sunny and windy

it was such a beautiful day today . . sunny, cool - but not cold, windy and clear and not a cloud in the sky. 

we walked up to chelsea square diner and met ron and andy for brunch. i had delicious fresh squeezed orange juice which i made andy try and then smiled because he immediately sighed and said, "oh, this reminds me of california." fresh orange juice does the same for me . . i always remember visiting my uncle in woodland hills and he suggesting in the morning that i go outside and pick a few oranges to squeeze on the little rotating electric juicer. now fresh orange juice never fails to take me back to those days.

 (i also had huevos rancheros, one of my favorite diner breakfast dishes.) we also discussed plans for the wedding in july . . they still have to get their plane tickets as do korrina, chanda and my cousin and her husband.

afterwards, they walked with us one block to pet central to look at kitty litter containers.

we then went our separate ways . . 

greg and i walked along 23rd to petsmart on broadway near the flatiron where they had a litter tray we thought would be good.

on the way home we passed julietta's . . 

raspberry sorbeto . . !

morgan's friend breve played the trombone in a concert this evening. morgan sent this photo and said it was a lovely evening.

cat sleeping spots, signs of spring, and an evening show

 

i think zuzu enjoyed having greg work from home today. it was nice for her to have continuous company.

this was her favorite spot to rest and sleep on . . and where were the other two sleeping?

cricket chose to snooze on the dining room chair . . 

and pluto curled up on the big bed.

the courtyard is finally free of snow and we can see our little yoga man statue again.

on my walk today i stopped at the garden at st. luke's . . the sparrows were having a grand time! they were fluttering and chirping and hopping and singing . . 

it was fun to watch them. their cheery mood was much appreciated.

in the evening greg and i went to see one of our favorite singers from past days . . 

this is one of my favorite songs (i never knew she had made this music video - greg only just mentioned it to me) . . i get chills just listening to it right now . . probably because it brings me back to when i lived in southern california. i've found that lately when i watch video clips or old tv shows like taxi, i can feel that 60's, 70's, 80's time period . . and it's very different. i don't know how to explain it. i've actually been trying to figure that out for the past year . . looking for the words to describe the sensation. is it like stepping into a sepia colored photograph? maybe. and it's related to places . . like new york city or los angeles, santa barbara, san francisco . . and places in connecticut and on long island . . past personal settings. anyway, it was really fun to see her in person singing an old song and new songs and talking in between. it was a fun night.

a guest in the house

 

jason came in last night for an allman brothers concert at the garden where korrina joined him. tonight he and greg are there. i'm watching via online streaming and it's wonderful. they are really jamming and it's taking me back to the very different time period of when i was a teen.

this afternoon jason went for a walk along the river with me and milly. the sun did not shine, it was windy and it felt very cold! afterwards, we had lunch at las mariscos and then visited the whitney museum (specifically for the amy sherald exhibit and christine sun kim).

in the evening we had chili for dinner  . . 

and celebrated his birthday which was april 5th (he picked out a nice t-shirt at the show with the cash gift enclosed in the card).

as you can see the cats sat on my lap while i watched the concert (zuzu was curled up on my right).

a grey and cold friday

 

friday morning i walked downtown to whole foods tribeca to meet ella mills, the owner of deliciously ella granola bars, cereal and the delicious hazelnut balls morgan always brings me from london. i also used to subscribe to her app for recipe ideas which was a lot of fun and they were all very good. we also visited her cafe in '22 when we were in london for morgan's graduation. (i had the most delicious vegan chocolate chip tahini muffin when there.) 

she had a good turn out even though the weather was a bit dreary and everyone enjoyed talking with her. she's very personable and even said i should say hi to morgan for her (after i told her about all the deliciously ella treats morgan brings me). her husband and two children were with her and the little ones enjoyed handing out promotional canvas bags to the fans waiting in line. they're such a sweet family.

walking home through the misty grey day . . 

saying hello to these two friends . . 

mr. frog and mr. bee (a tom otterness sculpture, seen here in 2014) . . 

another beautiful star magnolia (beginning to lose its petals already) . . 

such a foggy day!

i stopped at duane park patisserie for a hot cross bun which i've been craving for weeks (i also brought three home with me).

thankfully, the callery pear trees are very cheery on these cold grey days.

