An Update

A blissful month of summer vacation has passed. I am trying to savor every minute of it! Today was my last day of teaching at summer band. Tim, the teacher who conducts the bands, was feeling ill today so I stayed after my lessons to direct the 4 bands so that he could go home. It was quite hot on stage and with the effort of conducting about 10 scores with zero preparation, I was working up a sweat! It went well, though, and I enjoyed hearing the full instrumentation since I usually work just with the clarinets. I kind of enjoy the spontaneity of teaching, when situations come up like they did today and you have to run with them. I am always such a planner, and sometimes it's very refreshing to wing it and be able to feel confident about what I'm doing. The jazz band rehearsal was particularly fun and they did a great job. As usual I feel a little sad to say goodbye. I guess I'll get used to it over many years of children coming and going, but I hope I always retain the sense of joy and pride and curiosity that I feel for them now.

I had a fun day last weekend with Heidi. We made mimosas and had brunch in her little garden and spent the day at Island Beach State Park and Seaside.

Warren and I are getting ready to take off to the Cape for a few days as soon as his program is over on Sunday. Hooray! I hope it will be a relaxing and adventurous time.

Another Trip to the Bronx Zoo

Yeah, I know, I never stop talking about this place, but Jess and Pete had never been so I took them there yesterday. It was a beautiful day and more crowded than usual..I actually prefer going on a more overcast day when there are barely any people. But it was very fun, and I got a free ticket due to some Bank of America promotional thing. Nice! Here are a couple of the cooler pictures:

Gorgeous Day

Yesterday was fantastic weather, high 70s, warm and a bit breezy, and we decided we wanted to do something in Bucks County where we could really enjoy being outdoors. We looked at a couple wineries and places to kayak online and ended up closer to Princeton where we went kayaking along the canal. It was SO beautiful. We had a picnic in a little meadow and then kayaked for a couple of hours, enjoying the fantastic water, shady trees and nice scenery. We saw a Great Blue heron flying overhead, a bunch of turtles, and one gigantic spider on the riverbank. It was so relaxing and a good workout at the same time. When we have a house where we have room to store them, we've decided we want to get a couple kayaks. We really enjoyed using them on our honeymoon as well. Afterwards we had a bit of wine while we strolled along the canal road and stopped by a farm market on the way home. It was the best way to spend such a beautiful day. We hope to go back again sometime this summer.

A Lovely List

Here is what I have done or plan to do over my spring break!

1. Visit Melissa in Washington D.C.

2. Go to lunch and a museum in the city with Carm and Lloyd

3. Go to Sally Lunn for tea and scones with Mitch

4. See Don Giovanni at the Met with Julia

5. Spend one day lying on the couch watching tv

6. Enjoy dinner and game night with Jess and Pete

7. Make a trip to the mall

8. Play with the kitty

Now THAT is the kind of week I would like to have more often! However, it would put quite a dent in the bank account. :)

A Trip to Washington DC

As soon as my spring break began on Thursday afternoon, Warren brought me to the airport and I traveled down to Washington to visit my friend Melissa. She has been living there for about a year and has been wanting me to come visit for some time. Last weekend seemed perfect since Warren was very busy anyway with Holy Week rehearsals and opera rehearsals. It was a fantastic trip from beginning to end. I walked out of Reagan airport to find a plethora of cabs waiting and easily got one for the short trip to Melissa's apartment in Glover Park. As our drive began I was immediately struck by the greenery and flowers everywhere. It was so beautiful. We drove by the Mall and I had beautiful views of the Potomac, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and the Monument. My cabbie pointed out the Vice President's home and the various embassies along the way. It was an exciting glimpse of adventures to come. We spent 3 days walking all over, seeing the sights that we were most interested in- 3 to 5 miles a day! We went to some lovely restaurants and did some relaxing girly things like mani/pedis and a bit of shopping. It was great to have the time to talk and see these beautiful things with Melissa. It is such a gorgeous, clean and friendly city. To see so many reminders of our history and the people who have shaped it is so awe-inspiring. I have a clear idea of some things I want to see again or for the first time when I go back. I plan to bring Warren sometime soon. There are a number of romantic looking inns or (probably cheaper) regular hotels and many activities I already have in mind. While we were there Melissa brought me to a shop she likes where a local man takes photos around the city and I bought one to hang in the apartment of the Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin framed by a cherry tree. I find myself looking at it frequently and remembering this lovely trip. Thanks, Melissa, for a wonderful weekend!!

Warren's Birthday

Yesterday was Warren's 24th birthday. It was a GORGEOUS day so we got to go for a walk around the neighborhood in the morning and enjoy the beautiful weather. Too warm even for a sweatshirt. It was funny to see patches of snow here and there. Warren requested a German chocolate cake so I spent the morning making that. The recipe was for a three layer cake, which I have never done before, so that was fun. It came out very tasty. The coconut-pecan topping/filling isn't meant to frost the entire thing, so you leave the sides bare. I think that's why last time I made it a few years ago, it turned into a big pile of glop...the topping isn't stiff enough to stay on the sides. After our walk we went out and bought some wine, went out to dinner in Edgewater, and visited Mitch at his new apartment in Rutherford. We are really excited about how close he lives now! Yesterday was also Hoboken St. Patty's day, which we hear is quite the experience, but we decided we'll go next year instead.

the birthday boy

a pretty house on our walk

Warren about to blow out the candles

the birthday gift he picked out: a new tuxedo vest

In other news, we're thinking of going away for a mini vacation this August...we're debating between Long Beach Island, maybe Martha's Vineyard, or Bucks County. Here's a picture of the B&B we were looking at there:

They have sheep! Which you can see out the window of this room :o)

A Night of India

Yesterday evening Warren and I enjoyed a lovely dinner and a movie with Lloyd and his wife Elaine. We went to Udupi Village in Montclair, which is a vegetarian Indian restaurant, and had lots of delicious and just-spicy-enough dishes...notably eggplant and spinach in wonderful sauces. Then we walked across the street to the movie theater and saw Slumdog Millionaire. We all really liked the movie. It had a lot of depressing/disturbing spots involving life in the slums of India but there is a beautiful love story intertwined throughout and the overall tone was very uplifting. The Indian children they cast in it were adorable and did a nice job. I wouldn't mind doing the whole night again. :)