Tuesday, April 28, 2009

How Does My Garden Grow?

This weekend, a couple friends came to visit up from Baltimore. We were hoping they'd help us pick out some flowers for the garden, but they jumped right in and together we completely over-hauled the entire back yard. Saturday morning, unusually warm for April, we all walked up to the farmers' market in front of Borough Hall. We picked out some hanging baskets, a flat of Impatiens (which I had always assumed to be spelled and pronounced "Inpatient's") and a few other brightly colored blossoms. A quick stop to get some spades, gloves, and soil, and we were all set.

Back at the apartment garden we began digging out the seemingly unending tangle of roots hiding just below the surface. Throughout the day we rooted, weeded, finished a red brick border around the patio, cut back the vines growing up the walls, cleaned out excess dirt, planted all our flowers, cleaned off all the patio furniture we inherited, and enjoyed a beautiful day with excellent company. It was a remarkable amount of work, but we now have a beautiful garden to enjoy all summer.

We celebrated by firing up the grill for the first time, and making a feast of brats, burgers, salad, corn, and asparagus. Dark by then, we still ate outside basking in the elation that comes from hard work done well with good friends.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Frankie Manning

Frankie Manning died today, at age 94. He was the heart and soul of the swing dancing scene. Inventor of air steps, pioneer of the dance for two eras, and inspiration to thousands of dancers all over the world.

I was lucky to have taken a few workshops with him years ago, and to have been a part of the NYC scene. You could always find Frankie out in New York dancing, not a care in the world but what fun step he could still do after all these years.

Tonight we celebrate his life in the way he would have insisted--dancing to his favorite band, the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra at Swing46.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Back from Boston

Watching the marathon was surprisingly good. I had sort of figured I would wander around Boston until I had a chance to see my uncle run past and that would be it. Instead, I ended up staying along the rail on the course the entire time until he came by. It was fascinating to watch all the runners, 25,000 in total, come through. Even more fascinating were the variety of attitudes. Some were weary, some determined, but many were downright celebratory. A large number of the runners were smiling and waving to the crowd. One guy even did a cart-wheel to the cheers of the spectators. I was amazed at the amount of positive energy, and that made it a lot of fun to watch.

I know, being a New Yorker, that it's my duty to downplay Boston as the quaint little town it is. But I have to say, when it comes to the subway, I found it to be pretty lacking. From where we were on the race course (near Boston College), we took the green line into the Back Bay area where the finish line was. Outside of "downtown" this train is on the street level, and it stops for every traffic light and any pedestrians who feel like standing in front of it. It took us more than 45 minutes to travel a distance of four and a half miles. There were two women jogging along the street parallel to our train, and they pulled ahead of us at each stop for about six stations before they were so far ahead that I could no longer see them. Boston, you need express trains.

The attempt to live blog the marathon turned out alright. I couldn't get the "Publish" button to appear on my blackberry, so I had to create new posts instead of editing the first post I created with updates. And as my battery wore down quickly during the day, posts went from short narratives to as few words as I could use. Once I find a better delivery method, and another event worth of the effort, I'll try again.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Live Blogging the Boston Marathon

I'm travelling to Boston to support my uncle running in the Boston Marathon. I'm going to try something new and see if I can live blog it from my blackberry over on the family blog: Boston Marathon

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Leinie Berry Weiss for the Summer

Further evidence that, indeed, everything will be alright out in Brooklyn. I've discovered a huge beer distributing store on Court Street that carries Leinenkugel. Some of my most fond memories of Houghton involved Monday nights when a group of us would go to Pilgrim River Steakhouse and have steak burgers and pitchers of Leini (usually the honey weiss). It was always a great start to a week.

In the summer, Leinie had a berry weiss that always hit the spot. Some friends of mine even had it at their wedding. Now that I've found Leinie in Brooklyn, it looks like it's going to be a great summer of grilling in our backyard garden.

Monday, April 13, 2009

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Brooklyn

The new apartment feels more like home every day. One week after moving in, we're putting the last few pictures up on the walls, and looking toward what we can plant in the garden. We've met all the neighbors in our building, and they're all friendly and welcoming. Our neighbors upstairs even left us a bottle of wine!

The neighborhood could hardly be better. Turning left from our front door takes you into the heart of Brooklyn Heights with it's townhouses and tree-lined streets. Turning right takes you to downtown Brooklyn where nearly every subway train comes through. From there, Court and Smith streets run south for miles lined with restaurants, bars, and shops of all kinds. We're right at the crossroads of history and convenience.

For the first time in a while, it's truly exciting to be living here again.

Friday, April 10, 2009

April Showers...

April is not usually a turbulent time. Spring always brought warmer weather, cleansing rain, and the promise of summer to get me through classes or just out of the winter doldrums. This April has brought showers, not of rain, but of change.

April 1st marked severe layoffs in my company. The company has been cutting back across several departments for about six months now, but this was the first time it affected my department. Nearly one half of our staff had been let go, including my friend of twelve years and many other wonderful people who have become like another family to me over the last two and a half years. The office is now quiet, and empty seats out-number filled ones. Those of us still there now share mixed feelings of relief and guilt that our friends and colleagues are gone while we remain.

The following Saturday, Lynn and I moved to our new apartment in Brooklyn. The move was surprisingly easy, and the moving company we hired was fantastic. A few friends came over on Saturday and helped out unpacking boxes, and by Sunday evening the place already looked like we'd been there for some time. Almost a week later, we have almost no boxes left, and are now hanging up pictures and re-arranging the rooms to make our home.

We've been able to explore the neighborhood a little, but this weekend we hope to spend some quality time learning about our new environs.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Slow Down, You Move to Fast

Things are a bit hectic at the moment. We're moving tomorrow, our lives are in boxes and the apartment of two years feels foreign. The office, and indeed my whole company, is going through big changes, and many of us are waiting to see what happens next.

At this point, everything feels up in the air.

Then I cam across the video below, and it reminded me to slow down, look around, and remember where I am.


The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.