The Best Breakfast

Pie and Hot Chocolate! We certainly had lots of pie left over for breakfast. Yum!

Lucien's Feast

Lucien decorated the table.

All ready, food and appetites.

Bon appetit!

A little of everything...lots of leftovers.

Yves' perspective...

Gabriel's pumpkin from the pottery in Felanitx.

It's a wonderful life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

A Walk before the Feast

We all went for a walk on the Highline, while the turkey roasted. It was so warm and lovely out.

Yves and Gael

Lucien and Gael

The sun setting all too early.

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was one with many plans that all ended with us having a lovely dinner at home. Greg bought the last turkey at the coop. Dorina generously let us have it. Lucien was very keen on the whole Thanksgiving feast. The night before Dorina brought us a lovely pumpkin bread that we served for breakfast with hot chocolate. It made a festive start to our day.
Then she surprised us with a pie as they headed out to her sisters! It was still warm!

For dinner, Lucien and I started to prepare last night . Lucien wrote out the menu. Surprisingly we were only really missing the brussel sprouts, after the turkey came. So I ran out to find them. We made the stuffing and the cranberry sauce before going to bed. The morning flew by but all went well. And everything came out lovely.Gael decided to finish his writing exercises, the whole last half of the alphabet. I think he was inspired by the thought that he could have a blog.
I made two pies, a cranberry and a pumpkin. Then stuffed the turkey while the pies cooked. Put together the corn pudding, the sweet potato biscuits ready to go, roasted the delicata squash, sweet potatoes and regular ones. Yves and Lucien set Gael and Gabriel up with email addresses and blogs. Time for a break.

Tuesday dinner

I can't believe we all managed to get together, well excepting K and Camille!
M came home with Gabriel from NYU Chorus. Yves came a little later from opera. And Dorina and C even later from violin. Just in time for dinner.
Later Dorina brought out the llama fleeces she had been given, a mountains worth! So beautiful.
We filled bags to pass around to our fiber obsessed friends, who spin and felt.

A Monday

Good Morning. Today there is piano for Gabriel and Lucien. Pottery for Yves and I. Annie workshop for Gabriel. Carmen fitting and rehearsal for Yves. Oh, Monday! There were also the electricians finishing up a job that of course turned out bigger than planned, 50% worth! Spider man twins, this somehow doesn't ever happen but there they were in matching pyjamas!

Yves' pottery experiment, pennies, phase one, after low fire. The pennies have seperated from their tin coats. The bottom has made strange white mounds. Next step, high fire which will melt the metal. To be continued...

A beautiful finish to a day. Lucien made Far Breton and Hot Chocolate, consumed in front of TNG.

Cauliflower? tastes like broccoli

At the coop check out came these incredible cauliflowers, I couldn't resist. Then I made an impossible mould. I wonder if I will be able to produce anything with it.

Christmas Already?

Justine spent the night, then we all went to the New Victory to see Peter and the Wolf. It was very good, especially the first act which was added in. Everyone loved it.

Since Lucien recently purchased an X-Box from Dan's friend he and his brothers were very anxious to go to GameStop. So we walked down to 34th Street to find one. Christmas was everywhere. These Target adds were particularly NY.

The Macy windows were the same again.

Time to write those letters.

Sheep Walk?

Gael told us he doesn't "...sheep walk, you know when you are sleeping...". Well I guess that makes sense. Once you have counted so many you may need to round them back up for the next time! Or is this a side effect of a fiber obsessed mother?

Finished!!!!

Tada! I have to get a better picture. Lucien is waiting for a special occasion to wear his sweater for the first time.

Hoosier solutions make good road trips

Gael and I went on an adventure today. Gael was amazed by the train "crossing the road". We had so much fun together. We bought two cabinets for the kitchen, one Hoosier and one MacDougal. I love the instant kitchen. Gael loved all the snacks. We went to Alburtis, NJ and back. Everyone else was home doing their school work!

Of course when I got home I realized these were slightly wider than my first one and wouldn't go through the door, even when taken off its hinges! Luckily, the electricians were there to be helpful and lift it through the window! Thank you.

Lucien's sweater and friend's birthday

Lucien trying on his sweater to check the neckline and underarms. Good fit, but I will do the neck too ruffly the first time and have to redo it. He is holding all that is left over of the wool, just made it. I would never have been able to duplicate the indigo dye color. Today was C's birthday. Dorina brought over cake and we had tea. 10!

Knitting get together every Sunday

Today was glorious, what beautiful weather, beautiful sunset....
a day to spend enjoying, friends, food, knitting... Ellen and I planned a knitting group while at the Sheep and Wool Festival and so far every Sunday has had an event but today.
Ellen and I had Eggs Benedict at La Focaccia and then armed with our knitting and hot chocolate from the Chocolate Bar headed for the Highline.
What I didn't anticipate were the crowds!
Despite all the people we found a coveted spot and had a relaxing time basking in the sun, talking and knitting. Friends passed by and added to the joy of the day.
The sun set was gorgeous....
almost finished Lucien's sweater! so close....

Fly Away, Fly Back Home

"A successful parent is one whose child matures to walk away without a backward glance." Michael Mendizza

Well, that was Camille walking away at the airport for her flight to Paris, alone at 15.
I watched as she turned the corner, no looking back. I waited a while just to be sure all was well. The security guard understood. Then I waited in the car a bit. I guess part of me was hoping she wasn't really going.
And this morning I came across the site Touch the Future.
Hopefully.
As she left she invited me to come, maybe if ....

Shelter Island

Camille volunteered to keep me company on the way to Shelter Island to look at a Hoosier cabinet. The cabinet turned out to be really stunning. The trip was lovely. We came across a corner with three churches on it, with two more around the corner! We wondered if there was something about the location? The ferry was quick and fun. I don't ever remember being right at the front. The weather was drizzly all the way which troubled me as the tires are due for replacement.

We came home much later than planned, of course. The boys were really happy with the clothes we bought them on the way back. They faired well at home with left overs and no outside activities.

I was very happy to have spent the day with my daughter who would be leaving in two days to go to Paris for four weeks.

Happy Birthday, Gael

Six......

Gael's Birthday Party :)

Gael was born almost six years ago, during a lunar eclipse. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed with Camille, Lucien and Gabriel watching the eclipse. Yves was in Carmen and Yann was picking him up. Then I began to realize that maybe Gael wasn't going to wait until Yves was finished! But in the end he did.

The Farhis, Furmark-Hills, Cragnottis and Bernadette and Miles came to help celebrate.

Ready for his flourless chocolate cake.

There were many wonderful gifts.

Yves and Morgana organized games. Traffic was very popular.

Annie Workshop

Gabriel is learning two songs for the upcoming production of Annie for NYCHEA Players. He is really having fun. (in blue on the left) Subway view.

Esther Dress Rehearsal

Lucien getting ready for Esther. The wig is next. Gael, Camille and I saw the dress rehearsal. For opening night Gabriel, Yves and I went. Lucien had a lot of fun. Bravo, Lucien.

That night I went to hear Yves in Turandot. The children are off stage. I had standing room but after the second intermission an elderly gentleman gave me his seat as his knee was so painful he couldn't sit in it. Wow, what a view. In the end that was just too much opera for one day!

Pretzel Math

How many bats, how many pumpkins per bag? Pairs? Comparing.

This turned into a lot of fun and a lot of pretzel eating.