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.