Friday, December 7, 2012

upstate, downstate, downtown, uptown (and kitten)


Since closing the store, I've been spending weekends catching up on neglected friends and favorite places. The weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to Vermont to see dear friends who live near Bennington, a small town that has THREE independent book stores, and a fourth until a recent fire.

Then breakfast in Amherst, where I planned to visit Emily Dickinson's house, but the timing didn't work out. I did, however get to have an excellent college town breakfast--such fun to overhear ernest conversation about Kierkegaard and Fellini while eating French toast.


Last weekend to the Catskills, where many businesses have the Closed sign up for the winter, but lunch at Two Old Tarts--Senegalese peanut soup, sour cream apple coffee cake, and hot cider, was sublime. I visited friends, holiday shopped and found an antique desk for my son, so....


 Sunday morning I drove to Brooklyn to deliver the desk, then uptown to spend a couple of hours in the Metropolitan Museum, then midtown where I met my son and his girlfriend at a holiday fair. That night, walking the streets of Manhattan into a neighborhood of stately townhouses I had such a feeling of familiarity, and realized that for an instant I felt like I was walking within a book I just finished--Mark Helprin's In Sunlight and In Shadow. He writes with such love and intensity about New York City (and does so even more in one of my favorite books, Winter's Tale).


Monday morning I walked through Chinatown into the Lower East Side


where I loaded up on pickles and bialys, neither of which are properly made in Boston (and don't get me started on Massachusetts pizzas which, for some reason are all made by Greeks).


I'll be home this weekend, hanging wreaths and trying out cat names. This may be my last long post for a while, since I now have to share the computer.

What? You want more kitten pictures?





Enjoy your weekend!

Jen





18 comments:

  1. College towns are so much fun to visit. Did you get to the Bennington Museum? I can tell that those Chinese signs are not in Taiwan, because here most signs are at least partly in English!
    --Road to Parnassus

    P.S. The cats are still adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your weekend experiences and your walk sound cosy and yes, a bit like that "on the road" feeling we talked about ; ) It's funny how we all have favourite placed where they make stuff they way we like them... Your kitten is so sweet : )


    Have a lovely weekend

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of these days on one of your trips to Brooklyn give a shout. It would be nice to meet you in person.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be fun. I feel like I am always dashing through--next spring or summer I want to spend a few days.

      Delete
  4. Oh my god, that kitten is SO sweet!

    You're certainly right about bialys in Boston. I'd bet you 80 percent of Bostonians have never even heard of them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your trip sounds good Jen. New York must look so lovely this time of year with the Christmas decorations! That tree looks amazing!!

    Happy weekend!

    Madelief x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely kitten, so sweet. Must visit New York some time. A deep conversation at breakfast, Kierkegaard and Fellini, must indeed be fun to overhear that. Enjoy your weekend, groetjes, Gerda

    ReplyDelete
  7. How colouful your holidays are! And you'll be busy at home from now on as Xmas is coming...I'll miss your long post, Jen.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You take wonderful photos, but I'll take cats over New York any time. The noise . . . oh, the noise!

    ReplyDelete
  9. haha, adorable. mine do that, too, sit on the keyboard or laptop... and I never know how to react. is it an awwww or a wtf?

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely friend you have! How you spend your days sounds exciting and how your senses are open is wonderful! Like the pictures too! Enjoy your weekend! CHrista

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are on the road these days.

    Perfect timing to have closed the shop I think.

    New York, new pets and new book recommendations.

    Nice life.

    We have tentatively put up a tree. Undecorated. More will be revealed.

    xo jane

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are one busy lady. Having loads of fun too I see. Nice picture of the Rock Center tree. How'd you get baby kitty to stand still? Cutie patootie.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This post just made me.... happy!! I lived in NYC when I was seven or so and I still intend to visit again at Christmas. Yes, kitten pictures are always welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, lovely! I had that very same kitten (Cinnamon) once, when I was about 20.

    ReplyDelete
  15. kittieeees...adorable. the mama looks alot like miss crabapple.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your kitten is just adorable! We have one that looks alot like her. A tortie, named.........Tortie! (how original, huh)!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow! I feel as though I have been on a vacation through your post. I'm going to head for the follow button now. Take care. Chel x

    ReplyDelete