Just got back from a few days of travel to New York City where I spent the first few day in the Rockaways, one of my old hangouts and slept at Mercedes' 8th floor apartment with a view of the Eastern sky situated along the ocean side of the peninsula. I was in awe of the amount of construction on the beach where large equipment is being used to move massive stones to create right angle jetties at regular intervals along the entire length of the beach. Its not good for the birds that nest there or the people that live along there but someone thinks this is an idea to protect the area from future storms like Sandy that happened ten years ago, negatively affecting that neighborhood and its inhabitants for months after.  

The first full day I was there we donned our winter clothes and took bike ride to Riis park. We were dressed properly so the ride was enjoyable. The most impressive thing going on in that neighborhood was the massive migration of Northern Gannets we saw moving in later that day and then moving out after spending the night on the water, in the morning. It was awesome to see the huge flock of them lifting out of the water and then making splashes while hunting fish a few hundred feet or more from shore. 

It seems I didn't do much exploring of Manhatatn when I lived there in Brooklyn from age 28-48. For the next two days I had a lot of fun seeing some of what is worth seeing there. 

Two church happenings on this trip. One occurred when I happened upon an Episcopal church on the way to a Park Service tour and had time to explore (and get Warm!) 

The second was St Patricks Cathedral with Suzanne on the way to the MET. The tours were exorbinant ($100!) and so were the audio tours. Church masses seemed to be happening all day long and were only 30 minutes long. Suzanne, in keeping with her easy to get along with personality, agreed to attend without hesitation. The altar is huge and the cantor was talented. The sermon was interesting and there was a little "Jewish bashing" which we had a chuckle about since Suzanne is Jewish. Not having attending church in decades I was impressed by what seems to me as a "retired" the fanciful ceremony where wine and wafers are turned into "body and blood".  

The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace is a brownstone on the East Side of NYC owned by the National Park Service. A ranger led an hour long tour of the site and was super effective in relaying the story of this site  rebuilt by TR's sisters on the original house site to serve as a memorial for him. Although the house is a recreation, the furniture is all original to the original childhood home including this sweet circular chair of TR"s that his father had made for him as he was a sickly child and spent alot of time indoors before his doctors encouraged physical exercise to combat his asthma. 

Along with the interesting stories of the house, and TR's childhood, it was amazing to go into this restored solidly made brownstone in the middle of Manhattan and have a quiet, thoughtful tour. 

I also discovered a few museums and collections that I really enjoyed including the JP Morgan Pierpont library where many of Chase's favorite art and book collection were housed after his death. Chase had his own librarian at this site, who over two decades expanded his collection of books for him during his lifetime. 

We stumbled upon a free display at the Grolier club for a collection of decorative paper used for book binding, wallpaper and art. 

The main NYPL site adjoining Bryant Park also had a great collection of music literature and art a called "Treasures. This was an amazing exhibit free to explore on the first floor of the library!

We took the Roosevelt Island Ferry and had a decent lunch at an empty Mexican restaurant there and took the train back to Suzanne's place. Her apartment is really awesome and the room was super comfortable. It was awesome to connect with Suzanne, one of my oldest friends and without a real agenda, explore the city. Honestly can't wait to go back! 

Bluebird Tales

Though the bluebird was New York unofficial state bird for years, it  was not until 1970 that Governor Rockefeller signed a bill elevating the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) to official state bird status. 

Many of us include the Eastern Bluebird as a favorite, not just for its pleasing plumage and big black eyes but for its musical song and active insect hunting antics. 

This season I started monitoring bluebird boxes at Seneca Lake State Park. It was a learning experience which started with my crash course in blue bird box monitoring with a local birder Dave Robertson who has been monitoring boxes at Montezuma for years. Training started with a fascinating show and tell of the items in his bag of bluebird monitoring tool kit. The following is a photo which displays some of the most important blue bird monitoring tools which I now have in my own

Bluebird tool kit. 

1) mechanics mirror (my favorite) to view the nests safely without having to tilt the nest much 

2) scraper for removing old nesting material from box in between nestings

3) oil for HOSP (house sparrows) eggs 

4)Tangle Trap for kneeing ants out of nest box 5)screw driver for opening older boxes without easier access hardware 

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 When monitoring a box with an active nest, I was surprised by the aggressiveness of the bluebird parents. Being dive bombed by blue birds, a fraction of my size  was not something I bargained for, and even more surprising was the fact that a small song bird bird could make me anxious enough to abort a mission a time or two!

