Beautifying the Yard

We have lovely, warm, kind and talented next-door neighbors who bless us with their generosity and love.  They are also amazing gardeners and have a big, terraced backyard garden.  They have green thumbs.  Mrs. Neighbor saves her own seeds and isn't afraid to experiment with a variety of plants such as lovage, stevia, etc. 

Husband Lance and I have kind of grayish-black thumbs.  We grow weeds.  Really hearty, healthy weeds.  For a few years I've had a little side-yard container garden which has yielded a few good tomatoes, scraggly and twisted carrots, strange-looking cucumbers, some decent looking and tasting green beans, bizarre zucchini and some parsley that grows in abundance regardless of the care I give it.  Oh, and some mostly bitter lettuce, and spinach that always bolted a day or two after it emerged from the soil.

I've always wanted a beautiful-looking raised bed garden and have dropped many hints to my handyman husband, but there have always been other things on his "to-do" list of higher priority.  Mrs. Neighbor wanted a bigger garden to plant even more stuff--specifically tomatoes, since her previous tomato spot had some issues that weren't conducive to tomato growing.  She and I have been known to collaborate on projects; we put our heads together and hatched a plan.  I would try to convince Handsome Handyman Husband to build a garden.  He and I would pay for the supplies and the soil.  Mrs. Neighbor would plant the garden and supervise the maintenance and harvesting.  Both families would share the produce.

Although it took him more time and effort than he and I anticipated, my beloved husband (with some capable assistance of a semi-cooperative 16-year-old son) built a raised garden of beauty.  We bought 12 cubic yards of topsoil and, together with the neighbors, and other neighbors and some kind missionaries, schlepped it to the backyard.  Mrs. Neighbor planted 16 tomato plants, beans, peas and rutabagas and maybe some other stuff.  For good measure, she planted marigolds to ward off  a possible slug invasion and to discourage our canine companion from upsetting the tomatoes. 

The chicken manure fertilizer was a bit too enticing for our canine companion, so Husband had to erect a temporary fence and "gates" to keep canine out. 

After planting the garden, Mrs. Neighbor turned her attention to our unsightly front yard weed garden.  It didn't used to be a weed garden.  It only used to be a partial-weed garden.  In the 26 years we've inhabited our home, I've only liked the front yard area about 2 years.  Mrs. Neighbor asked me to describe the vision I had for that area.  She helped me create one, and then went to work on the beautification project.  She also suggested plants to purchase and even went shopping with me to buy the supplies and plants.  Mrs. Neighbor is also a magician.  After seeing the finished project, a realtor friend (perhaps in jest) told me that the value of our property has increased $50,000.

I hope to maintain the beauty and integrity of both garden areas and keep them from turning into yet another family weed garden.  Wish me luck. 

Homeward Bound

HOMEWARD BOUND

“I'm sittin' in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination . . .”

The final day of my most marvelous and great adventure had arrived, and I was very sad to see it all come to an end.  The trip exceeded my expectations in every way.  I kept thinking how grateful I was to everyone who helped make it all possible and grateful to have had this incredibly wonderful experience.  (Look to the end of the post for the acknowledgements.) 

Glenys prepared a most excellent breakfast that included a delicious omelet and salad.  Ramy was so kind and took time off from work to drive me (accompanied by Glenys) to Penn Station.  Sonia returned from taking Sofia to school, and we said “good-bye” and “adios” until the next time we’re together. 

On the drive to the station we passed by the Hudson River and other areas I hadn’t seen in the daylight.  I hope to return to New York City to experience it again.  And again.  And again.  (For the record, I’d love to repeat my Gone with the Wind experience, too.  It was all just too magical and memorable!)

Ramy stopped across the street from the station and Glenys and I dashed inside.  Once I assured Glenys that I could manage to find the correct train, we hugged and said, “Good-bye.”  I did find the right train and boarded as soon as I was able. 

The train was packed, and I didn’t get two seats like I’d had a few days earlier.  I watched the scenery and read.

Susan picked me up in front of Union Station after fighting her way through Cherry Blossom Parade traffic.  We took a circuitous route out of downtown because of parade detours.  I enjoyed seeing parts of the area I would have never otherwise seen.  She took me to one of her favorite food spots—Elevation Burger.  The lettuce-wrapped burger was quite tasty, as were the fries.  I’m sure the shake would have been yummy, too, but when I saw the calorie count listed on the menu board, I opted for water.

We went to Susan’s house in Vienna to get my boarding pass (thanks for printing it, Susan!) and GWTW souvenir-filled bag, and then drove to the airport.  I was sad to bid farewell to my dear cousin. 

