Resilient Roses and Warming Wontons

January outliers on the one hand, and seasonal comforts on the other.

January roses - lovely, but not normal. The pale pink was from a tree bed in front of my building on Tuesday; the deep, near-red one was from a tree bed near my office yesterday morning - both before yesterday evening's bitter cold, so I don't know what they are like now. Poor roses were confused by how temperate it's been. Perhaps in time they'll adapt, or we'll need to breed different roses that can survive the weather whiplash we are unleashing. Snow is coming to the north and west; here in the city, our streak without is forecasted to continue.

What IS normal, and tasty, for January cold are spicy sauce adorned spinach and mushroom wontons ... 

A bit like an unopened rose, no? Sorta?

... and, especially, steamy vegetarian udon (spiked with Sriracha) from Vanessa's Dumpling House, ... 

 

... with the pancake sandwich on the side. 

First time there since they opened up in the neighborhood, and it hit the right notes on this past cold evening. We'll be back, especially since they have a faux beef option that I haven't tried yet. Very gratified to find more and more vegetarian and vegan options nearby, and mixed in with meated options so I can still dine in the same space as meat-eating folks - like, say, my whole family (me, too, when Mama Hen serves it, and under some specific exceptions; it's about balance, trying to get closer to achieving my ideals in a way that doesn't compromise quality of life so that it all can be sustained, and stick). 

What's In Store for 2024?

Setting the tone for the new year.

Happy new year! Hoping for good health, happiness, success and learning, peace and understanding - for myself, everyone I know, and the world over. We can do that for each other; I know we can.

I wanted to get out on this first day into nature, feel the quiet vigor of my body in motion, take in the beauty of mundane things, witness the life force that runs through everything, take paths with uncertain turns, be open to what lay before me. And I convinced my favorite people to come out with me - experiencing it in their own way, at their own paces.

Takeforwards - Vignettes from 1/1 to inform the year ahead:

1 - Beauty is everywhere (as seen in the opening shot); slow down and look for it.

2 - Death can beget new life.

3 - A grumpy face is yet one expression of the human experience.

4 - Growing together in close quarters is not always comfortable, but can be done. (But it requires compromise, making some room for others.)

5 - Seek beautiful colors, even if there are only traces.

6 - Leave no slide unslid, play! (Even if you're in your late 40s... Bonus points if you get your sibs to play along!)

7 - Try new recipes; take notes to make it better next time. (Improvised quiche to use the remaining frozen pie shell from last year or the year before, because I managed to make only one pie for Thanksgiving. It did not set fully; next time, higher egg ratio, maybe some flour added, cheese in the filling, all ingredients mixed more thoroughly, partially bake before topping with cheese toward the end.)

8 - A bit of acidity cuts through the richness and provides a healthy balance.

9 - It's ok to accept help from the tried and true. (Mother Hen's bánh cuốn that she had set aside from a prior dinner for Sissy and me, to supplement New Year's Day brunch, because the quiche wasn't quite enough for anyone; it lined out bellies, but maybe too much, putting us into sluggishness.)

10 - Look beyond bland appearances; they can still provide sweetness. (Tres leches cake that Sissy brought to share, saving me the overambitious effort to attempt a cake with the cranberries unused from Thanksgiving; maybe we try that next trip to the Mothership.)

With that, the overall nudge word that I select for this year is "calm" (while being open to some instances of excitement). The goal is to apply it to situations, to strive to achieve it in my home, to attain it in mind and spirit, to exude it that it might benefit others. (Theory being that a nudge word is more attainable than resolutions - though those can be good to keep in mind and incorporate, too, especially if pockets of calm are attained that allow for thoughtful and intentional execution of a next best action.)

A good start to this new trip around the sun!

Fave, Fave, Fave (A Tardy Post)

Kayaking, art viewing, gardening - these are a few of my favorite things.

[Edited: This very short and underdeveloped draft was begun around September 2019, although the outing described seems to have been in August preceding that. The above tagline was written more or less contemporaneously with publication of this post, long after the title (owning up to the fact that I was already late back then, so what's the harm of tacking on four more years?); knowing myself, the number of "fave"s was intentional, so I spent a bit of time guessing at which ones I intended and experienced during that outing in order to write the tagline. With year-end approaching, the rollout of never-published drafts for the publication queue continues, and this one works as a nice benchmark to compare the state of affairs then, and now, four years later. Comments and insights in hindsight are italicized. PLUS, the planned format of this post works so well with this publication date: 12-31-23, also known as 1-2-3-1-2-3!]

