And I mean 'bully' in a Teddy Roosevelt way, which I'll get to in a minute.
As most of my students were on field trips Friday, I took a day off and got a lot of errands done. One of which was a visit to Eneri Knits to use my customer discount before it ran out. I needed some staples (stitch markers, a circular needle), the second issue of Jane Austen Knits (!), and some yarn for a couple of giftie projects I won't mention yet. When I arrived, I wished I'd brought my knitting along as the store was filled with Friday sit-n-knitter friends. When summer comes I'll be able to join them regularly. Several knitters will be taking part in a Classic Elite Knit Along (the link is from last year's KAL but the principle is the same). I seriously considered taking part, but as I have some deadline projects and know another deadline would be overwhelming, will just join in spirit.
Saturday Kate, Dan and I went to see my sister Leslie in New York. We drove to the commuter train in New Haven, a first for me. Very convenient, and cheaper than the sponsored bus trips I've always taken. Les met us at imposing Grand Central Station.
It was the hottest and most humid day of the weekend, but we had a good time. We visited Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace, a National Park Service museum. The gallery containing many items from his life, (including the bullet-holed shirt he was wearing during an assassination attempt in 1912, along with the glasses case and thick speech packet which saved his life as the bullet passed through them) was closed for renovation. However there was a tour of the restored rooms of his childhood home. Heaven help anyone who was disabled in these townhouses with their endless flights of stairs! After our recent tour last month of FDR's Hyde Park home, it was interesting to hear some of the overlapping family background of these distant relatives who both became great presidents.
We enjoyed walking down main streets and side streets, browsing and people watching.
Union Square:
Washington Square, with people cooling off in the fountain:
A hazy view of the under construction One World Trade Center:
This was taken from Varick Street, where we were looking for a street fair in progress, but it must have been farther down. Other stops on our journey included Molly's Cupcakes, mmmmmmmm...; Pearl River Mart Chinese store, crammed with so many things that you never knew you needed/wanted!; a vintage clothing store where I got a breezy India print skirt; and dinner at the Thai restaurant across the street from her apartment-our second time because it is so good. And because she is a frequent customer they brought us dessert to share on the house!
The kids will be celebrating their one year anniversary tomorrow, can you believe it?!?! Which also happens to be Memorial Day this year. As they'll be celebrating, we're having a little cookout today instead of tomorrow, on the new grill D bought while we were in NY. Now the trash collector can cart away our little rusty old grill, complete with hornet nest inside.