Sunday, December 21, 2008

Performances



Today we went to two performances. In the afternoon the Paul Winter Consort performing the 29th Winter Solstice Concert and St. John the Divine. The church was newly reopened following damage from a 2001 fire. Since we were only vaguely aware of who Paul Winter was we were surprised to find a huge sellout crowd. Someone sold us tickets at half price. It was an extravaganza--a new age celebration in a reproduction of an ancient Christian church. [Judy noticed that the church had several styles, from various centuries.] In the evening we went to see Pina Bausch' dance company at BAM. I found the ways that the men and women danced together beautifully expressive of the complex feelings 21st century people have towards the relationships between men and women. Later we went to Franny's, a "fresh food" restaurant with Gabriel, Anna, Peter and Gloria. We got home after 1am for the first time in decades.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snow



It snowed yesterday and so we didn't go out walking. We enjoyed being in our cozy place watching kids sledding in the park across street and being in the presence of Judy's resurrected orchid.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Seventh Avenue



After getting my power cord replaced at 23rd and 7th we decided to walk to Varick and Franklin.
This is the route of the 1 train, which we always travel. Along our walk we saw many of the spots we had visited at various times--connecting the dots. It seems that 7th avenue cuts through old neighborhoods (Chelsea, Greenwich Village, SoHo and Tribeca) so that as we walked we kept glimpsing little nineteenth century side streets. Along the way we stopped at a wonderful little coffee shop called doma and had lunch.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Manhattan School of Music

It was windy and cold, but we trekked up to 121th St. to hear the one of the concerts at the Winter Chamber Music Festival at the Manhattan School of Music. Sitting in a small room on the sixth floor looking out over the city listening to young musicians playing flute, clarinet, bassoon, guitar, violin, piano and saxophone, was an extraordinary experience. I didn't know any of the pieces they were playing and had no way to know if they were playing well or not, but hearing them play gave me hope--hope that someone was growing up to carry on a rich trradition.. No pictures.

walking to the met


we set out across Central Park heading for the Met. It was chilly and most of the leaves had fallen off the trees. There were still small swarms of people on bicycles, skate boards, roller blades etc. racing along. On the East Side we went looking for a West Side type place to eat [ie cheap] and found a hole in a wall place that sold pizza from one counter and chicken fajita from the other. While we ate we listened to fathers and sons talking about their morning athletic exploits. At the Neue Gallery we saw a beautiful Zeisel baby feeding cup with spoon, which we would have bought if there were any in stock. At the met we saw a wonderful photo show by Burckhardt of pictures taken around New York of stand pipes, doorways and people walking here and there.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Union Square


Judy, Susanna and I set out for Union Square on the Saturday after Black Friday. Judy wanted to see a show by an Indian artist, Nasreen Mohamedi, at a gallery near the square. It was one of the most hauntingly beautiful collections of work that I have seen. We were crowded out of the Christmas gift booth area so we went for lunch. The farmers' market was more resplendent than usual. Susanna bought yarn from the farmer who had raised the sheep. and we saw fruits like the one in the picture.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Pisticci




Judy, Susanna, Jessica and I walked up Riverside Drive and then up Claremont to Pisticci a little Italian restaurant on LaSalle St. We worked up good appetites walking in the chill night air. I had meatballs and polenta, the girls had artichoke ravioli, Judy had lamb ragout and we all shared carafe of the house red wine, tiramisu and whipped cream and fruit. It was our little birthday party for Susanna. The door caught my eye on the way home.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Amsterdam Loop


After a rainy night, there had been a damp cold morning, but when we went for a walk in the early afternoon the sun was beginning to break through. We made our Amsterdam loop. Book Culture, [I found a book by Mark Micale on The Hysterical Man]; St. John the Divine, where we asked about their New Years Program and I got a picture of the glass stained light on the columns; Peace park, which Judy thought kids would love; the Hungarian Pastry Shop, where we had an apple strudel and Russian Coffee and overheard a stranger talking about our Super [a good man, but gone]; the 104th st fish market, for some shrimp and back along Broadway picking up wine, bread and vegetables for dinner.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Merkin

A cold Sunday in November. What to do. We found a concert by a group called An die Musik at Merkin Hall. We got there early and enjoyed walking around the block. Who knew: a public library specializing in audio, the Julliard bookstore and Balducci's market, where I got an espresso and Judy got a fruitnut bar. The concert had Beethoven and Musto [who also played the piano] and a chamber version of Goldilocks. Afterwards we went to Le Monde and had duck sausage and sweet potato soup…ending the evening seeing Adam Venieteri winning a game for the Colts with a last second [what else] field goal.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Rick and Cheryl



We met Rick and Cheryl in New York and spent four days walking around town. It was hot and steamy with downpours from time to time. At the MOMA there was an exhibit that had us standing around in bright yellow light, by the guy who set up the waterfalls in the East River.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Cove



Driving around New Bedford on a cool overcast day we found New England Demolition and Salvage and noticed a bike path along the Cove. A couple of days later we came back and walked along the Cove to a park with an old fort. Beer and appetizers at Freestones. It felt as though we had added a new dimension to our world.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Stone Beach



We walked twice this week-end on the town beach that we call "Stone Beach." There weren't many birds or people on the beach, but it was bright and sunny and the air was cool. We did see terns splashing into the water and the usual gulls and I managed to get a picture of one gull in flight and one large tern sitting on a rock. Lunch at The Bayside.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Audubon




Judy got me a camera for my birthday and we took it out for a walk today at the Audubon reserve. We saw rose hips, peas and poison ivy along the path, an Atlantic eider diving off shore and a red-winged blackbird, a tree swallow and a willet on the way back to the car. I was dizzy with all the pictures there for the taking.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Mary and Philippe



Mary and Philippe came to visit. They hadn't changed at all and had happy stories to tell about their grand children and their travels. We walked out to the knoll, spotting turtles on a rock in our neighbor's pond.