Fave #1: Kayaking - in the city!  And it was free!  And a community educational event to boot.  And not so overly crowded that it was more a pain than it was worth - it was fun, actually, and well worth the trip out that day.

That day being several Saturdays ago, on a warm, [presumably August, height of summer day. The Long Island City Community Boathouse had a walk-up kayaking event, which I had convinced the family to check out with me, in part to scope out that little "beach" as a launch spot. The sibs and I had our turns to be out in their kayaks in the little cove in 30ish minute sessions.

Back then, I was yearning to get back on the water more regularly, wanting the calming feeling of gentle rocking and bobbing, and being away from it all on the water, the very act a victory in carving time for myself and getting closer to the balance I was seeking. That outing set off much rumination and daydreaming about how to get back to our regular family boating routine of the mid-20teens, but with the lure of being so much closer, though still with the challenge of unloading and reloading, and the added difficulty of no parking nearby (an issue I would have been newly acutely aware of, having just gotten off my building's garage wait-list and acquired a new car over which I was protective).

The wheels in my head were turning about various options - whether joining the LICCB could be a way to leave the kayaks; but then what about Papa Rooster's canoe? Where was the clubhouse; it wasn't visible from the cove... And Long Island City, despite being viewing distance from my beloved neighborhood park, was still somewhat far from the Mothership. Still in contention at that time was the purchase of a little cottage somewhere in the country on a body of water - again, to have a place to leave the watercraft in order to get out onto the water quickly and with less labor. What to do, what to do... How to get to that feeling of being waterborne without locking myself into a massive financial and time obligation that would require me to keep running on the hamster wheel, that would ultimately put that balance further out of reach? 

This was the summer after SSSF (formerly known as NF), the ending of which brought into focus my need to plow ahead on my own with The Project before more time was lost, putting me on the path to the following month's prerequisite major medical procedure and subsequent launch of The Project. That, of course, led to its separate but related cycle of contemplating the massive financial/time obligation of a successful outcome, that could have chained me to the hamster wheel, with ever diminishing time for devoting to any successful outcome.

There was a LOT in play that summer.

Fave #2: Art in the city! It turned out that Hallet's Cove, the location of the kayaking event, was only a block or so from the Socrates Sculpture Park, which I had read about and had on my list of places to explore, but which none of us had visited (well, truthfully, art like this just isn't on the radar of the parentals or bro, and unfamiliar venues for it, and exploration, don't always make Sissy's list either). So of course I had to stop in, and dragged the fam. And it was charming, like a small urban Storm King. And the fam ended up enjoying it (as they often do once I've dragged them somewhere new).

Fave #3: Gardening in the city! The grounds of the park were planted...

... A stone patio area was surrounded by trumpet vine, one of my heart's desire plants. (I purchased one some years back to plant up a trellis, but the Jardin just doesn't receive enough sunlight, so I returned it).

... And there was Queen Anne's lace that framed the view back toward home in the loveliest of ways.

So the excursion checked off so many boxes for me.

Fast-forward to 2023:

Fave #1 in comparison: Kayaking... Unbeknownst to me at the time of beginning to draft the paragraph for that first favorite, there was a spot right near the Mothership for kayaking - virtually right under our noses. By August of this year, we had already been out there at least twice that I documented on Instagram, and then there was the infamously funny low tide outing. It has been wonderful, though does sometimes feel like an obligation (Sissy has expressed this) to optimize the investment in the fee - but how much less than a whole other house! Assembling Papa Rooster's canoe with all of its accoutrements is a process that I need to approach more patiently, or figure out a way to streamline. He enjoys it so, though. He already asks about the opening of the new season next April. So we are currently doing much better on this score.

Fave #2 in comparison: Art ... I feel like I have been able to take in more exhibits and shows and cultural offerings than I was able to do four years ago, based on a quick scan of this year's Instagram - which doesn't even capture everything (versus 2019's documented six). The new job has yielded more time and mental space to partake, and corporate memberships just make these experiences more accessible. And friends I have gotten to know better in the time since who are frequent consumers of Broadway and music have expanded my possible companions for these diversions. Assessment: Doing better on the cultural front now than then.

Fave #3 in comparison: Gardening ... Here I feel I have lagged in comparison. The Jardin feels unkempt and out of control, semi-feral. There are unfinished projects and deferred maintenance. I sleep more and later, so the early morning hours are no longer gardening hours, happy hours. In part, it is all the running off on weekends for kayaking, all the making time for cultural offerings, and for volunteer activities. All of that is good. But it is also more social media - this blog and Instagram, for one. And my fitness and cooking and financial monitoring have also suffered. So some tweaking is definitely needed.

