Winston

Winston (the Wu):

Destroyer of Mint

Devourer of Roses

Guardian of shoes and socks and dry washing

Filler of sinks

Slipper Wearer

Loudest Purrer

Walrus in Feline Form

Lover, not a fighter

 

Mr. Longpaws Brooklyn 2009-2014 (and Washington Heights March 2007-July 2009)

Lover of boxes, bags, and cases - whatever the size

Lover of Plastic Bags

Hugger of ipads, legs, whatever was going, really

Smoocher

Loving and Beloved Brother

 

If you were lucky, he would hang out under the sheets with you - or help you change them

Comforter extraordinaire



Cat in Space

Drinker of Bathwater
Tyrannical in his pursuit of affection

Licker of Armpits and Biter of Watches

He was my (far too) early morning alarm; the first face I saw when I got home as he ran, excitedly, with that big belly swinging, to greet me.

Destroyer of Rugs and Print Media.
Vanquisher of Butterflies, but not Mockingbirds.

A fan of dirt, sunbeams, and sitting underneath things.
Snaggletooth.

He would lie on your back, your front, your legs or your head - whatever he could find.
For seven years he brought joy, affection, and a lot of hair to our lives.

 
He was very much loved, and he will be missed.
 

Floating

For various reasons, this summer has not been as light, airy, and filled with outdoor fun as ones in previous years. 

Yet on Saturday, as the season draws to a close, we managed to find a walk that fit our needs perfectly: breathtaking views (both because of the actual view and because of the ascent to the vista); fresh air and nature (a deer, a salamander, and millipedes galore - alive and being recycled by the local insect population); and, finally, a place to properly swim.*  There was a rather steep ascent for the first ten minutes, which leveled off.  We were rewarded with views over the freshwater pond below and, after stopping for a breather, headed down to the water side.  We reveled in the fresh water, which was a perfect temperature - not too hot, not too cold - and had not too much pond weed.  After scrambling out and discovering that Dr. TOH had kept the potential presence of water snakes from me, we then dried off with another couple of hours hiking.  

 The pond

The pond and, it appears, already changing leaves on the trees.

The highlight occurred as we ascended once more, scoffing some well-deserved firecracker chocolate at the top of Eagle Cliff, and taking a long look at the glorious scenery.  No eagles, though.  The only fauna during the walk was a rather startled but relatively brave deer, who stared at us before deciding munching some plants was more important, an eastern red spotted newt, a delightful little orange fellow whose brethren I've spotted before but not remembered to find out what they are, and many, many millipedes.  Seriously, I have never seen as many.  Remarkable little creatures - that flurry of legs is amazing to behold.

Eagle Cliff

 The view from the cliff

Then home for tea and medals.  On the drive home we crossed Bear Mountain Bridge and were stunned by ten or so birds of prey circling right next to the structure, making up for the lack of them at Eagle Cliff.  By then my hamstrings and glutes were complaining, a lot, and every part of me had that physical exhaustion that feels wonderful because you genuinely worked for it, and it came through being outside.  Nonetheless, we rallied for supper.  We even managed a full 45 minutes of The Grand Budapest Hotel before conking out on the sofa.  (We finished it last night - delightful, is my assessment.  Not as good as Moonrise Kingdom, but still one of Anderson's better films, I think).

* For various reasons, including strong lobbying by my lawyering kin, swimming in ponds/lakes in New York State is virtually impossible if you want to swim any kind of distance and not just plod around a small, roped off area.  This otherwise supportive and helpful piece about swimming holes in Harriman State Park is great, if you can get through the weird bit at the beginning, which may be actual disclaimers or merely a joke.  My favourite of the "Facts": "It is just as easy to refresh yourself by wading in a lake as swimming in it.  Wade, don’t swim." Right.

Breaking Promises

Or not.  I hope.

This month sees me restarting my monthly challenges, and also, did I mention, it's SPRING BREAK?

Spring break!

What does that mean?  Some projects and aims.  Not too many, obviously, because I do not want to overwhelm the vacation time (there's not that much of it), or me (and make myself feel bad about not achieving enough).  But I do want to get some stuff done.  What?

• A trip to a museum - I really want to get to the FIT exhibition on the 1930s, not least because a friend works there and has raved about it.
• A bathroom re-org - my bathroom shelves are amazingly full of a ridiculous amount of things.  It's absurd.  I need to get it together. 
• A garden cleanup - it has been a miserable, long winter and the garden has suffered.  So much snow and ice, for so long - in fact, after I wrote this post there was snow on the ground until about mid-March, and it's only just got warm enough to be sure of no more frozen ground.
• A bath or two - I love, love, love hot baths, and I think I'm going to get myself scrubbed and steamed and deep cleansed.  

So just four things.  That's it.  I'm also going to see my cousin, visit Providence, see old friends, and read grownup books so that my just-read-widget on the right of this blog doesn't only show Young Adult fiction (as much as I love that genre - and there is Zealot, too, which is not too bad), which is a wonderful, wonderful thing. 

SPRING BREAK!

Snow Day!

Today is a snow day here in NYC.  This means that schools are shut and, thus, my educational organization is closed and I am at home.  I have some work to do, of course, but not having to commute also provides an opportunity to potter round the house, catch up on some tv (hello, Scandal and Sleepy Hollow), take (overdue) books back to the library, and generally enjoy being at home. 

I've also decided to do the January Cure again, a cleanse for the home.  January is a bit of a mental month, workwise, but it's cold, we're trying to cut back on expenses, and so I plan to spend quite a bit of time at home.  Some of that time is going to involve reading all the fabulous new books I have -  gifted to me or borrowed from the BPL - playing backgammon, cooking, and working on the apartment, so that it's a nicer place to do all those things.

Yesterday and this weekend's tasks are already up on the site.  I have to make a list of all the projects I need to do.  Then I have to vacuum and clean the floors, make sure I have nice cleaning things in the house (mostly vinegar, it seems), and buy flowers.  The latter is basically why I do this cure business:  so that I remember to and am required - nay, impelled! - to buy flowers.

I've also taken a few other steps to cut back on things.  I've unsubscribed to as many of the emails trying to make me buy things as I've been able to, so far.  Hopefully I've caught most of them, but I'm sure there are a few still lurking.  I am sick of waking up and having 20+ emails that solely want to generate within me the need to spend money - something that's all too easily induced.  So they're OUT.  Hurrah.

Who knows, with all this resolved, firm spirit, we may even write our wedding thank you cards.

Just joshing.  Let's not go overboard.