It seemed that Dulles Airport was the size of Rhode Island.  Going through security took quite a while.  Then I had to make my way to the area where I took some sort of tram/shuttle/thing to get to the gate.  I wanted to stop at a book shop and get a book because I knew I’d run out of reading material about 20 minutes into the flight, but I didn’t have a lot of time.  I grabbed the first magazine (a recipe collection) I saw, bought it, and hurried to the gate.  The boarding process was well underway, so I immediately boarded, got settled in my seat and finished my book shortly after take-off.  That left the next five hours with little to do except read and reread and reread the magazine recipes.  I should have taken more time to browse the book shop.  I even watched Parental Guidance, the in-flight movie.  It was a good and funny one.

Of course, I landed safely and am alive to tell the tale of my wonderful, grand, glorious and perfect two-part adventure.  I can hardly wait for the next one.  Maybe my husband will accompany me.

Acknowledgements:

To Lance for his willingness to be Mr. Mom and indulge my fantasy and not complain.  To Sara and Mark for being without a mother for 10 days, and especially Sara for not fretting that I wasn’t around to help her celebrate her birthday and bake her a cake. 

To Susan, master road-trip planner, tour guide, amazing and perfect traveling companion.  I had so much fun with this lovely cousin of mine!  She had traveled many of those roads the previous week when she went with her family on spring break, and she did it again for me!  I’d accompany Susan on any trip!

To Joe and Daniel for sacrificing their time with Susan, their wife and mother, and for sacrificing a trip to the Final Four.

To cousins Mark and Cindy and family for opening their home to us, and entertaining and feeding us.  You're some of my favorite people, and so very talented and gracious!

To Uncle David for providing the courage and inspiration to do some of the zany things Susan and I did.

To Sonia, Glenys, and Sofia who made the second part of my journey so delightful and perfect, and for spoiling me rotten.  I felt like a queen, an honored guest.  They went out of their way and welcomed me with open arms.  They let me know by their words and actions that their home was my home.

To Ramy for the personalized taxi service to and from Penn Station, and to both Ramy and Amparo for taking us to dinner.  The evening with them was just great (and tasty)!

To Rachelle and Nelson for helping behind the scenes with my trip.

The Big Apple, Day 3

THE BIG APPLE, DAY 3

Sonia took Sofia to school so that Glenys could prepare to spend the day with me.  We knew it was raining, but had no idea how hard until Sonia phoned Glenys to say that she had to take shelter and wait for the rain to let up a bit before heading home.  She was quite wet when she finally arrived.

Armed with umbrellas and wearing the only “coat” (very light windbreaker) I packed, Glenys and I set out for the subway station.  It was rainy and windy, but that didn’t dampen our spirits nor deter us from our adventure.  Glenys was the perfect companion.  She was my personal tour guide, and I, once again, felt very spoiled. 

We made our way to the 9/11 Memorial (http://www.911memorial.org/).  We had to get tickets to enter the site and pass through a security screening process similar to the one the TSA conducts at airports.  A little video loop reminded us that “if you see something, say something.”  A small crowd accompanied us to the actual site where the World Trade Center twin towers used to stand.  The names of those who died in each building were engraved on the large granite square fountains that bordered each empty space.  (It’s hard to describe in writing.)  The experience was sobering, and the rainy, windy weather was befitting the occasion.  Tears from heaven for the many who lost their lives.

The wind gusts were so strong that it made taking photos very difficult.  I had to have two hands on my umbrella—one hand on the handle, and the other on the fabric top to prevent it from turning inside out.  Glenys held the umbrella while I snapped a couple of pictures.  It was even a struggle to walk into the wind, and the rain was still coming down hard.

The Tenement Museum (http://www.tenement.org/) on the Lower East Side was our next stop.  We browsed the museum and shop, watched a movie about immigration in the 1800s and took the Irish Outsiders Tour.  For the most part, the interior and exterior of the building at 97 Orchard (site of the tour) have remained unchanged from when it was condemned in the 1930s.  Lasting about an hour, the tour focused on the life on one Irish family and the challenges they faced as new immigrants. 

For lunch we stopped at a small, funky Mexican Café, Casa Mezcal, in Greenwich Village.  (http://www.casamezcalny.com/)   Many of the menu options were very appealing, and I wanted to try a cup of the soup-of-the-day.  The waitress said they didn’t have any, so we placed our entrée order.  A few minutes later, the waitress arrived with two steaming bowls of soup for us.  We were a bit confused, but Glenys thought that the soup came with our order.  I tasted mine, and it was delicious.  Just as Glenys was about to taste hers, the waitress appeared again and said she had delivered the soup to the wrong table.  As she tried to correct her mistake by picking up our bowls, I confessed that I had already eaten a spoonful but Glenys hadn’t.  She took Glenys’s bowl but left mine when I told her to add it to my tab.  We laughed about that for a long time.  The waitress got our entrée orders correct, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch.

