Fruits and Frogs and Pollywogs

 You are probably wondering about the title to my blog post - it's one whole nickname we call Scotty, our family miniature schnauzer.  There's even more to that nickname but it's embarrassing to finish it out loud or on "paper" - only family and true Scotty lovers can sing the refrain.  I painted Scotty.  He is my first true portrait and I painted him for my son Heath's birthday.  He will receive the portrait today.  Here below is the rest of the portrait and then I'll explain the story.

 Below is the picture I painted from.

I didn't want it to be an perfect copy but rather a close representation of one of my favorite pictures of Scotty.  I changed the carpet and made the box a tad shorter.  A couple years ago, Heath and Emma were getting rid of some stuff in their apartment and they put Scotty in a box and told him they were taking him to the Salvation Army with all the other boxes.  That's how they labeled the picture when they texted it to me.  I titled the painting "Yard Sale Pup".  I will miss that painting when it leaves today as I have loved placing every brush stroke and then talking to the finished painting the whole week it has leaned against the wall in our kitchen.  Happy Birthday Heath! (next week anyway).  I've finished three other paintings since my last post that I'll show here as I go along and wrap up another month of fun-ness.

We had a great time in Tulum Mexico ( Riviera Maya area).  The weather was flawless - sunny and mid to high 80s everyday and we followed a schedule we kept on our last two beachy trips - breakfast, long morning beach walk, bake in the sun and read and drink diet coke until lunch time, eat lunch at a different place each day, go on an adventure all afternoon until dinner time and then pick out a different place to eat each night.  We stayed at a place called Viento de Mar along the jungle road where eco-hotels are built cheek by jowl on the ocean side of the narrow road and shops and restaurants line the other side.  I say they are cheek by jowl close but they don't feel that way because each boutique hotel is quite small, 8-20 rooms, most with thatched palapa style roofs, and open floor restaurants and bars.  We loved it.  Here are some pics of that trip.

 This is the view from our balcony.

 This is the beach side of our hotel.

 Our room was like being in a white washed tree house - it was great!

 The maids designed dolls with our fresh towels every day.

 I'm starting to turn really brown here.

At home I got back to painting.  Here are two 8x10 ones I did of scenes from Turks and Caicos (the girl is not me - it could be if I quit eating cake - ha!  It's from someone else's photo).

 This one is an impressionist style of our beach one late afternoon as the sun was going down.

This one is abstract expressionism except for the girl - I kept her somewhat realistic.
Below are both of them hanging in the hall way on the second floor.

The painting below is large - 36 x 36 - Dan and I saw one similar at a gallery in Connecticut and we both liked it for its fresh, fun, nautical vibe and it was priced at $2000!  I said that I would paint something like it for under $100 and I did and we love it - it's cheery and cheer for sure and here it is below in my studio drying and then we hung it in the second floor hall outside of Dan's office.

 I love the look of fresh and modern in a 217 year old hallway.

Last Wednesday, for the 175th anniversary of the Relief Society, my church's women's organization, we put together a "birthday party" with cake, ice cream, a "let's make a deal" game and a service project.  My second counselor and I each made a few homemade cakes, different kinds, and homemade ice cream.  My first counselor went out and bought a bunch of fun and silly prizes for the game.  My secretary put together a beautiful flower arrangement and our friend Bobby H emceed the game.  Each woman from our congregation/ward was asked to bring two purses - a used one to give away (don't we all have old purses we'll never use again?) and to be filled with items to donate to a local shelter for abused women and children and then our own purse to be filled with a bunch of non pursey objects found around one's house for the game.  We had a great turnout with dozens of donated, filled purses and the game was a blast.  The cakes were yummy too.

 These were items I put in my own purse.  None of them were called out.  I did win one prize for having an address book in my purse, a real one, not the one on my phone.

 Here's an old purse of mine washed and in great shape to be donated to the shelter filled with personal items and art supplies for kids.

 Here are three cakes I made -  angel food with fresh raspberry sauce, flourless chocolate souffle cake with berries and whipped cream, and a white chocolate 3 layer cake with white chocolate curls on top.  And a gravy boat full of warm ganache for the ice cream and any thing else you want to pour it on.

