the day lilies my friend sent have been blooming beautifully. each day there is a new one that opens. they really brighten the room.
my cousin was in town this weekend. it was so wonderful to see her and her family. her son is writing his phd in london and had flown in for a short visit (they live in annapolis). they were staying at a friend's apartment who was away for a few days. last night they had dinner at a beer hall in williamsburg. i'm not sure of the name. this morning we had eggs and bagels with lox and cream cheese.
ryan went to see chanda when she did the royal's summer intensive at richmond park.
korrina came out of the side entrance of her restaurant to say hi. this was fun because we got to see her in her work clothes.
she looks so professional. chanda and i love her black cap.
i wanted to show ryan zaha hadid's building on the high line so we went for a walk.
ryan had heard so much about the la paleta pops from morgana that he couldn't resist getting one. he chose pina/papaya/lime and his dad chose cucumber/lime. they shook on some of the pepper flakes they keep on the stand.
at hadid's building . .
construction seems to have slowed up a bit.
we then said good-bye to them (they were going uptown to meet a friend of ryan's from his key school days in annapolis) and greg and i walked home along tenth avenue.
we stopped to look at the church of the guardian angel whose schoolchildren i often see playing in the yard.
the parish was founded in 1888 and the building went up in 1930. it's a design by john van pelt (who built other churches in the city) and is based on a southern sicilian romanesque style of architecture; particularly of the abbey of moissac in southern france.
the school was founded in 1911 and is still run by the dominican sisters of newburgh. i think it's such a lovely school. the children always seem so happy when they run around in their courtyard. then again, most children are extremely happy to run around anywhere after being confined in a classroom for a few hours.
i thought this signpost on the london plane tree along the sidewalk was interesting to see. i had never read this quote by e. nesbit before.
the london plane trees are really incredibly beautiful. they're so much nicer than the gingkos that are often planted. i don't know which city official chose the gingko as a possible planting for the treepits, but they don't go well here, especially when they turn out to be female and drop their smelly fruit in the fall on the sidewalks. some people like to eat the fruit and will collect the good ones. i've never done that, however. the smell has been a good deterrent. you can read an article about the nyc gingkos
here.
chanda made dinner tonight.
san had posted about a strawberry cake that she made one day. it looked so good that i was tempted to buy the creator's cookbook. i thought i had ordered get the glow by madeleine shaw, but when the package came in the mail i found the above edition instead. i was a little disappointed, but chanda really likes the book and has started doing the yoga routine the author recommends each morning. she also likes what madeleine has to say about eating healthfully, that it's a lifestyle and not a diet, that food nourishes your body and boosts your energy and one should "crowd in" and not "cut out" fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and good quality meats and fish. she also includes meal plans and how to prep during the week. it's a perfect book for a growing ballerina.
she chose to make a mango and avocado salad with a mix of spring greens (it called for arugula but arugula wasn't to be found in the stores today).
the cashews sprinkled on top were a delicious touch.
we had it with sausage made by our local butcher who gets meats from small farms in upstate new york, pennsylvania, new hampshire, massachusetts and vermont . . probably maine too.
and then we played yahtzee. i did not do well. greg always likes reminiscing about playing with his grandmother.
she would always get very excited about her throws: a full house or a small or large straight, or a yahtzee! she did not like to lose, he says, and she was a lot of fun to play with.