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in the evening i met ellen for a special salon chamber concert with one of her former students who plays the cello (he was in morgana's age group). we heard pieces by shostakovich, prokofiev, dvorák, messiaen, piazzolla and kodály along with the stories as to how they were composed:

"shostakovich stands against stalin's terror, prokofiev paints the chaos of red october, dvorák echoes a nation's search for identity, messiaen transcends the walls of a prisoner of war camp, piazzolla reinvents the tango as argentina teeters on collapse and kodály keeps hungarian tradition alive despite overwhelming suppression. each piece is a testament to the indomitable force of human expression in the face of adversity - a symphony of resistance, survival, and hope." 

celebrating the brooklyn bridge, fleet week, london again and a recital

 

my local radio station host had documentarian ken burns on this morning to celebrate 140 years of the brooklyn bridge. it was wonderful to listen to and i'm a big fan of ken burns' films (and also of brian lehrer's radio program). if you click here you can listen to the program. you can also watch the short video ken burns made commemorating the bridge with ny times architecture critic michael kimmelman here. while walking across the bridge, they discuss its history and its construction. the same page has several other short videos that are all very interesting and informative.

 

 

 

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i read a good article on the local newspaper the broadsheet this morning about the ships arriving for fleet week. they began entering the harbor at 7:30 am with the fdny fireboats leading the way. greg had a wonderful view from his work building:

steaming past the statue of liberty . . 

i think this is the uss wasp, which the article talks about (the largest at fleet week this year, an amphibious assault vessel similar in size to the intrepid). i'm interested in visiting the hms scott, a british ocean survey vessel, and the usns newport, a non-combatant expeditionary fast transport vessel (!).  i understand they're offering free tours at specific times.

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meanwhile . . ! our friends (my cousin ron and his partner) are having a grand time with morgan in london! morgan was tour guide today around their neighborhood in soho and then all went to the wolsely for tea . .

their smiles make me so happy . . 

tea at the wolsely! (they had a full tea with finger sandwiches, scones and pastries!)

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while greg and i met in the evening at the school for strings at our friend's voice recital (my friend reina) (i walked and greg took the train) . . 

anika with her accompanist marina. she sang so beautifully and we were all incredibly moved. the program included songs by henry purcell (sweeter than roses), mozart (deh! vieni non tardar), franz schubert (du bist di ruh), johannes brahms (vergebliches ständchen), giaochino rossini (una volta c'era un re), rodgers and hammerstein ii (ten minutes ago), stephen sondheim (on the steps of the palace, green finch and linnet bird), j. bock and s. harnick (vanilla ice cream), leonard bernststein and s. sondheim (maria).

waiting for the bus on what turned out to be a rainy ride home.

and it's friday already . . again; or again . . already

i took an early morning walk to the health food store on sixth avenue for some A2 milk i discovered there just last week (lucia tried it and thought it was very good). i felt like making a cappuccino this morning, and i then couldn't resist stopping at mah ze dahr's for a pain au chocolat.

kendall came over this afternoon and helped me write up a blurb about the house for possible renters. i also listened to the final congressional hearing (at least until september) . . for the first time since 2016 i'm feeling that there might be a tad of hope for this country . . if we all keep working, voting and praying . . 

 

 dinner . . 

i listened to an outdoor jazz concert from our front bedroom . . 

 

i think it went up to 94 today . . supposedly sunday it will be 99 . . at least right now there's a slight cool breeze . .

a recital uptown

i took the bus uptown today to a homeschooling family's recital for violin and voice. it was a beautiful concert with anika sounding like an angel singing and nikolas playing the violin with incredible warmth and feeling. it felt wonderful to be there and especially wonderful seeing such good friends again (how special to be together for a concert in person).

 

there was a delicious selection of indonesian foods for the reception. i tried everything, but don't know the name of what i ate . . i'll have to find out and post later.

sacha and charlotte were there for the concert also . . charlotte just found out she was accepted into peridance's core youth dance program, so i'm excited about attending future dance performances . . !

another food delicacy i have to check the name of . . a special green drink! (it was very sweet.)

i walked home along ninth avenue and met greg in chelsea for dinner as he was very hungry (it was 8:00 by this time). greg had enchiladas but i just ordered a side of grilled butternut squash and brussel sprouts which we share.

it was very grey and windy and felt like it would rain, but we made it home without a downpour.