Four...Four...Four...Four...

I was discussing past trips I've taken with a co-worker of mine, and I noticed a pattern. Besides London and a couple of days trips (or the times in my childhood when I spent weeks upstate,) everywhere I've been to I've spent just about four days there. Really. PR, Jamaica, Montreal (if you add the two weekend trips,) Ireland, Scotland, Toulon....there's probably more than that but off the top of my head, that pretty much covers it. And it's all been 4 days/3 nights, or 3 days/4 nights. So odd. Actually I don't really like admitting 4 days to some of these places. For instance, I tell someone I've been to Peru. First they look slightly impressed, but then they ask me for how long. Then it's "oh, you really can't get the real feeling of a place that way, etc." How deflating. Maybe I should re-visit these places, gain some street cred or something.

OK, I was in Florida 5 days, but who's counting?

In My Head

For over a week I've had the same song in my head, no matter what else I listen to in order to cram it out. The song is "White Queen" from, you guessed it, Queen, in 1974. It's a pretty song, kind of airy-fairy, but it's like a formerly welcomed guest that now refuses to leave! A few nights ago I was rudely awakened by a pathetic moan-inducing upset stomach that kept me close to the bathroom for a few hours (you don't need to visualize this, please). When I'm in this predicament, I get all Peter Pan, saying to myself "think happy thoughts!" whilst trying to avoid anything in the subject of food. Instead, White Queen pounded insistently in my nauseous mind. So sad...

I'm feeling better now, for the most part, but the White Queen continues her procession in my head. So I thought I'd share a picture of its singer convalescing with his kitties, sort of the way I was a few hours after my ordeal. Except Sino and Zeno are not quite that close yet.

Zeno and Sino

It's been interesting to watch my two cats of differing ages try to live in the same apartment. The whole scene is almost the opposite of what happened ten years ago when I brought Duforth home. She was already past the kitten age, and was used to having her own life, a rhinestone studded collar, and her own very private litterbox. Next thing she knew she was living with a flashlight beam-chasing, food-hogging, active litterbox user who was pretty happy being the only one of his species in his world. They clashed straightaway. Then they slowly learned to get along, in their own cautious way. He even seemed to miss her after she was gone.

Now Zenobia, though resembling Duforth, is the flying puffball at home. They have separate litterboxes but are not afraid of exploring. Sino must be cut off from the kitten dry food because his stomach is so sensitive now. Zeno, however, is not afraid of sampling his delicacies. His only revenge is to drink her water, which doesn't seem to faze her at all. He sees her bat things around and run back and forth all day but doesn't join in. Instead, he watches in a hunched stance, like a feline Walter Matthau.

Occasionally he takes a swipe at her, but she usually runs away. Someday she may fight back, the way Duforth did, causing him to squint and cringe whenever he saw her. Till then, she seems to be the cautious one, trying not to get in his path. Why can't everyone just get along?

Just Ducky

I went to the New York Botanical Gardens last week, sans my Rebel 2000. I had to make do with my camera phone. It took me a while to make friends with the first duck, who sunned himself as I tried to call to him. It's worse than getting a cat to look at you! Then I remembered I had bread. As soon as I started unwrapping it, he made a beeline for my hand. Next thing I knew his girlfriend was getting in on the action. I took the second picture right as she tried to eat my shoe! Such a peaceful way to spend an afternoon.

Junkie

I've been sick this week. Compared to January, it wasn't so bad, just bronchitis. Still, I had to go on antibiotics which I dislike and I had some migraine prescriptions to fill. By the time I was able to drop everything off at Eckerd, I had 5 prescriptions! What am I loading into my system? I'm surprised I'm able to walk down the street with all the crazy chemicals in my body. And people wonder why I rarely wear heels.....

As a result (I think) I had some odd vivid dreams last night. Apparently my Book Study group took a road trip to New Orleans and we stayed at the home of someone I knew many years ago from out west. Huh?

A Cup of Disappointment

A few days ago I went to Cup near the movie theatre and was surprised by their new menu. While there are some improvements, I was not happy. It turns out that my major reason for going there, the awesome Big Cup of hot cocoa, is no longer. It was replaced by what must have been Swiss Miss.

On the bright side, I had Godiva Hot Cocoa and it was not bad at all. What I really miss is the Cadbury version that I had in Bath. It was so good I almost gave up tea right then and there. Oh not quite, an hour later I was partaking of afternoon tea in the Pump Room.

