Awake

Stone Fruits

Today, life is much better.  The weather is cooler.  My phone / internet problems seem to have been resolved (knock wood).  And suddenly, the farmer's market is beginning to fill with stone fruit.  I LOVE stone fruit: peaches, apricots, plums of all kinds.

Granted, I'm rather suspicious of many of these early stone fruits on display.  They are a little too firm to the touch, and they don't smell fragrant enough to seem fully right.  But there are some New Jersey peaches that are... divine.  You can smell the bins of them from feet away.  Even the bag I carried them in still is infused with peach perfume.  Mmm.  At least I have these to eat while I wait for the rest of the fruit to ripen...

everything broken, + hats

Hello,

Yesterday was a not-so-great day - it was so hot in my apartment that by late afternoon it felt like I lived in a Turkish bath, AND to top it all off I realized that I wasn't getting a phone signal, nor was I getting an internet connection.  I should have called Verizon, but I was in such a state of torpor that I decided to wait a few hours to see if it came back on its own.  Not surprisingly, it didn't.  So instead of fixing it I left the house and went to the library, where I read a book I absolutely hate while I cooled off under the air conditioning.

Today, I will have it fixed!

In the meantime I discovered that I have a somewhat wavering bootleg wireless connection so I am writing a post quickly while it's quasi strong!

Something that's been on my mind in this hot weather is HATS.  This weekend, I had a conversation with a woman who is very alternative-health-y, and I mentioned that this weather has been hard on my skin.  I meant bumps, but she thought I was referring to my being so fair.  This led to a sunscreen conversation, and of course she insisted that the titanium dioxide formula that i use daily will turn me phosphorescent in no time.  I am not too worried about this, but I've been thinking for quite some time that I might be best off using a hat, rather than slathering my poor face with layer after layer of sunblock in sticky, humid weather.  

But what kind of hat?  I tend to be a bit picky about such things.  I have a round-crowned, round brimmed straw hat suitable for the beach, but when I'm dressed casually it looks a little... hillbilly (not sure that's a p.c. term - but used with all due respect for hillbillies of course) walking around the city streets.  I feel like I should also be chewing a piece of straw.

And speaking of straw, I do think that the straw fedoras that are everywhere are nice hats and universally flattering, but I can't stand anything that is so ubiquitous.  I mean, two years ago no one walked around with real 'hats,' and then all of a sudden last summer (I think) they were evveerrrywhere in the city.  The cool boys pair them with aviators, long shorts, flip flops.  The cool girls with aviators, thin t-shirts, (often) checked scarves (in the middle of summer!) and short shorts or minis.  Yes, the checked scarves are also everywhere, but I think they came first (and seem to be an international phenomenon, by the way).  So I don't think I can stomach the straw fedora, though it would otherwise be a good solution.

So what's left?  A male friend once told me that he was considering a pith helmet for summer... but I don't think that's very "me."  I'm thinking of trying to find a boater, of the sort that Venetian gondoliers wear, but I'm not sure that would suit me either.  I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled and try out some different shapes... or I could just forget fashion and buy one of those huge visors that elderly women wear on the beach!  Maybe I'd look goofy now... but who cares what I look like in my 30s so long as when I'm 80 everyone will admire my soft skin.  Right?

OK going to post before my luck runs out... hope your weeks are off to a better start than mine!

Neighbors

One of the funny things about living in a big city is that while you grow used to feeling completely anonymous among the crowds of people, when you adhere to a certain daily schedule you slowly realize that you are seeing the same people again and again.  For example, when I went to the office around the same time every morning, I eventually noticed that there was a woman with white hair, a red wool coat, and purple eyeshadow who I probably walked by at least three times each week somewhere in the vicinity of Lexington between 85th and 86th street.  There were several other people who I also eventually registered that I very often encountered: two teenage girls walking to private school who favored sweatpants under their short plaid skirts when it was cold out; a slim, youngish-looking woman with young children whose hair has already gone entirely gray; a tall red-head who wore a waist-length plaid jacket with long, ribbed cuffs throughout the winter, no matter how cold.

