Apartment

I'm outta here in a week. To a degree, this blog functions as a diary. So I thought I'd load some pictures of the beloved apartment. These were taken back in October, when the deck garden was at it's best for the year.

Cleanup

Back Porch Wreath Car, before being dug out The man, who dug out the front porch, back borch, walkway, sidewalk, car, driveway and part of a neighbor's driveway. AND he actually enjoys it.

Boxing Day Blizzard

White day-after Christmas. Stacked up snow.

Christmas 2010

Yule log and tree. (How did I not know about the TV yule log?!) Headless but yummy. Antipasti dinner. (I married into a good people.) Lights on the porch.

Part II: NYC Weekend

Hotel View. NYC's version of a Xmas tree lot. Postcards at the UN post office. Pretty, pretty lights at the Time Warner Center.

Part I: NYC weekend

Gulls Hitching a Ride Arriving in Manhattan Subway Trees Off to the Museum Rawr.
Snuck off to NYC for the weekend.

Part IV: Mostly a story.

Life here:
Every year, we put up twinkle lights. In New Brunswick they went up and down the iron railing on our front steps and were put up around Thanksgiving. You cold see them driving up the street; it was really pretty. I then used snow and ice as an excuse to leave them up through winter. White-trashy, but they added something to the cold, snowy days. Now that we don't have access to a plug for the front of our place, we hang twinkle lights up on our back porch/fire escape/steps of death. I generally change them up in November and leave them all year. They get overgrown with vines in summer and light up the backyard when we hang out in good weather.

Last year I put up cool blueish led lights, inspired by what we saw in our Thanksgiving trip to London. I actually didn't love them and they weren't terribly useful as they got grown over by vines but also got eaten by squirrels. In the end we were down to hardly any light--only a wee strip under the edge of the roof. Tim took them down a few weeks ago.

Life has been hectic, so we haven't gotten round to new lights. Tim told me tonight that the neighbors are complaining. I assumed this was nonsense. Actually, he said, the little boy next door cornered him one morning and said, "where did your lights go?" Tim told him we'd taken old ones down and hadn't gotten new ones up. "Humph," the kid replied. Tim asked, "do you think we should put the new ones up?" A nod was his response. And so tomorrow, Tim and I will finally get our Christmas lights up, because the 5 year old orthodox boy next door thinks we should.

I love Edison, NJ.

Part III: Citrus

Tree. Tangerines.

The tree had a good year. Still not sure what kind of citrus it is, but it certainly grew. It's due for a repotting, but I'm waiting on that till it goes out to California. Wonder how it will do out there? I love, love tangerines, clementines, and such. In general, orage things seem to be key in my making it through winter.

Part II: Winter foods

Twice baked potatoes. Persimmon.

I've been all about potatoes of late. Yay potatoes! This persimmon actually tasted kinda weird, but the color was lovely enough on its own.

Part I: Odds and ends

Cocoa Butter. Travel box.

The objects. This stuff is d--n good for dry skin, which mine certainly is this time of year. This wee box is from the Covent Garden Paperchase. I use it for my jewelry when I go on trips. Not terribly practical, but good in some ways.

The blog. I think that this time of year kinda stinks. Semester is winding down, which is stressful. Less light in the day, which is mildly depressing and bad for photo taking. And this year is unusually cold, so frankly I stay home more than i should and certainly don't want to linger outside taking pics.

I'm also loathe to post particulraly pedestrian shots--this is Barnes and Noble, where I got a book for next semester. This is the mall, where I got some presents and waited in line. This is the library. This is my trashed house. But....this blog is meant to document life, so maybe pedestrian and cooped up should just be captured.

Part II: California sun

Breakfast at the beach. Tangerine and one of the best croissants I've ever had. Which for $3.75 it should be. The sky is showing off here. Also seen while sitting here? Mobs of surfers and a pod of about 6 dolphins--alas, impossible to photograph well. Terrible photo, but showing that I had lunch OUTSIDE, while looking at this view. (Note also that in S. Cal, poinsttias are outdoor plants.) My hippie lunch. Grilled tempeh and carrot coleslaw. I maybe was able to eat half of it.

Part I: Daily life in California

Hotel room view. Very Cali. New classroom. Surely more attractive when occupied. Mission. Which I just drove by when apartment hunting. I think still an active church. Closet in the complex I chose. This is at least 3 times the size of what I now have. Traffic. I think there was a fire on an on-ramp? After about an hour of trying to get around it, I gave up and got sushi for lunch.

Part II: Jersey Holidays

Coppalla's wreaths and etc., grave covers, dreidel bear.

I just found Coppalla's this past summer. It is an amazing garden store that used to be part of a larger farm in the area. I think it has been in 1 family for generations and that other local families have also been shopping there for decades. In summer they have amazing herbs, but also great, somewhat exotic vegetables--Indian and Italian. They had lovely mums in fall and now have trees and wreaths. They also carry grave covers/blankets--something I never saw before I moved to Jersey. Dreidel bear lives around the corner from us. I don't think he went up last year, so I'm especially glad to see him again this year. On the same street there is a blow-up Santa figure and a blow-up Jets player. It's an area with a lot of faiths represented.

Part I: Imported Holiday

British Ornaments, Italian Angel, Danish Anglaspel.

The Italian angel was picked up in 1993 at an Italian Xmas market and always hangs, year round, just inside my door. She's lived in many apartments now. The British ornaments were picked up at Chelsea Garden store in London last year. I'd spotted it online when I was looking for tools and dragged Tim in on a night when they happened to be having a big open house and sale. The candleholder is from our day trip to Copenhagen. Tricky to get set up, but fun to watch it spin.

Part II NYC

Fancy Upper East Side Holiday Window Juice from the Union Square farmers' market My favorite neighborhood Snacks for an arty movie at the Angelica Jersey humor
In general, it was a day both doing things I've long meant to do and revisiting places that I'll miss. I think my habit has been to sneak off for a largely unscheduled day in the city about three times a year. I'll miss being able to do that.

Part I NYC: Monday 29 November 2010

CampusIndustry Bagel and Metropolitan Diary Grand Central Chrysler Building

Went to NYC. Took the train from downtown New Brunswick, which costs more than ferrying in, but which is fun. Fulfilled my desire to read the New York Times' Metropolitan Diary in the city. Did so, in fact, sitting in Grand Central while eating a really good bagel. Then went in my favorite building, the Chrysler. Afterward, walked so much I have blisters on both feet. Am now (happily) exhausted.