fudge fudge call the judge
we took care of gwenda uptown, but we've been babysitting the morning glories here at home. they have taken over our window! and whenever the girls and i go away with jack, and the cats have full run of the apartment, the morning glories are put in the back bedroom with the door closed (along with the wind chimes they have attached themselves to). otherwise, the cats would tear them to bits. (our cats can be quite evil. just look at madeline over there on the right side of this blog at the bottom . . . . . )
we celebrated my mom and dad's 59th wedding anniversary today at el charro's restaurant on charles street. my sister and brother-in-law found it years and years ago when they both went to wagner college on staten island. that's about 30 years, and since then we've had many family celebrations there. i had the mariscada in green sauce and m and g had paella a la valenciana. c had chicken fajitas and others had paella ajillo. k was off at the anime con at the jacob javitz center. i never did get to see her final costume.
walking along washington street to el charro's.
meeting up with a fun-loving uncle . .
and hanging out with a special cousin . .
the whole party talking and posing, with mr. watt in the spotlight that seems to follow him around.
we were late to meet my parents this morning at ag place! we had to hop in a cab and hurry uptown! my mom has never been to the store, and my sister and i figured we better get her there before the girls are all grown up and not interested (as you can see, k is significantly absent from these photos!). the girls had a great time visiting with nana and nonno, and my dad was (surprisingly!) very patient while waiting for them to pick out their gifts. he really enjoyed being there and even took a pic of himself at the cafe table with the dolls to show friends at home. (i missed that one. it's on his camera. maybe i'll scan it one day.) 
everyone visiting the store finds it very amusing that the dolls have special holders in the bathroom stalls!
everyone gets to eat at the cafe.
we took our time and the girls told them about each doll while lining up all the gift possibilities while samantha and i patiently waited on the hassock (that's my plum-colored liesl II in my tapestry bag!)
i love this photo of my mom and dad waiting for the girls to finish perusing all the books. the dolls are left in loving hands.
we finally left for ellen's dance class and ballet at MYB with plans to meet for a last round of cards at gwenda's place!
my parents are staying at my friend's apartment while my friend is in alaska. they are looking after gwenda! gwenda is very happy to have company again after being alone for so many weeks. after being fed, she was very perky and swam happily about her fish bowl, pecking at the pink stones and looking (wistfully?) out at us.
m and c went off to their duncan dance class at the Y this afternoon, i went up to manhattan plaza to meet my mom and dad who are visiting for a few days.
k has a con this weekend and has been working on a costume. (i'll try and get a shot of the completed outfit!)
we were visiting my mom and dad for the week on montauk. every day was a beach day and we were sad to leave!! i have lots of pics of sand and sea and sea and sand. the first thing we did when we returned was hop on our bikes and head out to the river! the day was bright and sunny, very different from last week's grey wednesday. but the air was cool and autumn is definitely here.
cheers!!
we love stopping at the vegetable stand on the way home from nana and nonno's house. we bought four cucumbers for a dollar (last year they were five for a dollar!), along with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, beans and a pumpkin. oh, and a cauliflower!
it was breezy and cool today, with not another beach goer or sailor in sight. it felt heavenly to warm up in the sun after a swim.
the girls found it very amusing that we just missed (by inches!) getting pooped on by the geese flying directly over our heads. you can hear m exclaim in the little movie.
the waves at ditch were really strong today. m and i were knocked down several times! we had so much sand in our suits.
