Where to find me now

Hello family and friends. As you know, I've been hard at work on my book -- hence the absence of postings here for over a year. Those of you who are on Facebook know that you can find pix of Thalia over there, if that's what you're looking for. I admit, sometimes at the office ("office" is a term I use loosely, since I use three of them) I go on Facebook just to look at her.

In the meantime, I've finished edits on my book, "Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us," to be published in June by Bloomsbury. It's even got a starter page on Amazon.

If you want to know more, or read any of my current or older articles, visit my new website, alyssakatz.com. I'm still building it up so the archives aren't there yet, but when the site is fully up you'll get that plus news and commentary about housing and the aftermath of the real estate bubble, as well as news about the book.

Okay, you get some Thalia pix.






See you soon!

more pix!

Some more photos for the hungry.

The squirrel was a gift from Bobby. It squeaks. Thalia dropped it on the Coney Island boardwalk a month or so ago, and Bryan attracted quite a bit of attention when he wheeled back a few minutes later and picked the animal up off the planks.

a new view

Hello devotees of Avenue Oy. We didn't have a camera there for a while...we are now re-equipped.

Where to start? Teeth, tears, tears, teeth. As of today, Thalia has five. Her grandfather and uncle appreciate every one of them -- these are well-examined incisors.

Next: hair. Evident, yes. But you can't believe how people respond...that mop hanging in her eyes adds several months to her apparent age, and today Thalia sent the mother of a 10-month-old into a spasm of jealousy at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. "She has all these things my daughter doesn't -- teeth, hair...!!" She was serious.

The museum was a lot of fun. We went with second-cousin Daniel and his dad (my cousin) Amir, who live nearby and know their way around this little menagerie of Manhattanites. Thalia especially enjoyed an object called "the Musical Harp," which used visual sensors like the ones on supermarket scanners to trigger notes. She successfully held on to her turf there, while other kids scrambled to usurp her.


Then she discovered the Realm of the Four Thalias.


Thalia and Daniel got a chance to hang out, which they really haven't yet. She tackled him a few times, and tugged at his face with sharp nails, but Daniel seems to have forgiven all.



So, if you're reading this and live somewhere in or near NYC you probably know that Thalia's 1st birthday party is coming up. Weren't invited? Want to come? If you've got any reason to be there, you know where to find us--we'll give you the details.

OK, gotta put Thalia to sleep. Bryan is out with his band the Avengers (he's their booking agent), tonight at the Knitting Factory. Thalia heard them in utero, at CBGBs, and kicked unrelentingly. I think she learned how to scream from Penelope Houston.

blur

It's all a blur.

You'll notice that my last post was on July 4. It seems like holiday weekends are the only time I let myself have a little space for the nonessentials...though I'm sure some in our family consider Avenue Oy posts essentials! Please forgive me, and I promise plenty of Oy-ness for your joy-ness.


Aunt Laura was in town at the end of July, right after her birthday and just in time for (our) Uncle Mike's 80th. I brought our new camera (Nikon Coolpix--thanks, mom!).






Bryan, Thalia and I went to Vermont for a few days. Bryan and I miss the old Swirsky homestead terribly, but the condo at Jackson Gore had its advantages, like indoor and outdoor swimming and a kiddie pool. Thalia cried at first, reasonably, but she's since taken to the water like a shark. She also enjoyed the petting zoo at the apple orchard near Springfield, where we watched 10 piglets suckle on a sow. (I will spare you the pictures.) I was thrilled to discover that one of my favorite towns in Vermont, Proctorsville, is now home to Six Loose Ladies, a fabu yarn and fiber store. We wandered in there on their first anniversary and enjoyed cupcakes and good company, as well as a silly hat.





Baby bunny. I had to.

The lovely Bobby Schayer has been staying with us for the past week, on shore leave from the Interpol tour, where he works as the drum tech. He makes Moe Stooges faces at Thalia and makes her laugh. Every photo I have of Bobby is blurry because he moves fast.





Yesterday we ended up in Fort Tryon Park, which set both me and Bryan to thinking about what would have been had we gone ahead and rented that apartment on Cabrini Boulevard...well, we would have had a gorgeous park.

Thalia and I took a long walk today to the incredible Sababa bakery on Kings Highway, a Sephardic burekas-and-pita joint owned by family from Cairo descended from generations of bakers.