I was saddened by what could happen when nest boxes are not monitored regularly. For example, during our crash course training session in June we opened one of the boxes to find it full of old nest material with an active nest on top. The  nestlings in the box would have had no “head room” because the nest was so close to the top of the box. The nest was also crawling with ants. Having ants in the box would have made the nestlings uncomfortable at the least at dangerous to their survival at the worst. To solve these problems we used the trusty old paint scraper to remove much of the old nest material from the middle of the nest to the bottom of the box. We then applied tangle trap on the nest box pole. The next time I monitored I was happy to see there were no ants at all and seemingly happy nestlings with room to grow! 

Though I’m not sure what happened during the early spring season, from June on we fledged 10 EABL and 12 TRES from our lake side boxes. Dave Robertson’s numbers for 54 nest boxes at Montezuma was 65 EABL, and 177 TRES! He averages about 4.75-5.1 birds per box which is something to reach and hope for with our lake side monitoring next season. 

If you’d like to help bluebirds in New York State  consider joining our Bluebird Society which has seen a decrease in  membership in recent years and is calling out for people to join. They maintain two different blue bird trails in NYS which promote the numbers of EABL and other cavity nesters. They also have a great website with brilliant member submitted photos of birds throughout the nation  and a nice newsletter for members to enjoy.  Membership is a mere $10/year. Join by logging onto NYSBS.org. 

Honolulu’s Magnificent Le’Ahi (Diamond Head Crater)

     On the Southern shore of Oahu, rising up about 780 feet from the neighborhood of Kaimuki and visible from most of Waikiki, is Diamond Head National Monument. The Hawaiin name is Le’Ahi and is a compound word formed from Lea (forehead) and Ahi (tuna) as ancient Hawaiians said the formation looks like the forehead of a tuna. The English name is Diamond Head so named after Western explorers mistook the calcite crystals in the slope of the crater for diamonds. 

The view from Kapahulu Ave of Diamond Head 

For those of you who want a more technical description of how it was formed for those times you’re sitting on one of Waikiki’s sailboats sailing by the monument and want to impress your friends, remember this. Diamond Head is a geologic feature called a tuff cone, and is the result of an eruption about 300,000 years ago. Tuff comes from an interaction between lava and water which causes lava to fragment into very fine grains of ash. It falls around the vent and forms a cone. The ash eventually weathers into a rock called tuff. 

    If you want to enjoy Diamond Head while sipping a maitai or margarita, the best place to do it is from The Deck on the 3rd floor of the Queen Kapiolani Hotel or from the Hula bar which is one of the friendliest bars in Waikiki.

An impressive view of this busy Oahu neighborhood 

In the winter you may spot breaching humpback whal

The bunker lookouts are an impressive feature of the summit 

     More than 3k visitors daily decide to drink water instead to stay hydrated during the climb up the crater wall along a 1.6 mile round trip hike to the summit and back.  The trail up Diamond Head was built in 1908 as part of the U.S. Army Coastal Defense system. The views are well worth the sometimes wet crowded conditions. It is best to avoid this hike during or after a lot of a rain as the sometimes steep trail gets slippery and railings are only installed along one side of the trail which sometimes has two way foot traffic. The footpath involves numerous switchbacks and a 225 foot lit tunnel and some steep climbs. After the tunnel you can avoid a steep flight of 99 stairs by turning left instead and following the rim trail up for a less strenuous ascent. 

     The view from the summit is unbeatable. Plan to spend some time here soaking in the ocean views, snapping some pics or looking out along the water for breaching humpback whales. 

     Diamond Head actually houses the first military fort on the island called Fort Ruger, still in use today. The military features built into the mountain make it even more enjoyable. You can descend a spiral staircase from the top to old bunkers built on the summit in 1915. The bunkers and circular lookouts cut out of the mountainside are part of the fire control station (that’s artillery fire control NOT forest fire control!)  built in the early 1900’s which housed instruments and plotting rooms to direct artillery fire from several batteries (a total of 5 batteries were built at Diamond Head Crater). As is the case with many American defenses they were never actually fired in wartime.

