sopwith59

07:30 pm: Henry and me in Central Park this afternoon...
The light was especially beautiful. And Henry seemed to love this part of the park (near West 100th Street), all the flora and fauna...

10:46 am: Best laid plans, rearranged...
My brother just called to tell me the Guggenheim Museum is closed Thursdays!

I'd never have guessed that. So much for our plan.

But he said today he'll come uptown and let me treat him to lunch... and we can try the museum on Saturday, instead...

Kandinsky, see you in a couple of days...

06:55 pm: A birthday cake for Henry

On November 5, Thursday, I'll be meeting my brother Henry to celebrate his 54th birthday.

How is that possible?

Weren't we just 17 and 21 years old, gallivanting around Europe together with our Eurail passes? (sigh.)

The tentative plan is that we'll go to the Guggenheim Museum to see the Kandinsky exhibit, admission will be my treat, and I'll give him some gifts I've carefully chosen and wrapped...

as well as cake!

Either I'll hand over a box containing the entire cake I baked today, or present only some portion of it--in the interests of helping his self-restraint (as he is borderline-diabetic, and baking sweets for him is not doing him the greatest favor). But this is a special occasion, after all...

Anyway, I enjoyed the elaborate cake-baking process this morning. I'd been thinking about a recipe from a blog written by my brilliant OB-GYN, Peggy Polaneczky, whose many interests include baking.

http://theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com/2009/10/chocolate-chip-birthday-cake.html

Since I'd been considering this for a little while, I'd already bought the Presto self-rising cake flour and milk, but had to run out for more eggs (as this recipe calls for separating four and I didn't realize I was down to three).

Huff, puff! Back from the supermarket, ready to go... I decided to begin by whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks, then spooning them into another bowl, cleaning the stand mixer's bowl, and proceeding with the other steps: creaming butter and sugar, etc. I used the blender to grind the mini chocolate chips into a mix of chips-and-powder, as described on the blog.








































I'd carefully sprinkled grated chocolate across the top, but after baking, what resulted was a central puddle. I guess the rising batter made all the small pieces of chocolate slide downhill.



Okay, I confess I cut myself a small piece tonight. I had to make sure the cake was a success!





My verdict: satisfactory!
Okay... even better than that. Very, very good.
Not to be conceited about this or anything...

01:14 pm: A long, lurid tail...
...is what this scarf will be when it's finished.

Recently, browsing in one of the 99-cent discount stores in Kensington, Bruce's new neighborhood, I noticed an array of yarn hung on a back wall.

Only one skein remained of this bright orange acrylic, perhaps having been bought up for Halloween use--but in any case, in such circumstances I tend to pounce, as if the lone item were calling out, "My kind is very popular! See, I'm the only one left!"

Maybe I will have to nerve to wear this come Thanksgiving, or else it may be some unlucky friend's Christmas gift...



I have certainly been seeing a lot of orange lately, and even finding myself wearing the hue, at times--e.g. I have this jacket, an Icelandic brand called Cintamani, in "tangerine."



And I have this Patagonia top in "wild salmon":



I've always tended to wear a lot of gray, black, and neutral colors.
Huh. Maybe I'm reinventing myself... yeah, that's the ticket... as a pumpkin?

12:52 pm: NYC Marathon Expo, inexorable vortex of hoopla, celeb sightings, and stuff!

I rose early yesterday and by ten o'clock had found my way to a desolate stretch of 11th Avenue. At 33rd Street I entered the belly of a vast glass and metal-beamed behemoth.

The Jacob Javits Center was full of nervous, lanky, sneaker-clad people--runners from all over the world soon to take part in the 40th running of the NYC Marathon (tomorrow morning).

O the ransacking of racks of shiny clothes, the flashing of bills and credit cards, the scuttle of fingers toward free samples, pens, memo pads, rubber bracelets, candy... I walked wide aisles named for the boroughs, between mountains of shoes, gloves, socks, caps, tops, shorts, tights, and gizmos, all claiming to hold innovative magic: windproof, odor-fighting, energy-boosting, spine-aligning...

The Marathon Expo brings out the avaricious consumer in everyone, including those who might have first embraced the sport for being simple, spartan, with no need for costly gear.

And I, who care nothing at all (ahem) about celebrities, ended up having my photo snapped with one.



While my friends Sharon and Bonnie approached the counter for their goodie bags and t-shirts, I spotted Anthony Edwards, the actor. (I used to watch "ER" now and then, over a decade ago.) 

Edwards stood beside his friend Toby Tanser, a local running coach with whom I am slightly acquainted. (We've exchanged emails and most recently, compared notes on Iceland where Toby spent some of his youth.)

