christmas gifts

i realized yesterday that i hadn't put away my christmas gifts from my sister (i found them in a bag in the second bedroom): the socks are soft and warm and the apron is a lovely april cornell, and the blue willow bowl matches another soup bowl i have. i'm also enjoying the short fairy tale stories in the lady and the linden tree. the girls read many of the "royal diary" books when growing up, but i'm not sure if they read weetamoo, who lived in the 1640's and 50's in massachsuetts and rhode island.

my last deliciously ella nut ball from morgan . . 

and dinner tonight was tortellini en brodo which came out so well. i sautéed pancetta, garlic, carrots and celery and then added fresh chicken broth; allowed them to simmer for thirty minutes, added the tortellini for 3 minutes, followed by the baby spinach. oh! i also simmered it with a small parmesan heel.

meals and lectures

 

i made a pear apple compote yesterday, from the apples and pears marisa brought from her trees in vermont. i added cinnamon, cloves and a vanilla bean. it was very easy to make (i don't know why that surprised me) and it came out very good. the vanilla bean made it especially delicious. this morning i had it with oatmeal.

 

this evening, i listened to a podcast by nycb dancer megan fairchild while cooking dinner. she and fellow company member wendy whalen shared stories about albert evans, a beloved colleague of theirs who passed away a few years ago from cancer. 

 

 

 

 

 we had the sausage and peppers with an italian bread . . another meal my mom would often make.

 

after dinner, i also listened to a talk from wnyc radio's the greene space, which is featuring a week dedicated to first peoples. this evenings discussion was with lenape center director joe baker who spoke about the history of the lenape nation in relation to manhattan island, chief tamanend of the turtle clan, and the building at 44 union square and 17th street, tammany hall, which ceased belonging to the infamously corrupt tammany society in 1943. the international ladies garment society bought the building at that time, but it's latest tenants have been the new york film academy, the union square theatre, and several retail stores. it was landmarked in 2013 and began a complete renovation in 2016. in tonight's discussion, it's lead architect speaks about the renovation's homage to the turtle clan of the lenape tribe. you can see a picture of the new building here. i find the acknowledgement of the lenape people and the relationship they have to our city heartening.

wednesday work

 chanda has been reading about mary jemison and the iroquois nations.

 she's been outlining a report. what's exciting is that mary jemison lived in eva's neighborhood . . the seneca nation territory. letchworth state park is home to her gravesite and statue. she doesn't live far from where a seneca village once stood, where there is now a stone to commemorate it. you can find out more information about the "white woman of the genesee" here. for information about the book, indian captive, by lois lenski, click here.

we're also continuing to read nicholas nickleby by charles dickens, and enjoying it immensely.

monday pictures and michaelmas

there was such a beautiful sunset this evening . . 

i went to the citibank today on la guardia place, and passed fiorello . . who was mayor of nyc from 1934 to 1945.

i think he was quite a character as mayor. he had a deep love for music and would supposedly spontaneously conduct student and professional orchestras. he helped create la guardia high school which became famous in the movie fame . . and which is still today a prestigious school to attend for acting, dancing and music.

chanda worked on her map of the iroquois nation.

and put in a load of her laundry on the way to a violin lesson and modern dance class.

and in our courtyard are blooming beautiful michaelmas daisies . . it has been very warm all weekend. humid and 82 degrees. i did feel a hint of autumn in the air when a breeze blew in from the river along charles street as i was walking home . .

michael nam buadh, michael the victorious
(patron saint of the seas and of the maritime lands, of boats and boatmen, of horses and horsemen . . long ago farmers would take the new wheat during the last days of harvesting and make a loaf to be presented to the church - a custom which ended when henry viii broke from the church in rome) (a piece of information read from the margate handbook).

thou michael the victorious,
i make my circuit under thy shield.
thou michael of the white steed
and of the bright brilliant blade,
conqueror of the dragon,
be thou at my back.
thou ranger of the heavens,
thou warrior of the king of all,
thou michael the victorious,
my pride and my guide,
thou michael the vicotorious,
the glory of mine eye.
(from our book festivals, family and food).

we'll make our harvest loaf when we return from visiting my cousin and uncle in annapolis on thursday.

wednesday morning in connecticut

 

 chanda and i have been reading about the iroquois.

 

 

 we enjoyed this book describing their food and thought it would be nice to make the recipe above (maple-glazed turkey legs with baked wild rice!)

 they harvested pumpkins, corn, beans, squash and rice. they hunted wild game with bows and arrows or set traps. their main meat was venison, but they also hunted buffalo, elk and beaver, and they fished the rivers for trout, bass, perch, eels and whitefish.

 

 

i've been feeling very nostalgic and melancholic with the girls' departure date so near (they leave on friday for their visit to norway and then london and paris).

  maybe my sister has been also. she wanted me to be sure and film them playing together.

relaxing on a sunday

 
our reading for this morning was chosen from my sister's book of robert frost poems:

sitting by a bush in broad sunlight

when i spread out my hand here today,

i catch no more than a ray

to feel of between thumb and fingers;

no lasting effect of it lingers.

there was one time and only the one

when dust really took in the sun;

and from that one intake of fire

all creatures still warmly suspire.

and if men have watched a long time

and never seen sun-smitten slime

again come to life and crawl off,

we must not be too ready to scoff.

god once declared he was true

and then took the veil and withdrew,

and remember how final a hush

then descended of old on the bush.

god once spoke to people by name,

the sun once imparted it's flame,

one impulse persists as our breath;

the other persists as our faith.

robert frost

it's a lovely old book bound in brown cloth with silver lettering on the binding.

----

today we are home at my sister's which feels incredibly nice. we cleaned, vacuumed and swept and then made breakfast. morgana is working on her guitar and her german. chanda is getting ready for a bike ride after stretching and doing a few ballet exercises.

 

these are our books that we've been reading about the algonquin and iroquois indians. i have to rotate them . . but it'll have to be done tomorrow as it's late now and i need to get to sleep . . (mission accomplished september 21st)

  

 chanda's two favorite books . . she's enjoyed reading about the native americans of florida also. they had large cities and good land for planting. inland tribes would share food with the coastal people if needed (and receive saltwater fish in return). everything was inherited through the woman's side of the family, which she says the invading europeans of the time (1500 and 1600's) couldn't understand.

 these we still have to look at in more depth.

  

 these i've enjoyed as they are short but informative and one can get a good picture of what the peoples lives and beliefs were like.

we spent the afternoon at our friend's house in colchester. we hadn't seen these friends in over a year, so it was a nice visit to catch up on what everyone has been doing, and to see how everyone has grown! after that we drove in my sister's car to new london to pick her and my brother-in-law up from the ferry. they had driven my parents back to long island and returned on the passenger boat. we stopped for fried clam strips and ice cream shakes at harry's before coming home to toby the cat. and now i better get some rest as tomorrow is another sturbridge day.