     When you are finished hiking don’t forget a “I hiked Le’Ahi tshirt at the visitors kiosk! 
Diamond Head is not far from the center or Waikiki.The bus drops you off about a mile before the trail head and if you take the bus you have to walk along a narrow foot trail in the Kapahulu tunnel along with two lanes of traffic to get to the trailhead. In my opinion, avoid this tunnel. This is a good time to take an Uber or rent a car for the experience to be more enjoyable.

Using the panoramic setting for pictures is perfect up near the summit

Special things about Oahu

A Variety of Traditional Hawaain Poke 

Its hard to say what I like most about spending time in Oahu. If you are a student of culture, it's possible to observe all kinds of culture in Oahu. The Hawaiian culture is evident in the free hula shows, lei making classes, etc, and if you look around carefully you will find local and authentic Hawaiian food like poke, and lomi lomi salmon. You can also find local fusion type food like spam musubi. Poke is the most common traditional Hawaii food you'll see. It is a cold salad made with small blocks of raw fish or seafood. Spices and sauces are added for flavor.  Try to remember to try some! You will have the opportunity to taste lots of Japanese food also as a large portion of the tourists in Honolulu come from this country. A favorite market of mine is called YokoCho. Japan is famous for its Yokochos, or food alleys, crammed with restaurants competing to offer the most delectable cultural eats to locals and visitors alike. You can find Yokocho in the bottom floor of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza. Ever try tempura? This is the time to do it and it is a great way to get your vegetables!

A meal in a bowl from Shirokoyo in the Ala Moana mall

Nana's is another Yokocho market favorite of mine to get tea inspired food like this green tea ice cream with mochi and adzuki beans. If you prefer your ice cream to be a different color than green, cross Kalakaua St to get shave ice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead at the shave ice kiosk on the mall.

 Japanese inspired dessert at Nana's Green Tea

Don't forget about local sweet specialties like the tasty butter cookies sold by the Honolulu Cookie company. Go in to try samples and you'll want to buy a bunch for your friends at home, or a few to keep you happy and fed while traveling around the island. Here's a conversation I've spoken to the staff at many Honolulu Cookie company stores, along with the conversation I've had inside my head at the same time;

"Hello ..are you visiting the island for the your first time?
"Why yes it is." (Well about ten years ago )
"Feel free to try to try our cookies and let me know if you have any questions!"
"I surely will!" (Can you tell me where the next store is so I can get more samples please??)

Family Surf lesson near "locals beach"

Honestly some of the most enjoyable times I've had in Oahu is sitting on the beach. Does that statement shock you? The reason for that may not be what you may think. The water is gorgeous of course, and you never know what wildlife you will see. In the winter, you may have whales breaching in the distance. You may see an occasional sea turtle. Of course however, what you will see most, especially in and around the crowded beaches of Waikiki, is nature of the human variety. Observing those, you may feel, like me, is a satisfying thing about being there.

Seal like spear fisherman rinse off at the beach 

To see neighbors interacting with lifeguards they have known for years, or with their families, head down to 'Locals beach" at the very north end of Waikiki beach in front of the New Otani hotel. Hawaiians often take their young children out to the waves for surfing lessons.  One day I watched a small girl playing  in the water of a beach shower. When she needed to, she moved aside and waited patiently with her bucket while surfers came to rinse off in the shower. When she finally got the shower back to herself, she just stood quietly while the stream of water poured over her head. This reminded me of the simple pleasures of youth and to remember to appreciate things like this.

The beaches in the area of the New Otani are not as crowded as the other beaches of Waikiki so that is another advantage of heading down to this area. It can take a while to walk there so if you don't want the exercise I might suggest an uber (just insert your destination as New Otani hotel) or one of the local buses that head north along the beach.

Check the blog again soon for my next entry on Honolulu's Chinatown.

New York City's Water Side

Bald Eagle on an Hudson River Ice Flow

There is more to New York City than Times Square and Wall Street. As most people know, the city is comprised mostly of islands and although it might not be quite apparent while walking down the middle of 5th avenue with shops and tall buildings everywhere, look beyond all this and you will see the water. It is everywhere. 

