Under the Bridge in Central Park

Under the Bridge in Central Park, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Weather update: It's not raining! It's hot! It feels like summer, finally, in Central Texas. Maybe it will be a short summer.

more Grace Church

more Grace Church, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Can you tell I was fascinated with this church?

Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Thank goodness it's Friday.

Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir

Jackie O Reservoir, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Oh, how I long for blue skies!

Weather Update: I haven't done a weather update in a while because there hasn't been much change. We have had a few dry days, but with grayish skies. The usual forecast is for rain, however. Downpours, actually. This morning, the portion of Shoal Creek that I drive along was almost to the road. And that's the portion that has a park next to it. The park was completely under rushing water. And although I really shouldn't complain about the cool days we've been having, it's just not normal to be in the upper 80s in Central Texas in mid July.

Breathtaking

Breathtaking, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was my favorite museum visit during my recent trip to NYC. Ok, so I only went into three museums, if you don't count the 15 minutes that I was inside the Museum of Natural History, but it was amazing. I think the design of the building, with it's spiral walkway, was genius because it was really hard to miss anything.

But the art there was terrific. In fact, a docent approached me and Deanna to let us know that the special exhibit on display was pretty bad and we should concentrate on the side galleries with the permanent collections if we wanted to see good art. He was right. The highlight for me was the Kandinsky Gallery. It's inspired me to rehang the two Kandinsky prints I have. I just need to find a good spot for them.

There is so much to see and do in NYC. But this is one place I will definitely go again the next time I visit.

This photo is of the rotunda in the lobby of the museum. I know millions of people have taken this picture. But this is one that I wanted to take myself. (I did, however, keep my promise to not photograph that other NYC photo that you see everywhere: The Flatiron Building.)

Empire

Empire, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

I have to say that I loved New York. I don't know if that means that I still love New York or if that I just really loved the 4 days I spent there. I loved the hotel where we stayed, The Gershwin. It wasn't a Hilton by any means but it was the right amount of funky and I felt young and hip staying there. The hotel is right around the corner from the Empire State Building, but of course there is so much to do in NYC, and subway stations aplenty, that we never even walked in front of it. But I did get a photo from the corner of 5th Avenue and 27th Street.

Angst

Angst, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

More from the NYC trip. This statue is at the Brooklyn Museum and is very close to representing how we felt after we visited Coney Island.

Salty snacks at Temple Bar

Salty snacks at Temple Bar, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

It's all in the details.

It's all in the details., originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Grace Church in NYC was amazing, both on the inside and the outside.

Grace

Grace, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

New York City has some great churches.

My husband's favorite flower

, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Delirium

, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

On Thursday I got sick. Really sick. High fever and sore throat. I was delirious. I had dreams there was a drum set in my living room. When my fever finally broke on Friday night, the drum set was still there. Saturday morning the sun was streaming in through the windows and on to the drum set. I thought it looked kinda nice so I took a picture.

abundance

abundance, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

More from the market at Boggy Creek Farm. I thought for a moment that I should try my hand at pickling but my husband shot that idea down immediately. And he's right. I have no idea when I would find the time. So I'm glad I didn't buy any okra.

sun spots

sun spots, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Freshly harvested cherry tomatoes from Boggy Creek Farm.

TIN ROOF! Rusted.

TIN ROOF! Rusted., originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Yesterday morning some friends and I went to Boggy Creek Farm for market day. It is a certified organic, local farm that sells whatever fruits and vegetables are in season, eggs, and goat's milk ice cream and cheese. They even bring in locally raised meats, including bison.

Yes, it was rainy but that didn't stop us from supporting a local farm, buying sustainable food, and wandering around the fields. I saw this old, rusting shack there. I didn't get a closer look but I bet they still use that shack.

Can you believe how lush it is? That's what weeks of rain in the summer will do.

Weather update: Cloudy skies with a 70% chance of rain.

The rain didn't stop us from cooking out yesterday afternoon, either. My new favorite burger has pepper jack cheese, sauteed onions and avocado slices. It was so good, I didn't even put mayo or mustard on it.

Don't Blink!

on a pedestal, originally uploaded by MonicaSmoot.

Disclaimer: I am a huge geek. Don't forget it.


I've got a friend who knows how much I love Dr. Who and therefore records the latest episodes from the BBC and burns them onto a dvd for me. I love that I don't have to wait for the Sci Fi channel to pick up the latest season. Well, I just watched an episode that scared the crap out of me. Now this, technically, is a children's show and every episode gets a "fright factor" rating from kids. This particular episode was off the charts and the BBC website actually recommended that parents screen this episode or watch it during the daytime with their kids. I wish I had known about that before Rowan and I watched it. The poor kid had to hide under the blanket for a good portion of the show. And I admit to covering my eyes a couple of times, too. It was, hands down, the best episode I've seen.