Taryn made a killer chocolate mousse cake in the back there next to a delicious carrot cake.  We were all in a cake coma afterwards (Taryn's words).  

A couple days ago, Dan and I went to NYC to see a play and peruse more bakeries.  We also met up with our friends Carly and Jesse for lunch.  Details below.

 We saw "Waitress".  Music by Sarah Bareilles.  It was enjoyable and I loved the songs.

 You probably won't care about this news but to me it was a monumental find.  We passed by a french cafe on our way to our hotel and I looked at the menu and it offered Valrhona hot chocolate on the breakfast menu UNSWEETENED!  I  was so excited I exclaimed that we had to eat breakfast there the next day.  I have said to Dan so many times that I wished a restaurant would made unsweetened hot chocolate, good hot chocolate, with no sugar added so a person could drink it straight or sweeten it with whatever they wanted.  Wish granted.  It was really really good! It could have been hotter - I like it burning hot and it rarely comes hot enough anywhere, but it was so delicious (they make a paste from melted 100% cocoa bar chocolate and add it to hot steamed whole milk).  I drank most of it unsweetened and then added a bit of truvia for the last couple swallows (and to dunk my baguette).
Here's a painted rendering of the place that was near our table - you can see its names and address - the corner of 9th and 21st in the Chelsea neighborhood.

 Every time we go to NYC we try to explore a different area.  This time we chose Chelsea.  We stayed at a lovely hotel called the High Line on 10th Ave and 20th St.  It's a 1863 former seminary turned boutique hotel.  Here are a couple pics of our room - it was new and old fashioned at the same time.

 Some of our activities besides the play were walking the High Line Park (I went from end to end - so fun and much to look at), bakeries of course (Amy's Bread, Billy's, Daily Provisions, Aux Merveilleux, Maison Erik Kayser), Chelsea Market, the Whitney Museum, Le Labo (for perfume - the best!) lunch with the Smith's at Buvette (right out of Paris), dinners at Bobby Van's Grill and Bottino - both really good!  And lots and lots of walking - Dan did great on his new knees; better than we both thought he would.

Smelling all the offerings at Le Labo.  They make your perfume right there in their little lab.

 Billy's Bakery across the street from La Grainne.  I liked their cupcakes better than Magnolia.

 Walking on the High Line (an ancient, unused, once an eyesore, elevated railway that has been converted into an elevated garden/park/walkway).  Someone installed a very realistic zombie along the path.

 Buvette at 42 Grove St in Greenwich Village.  Very tiny, very french, delicious.

 Modern art at the Whitney - this is a huge painting - acrylic on twin sized bed sheet.

Super super tender and delicious crullers from Daily Provisions at 103 E. 19th St. in the "furniture store district".  The hot chocolate was fabulous too - very very rich and not too sweet.  

On the train ride home from NYC to Boston, Dan and I ate from our bakery purchases the whole way. We felt pretty sick by the time we got home.  Next week I am going to be in a bathing suit for most of the time and it's not gonna be pretty.  Well, I think that's the last few weeks in the life of cheery and cheer.  We have another blizzard coming on Tuesday and Wednesday here in New England which we are going to miss but I wouldn't complain at all if I were here for it.  I love snow!  I am not tired of winter by any means because we have barely had one - maybe two weeks worth if you add all the snowy and cold days together.  And spring is always sitting on the kitchen counter no matter what. 

Oh!  And I'm going to be a Gran!  My daughter is pregnant with the first grandchild of my three kids.  Here she is with her teeny tiny baby bump.  Hooray!!!

One more thing - Heath was just here and received his Scotty portrait!

Field Trip - NYC and Wave Hill Gardens

 Earlier this week, Monday and Tuesday to be exact, Dan had business meetings in NYC so I got to tag along and have all the fun - exploring NYC neighborhoods, bakeries, and Wave Hill Public Garden in Fieldston, the Bronx while he sat in meetings.  Of course he had some fun too, mornings and evenings, but I was free to go wherever I pleased, walking as fast as I could, getting lost, side tracked, and spending long minutes staring at many pastries, shop windows, and plants and trees - bliss!  I knew I would be seeing Wave Hill no matter the weather because I had been dying to visit it and Dan wouldn't be along so I could take a looooooooong time looking at each plant without him bored to tears so it was the right time to go.  As for the bakeries, I've been to dozens in NYC but there are dozens and dozens more I haven't so I made a new list after googling the current best/top and why they are considered so and I wrote down what I would need to buy/sample at each one.  And I planned a route so that I would be walking in the West Village, Greenwich Village, Soho, Noho, Nolita, Little Italy and Chinatown.

