Conversation at dinner:
Ellie: Can I please have another slice of Gouda?
Nico: What's Gouda?
Ellie: It's a kind of cheese and also one of Benjamin's brothers.
Apparently my kids have listened to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" too many times. Or maybe they need to hear it a few more times to really nail down the names of all the brothers.
30 April 2009
26 April 2009
19 April 2009
It's sort of official...
We are buying a house in Patchogue, NY!
Probably, that is. We have signed a contract and applied for a mortgage, but the bank has to approve the mortgage first. They claim that everything looks great, but of course the banks were making similar claims about the economy in general not long ago. So we shall see within the next couple of weeks.
Some of you may be thinking, why would anyone buy a house right now? Isn't doomsday right around the corner? Well, we're obviously voting no on that idea, but it's more about good timing for us instead of trying to time the market. We were able to negotiate the living daylights out of the price here because of the market, and the interest rates are practically nonexistent. No doubt the prices will continue to fall a bit more, but we think they'll come back long before we want to move again. And if they don't ever come back, we'll just have a nice little subsistence garden in Patchogue for the rest of our lives. Could be worse.
So, some others of you are thinking, wait a sec, I've heard of Patchogue, it's waaaaaay out there on Long Island. What possessed them to flee the city? Fears of the aforementioned doomsday? Again, no. It's impossible to describe how much we've enjoyed living in NYC. And I'll be keeping my job here, so I'll still spend most of my waking hours here in the city. But in short, we felt the benefits of living there outweighed another five years in Queens. Besides, we've never lived in a true village before. Time for a new adventure.
More about the joys of Patchogue in future posts. For now, a bit more about the house.
It's over a hundred years old. Loaded with character, and yes it will need some updates. But the previous owners did a lot with it, they've laid down a pretty good base which we can take further. The paint colors will be changing at some point, outside and in.
Having long endured the 10.5 square foot kitchen, we are all very excited at the prospect of the new kitchen. It's much larger, with all new appliances, and a great center island for breakfast, homework, etc. We plan to remove the doodads on the cabinets though.
This property also features what can only be termed the Garage of Dreams -- an old two story, two car garage with an upper level (top photo). Maybe it used to be a barn? This area needs loads of work, but the underlying structure is good.
The house comes with about half an acre -- plenty of room for landscaping experiments and a sizeable garden. And barbecuing, of course.
We'll be within easy walking distance of the village's Main Street, which is not merely one of these frilly sham downtowns. It's both charming and useful. The train stop is right there too... yes, I'm headed for the long commute. I'm not too worried about it, though. By using a flexible schedule I can still be home for dinner most of the time. And the trains are fast, comfortable, and rarely crowded. Finally, all that reading and sleeping I've been missing will just be a regular part of the day.
So there you have it, for now. Much more info coming soon, and we hope you will be coming soon to check out the new place!
Probably, that is. We have signed a contract and applied for a mortgage, but the bank has to approve the mortgage first. They claim that everything looks great, but of course the banks were making similar claims about the economy in general not long ago. So we shall see within the next couple of weeks.
Some of you may be thinking, why would anyone buy a house right now? Isn't doomsday right around the corner? Well, we're obviously voting no on that idea, but it's more about good timing for us instead of trying to time the market. We were able to negotiate the living daylights out of the price here because of the market, and the interest rates are practically nonexistent. No doubt the prices will continue to fall a bit more, but we think they'll come back long before we want to move again. And if they don't ever come back, we'll just have a nice little subsistence garden in Patchogue for the rest of our lives. Could be worse.
So, some others of you are thinking, wait a sec, I've heard of Patchogue, it's waaaaaay out there on Long Island. What possessed them to flee the city? Fears of the aforementioned doomsday? Again, no. It's impossible to describe how much we've enjoyed living in NYC. And I'll be keeping my job here, so I'll still spend most of my waking hours here in the city. But in short, we felt the benefits of living there outweighed another five years in Queens. Besides, we've never lived in a true village before. Time for a new adventure.
More about the joys of Patchogue in future posts. For now, a bit more about the house.
It's over a hundred years old. Loaded with character, and yes it will need some updates. But the previous owners did a lot with it, they've laid down a pretty good base which we can take further. The paint colors will be changing at some point, outside and in.
Having long endured the 10.5 square foot kitchen, we are all very excited at the prospect of the new kitchen. It's much larger, with all new appliances, and a great center island for breakfast, homework, etc. We plan to remove the doodads on the cabinets though.
This property also features what can only be termed the Garage of Dreams -- an old two story, two car garage with an upper level (top photo). Maybe it used to be a barn? This area needs loads of work, but the underlying structure is good.
The house comes with about half an acre -- plenty of room for landscaping experiments and a sizeable garden. And barbecuing, of course.
