Picnic

The weather has been so beautiful lately and I love sitting on the grass. So I suggested having a picnic with our friends/neighbors, Z. V. and R. But it rained on Saturday (wet ground) and according to the weather report it was supposed to rain at exactly 3:00, when we had planned to meet. So we ended up having the picnic inside on the 26th floor. Not only do Z. and V. have an amazing view, they have a terrace!
Looking east over Central Park and the Reservoir.
The view to the west: the Hudson River and New Jersey.
Sparks was invited and he wanted to act really nice, but it is hard for him to resist his mischievous inclinations. Here he is harassing Mr.
Thank goodness our friends are so good-natured about him.

This is Kasey, R.'s bulldog. She is pretty much the anti-thesis of Sparks in every way. He is a demanding maniac and she prefers napping/chilling to everything. They can agree on Treats. I do think that Z. is winning Sparks heart straight through his tummy. She is really dying to pet him and he is usually quite aloof.


She is such a beauty queen!!!

Bag lady

My latest obsession is trying to do what I can to reduce my waste and energy consumption. These are my grocery bags! I use the purple one the most. When I go to the store I have to blurt out "I have a bag!" and then I thank the ladies profusely for helping me to stuff my groceries into it. Recently, though, I have been going rather far out of my way to shop at the greenmarket downtown. I am really interested in the variety of produce and products. People are bringing artisanal cheeses, breads, pickles, jams, wine, and pretzels. That sounds like a bizarre meal, but they also have produce, meats, dairy and plants. The farmers are all from within the tri-state area and the woman who did my wedding flowers has a stand there. Besides learning what foods are in season and local, I am inclined to try things that I haven't had before. Like black edamame, fiddlehead ferns, and sunflower sprouts.
On an eco-show on Sundance channel, I heard the comment that we we vote for the things we want with every dollar that we spend. I believe that is true. Another really interesting thing I learned on that program was about a restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas called Local Burger. They get their grass fed beef from down the road and support their local farmers. Yeehaw!


This is all the food that was in my handknitted bags!!! Plus two bags of compost....
I have slowly been switching to less chemical filled laundry and dish detergents, body wash, shampoo, and toothpaste. It is all lavender flavored- which I love. My apartment is small, but we have a lot of electronics. So I switched our energy to ConEd Green Solutions. Supposedly, we pay a penny more per kilowatt for wind and hydro- energy. Mr. wanted a new AC, which was fine as long as we got an Energy Star one. He also recycled our old one by leaving it on the sidewalk with a sign that said it worked. It was gone in about 5 minutes. I have been unplugging things that aren't in use at night or the majority of the day. But I have many weaknesses like my iPod, cellphone, and computer.
I am really inspired by this blog- No Impact Man: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/. Colin and his family have been weaning themselves off fossil fuels, packaged food, and electricity. He is not preachy about his experiences and writes beautifully about the change of pace in life and things that hold real value for him, like making food for his family.

There are a lot of things in the world I have opinions about that might be moral or political or personal preference. But I actually feel that this is not one of them. Whether global warming is happening and the sky is falling or it is a giant myth that is created by the media, using less and being more conscientious feels right and makes me happier.

My Garden

For the last couple of years I have planted some flowers in front of my apartment. Last year I did begonias and they grew well. We are on the north side of the street and only have full sun in the morning. However, the largest threat to my garden is people. They pick the flowers or steal the plants. Sometimes people sit on them, let their dogs go poo on them, or throw trash at them. Really, it is so ridiculous. But I refuse to give up.

I almost always put in geraniums- they remind me of my dad.
Marigolds- just needed some new color. But they aren't going to get all big and bushy, so in a few weeks I think I will move them to the outside edges and fill the middle with petunias or pansies....or begonias.
The macro setting on my camera makes me want to get really close to flowers.....
Aren't they sooooooo cute????

Our weekend

We took a big walk in the park Sunday. I had to teach a couple of lessons, so I stepped out with Sparks and waited for Mr. in valley under the cherry blossoms. Most of them have fallen off, but they are so velvety soft and pretty on Sparks' hair. He is in his watchful waiting stance.
"He's here! He's here! He's here!" This is Sparks crazy leash activity which indicates how excited he is to see you. He is always very excited to see Mr.

We went to Turtle pond and visited Morton and Footfoot. We used to have two red-eared sliders that lived with us in our last apartment. They were enormous and smelly and not really charismatic. So when we got our smaller apartment, they got a new home here. It is full of turtles, everyone who has bought the bright green quarter-sized turtles in Chinatown, bring them here when they get too big. You can see them sunning themselves on the rocks. They also do their funny "falling in love" dance in the water. The boys shake their long fingernails at the girls faces and the girls tell them to get lost.
Enough flowers already! I just can't resist taking tons of photos of flowers....plus I am trying to figure out our new camera.
Last night we went way downtown to meet some friends and see Spiderman. It was ok. This is the Woolworth building and someone's super cool apartment.

Better things

Despite changes to our neighborhood, I really like our teeny tiny apartment. Here is Sparks guarding the gates of the castle...


Mr. keeps saying these are "pungent", but I really dislike that word. So I would say they are "smelly" and I like the smell.

This really sucks

So I am walking around the corner in a blissful haze of flowergazing to see people disbanding the Claremont Riding Academy. http://www.potomachorse.com/clarmont.html. It was the oldest continuously operated equestrian stable in New York City. I loved everything about having it in my neighborhood: seeing the horses trot past traffic, smelling the hay, and watching them on the bridle path in Central Park was like magic. I feel really bummed out about this, as I do about a couple of other NYC things that I adored. Around the new year, my favorite bookstore, Ivy's, closed suddenly and I was pretty heartbroken. The rents go up on these places or, in the case of Claremont, they are sold for development. It is kind of taking the soul out of the city.

More blossoms

This is the Community Garden about two blocks from our apt. Sparks and I walk through here about everyday. One of my favorite places.

Today was just about perfect. The weather was so lovely and mild.

my hood

This is a path I "discovered" in Central Park on the west side of the reservoir. In fact, I walk the dog and jog here at least once or twice a week. In previous years, I guess I somehow missed it in this slim window of springtime glory. Now, I don't care that I missed going to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

my awesome dog

It is sick how much I love this pooch. He looks like he swallowed a bug....

my first post

This a photo from Central Park of the El Dorado building. The blossoms have been amazing the last couple of days- but it rained tonight, so they might all have fallen down.