cutie pie

i have

 no idea

 what this dog's name is

 or

 even

 if

 he is a he

 clearly adorable

 he/she was

 being carried

 on his person's shoulder

 through 

a street fair on broadway

 memorial day weekend

 i have to say

 i was happy to see him up there

 not 

just 

because it was easier to get a shot of that face

 but

 because

 street fairs are always so crowded

 people walking 

not looking down

 busy looking 

at one another

 at the kiosks

 tents 

of

 the vendors

 dogs and small kids in stroller

 can't 

have a very good view

 not to mention

getting stepped on 

the dogs

 not

the kids in strollers

yesterday

 i walked to and from the dentist

 i have a potential root canal issue

 its not an emergency

 but 

needs further looking at 

treatment

 i got a new endontist recco from my most excellent periodontist

the woman endontist i had used in the past 

for the many root canals 

 was

 not 

a

 nice person

 i disliked her

 but

 have to admit 

she was good at her job

 when my dear doctor v told me i needed another root canal

 i told him

 what i thought of my previous experiences 

he was not happy

 he recommended

 his and his family's endontist 

and 

promised me i would like him 

i trust doctor v

 my walks

 to and from his offices 

are on central park south 

across from the park

 were

filled with photo ops

 i will share here and over at through my eyes

 there aren't a lot 

but 

i had fun snapping as i walked

 it was a beautiful day on friday 

sunday

 i am having brunch with my friend missy

 at the top of the standard

 the hotel that straddles the highline 

its got some sensational views 

so

 i will be taking the big camera

 oh

 its

 apparently

 quite the place

 the confirmation email read

 'cocktail attire'

 required for brunch 

well 

la dee dah

cat talk

i was having an email exchange

 with

 the smitten image's hilary

 about our cats

 and

 how they react to trips to the vet

 it got me thinking

 about

 how our jack reacts to his inhaler treatments

 currently

 they're 2x a day

 til the higher dose version

 which is on order

 arrives

he knows 

he is getting dose in the morning

 usually around the time he gets fed

 but 

as he leery as he is

 of coming too close

 getting picked up

 and

 dosed

 he can't stay out of the kitchen

 because

 he lives for food

his evening dose time varies

we try to catch him unawares

 whats funny

 to us

 is

 that 

after he gets dosed

 he steers clear of us

 for hours

when he does permit us to come near

 he acts

 as

 if

 he's going to get another treatment

which 

by the way

 takes as long

 as 

counting from 1 to 10

 he's also very protective of harry

harry who uses his voice very expressively

lately 

harry

 does

 his

 where is everyone

 cry

 a lot

 we are always in plain view

 when he does this act

 jack reacts 

he wants to protect harry

 from 

whatever

 whoever

 trust me

believe me

were jack 

in

 trouble or pain

 harry

 wouldn't lift a paw

 he's oblivious to jack's needs

 in fact 

when

 jack is being dosed

 harry is very interested in the inhaler

 its as if he's thinking 

what's he got that i don't

thats

 jack

 there 

he loves to lie on that mat

it was a gift from my friend blogger country girl kate

 who bought it for him 

from

 the other hilary over at crazy as a loom

 today

 even tho i am writing this on thursday

 begins 

my fridaycations

 this first one

 will not 

be spent 

doing wonderful things

 or

 even sleeping in 

i am going to the dentist 

a

preventative appointment

 lately

 every thing that happens to me

 ends up being big and expensive 

so 

before this weird thing i noticed

 turns into more than it is now

 i am getting it checked 

i would much rather pay now

 and 

learn its nothing

 than

 ignore it 

and

 well, you know … 

a potpourri of blather

i never go out to lunch

 i usually

 head down to the cafeteria

 grab something

 bring it back

 eat at my desk

 but

 the last two days 

i had visitors 

first

a blog friend who lives in australia

 we met a few years ago

 when she was living here in nyc

 with her daughter son-in-law and their new baby

 well now there's a newer baby 

he and his mother

 (my friend's daughter)

