New walks

 In Berkeley, I had three walking routes that were like doing laps around a track. Each one involved checking the Free Little Library boxes and an ever renewed appreciation of the plants and flowers along the way. That's not available to me here. The other day I took a walk west to the cafe Milk and Pull. It's about 20 minutes, and only a few of the blocks have much in the way of plantings, although there are a few that are nice. I had planned to have a sandwich but their kitchen was closed because of staffing issues so I just had an iced chai latte, my new favorite thing. I sat and read The New Yorker's fiction issue and enjoyed the music and friendly vibe. Then I trudged back. I'm so out of shape! So this is now officially one of my walks. Next time I do it, I will try the ramen restaurant across the street-they are open 11-3 and again at 5 every day except Monday when they don't do lunch. 

It has been so hot the last few days--in the 90s--that i haven't wanted to get out and walk far at all. I walked a short way to the mailbox and was dripping with sweat by the time I got home. I feel slightly guilty that I'm not getting in a daily long walk or exploration, but I only have the fan to keep cool and I don't like getting heat exhaustion. I went around the corner and got empanadas and that was enough of a walk in the heat. It's going to be in the mid-nineties for at least a week so I will need to get out to some destinations with A/C. I will make the round of cafes with my New Yorkers and catch up on my magazine reading.

Next up

Today's excursion was a short walk down to Fulton St. to the Macaron Bakery. I had hoped it would be a cute cafe I could sit in, but it's really a storefront. I got an assortment of six macarons in a cute little box and then went and had an iced latte and sat in the Daily Press cafe a block away--chill music, good vibe, a nice place to read the New Yorker. Now I'm back home in my cool and shady apartment where I have been slowly slowly putting things in their place. I should decide where to hang my art, next.

I'm in a lull between the first round of tasks and the next. I've set up banking with a credit union and got my health care situation in place; I have a new Medicare Advantage plan; I like my new primary care physician; I have a pap smear and mammogram scheduled;  I'm caught up on my vaccines (covid and shingles).  I've located decent groceries and a few places to eat out in my neighborhood. I've done laundry around the corner, recycled tons of cardboard boxes, bought furniture and unpacked just about everything. I have a library card and I'm registered to vote.  I've found a good place to go to the movies in Manhattan and got started on the round of museums. My place is comfortable and feels more and more like home.

Next up comes some more challenging stuff. I want to find a therapist. I'd like to find an Al-Anon meeting nearby. I'd like to try finding some dance class of some kind: sevillanas would be fun! are there any meet-up groups for seniors? I'd like to set up a kind of excursion rotation so I don't wake up wondering what I'm going to do that day.

Guggenheim

 Today I got a  message from my friend Maria asking if I was up for a trip to the Guggenheim to see the Cecilia Vicuña show. I was able to hop in the shower and then hustle on over to Museum Mile (the L then the 4) right in time. We went to the Bluestone Lane cafe before to have iced chai and yak, then ambled over to the museum. I had been planning to buy a membership which would then allow me to take a guest for $5 because the entry fee is  $25 and a membership is $75 but Maria has  privileges from working at Pratt and was able to get both of us in for free! 

The Vicuña show was very worthwhile. It included a large installation of three quipu, hanging installations in red, black and white, of fiber, wool, felt and gauzy textiles.

We stayed and looked at the Kandinsky show, and a small but fascinating installation by Eva Hesse. I had forgotten that Kandinsky was a co-founder of Der Blaue Reiter and I found myself most moved by his earliest work. The Hesse show, "The Hesse show, "Expanding Expansion," was of a large piece she had made out of latex and cheesecloth--fabric-like panels suspended between poles. With time, what was supple and textile-like latex has hardened and deteriorated such that the very act of hanging the piece might mean its destruction; the show documents the debates over restoration and artistic intention as well as the decision to go ahead and try to restore the piece to the point that it could be displayed again.

BTS Korean market

 I made my daily excursion a trip to a Korean market not far from here--4 stops on the C line--to get some takeout and see what they had. I don't know if the named it BTS because of BTS or as a little in-joke, but it's funny. They have mochi donuts, which I did not buy but I'll get a half dozen next time I go. It's smaller than I expected and more focused on flowers than groceries, but a really sweet little place. I got japchae, kimbap, fried chicken and they gave me some free soup! I asked for a shopping basket when I went in and the lady went to the back and got me a little woven basket. I found the ride over a little challenging. I got the Manhattan bound C train at Rockaway, and rode four stops and that was fine, but on the way back I entered the station and then had a long long walk to cross over to the other side. I probably needed to go in at a different entrance. I hate it when they divide up the entries like that. But after hiking a long way I did find the correct platform and made it back. It doesn't feel like a friendly ride---the stations are narrow and grotty and the trains are old on the C line. Not like the L. Next time I go there I could try walking. It's a longish walk but it might be worth it when it's fall and the weather is cooler. Today was pretty hot--I was dripping sweat by the time I got home. Now I'm going to finish that Chinese drama I started a few months ago, and then I'll cancel the streaming service it's on.