 Open water is one of the reasons we see more eagles on the Hudson in the winter. Ships like the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tug Wire keep the Hudson free of ice so that shipping can continue up and down its length in the winter time. This is good news for  the bald eagles who come down from the north to fish along its shores. 

 Some ice however seems to be preferred by the Hudson Eagles, who might be considered a bit lazy at times. When they find some they like to sit on it and catch a ride!

I had the good fortune to join the Hackensack River canoe Club on an eagle watching trip at the beginning of the year. The highlight was a visit Fleishman’s pier in Peekskill, New York, where one can get out quite far into the Hudson and if there is ice, get great views of eagles hitching a ride on the flows. These pics were taken by Kevin Doyle who I met on the pier out there. Thanks Kevin!

Ruffled Feathered Hudson Eagle

 

Another great nature spectacle one can expect in the waters around New York City this time of year is winter seal watching. Seals come from points north following the fish that they eat to survive. I recently went on a seal watch with the Riverhead Foundation where we saw about 30 seals.

Just this week I was sitting inside my houseboat watching out the window.I always have a small pair of binoculars close by to I watch the winter ducks like buffleheads, mergansers, loons and widgeons that live behind the boat all winter long. This day however, I saw something unusual that I didn't recognize by my naked eye. I quickly grabbed the binoculars and saw a seal with his head out of the water taking a look around. I very excitedly ran outside to the top deck of the boat to get a wider view of the creek. No more views, but a great memory and a first after many years of living here! Since I didn’t have my camera nearby, here are some pictures my friend Dennis Guiney sent me of some seals at a marina not far from here. 

 

Seal Pup at Gateway marina

Seal Pup at Gateway

Dennis was also nice enough to send pics of a humpback whale he saw off the southern coast of Long Island at a place called Point Lookout. 

Take good care and when you are in New York City don't forget to look out at the water...
You'll never know what you might see!

Humpback Whale on Long Island's South Shore

Amazing Winged Wonder Spotted Near The Narrows

Amazing Winged Wonder Spotted Near The Narrows

A recent article with pics on a visiting Snowy Owl near us. They call this an irruption year as these birds are migrating more than usual; perhaps because food is scarce in the Arctic where they normally live.

Hawaii June-July 2010

Kauai and Oahu....HAWAII Trip 2011

Its so easy to be in Hawaii..the weather is 75-85 every day no matter what season...the seas are warm and full of interesting creatures. There are so many water sports to try, along with some cool culture, including the song, dance and food. Whats not to like? I would like to plan a trip for the next or the following year....any takers? Let me know! Leave my a comment following this blog entry or give me a call!

Here are some highlights from this trip...thanks for reading!

PADDLIN'
I was fortunate enough to do two cool ocean paddles and a short river paddle. The first ocean paddle was a "test run" in Kauai on Hanalei Bay. I wanted to see what it was like to be in ocean swells before a long trip down the coast we were doing later that week. The swells on that day turned out to be no problem...they peaked at 5 feet or so but the waves didn't break on the kayak- we instead, we went right over the waves; pretty cool. During the paddle something even better happened. I saw splashes about 100 yards away and started to paddle in that direction. The splashes kept coming so I kept paddling that way. Eventually it was clear what was making the splashes...spinner dolphins! We were paddling with a pod of about 10 of them...a group of 2 or so surfaced several times near the kayak. Each time they surfaced they would exhale....loud!The noise was a thrill and I do admit it made me jump a few times. That was a great experience and a first for me! They swam alot faster than we could kayak, but they continued to play and surface in our vicinity for a long time....!

The second paddle was a 18 miler down the famous "Na Pali" (translation "the cliffs") coast in Kauai. We did it with a guide and paddled with a group of 7. During the paddle we stopped for history lessons of the island (its been inhabited for thousands of years so there are lots of stories to tell). All of the paddlers would raft up with the guide, hang our legs over the side for stability and to listen to him speak. Nice...

Our guide looked so comfy on a kayak that my goal for the trip was to try to recreate his relaxed posture. Check him out below on the aft position on the tandem kayak.

There are three great thing about paddling in Hawaii; one is the intense blue color ...I am forever amazed at the hue...check out the color in this sea cave on the right we got to visit on the trip, and in the other ocean shots.

