9AM- Day Sixty-Six

Breakfast in Brooklyn after the day in Hospital

9AM Day Fifty-Two

 A lovely balmy morning

Before 9AM we said hello to Spencer

9AM- Day Twenty

The initial purpose of taking photos at the same time each day was to show the changes in light and circumstance in my day. It's also proving to show the changing weather patterns. 

It was like this all day.

Donuts

Arlene brought donuts to the crafting night. 

A “pioneer” when it comes to “decadent”, “drool-worthy donuts”, this Lower East Side factory and its roomier offshoots supply “sublime” examples, “fried, baked, glazed and stuffed” in 35 seasonally rotating “marvelous”, “wild flavors” like chestnut, tres leches, blackout and PB&J;, all made with “fresh, natural ingredients”; it's “kinda pricey” and you should “be prepared for long lines”, but “you'll forget about” all that “from bite one.”

She brought chocolate, vanilla, creme brulee and raspberry.

Work

Light and clouds

Autumn on its way

 Hard to believe that summer is over and the signs of autumn are beginning to appear. I thins case it is a browning and deadening of leaves as opposed to yellowing and orange-ing.

Then of course there are the blossoms of late summer.

Messy

Oh my...heading to work one small step at a time...slowly...heavy bag slung on my shoulder...thinking how did I do this during the school year.
Falling asleep in a chair waiting for the principal to return to do more work. Apologizing to teachers because I need to sit down between moving tables.

This was jet lag at its worst.

Lagged!!!

Jet lagged that is....how long can one loll on one's bed in one's jammies. The fact that I was going to work on Monday and being alone in the apartment meant that I could just lie around all day. However I failed to let Maria know that I was here, I should have thanked her straight away for watering the plants and bringing up the mail.
I'm not sure who was the most surprised Maria and Cathy come to water the plants or me awakened from and afternoon doze in a vain effort to adjust to time zones.

Architecture

Just some of the architecture I have seen over the past few days all seen in August.

A bus shelter decoration

The move...

 
 The time had come... to leave 37B ... it's been home for 6 years but time and changing work has meant I needed to find a one bedroom place.

Getting the packing done was a gradual process.

Some things weren't going to the new apartment. Packing the kitchen and the books was slow but steady work. 

Finding places to stack the boxes was important

 The shiny clean new apartment went from this lovely shiny-ness

 To a cluttered view of boxes and unplaced items

 But by 5pm all was in place in the kitchen , the lounge area and the bedroom.

All that is left is to hang the pictures and get the cable on and the final lot of books on the shelves.

Very pleased with the apartment and .... myself!

Blogtoger #29 Arrival

It's tempting to post the photo of my visa page which arrived in my passport however I am not going to only because the photo is so severe and I'd like to think that that is not what I am like!

 However that being said the day finally arrived when I could walk to the post office and pick up my parcel containing my new visa from the US consulate. A bit of a false start to the collection...I walked over the the post office and as I was getting my delivery notification card out I went to get my driver's licence out and realized it is in my other purse back at the house.

So a brisk walk home and a brisk walk back and I was able to hold my passport and visa again. All very comforting.
It is the perfect time to be in Melbourne... today that is given the weather and the gardens are just lovely.

Have had windows open and balmy breezes blowing and the scent of the mock orange floats in on the breeze.

The roses are loving the sunlight and the warmth.

All the foliage and the flowers make the entrance to the house look so different from the times when I have been home in the winter.

Blogtober# 28 Family

 Driving to visit family can involve going along the freeway and circling the city a little.

Taking photos out the passenger window can involve capturing the corner of the window hence the little black triangles... however the number of apartment blocks in the city have really changes the skyline. 

Like mother, like daughter. Kate got new glasses and is even more like her mum.

And the ever photo evasive Nick is never safe from the camera... he thinks he got away with not getting a decent photo taken but this one is a nice one I think.


It was lovely to catch up with them and to have a lovely spa too.

Friday when it rains

What does one do on a Friday when it rains and one is lucky enough to be able to be at home?

Get packing! That's what I needed to do so that i can make my way back to the US Virgin Islands for work next week.

It doesn't take much effort really to do the washing- it's time consuming but at least i don't have to lug the washing down to the rivers edge and bash it with rocks to get it clean- not that that would work on the banks of the Hudson- it'd only serve to make it all that much filthier.  Doing the washing merely involves gathering it together, taking it via the elevator to the laundry, placing it and the washing liquid in the machine and letting the machine do it's thing. Then 38 minutes later taking it out of the machine and placing it in the dryer and forty five minutes later taking it back to the apartment via the elevator. Folding and putting it all away takes about another 20 or so minutes. Not rocket science nor hard rock thumping labour, so why does it seem a chore? Once it is done it's great but there are many stressors along the way...

• carrying the bag of washing can be a bit like weight training
• will there be enough machines free?- during certain times of day it's tricky
• remembering to get back to the laundry before your loads of washing are turfed out of either the machine or the dryer- that's what timers on microwaves are for i have discovered
• hanging around for it all to be done
• finding space to put it all away- how is it that when you take something out of the cupboard the space it occupied has been taken over by something else
• looking for that lost sock in the laundromat of oblivion! one thing seems to go missing or some interesting little thing appears amidst ones washing- I don't think I own little metal clip thingies but two appeared as i took the washing out of the machine?!

But now it is done and the bags are packed to the extent they can be. I now have Saturday free to relax and enjoy before the early journey to St Croix.

And I had time to get some of my scrapbooking homework done!

Symmetrical- and from the African Safari trip

Sublime to the ridiculous....

asymmetrical- I hope- from last week's walk through High Bridge Park

Walk through High Bridge Park

It was a 2 mile walk from 155th St. to Dyckman St. (200th St.) through woods on the east side of Manhattan with views of the East River and the Bronx. Along the way we saw natural Manhattan woodlands, rock outcroppings, views to the east, the High Bridge Tower and High Bridge. The trail is mixed, both paved and unpaved trail through the woods and three flights of stairs to climb. Like Inwood Park, it's another natural view of Manhattan.





 

High Bridge Park, named for the bridge, runs from 155th St. to Dyckman St. on the east side. The High Bridge was built in 1848 and is the oldest standing bridge in the city. High Bridge served as an aqueduct for the old Croton Aqueduct, bringing water to New York from upstate. 





 
High Bridge is currently closed, so we were only able to take some pictures of the bridge, but  not walk on it.
 

















Because of construction at a few sites in the park and limited access on the trail, we  left the nature trail at High Bridge Tower (around 174th St.) and walked along Amsterdam Ave for about 8 blocks, returning to the nature trail around 183rd St.

 

Got it back

 My view and my room that is... Andrew and Lynne and Nick and Kate headed off on their journey to Vegas and then LA so I got my room back.

But at a cost.... they're not here... the downside of my getting my room back... darn! Miss them.