5 o'clock kitten

Sat down for pretty much the first time today and the little baby girl was instantly on my lap, about to commence bath time - guess my work day is over!  Which is fine with me.  Usually "the squeaks" lands in my wife's lap, but with mom away I get the kid all to myself.  Loving it.

March pics (the transition)

March 14th

My last week in the city the cherry trees around the neighborhood were coming into bloom.  This one is on 30th Avenue, and I'd pass it every day on the way to work.  Behind it is Dillinger's, which was our favorite local spot to go grab a beer and great meal for cheap.  I had no idea during my last week off in Astoria that I would never return for any length of time because I would be so busy with the new job.

But we know we will always have Astoria, Queens, only a couple hours away. 

March 16

This is Puck, aka the fat man, and the wonderfully dated kitchen floor in our apartment. It was a great home, and our landlady Pauline was the best.  The kids had gotten pretty comfy there too. 

March 17

Last Saturday at the apartment.  Mandatory afternoon NASCAR and suds following final packing session.

...and Melvin, aka the fuzz, reminding me it's time for food.

March 19

7:07am

First day at the new job in the country I wake up to trees and fog, no concrete or skyline in sight for the first time in 9 years.  It's so quiet, almost surreal.

6:17pm

Krissy took me to work that morning and took a few hours before eventually hitting the road and heading back to Queens.  She left me notes all over the house where I was staying for the six weeks we had to be apart.  They made my day, and would for weeks as I kept finding them.  Following my first day at the new gig and new life back out east this was the first one I found.  What can I say, she is loving and very smart woman, and knows me all too well.

March 20

There's an ocean out there somewhere.  Indian Wells before work.

March 22

2:00pm

Headed to Shelter Island to be introduced to a wonderful couple and their most magnificent property. 

A lot different looking than the north end of Central Park.

8:00pm

In the chicken shack rocking and rolling.  Officially back in Bonac.  Definitely a long way from Queens.

March 24

A couple pics from the new office

March 25

For the next weeks Krissy came out on the weekends with another load of stuff from the apartment.  This was a Sunday afternoon trying to relax before I had to see her go back to the city for another week.  We knew the transition was going to be tough, but we just focused on the end goal.

March 29

The end goal: being able to have any kind of day, good or bad, and always being able to go to the water's edge and breath and put it all in perspective.  Invaluable.

Well, that, and checking out the surf. 

Garden Kitty

Garden Kitty
The Bayberry
Amagansett, NY

the cats, at home in Astoria

 

 Melvin

 Puck

Pandora

apparently it's dinner time

...enter Melvin, aka the Fuzz.

Harley dog!

We were east again and this time we got to see our friends who we hope might soon be our neighbors. Not to mention we got to see our favorite of the mini dogs, Harley.
Part wookie, part ewok, all fuzz, just hysterical.

other assorted wildlife

This is Puck, the regal fat man. When it comes to the cats, we call them "the beasts", and as you can see, terribly ferocious.

I Seymour puppy!

Congrats to our friends Jackie and Tony on the latest addition to their family. We had a blast playing with little Seymour today. French bulldog puppies, their a cute thing...

the beasts

Above: Puck in a box

Below: Melvin wants to remind everyone to keep it chill in 2012

Melvin and the Dinosaur

It's true, I've become one of those people who photographs their pets. This is Melvin and his dinosaur. But the funniest thing is that this picture isn't staged at all. How the little T. Rex ends up upright and in perfectly hysterical placement every time we look away the world may never know.

Puck and the Thunderstorm

We hadn't had rain in almost three full weeks. The plants were tired and stressed and so were we. I got off the train and was walking up the street when the sky began to change. The dark clouds were rolling in fast from the west and the wind was whipping the dry tree limbs in a way that demanded attention. Trees are comprised of two types of cellular tissue, lignin and cellulose. The lignin is what makes woody cells strong and rigid, able to support the trees weight and movement. Cellulose is what gives the tree that movement, a compound in the cellular structure of living plants that gives them their flexibility and amiability. If people are curious to know more about tree physiology comment and let me know and I will be happy to babble further in future posts. So, anyway, the wind is blowing like a mad thing and a major thunderstorm is only minutes away. Luckily I'm home in no time. I wonder what kind of storm we are in for as I lower the windows and turn to see Puck walking by. Puck is not a fan of thunderstorms, you see, so he turns out to be quite invaluable in instances such as these. When he makes a b-line for the center of the apartment and sits still as a stone in the shelter of the interior doorways you know you are in for some weather. I love that he looks like one of those old sepia tone photographs of your great, great grandparents from a century ago, so fixed in the pose. And the rain came, pouring buckets and rattling through the neighborhood like a freight train. You could hear the trees and plants breathing their sighs of relief. A necessary break from the dry heat the teeming water was instantly rejuvenating . ...and Puckus? God love him, not moving a muscle.


funny, now I guess we know the safest spot in the apartment if we ever have a major hurricane or earthquake - Ha!

stupid pet humor

Perhaps you have already seen this, but it was new to me.

cat after my own heart

Melvin Motorboat

The Full Melvin

Melvin Motorboat

Friends and family will be happy to know that Melvin is now officially cast-free. Following the cast and the e-collar its funny to see him without anything on. Hence, the nickname of the week, The Full Melvin. Yeah, we're having entirely too much fun. It's kind of ridiculous. We know.

Great weekend at home entertaining good ol' friends. And now psyched to have another day off before testing out a new job in Central Park. Free time? Oh, I'm down. Happy Sunday on a Monday!