empire state (and post)

friday before labor day we hopped in our two-door honda and headed four hours up the hudson for a wedding and some wandering. with no concrete plans outside of festivities surrounding the wedding, we threw our tent in the back and figured we'd find something to make a great four-day mini break. we did.  and came home with 600 pictures on our camera to prove it.

here's an attempt at giving a quick -and long overdue- report of the weekend.

the flower girl

when jaclyn and jonathan (jackie is chip's former work partner) asked eve to be their flower girl we were really excited. traditional walk-down-the-aisle weddings are so much fun and somewhat rare in our circles, so this was so great. but, we had some serious concerns- would eve actually do it without crying or scowling or collapsing in the middle of the aisle when someone looked at her the wrong way? the girl loves attention but strictly on her own terms. chip and i were unnecessarily stressed out before the wedding. we were hopeful that all the prep work we'd done would pay off. (i.e. discussing how fun it is going to be and answering her really random questions "so, there gonna be dragons too? oh, no dragons? ok." and helping her practice walking down the aisle [space between our carpet and couch] while tossing flower petals [puzzle pieces] and smiling at all the people around). it did. she was a champion when she was "getting married." no crying. no scowling at people looking at her, no collapsing. just delicate walking, a little smiling, and dropping of petals, one by one all the way down the aisle. cue huge relief and parental pride.

if you look closely, you can see eve's little leg and foot between the two bridesmaids she was walking with. and yes, that is what our area looked like by the end of the ceremony, anything to keep them entertained and quiet. we're really good picker-uppers.

the rest of the ceremony was beautiful too. and jackie, who i don't have a decent picture of (what was i thinking?), was even more gorgeous than usual.

the reception

 

easily in the top five of reception locations i've been to. softly rolling green lawns, distinguished trees, slow river, white planked and black shuttered beautiful historic home. . . the timing was perfect; close of day. long shadows, orange glowing light dancing on the water, making everyone look young and serene. and the celebration itself was so friendly and fun. toasts and toasts and more toasts, yummy food, yummier cupcakes. and a lot of the dancing by all- especially eve, who is apparently a hard core party girl when dresses and strong beats are involved. i loved every bit of it.

note to self: weddings are fancy. everyone will be wearing a lot of shimmery flowy fabric with bare skin. don't choose a cotton, patch-pocketed dress that is appropriate for, let's say, a librarian. you'll always have to be modest, for sure, but patch pockets? come on, katie.

saratoga springs racetrack

the glory of the weekend-long wedding celebration. woke up, had breakfast with everyone in the hotel then headed for more fun at the race track. collared shirts required for men, dresses not required but fun for women. no betting for us (although the ones with pink were getting eve's votes) but we had a great time eating and watching the races and the people who had put money down. and i loved seeing so many ladies all fancied up, big hat, heels, and all.

bolton's landing

after the track we said adios to the happy couple and started driving north. lake george was our target and we figured we'd find a motel or campground somewhere around there for the night. we settled on bolton's landing, located on the north end of lake george. a little more calm and charming than lake george proper. but if mini-golf is your thing and you like an assortment of your typical zany-themed courses to choose from, then that little town is your paradise.

we found a motel with a pool, a gorgeous view of the lake and a ridiculous nightly rate. but, it had one of the few "vacancy" signs up so we committed. about two minutes after doing so the neon "no" lit up. grocery store, local park, tv and fun in the room and our private porch.

hague, ny

11am rolled in and we rolled out. up route 9N. then west on route 8 a few hundred feet to the teeny tiny town of hague, ny. less than 10 buildings visible, all charming in their distinctly adirondack way. we caught breakfast at "the uptown." we caught it on its last open day of the year (summer only, i love it and want to have a place like that of my own someday) so the house was crowded. we were given the outside area which was perfect for our misbehaving girls. they could run and jump and watch the water in the brooke without disturbing anyone other than chip and i. (do you see that brooke? the water and rocks look just like a trout's skin). ruth still managed to break a glass, but she wouldn't be true to herself if that didn't happen at least once a month.

after our hearty and really good meals, we pet the pretty and eerily calm dog, wandered around the little town and its three shops, came close to buying the wolf rug just for the weirdness value of that in our brooklyn apartment, then headed over on rte 8.    

natural bridges

all the way over on 8 (spectacular drive past beautiful lakes) and up on 9 for a bit and we made it to "natural bridges". i don't really know what to say about this place. it was crowded, there were some enormous geodes on display (which you an always count on me being impressed by) a lovely stream, a treasure-hunt-ish walk through big rock formations, the largest marble cave opening in all of north america, a gift shop full of rock themed crap and several caveman statues. i loved it. eve seemed most impressed by "that man with the really big panties" but neither she nor ruth were fans on the dark cave with the loud underground river.

