waiting for a heart

 greg and i took a trip uptown to see brian's dad today.

 he's been at columbria presbyterian hospital waiting for a heart . .

 the a train is usually a quick ride uptown . . 

 waiting in line to get our room passes . . 

 the last time we visited, we managed to follow someone else who was visiting a patient in the cardiac care unit. today we were on our own and almost took a wrong turn . . but didn't, and successfully found the room finally. brian's dad was sitting up and working on his computer. we talked about everything our children were doing and the conversation was punctuated with lots of beeps from the machines he is hooked up to. when he moves around a lot while sitting up. the wires and tubes must register that some things are off. a nurse needed to come in and press buttons and realign plugs and his blood pressure monitor. he didn't seem too bothered by it. it must happen often. going for a walk, he said, was even worse because everything needs to be disconnected and the plastic tubing always gets tangled.

 we said good-bye around 2 . . and passed this tom otterness pair when getting off the train at 14th street. i like the look on the young man on the right . . i think he was trying to figure out which stairs to go down.

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we had a late dinner when chanda got home around 7:45 from her dance rehearsal. she's part of a friend's company program (km/dm dance) that is performing september 8th and 9th at manhattan movement and arts center.

take the A train

 14th street subway station . . sculptures by tom otterness.

 168th street station, columbia presbyterian hospital.

 i think this was one of the first buildings to go up on 168th street in 1928. it now houses the dental hosptial.

 an armory! you never know where and when you'll come across one.

 we were here to see brian's dad. unfortunately, neal has always had a bad heart, and he's now on the waiting list for a transplant.

the view from his room. he was in such good spirits and happy to have company. i worried that we were tiring him out, as he regaled us with stories of the nurses and his work and how everything will work for his operation. he's like my friend joanna with a myriad of interesting stories and facts. his very good friend david came by just as we were leaving. today was his wife's day off, so others try to fill in for her. we hope the wait won't be long, but that means someone somewhere has to die . . ? it's a very surreal situation to be in and makes me cry inside.

panettone panettone

 it was a federal holiday today, so greg was off from work again (though chanda did have ballet class). it still being a holiday for him, it was necessary to open the panettone we had been saving for three kings' day. 

 it's a big panettone so i suppose there will still be some leftover for friday . . 

 it was a card game day . . . 

 and board game day, though greg did venture out to see the second avenue subway which has finally opened. he sent back several pictures of the mosaics they have up. everyone has been raving about the beautiful artwork in the three new stations that opened.

i love how they reflect the people we see everyday.

 our dinner tonight . . chicken, salmon, lima beans and kale.

getting closer and closer to friday . . 

visiting korrina

greg and i took the train to see korrina in her new apartment today.

it's such a nice space and she has it fixed up very cozy.

i was supposed to bring the drill so she could hang some hooks, but unfortunately i forgot.

 on a clear day you can see the manhattan skyline.

 they'll be able to put a table in the kitchen . . i love that they have a window. that's the one thing i wish we had here . . !

 we took a walk to her favorite coffee shop around the corner.

it's such a pretty neighborhood and she's so happy to be staying in the vicinity of her favorite stores.

 we passed the flatbush food coop where she likes to shop, the brooklyn public library, the farm to table restaurant on adderley, a wine store and bar she likes . . and mimi's hummus where we had lunch.

korrina had an iraqi pita pocket with eggplant, cabbage, potato, egg and amba (a tangy mango pickle condiment).

i had the lunch special which included hummus, roasted cauliflower salad (garlic, lemon and tahini) and shawarma (chicken, sheep's yogurt, onion, cucumber, amba and rice).

 we took the train back into manhattan together as she had work.

 the window at this subway stop is part of an installation by patsy norvell called garden stops. you can see images of the other windows included in the exhibit here.

 at home we played cards and had hot chocolate and panettone with chanda.

medieval history, subway poetry and celebrating greg's birthday

father demo square looking north towards sixth avenue. it was a pretty walk home for me from downtown where i left chanda for her dance class.

subway poetry by chase twichell:

to the reader: twilight

whenever i look

out at the snowy

mountains at this hour

and speak directly

into the ear of the sky.

it's you i'm thinking of.

you're like the spirits

the children invent

to inhabit the stuffed horse

and the doll.

i don't know who hears me.

i don't know who speaks

when the horse speaks.

lost in pointe magazine . .

chanda's castle drawing . . 

morgana's castle drawing . .

greg's birthday gifts . . 

we finally celebrated his birthday today with ravioli and broccoli with garlic (he had been away for the actual day).

morgana made peanut butter ice cream, and i picked up a cheesecake from rocco's.

heart underwear . . !

i had an extra stitch on my "follow your arrow" shawl and korrina came to my rescue and fixed it. i'm back on track again.