silvia's garden

A couple Sunday's ago, Kurt, Gui, and I rode our bikes down to Brighton Beach to visit the community garden Silvia has been in charge of at Kingsborough Community College. She works through Project Eats who then sells the produce to local restaurants and engages with the community about urban agriculture.

There had been some sort of composting event earlier in the day with Erik and Grow NYC, but we were fashionably late and missed it. That's ok with me. I like the idea of compost and happy that it's catching on here in the city and all, but I'm not exactly dying to roll around in a pile of it :)

Nice work!

What the school lacks in location, it's makes up by having a beach on campus. We didn't stay long because duty called back in our corner of Brooklyn--only long enough for me to reconsider my choice of university for one of a more coastal variety. Sigh. Maybe in my next lifetime :)

It was great to see what Silvia has been working on and catch up since she had been gone from NYC for a while. I hope to see more of her soon, especially if she brings us fresh veggies from the garden! Hint, hint :)

recently (according to my camera and phone)

It's pretty steamy here in NYC. The days remind me of summer days in the South when all you have the energy to do is sit on a porch somewhere with a cool beverage while fanning yourself. In that spirit, here is a short and sweet rundown of the past couple weeks. Somehow I've fallen behind. Again. Maybe I will get around to a proper post one of these days if I can muster up the time and energy.

AIA Brooklyn happy hour with Jenn. Incredible office near the Columbia Waterfront. I wouldn't mind working here everyday. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't stay employed too long because I would never want to be sitting at my desk with this kind of view.

Friday drinks at 230 Fifth in Manhattan. The rooftop was kind of cheesy and this was the beginning of an overly boozy night for me, but I did find a new favorite (non-beer) drink: blueberry vodka with soda or seltzer. Must. Recreate. Immediately.

I was visited by the furniture fairy (aka Kurt's parents) and now have a new couch! I'm so excited to have more seating and proud to say I assembled this sucker all by myself (with Aubie's help of course).

I have also added new art to the walls. However, I'm ashamed to say that the entire opposite wall of the apartment has been completely neglected. Totally bare. I'm at a loss for what to do with it. I'm hoping the furniture fairy tells the electronics fairy how desperate my situation is and she sends a nice little flat screen tv my way. Oh, and while you are at it, an awesome camera wouldn't hurt either. Thanks!

Puppy love with Opal and Oxford when Kurt's parents visited for the Fourth of July. Sadly, NYC beaches hate dogs, so these two weren't able to frolic in the water like they had been dreaming of. Instead, they just got hosed off in the backyard. {Photo courtesy of Kurt}

Fourth of July peach and berry crisp. Recipe inspiration found here. Delicious served hot with vanilla ice cream (and fireworks).

Big Boy Shakes (aka loaded with booze) with Jenn at Flipsters in Brooklyn. I think I've found my purpose in life.

Member night cocktails at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with Kurt, Erin, and Andrea. I'd like to say we took double fisting to an entirely new classy level.

More puppy love in Boston. I promise to expound on this one soon!

weekend.

Sorry the weekend update was a little delayed this week. I've been a busy bee (more details to come in a couple days). I would also like to give a shout out to my parents who finally got power back today. They were some of the lucky ones, and my heart goes out to all the folks in Alabama affected by the recent storms.

On a happier note, we took a new and exciting field trip last Friday. While I adore Brooklyn, travel to Manhattan everyday for work, and never mind hopping on the ferry for a quick trip to Staten Island, I can't say I spread my love evenly to all NYC's boroughs. However, this weekend, one of Andrea's coworkers was having a birthday celebration in Astoria, Queens at the Studio Square Beer Garden (I'll have to catch you some other time, Bronx!)

There is a huge outdoor space with tons of picnic tables. The whole place was kind of strange and corporate, but it was still a fun time. Hey, where else can you get a bucket of fries?! They were a bit stingy with the chili though...

Once it got a little chilly in the courtyard, the gang stuck it out under the heaters. It's not quite summer yet :( But I'm not complaining! At least it is bearable to be outdoors for part of the day.