Beautiful Day

While Sino cuddles at home (this is actually an older pic of him when he was much heavier) I have to spend my day at work. I don't mind, it's such a gorgeous day that even the hour or so I spent outdoors was an absolute pleasure.

I had a Matcha Green Tea Blast at Jamba Juice. Dare I say it - I liked it better than the Frappuccino! I think it was the sorbet that made it special. Perfect for sipping in a park on a splendid August day.

Also, I finished The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. This guy writes some of the most imaginative and hilarious books of our time. Since around 2002 he has been writing a book or so every year, and I always look forward to the next one. Everyone I know who reads his novels is an avid addict. Some day I would like to meet Fforde.

Bin it!

Compared to most apartments in NYC, mine is quite roomy. I only share it with one person, which makes the bathroom situation ideal For some reason, though, my home is always a mess. Always! Every room is filled with papers, books, clothes, stuff! We have many closets, which is little consolation as they are all full. I've learned to walk gracefully simply to be able to navigate around the apartment without stubbing a toe.

The worst of it is, I've thrown out or given away so many items in recent months. Somehow, though, I keep accumulating - even when I do lay off the shopping, Bonnie. I can't get it together. Is this an indication of some kind of mental issue, or am I just making excuses? Is there some kind of therapy program for the chronically disorganized? Packrats Anonymous? I don't want to end up on one of those home makeover shows, crying over complete strangers throwing out my things ("Catherine, do you really need all those teapots?" "But I'm the Tea Queen of Astoria!" "No, you're the Rubbish Queen and we're gonna auction off all your teapots." "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" )

On the positive side, I just cleaned up my desk at work. It is possible....

Teany

The Tea Queen pays a royal visit to Teany.

"We are charmed by this pristine tearoom," she says, "it is not at all quaint."

Picture Show

From Top:
1: Sino in action
2: Bon and Bubuck in a relaxed moment (after a tea party)
3: Beautiful boy
4: View from kitchen window in January. Birds are not afraid of the backyard cats, because we feed them well. Spoiled brats!
5: Me with my "niece" Sheba, the day she wore a sweater.

Zenobia Pic!

My new fluffy kitty! On the nasty ratty floor of my "library." She doesn't seem to mind.

Zenobia Violet Dufifth

The thing that keeps me up all night. It's a good thing my kitten is utterly adorable, because she Insomnia personified (or catified?). During the day she hides under the furniture and dashes past whoever wants to get close to her. Then at night she comes alive. Just when I sink into my first few minutes of sleep, she leaps onto the bed and starts kneading me. With her crazy sharp claws. All night long. First I groan and tell her to stop, and try to pet her so she'll feel appreciated. Then I moan and say mommy needs to sleep, and gently push her off. Next I put a barricade of pillows around me, which she somehow surmounts. After a few hours of constantly being walked on and needled, I hear myself screaming: "gabaraawaramaaaa," which in sleep talk means "expletive!", and I hear her scamper away and mew somewhere in a corner. Then I start feeling guilty, and look at the time and realize it's time to get up for work. So I get out of bed and see her making a fun for it under the dresser. That's why I'm so sleepy. I still think she's fabulous.

My New Baby

I'm the proud owner of a 5 month old Persian kitten. Her name is Zenobia and she is truly regal looking. Well, she will be when she stops looking frightened of her new surroundings. I guess I'd look like that too if I saw my apartment for the first time.

I first saw her two weeks ago in Sunnyside. She was on display in the front of the petshop and I was startled. She had a remarkable resemblance to my dearly deceased Duforth, although not the same breed and not as vacant looking. But the selling price was far too steep, so I walked on. Two weeks later she was still there, and a hundred dollars cheaper! This was irresistible.

Last night Marie took me over to the pet shop. I was a bit alarmed when I saw Zenobia get freaked when taken out of her cage. I took her home anyway.

She is still in her hiding and don't-pick-me-up phase, but I think she'll work out eventually that she's home. Meanwhile, I'm wondering how we are going to introduce her to Sino, but they are being kept at opposite ends of the house for the time being.

I'll post a picture as soon as I possibly can.

