Family Visits

We had nice visits from both sides of the family in the past few weeks. Jeremy's Uncle Pete, Aunt Laurel, and cousin Colin came and stayed for a few days during their first trip to NYC. They had terrible weather but great attitudes.

My parents came for five days and set a good example of not over doing it in the big city. We took them to the "regular haunts" that we seem to encourage all visiting tourists to see: the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum (I'm a member), a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the awesome Italian restaurant a half-block from our house. They also enjoyed the Ellis Island Museum (I can't get enough of the immigrant history) and we all visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for the first time, which was amazing. Ah, to be in so much natural space for once, including a really large area dedicated to native flora (so close to my heart, and surprisingly--to me--similar to many natives in MN). Check out the photos of the decidedly non-native but spectacular blooming azaleas and wisteria.

Spring Open Studio Night

Jeremy had a successful Spring Open Studio a few weeks back, and tomorrow it his last class! He is pretty excited for the summer. He'll be doing some part-time letterpress printing work, but mostly just painting. Ah, the good life.

Spring Goings On

Important update... we have a house plant! As strange as it seems, it took us this long to let the outside world in. There are practicalities involved in finding a decent garden store for the plants and supplies and getting there. We chose Rasta Garden a few blocks away where the Lionel Ritchie music is blasted on outdoor speakers so loud you can't hear yourself think about the plants, much less discuss them. In order to transplant the new plant into its new pot, we had to use the tree pit on the sidewalk outside our apartment. Our friend Heidi came along to help.

Spring has arrived in New York! Here are some nice shots of the blooming trees and bulbs around Harlem on my way to work...






Jer had a great time sitting in with his old friend Mike Storey's band at a bar in Williamsburg. Jer needs to find some other people who like to rock on a more regular basis!

Weekend fun

We had a great trip home to Minnesota in the middle of March. We literally enjoyed every minute, but wished for many more minutes in order to spend more quality time with friends and family. We vowed to make it a longer trip when we're back in July for Elizabeth & Eric's wedding. Here's a photo from the party Jon & Debb graciously hosted for us in their basement. This is Silas, clearly worn out from singing Michael Jackson songs on the karoke and looking for refreshment at the basement bar.

I made a new pledge of sorts to do at least one fun "New York thing" a week, just to make sure to take advantage of the city. Some recent highlights included:

* Walking on the beautiful Brooklyn Promenade after brunch with friends Ada and Troy (see great view of Manhattan in the background).


* Going to galleries then dinner in Chelsea with friends Avery and Heidi (everyone but me spotted Ted Danson leaving the restaurant as we waiting for our table, drat!). In this photo, we're making fun of a new series of subway posters for some TV show, maybe on the Lifetime network?


* Eating at a super-touristy diner off Times Square last night where the waitstaff continuously sing Broadway hits. The reason we were there? Our friends George, Julie, and their kids Sam and Ella were in town! We had a great time with them - sorry I neglected to get a photo. We look forward to staying with them in Syracuse in June on our way to Sena's wedding.

In other news, Jeremy passed his big mid-year review and is really motivated to keep making work. He has an open studio night April 17th to look forward to. My job continues to get better every week as I get to know more about the place and make more of a contribution. The commute -- 2.5 hours a day -- takes a toll; although I love all the reading time, it wears me out and I don't feel like doing much in the evenings. After all my years of being self-employed, it is hard to get used to a "normal" person's schedule!

Barb & Rick visit!

Jeremy's parents came for a special visit to New York City, their first time in the city! Some highlights included...

* Seeing the first signs of spring in the neighborhood, just a week after the biggest snow storm of the year.



* Taking the (free) Staten Island Ferry, passing right by the Statue of Liberty.

* Making good use of trains and buses, including a bus ride through the Hasidic neighborhood north of where we live.

* Running into Jim Palagrini, the president of Twin Cities Public Television, at a tiny bar (Pete's Candy Store) in Brooklyn, where we went to hear music. We were one-third of the people in the room, and there he was, the guy that we've seen a million times on the screen asking for pledges and telling us about the digital conversion!

* Great meals out, especially a small Polish restaurant called Lomzynianka in the Polish ghetto of Brooklyn. Warning: if you ever come visit us, we will try to take you to this place, where the food is cheap, the decor is plastic, but the vibe is amazing. The whole neighborhood is worth seeing -- most signs are in Polish, including this one I spotted in the window of a pharmacy.



