All In All, A Congenial Monday

Yesterday was a typical trip to the UES,
to visit my endocrinologist,
of whom I see every three months
without fail.

The weather was glorious, so before my
appointment, instead of sitting in his paneled
waiting room, listening to opera,
and looking upon his prints by Miro,
I sat on the steps of the nearby church,
soaked up some sun and read the paper.
A cell phone camera couldn't capture
how good I felt.

Then it was time to leave, and time to say
goodbye to Ricky (on the left). Without a doubt
the most congenial doorman on Park Avenue.

"I'll see less of you next time!"

Then it was time to head down to Astor Place
to hook up with a friend, as well as a friend of hers,
who is now a new friend of mine (I love how that works!).
*Note: Several months later, the friend's friend unfriended her,
and a few months after that, I unfriended her as well.
(Weird how that works!)

Another thing not captured en photo:
Me giving alms to a Buddhist monk on the #6.
We talked nearly constantly from 86th
down to Astor Place.
"Namaste, Denzen!"

So I got off at Astor Place, an area I know (or knew)
nothing really about, and popped into the
Starbucks (Gasp! I know. I don't normally go there!)
and waited for my friend.

We sat and schmoozed, and when her
friend arrived, we went on foot, en route
to Downtown Yarns, but not before a few
small stops.

First up: FOOD!
We walked along St. Mark's Place, and
The Dumpling Man caught my eye.
And well, let's just say, the only bad
dumpling is one left uneaten!

Their steamer was on the blink,
so all we could have were pan fried/seared
(whatever). I was hungry.
And I was surprised that I could get five
in me. But then again, I eat slow.
I talk too much, I breathe. I eat.
I'm almost always the last one done.
This was no exception.
And these were exceptional dumplings!

We continued on our way to Downtown Yarns.
Chatting.
Meandering.
And I'm taking it all in.

STASH ENHANCEMENT COMMENCED!

I could not resist the power of the Zauberball.
This color combo reminds me of my fave
flower: PEONY.
Lace weight, but I might use it for socks.
*MIGHT*
*Note: I ended up destashing these skeins, as now,
lace weight and fingering weight are too fine for me
to get a good handle and tension properly.

I had to part ways with my friends, as I was
meeting another friend for coffee, which,
as it turned out, went bust, so I was on my
own for another hour or so.

First up, I stopped off at Alphabets,
and bought one of these.
I could not resist.
Then, time for more coffee (which is really
code for: I needed to pee, and sit
down for a little bit, and orient
my bag, my stuff, check my
cell for texts, etc).

So I stopped at Cafe Mogador.
Lovely place (also on St. Mark's Place),
and wished I had more time
(and space in my pouch!!)
for a bite.

So back to Astor Place I walked.
Back uptown I went.
And when I got to 24th Street,
I needed to sit again.

And crochet.

GRATUITOUS SHOT OF
CLAPOCHET
ON THE STREETS OF
NYC!!!!

My view up Lexington, with the

Chrysler Building in the distance.

Two more blocks to go, until I met
my husband for dinner, and then
head home.

I took a tepid bath.
I soaked for 10 minutes.
And promptly fell asleep
watching T.V., still
wearing my towel
wrapped around me.

A DAY WELL SPENT.