{image thanks to Jenn}

The one downside of Queens is that it is a little out of the way. After the beer garden, we wanted to go somewhere in Greenpoint. I'm the only loser that doesn't ride my bike to work which made getting from point A to B a little tricky. Christian volunteered to ride on the panier rack of Kurt's bike and let me use his bike. I was terrified of falling off the whole time because you lean much farther forward than on my bike, but Christian was a champ and rode side saddle all the way to t.b.d. Thankfully, I was able to ride in the safety of the G train home.

Saturday morning, I got to peek in on one of Kurt's projects under construction in Brooklyn. His firm designed a large rooftop space for an apartment building on Dean Street in Prospect Heights (Common and Serena Williams supposedly live there!). There are some amazing views of Brooklyn from the roof and a up-close and personal vantage point of the new Atlantic Yards stadium which is currently under construction.

{image thanks to Kurt}

Saturday evening, we met up with some friends at a bar near Kurt's apartment called Quarter. They are well known for their signature cocktails and have a great outdoor space which was perfect for the lovely day. Somehow we always end up with a large group, so we pulled a few tables together and proceeded to play a few rounds of Catch Phrase (as per usual). Some bars that don't serve food are nice enough to let you order in, so we got a few pizzas from down the street and hung out until the backyard closed.

After Quarter, we took a quick detour to Korzo and Kurt convinced the bartender/kitchen to serve him a bowlful of coleslaw. It is one of his many obsessions.

Kurt and I also took care of some projects in his room over the weekend. For obvious safety reasons, Kurt wanted to relocate his bikes from hanging on the ceiling above his bed to a corner mounted on the wall. After a trip to the bike shop, we decided a fancy hook meant for holding a bicycle on the wall was unnecessary. We rigged something up with hooks Kurt already had and some scrap wood....and a few prayers. I'm not sure we really hit any studs, but apparently it hasn't fallen yet. We added a few extra screws for good measure. I'm still a little wary. 

We were on a DIY roll and Kurt's skis were begging to be hung on the wall too. After some online perusing of racks, we decided to make our own using the same principle as this model. Look at that pride!

We used some more scrap wood from Kurt's backyard (we were going for the rustic, ski lodge look) and put this beauty together. Check out those concealed connections! That is what I am most proud of :) I think it turned out great. If you are in need of a Martig/Graveline ski rack, please send your orders our way!

Phew! Is it the weekend again yet?!

Ohio Part III: Farm and Garden

Sunday morning, after breakfast at Casa Martig and watching the recorded Germany vs. Argentina World Cup match, Kurt, Erik, Silvia, and I went to "The Farm". We went to visit Becky and Raymond and see where the boys spent many summers while growing up.

Becky was both Kurt and Erik's kindergarten teacher, and the boys worked on the hay farm for Raymond while in high school. We had always heard wild stories from Kurt and Erik about the farm and it was great to put faces and settings with their tales while sharing some ice tea with our hosts. Becky and Raymond had just finished an addition on their house, so we got to hear all about the process and their interaction with Amish craftsmen. Their renovation trials were surprisingly similar and different to what we encounter in NYC.

Kurt and Erik used to help move bales from the fields to the barns and then into trucks when it was time to ship out. I can barely lift one bale. I don't know how they were ever able to move hundreds on a hot summer day.

It's like they never left!

The day we left Salem, Kurt took me to see his family's garden. His grandfather used to live on the land but has since passed, and his parents keep a sizable vegetable garden on the property. Now I know why Kurt and Erik are so thrilled to have a backyard in Brooklyn and actually grow some food they can use.

The Martigs grow tons of tomatoes, corn, lettuce, and other veggies. Mr. Martig goes out about every day to check their progress. They store some tools and supplies in a couple sheds on the property but have to lug water out there by hand!

A house used to stand on the property but has since fallen down. This bathtub was left in the ruins of the old house. I tried to brainstorm ways to get it back to New York. Not that I have anywhere to put it, but it would still be an awesome find!