Apr. 27th, 2009 04:39 pm
New York and Gardening
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mizarchivistSo, let's see.
Friday- there was mostly just wandering around. There was also a lovely flurry of phone calls and texts- thanks! We did a fair bit of hipster-spotting and sat in Central Park a bit before returning to Brooklyn for a rest before evening festivities. Dinner at Morimoto was as excellent as you might expect. I'll letpurple_terror do the write up, though. It certainly ranks up there with best meals ever. It also took 2 1/2 hours to experience, so there was no post meal entertainment.
Saturday- bummed around, made breakfast with my host, Joe. We both went out around the same time, bought almost precisely the same ingredients (down to size of egg and brand of cream cheese), and returned at the same time to a bit of amused bafflement. Joe thought perhaps I'd have to take home a lot of this food, as there was just so much of it. Not a real concern, though. Aunt Leslie and Uncle Giles were also in residence, plus p_t, YT, and the other half of the hosting, Susan.
That afternoon, my relations from upstate NY arrived and it was quite jolly. My cousin, Katherine, has been accepted to Yale but she never thought she'd get in and had her heart set on an obscure liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere. I appreciate she needs to get to her own decision, but seriously! Yale!! The end of this week will see the end of the suspense.
Dinner was at Madras Cafe, by The Bowery. It's a vegan Indian restaurant (kosher, too?) - I highly recommend. We'd been there before and it's Leslie's favorite. She says it's just like eating in India. She goes there rather frequently, so she'd know.
Giles's show -did sets and lights- was pretty good. Obscure Gilbert and Sullivan: Ruddigore. If you've heard any G&S you know what it sounded like and for that matter about how the plot wound. The performers had excellent voices. The downside was it was an echo-chamber of a church basement, so sitting at the back was a challenge.
Sunday- Mostly just packing up, then off to the innards of Brooklyn to meet yet other cousins who'd moved to the city not that long ago. All 3 are my dad's older sister's kids. Pretty sure we'd not seen each other in about 11 years. We now have the goal of meeting up again soon and not because of a funeral. The return trip via a Chinatown bus: rather torturous with no AC and it was well above 90 when we left. Also the double pane of glass I was sitting next to was filthy from condensation and about half a gallon of trapped water sloshed the whole way. Bolt next time anyone? Oh yes.
Gardening! The beans were, as estimated, about to eat the ceiling when I returned. They've been relocated outside. Some have been separated out for folk to take. I also planted the last of the packet just in case the shock of moving does them in. I'm trying the grow upside down trick with tomatoes- have a hanging wrought iron hook that stands about 6+ feet tall but is not really strong enough for all that dirt, water, and plant. But should be OK for now. Wilson Farm has provided some lettuce (again) and some more broccoli that looked a bit more hearty than what I started from seed. My extra tomato plants have been shifted to peat pots for more easy planting or gifting.
Friday- there was mostly just wandering around. There was also a lovely flurry of phone calls and texts- thanks! We did a fair bit of hipster-spotting and sat in Central Park a bit before returning to Brooklyn for a rest before evening festivities. Dinner at Morimoto was as excellent as you might expect. I'll let
purple_terror do the write up, though. It certainly ranks up there with best meals ever. It also took 2 1/2 hours to experience, so there was no post meal entertainment. Saturday- bummed around, made breakfast with my host, Joe. We both went out around the same time, bought almost precisely the same ingredients (down to size of egg and brand of cream cheese), and returned at the same time to a bit of amused bafflement. Joe thought perhaps I'd have to take home a lot of this food, as there was just so much of it. Not a real concern, though. Aunt Leslie and Uncle Giles were also in residence, plus p_t, YT, and the other half of the hosting, Susan.
That afternoon, my relations from upstate NY arrived and it was quite jolly. My cousin, Katherine, has been accepted to Yale but she never thought she'd get in and had her heart set on an obscure liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere. I appreciate she needs to get to her own decision, but seriously! Yale!! The end of this week will see the end of the suspense.
Dinner was at Madras Cafe, by The Bowery. It's a vegan Indian restaurant (kosher, too?) - I highly recommend. We'd been there before and it's Leslie's favorite. She says it's just like eating in India. She goes there rather frequently, so she'd know.
Giles's show -did sets and lights- was pretty good. Obscure Gilbert and Sullivan: Ruddigore. If you've heard any G&S you know what it sounded like and for that matter about how the plot wound. The performers had excellent voices. The downside was it was an echo-chamber of a church basement, so sitting at the back was a challenge.
Sunday- Mostly just packing up, then off to the innards of Brooklyn to meet yet other cousins who'd moved to the city not that long ago. All 3 are my dad's older sister's kids. Pretty sure we'd not seen each other in about 11 years. We now have the goal of meeting up again soon and not because of a funeral. The return trip via a Chinatown bus: rather torturous with no AC and it was well above 90 when we left. Also the double pane of glass I was sitting next to was filthy from condensation and about half a gallon of trapped water sloshed the whole way. Bolt next time anyone? Oh yes.
Gardening! The beans were, as estimated, about to eat the ceiling when I returned. They've been relocated outside. Some have been separated out for folk to take. I also planted the last of the packet just in case the shock of moving does them in. I'm trying the grow upside down trick with tomatoes- have a hanging wrought iron hook that stands about 6+ feet tall but is not really strong enough for all that dirt, water, and plant. But should be OK for now. Wilson Farm has provided some lettuce (again) and some more broccoli that looked a bit more hearty than what I started from seed. My extra tomato plants have been shifted to peat pots for more easy planting or gifting.
I'm amused that I wasn't the only one
Sorry about the bus thing. Sounds like the family gathering was great, but I can see how you'd be wiped out.
(For the record, a vegan restaurant is de facto kosher. In NYC they'd need a certificate to claim that, but any reasonable rabbi would pro forma it.)
Re: I'm amused that I wasn't the only one
I had the passing thought that perhaps I'd go down for a week, then take advantage of the commuter train system there to go up to Poughkeepsie to see my aunt (harder to do from this angle and not as cheap)- but now I'm thinking 2 trips: one for The City and one for The Country is required.