Mersydotes

I certainly do love a good, old-fashioned alliterative tile, and it had been much too long since we'd had one here on the blog- wouldn't you agree?  Well, that's one thing taken care of, then!  So on to apples!   Mr. Mersy and I joined M & Z for a day of apple picking at an orchard just north of the city.  The drive was phenomenal, winding through the hills along the Hudson, with nearly neon foliage surrounding us.  We were leaf peepers and loving it!  I'm glad it's possible to scamper away from the city and find yourself in the hills and forest so quickly. It was great to be out and about with such wonderful peeps (Penny was there, too!), but I have to admit that our orchard experience in NY couldn't hold a candle to Illinois.  This isn't coming from some misplaced, stubborn sense of homesick nostalgia- I promise!  It's just that an orchard should be a peaceful, calm, family-centered, warm place...

The temperature has dropped nearly 20 degrees this week, and people are already mentioning the "sn**" word!  But the briskness is refreshing, and to be honest, New York City was made for the cold weather.  One of my friends says that winter is when "the city has its bowtie on", and she couldn't be more right.  Early sunsets and chilly streets make the city feel more intimate and, oddly enough, more welcoming, provided you have a warm place of your own to curl up in. With the end of autumn approaching and with my eyes recalibrated and ready to peer at the world again, I realized that this week might be my last opportunity to photograph my favorite spot in Queens.  It's just a little spot- a few feet of sidewalk on my way to work, but it's pretty magical to me. Every morning on my way to work I walk through this an alley of morning glories, filtering the sunshine through their petals and leaves, tumbling through the fence of an abandoned lot...

Three years ago when I began Mersydotes, I hemmed and hawed for months before deciding to start a blog.  I so very much wanted a little corner of the world where I could only put the good and bright bits of every day life.  Moments that cause me to count my blessings, look deeper at the little things and step out of the stream of consciousness for a moment and breathe as I watch it flow by. Sometimes those moments come when I'm counting stitches, watching something grow and grow from the end of my hook or needles. But recently I think my eye for little moments of loveliness has been a bit clouded.  So maybe I need recalibrate it and keep a look out.  I'll be doing my best. Lots of love, ~Mersydotes