Mersydotes

Flushing Meadows Park is a Godsend for those who live in Queens.  There's space, there's a breeze, and there's nothing casting a shadow over you.  For the first time in months, we were warmed by the sun. Pokey ran about like a prisoner freed, and Mr. Mersy and I had a gluten-free picnic.   Whoever those long-ago urban planners were who decided that these green spaces should be set aside for the good of the community should be lauded for their foresight.  I think we owe them our sanity! Love to all, ~Mersydotes

I love Easter- it always feels like the world begins anew and that it's the turning point away form the dreariness of winter not the brightness of spring.   We celebrated with our friends on Saturday afternoon and made huge batches of candy just for fun!  There were jujubes, hokey pokey, nut brittle, and peanut butter balls.  Surprisingly, it nearly all turned out well : )  We also discovered that everything was much better after sitting over night in the fridge- the peanut butter balls were crisper, the jujubes firmer, and the hokey pokey no longer tried to rip our molars out!   Throughout the winter I had forgotten what a nice little patch of Long Island our corner of Queens is, but I'm remembering now as the bulbs poke through the otherwise desolate and trash-strewn ground to greet the season.  It can look so sparse in the gray and cold months.  Just exhausted patches of dirt and crumbling concrete.  But now, we're breathing again. ...

Nothing smells better than the little rosemary plant that lives by the window in our bedroom.  We water it with water left over from our morning ironing, and in thanks, it sends out its beautiful scent every time we open the blinds in the morning. All the little herbs are growing like crazy now that we get plenty of morning sunshine.   The oregano smells fantastic!  I've only just recently discovered cooking with oregano, and I love it! It's exciting that the season for putting basil in everything is here at last!  I miss our great big basil plant that we grew in Illinois.  Basil's kinda like a goldfish and will grow as big as its pot allows it to. I'll need to repot this little guy soon- I think he'll be comfy growing next to the rosemary.   The mint and parsley are also doing just fine and the mint is growing like crazy- it's a little bit creepy actually.  One of these mornings we might wake up completely ta...

You know things are gonna to get bumpy when your daily commute out to a place named Flushing (really?!) necessitates signs like this: When you commute with mammals of various species (and a variety of mammal-sized insects), I guess people need a few reminders about how to be human: Mostly, people pretty much keep themselves to themselves, but more often than not you do run across someone who can go from peacefully rockin' out to their bachata music to freaking out at the train conductor in a split second.  I call this move the "New York Nine O'Clock-er".  It is best executed during the am rush hour with a wet umbrella or a full water bottle to use as a weapon against your fellow passengers and friendly service personnel.   Maybe signs like these are really the tremulous thread that holds together the collective sanity of millions. Scary thoughts, no? Hang in there, ~Mersydotes  

March could not simply bring spring gently on the breeze.  It had to test our metal with one more snowfall. Even the little winter cabbages that line the streets in Manhattan have given up any hope of an early spring. Big, plump flakes fell all morning and afternoon.  The street sounds were muffled and little kids accompanied their parents on sleds along the sidewalks.  On the hood of my jacket I could hear tap, tap as the flakes settled on my head.  Pretty soon we were all crusted in snow like chicken filets covered in bread crumbs. We spent the afternoon ducking in and out of cozy nooks.   McNulty's tea shop opened its doors to us in a cloud of tannin and mint. And Murry's cheese shop let us taste and compare wheel after wheel before we finally chose a goat cheese cheddar from Spain.  They treat each cheese like a fine wine.  It's amazing the variety that can be created by the careful curation of one simp...

Early in February we were walking around Bryant Park with Mr. Mersy's sister, trying to stay warm by walking on top of the subway vents, waiting for the blasts of warm air.  No matter how bundled up we were, that damp sea air of Manhattan kept chilling us through, and Mr. Mersy's sister was tempted to buy an ear warmer from a street vendor until she saw the price.  What would probably have gone for two bucks in Queens was going for thirteen in Manhattan, so I told her not to worry, I could crochet one for her lickety-split.   Here's how it turned out, with a snazzy little button around the cinch.  It's not just any button, though. This is, in fact, a button from a burqah, and I'd been waiting for just the right occasion to use it.  It came from a friend of mine who covered fully, and one day I noticed that her abbaya had brand new buttons on the front.  After complimenting her, she went home, gathered her extra buttons, and presented them...

Yesterday at work, there was this whole "photocopier thing", and I was so upset when I got home that I had to make an egg basket.  I just had to.  It was very cathartic.  And now we have a basket for our eggs!  Yay! Very lovely, no?  Kind of like crochet origami.  It was awfully fun to make, and fold, and figure out the geometry.  Plus, it gets to live in the fridge.  Now our lives are complete- I've crocheted everything in the house, even the fridge. Yay! ~Mersydotes