sunday morning poem - and baking, cleaning and a walk

 

a poet's cat, sedate and grave

as poet well could wish to have

was much addicted to inquire

for nooks to which she might retire,

and where, secure as mouse in chink,

she might repose, or sit and think.

from "the retired cat"

by william cowper (1731-1800)

cat poems, page 84, new directions, 2018

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we had a big breakfast this morning before going our separate ways for the day. chanda went to see a movie with her friends (a documentary titled the history of concrete) and greg and i worked out the area we want to paint in the bathroom so i know how much paint to get. he then vacuumed and dusted and straightened up the large bedroom while i baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies (some with walnuts) which i've been wanting to do for two weeks now, ever since our neighbor was nice enough to watch the cats while we were away at the house.  

the cats had to be put away as they became uncontrollable when i unwrapped the butter for the cookie dough.

it gets dark earlier and earlier each evening . . 

we still have many green trees . . 

and the berries are out (but not sure what plant this is) . . 

goldenrod still in bloom . . 

goldenrod gone to seed . . 

the oaks and maples are beginning to turn . .

spiders and skeletons seem to be the main theme for halloween decorations this year . . 

and many, many gourds . . 

walking all day

 

that face . .

christine visited me today and we walked all over . . 

coffee and croissant at fellini . . 

we browsed through all the stores at chelsea market (posman's, fish's eddy, pearl river) . . and found a few gift ideas . . 

we also walked along the river . . 

into chelsea . . 

and over to the high line . .

and viewed the new colossal statue that has replaced the pigeon . . the light that shines through the universe, by tuan andrew nguyen.

walking along the high line . . 

past the church of the guardian angel . . 

the beautiful stonework on the church . . 

we finally stopped for sustenance at chelsea square. we meant to visit la bergamot, but they had closed their kitchen to prepare for dinner and weren't serving anything hot.

we were supposed to have breakfast before walking milly, but ran out of time . . so i think she was quite hungry by late afternoon. i was too.

christine took the train to port authority where she caught the bus back to her sister's house. i went home and set out the candy she had brought us from iceland (i put away my special treat of danish cognac chocolate for christmas time - they're my favorite and i haven't had any since the last time she was here which was before covid).

she also brought lovely sock yarn i had seen in london, but which she found in a store in copenhagen.

more photos from last night . .

two guitarists along the river last night . . strumming as the storm drew in.

the light was so amazing . . 

everyone was taking photos . . instagram was swarmed with the most amazing sunset pics and there were several with a beautiful rainbow arch over rockaway.

evening walk by the river

 

the water was really rolling tonight . . 

evening walk

 

we ate earlier today as chanda was going out to meet a friend and i wanted to visit the burdick chocolate shop to pick up a bag of ginger chocolates. we walked through the park so i could drop off a few bags of compost. it was such a pretty sunset.

returning home we passed this crowd by the restaurant chanda works at. they're always very busy at night. (i was enjoying an iced chocolate drink from burdick!)

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!)