Coffee Date

Hi guys!  I decided I would start writing a weekly journal post again.  It’s always helped me to share things like this, so hopefully you’ll like these posts.

I’m calling it “coffee date” as I will be publishing them every Sunday morning, which is when Enceladus and I go to our neighborhood coffee shop and have our coffee date together.  My hope is that maybe you curl up on Sunday morning with a coffee (or tea!),  read this post and then comment and let me know how you’re doing!

Saying goodbye to Xanadu. This week our beloved Siamese cat, Xanadu Pluto, died at 14 years old. Xanadu came into our lives when she was only 3 months old and our world was never the same again. Xanadu was me and Matthew’s first baby together, and she was with us through everything.

It’s really hard to express how much we love and miss her. She was such a wild cat, our home now feels empty without her. I miss her crazy antics. I miss her challenging me everyday. I miss sleeping with her every night. I still see her in the corner of my eye when I walk into a room. I still fill up her cat bowl with food, while feeding Toes and Goblin. I miss everything about her. She was so special to us.

Xanadu was special to everyone who knew her. She jumped on everyone’s lap, and if you weren’t a cat person, she accepted the challenge to make you one. She loved the attention that Enceladus showed her, letting her dance with her, dress her up and become a patient of Doctor Enceladus. She was filled with energy and love. All of our cats are special, but Xanadu just had that next level love.

She’ll forever be my baby and her spirit will live on.

I’ve never loved NYC more.  NYC hasn’t had an easy last few months.   Between a global pandemic and a cultural revolution, things have been intense.  Even though our hobby is looking at real estate in Upstate New York, through all these difficult times, our love for NYC has grown.  To see New Yorkers regularly help and support one another, protest on the streets, and take care of each other, it’s a ugly beautiful sight to see.  It feels like the only place for our family, the only place I want my children to grow up in, the only place I want to call home.   

Even though Enceladus is young, I don’t think it’s too early to discuss matters that affect the world around her, especially racial problems that negatively affect our neighbors, her friends and our community.    I’ve been thinking alot about our choices, and how we all have room for improvement.   What can I do better as a parent?  More specifically a white parent.   How can I raise a child that has more open eyes to the world around her?  What can I do to make sure that children of every color have the same opportunity?  I will be sharing some links that I find informative and helpful in these posts, that hopefully you’ll read too. 

Everyday a protest goes down our street.  We run to the windows and bangs pots and pants and yell in solidarity.  If we’re quick enough, we can even grab our masks and head down to the street to cheer our city on.    This week, Enceladus and Matthew were part of a bike protest, starting at Grand Army Plaza and going through Brooklyn.  It was close to her bedtime, so the little lady couldn’t keep her eyes open the entire time but when she came home, and was fully energized, she couldn’t wait to tell me everything she saw!    Matthew described the bike protest as one of the most amazing experiences he’s had in our 15 years of living in NYC.  

Speaking of growing.  If you follow me on social media, you probably already know this, but if you only read the blog, then this might be a surprise.  I’m pregnant!  I’m actually very pregnant. 8 months in fact.   After I wrote this post last year, we found out I was pregnant again about 2 months later.  It’s been a nerve wracking pregnancy, and I won’t feel at ease until I hold that baby in my arms, but things are starting to feel really real.  Last week I cleared out some drawer space for the new baby, and Matthew headed to storage to get the essential baby items.  Enceladus is very excited. I asked what was the first thing she was going to say to her baby sister (it’s another girl!) and she said “I’m going to say PEEKABOO!”.  🙂

We also have some vegetables growing.   The garden is in full bloom right now, and we’re slowly transitioning from Spring to Summer plants. (This is our seed calendar if you’re interested in following)  Honestly, the garden has been our escape sanctuary since we really can’t go anywhere else in NYC for the past few months.  It’s been a much needed spot to relax without being too worried, and let Enceladus run around.   If we’re not at home, we’re in the garden!  

May was all about picking broccoli, and now June is all about picking cabbage, kale and sugar snap peas.   Next week we’re going to pick our first onion too which I’m pretty excited about!  Besides that we have carrots, cherry tomatoes, san marzano tomatoes, bell peppers, highlander peppers, cucumbers, potatoes and microgreens growing!  So yeah, we’re eating lots of fresh veggies in our house!

What we’re eating. We’re snacking on fresh sugar snap peas and strawberries from the garden.  I’m obsessed with Driscoll’s “Sweetest Batch” blueberries – they’re pricey, but so good! Enceladus and I also love Sour Raisins (hard to find in stores!). I also became a fan of the Davocadoguy, who sells the best tasting avocados I’ve ever had!  

This week I made a Roasted Whole Chicken with Cabbage which we gobbled up.  On night 2, I found a bag of turkey drippings from Thanksgiving tucked away in the freezer so I turned that into gravy and made leftover chicken sandwiches. Yum!   Besides that, we’ve been having lots of Sugar Snap Pea pasta, and homemade Sloppy Joes with corn on the cob.   I also made a batch of Cream of Broccoli Soup with our last garden broccoli which was delicious – it’s not the prettiest soup, but it makes up for it in taste! 

We’ve been sourcing our meat from Crowd Cow which delivers meat to our doorstep (or mail room I should say).  In March it was hard to order groceries in NYC, so I found this service that offered quality meat for affordable prices and fell in love with it.  Even though groceries have become easier to get (not so much toilet paper or bread flour yet), we’ve stuck with Crowd Cow and we’ll continue using it.  

Other weekly recipes:  Roma Tomato Soup, Homemade Dumplings and No Pectin Strawberry Jam. 

Eye Candy. I’m in love this polka dot dress. I got a new Fitbit band and it’s pretty. I’m obsessed with baskets and I love this Etsy shop. Casa Kids make the coolest custom children’s bunk beds. I can’t wait for Fall sweater season!

Talk to you next week,
Pamela

Interesting Things to Read/Watch:

How 132 Epidemiologists Are Deciding When to Send Their Children to School

When 511 Epidemiologists Expect to Fly, Hug and Do 18 Other Everyday Activities Again

Bird’s Eye View of Protests Across the US and Around the World

Why white parents need to do more than talk to their kids about racism

Are your kids too young to talk about race? Nope.

Workers Fearful of the Coronavirus Are Getting Fired and Losing Their Benefits

How Lockdown Has Changed My Life

Pentagon War Game Includes Scenario For Military Response To Domestic Gen Z Rebellion

Policing in America is Broken. How do we fix it?

What ‘defund the police’ really means.

The Treason of the Ruling Class

How Tower Cranes Build Themselves 

A first look at Unreal Engine 5

The Day the Live Concert Returns

Inside Nextdoor’s ‘Karen Problem’

Walking is Making a Major Comeback

What happens to all the Un-Hugged Hugs?