science and running errands

we compared the densities of seven liquids this morning. chanda poured them individually and slowly into a graduated cylinder. first to go in was corn syrup followed by vegetable glycerin, dawn liquid detergent, water, vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol and 10 weight motor oil.

for some reason i found it hysterical that the motor oil slipped right past the alcohol and settled between it and the vegetable oil.

the motor oil sits at the 30 ml mark with the vegetable oil below it and the alcohol above.

then it was time to drop in several objects.

the metal paper clip and the rubber eraser settled at the bottom with the corn syrup. the piece of chocolate settled on top of the glycerin and below the dawn detergent.

 a piece of wax settled on top of the vegetable oil and below the motor oil, and a cork and a piece of wood dowel floated on the very top with the rubbing alcohol.

most fascinating to me is that water is more dense than vegetable oil, motor oil and rubbing alcohol.

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after the density demonstration we got ready to run some errands in the neighborhood. i needed to move the car and chanda had a dance rehearsal for an isadora duncan dance concert at the end of june with catherine gallant and company. the rehearsal and performance is in the same church that she would have her string stravaganzas with third street music school. we decided to meet afterwards at one of our favorite cafes near there, paradis (before walking uptown to onstage dance for a basic black capezio leotard).

 having a favorite snack at paradis: greek yogurt with cherries and granola.

 i used to come here for coffee and a snack before watching her saturday morning orchestra class at third street.

 they redid the doorway and it's very strange now as they added a window on the right which took away from the bench that ran against the wall for the tables and seating.

 it was nice to see it so busy at 3:30 in the afternoon. school was beginning to let out and children and their parents and caregivers were starting to trickle in.

 at the ballet store . . 

 and goat milk ice cream with tahini butter and halvah at chelsea market.

elderflower tea and crazy weather

i've been enjoying austrian elderflowers and cooler weather. it's 64 degrees this morning, only going up to 75 today. bangkok is enjoying cooler weather also. it's only 88 degrees there, instead of 100.

at the matcha bar and water color painting

on fifteenth street . . 

i added honey to mine . . 

 at home . .

what are heavy? sea-sand and sorrow.

what are brief? today and tomorrow.

what are frail? spring blossoms and youth.

what are deep? the ocean and truth.

christina rossetti, 1830 - 1894

memorial day bike ride

 it poured during the night but the rain stopped by morning.

 in fact, the road looks dry here! i do remember passing some big puddles though.

 we biked to fika on des brosses street. greg and i came here often the summer before last when morgana and chanda had visited norway and london, and i used to come here when chanda had her joffrey summer intensive.

this is a matcha tea latte . . very green looking and very grassy tasting.

 chanda had never been and agreed that it was the nicest fika cafe. they have comfortable couch-like seats and half the store is a bakery for their pastries.

 while greg read, chanda and i texted with morgana. she and her friend had returned to bangkok after a fourteen hour bus ride from phnom penh.

 this neighborhood is really changing. 

 there are two big blocks where they blasted away the old and are starting to put up the new. i always feel so frustrated that i can never remember what the old buildings looked like when they're gone . . greg says that when he bikes down during the week to work, this section is filled with construction workers. i have no idea what is going up.

 getting ready to head back . . chanda's heavy chain and lock don't wrap easily around the bike and she has trouble with them.

i really love this neighborhood.


i love all the old buildings. not everything is landmarked . . so many could still be lost.

 do you think he had some good suggestions?

maybe so because we were soon on our way . . (note the henna tattoo from a ballet artist friend who just got accepted to FIT . . she's so talented . . i'm always admiring her instagram pics).

back uptown again . . which is really still downtown.

greg and i did a lot of dusting and vacuuming and straightening of objects in the living room while chanda was at dance class. i can't believe how ambitious we were.

it feels so good to have done a thorough cleaning.

maybe it doesn't look neater or cleaner but it is! what's important is that i know it is and it feels great and we even got rid of a few things . . (but, yes i know i have way too much wool . . . )

now to more consistently tackle other areas this summer! we even have an air conditioner if we need cool motivation . . 

the vendée and brunch in brooklyn

 chanda and i made it out in time for the vendée preliminary starting race! the boats looked beautiful all lined up in front of the north cove marina. 

sorry my filming is so shaky . .  you can hear the starting shot set them off and some cheers from people on the quay and out on the water. the boats sailed from here to the verrazano bridge where they lined up for the true official starting point and were again cheered on. you can read about the update of the race here. several boats hit sharp objects and had to stop at newport for repairs. the boat i'm following with skipper alex thomson from the UK is still sailing on without damage, but he reported a lot of fog and slow sailing. the japanese skipper almost hit a huge cargo ship in the fog and said things had gotten a bit dangerous!

chanda mentions how the boats start to tack to change direction.

 each boat has a sponsor and one skipper with team support on land. most of the skippers are french but there are a few others from england, japan and new zealand.

 i'm kind of rooting for this boat and skipper.

 sweets! we stopped at duane park patisserie for a dessert for our brunch with friends in brooklyn. i couldn't resist having some cheesecake and chanda chose a fruit tart . . we chose a brownie for greg who was waiting in the car.

 then we drove out to park slope. my friend's apartment felt so cool and refreshing . . well, they did have the air conditioner on.

setting up for a delicious brunch . . 

 salad and a spinach and zucchini frittata. jeanette is such a great cook . . the frittata was incredible.

 making espresso . . 

 her espresson maker is a stainless steel alessio which i would like to get one day to replace my aluminum bialetti.

jeanette is pouring the milk from a special frother she brought back from italy. it's very simple to use with hot milk. amazon probably has one . . 

 the amazing lemon tart from duane park . . tony and i always like to reminisce about patisserie lanciani which used to be on west fourth street until madeleine lanciani moved to the duane park spot in tribeca. i used to bring korrina in a stroller to the west village location when we lived there (before we moved to brooklyn) and i used to buy my mom grand marnier chocolate cakes for her birthday . . 

 the cups were tony's grandmother's . . 

 it was a nice afternoon.

we drove back to manhattan and dropped chanda off at her twelfth night rehearsal uptown and then parked the car by a neighbor's rose garden. it's rose season . . they are all in bloom . . 

when chanda returned she reminded me how a favorite neighborhood restaurant was closing. i know how quickly these closings can go so i figured we better go this evening.

it was good we did because we found out they only have one week left. alexander at the place has been around since 1998 and we'll really miss his restaurant. besides serving delicious food, the atmosphere is intimate and warm (he would have "fires" burning in two fire places in the winter--they were the large sterno containers but still lent a cozy air). my friend kendall lives in the same building and they've been going through a lot of changes since the original owners died and the grandchildren took over.

just another change in the neighborhood . .