Gooseberry Point



Judy, Jessica, Susanna and I walked out to Gooseberry Point for a picnic, meeting Scott Johnston and his wife and daughter Hadley on the way. It was buggy on one side of the point and chilly on the other, but we held out long enough for the girls to sing a bit of Happy Birthday to me and see a few Cormorants on a rock.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Demerest Lloyd


Jessica rode my bike to Demerest Lloyd park and Judy and I drove over with a picnic lunch. On the way we found a field of yellow flowers that we thought were mustard. The beach was empty except for one seagull. We had sandwiches sitting on a log. Lobster for dinner.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Slocum River


After lunch in Padanarum Judy, Jessica and I walked along the Slocum River. Through the spring leaves we could see the river and marsh more clearly than in summer. We walked north into an area we hadn't seen before, feeling as though we were adding new territory to our estate. As we headed back to the car we found a stand of wild Jonquils, another secret garden.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

knoll



While I was napping, Judy discovered two Viburnums and two Beach Plums on the knoll.Later we walked out there and liberated them from the ever proliferating Rose. In the process we cleared a spot on top of the knoll from where we got a view down the river that we had never had before. On the way home we noticed that our neighbor had reinstalled his black cattle.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Bristol



Driving away from the Empire Bottling Works after our annual trip to get some Lime Rickey for Judy and to visit the wonderful green bottling machine, we noticed a large stone arch at the end of a long straight road and so we discovered the Bristol cemetery. Small and shaded with very old trees, it is on what must be the highest point in Bristol and looks out over the bay. From there we drove down into town and had calamari on the bay in the bright, cool May sunshine.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Tiverton and Little Compton


We went for a drive through Tiverton and Little Compton today. They were in Spring glory, with large swathes of daffodils growing along the stone walls and enormous old Forsythias around every corner. The Forsythia twig that Susanna brought down from her place last fall has actually taken and has a about six blooms on it. Someday. After lunch at Provender, where we saw a tree that seemed to be dancing with joy, we drove down to Fogland beach. It's been such a long time that it seemed like a beautiful country that we had never seen before. On to Peckham's nursery, where Judy bought some strawberries and I took a few pictures and then to Sakonnet point--Finisterre--and home again.

Monday, April 21, 2008

"Secret Garden"



We took our Spring walk to the "secret garden" today. Daffodils, Jonquils, and Wood Hyacinths were on display along the path that runs between our neighbor's fence and the marsh. The neighbor had a compost heap along the fence from which various flowers escaped and established themselves on our side safe from the cows that roamed our neighbor's meadows. We had plenty of work cutting back the roses that grow along the fence and encroach on our path. It was, however, the first time that I had noticed the beautiful old willow growing alongside of our neighbor's pond. When we got to the bench that overlooks the river we saw that someone had made a fire, but fortunately they hadn't thought to carve their initials into the bench.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Planting


Judy and I went to the nursery and picked out a small willow. Judy has wanted one, she says, since she was a girl when willows were a sign that spring had come. Susanna came down and helped dig a hole for the tree in the marshy part of our lower meadow. We drove down to the beach and then to the town farm, from where we could see our place across the river. Passover dinner at the Back Eddy, where we talked about what religion means to each of us. Not something we do every day.

Burning

e

A warm sunny April day. Not much wind. A good day for burning brush. The brush was piled in the yard last fall. We have accumulated enough hose; Steve is available with his truck. I go to the fire station to get a new permit and thank them for carting me out of here on January 2. The fire is magnificent especially as we can sit back and watch Steve set it ablaze. I manage to save the old wicker chairs for another life by giving them to him to take to his parents. The chain saw starts and we're able to add some dead limbs to the pile. At the end of the day, in spite of our limited labors, Judy and I are achey and tired, but thankful to be here after a long winter.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Sunday March 23, 2008



Sunny and cool, we ate at Ollies. Judy had the Asian version of 'pot stickers,' which I promised myself that I would try. As it was Easter we walked over to St. John the Divine. They were charging $5 and the nave was boarded up, so we went to see if we could find the white peacock. Along the way we saw crocuses, [Judy says there two kinds, 'species' and 'hybrid'] squill and yellow jonquil. Why is it that I forget the name squill from year to year. It was that forgetting, this year, that prompted me to write this blog. We heard the peacock and walked around the small park looking for him/her. There she was looking like a dirty piece of snow in the shrubs. As we watched she came out and walked around, carrying her tail bundled up behind her like a giant stiff pony tail. I took a couple of pictures, but it was a bit sad not to see her in her full display. Just then Judy saw a hawk, perched on the wing of the great statue. I took a few pictures, but at that distance they were blurred. We stopped at the Hungarian pastry shop. It was a joy to look at such beautiful creations without getting that full feeling. By the time we got home I had logged 4000 steps on my pedometer and my legs were aching.