saturday update

part of the duncan ensemble at judson church

spring fever

it went up to 57 degrees today and all jack wanted to do was sit by the corner and watch all the dogs go by. in order to get him to return upstairs he had to be enticed with a biscuit.

the ensemble

an ensemble of dancers after a performance at judson church in november.

pick me please

hopes were filled and hopes were dashed. it was an SAB day for the beliloveables at their isadora duncan dance rehearsal. some dancers left with solos to perform, some were cut from the dances they had been rehearsing for weeks. isn't that . . just show business? take it . .

or leave it.

the dancers wait for rehearsal to begin.

the moms check out the rehearsal room.

and the moms wait for rehearsal to end.

family visit

my sister came to visit with her family saturday evening. i love having my sister visit, and she always says she has a great time, though i know my lack of furniture is not the easiest for her to deal with. jack is not always easy to deal with either. here they are enjoying a nice game of "catch me" when jack must come and act like the toddler he really is:

february birthday celebration

g celebrated his birthday today. we had orecchiette senza salsa della vodka e con i piselli. (vodka sauce without the vodka but with peas). and m made a delicious apple crumble which we had with some heavy cream. g received a very nice birthday card and a $15 gift card to starbucks. i also gave him one of his socks; (big sigh) no, i have not yet finished the second. everyday i have hopes that it will happen!

winter beach day

at the lighthouse

it was an incredibly clear day. you could see connecticut and block island in the distance. the space in which you stood upon outside was quite small. i stood behind m and c as there was no room next to them. i felt dizzy being above the flag pole. downstairs in the exhibit there was so much to see that i never got a chance to walk over to the concession stand and check if the harbor seals were on their rock all the way around the point (northwest, along the shore to the left of the parking lot).
with all the technology available to ships these days, most lighthouses are not needed. the current light in the montauk lighthouse is only a 50 watt bulb and though they say on the website it can be seen 19 nautical miles out to sea, the tour guide said it really only shines out 8 miles. we used to always be able to see it from my parents' house. i could stand at their bedroom window and watch the light flash and 8 seconds flash again. but now when i stand there . . i see only the lights of the town . . and not the lighthouse.

tb sheets

i caught a bad (click on the link and you can listen to van's song while reading) stomachbug tuesday night. actually, i suppose i caught it from my friend monday night and it hit me early wednesday morning. 4 am. it was short but intense. i haven't felt that sick in quite awhile. i even had to call my doctor to be reassured that i wasn't dying. (which he did very well. he's so good.) i spent all day wednesday sleeping, though i did manage to finish my heart square that night. a friend's daughter had knee surgery and squares were collected to make a scarf. unfortunately, i didn't finish mine in time. instead it's being made into a lavender pillow and going to be sent off as a valentine's get well gift. c and i have also been reading the caroline series by maria d. wilkes. we're up to _little clearing in the woods_. it's the paperback book on the right. underneath it is a beautiful and old edition of laura ingalls wilder's little house in the big woods.
slowly today i've been feeling stronger and been able to eat more. though i haven't been able to eat quite the same things as c and k. here they are making "croque monsieur" from the recipe in our around the world cookbook.

the many faces of vermeer

george deem's vermeer

another vermeer, one of ellen's vermeers, lovingly thought of as my vermeer.

. . speaking of dollhouses

my friend posted about tea with her friend who in turn posted about dollhouses. i couldn't resist dusting off one of my favorite photos of jack. let's see . . the baby carriage is turned over and a baby is not to be seen . . and a small dollhouse sized apron is lying not far from his nose . . do you think he ate the baby AND the mama?

late holiday visit

we drove to annapolis to visit my cousin's family and my aunt who is now 88 years old. they kept up their christmas decorations as they wanted the girls to see their holiday village and reindeer on the front lawn. we had two wonderful feasts, got caught up on family news, and had a nice hike along the beautiful chesapeake bay. it was very icy and m and c tried to go sledding on my cousin's front lawn, but on sunday the temperature went up and the ice melted a bit too much. we came home on monday and luckily left early enough so that we didn't hit a lot of traffic through the tunnel, and arrived ahead of the snowstorm. i've enjoyed the cold weather this winter and the snow we've had. it's been a little bit at a time, and it's painted our courtyard in beautiful shades of white and grey.