hello again . .

last friday the weather turned cool and refreshing. by monday it was once again muggy and hot with temperatures up to 90 during the day, humidity at 70 to 85 percent, and nighttime temps no lower than 82 degrees. so . . everyday now when we walk in from outside we're a sodden mess. we have to jump into the shower to cool off and to feel a little more energetic. i think i had the AC on again tuesday . . but maybe i'm remembering last tuesday!! every week has been the same. it's rather funny. (not really.) i don't keep the AC on because i find it just as uncomfortable as the heat. i like having the windows open to the air and the breeze, and that's one good weather condition we have had this summer. breezes have been plentiful. they come from either the river, blowing in from the north or the south; from the street windows or from the courtyard windows, and they bring the aroma of the sea.

last saturday morning greg, chanda and i drove up to connecticut. we were supposed to leave friday afternoon, but chanda had a rehearsal for a dance performance. we came home sunday evening. here are some pics:

 my mom lost all her top teeth, but she's adjusted by chewing on a few teeth holding up on the left side of her mouth. i brought her chicken soup on saturday, and her favorite: chocolate ice cream.

 late blooming summer roses by the gazebo. they were wonderfully sweet smelling.

 the weather was much more pleasant (not as muggy or soporific, but we still all had a nap after lunch).

 back at my sister's house, we had a dinner of spinach salad and organic hot dogs. i think i've posted this before. hot dogs are incredibly easy, except i wasn't successful at grilling them today. when i tried to light the grill, it flared up at me and then went out. i decided not to try again, and instead cooked them under the broiler (which was also very easy and much quicker than the grill).

 my latest knitting: a shawl from the taproot magazine.

after eating the salty hot dogs, i craved something sweet and found a brownie mix in my sister's pantry (she was away with my brother-in-law at his brother's house in virginia as his brother had had a stroke; he's doing better now). i also thought they would be a soft dessert for my mom for the next day's visit.

dusk falling on the giant rhododendron bush . .

giving toby her nighttime treat . .

next day . . chanda showing nana her photos from prague. 

having her brownie . .

 driving through middletown on the way home . .

poem for a sunday morning

sun and shadow

as i look from the isle, o'er its billows of green,

to the billows of foam-crested blue,

yon bark, that afar in the distance is seen,

half dreaming, my eyes will pursue;

now dark in the shadow, she scatters the spray

as the chaff in the stroke of the flail;

now white as the sea-gull, she flies on her way,

the sun gleaming bright on her sail.

yet her pilot is thinking of dangers to shun, --

of breakers that whiten and roar;

how little he cares, if in shadow or sun 

they see him who gaze from the shore!

he looks to the beacon that looms from the reef,

to the rock that is under his lee,

as he drifts on the blast, like a wind-wafted leaf,

o'er the gulfs of the desolate sea.

thus drifting afar to the dim-vaulted caves

where life and its ventures are laid,

the dreamers who gaze while we battle the waves

may see us in sunshine or shade;

yet true to our course, though the shadows grow dark,

we'll trim our broad sail as before,

and stand by the rudder that governs the bark,

nor ask how we look from the shore!

by oliver wendell holmes (1809 - 1894)

thursday's walk

 it was still really hot today when i went out to meet korrina and pick up the vegetables.

 i walked along fifth avenue to 23rd street and passed someone putting the finishing touches on his artwork . . (i actually took this photo while talking with morgana on the phone . . which i'm surprised i was able to do--balancing the phone and the camera at the same time).

 well, since i was talking with morgana the whole time . . i ended up walking just a bit too far . . 

 which was actually fun as i discovered new places . . like this cafe/restaurant on lexington and 30th street . . 

and a huge fairway at second and 30th . .

 i'm always admiring how her hair looks with her t-shirts . .

 sometimes we get treated to the most amazing desserts by the pastry chef.

 working on her shisui . . we both lamented at how we need to be knitting on our rhinebeck sweaters . . since it'll be time for the sheep and wool festival in just two months. korrina needs to dye her yarn, but is waiting for a cooler day.

 walking back home . . 

 but stopping at eataly to try out their new pasta cafe with chanda . . (this is the metropolitan life insurance company tower at madison avenue and 23rd street, built in 1909).

 this is a very telling photo as chanda is in the process of buying morgana's airplane ticket home. i can't believe she's finally coming home. she'll stop first to see family in florida.

our dinner made with delicious lemon ricotta ravioli, and mint and pea ravioli from eataly.

monday and tuesday

 korrina came by this afternoon after her japanese class to pick up her gifts that chanda brought back from prague. 

 actually, one of the gifts was from london: a hat from the globe theatre.

 the other gift was lemon curd from fortnum and mason. our jar has already disappeared. sadly.

 even though it was really hot today, i made an eggplant parmagiana, as i didn't want my eggplant to go bad. yes, we're in another heat wave and i finally turned on the air conditioner since it's been 82 degrees these past two nights. my excuse is that hermione is doing very poorly and looks so hot lying on the rug in chanda's room. i was so busy cooking and talking that i didn't take a photo of her with korrina. when we first adopted hermione and madeline, hermione was korrina's kitten, and madeline was morgana's. as chanda grew older, she claimed xena as her own (we had adopted xena a year or two before getting the kittens). xena was my warrior cat and kept away all the mice.

 greg was home by 5:30, enabling us to have dinner together before korrina had to leave.

 isn't this picture amazing? my friend janet sent it from her travels in british columbia, where she grew up. this was taken near the athabasca glacier, where she and her family walked 17 kilometers one day and 15 the next! 

 chanda asked me if the grey was mist or smoke . . and i'm actually not sure. they've had very bad fires, but it must be mist because i don't think they could do all that hiking in such smokey air.

 the athabasca glacier which looks like it's melted quite a bit.

on tuesday evening greg and i walked to chelsea market and ate at mokbar which korrina had recommended to me last time we had browsed through. she has never eaten here, but brian has and we were impressed. we had a cold noodle dish and a vegan miso ramen. both were incredibly delicious.

it was nice that there was a place to sit (chelsea market can get very crowded) and the server we had was friendly and adept.

____

 korrina's selfie that she took with hermione monday afternoon . .

london life

morgana had an interesting day in london doing laundry and running into carnival along the way . . (the celebration was near where the boat was moored).

she was getting impatient for the laundry to be done . .

a ferry ride and a dance concert

 i thought it would be fun to take the nyc ferry to astoria today, to see our friend amelia dance at the socrates sculpture park.

 i also thought that it would feel so wonderful to be out on the river with the wind in our faces . . 

passing the building korrina works in. her restaurant overlooks the highway and the river.

 pointing to where her friend lives on roosevelt island . . 

 our destination . .

the ferry map . . 

socrates sculpture park . .

chanda was asked to participate in a dance . .

 

our friend amelia . .

down the hillside to the revels . .

 we were surprised to see that our friend kathyn alter was also dancing with her company today . .

our friend now has a son who is 3 1/2. we know her from when morgana danced with the jose limon company in 2008. you can see two posts from that time here and here.

(this is an excerpt of the dance, day on earth: morgana comes in at 1:17 and is dancing with roxanne d'orleans juste and rafael boumailla.)

 there is a mailbox on top of the sign post with stairs going up to it. you may have to click to enlarge the photo in order to see it. the car to the left was also interesting . . it had some kind of white netting creating a pattern over the exterior.

 putting away the portable chair . . 

 before having dinner at belaire diner . . 

it was a fun day . . we ended up walking eight blocks to the subway and taking the f train home. it was not as pretty of a ride, but it was much quicker.