funnystrange.com

Greetings from sunny Staten Island. We were up too late getting ready, as usual, and still finishing things up in the morning, so we didn't get on the highway until about 10. It was tough to leave the dogs behind. Thirteen likes the people at the kennel and goes with them willingly, but Jane did not want to go. She planted herself and just stared back at us. (Well mainly at Georg, to be honest. She's really attached to him.) I had to pretend like I was going with them to get her moving in the right direction. All day I worried that Jane was going to think we sent her back to the shelter. Next time I am definitely looking into a pet sitter. Anyway, traffic was a bitch -- isn't it always? -- but we got here eventually.

Now I'm in my jammies, wearing a dab of Oneroi to help me relax, and checking in with the world. The Pattersons' neighbor still leaves their wireless network open and if I position the computer just right, I get three bars!

Their other neighbor has a little sign in the front yard which says "He who plants a garden plants love." Which I found hilarious because said neighbor paved over their entire front yard a few years ago. Seriously, the yards on Staten Island are small and theirs is 100% pavement. Perhaps the plaque, which sits in a little planter box on the edge of the pavement, is a quiet protest by someone in the house who didn't want the yard turned into a parking lot. I've never actually met the neighbors so I'll probably never know.

Tomorrow we're meeting up with old friends Nellorat and Womzilla for dinner in the city (Chinese! yay!) and then I'm heading back to Yonkers to hang with them and the third of their trio, Supergee, for a couple of days. We're planning a trip to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday, which I'm really looking forward to. I've heard excellent things about it & haven't been to a zoo in many years. Then Georg and I will spend a couple of days in the city: the Max Ernst show, also a Chanel exhibit (both at the Met, how convenient), dinner at Babbo (Mario Batali's restaurant), a visit to the Fluevog store, and various and sundry fun things. And then back here to Staten Island to continue the family portion of the visit. I'm leaving the computer here rather than lug it all over the city, so I won't have net access for most of the week.