 

schroon lake

"the adirondack's best kept secret" according to a friendly lifeguard we met on the beach. i'm always up for a "best kept secret." (i used to live in brooklyn's best kept secret- just ask the old people in my neighborhood who wear sweatshirts with the saying "windsor terrace; brooklyn's best kept secret" on them.) i don't know how secret this place is, but it is really really pretty. we found a campground with an opening, set up the tent and went to the little nearby town for pizza. eve practiced stacking the salt and pepper shakers. we ate our mediocre pizza then found a drive-in movie theatre 30 minutes south and  watched the bourne supremacy. the girls slept while chip and i sat in the crowded lot with a speaker hanging in our window enjoying the show. perfect movie to see in theatre . . . or in-car. then it was

back to the campsite where we all stayed fully clothed, laid down on one wool blanket and covered all of us with the other. it was a cold night, the ground was hard and we were on an incline. if the girls weren't such angels, it could have been a really terrible night.

the long road home

we like to meander while driving and the girls are really great travellers, so we took about eight hours getting home (it took 4.5 to get up there). down route 9. we stopped for pony rides for the girls (i don't recommend this place. eve got a better ride last year on eastern parkway during the west indies day parade. isn;t there a rule somewhere that says people guiding kids on pony rides and taking money from eager parents have to smile at least once?). but the horse's name was "magic" which eve was pretty impressed by. later along rte 9 we stopped again for some hot dogs, ice cream and a view of the trickle that is the northen fork of the hudson river. napped near the rocky scanandaga river and made our way out of the adirondacks, through the catskills and the hudson river valley. drove around the grounds of the grounds of the vanderbilt mansion, stopped at a 50s-ish diner, checked out local roads, homes and views of the river in rhinecliff, then over the taconic parkway and back into the city that is our home.

a good labor day weekend.

this is my take-home from the trip:   

empire state, i owe you an apology. i've always compared you to my beautiful california and breathtakingly rugged oregon without ever giving you a chance to show me your beauties. and i'm sorry. because now, after living in your boundaries for more than six years, i'm truly blown away by how gorgeous you are. the lush, undulating, lake-sprinkled landscape of the adirondacks. the miles and miles and miles of pristine countryside. the green, lush landscape that leads my thoughts to quiet and peace and tenderness and images of a contented farmer. the beautiful, low mountains and gorgeous homes of the catskill mountains. the incredible vistas over the hudson river, with all its charming history. oh new york. i love you. you're not my first love or my true love, but i love you. . .you and fun weddings where my girl in the cutest flower girl in the universe.

wow. if you made it through that, you deserve a prize. maybe a geode of your very own. but if your eyes turned glassy when you saw all these words and you just looked at the pictures, i'm still impressed that you've scrolled down to read the last line.

backpack backpack

finally heaved myself out of the recent sewing slump and made some long-awaited (by eve) backpacks for the girls today. i used the backpack pattern from lotta jansdotter's simple sewing book, with some adjustments. the most major; re-sizing for toddler and little girl.

i love making these girls match. let's hope they don't hate me for it later.

ruth will soon be getting an "r" on hers. my earlier machine "r" attempts turned out badly, so i'll be doing a little hand embroidery this weekend. or maybe some applique. . . what'll it be, what'll it be?

first things eve HAD to put in her backpack: skirt, pants, shirt, panties and a little monkey.

things eve HAD to carry in her backpack for the maiden voyage outside: the treats, a car and a lion.

ruthie could not have cared less about the contents in her bag. she was just pumped that "ru batbat lite e!" (ruth's backpack like eve's)

with the awkward amount of fabric i have left, i think a hat and tote incorporating herringbone tweed will soon emerge.

laundry day

laundry monday usually takes place in our own little apartment. to be exact, in the corner of my kitchen/entryway where my washer and dryer are cleverly hidden behind cabinetry. but, not today. today my washer is broken. after $70 paid for a service call, it has been kind-of decided that my washer's main circuit board needs replacing. happily, i'm still (barely) under the 2 year warranty for parts so i'll only have to throw down another $125 for labor of the replacement, and hope the problem is actually solved.