After filling ourselves with delicious and warm Mexican food, we headed back outside.  We were happy to discover that the wind had abated and the rain had let up a little.  My tour guide discovered which train we needed to take to return to Harlem, so we found a station and descended the stairs to the subway.

The “underground” world is quite a place with all kinds of characters.  It was another rich cultural experience for me, and was similar to the Metro in Washington, DC and Paris.  Glenys chatted briefly with a police officer who used to frequent the check-cashing business where she worked.  When several officers worked overtime, they’d take their separate overtime checks to the business to get cash so that their wives wouldn’t know they had been paid extra money.  Hmmm . . .

We had to take 2 trains to get to our destination.  We walked a couple of blocks to the apartment and were glad to get in out of the weather.  I LOVED our excursion despite the foul weather, and would venture out every day in those conditions to have the same wonderful experience.

Waiting for us was Pauletta (?), a delightful 80-year-old lady from Sonia’s LDS Church branch, and her three adorable young grandchildren.  Pauletta had a gift for me and one to take to Rachelle.  I enjoyed meeting her and the cute kids.  Sofia enjoyed the kids as well, and the played together nicely during our visit.  After the visitors left, Sonia served us a delicious salmon dinner—one of the best I’ve ever had.  That lovely lady can cook!

 

We had a nice, relaxing evening, and I had a lot of attention and affection from Sofia.  She is such a cutie, and I loved spending time with her.  I felt a little sad knowing it would be my last night there.  The time passed all too quickly!

The Big Apple, Day 2

THE BIG APPLE, DAY 2

Glenys had school, so she left Sonia, her Spanish-speaking mother, and me, the non-Spanish-speaking guest, to spend the day together.  I think Glenys must have laughed to herself and wondered how we’d manage.  We managed just fine thanks, in part, to two lovely ladies (Sandra and Victoria) from Sonia’s LDS Spanish church congregation who accompanied us.  Sandra spoke English, and she brought Darwin, her 7-year-old godson along. 

 

We set out on foot and walked to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, near one end of Central Park.  We then caught a bus that took us for a ride down 5^th Avenue.  My dad had reminded me that he lived in an apartment at 973 5^th Avenue when he was an LDS missionary almost 60 years ago.  We exited the bus shortly after we spied the building, and walked back to it so that I could take photos.  It was a real treat for me to see where my dad had lived for 7 months.  His 6^th floor apartment overlooked Central Park. 

 

We spent a little time in Central Park, and got a hot dog for Darwin to help him better tolerate his time with 4 ladies.  I kept thinking to myself that I was really in New York City.  Really in Central Park.  The weather was a little overcast and cool, but it was perfect for walking about.  We went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  The inside is being renovated, but we could still walk around and see the interior.  What a magnificent place!  People were worshipping, lighting candles, praying despite the din around them. 

 

 

 

I saw Trump Tower, but not Donald Trump.  I was content to see many high-end stores from the outside, and really had no desire to enter.  I probably would have walked in the door of Macy’s, but we didn’t go there.  (That was probably for the best.)  We went to Rockefeller Center where the Lego store interested Darwin the most.  (We didn’t go in, much to his dismay.)  I talked to Darwin a lot as we walked.  At one point, he put his hand in mine, looked up at me and said, “You’re actually really nice!”  I wondered what his initial impression of me had been. 

 

 

 

My companions were so generous and wanted me to do everything I wanted to do.  I felt a little funny letting them pay for my bus and subway fares, but they allowed me to buy their lunch at a little café.  I think it was during lunch that Darwin announced to me, “I’ve been good all day, and you haven’t bought me one thing!”

 

 

 

Feeling refreshed and with full bellies, we continued our trek.  We went a lot of places and it’s hard for me to remember the order, but I know we went to Times Square.  I had seen many pictures, but the pictures don’t capture the size of the place.  It was almost overwhelming.  I stood there in awe as I tried to take it all in.  There was certainly a lot to take in.  The lights, the signs, the people, the street actors (“Hello, Naked Cowboy!”), the demonstrators (those in orange prison jumpsuits with black hoods covering their heads protesting the Guantanamo Bay Prison).  We went in one store—Hard Rock Café.  It was there that I brought a smile to Darwin’s face.  I bought him a $2 guitar-shaped tin of guitar-shaped mints.  He was happy.  (I bought one for Sofia as well.)  I planned to buy t-shirts for my kids but decided against that plan when I saw the price.  When in doubt, just buy a t-shirt for your adorable granddaughter, I reasoned.  Little Maddy now has her first Hard Rock Café t-shirt.  My girls got magnets. 