The second thing is the all the cool creatures that may appear under or around your kayak; as we were launching a green sea turtle was also launching himself into deeper water!

The third thing that makes paddling great here is the ocean and air temperature. If you get wet its no big deal cause the temps are high enough that you don't feel uncomfortable.

We ended the 18 mile kayak at at a beach called Punihole (at left) where we surfed into the beach with the help of an employee of the guide company who if your lucky, "catches" the kayak while you surf the shore break saving you from looking like complete idiot capsizing on the beach. Amazingly he caught us and saved us the embarassment earning himself a good tip! The company meet us with a van for the ride back to the shop.

THE FOOD
On the way back from the trip we stopped for snacks at this unassuming smallish sized supermarket called Ishihara's. In the back was an absolutely amazing assortment of Poke, this uniquely Hawaiian food which consists of little pieces of raw fish seasoned or not ..... Poke is not cheap...it was priced at more than $13/pound for most of it. What was more surprising at Ishihara's was how many local people were ordering huge amounts of it! SO many people turn their nose up at raw fish but not these folks...Go Hawaiians- you guys eat cool food! What I learned later is that most supermarkets and alot of menu's will carry this stuff. I ended up eating it lots of times during the trip. Its mild tasting and healthy... Since there are so many folks of Asian decent on the Islands their food is also on the menu. One great food is the Hawaiian spring rolls....a super way to eat your veges! Here's a pic of a great meal we had at the Waikiki yacht club (Chuck had a temp membership so we could visit)...that consisted of blackened ahi, spring rolls (a wonderful way to eat your veges) and soup.

ACCOMMODATION
In Oahu we stayed at the Royal Groove hotel...a funky old 6 story hotel amidst much larger real estate...you couldn't beat the location of this hotel...it is two blocks from the beach. Here's a picture of me on the lanai (Hawaiian for porch) look for the blue in the background after the white high rise - that's Waikiki beach. The hotel had boards and chairs you could just grab and borrow for the day. They also had live Hawaiian music on Monday night. All to boot the price is most surprising...$70/night for up to 3 people...all of youze who say Hawaii is expensive I'm telling you you CANNOT stay in NYC for less than double that price!

BIRDS
The only native birds in Hawaii are at high elevations where the mosquitos and other creatures can't get them. So at ground level you only see these aggressive and sometime annoying "city birds" - imports from other countries who have made a home there and overpopulated (Hmm...I see this could be read with some irony for the other mammals who visit stay and populate as well!) Anyway we visited the higher elevations of Koke'e' State Park in Kauai and spent a few days here hiking and birdwatching. The fortunate thing was the campground had several of the native trees where native birds like to hang out...the O'Hia Lehua tree..(pic to right). It has red blossoms and is a favorite of the Hawaiian honeycreepers. I did get to see a few species of honeycreepers and other native birds....including their Puheo...a short eared owl that was soaring below us in Waimea Canyon (the canyon in the pic at the very beginning of this blog entry).


VIEWS
One thing that has always impressed is Hawaii's spectacular eroded cliffs and sea views....the best pic I took was Waimea canyon (at the beginning of this blog entry...) This picture was taken on a mud trail called the Pihea trail (at left..I'm on the mud "steps") looking down to the place we kayaked on the coast...You often had to walk on the edges of this one as the grade in the middle was too great. This trail was not too difficult and the views were outstanding.

Some of the hiking trails we encountered were not so nice. They were well...unpredictable- muddy and in places not well maintained. At one point, along a cliff trail, we hiked a portion of the trail that was about 6 inches across. With a backpack in tow this seemed about 6" too narrow at least. Thank God the drop was only about 25 feet but we were on top of much higher cliffs so I don't know what would happen if you fell. The trail was listed as "easy" on the trail map. I'd add "terrifying" to the description!

I'll end here with a a few more of my favorite "view" pics from the trip.....and a few other misc pics I wanted to share.

Thanks for reading and looking! Mahalo (Hawaiian for Thank You) Hope to be with you in Waikiki!

Wow so its been a year since I posted on my blog...bad Lisa..! Since then whats doing? A great trip last summer to Acadia National Park...fell in love...all the things I love to do were there...this summer I promise pics and a blog post!

