rainy monday, cat care, tea and florida

it was a humid and rainy day . . fortunately it wasn't too hot. i think it only went up to 78 or so.

but i got caught in a downpour on my way to cat care . . fortunately, i had my umbrella!

remember nala?

she's queen of the cats.

("i have my toys. go away now. i want to rest.")

janet and i investigated a new tea place . . and found it very nice. the cookies are chocolate chip tahini and ginger .

i had jasmine ascension (forgot to take a pic of all the different teas that make up the brew) and janet had a chai.

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and in the everglades . . 

chanda standing next to a beautiful, giant mahogany tree.

sunday boat ride or . . brooklyn excursion

greg and i rode the citibikes downtown to the wall street ferry landing. i took the ferry to dumbo to meet with lizette, while he stayed on for the lower east side stop.

we walked along the river for a little bit and then got a ginger plum iced tea from joe coffee which we had with the delicious chocolate croissants from the french pastry shop on her block (they were incredibly good - buttery with lots of chocolate). it was so nice to catch up with each other's news.

before leaving she showed me the early learning center where she's enjoying teaching.

heading home . .

lots of cute bulldogs along the way today.

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dinner was arugula beet salad with feta cheese and pepitos and leftovers from last night.

street music, alligators and more swashbuckling

we visited a few bookstores and walked through soho today . . 

and passed by some favorite music (my sister and brother-in-law danced to this song at their wedding in 1975).

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meanwhile, chanda is visiting her cousin in florida:

her reflection in the water . . 

 

dragon fruit . .

oh, that smile!

it's hard to tell in this video, but she was filming baby alligators and then panning to the mama alligator on the left.

and monstera fruit, which she says tastes like a mix of kiwi and pineapple (to her anyway) and was very good.

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and i caught the swashbuckling performance this evening!

 

fresh flounder and sautéed chard tonight, from the green market.

(i added this past week's happenings from friday the 12th written on monday's post, to friday the 19th.)

update

it's been a busy week . . i've had two eye appointments and also set up an appointment for a well check up with a primary care physician for the end of august, which i haven't done since our favorite doctor left the whole wellness practice he was in (sponsored by beth israel hospital who had decided to close it down - i think this was in 2012, 13 or 14 or so).  i've also been trying to find a therapist in network with our health insurance  . . actually not easy to do. greg and i were out at the house last weekend getting it ready for renters which would have been really helpful, except the person i had spoken to actually isn't able to take it. it's possible we might have someone in the autumn . . otherwise i'll have to set things up for next spring and summer, which i really don't think will be that difficult . . we just could have used a little help now . . ah well. c'est la vie. i have some nice photos from my walk uptown on wednesday. i'll try to post them tomorrow. xoxo 

p.s. the weather has been very comfortable with cool breezes at night! autumn is in the air now and this is very early for us! (chanda is sure it will get hot again . . and i feel the same.)

p.p.s. i found a deer tick on me and after talking to a doctor with this new medical place i've signed up with, i went to drop it off at the office for lyme disease testing and they wouldn't accept it. i've had ticks tested in the past so i'm not sure of the difficulty here, especially since i thought it was okay as i was informed that it was possible to do.

a london bulldog and a london dachshund

morgan passed a beautiful bulldog today . . 

while walking this little scamp . . 

now he's tired after the walk and an evening spent reading about . . electronics i think.

knitting (and the river)

the clouds have just been so beautiful lately (photo taken during an afternoon walk with janet). 

 

 

knitting away on the first sleeve still . . 

and the pretty stitch marker i only just discovered at the bottom of the cloth bag the yarn came in.

a walk through midtown and some swashbuckling

at the eye doctor's . . she spent an hour and a half with me. my eyes are crossing and i need to strengthen them. i'll go back friday for the therapy evaluation. 

back out on the busy streets after the appointment . . .

the schwarzman building of the new york public library.

fortitude the lion sits on the north side of the steps and patience on the south.

 

the newly renovated midtown branch directly across the street. korrina says there's a cafe on the roof.

back at home, there was a swordfight rehearsal happening across the street . . 

 

dinner was chicken soup, half of which i took to deychen as she came down with covid (on her birthday no less!)

voting, hibiscus and a book of maps

i saw kendall this morning before she left for upstate with aurélien in the afternoon. we walked to her early voting place and stopped at citarella and the library on the way home. .

the rose of sharon flowers are beautiful.

i had requested the atlas of the invisible from the library, a book eva had recommended, and chanda was excited to see it when she stopped by. it has maps showing how our dna connects us all, digitized shipping routes showing how they criss-cross the globe, and road trips in the usa-a map showing commuting behavior (just a few examples).