Cafe Gray

Last night thanks to an extremely generous benefactor, our family dined at Cafe Gray. The food was simply amazing and the service was impeccable. L even enthusiastically said, “Mom, we should come here again!” Sure honey, right after we win the lottery!

Opening on January 1

January 1, 2008 marked my eighth sojourn to the Bowery for poetry. The St. Mark’s annual January 1 poetry reading is an afternoon-into-late-evening event. I love starting my new year this way–it’s a kind of satori.

Philip Glass always plays “Opening”, it’s a pattern for him–he’s into patterns, and my day is complete if I’m there to experience it. This year, L turned to me and said, “Mom, you play that song!” Um, sort of. Philip Glass makes the patterns swell and recede. I need to work on that. I noticed too, that he leaves his hand in the same place and does a different fingering than I do. I’m gonna change that too.

My favorite poem was actually a found poem from a rock and roll song by Kansas. The organizer had 5 or 6 people who took turns reading one line each from the song printed on strips of paper. This gave what are actually lyrics a disjointed and poetic sound. It was awesome! I’ve included the lyrics below so you can try reading it that way. It will make you hear it in a very different way.

Carry On My Wayward Son
by Kansas

{Refrain}
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high

Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I’m dreaming
I can hear them say

{Refrain}

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don’t know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I’m like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say

{Refrain}
No!

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor
Now your life’s no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

Quote of the Day

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated
through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time,
this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any
other medium. It will be lost. The world will not have it.

“It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it
is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep
it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”

Martha Graham

Green Tree via the N/R Line

This year, we decided that we’d like to buy a greenmarket tree for Christmas rather than one of the ubiquitous Canadian street trees. (I don’t have anything against them–I just wanted to support farmers that were closer to us.) I noticed at Union Square as I was doing my usual greenmarket shopping, that the farmers had some nice trees. L and M haven’t had time to get one; she was busy with her NYCCC recital over the weekend and I didn’t think she’d want to go all the way down to Union Square after school. So I went by myself via subway to pick out our tree. The first one the guy held up was really nice, so we bargained a little bit and I wound up with this lovely 6 foot tree. He said the trees are from the Finger Lakes, an area that we love and hope to live in someday.

You’d think that taking a Christmas tree on the subway would raise some eyebrows. Not in New York. No one batted an eye.

Yay for Me!

I completed my novel in one month! Sure, the house is a mess, the laundry is overflowing, and my blog has been neglected, but I am now officially a novelist. Yay for me!

How Not to Work on Your Novel

Found this cool site called How to Order Chinese Food via The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.

Yes, I’m goofing off until inspiration strikes and I can work on my NaNoWriMo novel. It’s coming along–I actually like the story, but I’m only up to 8,000 words. So I’m a bit behind if I want 50,000 words by the end of the month.

NaNoWriMo Starts Nov. 1

I’m going to do it: I’m going to write a novel in one month. Hey, no pressure here!

Hotpot Season

As cooler weather approaches, Saturday Grill Night morphs into Saturday Hotpot Night. Yes, it’s hotpot season, and if you’re going to be in Shanghai, here’s a recommendation for a restaurant. Just the picture alone is worth the jump to the link. We went to Grand Sichuan two weeks ago for L’s birthday dinner. It’s the best hotpot place we’ve found so far in NYC. And in our freezer for the winter, I have tons of both kinds of broth made up already, so that when I get home from work, we are good to go.

Yes I Can

Tomatoes, that is.

Stealth Vegetarianism

It’s World Vegetarian Day. I didn’t even realize there was such a thing, but apparently it’s the 30th anniversary. I guess I better go get us some veggies! I surprised M when I told him we’d been eating vegetarian except 1 or 2 days a week. The food has been that great that he hasn’t noticed. Maybe I should call our Greenmarket Plus Diet something else: the Stealth Vegetarian Diet.

Update on the CSA produce. It’s all gone except for 2 carrots, 2 turnips, the acorn squash and a few apples and pears. All of it was top notch. We’re definitely going to try to join for next year.

Oh, and turnips? They couldn’t be easier or tastier:

Roasted Turnips
If the turnips are old peel them first, otherwise just cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Coat the turnips in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, then place them on a baking sheet.
Roast in the oven at 350 degrees until they caramelize.