Teaching school..a couple of long term positions...now back to day to day work which is ok with me...

Boat restoration is progressing....Ill write about that next....

W more interesting is a cool marsh restoration project managed by my friend Tony Luscombe across the bridge from me at Breezy Point in Queens and run by volunteers...the other day when I was there they were adding "enticing" sticks to the osprey platform (the birds preferred curved sticks believe it or not!) to entice the ospreys to nest..

http://marshmakers.blogspot.com/

In case you missed this one..here is a link to Shervin (blog creator and volunteer extraordinaire) doing some marsh cleanup! Check it out..its great...

Untitled from Irene Roxanne on Vimeo.

Sheepshead Bay Music Video

Here's a cool video about the neighborhood I live in case you are interested...set to the music from "Penny Lane."

The Money Cat

Since my cat had been AWOL for the past 6 months since staying with my neighbor who was watching her when I went away for a month a few different times, I was thinking about getting a new cat.

The marina is bordered by a parking lot where there are a least a few feral cats running around at all times. There are old standards there...mainly male cats with some kind of medical problem with their eyes or with their fur. They look pretty rough and its easy to feel sorry for them (we have a guy in the neighborhood who cooks for these cats two times a day religiously).

Anyway a few weeks back I noticed a tortoiseshell colored cat hanging out near my boat a few days in a row. The second day I saw her I opened the door, called her, and in she came. The rest as they say, is history.

Her name is CC...(cool cat) She doesn't have a mean bone in her body - I've never actually met a cat like her. She's constantly on my lap cuddling, and she generally listens to me if I sho her away because she's doing something like stepping all over my computer keyboard. She's a big change from my last cat who, if you looked at the wrong way, would try to bite you.

In addition, I hear this tortoise coloration of cat is supposed to be good luck in many cultures. In the states they are sometime called a "money cat."

Here's a pic of "CC." No I'm not trying to use her to contact Mars... she just got neutered.

Some updated, cool summer photos

Here's a few pics I wanted to post...hope you enjoy them....

This one is of me and my friend Jean on the sunfish...it was a calm day; we didn't move too fast but had alot of laughs anyway... of all of the boats this has been the most fun this summer..if you want to come sailing, you're invited!! I'm a decent skipper so I'll take good care of you!

Not far from the houseboat is Marine Park..a nice birding and butterfly spot. They have the largest butterfly bushes I have ever seen...at least 12 feet high...and a great place to look for butterflies. Here is a monarch on a white blossom.

Thought there are too many building to successfully view the sunset in the evening, our morning sunrises are very nice. Here was the sunrise this morning.

Here's me in a hat from my favorite university...the school of hard knocks!

Remember to leave me a note after you visit this blog!

Thanks for visiting and keep in touch!!

Bloggin Butterflies

The coolest thing happened today....well if you like butterflies and gardening and irony that is.

I had two parsley plants and several basil growing in pots outside for the last few weeks.

The basil was growing wonderfully, as you can see - I had already made a couple of batches of pesto out of it, but something was wrong with the parsley; it was yellow and dying. Since I don't have a green thumb and know I can get parsley for next to nothing at the store I wasn't too concerned.

A few days later my neighbor Joe, who pays much more attention to the plants then I do (he thinks next to nothing is not cheap enough to buy more parsley) told me there was a caterpillar on the parsley plant. When I looked there was a striped caterpillar and was left of the second parsley plant...absolutely nothing (you can see from the picture above) but the last piece of stem he was crunching on !

For someone that travels far and wide to look at butterflies hoping to catch a glimpse of them or their caterpillars, this was great news! The caterpillars were of the black swallowtail butterfly....one of our most beautiful butterflies. The caterpillars are striped and I discovered that when you touch them these little red velvet-like antennae emerge as if to say..."hey keep your hands off..we just met." What was best about this whole thing was that I didn't have to travel anywhere to see them but right outside my door and so far it only cost me 2 parsley plants!

Off to the store I went to buy some more parsley for them to feed on (purchased for next to nothing at the store). When I came back one was crawling on the boat hull and the other had fallen into the water (I guess they were searching for someone else's garden to feed on). I rescued them, put them in a container with some more parsley and some sticks on which I hope they spin their Chrysalises. I'll keep you appraised of their progress!