Iced Teas

As I mentioned last time, I've been battling the heat in my stuffy apartment... and today I battled it outside as well!  In this kind of weather, I love having something to drink that's cold and even more enticing than water.  But as you all know, I hate to spend money these days.  So I have become an iced tea fanatic.

Heat

I live in one of those plain white-brick apartment buildings that are very typical of Manhattan's mid-century residential architecture. 

A lot of people don't like these boring, boxy buildings, but I rather like them for being unassuming, functional and generally well-built.  Even better, the apartments in them are often generously sized by New York standards.  And these white brick boxes are beauty queens compared to the brown monstrosities thrown up in the 70s and 80s.  In my opinion, anyway.

However, part of such apartment houses' functionalism is that each apartment comes with a built-in air conditioner, and is more or less designed to be air-conditioned because all of the large windows face in one direction.  This renders it impossible to get any kind of cross-draft. 

Also in the neighborhood...

Just a quick post on a hot Sunday evening - I hope all of you enjoyed your weekends!  I did.

I suddenly ran out of bread last week, a big emergency for me, and was going to run to the fancy grocery store near me to buy a fresh loaf from their bakery.  My husband reminded me that I could go to Orwasher's instead, which is also in the neighborhood but sort of tucked away on a side street, out of sight, out of mind.  In the spirit of patronizing local businesses, as I was discussing the other day, I decided I'd buy a loaf there instead.

 

Sleepy Head

I've always wanted to be a morning person.  I think I somehow absorbed the idea that morning people are morally superior: "early to bed, early to rise," and so forth.  Getting up early is associated in my mind with hard work and discipline.  Getting up late, with laziness and moral turpitude.  I wish I were joking. 

Unfortunately for me, I am not nor have I ever been a morning person.  I like mornings as much as anyone: early morning sunshine, cool, fresh air, the feeling of starting new.  However, when I'm drowsy in the morning I have a terrible time getting up, and as wonderful as I know mornings are, I tend to doze "just a little bit longer" until the morning is half gone at least.

Today's little dietary experiment

 

One of the big benefits of working at home is that you don't have to worry too much about lunch.  When you're hungry, you can just stroll a few feet into your kitchen and fix yourself something.  You don't have to plan ahead or worry about the options in your work neighborhood.

The downside, at least for me, is that after about a month of this I am heartily sick of my own cooking.  I'm sure it's great for my health to eat leafy greens, and leafy greens, and more leafy greens... and sardines, or eggs, or more sardines... but I'm afraid to say that I'm very bored with the limited menu.

Berries are Here

Good morning - I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

I did - though as usual I wonder where it went - and I'm tired this morning with all the low clouds and humidity.  Tired, and feeling behind on things as always.

On the bright side, on Saturday at the Farmer's Market I saw berries in number for the first time this season!  I'd say I've been eating strawberries steadily for the past three weeks or so (poor me), but on Saturday all of a sudden there were lots of blueberries and raspberries as well - and there will only be more in coming weeks. I love this time of year!

More Millet

Well, this morning I did it: I finally made Millet porridge using this recipe.  I'm at one of the points where my cupboard is bare enough that I need to get a bit creative.  And the verdict?  It is o.k.  I served it to my husband, and asked him what he thought.  He said:

"It's fine.  It's different.  I'm hungry, and it will fill me."

Then later he said, "I feel great!  Stronger!  More robust!  It was super healthy."

I guess the missing word here is delicious, but at least we ate it and it wasn't bad.  The texture was rather soft and mushy - more so than oatmeal, but it's too coarse to be creamy like farina.  AND Millet is apparently very healthy indeed.  According to this website, it has: " ...nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium."

So even if we didn't enjoy our breakfast as much as we would have, say, chocolate croissants, at least we can feel very smug and congratulate ourselves on having fed ourselves well!