 One of the bakeries on my list was Breads and lo and behold they had a pop up shop at Bryant Park so per reviews we were encouraged to try what they have become most famous for, their super chocolatey baklava which I am holding in front of the fountain, is pictured above and below.  We each tore off a little chunk after dinner at Kellari's Monday night.   Really, really, really good!!!

We took the train to Penn Station arriving late Monday afternoon and checked in at the Bryant Park Hotel in midtown.  Great location right across the street from the Park by the same name - I love that park with its huge green area and little cafe chairs and tables all over the place and glorious sycamore trees and ivy everywhere.  We did a lot of walking around the area before dinner and then sitting in the Park and watching people after.  We ate Greek seafood at a yummy restaurant called Kellari.  The next morning, Dan left for his first meeting and I walked a couple blocks to the 42nd St. station and hopped the subway south to Houston St.  My first bakery and where I ate breakfast was one of my top 5 bakeries in the world, Amy's Bread.  She makes the best hot chocolate I've had in America.  It is made with super rich chocolate ganache (an infusion of hot heavy cream and melted bittersweet chocolate) which is then added to steaming hot whole milk and served in a bowl with a homemade marshmallow on top. I ordered a pistachio croissant twist to go with it and bought a loaf of semolina, apricot and sage bread to take home, that I stuffed in my backpack and I also bought one of her vinyl shopping bags because I knew by the end of my bakery shopping, my small backpack and her bag would be full.  After a delightful breakfast, I set out on part one of my day, walking as fast as I possibly could which offset anything I might have sampled along the way.  Miles and miles with my head spinning at the lovely residences, shops, people and little parks and the anticipation as I approached the next bakery on my list.  I could hardly bear the excitement when I knew I was getting close to the next one.  Here's the trail in pictures.

 Breakfast at Amy's Bread on the corner of Leroy and Bleeker Sts. West Village

 This bakery, Dominique Ansel is the home of the original Cronut.  They were all sold out so fortunately there wasn't a long line outside.  I ordered the other thing he's famous for, the DKA, a canelle, and 2 kinds of cookies.  Into the backpack.

 As I walked, at times it became overcast and threatened to rain - I had an umbrella just in case.

 Next stop was Baltazar (2 pics above) on 80 Spring St. - they have amazing breads I heard and I was bummed they were out of the chocolate yeast bread stuffed with chocolate chunks! So I got a chocolate cake donut, several types of cookies, and a loaf of cranberry pecan whole wheat sourdough - into the backpack!

 Next stop was Ceci Cela at 55 Spring St - almond croissants and fruit tarts.  Last bit to fit in the backpack.  Now I needed the bag.

 I stopped here to sample perfumes on Elizabeth St in Nolita. They make them to order in the lab and it's fun to watch.

 Street scene on the way to Maman Bakery.

 They are famous for their chocolate chunk nut cookies.  I ordered two and a slice of lavender blueberry bread.  They also offered lavender hot chocolate which I wanted to try but I was sweating profusely from my fast pace and humid 80s outside so I did not partake darn it!  But I did ask how they made it.

 I stopped here to smell a bunch of stuff only.  They are a Florence Italy based perfumer very famous for their potpourri made in big vats and aged in crocks - a blend of lavender, mint, cedar and clove.  I have a bowl of it in our bedroom and you can also buy it in Portsmouth NH at Pickwick's Mercantile and the Wish Basket in Newburyport MA for you local readers.  It is amazing!!

 Lafayette Cafe and Bakery in Noho on 380 Lafayette St. - got a loaf of walnut raisin whole wheat bread and the croissant du jour - Banana, coconut, chocolate.  At this point it was almost noon and I had been walking for a couple hours so I took a bite of the chocolate cake donut from Baltazar - yum!