 were here for a conference 

she and i had lunch

 so nice to catch up

 then

 another blog friend in town for a conference

 managed to find time to meet me for lunch

we hadn't seen one another since last year 

when she was here for the same event 

another wonderful catch up 

been reading a lot again

 i finished

 anna quindlen's still life with crumbs

it was

 so good

 really

 i will admit it was a little predicable 

but still really good

 i also read something

 i don't usually read

 non fiction 

an auto biography

 by

 larry mcmurtry called hollywood

 it covers his time in tinseltown

 involvement with the production

 of

  last picture show and lonesome dove

as well as

 some other books to movies and made for tv mini series

 he wrote or produced 

there's nothing to watch on tv

 all the shows 

we watched over the fall/winter

 have ended for the season

 mad men was the last to wrap

 there's only one or maybe two more

 game of thrones

 we do still have the second season

 of 

house of cards

 we're watching that slowly

 because 

its so good

 we at least i

 want it to last a bit longer 

so 

last night 

we watched a movie

gambit

 a remake of a good 1960s caper film

with michael caine and shirley maclaine 

the new version shares only the characters names

 it written by the coen brothers

  don't get excited 

not even

 colin firth and alan rickman 

could save this

 it was pretty bad

 the animated opening

 should have been the tip off

 rent the original if you want some entertainment 

okay thats it blather over

water tower over freeman's

last wednesday

 after 

a day of museum visits

 my friends mary and missy joined by missy's boyfriend chad (not todd) 

went to dinner 

at freeman's

a fabulous little gem of a restaurant on the lower eastside

 its not

 exactly

 on

a

 street

 its down

 an 

alley 

freeman alley

off

rivington street

you could walk right past it

 in fact

 even

 if you knew it 

was down the alley

 you might still not venture down it 

because 

its

 waaaay down

 at the end

as we walked down the alley

 mary pointed up

look 

she said

 it was getting late

 but 

i pulled out the iPhone and snapped

 i also took this

if you look closely

 you can see

 mary reflected in the window 

taking

 her own photo

 of

 the front of 

freeman's

 this is a true example

 of 

dont judge a book

 (or restaurant)

 by its cover

 (exterior)

 unless

 you want to miss out 

on 

some 

really fine 

food and drink

its located at the end of freeman's alley

between the bowery and chrystie

off rivington

toonsday - eeny? meeny? ...

remembering .. a repeat post

my late uncle
Pvt. Nathan Singer,
Company "C" 102nd Med.Eng.Bm. Third Platoon
with
his brother my dad, their sister and their mother
(all now deceased, may they rest in peace)
October,1942
Valentine Avenue, Bronx

remembering him
and
 all those who served
all those who serve

rained in

saturday

 was

 a crappy weather day

 when it wasn't raining

 it was threatening to rain

 i had my monthly self indulgent treat

 a massage

 but

 this month

 i changed it up

 i opted

 for

 the acu detox massage

 after which i wanted to nap

 i didn't

 i walked home

 slowly

 feeling

 very relaxed

 the weather the rest of the afternoon

 was

 chilly

 damp

 threatening

 rain

the sun

 did come out

once

long enough to consider going to the park

 we considered too long 

and 

it was gone

these adorable little pansies stopped me in my tracks

they were too pretty not to photograph

they decorate 

the front

 of

 the greek orthodox archdiocese on east 79 street

toastiepup

she's got

 her own

 instagram page 

@toastiepup

she's a rescued morkie
you can see other pix
of
 her
here

 i met her

 at the greenpoint instagram meet 

pretty cute 

isn't she

lunchtime entertainment

i found the people

 almost 

more interesting 

then

 the art 

the crowds

 outside 

are

 also

 fascinating

as is the entertainment

this young man

 wowed

 the crowd

 with a incredible performance

of

 why do fools fall in love

sssh!

