swimming days

 what you don't see in these pictures is all the swimming korrina and i did, but it was a lot and it was wonderful.

i was up early friday morning . . i was supposed to put in a batch of trader joe's chocolate croissants but i hadn't put them out in a timely manner the night before so they hadn't risen enough. i packed them up and hoped i could bake them when we got to the house. we picked up korrina and josh and wash the cat in queens along with some treats from aubergine's and were on our way by 9 am.

it's been hot so the cool bay water felt incredibly refreshing.

eggplant parmigiana that i put together thursday night as i didn't want my eggplants from the green market to go bad.

getting ready to play scattergories.

sunset . . 

and a small crescent moon . . (upper left)

saturday morning . . 

the conversation this morning centered around the deck umbrella which is able to tilt for better shade, but then spins around in the heavy stand as the washer and screw isn't secure. since josh's mom was coming over for lunch, he asked her to bring one of their extra stands. they were also discussing the wood panel that had been placed under the table by my dad years ago to help secure the umbrella.

everything needed some adjusting. such vacation concerns.

i did get to have my chocolate croissant with coffee this morning. it wasn't quite as fluffy but it tasted delicious.

we visited the softer, sandier bay beach this morning.

and korrina and i worked on our knitting projects.

trying to figure out where she is in the pattern . . 

san's beautiful japanese knot project bag. i forgot that korrina was using it . . all the time! she loves it. 

yup!

 

i finished my second button band and am ready to start on the sleeves.

this family was so cute with their two little ones. 

picking up our fish tacos for lunch.

lunch on the deck with judy, josh's mom.

more umbrella stand discussions . . 

we had a very nice visit together.

afterwards, greg vacuumed and washed the car . . 

i sat out on the deck and read an interesting book written in the 1700's that i had taken out of the library. there are so many characters that it's difficult to keep them all in mind. 

we played three hands of may i this evening.

it was my turn and i wasn't focusing on the game . . (i had chastised greg for reading from his phone earlier).

the crickets were out at night.

----

heading home today . .

such a beautiful sky . . 

and beautiful clouds. we stopped at hampton coffee in southampton for a turkey wrap sandwich and drinks. it was so busy and crowded. we purposely left early to try and avoid traffic, but there's always some in the summer. korrina and josh stayed out a little longer and will join josh's family for a few days.

we met up with a rainstorm.

 

it poured as we parked but didn't last long. it's so hot driving in the car without the air conditioning. the only other cars on the road without their windows rolled up are the convertibles!

thankfully, the apartment is quite cool even without air conditioning.

cats again

i was out at 7:15 this morning for an 8 am cat care shift . . leaving myself time to stop by the cafe to say hi to chanda and pick up a tumeric latte.

they had opened at 7 and were quite busy.

it's nice early in the morning as the cats have just eaten and are more active than in the afternoon.

i could have let ridley snoop around in the cabinet longer, but instead closed the door on him and he did not like that.

he's very sensitive and a little skittish (he was annoyed at stringbean, another cat in the next room who was bouncing around by the door).

they all like to get some treats . . 

nala maintains her queenly status by not allowing darla or ridley to step up onto her perch.

dear ridley is a bit of a curmudgeon.

tuxedo cat caza did not make an appearance this morning and stayed hidden in his favorite cubby hole.

morgan has been spending the week with sweet jasper.

breakfast, knitting, gifts and the book club

oats soaked in kefir overnight (with honey, cinnamon, chia seeds and flax seeds) with a dab of peanut butter on top and rasa grain coffee in the cup chanda brought back for me from positano.

denise bayron's wave of change jacket knit with quince and co's linen kestrel yarn. i need to pick up stitches for the second buttonband and knit two sleeves. picking up linen stitches is not easy.

 

a pretty candle lucia brought back from dornach, switzerland (i think she bought it in dornach). she visited the goetheanum with tsamaret when they were there. it was very nice  . . with a lovely cafe. it was fun to see the photos.

and this chocolate was delicious!!!

i also had a book club meeting today . . except the three of us who were able to attend ended up discussing current personal concerns. my one friend has been traveling back and forth to new mexico helping her elderly mom who has been ill, and my other friend is preparing her daughter to begin college in september while also working, looking for a house to buy and packing up her apartment because her lease is up august 31st. my other dear friend was unable to attend today because she is also dealing with very, very difficult housing circumstances :(

 

i forgot completely what book we were reading, and only just a few hours ago did i find it on the library's website and put it on hold: unbowed, a memoir by wangari maathai.

evening walk past the whitney and a morning bike ride

 

an exhibit on the sidewalk across the street from the entrance . . . . ?

greg and i have been bed hopping while the new mattress inflates. well, greg has been happy in one bed . . but i sometimes get up in the middle of the night and switch beds and sleep in the other bedroom. this empty nest is so far from what it used to be with three cats and one dog (who did not get along so had to be kept separate via a gate in the hallway), three children and two adults . . life feels so surreal these days.

i made dinner this evening following a recipe from the marcella hazan cookbook marisa gave me several years ago (marcella's kitchen): spaghetti col pomodoro fresco e la cipolla (i used fusilli pasta instead). i also didn't skin or de-seed the tomatoes, but it still came out incredibly creamy and was delicious!

and i actually managed to get out for a bicycle ride this morning:

and here's a pic chanda posted of pluto on her instagram account.

monday

plums from saturday . . 

and the beautiful bunting san sent in july . . 

 

and tea (from london) from eva . . 

 

just enjoying some lovely gifts and the cool grey day . . only 74 fahrenheit! (though the humidity is 82% and the dew point 69 . . still, it's a nice break from 90 degree weather.)

the cute pets morgan is currently looking after . .