We'll be within easy walking distance of the village's Main Street, which is not merely one of these frilly sham downtowns. It's both charming and useful. The train stop is right there too... yes, I'm headed for the long commute. I'm not too worried about it, though. By using a flexible schedule I can still be home for dinner most of the time. And the trains are fast, comfortable, and rarely crowded. Finally, all that reading and sleeping I've been missing will just be a regular part of the day.
So there you have it, for now. Much more info coming soon, and we hope you will be coming soon to check out the new place!
18 April 2009
17 April 2009
Now We Are Six
... or at least Ellie is.
After hemming and hawing, I decided to have actually have a "friends party" this year. We kept it small and low-key. Initially, Ellie requested a Zebra Party, but after a brief discussion about the narrowness of such a theme, she acquiesced and we went with a jungle theme (plus savannah animals). We had jungle twister, which entailed everyone playing twister in their costumes , feed the monkey bean bag toss, and pin the tail on the zebra. It was all good fun, and was followed by zebra cookies (black and white cookies - a NYC favorite).
The family party was fun, and even lower key. We had a birthday dinner of beef stroganoff (Ellie's choice), birthday brownies (as Ellie has declared she does not like cake), and gifts. All the gifts seemed to be a big hit this year! Grandma & Granddad Anderson sent caterpillars so the kids can watch them hatch, and some legos, and Grandma & Grandpa Hart sent some clothes, a game and a very cool book written by LaRayne for Ellie to illustrate. Nico, Alex and I got her some books, some necklace materials, and some face paint (which has been used everyday since). Ellie was delighted with everything!!
Happy Birthday Ellie!!
Ellie and Nico showing off their face paint
Ellie was very impressed with my artistry here... aren't you?
Nico unfortunately lost his dessert privilege for the evening since he ate none of his dinner. However, since it was Ellie's birthday, I thought a slight reprieve was due and shared my birthday brownie and ice cream with him.
Ellie reading her book from Grandma Hart.
After hemming and hawing, I decided to have actually have a "friends party" this year. We kept it small and low-key. Initially, Ellie requested a Zebra Party, but after a brief discussion about the narrowness of such a theme, she acquiesced and we went with a jungle theme (plus savannah animals). We had jungle twister, which entailed everyone playing twister in their costumes , feed the monkey bean bag toss, and pin the tail on the zebra. It was all good fun, and was followed by zebra cookies (black and white cookies - a NYC favorite).The family party was fun, and even lower key. We had a birthday dinner of beef stroganoff (Ellie's choice), birthday brownies (as Ellie has declared she does not like cake), and gifts. All the gifts seemed to be a big hit this year! Grandma & Granddad Anderson sent caterpillars so the kids can watch them hatch, and some legos, and Grandma & Grandpa Hart sent some clothes, a game and a very cool book written by LaRayne for Ellie to illustrate. Nico, Alex and I got her some books, some necklace materials, and some face paint (which has been used everyday since). Ellie was delighted with everything!!
Happy Birthday Ellie!!
Ellie and Nico showing off their face paint
Ellie was very impressed with my artistry here... aren't you?
Nico unfortunately lost his dessert privilege for the evening since he ate none of his dinner. However, since it was Ellie's birthday, I thought a slight reprieve was due and shared my birthday brownie and ice cream with him.Ellie reading her book from Grandma Hart.
14 April 2009
Things I should have posted a while ago, but didn't.
My sister, Cathi, and two of her kids came for a brief visit about two weeks ago. Ellie and Nico loved playing with their cousins, Brit and Dan. One of the favorite activities was ice skating in Central Park. My kids have be BEGGING to go ice skating all winter, so with family in town who were game, we made an afternoon of it.
I was not surprised to see Ellie off skating on her own; she has a penchant for doing things like this. However, I was rather shocked and delighted to have Nico refuse help and want to do it all by himself. For his part, there was a bit more trapsing, and a little less "skating," but he had a great time. So much, in fact, that he threw the BIGGEST tantrum known to man on the way home. Cathi can attest to this, I'm sure. Actually, everyone who was on the subway platform, and in the subway with us can attest to it.Despite the ending, it was a great day... thanks Cathi!!
13 April 2009
easter
By ancient tradition, Ami and I hid candy-filled eggs around the house on the night preceding. Kind of tough when you have such a small house, but it works.
Our other tradition is to serve the candy in new sand buckets, which will then be used at the beach all summer. The candy is from Economy Candy in the Lower East Side -- probably the coolest candy store I have ever seen (but that's worthy of another post).
The morning comes with smiles all around.
The search begins for the hidden eggs. Nico found my best one right away (below).
Coloring eggs came a little later.
Happy Easter! and Passover!
Our other tradition is to serve the candy in new sand buckets, which will then be used at the beach all summer. The candy is from Economy Candy in the Lower East Side -- probably the coolest candy store I have ever seen (but that's worthy of another post).
The morning comes with smiles all around.
The search begins for the hidden eggs. Nico found my best one right away (below).
Coloring eggs came a little later.
Happy Easter! and Passover!
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