I summoned the nerve to tap Toby on the shoulder and say hi.  I also found myself gushing to his friend.

"I've seen your video clip!"  I told the probably-jaded-by-fan-adulation actor. (I meant the humorous video in the link below, which Toby had shared on facebook). "I'm a big fan. Can I take a photo of you guys?"

"Let me take one of you  two," Toby said--hence the photo above, where I look a bit starstruck and Anthony Edwards a bit reluctant. (Later, though, the PA system announced the booth where he was appearing. I guess he's not that shy.)

 "Good to see you!" Toby said finally, smiling, polite and charming as always.

I might add that Toby is a founder of Shoe4Africa, a charity to which I've donated, and which Anthony Edwards (his best buddy, I am told)  helps to promote. AE is running the marathon this year, and has been interviewed about it in the NY Times and Runners World. The guy gets around.

He also made a funny video pretending to be a clueless jerk of an actor readying for the marathon, anticipating that it will be just like a "five-hour TV special!"

The clip is at Anthony Edwards returns to TV in the NYC Marathon from Anthony Edwards - Video


Later, I told my mother about the encounter. I know she thinks Anthony Edwards is cute.

"He's married, you know," she said.

10:07 am: Smörgås Chef

Yesterday was one of those rainy, windy days that could easily inspire a rain-check request... but Bruce and I met for lunch, my treat. We were celebrating his birthday (which was Monday the 26th) at Smörgås Chef West Village. It was our first time at this place: cozy, uncrowded, unpretentious. We were wet and a bit cranky, but we drippingly, appreciatively settled into a booth.

Bruce ordered a Bass beer and the gravlax sandwich; I had seafood chowder and a "Nordic Caesar salad" (though it didn't seem particularly Nordic to me).

I used the 15%-off discount coupon I'd received at the Norwegian Festival.

"I was there! Did you see me?" asked our server, Gabrielle, a pleasant, grinning girl in a very low-cut, abbreviated floral dress and boots. ("Her cleavage is fun," Bruce remarked as she bounced off.)

Gabrielle handed me two cards that offer future discounts if I go online, complete a survey, comment on her service (that's how I learned her name) and then receive a code.

Hmm. Should I complain about the fact that she foisted on us... I mean, heartily recommended a dessert as her favorite, riskrem, "rice cream with cherries and almonds"? Nah. Bruce admitted it was "chalky in texture" but pleasant in flavor.

As we were leaving, we were informed that the two men in the next booth had also used that discount coupon. "Did you run?" Bruce asked the two elderly fellows. "My roommate did," replied one man. (Roommate? Or is his unemployed grandson living with him, I wondered.)

We ventured back into the damp outdoors. Later, Bruce said he was running a fever. As I said, not the best day to be out and about.

07:55 pm: Floored!
Bruce's new rug from Pottery Barn arrived a few days ago, and today I helped him move the sofa back, unroll the rug pad, put it in place, and unfurl the rug over that. The place is looking better and better... (His brother Jack and sister-in-law Hope will see the apartment for the first time tomorrow.)

One day soon, I'm sure we'll get around to watching a DVD on his new 46-inch flat-screen television. My vicarious enjoyment of modern conveniences continues apace...

09:12 am: Candy is dandy...

but wrappers are... dapper!? (Apologies to Ogden Nash.) Many thanks to Alphistia for the gift of these pulchritudinous confections


/

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08:31 pm: Continuing to help Bruce move...
We swept, tossed, gathered, toted...

08:19 pm: Go Koong!


Today Alphistia (aka Tony) and I ate a hearty lunch, at a fairly new Korean restaurant across from his place. Go Koong ("Korean Well-Being Cuisine" per the business card) is at 41-16 Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside. Their website is http://www.gokoong.com

I hope they prosper. Based on our experience this afternoon, I'd say they have a lot going for them: wonderfully tasty food in abundant portions, attractive decor, and superbly attentive and generous service... for instance, we were given this complimentary hot egg-custard dish...





The appetizers of sea weed and kimchi, and hot broth, were fine... and hit the spot on this rainy day. Also, it helped that we were starved.



Alphistia's main course, beef bugolgi, was stirred by our friendly waiter:



My hot pot of seafood, vegetables and rice made me very happy.



We also received complimentary dessert beverages, a mysterious fruity concoction we guessed might contain raspberry juice.



I even liked their restroom.

08:32 am: Something to scarf at...

Here's a photo of just some of the scarves I've knitted over the past year. I don't have enough necks or lifetime of winter days to make this sensible.