 i played hookey

 yup

 took a day off 

literally 

in the middle of the week

 the occasion

 the excuse

my friend mary came to town

 it was her birthday

 last year 

we were in paris

 we had tea at the royal monceau raffles hotel

a sunset  - rain free - visit to the top of the arc de triomphe 

and 

 dinner at a small thai restaurant in the marais

 how could we top that

 well

 we started

 with

 breakfast

 at 

sarabeth's

a bus crosstown to the metropolitan museum of art

 there's an exhibit of

 charles james gowns

 works of art 

every

one 

you must go

 because 

not only are they amazing to see

 there's a high tech aspect

 i can't explain

 other than to say

 a video camera scans the gowns

 and

 on a screen

 there is a sort of read out that looks like an architect's drawing

 showing how the dress is constructed

 i dont do it justice

 its fascinating

mr james was also witty and wise 

we went 

to 

the roof garden

 which was not too shabby

 tho

 the skies were overcast 

and

 i had only my iPhone to shoot with

downstairs to the temple of dendur

 after a cup of coffee and a nibble

 we headed downtown

 9-11 memorial museum 

opened that very day

 to the public

 i will only tell you

 its an incredible moving experience 

my friend missy joined us

off to dinner we went

over to the bowery

 to a place that is hard to find

 'cause

 its literally down an alley

 its called

 freeman's

 fabulous food and drink 

mary said

 it was a perfect day 

and 

that's all anyone can ask for

greenpoint water tower

i took this

 in 

greenpoint in brooklyn

 this past saturday

 its very old and unusual

 as new york city water towers go

 on it

 someone has painted 

save the palistine 

i have no idea what that means

 anyone? 

bueller?

toonsday - ta da!!! ...

what a social butterfly

last weekend

 i was mostly a sloth 

this weekend

 it was non stop

 really

 first thing saturday morning

 i was riding the bus crosstown to my massage

 except

 it turns out

 the appointment

 was

 for 

this coming saturday

ooops

 i decided

 to make use of the nice morning

 walked back across town

through the park

 stopping along the way

 to take pictures

 wishing

 i had the big camera 

 this musician

 was playing lovely violin music

 under

 the Greywacke Arch in Central Park

that's the side

 of

 the metropolitan museum of art's temple of dendur

it was such a lovely day 

my friend missy

 wanted me to join her 

and

 some intagramers

 in

 greenpoint brooklyn's

wnyc transmitter park

for 

an afternoon of photo hunting

 i wasn't going to go

 i was going to go

 back and forth

 i went 

finally

 she said she'd be driving

 i said ok

 i know i am such a princess

one thing that fascinates me

 about these 'meets'

 is 

how everyone takes the same photos

people pose so others can take their photo

i dont get that

i really dont

why

 would

 i want 

the same shot 

you took 

 mostly

 i took shots away from where everyone else was

the sky says hi

 or

 i took shots of people taking shots 

 of course

 i got the obligatory city silhouette

sunday

i met my god daughter for coffee and a mani/pedi

its such fun to catch up with her

after beautification™

i met my friend blondie

we went to a new place for brunch/lunch

 on 

amsterdam called tessa

quite good 

it was a busy weekend that zoomed by

what did you do?

piper

we met

 piper

 at city vet

 about 3 weeks ago

 we were there with jack

 to get a lesson

 on

 how to use the aerokat inhaler
(edited because autocorrect insisted it was aerobat it is AEROKAT)

 it was a busy time

 we waited

 45 minutes for a 5 minute instruction

 while we waited

 we got to see

 lots of dogs come and go

 of 

all of them 

piper

 was 

the least stressed out

 she also had an upset tummy

 i won't bother to tell you how we knew 

jack

 continues

 to hate

 his inhaler treatment

 nevertheless

 he hasn't had an asthma attack 

since they started

feline asthma aka chronic bronchitis

 is actually caused by allergies

 allergy to what

 no one knows

 anyway

 we have tried various ways

to

get jack

 to partake of his daily

 (currently twice daily)