Back in the house, we feel the absence of Pearl, our cat of the last six years. We had to euthanize her right before we left for Vermont. She had a vicious tumor growing in her gut, and by the time she went down it had nearly paralyzed her hindquarters. We all had a hard time saying goodbye. Thalia won't remember her.




And now, the Bryan Swirsky cellphone gallery, series 3.




Doug's first slice of DiFara's.

Wheeling Around

We haven't forgotten you!! We've just been out and about a lot, gulping down summer, getting work done, traveling and, oh yes, experiencing obnoxious travel delays.

But let's start with the stroller. The U.S. importers of Micralite, the space-age English pushcart that Thalia spends so much time in, have asked us to write a testimonial to their product. And you know what? We're going to do it. Yes, we are shills for a $400 item. We drive a car we bought for $1 and has the body of a defensive lineman on medical retirement. Our "new" bathroom sink is a 1920s number we bought on ebay (and is currently serving as a planter on our terrace). We are not prone to material indulgences. But.

This stroller can be steered with one hand. Its huge rear tires bound up or down stairs, and the whole thing is light enough to be carried, child strapped in, into or out of a subway station. It's a smooth driving machine. It folds in half at the click of a button. And it's damn cool looking.







Look how many places it's been already. The above are:

Salt Marsh, Brooklyn. A lovely spot next to Jamaica Bay, just off Marine Park.

Chicago, Millennium Park. We were there for grandma Sandy's 65th birthday party...and she didn't even know it. Thank you, Toby, for a fantastic weekend. Happy birthday Sandy! Happy birthday Helen! (Our moms have the same birthday, June 15.) The party itself was in New Buffalo, Mich. When you're in town there you must go to Redamak's, one of America's great burger joints.

Coney Island. This photo was taken outside Nathan's Famous minutes before a wild deluge. We took refuge inside Nathan's, but with sheets of rain blowing sideways we didn't stay especially dry. There was nowhere to sit so I nursed Thalia standing up (I have a photo, available on request).

We almost didn't make it to picture #3. Getting back from Chicago was a 30-plus hour ordeal. Eve flight was cancelled due to thunderstorms, they reschedule us for 1 p.m. the next day (which was a second surprise treat for Sandy), and then...we board the plane and we sit on the runway. For 3 hours. Wait, that's not the bad part. Then: THEY LOSE THE STROLLER. My theory...for the first time in all my flying life, the airline (American) did not preboard the babies!! When we griped to the agent she said, "Well, we don't consider that to be a disability." Well, we were among the last to board, and instead of coming in all at once our strollers trickled in one by one. And some didn't make it onto the plane.

Stroller and child were happily reunited the next day.

OK, you've waited long enough. Here you go:

Thalexicon

Since you know me and Bryan, you know that we're extremely fond of neologisms. We're downright compulsive about creating our own, remixing, back-forming, homynymizing (our way of harmonizing) and otherwise mangling the English language, with help from Yiddish and popular culture.

Here's a sampling of the ones that come to mind right now. But seriously, these are so much part of our conversation that I'm not conscious of it anymore. If we're not careful, Squid, I mean Thalia, is going to grow up speaking an alien language.

BATCH
A lot of baths. As in, "Thalia, you need a batch. You are covered in peas."

CHUCK
See May 8's post.

THE OOZ
We keep planning to take Thalia but never make it, since one has to travel backwards to get there. The Prospect Park Ooz is remarkably improved since I last went there in 1988. Gentrification kicked out the bobcat who used to pace in his cage.

SQUID
A squishy kid. That was Thalia, right after she was born. Remember this?

Yes, that's Squid, also known as Squiddo, kiddo.

THE VET
Where Thalia goes for medical care. This a flub Bryan and I make consistently, and we've done so starting with her very first visit to the lovely Dr. Aviva Oppenheim, who is assuredly not a veterinarian. I think Bryan and I are feeling guilty that we haven't taken Django or Pearl to the vet in a good five years. Culpable. Wrong. Completely miserable failures as pet parents.

Thalia, meanwhile, knows what to do with words. She eats them. Lately she has taken to chewing on The New York Times, showing special interest in the City and Styles sections.






I leave you with 17th Street playground, Memorial Day: