Monday, July 02, 2007

a weekend

The weather today is perfect, a high of 75 degrees (F), with blue skies and a gentle breeze. I almost do not know what to do with such weather. I suppose if I were king, we would stop working and go to a park or garden and spend the day reading or working in a garden, something that would not appeal to most people and it would have a negative effect on the economy. So good that I am not king.

I spent the weekend assembling a large chest of drawers, part of our effort to make our tiny apartment livable. I am still not finished -- almost, but not quite. We saw 110 in the Shade, a revival starring Audre McDonald and John Cullum. It was an austere production with a minimal set, but the acting and singing was excellent.

The dog and I walked all the way east to Grammercy Park and back for our morning walk. In the afternoon I walked Partner to the Port Authority -- he was off to Jersey for his internship.

They're filming on our street for Law and Order SVU today. The trucks are lined up along one side of the street. People with headsets and walkie talkies roam the sidewalk.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your life is so different now from when you were in Indiana; they don't film "Law & Order: SVU" here.

But I was recently in New York with Davis Mac-Iyalla, my first time in the city in 20+ years. What struck him on his first U.S. visit from Nigeria is how much building is always going on; "America is never finished."

I pray that we never will be.

Now I am back home for the first time in a month (note to self: never do another whirlwind coast-to-coast tour) to find my house and garden still intact, but no tomatoes or peppers yet. My friend Tom, who watched my house and mowed the grass, knows nothing about gardening, and I see the evidence of that. Still, I'm not displeased; the impatiens I worried so much about look good, a few snips on the geraniums will cure their troubles, most of the begonias look small but healthy and only the pansies on the front, northern stoop have suffered, while those in back are doing okay. Note to self: never again give up the entire month of June!

Meanwhile the petunias are utterly thriving despite my absence. I thought they'd be like the geraniums, slowing production from my neglect. But they love their western exposure and black Newton County dirt.

I made a foray to the town supermarket and found the cucumbers small and expensive, so I bought my first English one instead, hoping it will be just as good, maybe even better, for the cold soup I have planned. And I lucked out, back here in time for home-grown sweet corn and Vincennes muskmelons, which put the California cantaloupes to shame. The Murphy family comes through for me again.

My main job today has been seeing that my garden and I recover from my travel; tomorrow I can't wait to get my Hands In The Dirt.

--Josh Thomas
dailyoffice.org
Kentland IN

Don said...

Josh -- Thanks for the update on your garden. Don't be too hard on yourself for what sounds like a wonderful trip: petunias love heat, and pansies are cool weather plants.

I am sorry I missed Maclyalla's presentations in NYC. Holy Apostle is just up the street from us and St. Luke's is just down the street. I have friends who heard him and said it was quite moving.

Alas, I have no tomotoes planted. I had a spot for them, but no time. And once one gets into the 90 day period, it gets too late to plant them.