off to see . . hugo!

today we took the f train to brooklyn to the cobble hill cinema to see hugo. we didn't get the early start i was hoping for, so it was difficult finding seats. however, morgana and chanda finally found two together, and greg, korrina and i found three together (after two kind-hearted fellow movie goers moved over) in the last row. the rest of the theatre was comprised of 8th graders from a near-by school. they had to be shushed a few times, but overall i thought they were well-behaved for what i would label a more "artsy" type of movie than the majority of movies that are produced for middle school children.

hugo was fabulous. it was fun, endearing, magical, believeable, just a little frightening in parts, and heart-warming. it's a movie i could see over and over again. there are wonderful little details that i know will burst out at me at second, third and fourth viewings. since i hadn't read the book first, i had no expectations. i really look forward to when the dvd comes out. i am reading the book now.

afterwards, we walked to mazzola bakery on union street for coffee, cappuccino and tea. we also had the best canolis we had ever tasted. they were so fresh, and not at all too sweet. morgana and chanda had delicious butter cookies filled with jam. it was so good that i daydreamed about living across from it and running out for morning pastries.

brooklyn general store was right up the street, but it started to rain again and we all had things to do back in the city: chanda had ballet class, korrina had a friend to meet, and i had a pumpkin pie to bake.

and if you are wondering about the bereft of photographs . . my camera's lens is jammed and inoperable. i've had it repaired once already and am not sure if it's worthwhile to spend another hundred to repair again. the top picture is the very last one taken by my camera, and the bottom two are from korrina, taken with her friend's canon powershot SX30 IS.

tuesday afternoon

chanda and i came home and looked forward to a quiet time. i cooked a turkey greg had bought from the coop: only nine pounds. it fit easily into my everyday roasting pan. we also made maple candied yams, green beans with onions and turkey bacon, and cranberry lemon pie. then we curled up on the bed to read and wind some yarn. it was cold outside, and it felt good to be in the warm apartment.

the tunic janet made fit nicely.

. . stirring the maple sauce for the yams . .

. . reading and winding yarn . .

it was a delicious dinner . .

the birthday party

chanda and korrina shared an ice skating party this year. we headed out the door for the subway with sandwiches and brownies at 8:30 am. greg was off from work.






it was a grey day, and had rained during the night, but the ice was fine. there weren't many people at 9 am, but filled up towards noon.

korrina wore her new skates. it made me happy to see her speeding around on them.

janet combined two beautiful old sweaters she had for a new chic tunic.

camille made the most beautiful fingerless gloves.

and deychen had one of korrina's favorite authors, tamora pierce, sign her latest book for her. she waited on line at books of wonder last sunday for it. ms. pierce wrote "korrina rules" in k's book, and "deychen, legendary" in deychen's book. the girls thought her choice of words for them was incredibly psychic!

we made "moon cookies," a recipe from my friend marisa. they have almond flour and honey in them and are delicious! we also wrapped up paperwhite bulbs for everyone to take home and plant in pots on their windowsill.

it was a fun morning . . and i looked forward to being home for the afternoon!

celebrating korrina's birthday

we celebrated korrina's birthday today. chanda had fun picking out several old baby pictures of korrina to place on the table. i put them behind a current picture to share with everyone before dinner.

chocolate bar chocolates are popular this year!

this is the yarn chanda and i picked up from annie and company saturday evening. madelinetosh pashmina. the blue is so rich looking!

korrina asked for thai wraps for her dinner. we had it for brunch as we all had activities in the late afternoon, and korrina was going to be in rehearsal with her stage managing gig until late at night.

korrina's friend tyler ate with us . . and was a little perplexed at how to wrap everything up at first . .

i wrapped a few with lettuce at first, but then preferred to just use the rice paper.

birthday cake was pumpkin pie, and since i had only baked it that morning, it was too warm to hold up the candles. oh dear.

oh well. it tasted good!

we were supposed to have haagen dazs dulce de leche ice cream with the pie, but greg couldn't find it in the grocery store. korrina was not happy. but she got to have some during her rehearsal when a friend went back to the store at night and found it for her. happy birthday, korrina!

il cantuccio and ice skates

i stopped by one of my favorite cafes to buy delicious fig and prune cantuccio cookies for my friend marisa for her birthday (which i think was on november 2nd). the shop was already decorated for christmas and looked very festive and pretty. after dropping the gift off for her husband to take to the bronx with him when he visits her (she has been staying with her mom who has been very ill), korrina and i went shopping at paragon sports by union square for ice skates. she's been without skates now for three years. i miss having her skate with us, and these skates will probably last quite a number of years. i don't think her foot is growing much anymore, though i suppose it still could. she'll be eighteen tomorrow.

(before going shopping i took a picture of the crepe myrtle tree in our courtyard. it's been looking particularly lovely lately with it's yellow and green leaves and blue berries.)


(i've also been enjoying shuffling through the leaves on the ground, and listening to the children playing in the courtyard. these guys were little just a few years ago . . now there making a lot of noise all on their own . . )

korrina and i sat in one of the new outdoor tables areas that has sprung up all around the city before going into the sporting goods store. i sipped a peppermint mocha, and she sipped a pumpkin spice latte.

she ended up getting a pair of jackson glaciers, which was the very first skate i bought her years ago when she first started taking lessons at wollman rink in prospect park.

at the yarn store

chanda and i visited annie and company this evening before her nutcracker rehearsal. we found some beautiful blue madelinetosh pashmina for korrina for her birthday. we also visited the yorkville branch of the new york public library. it's in a beautiful old building with large paned windows and a very nice children's section on the upper floor. we found some nice thanksgiving books. we read the one eva read last year titled thank you sarah. it took sarah hale thirty seven years and five presidents before abraham lincoln signed the day of thanksgiving into a national holiday. that's perseverance!

friday tea

i was feeling a little under the weather today and, thus, was slow getting the day going. morgana flew out to a babysitting job after doing spelling with me, and chanda and i . . . hmmmm . . . managed to have tea and curl up for a little harry potter reading before getting dressed to go to her physical therapy session. she didn't even do her violin. greg met us in front of the therapy building, and then i went to meet morgana. she was rehearsing for ellen's show at new york live arts. then she had her modern dance class, and i went with chanda to her ballet class. korrina is still at rehearsal. i think she finishes at 11. i hope to be asleep by then!

a quiet thursday

after schoolwork today, chanda and i curled up on the bed to read. we also had to put the heater on. it's getting cold outside.

for dinner i made pasta puttanesca, and lit the candles.