A weekend with friends

Monday, July 14, 2014

Our first week at the lake has come and gone, but it was an event-filled week with our good friends visiting from San Francisco for the 4^th.

I’ll keep the talking to a minimum this week because there are lots of pictures to share.

Starting with our last day in New York…Fearing a summer without museums, we spent our last day at The Met followed by a walk through Central Park….

The next morning, we packed our bags, and set off on our 2-month journey…

It’s good to be here. No unpacking, no rush. Just time to settle into a summer full of lawn sprinklers and impromptu dances…

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NYC

New York City in watercolor

Monday, June 30, 2014

The Meatpacking District

We have news!

I’m not pregnant. But our family is experiencing a seismic shift on par with a new baby at home. Almost….

We’ve moved to the lake for the summer! Goodbye city streets, hello water, paddleboards, and jumping crickets.

While I’m excited about a lazy summer at the lake, it’s sad to leave New York. I love the city, its grit and its beauty. As a farewell, I thought I’d put together a collection of some of my favorite city moments from the past year, all seen through the hazy lens of watercolor. From last Summer, to our long-awaited Spring, a glimpse of NYC through the seasons:

Chelsea water tower

Bubbles blow on Sixth Avenue

The Richard Meier Buildings, West Village
continue reading

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NYC

Central Park Zoo: A Pride event

Monday, June 23, 2014

We’re lucky enough to call New York’s Chelsea neighborhood home. It’s diverse and energetic, always up for a good time. Particularly when June rolls around and Gay Pride celebrations kick into high gear. Lauren once said that we live in the most beautiful place on Earth because it’s full of rainbows. An astute observation from a then-4-year-old kid, who noticed that hundreds (if not thousands) of rainbow flags flutter above our neighborhood storefronts.

One of our neighbors co-hosts the J.P.Morgan-sponsored Pride event held in the Central Park Zoo every year.

The kids look forward to the end of June every year, which marks both the end of school and the Pride event at the zoo.

Usually the Tropical Zone is open, but for some reason, this year, it was closed. But I do have a few pictures of the blazingly warm pavilion from last year. The Tropical Zone houses all kinds of exotic animals, from rare species of birds, to lemurs, and more creepy crawlies than I’d typically like to see in one sitting, including Pythons and Tarantulas.

And the birds…there are the most beautiful species of birds in the Zoo. This was Sam right before the husband and wife pair in the background got into a huge marital spat and accidentally cuffed him in the head with their wings.

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing that it was closed this year.

But we did have our regular Sea Lion show. “The seals, guys, the seals!” I called as the trainers got ready for the show. At which point a well-coiffed man in front of me exclaimed to his daughter “aren’t you excited for the SEA LIONS?” Apparently zoo animal classification is critical to some people. Not to me, ballpark is good enough.

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Family

New Jersey power boat races

Monday, June 16, 2014

At the risk of sounding like a one-trick pony, we had another fun weekend up at the lake this weekend.

In what’s supposed to be an annual event, but doesn’t always happen, our lake plays host to the New Jersey power boat races, which draws racers from all over North America.

Since we’re heading into our fourth summer up there, and have missed this weekend on occasion, it was our first time seeing the event live. And it’s a pretty amazing event, lasting two days. The boats are built like race cars with carbon fiber restraints that keep the drivers safe in case of a crash. As you can imagine, having 2-5 boats on the water at a time makes a ton of noise.

But it’s pretty fun to kick back with a beer or two and watch the event. Since the races were happening right in front of our house, we got to view them from every vantage point, including up on the porch…

…and down on the dock.

I mixed up a batch of Micheladas, my first time giving the recipe a try, and although it wasn’t Rodney’s favorite cocktail, I’m totally hooked. Definitely my new summer drink.

Although the girls lost interest in the boat races pretty early, I had two other viewing companions…

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Family

15 houseguests = 1 big party

Monday, June 9, 2014

We were out for dinner a few weeks ago and the topic of the lake came up, and “yes, the boat is in the water, and oh, the kids will love it, we MADE AN HERB GARDEN!” and suddenly we had 15 people planning to descend on our little home.

Which always makes me happy and gives us an excuse to use our 10+ beds (two rooms have bunks and trundles, please erase any mental pictures of a castle on a hill).

But the best part about hosting for a weekend is that I have every excuse needed to spend 2 days in the kitchen preparing food.

And of course, hunting and gathering at the Union Square Farmer’s market for some treats beforehand.

When we got up to the lake on Friday evening, the kids were eager to check out the herb garden, which despite my black thumb, has grown more lush by the minute.

I realized quickly that animal-shaped watering cans are the key to child labor, and put them to work doing all of the weeding and watering while I oversaw the process with a glass of white in my hand.

We’d just finished watering the herbs when storm clouds gathered above and drenched us with rain while the sun continued to set over the Appalachian trail. It was our first sun shower together, such a beautiful moment.