coop shift and pantry clean up

 

greg and i were out early for a 9:30 am shift at the coop today. we went to different places in brooklyn for a bite to eat before work. i chose a cafe for a croissant and cappuccino and greg chose the bagel shop for a bagel with cream cheese and coffee.

it was another work shift of stocking frozen foods, bottled and canned drinks, snack foods, cans of beans and pasta. in the last 20 minutes we also worked together stocking paper towels, toilet tissue and kleenex boxes. it was a fun two and three quarter hours (though i did get a little antsy and bored as usual at the two hour mark). afterwards, we did our shopping.

heading to the car after the shift and a shop!

back at home . . i sent morgan photos of the kitchen clean up that has been long overdue. 

i finally was motivated today as now that we're shopping at the coop again, we buy olives, nuts and dried fruit in bulk, and the pantry was messy with dirty jars and some empty jars.

ah! now i can find things again.

dog walking day

 
milly is so adorable

it was such a beautiful day . . 

passing the geese on our walk . . 

these clouds!

beautiful flowers . . 

i tore two drawers apart looking for the bike room key. we'll see my nephew this weekend and i wanted to take my bicycle along . . i'll have to see if i can get a neighbor or the building's porter to open the bike room for me. (zuzu found this project very interesting.)

i did find this: not the BR (not the bike room). not much help!

reorganizing summer and fall clothes

 
today was a day of reorganizing, mending and discarding clothes that don't fit or are no longer worn (they're in bags ready for the salvation army or the housing works store).

the funny thing is, my sister was doing the same chore!

her basket of items for the church charity shop.

cricket antics . . 

cricket and pluto antics.

zuzu lying next to the fall nature tableau (and staying out of pluto's way).

greg and i finally made it out for a walk and to buy coffee.

large skeletons are a popular decoration this year!

dinner was leftover sausage and kale soup. chanda went out to a halloween party. she has another one tomorrow, and the upstairs teen is having one tonight . . though she left a note saying that it's just some "friends over" and they will be leaving at 9 pm. 

sunday poem and museum visits

the rainy day

the day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

it rains, and the wind is never weary;

the vine still clings to the moldering wall,

but at every gust the dead leaves fall.

and the day is dark and dreary.

my life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

it rains, and the wind is never weary;

my thoughts still cling to the moldering past,

but the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

and the days are dark and dreary.

be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

behind the clouds is the sun still shining

thy fate is the common fate of all,

into each life some rain must fall,

some days must be dark and dreary.

by henry wadsworth longfellow (1807-1882)

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we had brunch this morning at elephant and castle which first opened in nyc in 1973 (you can read about how the name came about on their website).

(we arrived before the brunch crowd descended.)

beautiful ceiling!

i had a delicious asparagus omelette with gruyere cheese and greg had eggs benedict on a potato pancake.

back at home we did more sorting and rearranging of accumulated stuff, and pluto continued his infatuation with zuzu, much to her disdain.

an old science fair project of korrina's . . 

these are two small blankets i knit up while vacationing on the cape when the children were little. i think the yarn is plymouth cascade superwash wool which i bought at a yarn store in eastham. i have such warm memories of being on the beach in the evening . . knitting while the sun set and a fox wandered by . . and the girls offered it a few almonds that we were eating.

silly cricket . .

he likes to crawl into bags and peer out . . 

----

6 to 7:30 we attended a talk at the rubin museum between artist laurie anderson and tenzin priyadarshi (president of the dalai lama center for ethics and transformative values at massachusetts institute of technology). the topic was "about time," which touched on a large array of issues from artificial intelligence to social justice to kindness and patience. it was a relaxed and peaceful hour and a half and i left with a feeling of hope and strength in my heart.

and also a sense that we are all so fragile.

----

morgan and harley visited the museum of the home in london today . . and when i asked for a photo i was sent these pics of old vacuum cleaners . . !

this red one does not look very efficient to me!

saturday chores

it was very grey today . . and there was so much rain. it just poured nonstop. greg went out to the green market for granola, but the apple people (who sell the granola) were not there. he came back with a lemon scone, two chocolate croissants and a morning glory muffin. later on we had eggs and chicken apple sausage for lunch. i sorted through a lot of drawers and many piles that had accumulated in various places. we now have several bags that can go to the thrift store bin, and several items that can go out on the sidewalk to be picked up by anyone who is "stooping." (we'll put them out tomorrow when it isn't so wet.) chanda did some writing for school and greg solved some tech issues for work.

we played a game of "apples to apples" after lunch.

i won this time and greg is complaining that he won't play again because he lost (he likes to tease).

chanda and pluto:

i was trying to take a photo of pluto amidst the mess on my bed, but he wouldn't pose for me. he just kept preening himself. chanda came to the rescue, but it's a funny pic.

this is sweet . . 

after chanda left, greg and i worked until 7:30 and then finally made some ravioli and a salad for dinner. it was a late meal.

sorting

 
i went through a lot of bins today, clearing out old clothes and leftover yarn balls and putting things aside for thrift stores.

the cats had fun watching . .