Met again

Today I went back to the Met with Rosemary. I got to use my membership to get both of us in! We wolfed down a lamb gyro on the front steps. I wanted to see the other Fashion exhibit that I missed the last time around--the period rooms in the American Wing had been repurposed as "one-frame movies" by several directors who used costumes and the stories of designers to create tableaux. Called "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" it highlights the emergence of an American style in dialogue with France, and the rise of the named designer as a force in American fashion. Directors Julie Dash, Chloe Zhao, Sophia Coppola, Martin Scorcese, Tom Ford, Janitza Bravo and others. 

We also spent some time in the Greek and Roman rooms looking at inspiration for her big project, The Song of Achilles. It's amazing how a personal connection can alter the attention I pay to the objects.  After, we recovered our energy at the Bluestone Lane Cafe on 89th just past the Guggenheim--juice was not cheap but it was good and it's a cool space in a church. Now we know a place we can go when we visit the Met. Another place to try is the Viennese style cafe Sabarsky at the Neue Gallerie, an Austrian museum.

The ride back on the subway was packed, but I'm starting to get the hang of getting to the right platform: the 86th St. station has two entrances and you can't cross over  inside, so you have to go back outside and cross the street if you haven't paid attention to the signs. The other thing that is clear is that the Google Maps app sometimes has a better connection to which train is coming next than the signs themselves in the station. I was waiting for the 4 and it kept saying that the next train to arrive would be the 5 and that the 4 was still ten minutes out. Not so! I need to investigate, though---does the 5 also stop at 14th St? Because if you are in the Maps app and it is telling you to take the 4  you can't peek at the 5's route to compare. Hmmm, apparently it runs the same express stops as the 4 for that stretch. The 6 must be the local. At least not during peak time. Ugh, so much to learn!

health care plan

Today I have an appointment at a health care clinic that is about 15 minutes away on foot from home. I switched to a new Medicare Advantage plan because of the move-- I filled in some form on a website and was contacted by a broker. I'm sure he was getting paid to push the plan I ended up with, but he went over it carefully with me and it's going to be cheaper and just as comprehensive as Kaiser. I was paying a monthly premium for Kaiser and this plan has no premium so it won't be deducted from my social security. No more Kaiser! no more convenience of a massive HMO. So I looked up the Wellcare practitioner list and pulled a name out of a hat and called for an appointment at the Betances Health Center.  It's just up Broadway. I walked by it yesterday on my failed produce excursion. I was so disappointed--the store was crowded and the produce looked stepped on. I did buy some green beans and kale. I passed another organic market on the way that I will go to it today on the way home from the clinic. It's right across the street.

 The doctor I had chosen was not available for new patients so I'm going to see a nurse practitioner. The receptionist did not tell me she was a nurse practitioner so that was a surprise. I don't know if she will have the authority to prescribe my meds but I want to get in they system at a clinic near me.  They have a dentist on staff so I can see about setting up an appointment to get my teeth cleaned. 

Things to review in my appointment: skin cancer check; mammogram and pap smear; prescription renewal; weight loss plan; dental care; shingles vaccine; covid booster; location of nearest urgent care center/ER. 

 

A new café

This morning I walked about 20 minutes to a cafe called Milk and Pull, in a little zone that has some restaurants in it. It's not an inspiring walk but it's flat. I had a latte and a chocolatine. They have lunch food and are open until 5, so next time I go I'll try one of their sandwiches.  It's pleasant to sit in and I was able to find a table and read the rest of Olive Kitteridge. The book was made into an HBO miniseries with Frances McDormand which I watched this afternoon. Martha Wainright plays a character who has her own story in the novel, a piano bar singer. Here she covers The Carpenters:

This afternoon, I cooked the gai lan with green onions and tomatoes. Every time I cook I am discovering how to use this kitchen space. There's counter space but it's far from the stove so I will have to get used to using bowls to prep with since my chopping area is not next to the stove. But I was able to adapt, and used by new universal pot lid with the large sauté pan. Now I have rice and veg to fry up tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will walk up Broadway to a market that bills itself as a produce market. I hope it turns out to be better than the ones I've seen so far. What would I do without Google Maps?

Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Today's excursion was a Sunday trip to the Met. I bought a membership with the idea that I can make multiple visits and bring a guest. I wanted to see the Fashion exhibitions, and a show about called Kimono Style. I was overwhelmed by the size and sheer volume of objects in the galleries one has to cross in order to arrive at a specific exhibit and started to have a sharp pain in my upper left-hand back quadrant. I found the cafe and got a grotesquely overpriced and very dry sandwich and OJ and the pain went away. I just need to remember that the subway trip to the museum requires an expenditure of energy and that I get very tired after a couple of hours, and keep my visits focused. I saw one half of the show, the Fashion Lexicon, but missed the Fashion Anthology displays in the American galleries. I'll go back!

Cuckoo rice cooker

I am now the owner of a fancy rice cooker.  It was on sale from Amazon. I broke my no-Amazon rule because I did not find it at the H Mart I went to, and I wanted this specific model. I also got a rice drainer whose sole purpose is to wash and drain the rice without dumping it in the sink. A bag of Nishiki brown rice was more expensive than I expected at my little "organic" bodega, but I got it anyway so I could try out my cooker. There is a manual with really tiny print that told me everything except what I needed to know--how much water to put in. I just eyeballed it and it turned out fine. One cup yields enough for multiple meals. I made bibimbap with the banchan I got at the H Mart.