Mersydotes

Here are some moments from the past little while. Rain drops clinging to the flowers growing up the brick walls of Queens. An unexpected farmers' market next to a concrete basketball court. The same little black and white cat I see every day after work.  I think he needs a loving home, but Mr. Mersy says that cats in Brooklyn should stay in Brooklyn.  Hmph. Infusing wildflower honey with rosemary from our window sill. Being daring while experimenting with henna on my tootsies for summertime. Whipping up Thai chicken lettuce wraps (with the best sauce ever!).  Find the recipe here , and enjoy the awesomeness!!! (Just leave out the sugar in the sauce- it's better without it.) Falling even more in love with Mr. Mersy as he picks me mulberries along Northern Boulevard.  Reminds me of when I was wee and walked to my great aunt and uncle's catfish pond to go swimming.  My feet were stained purple all summ...

I do not love NYC, and perhaps I never will,yet time keeps passing.  Already six months since Penny and I arrived at LaGuardia, already two semesters at my new job, already three months since I entered my late twenties.  In that time I have eaten more fantastic street food and been verbally assaulted more times that I can count, and yet I still feel like I haven't even arrived here yet. My first month in the city I tried so very hard not to go outside.  Not to leave the apartment, not to acknowledge that anything had changed.  To resolutely wake up every morning imagining that I was still in our Illinois oasis, ready to walk barefoot in the grass and watch the pheasants fly to roost at dusk. But now I go out and about every day, for better and for worse.  My job is my saving grace- it's all about people, and the people are beautiful in the most real way people can be.  So work exists and home exists, but so far I haven't allowed...

Digging frantically through the kitchen jumble drawer yesterday, I re-discovered some little ceramic fruit bowls  that we brought back from our most recent trip to Thailand- how could we have forgotten about these little beauties?!! Our plan had been to turn them into magnets, and it took me just a few minutes to do so yesterday morning with a bit of hot glue.  Aren't they delicious!   We both have so many fond memories of the fruit in Thailand.  I for one will never forget walking down dirt roads surrounded by roosters and jackfruit hanging thick on the trees.  In fact, my Thai name is a fruit, "champoo", which means "rose apple" because I'm always rather pink in the sun : )  Mr. Mersy's name is "bird's nest"- it's a long story ; ) Mangosteen, rambutan, rose apple, jackfruit, mangoes, dragon fruit, durian, pineapple.  Our last meal on our last trip was at the night market in Ubon Rachathani, and we sat...

Mr. Mersy and I had a date afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday!  We wandered in the galleries and dined in the cafeteria, peeked at the mummies, discussed the ethics of displaying human remains, oohed and ahhed over the suits of armor, chatted about the juxtaposition of artistry and destruction, peeked at the medieval triptychs and considered the weighty socio-cultural role of hand-copied books.  We might have also gotten chased away by a guard for taking selfies with ancient Egyptian statues- but we don't have to talk about that!!  All in all, a wonderfully romantic afternoon for the Mersys!   Here are a few snapshots I took along the way.. I love sketches.  They remind me of sculpture in that the subjects are just emerging from the paper.  More of a dream that a reality. Ad what I would give to run my fingers over a Van Gogh!  Those thick brush strokes and ridge...

While our wonderful friends from Illinois were out here visiting, we took a whole day exploring the nooks and crannies of Brooklyn.  Even though I work in Brooklyn, it feels like I work in a very different city than the one that we visited.  Our adventures took us to the hip and arty side of the borough rather than the gritty, sweaty side that I already know so well. Out in Bushwick where everything seems to be made of corrugated metal, street artists have truly reappropriated the landscape, turning industrial into fantastical.  It was incredible walking along the silent, factory-lined streets surrounded by these corridors of color. Apparently, these artsy Brooklynites have a lot of trenchant advice to give people, and they seem to like to share their wisdom on sandwich board signs outside cafes and restaurants. How can you argue with this one: As for the rest... Throughout our wanderings, although we were walking al...