summer!!!!

today was so warm!!!!! everyone was out in the park when chanda and i walked through on the way to the dentist. chanda was lamenting that we're not having spring, we've gone right to summer!

 i was supposed to have a cavity filled today but i've postponed it to let my sensitive tooth get a little stronger. chanda had to have a filling though, and i know she wasn't looking forward to it. it all went well though she was very swollen and complained that she couldn't talk or eat properly, and she wiggled out of ballet class too. 

 that was alright. i treated her to a scrumptious gelato at a local italian cafe we really love. the owner is always so generous.

how do you like my affogato?!

 we ran into morgana and deychen at abingdon square . . 

 how do you like morgana's haircut?! she had a student cut it at a local hair salon. the student had been practicing for awhile and was finishing up her studies. lucky morgana. morgana was amused because the stylists at the salon knew her modern dance teacher, ellen (who has been going to this salon for years) and they were happy to meet one of her students.

morgana leaves this evening for london! greg is taking off early to drive her. chanda and i picked up fiori di zucca (butternut squash ravioli) at eataly for dinner . . that was another good reason to stay home from ballet class this evening . . so we could all have dinner together. (chanda's mouth is still very swollen from the novacaine the dentist gave her in this pic.)

packing for europe

morgana was up late . . or early (depending on one's perspective) . . 

 

packing. she has saved her babysitting money to visit her cousin in london, her friend in paris, her austrian family in tyrol and our friend christine in copenhagen.

she's been very busy sorting things . . 

madeline doesn't look amused.

snowdrops in connecticut

 i spent monday at the dermatologist with my mom. she needed to have a "mohs" operation to remove some cancerous cells from her cheek. it turned out to be very stressful for her as it took four tries to get everything. she was a real trooper and the doctor commented on her fortitude. she has a big bandage now and doesn't want to go down to the dining hall at her apartment complex because she doesn't like the way it looks. however, i did encourage her to do so tuesday afternoon for lunch and she agreed when the nurse's aides there said that her table mates would like to see her.

the snowdrops are plentiful!

spring is here . . toby the cat is staying outside more and more . . 

church and a play

 morgana and i went to church at st. luke in the fields this morning. it was a beautiful service with the sun streaming in through the windows and the incense wafting about. maybe next time i'll try to take a picture. it was also our first time at their "choral" service. everything was sung and it felt very peaceful.

 we had tea afterwards at maison kayser. i've been having a lot of trouble with one of my teeth this past week, so i've been having only soft foods. it's slowly getting better.

 we shared butternut squash soup and salmon and chocolate mousse. morgana also had a chocolate almond croissant.

 this evening i went to see judd hirsch and katherine danielle in talley's folly at the herbert berghof studio. this is the show for which morgana has been running sound. chanda has been ushering every night and this evening she received a complimentary ticket for her efforts. the show was terrific and the audience was great this evening also. they laughed at all the jokes and gave judd and katherine a standing ovation.

morgana's "selfie" with judd and katherine.

pancakes and an early dinner

 chanda always leaves early saturday morning for a ballet class. she usually has yogurt with oats or granola, but this morning i was up early with her and decided to make almond flour pancakes.

 they were very good.

 this is an early dinner at 2 pm before morgana ran off to see a friend before her talley's folly show.

 leftover fish and vegetables . . i really enjoy eating a main dinner during the day and not at night but our schedules usually don't allow for it.

we have been taking care of our neighbor's cat so i baked an almond flour lemon cake in their oven. our oven has been smelling like burning plastic when we turn it on . . after all our hard work in fixing the bottom coil!

surprise snow, halvah, and west village-henge

i was so surprised to see this thin carpet of snow on the fire escape this morning . . 

and on all the branches of the trees . . 

since it's friday i walked over to chelsea market to the lobster place fish store where i bought some pollock for dinner. a new wing of stores has opened and one of them sells nothing but halvah: rose oil, ginger, chocolate, caramel, sugar free . . you name it . . they have it.

  i bought a slice of the rose oil one for m and c to try.

 

i walked home to the sun setting along our street, which i call west village-henge. manhattanhenge usually happens in may and/or july when the setting sun shines directly along 34th street from west to east. in march we have our own version in the village.

morgana had her show tonight and greg has been on a business trip in florida.

pollock, green peas and mashed potatoes . . 

and halvah for dessert.

sunny days

the lesson page for air . . 

morning doves like to sit on the edge of the windowsill . .

until hermione notices them and attacks by jumping at the window, and then they madly flutter away.

the sun has been beautiful in the mornings . . 

upcoming show at HB

morgana will be running sound at hb's upcoming theatre performance. marlene, her and chanda's acting teacher, is working with actor judd hirsch on a benefit for the theatre. he'll be performing in lanford wilson's talley's folly, for which he won the obie award in 1979 and the tony in 1980.

 the play is unusual for lanford wilson in that it's a happy and romantic comedy . . ! i'm looking forward to seeing it.

 we have sunshine again. the weather has been beautiful.

 the crocuses are up!

 the complex's gardeners have been out and about . . 

 chanda has begun a new book that she got for christmas. she says she's really enjoying it  . . 

and the lesson pages for world geography are slowly being completed . .