Ok so the raspberries Neil got a few days ago at Greenmarket were the last for the season, at least until the fall. All I have left of the berries are a few jars of jam and a small container of ice cream. I will now spend the next few weeks hoarding peaches and blueberries!

While I make treats and sweets, Neil and my grandfather are busy cooking the meals. Below, Neil's sweet corn appetizer and my grandfather's fresh lumpia (it's a fresh spring roll). I must admit, I am very lucky.

Kittens seem to be doing well after their long day yesterday. Millie came home from the vet and started to play right away. Charlie is a little wiped out and is sleeping a lot. Maybe the heat isn't helping.

Today was two degrees short of the city's record of 106 F-- which was in 1936. I really hope this weather doesn't become the norm.

Going to sleep soon, I just finished making raspberry ice cream and jam.

Little Does He Know...

My kittens are going to surgery tomorrow, and as my grandfather keeps saying-- Charlie will be a eunuch. Of course, he says it in Chinese, and I wouldn't normally understand the word (I've never had to use it) except that he adds a description, "You know, one of those men that served palace women and had to have their manhood removed!" I know it's a routine procedure, but I'm still nervous. Hoping all will go well.

Visited the Queen's County Farm Museum today. Beautiful space, lovely day.

Except until an hour ago, as I was about to post, when a fire broke out on the first floor of our building. Smoke was rising out the back of the building and people started coming out to the streets, yelling at us to exit the building. We grabbed our cats and dashed down the stairs. The fire is out and everyone is okay now, but it was scary for a moment. Kind of puts things in perspective. Anyways, I'm very grateful to the firemen here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They acted super fast to keep us safe. Gonna calm down now and try to enjoy the rest of the evening.

"Animal agriculture makes a 40% greater contribution to global warming than all transportation in the world combined; it is the number one cause of climate change."

From Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. 

Also interesting is this recent article on global warming by Al Gore in the Rolling Stone.

So many choices to make on a daily basis...

Also catching up on my weekly farm readings, excerpts from:

1) Fertility From the Ocean Deep -- explains how nutrients from the ocean benefit plants.

2) From the Soil Up -- basic science of soil and managing soil aeration, water, and residue decay.

3) The Unsettling of America -- Wendell Berry mourns the decline of small farmers and describes his views on 'modern' agriculture and how it has corrupted our culture and caused an ecological crisis. 

Raspberry Yogurt Pops

Rasberries are in season, got mine at the Union Square Greenmarket and decided to make these refreshing treats!

Speaking of berries, I got to pick mulberries this week at Grady's Farm, where the assistant gardener lives. It was really fun, picture the three of us under a large tree, shaking branches hysterically onto a blanket on the ground ;)  I've never had them before, and thought they were delicious!

Optimum Trajectory

“Your life is like a river. If you’re aiming for a goal that isn't your destiny, you will always be swimming against the current... Find out what your destiny is and the river will carry you."

-The Men Who Stare at Goats

A bit cheesy, I know. And the movie itself, not that great.

But that quote struck me.

Anyone that has known me these last few years knows how challenging working as a nurse, particularly in oncology, has been for me. I get that a lot of people don't like their jobs or find their jobs boring or stressful... but when it makes you cry all the time-- before work because of anxiety, during work because of an overwhelming sense of doom, and after work because of exhaustion-- it feels like swimming against the current, a constant struggle.

Working on a farm or garden has been something I have wanted to do since college, but never found enough time or had the opportunity to go away and live somewhere else for an entire season. Now that I have decided to try something completely different (or what people who are in my world and a part of my life right now consider to be unconventional) and made this change in my life, I'm not sure if I can go back. It feels right, even though I don't know where it will take me. But I'm content to continue floating along with this current.

A keeper for now.

Quiet morning in Brooklyn, breakfast was leftover crab couscous and Veniero's from Neil's birthday celebration at our place yesterday. Afterwards, went out for drinks. The city was quiet last night-- perfect!! Hope it stays that way today!

We went to California again for my cousin's Eagle Scout ceremony and also for another cousin's wedding. It was a nice trip, caught up with family/friends, finally went to the movies (last one I saw at the theater was The King's Speech!), and ate good food. Also went back to Cypress, CA where I lived for 10 years, to a local carnival fair with my uncle who was hired to take photos (although the one above is mine!) It was a little strange to be back in the area where I spent much of my adolescence. Some things have changed, but a lot has also stayed the same. It made me think about all that has changed for me and the path my life has taken since leaving California. Then I realized that I am where I'm supposed to be, which is a nice thought to have... it's accepting and actually liking my present state! So although it's always great to catch up with relatives and friends, I acknowledged during this trip how much I really like living in Brooklyn and on the East Coast in general. I'm glad to be back home with my cats, my farmer's market, and back at the garden again. Perhaps I've grown more roots here in NY than I previously thought I had!