in the mean time (7-10 business days) i'm back to the laundromat. the first time on four years. my all time favorite laundromat is in the old neighborhood (windsor terrace) and owned by the friendliest (in a kind of harsh, very loud way) man from ghana named robert. robert will forever hold a special place in my heart for helping me the first week of living in brooklyn. the week i made chip call the university of iowa for a transfer application to their MFA painting program. . . but, robert's place is just too far, so today i tried out my local "bubbleworks." i went the cop-out route; dropped off all the laundry for them to wash, dry and deliver to me nicely folded tomorrow. if i had known they also pick up, i would have saved myself a sore shoulder and several ounces of sweat, but i would have missed out on all the fun of the return trip home using this basket/hamper (which i think is one of my favorite possessions):

eve was in heaven. getting all the comments and smiles from people on the street sweetened the deal and i think she actually smiled at some strangers. it was much more fun to have a 25lb girl on my back than the 40+ lbs of laundry i carried there.

here's to clean laundry folded by someone else and backpack/baskets that provide years of entertainment and practical use.

+++

it's good to have a camera again. once i sort through the 600 pictures i came home with this weekend, i'll share about all the goodness of a dear firend's wedding and the beauties of upstate new york. i know, you can't wait.

just. can't. let. go.

of the brookings trip, that is.

so, in addition to looking at pictures and making eve tell me her favorite things at the beach and ocean, over and over and over, i've immortalized the trip with the little help from a newly made flannel board.

i've had a large ikea frame in the girl's closet for two years, with the plan of making a flannel board. last week i finally pulled it out to get to work. i had the flannel and the masonite but no staple gun. but i did have a tiny little stapler. i so wish my camera was working because i would love to have this tiny thing documented for you to see. teeny tiny. but, i was not deterred. a little entertained, yes, but not deterred. i set to stapling the flannel to the masonite and was shocked to find some success with my mini stapler. at one point a staple went all the way through the masonite and into my wood floor. who would have thought? (umm, sorry chip. don't worry, no extensive damage was done) so, itty bitty stapler and all, the work of immortalizing the trip has now taken form in flannel board felt shapes of all the things that played prominently in our stay. the girls are having fun with them.

fish and campfire

shark (we never saw one but chip's fear of them is always prevalent when we're near the ocean) and evergreens (i'd say redwoods if they weren't so wonky. i was getting impatient)

rocky coastline (the elephant looking thing is supposed to be an arch rock. i'll have to work on it). and anemone and starfish.

there's a lot more on the list before true immortalization and felt-piece documentation of the trip is complete. my salamander attempts have been laughable and end up looking like tailed aliens, but i'm getting closer. i think switching to a free-quilting foot will help. whales, seals, otters, kites, kayaks, water and people will be coming, but for now we'really pretty happy with what we've got. the girls have surprised me with how often they're playing with them. eve's voices for the shark and fish are fantastic, while ruthie just yells "fish! fish! oh no!" over and over.

** note for me: this was initially posted 8.23.07. blog managing confusion.**

rained in

first things i heard this morning: startlingly loud thunder clap. scurrying of three-year-old feet. a soft little hand starting stroking my face. "it's alright mommy. the thunder not hurt you. the thunder go away. it's alright. don't be scared mommy. you're alright." nice, soft kiss. feet scurrying away.

eve is terrified of thunder. or any loud, sudden noise. she comes running, buries her head in my lap and whimpers. but when i am asleep (or trying to pretend i'm asleep just a little longer) she becomes the fearless protector, comforting ruthie and me until i'm upright and mentally capable of being the mom again.

the rain and thunder are coming down hard, which means we'll be spending the day inside reading a lot of books and going a little crazy. but, i am excited to get a chance to curl up and read this book with the girls:

i picked this up from a street vendor in cambridge, ma, on our boston trip in may. i loved the lithographed illustrations immediately and so bought it before looking at more than one page.

this strange little book is set back in the puritan masschusettes colony. it is full of "thees" "thines" and "dosts," fantastic illustrations, a defiant girl, a thieving native, and a heroic mutt of a dog.

my favorite pages:

like most of my favorite children's books, this was published in the 50s (1952). in addition to the illustration and design of the era, i love the way the social context of the 50s is often reflected in these innocent books. it makes me wonder what the children's books of the early 2000s will say about our society 50 years from now. but, the girls and i won't think of that while we're reading today, we'll just be taking notes on the bonnets, the aprons and the cloaks so we can be accurate as we play dress up after.

the other one

the science barge and i are pretty much best friends forever, so i was really excited when i heard that brooklyn was getting its very own jimmy-rigged barge; the swimming barge. they call her "the floating lady." with a name like that, i was sure we were meant to be. so, monday i went to introduce myself along with the girls and alysha and luke. alysha and i were both in really bad moods but i was sure the barge would do us right.