Fall Fashion Preview

This year I'm a little too excited about fall fashion. Part of it is, I believe, comparing this fall to the last one. I remember poring through two of those massive September fashion mags in one evening. It was in the waiting room of the Elmhurst Hospital, where my sister was getting an appendectomy. I had to get my mind off what was going on down the hall, so I looked at every page diligently. It was so disappointing - tweed overload, boring boring boring! I like what I see for Fall 2005 - not that I can actually buy anything featured in the glossy ads. Still, I find fall colors reassuring. Everything is deep and rich, velvety and soft. Much more conducive to tea drinking and pastry gorging than sleeveless summer dresses, and not as stifling as husky January overcoats. Plus I prefer boots to sandals - and one has the choice of wearing both from September thru November. There is only one problem. In autumn the fabrics and colors fall prey to pet hair. I have to refrain from cuddling my Cinnamon in the morning. I don't think he'll mind.

What can I say?

It's been a while since I last blogged. I was feeling a little off for the past two weeks. Between a migraine, the usual female complaint, and the horrifyingly hot weather, I had nothing positive on my mind. So I'll stick to a brief rundown today.

1- I went to the Buttercup Bake Shop for the first time this week. On entering, one must pass through a thick red curtain, which looks a lot like the red velvet cupcake I ate. It was a real treat. Pure sweet heaven. And it was the perfect size - you don't overindulge if you have just one. The icing was a little too much, but not in a blorg way. Next time I will try the lemon cupcake, perhaps with some Darjeeling tea.

2- A brief comment on the weather. Today we enjoyed mild summer temperatures in New York. Warmth is never a bad thing, but extreme heat (90 plus degrees) and humidity does not a happy Gata make. Besides the fact that my favorite exercise regiment, walking, is severely curtailed, the whole sweat factory is extremely unsavory. All of a sudden my wardrobe shrinks to maybe five garments I could comfortably wear. I am happy today, though. I feel breezy even in a long sleeved wrap dress. Wish it could stay this way.

3- Target stores are selling cosmetic items from Boots. I'm suddenly liking Target.

Later!

The Empire Strikes Back

Starbucks, the undisputed World Emperor of Coffee, is now embracing the joys of Green Tea. Now on offer is a green tea Frappucino (don't know if spelling is correct) and it is not bad. Even my younger sister who is not a big fan of green tea was taken by it. Of course, it is super sweet and highly caffeinated. I had one right before leaving work yesterday evening and practically flew home. Even better, I didn't have a queasy stomach like I usually do from most items at Starbucks. So I guess I recommend it. It will be especially fun to have when I'm hanging out at Barnes and Noble (I am an unabashed book nerd, but I also love perusing the magazines.) So far it is called Limited Edition, but so was the J Crew jacket my sister bought last year (also green), and it was in the stores for over 6 months. It's really cute on her, so it was worth it.

What's my stand?

I love animals, but I'm not a vegetarian. I wear leather shoes and bags, but I don't eat beef (usually). I hate cruelty to animals, but force whoever is nearby to kill any waterbug or cockroach that crosses my path. Hunting for anything other than necessary food I consider a nasty pastime, but I congratulate my cat when he catches a mouse or insect. I won't touch him until he cleans up, though - blood! ew!

I guess this makes me pretty normal.

Terrible Morning

Today's morning news was in such stark contrast to yesterday's. Wednesday morning I awoke to find, to no disappointment at all, that New York lost their Olympic bid and London would be the host in 2012. Since I'm not into the Olympics or nationalism at all, I just thought it was nice to see the celebration at Trafalgar Square: it is one of my favorite spots in London.

This morning I turn on the TV and see absolute horror. Somehow my sadness was intensified when I realized that I'd been to all the underground stations that were attacked - it was some kind of personal attachment I guess. But besides my own renewed fear of commuting to Manhattan daily, I really feel bad that London has to go through all this - WWII was bad enough! But this is the world we are living in right now.

I've got nothing to say...except:

1- Ito En makes some fabulous iced teas! I was taking a mini-trip with some friends to South Street Seaport on the weekend and discovered a shop nearby called Pica Pica (which apparently means Sparkle). It was kind of like an upgraded version of Samurai - all kinds of low-priced Japanese/Chinese items as well as tea accessories. I was pleased to note they had a whole line of Ito En iced teas for $2 or less. I tried the apple flavored black tea. Amazing. It tasted like apple cider with a kick. The best thing was that it wasn't too sweet - just enough so it wasn't blah. I've had Ito En's green iced tea before. It's good to me but as it's unsweetened only purists would go for it.

2- Sunday was the perfect day for the beach. I was at Robert Moses, which isn't too crowded. My only issue was the lack of fresh air. While trying to take one of those perfect beach blanket naps, my lungs were rudely interrupted by second-hand smoke. I wanted to confront the smokers but did not know the policy of the beach. After all, it was outdoors, and there are few places left for smokers to indulge my habit. But I like to breathe sometimes. Isn't it enough that I inhale city air nearly every day of the year?