 A cute little house near New York University and some sweet smelling roses - smelled them and took a pic.  I also stopped at the nearby Jacque Torres Chocolatier and bought two of his cookies and then walked the last mile in that area to get to the 14th street station and hop the subway headed for the very last stop on the One train to 242nd street in the Bronx - a 45 minute ride.  When I arrived, it was 1:45 and I planned on walking the mile and 1/2 to the Garden but I was pretty hungry at this point (I hadn't eaten since breakfast and had walked miles) and the Wave Hill free shuttle stopped at quarter past every hour in front of the Burger King right by the subway station so I grabbed a quick Whopper Jr. and diet coke and waited for the shuttle.   Then off on the shuttle through neighborhoods that blew my mind!!!  This is the Bronx?  Glorious winding tree lined streets with huge houses of brick, stone or tudor style with fabulous gardens, landscaping and trees.  I asked the driver where we were exactly and he said we were in the Fieldston and Riverdale areas of the Bronx.  Do you watch Blue Bloods?  Chief of Police Frank Reagan lives in that fictional brick house they show in Riverdale,  And we drove past the gorgeous campus of the prestigious Horace Mann prep school as well.  Incredible.

 Lunch

First glimpse of Wave Hill as I passed through the front gates.  Wave Hill is a 28 acre public garden with rolling lawns that go down to the Hudson river, antique green houses full of tropical and exotic plants, an herbary, perennial gardens, shade gardens, aquatic gardens, wild gardens, forests, trails, and every plant is marked.  It was breathtakingly beautiful and I took many notes and pictures.  It was hard to imagine that I was so close to the City and the other Bronx as I knew it.  Quiet, still, lovely, and so many birds everywhere and only about a dozen people.  I spent almost three hours wandering in awe. It did start to rain and I am glad I had my umbrella for the 10 minutes it poured and then the sun came out again.  Wave Hill was built as a country home (which is now the art gallery part) in 1848.  In 1903, George Perkins, a partner of JP Morgan purchased the property and accumulated more along the river.  In 1960, the then owner deeded it all to the City of New York to be maintained as a public garden.  If you enjoy gardens at all, this is a must see and the shuttle ride from the subway station to the Garden is just as worthy!  Bear with me as you look at lots of pictures - I couldn't just choose a few.

 This rose is called the Alchemist.  I grew it at the Yellow House.  :(

 Easy to grow David Austen rose called Graham Thomas - fragrant!  I grew it also at the Yellow House

 Scotch Thistle - pretty cool looking for a statement plant in your border.

 A peak in the green houses.

 Strolling to the herbary and aquatic gardens.

 Carefree Delight Rose

 This tree is the Forest Pansy cultivar of the Redbud.  I need to find one for our yard!

 That huge tree is a copper beech.  I walked down to it and you go under it as if you are entering an enormous tent. It is a couple centuries old and exquisite!

 Inside its canopy; the roots and lots of initial carving.

 I had to turn around after visiting it up close and take one last look and picture.  You should plant one if you have a big piece of property - definitely a legacy tree. It was probably 50 by 50 feet at least.

 Walking from the subway station to meet up with Dan at Bryant Park at the end of my fabulous day!  I snuck up on him!

 We had a train to catch so we ate a quick meal at Chipotle - I know - two fast food meals in one day and a couple pastries - not too impressive but this was a really good chicken and pinto bean salad!  So, I had hot chocolate, a pistachio twist, bite of chocolate donut (ate the rest on the train), 3/4s of a whopper junior, chipotle salad, and we took a couple bites of my loot on the train home as well.  Not too bad considering all the baked goods I had in both my backpack and Amy bag.  Oh!  And next to Chipotle was the last bakery on my list - Lady M - famous for very special cakes.  We bought a slice of chocolate checker ganache and the citrus creme multi layer crepe cakes.  I have taken a tiny bite of both everyday all week and they are still in the fridge and still so delicious!  That bakery was packed with every table taken and people eating cake just as they should be.  I couldn't wait to get home and un pack and review all my purchases and Dan couldn't wait to see what I had bought.  Today, Sunday, Sugar Day, after 5 days of waiting, we tasted everything!!! (but the breads - they are in the freezer).

 Lady M's cakes through the window

 Lavender Blueberry Cake