Update: One chrysallis spun while I was making pesto out of what was left of the garden...! In 2-3 weeks we should have a swallowtail!

Bloggable Chicken Parm

My friend Danny had me over for dinner this evening. Danny who is of Indian and Jewish decent excels at cooking Italian food.

Tonight he made Chicken Parmesan "Why its called Chicken Parmesan," he said, "I can't figure out since its usually served with mozzarella." Maybe his clear thinking on subjects like these is what helps create the great results he achieves with his Italian cooking.

Seeing and tasting this food sure was a nice experience, and created an interesting reaction from me, one I though was worthy of this blog.

The way the food looked was the first thing I noticed. Since he doesn't add cloves of garlic, but bulbs of it (is this the word?,....you know the entire bunch of cloves!) you can see the pieces, cut nicely small. when you eat it. The sauce cooks for more than an hour and since he uses crushed tomatoes, it has a nice thick consistency.

Under the sauce (which doesn't fall off the chicken but sits on top), the chicken is nicely browned and asymmetrical. It looks like a piece of chicken should look. Nice presentation.

More secret ingredients? Well I won't publish them here. But if you want them, ask me and I think he'll let me give them to you.

Here comes the part about the thoughts that went through my mind when eating it.....

First I started consuming it like I hadn't eaten for years. I felt like a dog with a bone. Anyone that came within a few feet of me was in danger of losing their life.

After consuming about 1/4 of it I realized I better slow down or else it would be gone before I had a real chance to enjoy it. I started eating more slowly, savoring each biteful.

When reaching the end I felt disappointed and when completely finished, I made sobbing noises because I was genuinely sorry it was gone.

No one likes to see a girl cry and happily he sent me home with two extra pieces.

I hope they make it through the night!

Houseboat Living Revised

Thanks for your interest in the houseboat! Here's some details that may help answer any questions you have! If not please ask!

Living: Life on the houseboat is easy. The boat doesn't require any special maintenance or skill. It is fully heated with A/C in the summertime so it is comfortable all year round.

This space is 300 square feet inside and 250 sq feet outside (deckspace). The best spot in good weather is up on the top deck. The view is very nice from there.

There is a fully working bathroom with shower, a galley or kitchen with 2 burners and a microwave oven. If you prefer not to cook there is tons of good food in the neighborhood especially with the opening of several Russian markets of late. There is also a 24 hour deli with a large selection of prepared foods on the corner. There is a double bed with accommodation for one more person on the sleeping couch.

On the right you'll find a few more pics of the interior of the boat:
THE "HOOD"The boat is in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn.
It is accessible by the B or Q trains. The local B4 bus stops right across the street and will get you to the train station in about 10 minutes. Midtown is about a 45 min train ride. You can also access the 2 and 5 trains via the B44 bus that stops across the street.

Here is a link to a silly new video about Sheepsheads Bay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxu6A7Y8bs

Here is some more information from curbedny.com.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/categories/sheepshead_bay.php

Adjoining neighborhoods are Gerrtisen Beach, Manhattan and Brighton Beaches. To the south we have Rockaway Beach, Fort Tilden and Riis park.

What's to do? I have a kayak and a bike you can use if you'd like. There are many beaches nearby; Rockaway Beach, Fort Tilden and Riis park are accessible via a bike path across from the dock or a short 15 minute car ride away.

We have a little Russia, Chinatown, etc close by. The food is always good! Here's some desserts from a local Turkish cafe down the street. Its a great thing to do if you have some free time and a sweet tooth.

These noodles are from the local china town on Avenue U. Delectable!

This chicken souvlaki plate is from El Greco dinner at Emmons and Sheepshead Bay Rd...a tremendous amount of food for about ten bucks!

Ammenities: Currently we have dish tv and a high speed wireless internet connection. You will be very comfortable here.

There is ample off street parking and a 8 foot security fence which requires a key to get in.

This is a quiet area with considerate neighbors. Some are year round residents but some are only here in the summertime.

Local wildlife: see pics.....with lots more around!

Questions? If your thinking about renting and have any questions you haven't found here, email me at lisadusa@yahoo.com or call 917 559 4623.