this pretty much sums up the majority of our time there:

misery. we waited on the "beach" (glorified sand box) in the scorching sun and suffocating humidity for an hour and a half before finally being admitted. as much fun as distracting a three-year-old, a 20-month-old and a 17-month-old from the fact that they are not swimimng but stuck in a pseudo-hell of over-priced beach umbrellas, scorching sand and frustrated moms might sound. . . well, actually, it was about that fun.

but, i have to give the lady some credit. she was great once we got on board. clean, nicely designed, stocked with friendly workers, cool water, and lifeguards aplenty. the girls were in water heaven. a lot of giggling, jumping, blowing bubbles, dunking under the water, kicking, splashing and cuddling together in the towel on the deck (the girls, not me. i wasn't allowed.). we loved it. that is, until our hour-long swim session was cut 25 minutes short because someone puked in the pool. and, we're done.

i've promised a few friends that i will go to the barge again with them so i have to get over the "ugh" feeling i instantly get when i think of her. sometimes you just have to power through with relationships, right? i just have to ignore the "too little, too late" that is ringing through my head and focus on what she was to me before that dissappointing day, what she tried to give me and what she is at heart. because, really, a barge floating in the east river that has been turned into a free public swimming pool is pretty freakin cool.

rooftop

evening attempts at documenting the latest cape were unsuccessful inside the apartment, so we headed to the roof.

superman on one side and t-man on the other, for eve's newly 4-year-old friend, t. if 18-month-olds are capable of crushes, which is starting to get a little creepy the more i think about it, then this guy was officially eve's first crush. she loved him. until he got his hair cut. after the long blonde hair was gone, she wouldn't look at him (which happened to look almost exactly like her own, minus the curls. . . maybe that was the fascination). but happily, a year and a half later, his hair is longer and she likes him just fine. particulalrly because he spent almost 45 minutes of a train ride home laughing hysterically as eve said (over and over and over) "i need to go potty!" in a crazy robot voice. her first joke. . . and boy, was it funny.

the boy is obsessed with superheroes, so i'm pretty sure he'll be in heaven with the cape, which is quickly becoming my standard gift for the 3-4 year-old set, and maybe even some special 2-year-olds.

-clever segue back to the roof-

we have dreams for this roof- part green roof, part deck, perhaps a hydroponic greenhouse, a la the science barge? the chrysler and empire state buildings and a good chunk of manhattan skyline can be seen up there. and after spending the last six years in either basement or first floor apartments, it felt so good to be above the treeline and movement of the street. this roof could be amazing. but, like most things in our building, it will take about ten times longer than it should or could and by that time, we'll have (hopefully) moved on to a bigger place. until then, we'll use the keys that chip is given as a member of the co-op board and go up there every once in awhile to hatch some new schemes, look over our little part of brooklyn and model some capes.

she's got skills

for the first two and a half years of her life, eve refused to do any art projects. she would, occasionally, be willing to pick up a black pen and scribble or draw a circle. but crayons? markers? glue? heavens, no. not unless i shamelessly bribed her, and even then it never turned out well for us. . . . until the magic of stamping with oranges. thank you, kids craft weekly. for the first time eve didn't complain or sit lethargically, and i didn't end up wanting to melt all the crayons down into one giant brick and throw it through the window. it was an art-day miracle.

since that glorious day she has totally developed as an artist. she is a minimalist, often drawing just a few lines in the same color as the paper, but she does it and really likes it. painting, drawing, cutting, stamping and sculpting, she'll do it all. she's intense and will occassionally get really angry about the outcome of a project and cry or tear it up, but for the most part she seems willing to accept the slow evolution of her abilities.

on sunday she reached a new level; she drew her first person! her daddy and then our whole family, right on chip's birthday poster. no arms, hair or noses. we have only the essentials- head, eyes, mouth and two long legs. i'm in love. . . with the art and with eve all over again.

"my byself!"

eve has a new passion; photography. she grabs the camera, finds her subjects and shoots away, entirely on her own. "i do it my byself, mommy." ok, eve.

here is a sampling of her work:

i love spring

the weather has been amazing. we're in heaven. here's a little view of how we've spent our time the last few days:

making little shorts and pants for the girls to run around in.

sitting around. lying around.

*i love chip's spindly legs here. i could blame it on camera distortion, but that's exactly what the man's legs look like. the shot of ruth and i sitting (one of her favorite past-times) is included only so you can see how cute her little feet are, not to showcase the fact that i didn't brush my hair once this past monday.

loving the fountains and museum.

checking out new flowers and visiting favorite playgrounds.

smiling and jumping. a lot.

a good week so far.