Presenting ...

For the first time ...

On stage, at Carnegie Hall ...


Following a nice, filling dinner at Carnegie Deli ...


Performing with the New York Pops ... (and possibly the shortest instrumentalist on the stage) ...

Little Squid!!!

Can a mother be any prouder?

Oh, and he did great! He was one of only 6 flutists total -- and only three were pros. The other three, Little Squid included, were Junior High School kids. And one of the pieces the kids played in was flute heavy.

Of Caching and Good Deeds

On this last day of break Squidette decided that she wanted to get in on the caching fun. As Squidette, Little Squid and I had a commitment at the synagogue, mid-morning, we decided to subway uptown on the west side and walk across Central Park to our destination, detouring for a cache or two.We aimed for two and found one on the first leg of our journey, then hustled across town for a little bit of Good Deed doing.
On our way across town we stopped briefly to admire Cleopatra's Needle and the crabs holding it upright.

Two hours later, deeds done, we grabbed sandwiches from a local shop and headed back to Central Park via a street side cache (really quick grab by Not-So-Little Squid) and ate our lunch al fresco next to the Alice in Wonderland Statue (where the cache had gone missing).
Onwards, past some pretty flowers, we hustled to another Did-not-find where we were met by Mike on his bike. He stayed with us while we hunted out and found another cache and then he rode back home while the kids and I attempted three more caches and found two for a total of 8 attempted and 5 found for the day. That makes 11 in the last three days!

Very little crafting got done but I do intend to now put on my audio book and do some prep work for the next set of carding. As I prep this roving I'm realizing that the dye did not soak in as much as I would have liked so I may wind up redying this once it is spun. I won't try it again now for fear of felting it.

Of Bike Rides, Geocaching and Worm Leavings

Yesterday was the first breakfast ride of the year. We traversed the Brooklyn Bridge, rode along the Brooklyn waterfront and dined in full view of the Statue of Liberty.
The orange boat? The Staten Island Ferry, of course!

We enjoyed muffins, scones and croissants much to the childrens' dismay. (They were looking forward to apple fritters which were not to be had.)

Riding home we took a new path that allowed us to avoid a rather steep hill . That said, we still gained the elevation but were able to do so much more gradually and, for my part, without shifting gears.

We hit the Greenmarket and returned the tote bag to the Worm Compost Lady. Yes, our Greenmarket has a Worm Compost Lady. She sells 5, 10 and 20 pound bags of worm leavings. Last weekend Mike went to the Greenmarket while the children and I were doing something else (I forget what) and he asked about the compost. Since he did not have the shopping cart with him, he was reluctant to buy the 20 pounds I had asked for. The Worm Lady really wanted to make the sale so she offered him her sturdy tote bag to schlep it home in.

Needlesss to say, my balcony plants are now well composted. I mixed about 3/4 of the compost into my not-yet-planted pots (the peas having been enriched with the last of last years' worm poop) and now the soil is looking all nice and dark brown again.

(Worm leavings, by the way, unlike those of other animals, do NOT smell! I'd love to have a worm bin of my own but have not yet figured out how to keep Maria from cleaning it. )

Since then two tomato plants have been added to the pots and I still need to obtain two more for this years' "Squid Farm."

Riding home, we viewed the usual sites, including this homeless person lounging outside the church next to our home. (That's Not-So-Little Squid in the foreground.)
To be fair, the church houses a soup kitchen so it is actually unusual not to see down-on-their-luck folk outside of it.

Once home, I resumed my dying and then ventured forth once more with Little Squid to do some Geocaching. He and I had done some bike caching on Friday and decided to test our luck with some caches within walking distance. We scored 2 for 2 yesterday and 4 for 8 on Friday, bringing our total to 70 found caches. We might do some upper east side caches today, time permitting.

Home again, I carded up some of the dying from a few days earlier ...
Pretty! Now I'm prepping the next color for the carder while awaiting delivery of my Woolee Winder before I start spinning.

Catch Up Time

Spring Break started something like this ...

yes, that is a chicken bone ... they were out of lamb shanks.

The break continued with some finishing ...
and more finishing ...
As well as some nice beginnings ...

(Those are peas if you are confused.)

And then there was some dying ...

And a little bit of yogurt making ...
Only a little bike riding due to the weather. And, lots and lots of matzah.

And then there was the worm poop ... I dare you to ask!

Of Costumes and Concerts

The kids performed yesterday as part of their borowide band program. My camera work leaves much to be desired ...

Not Carnegie, rather the stage of JHS 99, but just as wonderful. They brought tears to my eyes!

Today was spent sewing poodle skirts ... 7 down, 6 to go. (One pink and two each of the other colors.)
Imagine the neck ribbing almost done on the vest, armholes yet to be started.

More Costume Progress

Imagine if you will, a stack of 8 soon-to-be poodle skirts and matching neck scarves sitting pinned and awaiting the first pass through the sewing machine. Then imagine the pieces of the remaining 5 sitting on my floor.

Include in that image an argyle vest that is 2/3s sewn and awaiting addition of neck and armhole finishing.

That's where we now stand.

Tomorrow ... laundry, poodle skirt sewing and perhaps some vest finishing.

What about the sweater I promised to finish?

Sweater? What sweater? Yea, it may not make it's Passover Premier as I had hoped due to my obsession with poodle skirts.