 for the rest of his life treatment 

 one way 

involves

 chasing him til he ends up in the bedroom

 where there's no where to go

 another

utilizes 

catching him literally asleep or just waking

 we tried to fool/lure him by offering him treats

 he only bought into that once

 recently

 toonman scooped him up right before giving him dinner

 i tried it the following morning

 it worked

 but 

it was clear he was on to us

 the next morning

 when 

i was in the bathroom

 he came in

 as he always does

i

 scooped him up 

ta da

success

 its going to be an interesting adventure 

in

 creative administration of meds

 a challenge

 we are hoping 

comes to a happy end

 soon 

with 

jack giving up/in and being 

as dr mohr called him

 a cool dude

collaboration

my friend janice

aka

cbw

who blogs
here

 took this photo

when i saw it 

i thought it looked like a painting

 so

 i edited it 

now

 it really looks like a painting

look up look down

the walk to the subway at 72 street is filled with photo ops

the light in the morning is gorgeous

i looked up 

then i looked down

thank you
to
Hilary
at
The Smitten Image

water tower wednesday

according

 to

 the iPhoto log

 this was taken in september 2012

 i have no idea where it is 

or

 if i posted this in the past 

remind me

 to tell you

 about the new espresso machine at the office

oh okay

 i'll tell you now

we've had nespresso machines for a long time

 they are quite good

 i am not sure how the topic of a real espresso machine arose 

but 

when i was asked to investigate them

 i discovered 

there were basically two kinds

automated or not 

the price differences were huge 

i reported this along with my recommendation

 we not buy one 

well

 i was over ruled

 a machine was purchased

 its basically manual

 which means

 you do everything

 from grind the beans to steam them

 if you want milk 

there's an additional steamer part

it arrived on monday

a co-worker spent hours 

assembling it 

after telling me

 it would be easy to set up 

right

she also made lots of signs

 instructions

 so

 the men in the office

 would be able

 to make themselves espresso

the one instruction

 that needed to be written

 BIG 

was

 the clean up after yourself instruction 

however

 that 

was at the very bottom of the list

 she posted

i spent most of tuesday

gloating

over how long it took to set up 

how many times she had to call for further instructions

it felt good

i am also going to be saying

i told you so

 it breaks down

toonsday - is it stupid out there? ...

blather

it was a busy weekend

 saturday

 i got to sleep in again

 yay me

 then some errands

followed by

 a visit to the vet

 jack's lungs are improving 

but not 100% yet

 the lovely dr mohr feels they could be 100%

 he still hates his inhaler treatment

 not even kitty crack 

will get him to cooperate

without some chasing

 of course

 he was a

 'cool dude' 

for dr m

 her words

 for us 

not so much

 we managed to get 

to the vet

 and

home

 between downpours

 sunday 

was even more lovely

 another sleep in

 some beautification™

 followed by brunch

 outdoors at citrus on amsterdam

 with

 my darling larry and his partner clint

 visiting from the big d 

i got a hair cut but this past thursday

 the blow dry of it on sunday

 revealed

 some odd lengths

 that blended in far better

 when tim did the blow dry after the cut 

but

 you know

 the good thing about hair

 it grows 

this is called

 a flipgram 

a puddlegram

mother's day confessions

so 

mother's day

a special day

but

 shouldn't we show love to our mothers every day

 sometimes

 it feels 

a bit like

 what toonman calls a card company holiday 

my mother passed away in 2001

 only a few months after my dad

 she was very much a woman whose life revolved around her family 

they lived in florida

 after their health began declining 

they stopped coming north twice a year 

we started going south at least once a year

 in fact 

we had purchased tickets to fly down there on march 9 2001

 we ended up flying down on march 2 

she passed on march 6

 in hospice

 my sister and i were holding her hands

 telling her

 it was okay to go 

i was not an easy child

 hard to believe

 i know

 i started walking when i was not even a year old

 i didn't want any one to hold my hand

 i always wanted to be out doing things 

she 

i am sure

 wished i wouldn't

i spent a lot of time lying to her

 she spent a lot of time being nosy

 nevertheless 

we loved each other

 she had so much patience

 i had none

 she wasn't a martyr

 but

 at times

 her selflessness drove me mad 

of course

 it didn't stop me

 from

asking her

 to sew on

 missing or loose buttons

 turn a hem

 once she asked me

 what i was going to do

 since i hadn't ever learned to sew 

(i can sew i just dont do it well)

 what would i do

 when she was gone 

very cavalierly

 i replied

 without hesitation

 go to a tailor 

after dad died 

we hired two lovely women to take care of her 

val was with her weekdays/nights 

priscilla was her weekend caregiver 

after mom passed

 val told me 

that 

every morning at 10

 when the phone would ring

 mom say

 here comes the lecture

 i didn't know if i should be hurt or laugh

 i thought 

my daily calls

 were

 my way of encouraging her

 to get up

 get out 

try to walk a bit 

she used them

 to tell me

 about all the things that were wrong with her 

why she couldn't do what i asked

 i am one of those people

 who

 just

 cannot 

understand 

any point of view

 other than my own

it was hard not to lecture

 certainly

 i never thought of it as a lecture

 now as i write this

 oh so many years later

 i see it was

 but

 it was done

 out of love

 (and frustration)

