out and about for italian class

i've been sick with a low fever and no appetite for two days. thankfully, i was well enough for italian class at the library this afternoon.

 

my lunch afterwards . . 

which cricket . . 

and pluto were giving me the side eye for (they love eggs) . . i did end up giving them a little bit of cream afterwards (zuzu too).

trying to read with cricket wanting attention (summer of the gypsy moths, by sarah pennypacker which came in the mail today from alibris - we first read it together on the cape years ago. it brings back such warm memories.).

birds, cats and scones

 

morgan and harley were up in the lake district on vacation with harley's mum, brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew, dougie. they sent this photo of a pretty european robin who let morgan get so close. 

they were at a very pretty cafe that had a lot of sweet birds flitting around (looking for scone crumbs probably!)

the delicious blackcurrant scone!

these photos are actually from wednesday, august 25, when i was traveling to connecticut. this past weekend we spent a quiet time (far from the crowds, as it was the memorial day weekend) at home and on wednesday my italian class began again! it was exciting to be back with everyone and i've made a better effort to remember everyone's name, as they were all knowledgeable in that regard.

here's a photo i took today of zuzu acting like the queen of sheba which i sent to my sister . . 

she sent this of toby who likes to go in and out of their window (her favorite pastime is sleeping in the windowbox) . .

till tomorrow . . 

ticker tape day, last day of italian class and dinner at home

today's morning message from the mayor . .

greg's view of the people in the street on their way to the viewing areas for the parade (7:15 am). the parade began around 10 am.

i watched via streaming at home. the viewing sites were closed by 8 am.

the parade went uptown past bowling green . . 

happy new yorkers . . 

the bagpipe players . . 

the champions . . 

city officials on the podium . . 

and the athletes enter to receive the keys to the city after a wonderful impassioned speech by the mayor.

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today was our last day of italian class . . we'll begin again in september.

discussing the day's events and the craziness of the parade and how happy everyone has been . . 

salmon burgers from the fish store and carrot pennies from the mollie katzen cookbook (with a lot of butter) (and lemon!)

may twenty first!

happy birthday to morgan today! 
and it's cold out again - at least 30 degrees cooler than yesterday (about 61). it was chilly last night when going to sleep and since i had already taken the wool blanket off the bed (and packed it away in its little storage bag) i bundled up with socks and long sleeves.

today was also rainy.

morgan and harley celebrated by meeting at franco manca for dinner . . i forget which location they mentioned they ate at now . . but their pizza looked delicious. they also had an affogato (espresso with vanilla ice cream, one of my favorite desserts).

here we're waiting to sing happy birthday to morgan on the phone . . there were many birthday wishers calling across the pond at the same time (6 pm east coast and 11 pm london)

afterwards, we had dinner at misoya . . (morgan received the package i sent in time . . i think it arrived monday or tuesday and harley put it away until this evening).

greg had ramen and chanda and i had hijiki salad (chanda) and kale salad (me), pork gyoza (dumplings) and veggie spring rolls.

aurèlien participated in a dance marathon supporting a school in guatamala. the kindergarteners moved through twenty line dances and it looks like they had a fun time.

early this morning i had an appointment with an opthalmologist who updated my eyeglass prescription.

and at noon i was at the library for my italian class. i've really been enjoying this and everyone is dedicated.

our teacher is stefania who is a lot of fun. she's constantly asking us questions and is patient while we try to anwer in italian. but she does get annoyed if she feels we haven't reviewed or practiced properly during the week. it makes such a difference (and is so important) to speak the language with someone.