Thanks, Gemma.

Because I needed a reminder that my belly has gotten doughy, and nothing gets that across like a cat kneading your abdomen for ten minutes.



I have video, but I can't figure out how to post it.

More magic in Madison Square Park

It seems like I spend a lot of time there, although we live nowhere near it. M and I were in the neighborhood, she needed to meet a friend, and Shake Shack was a good landmark.

It must have been fate, because we got to witness something really wonderful.



She was having such a good time and was totally confident as she loped around the sward. It's not clear from this shot, but this is the same area as the Conjoined sculpture I posted about a few days ago; she actually rested against it for a minute or two. Only in New York would M and I be the only ones gawking. The sunbathers in the grass around her were nonplussed.

I can see clearly now

When you ask to have your windows cleaned in our building, this is what you get: an Italian guy about my Dad's age, singing while he hangs out your ninth floor window. You can see, I think, how filthy the pane he removed is. The windows weren't spotless when we moved in, and we've been here four years. How bad was it? We didn't really need to use the mini-blinds for modesty anymore. We had to look for drops hitting roof-top puddles to tell if it was raining, because we rarely get rain on the window and couldn't see falling rain through the grime. It's a wonderful change.