We walked by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum (where I was photographed with “Morgan Freeman”) and other places.  We went in the enormous New York City Public Library.  I must return there some day.  So much to see.  So much to see!  And do!  And experience!  I needed another month there to scratch the surface.

It was such a wonderful, perfect and amazing day with wonderful ladies (and Darwin).  We said good-bye to Victoria, and the rest of us took the subway back to Harlem.  Glenys and Sofia were waiting for us.  Glenys was going to spend the afternoon touring around with me, but we got back too late for that. 

That evening, Ramy and Amparo picked us up to take us to dinner.  We decided to go to the Tokyo Buffet in New Jersey.  Ramy drove us past the new Yankee Stadium and over the George Washington Bridge.  It was dark and kind of hard to see some places, but I was trying to take it all in.  I think New York City should be renamed.  The Big Apple (I didn’t see any apples) should be The Big Everything.  Or The Big Wow.  Something more fitting and less fruity than The Big Apple. 

It was past Sofia’s bedtime and she was tired, but she certainly perked up enough to enjoy dinner, and we enjoyed her.  Ramy and Amparo are delightful people, and I’m glad I got to spend some time with them.  I appreciated that they traveled to Washington last year for Nelson and Rachelle’s wedding.  Ramy doesn’t like air travel, so must have been hard for him to make that trip.  Sofia just couldn’t stay awake on the return trip through the Lincoln Tunnel and the busy streets of New York.  Now I know why it is called “The City That Never Sleeps.”  (About the only time they can do road construction is in the middle of the night.  I went to sleep to the sounds of road machinery while there.)

I crawled into my comfortable bed with the perfectly white bed linens and dreamed of what thrilling adventures were in store for me the following day.

Maiden Trip to the Big Apple!

THE BIG APPLE, DAY 1

Cousin Susan deposited me at Union Station in Washington, DC the morning of April 10. (It was daughter Sara’s 23^rd birthday, and I spent the day thousands of miles away from the birthday girl.  Her father had to bake and decorate her cake, give her the gifts and treat her to dinner without me.)  My only other visit to DC was 31 years ago after my college graduation.  I enjoyed passing by many of the sites I’d visited then and wished I would have scheduled more vacation time so as to have at least a couple of days there.  I was anxious to get to New York, though.

Taking Amtrak was a breeze.  I loved watching the scenery as we sped toward New York.  I’d never been in that part of country before, and it was fun adding more states to the list of those traveled to/through—Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.  I’d love to visit those areas at a more leisurely pace another time.

Penn Station was bustling with people.  I wasn’t quite sure where to go after exiting the train, so I followed the masses to the top of the escalator and just stood in one place waiting for Glenys.  I didn’t have to wait long and was excited to spot her.  I thought we’d be taking the subway to their apartment, but Uncle Ramy came from his home in New Jersey to pick us up. 

I had never heard so much honking in my life as I heard on that drive to Harlem.  Welcome to New York City!  Taxis.  Buses.  Cars.  Delivery trucks.  I expected to witness at least one accident, but didn’t, thankfully.  If I lived in NYC, I would not own nor drive a car.  No need to, really.

Sonia had a delicious lunch (chicken, red beans and rice, etc.) waiting for us when we arrived at her apartment.  The apartment building is old, but their apartment is charming and spacious.  I was very happy to see where my son-in-law called home for several years.  Sonia, Glenys, and little Sofia have made their apartment very welcoming and lovely with fabric covers on the dining room chairs, lace-edged cloths on the kitchen cupboard shelves, sheer drapes in each room.  Glenys bought fresh roses and put them on the kitchen table, coffee table, and dresser in “my” bedroom.  I appreciated all of the special touches.  The ladies had even put together a basket of toiletries just for me. 

Ramy went back to work, and Glenys and I set out on foot to explore part of Harlem.  Brownstone houses, the Apollo Theater, an Indian art display at a library, the building housing Bill Clinton’s office, Kareem Abdul Jabar’s house and the “projects” were some of the things we saw.  Glenys, being the cute lady that she is, got a lot of attention.  One guy even said, “I’m pretty sure you used to be my wife.”  Glenys said that everyone is respectful and nice to her because she is nice and respectful to them.  She doesn’t ever worry about her safety when walking home alone at night. 

 

 

Five-year-old Sofia was waiting for us when we returned to the apartment.  She was very excited to see me, and greeted me with lots of hugs.  She enjoyed the little gift I gave her.  Always attentive and anxious to meet all my needs and wants, Sonia had snacks and ice cream ready for us.  We had a nice evening chatting and then went to bed to get ready for another big day in the Big Apple.