It was a great visit, and now we're going home later today to see every one again - can't wait!

Liz's Birthday

Some of our favorite new friends are people in Jeremy's program at Pratt. He still loves the program and the faculty he's had, and we feel lucky that the other students are mostly great too. We started something we call "Friday Night Club" with a few other students who like to hang out on the cheap, having a potluck at someone's apartment. Here are two club members, Liz and Scott, at Liz's recent birthday party out at a nice tapas restaurant in our neighborhood. Things would have been fine if we'd just gone home after dessert, but someone wanted to go to a dive bar called Rope nearby, where the PBR was just $1/can. Sometimes it is hard to make good choices when faced with bargain prices.

Top of the Rock!

I decided to become a "Volunteer Captain" for the MS Society here in New York. They need some extra-responsible volunteers to take on roles at events that their staff have to do otherwise. When I hear "extra responsible," I sadly think of myself. So my first event was "Climb MS," where people climb the 66 flights of stairs at Rockefeller Center, as fast as they can, to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis. My job was overseeing the first rest stop on the 29th floor. By the 29th floor, no one was walking very fast, but some people made to the top in 10 minutes - amazing. In addition to the money and awareness raised, the cool thing about this event was being in Rockefeller Center, the home of NBC, where the show 30 Rock takes place, sweet! Here I am with the famous ice rink behind me (the big Christmas Tree came down in January...)

P.O.S. Yeah Right!

Jeremy and I have a difficult-to-explain love of a Minneapolis rapper named P.O.S. Sure, we've come to learn that his real name is Stef and he went to high school in the western suburbs, but to us, he is the Real Deal. Or he says, "the voice of a new generation of slaves." When I listen to his stuff, especially off his last record (Audition), I feel like walking faster, getting up, and LIVING.

Check out some lyrics from my favorite song on Audition, "Stand Up"

"Hands up if you're broken but find a way to stand up;
Give it up if you're hopin and never givin up
Stand up so we know who’s here,
who wanna open the machine and rage against the gears?"

Well, maybe you just need to hear it live to get it, but believe me we were psyched to hear P.O.S. was coming out to NYC to promote his newest album, Never Better. We went last night to the Mercury Lounge, got there early, got up close, and had a great time. I would have liked a few more songs from the older albums, but I say that after most shows, I must be traditional and set in my ways. After four hours of hip hop, I was TIRED by the time we left, but like the new album even more now. Check out his myspace and listen to the song "Goodbye" for a sample.

One of my favorite moments last night came during one of the opening acts (Sims from the Doomtree Collective). I noticed there was a small woman with a head scarf down front, and a dude with a huge blond mohawk a few people over from her, both loving what they were hearing. Check out the photo.

Niagara Falls

I had to fly to Niagara Falls for a one day meeting, and since my hotel was a few blocks from the American side of the Falls, I walked down in the morning to see what I could see. It was bitterly cold, but due to the rapid flow of the water, the falls were still dramatically falling, spraying cold mist into the air on me and a Japanese tourist group (the only other people there to see it that morning).

Our friend Chris Larson wrote a song a few years back with the line, "Niagara Falls you suck me dry..." I don't know exactly what the falls meant to Chris, but it can be a tiring experience to witness so much life constantly running somewhere, so fast and loud. Despite that, Jeremy and I might go back in June on our way to Pittsburgh for our friend Sena's wedding. I feel a need to understand this new state I live in a bit better, to get inside the "upstate" and "downstate" division. Niagara Falls is officially west, so we'd be going "across the state," but no matter. Road trip!

Jon & Debb visit!

Do you see the theme in this blog -- how happy it makes me when friends come and stay with us? A recent visit by Jon and Debb was no exception! We spent time looking at art, hearing music, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, checking our Facebook accounts on our iPhones (nerds!), and drinking as many bloody marys as possible.

The photos here are of Debb and me on the Pratt campus (with a Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture), on the bridge, and at Pete's Candy Store. Even though Pete's is now a bar and music venue, it was once a real candy store, so they offered candy hearts on Valentine's day. Jon and Debb, will you be our Valentines and come again next February when we'll really need another injection of Minnesota love?