sunday's poem and sunday's dinner and in between

 some rivers

some rivers rush to the sea

they push and tumble and fall.

but the everglades is a river

with no hurry in her at all.

soaking the cypress

that grows so tall;

nursing a frog,

so quiet and small;

she flows but a mile

in the course of a day,

with plenty of time

to think on the way.

but how can she cope

with the acres of corn

and sorrowful cities that drain her?

with hunters and tourists and levees

that chain and stain and pain her?

does the half of her that's left

think only of the past?

or does she think of her future

and how long it will last?

some rivers rush to the sea.

they push and tumble and fall.

but the everglades is a river

with no hurry in her at all.

by frank asch

(greg is from florida. i never thought about the everglades until i met him.)

 chanda had a summer intensive dance audition early this morning at 8:30 am. it's one she went to last year and so knew the teacher. his main correction today was that everyone should relax. she felt that he looked at her pointedly when saying this. she knows it's something she has to work on. 

i waited for her at the maison kayser coffee shop at columbus circle. 

 then we went to whole foods to pick up some groceries and met 8 month old winston.

 he was very cute!

 a new store was in the center . . sugarfina . . i guess they sell sweets . . !

 it was a pretty day with the sun shining, but it felt very cold. i think it only got up to 40 degrees.

 back at home . . working together . . 

 greg read to us about france's "ancien régime" and the napoleonic era while chanda worked on her main lesson page (he was reading about the poet mallarmé by jean paul sartre).

 limestone, quicklime and slaked lime . . 

dinner . . flounder and brussel sprouts . . we had the same friday night . . 

morning walk and good-bye to ballet school

it's always a beautiful walk in the morning when chanda and i take the river path to tribeca.

 the clouds and view were extra spectacular this morning. the clear air felt like fall, but the aroma was of spring.

 the seagulls were calling to each other, and flying by. 

 chanda began reading her book as i began taking pictures. i guess it isn't so bad reading and walking along the river path. i was just reading in louisa may alcott's rose in bloom, how the character mac would read as he walked through the meadows.

 the penderwick's at point mouette, one of our favorite series of books.

 notice the mockingbird on the top of the lamppost? they love perching on corners, high above the city. i always enjoy hearing their songs. also, notice the crane perched on top of the freedom tower, next to the spire? how will they get that down?

 in the evening, i met morgana at her ballet school for her final parent/student/teacher conference. this is morgana's last year at manhattan youth ballet. she's decided not to pursue ballet any longer. she hadn't been enjoying the pointe work as much as she thought she should, and she would like to devote more time to acting and studies, rather than ballet. she will continue with one or two open classes next year, with her teacher deborah wingert in the morning.

i think we both felt a little sad, but morgana said she also felt very free! of course she left with many accolades from her teachers. she's a hard worker, morgana, and talented, and they all loved having her in class.

columbus circle at twilight . .

monday monday

the crocuses are starting to bloom in several neighbors' gardens. 

chanda found another tale of troy to read. this one is by roger lancelyn green, who wrote the robin hood tales we began.

it really feels like spring is here. we're wearing lighter coats and have discarded hats.

we had pizza at rigoletto's before modern dance class today. they're located on 72nd now, and have several different kind of pies to choose from. we were amused that we both chose a white, no tomato, pie. she had onions and mozzarella and parmesan, i had the same but with mushrooms rather than onions.

mr. columbus has been released from his trappings. he had been encased in scaffolding and stairs to allow people to visit his "living room." it was a special exhibit by japanese artist tatzu nishi. you can read about it here. we missed seeing it which causes me great discomfort. it would have been very fun to see! i also missed wolfgang laib's pollen from hazelnut exhibit at MOMA, another miss which turns my stomach inside out. we've just been too busy with dance rehearsals and dance classes and meetings with friends and visits with nana and nonno . . morgana's ballet school has their spring performance concert this coming weekend and she's put in many extra class hours for it.

i've run out of dinner ideas and so have divvied up dinner duty for the week. the girls each have a night . . monday night is a night i prepare for but morgana and greg implement. this evening everyone lent a hand . . 

even xena? maybe she's just moral support . . or just a nuisance. i suppose it all depends on how you want to look at life.

voila! dinner from the real simple website: sausages with white beans and escarole.

lunch at whole foods, columbus circle

the girls finally had a long overdue dental visit this morning at 10 am. afterwards, we stopped at whole foods in columbus circle for a snack before korrina went off to do research at the performing arts library for her costume design class. we had delicious, fresh coconut water from a new coconut water company. (coconut water is very popular lately. there are quite a few brands including "zico" and "vita.")

we found potato gnocchi at whole foods and i bought basil leaves to make a pesto sauce. we also made spinach salad with a little lemon juice and sea salt for dressing.