Overall, some priorities are definitely more on track and in alignment with my long term intentions from four years ago. Some are a bit off. This post has been a useful exercise in assessing what requires some rejiggering. I and my life are a work in progress.]

Buddy's Warm Under the Collar, and Confused

Early budding during this too-warm Winter.

I took my not-quite-daily constitutional around the park late this afternoon and halted in my tracks to see ... forsythia blooms - in December!!! Way, way too early. They haven't even had a proper cold rest to store up enough energy; maybe that's why the flowers are a pale yellow and not the gold that they usually are in Spring. Global warming is so very real.

All the more reason to bring your once-live tree, if you got one, to be chipped for Mulchfest (where it can eventually help other trees and plants in the city) rather than relegate it to a landfill. Do it, folks! And remember to strip it of ornaments, lights, tinsel.

It was still so warm out, and, happily, the days are lengthening ever so gradually enough that when I got home I was able to do some composting and check on the Jardin. And lo and behold, my hydrangea is budding, too - it thinks it's Spring already. Which means as soon as we hit a freeze, those buds will die, and there will be yet another year without hydrangeas. And this particular hydrangea planter is on a part of the terrace that's in full shade. I don't know how to better mimick Winter.

I am not sure what's going on with the tricolor peach (that I thought had died two Winters ago, but seems to have sprouted suckers this past year), but some of the branches of the suckers seem decidedly green. I can't recall whether they haven't gone dormant and brown yet, or if they did and are now showing signs of coming back.

I wonder whether in time we'll all need to move toward plant varieties meant for much warmer climates.

Our poor, confused plants and planet. We need to do much better, much faster, with more means, greater creativity.

Under Your Spell, Untermyer

Introductory visit to Untermyer Park and Gardens.

Temple of the Sky.

As Friday unfolded warmer and less rainy than had been forecasted, the old folks called, itching for an excursion in the early afternoon. Sissy and I both had housekeeping planned, but it's hard to deny my sweet parents their field trips - these are the times we will remember one day; doing laundry or dishes, not so much.

Mama Hen and Papa Rooster had proposed just hitting Jones Beach, an old standby. But I like to try to introduce them (and myself) to new spots - change it up and stretch a little. We've reversed roles in some ways almost completely, with Sissy and I finding enrichment activities for them and fun places to take them visit to keep them stimulated. I suppose this is what has happened through the ages with aging parents. I now have a new perspective on "Benjamin Button." We want to keep them active while they are able. (We have been getting updates on my 99-year-old great-aunt in Nice, who no longer has that mobility.) And, after all, having the freedom to do precisely this - to be present and spend more quality time with the parental units - was why I left BigLaw last year.

So I checked my "Places to Explore" Insta folder (yay for social media! - sometimes), assessed the weather conditions, the accessibility for Mama Hen's jiggity knee, potential interest for them both, the time of day, distance, and the winner was [drumroll, please] ... Untermyer in Yonkers!

Of course, no one had eaten lunch, so while I drove (Papa Rooster has ceded more of the driving these days; all the better, probably, between his so-so night vision and occasional confusion), Sissy hunted for dining options en route. We stopped into the Applebee's closest to the park. It was a hit, and actually a pretty good bargain - better than any of us remembered, even had a vegetarian burger option me, and, as far as Papa Rooster was concerned, could have been the excursion in and of itself. In some regards, he is so easily satisfied; at 86, his wants have become simple.

By the time we were done dining, though, with these very short early Winter days, we lost light quickly. Happily, the park is having its Illumination evenings. The walled part of the garden was lovely at late dusk going into early evening. 

O' Christmas tree...

Persian Pool (view from the Temple of the Sky).

The grounds are the opposite of "simple." The life of the long late Mr. Untermyer, an attorney who became very wealthy, overlapped Papa Rooster's by three years; my guess is that is close to the extent to which their lives overlapped.

Sphinxes atop columns, looking toward the Amphitheater (from the visitor's perspective; the sphinxes face away from it).

View from the Amphitheater.

Toward the western horizon.

The Vista through the locked gate.

Peering past the gate at the Vista Overlook.

Good guard doggie at the loggia housing the gate that leads to the Vista Overlook.

Back toward the Temple of the Sky.

Persian Pool behind the Temple of the Sky.

Mosaic on the floor of the Temple of the Sky.

Tower in corner of the walled garden.

Close-up of wall tower.

The form of this tree was quite beautiful in person; the photograph does not capture the shape and grace of the trunk and main branches well.

The small area that we visited whetted our appetite to revisit during the day when we can see the full grounds (when it's warmer and the plants awake from their Winter dormancy) and gaze across the Hudson to New Jersey. We'll be back!