But I was democratic in my choice of materials--or should I say, not too fussy.  Mostly, I used cheap skeins dredged from a bin at the local 99-cent store... but sometimes treated myself to better yarns from Yarntopia (a shop-with-attitude on Amsterdam Avenue) and Icelandic wool from one of the  Hand-knitters' Association shops in Reykjavik.

What next--tiny articles of neckwear for the plushren?

09:14 pm: More of Kensington

We had lunch again today at Connie's Cafe, a decent diner around the corner from Bruce's new place.

Indifferent service: college girls, maybe.

For instance, I requested dry toast with my omelet, adding "No butter please" just to be explicit--and finally received it slathered in butter. Oh well.

I gave it to Bruce, decided to say nothing to the waitress.

When we got the bill, Bruce saw that it did read "DRY TOAST." Does this mean something else in the land of Kensington? ;)

Not to complain. The food there isn't bad at all.

Fortified, we then continued to explore the neighborhood. Mexican restaurants, Bangladeshi groceries...

Kabir's Bakery  where I bought a strange confection called Cashew Burfee... all in all, quite a mix.

Also a hideous public school alongside a traditional-looking post office, some ugly brick rowhouses...

many lovely front gardens and some horrifying Halloween decorations.


























  

09:35 pm: Bruce's move to Kensington
Today was momentous for my dear friend Bruce (aka Adlai48 here on LiveJournal, and one of the few readers of this blog).

He made the move to a new apartment in Kensington, Brooklyn, about a mile and a half (i.e., two F train stops) from the Park Slope place (364 Twelfth Street) that he'd called home for seventeen years.






Bruce's landlady Dolly (may she rest in peace) had been a lover of plushren:



On Monday and Tuesday, I helped out, packing about 27 boxes of books, and then a few boxes of music CD's and miscellaneous stuff.

Today, movers from Santini Brothers arrived to transport those boxes and the furniture. The head of the crew had a brogue and told us he was from Belfast.

(Soon after, Bruce noted to me, he was finding himself adopting a slight Irish accent.)

At 135 Ocean Parkway, Apartment 17A:









The view from that top floor of the building is pretty nice:



Later, we explored the neighborhood a little, finding an eclectic ethnic mix (dare you to say that three times fast!): yeshivas and Catholic churches; shops of Indian, Chinese, Polish food... and of course, the indispensable potpourri of 99-cent discount stores...








A schoolyard around the corner:




(Bruce doesn't have computer access yet at his new place, so he won't see this entry right away. Hope he approves!)

01:19 pm: Bernice Marashinsky Bergtraum
This morning I scanned some old photos of my mom. How I treasure them! Unfortunately, some have been a bit damaged. I want to look for more (to rescue and scan) sometime when I'm in the Connecticut apartment again, as that's where many of the old family albums are tucked away...

09:02 am: A Shakespeare Coloring Book, © 1970 by Bellerophon Books
At eleven, I must have believed that coloring very, very carefully within the lines would somehow ensure the safety and well-being of myself and all family members and friends. What other explanation for this?

12:31 pm: surprise snapshot
A week or so ago, this photo arrived in the mail, sent by my brother. My estimate is that it's from the summer of 2003 or 2004, an evening when a bunch of us gathered to hear the Philharmonic in Central Park.

07:17 am: stupid hair tricks? smart hair?


No, I wasn't hanging upside down to achieve this effect. Just gave my hair a quick, vigorous brushing. At first I was aghast at the result but then noticed the resemblance to...




Probably a cousin.

01:16 pm: blueberry cream cheese pie
Inspiration and guidelines came from Pat Willard's Pie Every Day (a book I'd never consulted before) and David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris (no one is more knowledgeable and expert than he):









I made the crust from melted butter, sugar, and  "Anna's Pepparkakor" (spice cookies bought a week ago, at IKEA in Red Hook) pulverized in the food processor:





Batter (8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature, 1/4 cup sugar, freshly grated lemon zest, vanilla extract, two eggs) also whipped up in the food processor:




Voila,  after about a half-hour in the oven (at 375F):




A pint of blueberries, brought to a boil with 1/3 cup water (and sugar added to taste) and to thicken, just a bit of cornstarch (feh) dissolved in water:




I decided to toss in a few remaining uncooked berries:




Final steps:











Mmmmmmmmmm..........

12:11 pm: "I don't want a pickle..."
Arlo Guthrie performed last night at Castle Clinton (Battery Park), a free concert that drew long lines. A good time was had by all...
 
 














A bit of his finale:

03:30 pm: from "Beyond," Dan Graham exhibition at Whitney Museum