station with east side access for the lirr and it was a new, shiny and fancy experience. 

we found a bakery with delicious pastries and good coffee while waiting for the commuter rail train into the city . .

it was a cold day for a car repair mishap . . the wind was blustery and very cold!

a favorite easter treat . . 

the shiny new station . . 

with a long escalator that made me feel like i was in the london underground . . 

it was very spacious and very clean . . 

out in long island city

at the auto shop where they had determined that the car needed a new alternator. they had ordered the part and would call us when it was ready to go.

waiting for the subway to go home . . 

it was very busy!

someone was transporting their painting . . 

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at home, afterwards, we decided to go for a walk for a late lunch/early dinner to a favorite dosa place that had reopened . . 

there was a japanese food festival happening and the street was blocked off for it . .

it was a tiring day.

in connecticut

greg and i drove to my sister's wednesday night to celebrate easter together and to have our car looked at by the mechanic we like there (he's worked on our car before). after dropping the car off thursday morning, april 6th, kathy and i spent part of the day dyeing easter eggs . .

(after picking up a few items at the grocery store.)

i've done this before, but this time i followed the instructions in taproot magazine's latest issue (55) titled lunar.

(i brought up my stash of onion skins i always collect during the year.)

i brought the onion skins up to a boil and then let it simmer for about 20 minutes . . adding a few more skins for a deeper color, and then we placed the prepared (raw) eggs into a cool bath (so they wouldn't crack) and then turned the heat up again to simmer for about ten minutes so they would hard boil. we let them sit in the bath for over an hour and then unwrapped them.

voila!

lunch . . (for dinner we had delicious manicotti and a salad).

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we took a walk by the connecticut river on friday . . 

back at the house . . 

getting ready for dinner . .

good friday dinner: cod fish and potatoes with mustard sauce and stewed tomatoes . . 

 

and morgan sent a few photos from a visit to england's lake district with harley and her family . .

and chanda sent a photo of pluto enjoying the heater:

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saturday morning . . 

greg, warren and i went for a walk along the lake while my sister rested at home as she wasn't feeling well. 

(canada geese)

toby's day was very peaceful . .

i sent out one of my "caption this" emails to the immediate family . .

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easter morning sunrise service . . 

 

family zoom . .

above is greg's idea for a caption; kathy's was "doreen, look over there, i think i see sir elton walking in the room;" and mine was: "i think i saw a putty cat," "where?!"

(this is the photograph greg refers to in the above video clip)

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tuesday was warm and bright with lots of sunshine . . 

we finally cracked open the pretty eggs to make egg salad, and the car was finally fixed and ready to be driven so we started packing for the evening's ride home.

my latest reading material . . 

(chanda sent a video of cricket and zuzu as she stopped at the apartment to feed them and give them their last dose of medicine.)

(and morgan sent a photo of a large chocolate easter egg . . ) our easter candy was chocolate covered peanuts and little chocolate eggs and jelly beans which kathy bought at the local chocolate shop in the neighboring town.

back in the big apple . .