i didn't cry that day in hospice when she stopped breathing

 i didn't cry at her funeral

 months later

 in a moment

 when 

i felt this incredible sadness wash over me

 i cried

 i miss her more than i thought i would

 my independence

 is due to her not in spite of her 

what a surprise

i looked high and low for a photo of us together

she didn't like having photos taken

i liked being behind the camera

i knew there was one of us all together

it took me hours to find this

a not so great photo

 that i scanned eons ago

but there we are

mom me and my sister

blossom

dug deep

 into

 the iPhoto dog files 

for

 this puppy

took this shot 

of 

blossom

back in '11

down 

in riverside park 

puddle me this

hard to believe its may those april showers are lingering but for a photo nut like me that can be a good thing see for yourself

oh yeah

marshalls 

opened on broadway

those shoppers were there at

6:55 am

they didn't officially open til 8

they're blurry

 cause 

i was trying to make tracks

 between

the rain drops

on the way to the subway

a whole lot of blather

every time 

i think about something

 for instance

 a missing green leather shoulder bag 

or

 the receipt for my 35mm lens

 i am at the office or on the subway

 of course 

i forget

about it

 being unable to act on it

 this past weekend 

being pretty much a sloth

 having gone out 

only

 to do what needed to be done

 i first searched through 4 years of receipts

 i never 

throw

 anything away

 to find the receipt for my 35mm lens 

voila!

alas

 the extended warranty had expired

 so

 i will be calling B&H

 to find out

 how much it will cost 

to get the lens cleaned/polished 

if indeed

 the annoying spot 

i keep seeing on my photos

 is

 on

 the lens

not on the camera's mirror 

anyway

 in the process 

i also went through a lot of other papers

 still hoping

 that the stock certificates

 i don't have

 will 

magically appear 

i decided

 all 

the paperwork

 relating to toonman's hospitalizations in 2010/2011

 could be tossed 

along

 with

 the medical paperwork 

relating

 to our late cats 

gus and rosie 

that was saturday

 sunday

 i organized the top shelf in my closet

 looking

 for

 the aforementioned green shoulder bag

 it was not there

 i think

 i gave it to someone as a gift 

tho for the life of me

 i can't recall who 

i hope they're enjoying it

i also unearthed

weight watcher's original diet

i am going to start it

hope to lose that annoying 10 lbs

that's crept up and wont go way

that is all

thanks in advance

I am reposting this article for Best Friends, an organization I support and want to help Save Them All®.” Currently the animals in this post are being fostered if you can give them a forever home please contact the person whose name/phone # is listed within each write up. Courtesy Listing A stray female cat, about a year old, thin build, perhaps of the 'American Shorthair' breed (?) with green eyes, and light brown/white coat. She is friendly, comfortable in the company of people and charmingly inquisitive. She is a well behaved cat that is looking for attention and affection. For more information about this delightful cat call Yanni at 347 837 9775. HE NEEDS HELP ASAP Adorable, sweet, 9 week old black Golden Retriever/Lab mix puppy for adoption!! Bred to be a seeing-eye dog, sadly born blind.  Being fostered until 5/10/14, then out of options. Breeder wants to euthanize - Help us find a home!  Call Riverside Animal Hospital - 212-865-2224. Courtesy Listing This is Susy, she is 4yo, shih tzu rescued from a neglectful owner. She was not walked, she had foot infections, her nails had never been cut. She pees and poops on pads/newspapers. Her owner was a 17 yo girl who loved her but whose mother refused to let the dog go out and over fed her. She weighs 20lbs and vet says she should be at 13lbs.  I already have her walking out on to street and peeing in dirt. I took her to vet, she is up to date on vaccines etc, blood work done, spayed. At first she growled and nipped at me, but within 2-3 days she has bonded with me. She has a feisty personality, she loves to play with toys, she gets along great with my big lab and my cats. She is fearful of people but is coming around really fast. She will be a great companion for someone.  The photo of her is on my couch after about 4 days. Huge improvement from first day. For more info call Alex at 718-623-0883. Please consider a donation today. Help us continue to help them.

Thank you in advance.