3- Three weeks without eBay. Does that make me clean and sober?

TGIT

Since I have Fridays off, Thursday is it for me! That's probably a good thing, because I've reached my cranky breaking point. I had one of those days when everything I wore seemed to have issues. It was cold in the office, so all my rings were falling off my fingers (I have tiny fingers, unlike the rest of me; well, my wrists are small too.) Also due to the jacked-up AC, I had to wear a dumpy sweater over my otherwise pretty outfit. My skirt is a knee-length wrap, so any breeze hitting me on the street gave the general public a slight peep show. It also gives one knee a disproportionate draft in the office. My shoes are nice, but a little big, especially in-
you guessed it - my cold office!!!!!!! They also dug in in spots, which I remedied with some band-aids. Finally, I have a bad hair day. Maybe it's time for a cup of tea! On a day like today, though, I'll probably spill the tea on my skirt, which, I neglected to mention is a wrinkly linen. Smile!!

Mini-trip #2

I haven't been able to go away since April since I'm absolutely broke, but I had at least one "mini-trip" that was enjoyable. On Friday I went with a friend to Long Beach, Long Island. We took the train (LIRR) and the journey was approximately 40 minutes long. The train was full of teens that looked like they wanted to pose for a beach feature in Seventeen magazine, as well as a group of what looked like Bolivian soccer enthusiasts.

The weather was a bit mild for swimming, so we basically relaxed and drank in the sea air. I tried to read, but the sun was rather bright. Note to self: wear contact lenses and shades next time. My hat wasn't shady enough. When I got some energy, I took a sprint along the coastline. There is something about that mushy sand by the coastline that is conducive to running. Once that was out of my system we sat around for a while till we were hungry.

The beach was not so crowded, as it was technically a weekday, so it was all the more pleasant. The train ride home was not as pleasant as a rather portly man nearly sat down on me. My friend couldn't look at me or she would have burst out laughing, and I lost all claims to elbow space. I guess rudeness is not confined to subway trains.

Still, it was all in all a fantastic day, comparable to a beach vacation in many ways excluding the drinks perhaps.

The Latest

Nothing really new or special actually went on this midweek. Then again nothing horrendous happened to me, so who can complain? Here's my Thursday rundown:

• I saw Batman Begins last night. It was pretty good. Christian Bale is a believable Bruce Wayne, and a raspy Batman. Morgan Freeman was a tour de force! I just like saying tour de force: I forgot to ask someone in France what that means!
• I've been off eBay for a week. Shopaholics around the world know what a great accomplishment that is.
• Haagen Dazs now has a little item called the brownie bar. Chocoholics around the world know I couldn't turn it down. It's decadent and quite ungraceful to eat at a reception desk. I recommend it, but I'm sure in a few hours my tune will change.
• Speaking of chocolate, I saw the trailer for the new Willy Wonka movie. Normally I look forward to Johnny Depp movies, but this looks downright creepy! He looks and acts so bizarre; kind of like a nightmare I would have after indulging in Haagen Dazs brownies late at night. If Batman wants to put fear in the hearts of men, he should tote Mr. Wonka around in his utility belt.

Nothing more to say...at this moment anyway.

Perfect Match-a

The highly expensive Matcha tea I purchased over a week ago is also highly difficult to make. I followed the directions in my green tea book, but found I had to improvise as time went on. First of all, the water has to be a specific temperature, so I had to watch the pot for the right size bubbles. Next, I realized I did not measure properly - Matcha is so concentrated that the average spoonful creates a sludge that screams radioactivity. Or at least food coloring. Plus, I used the whisking implement that is supposed to make the tea come out frothy on top. It was a sad display at best.

After numerous tasting and tweaking, it finally came close to what I'd hoped for. At that point, though, I was past my caffeine limit of the day. In the evening I was under the constant impression that New York was experiencing an earthquake. The things we do for perfection...

I think next time I will buy the next highest priced Matcha, and probably it will go to making the shakes and drink blends that looked so pretty in my book. I'm not hosting a Japanese tea ceremony anytime soon, so there is plenty of time to practice for authenticity.

Shame

I received a comment on one of previous posts that pointed out an error. Apparently I wrote "costed" instead of "cost". How embarrassing. I am such a stickler when it comes to spelling and word usage, "but now I've gone and thrown it all away," as the song says. I don't care, I'm still going to correct other people's errors. You can do the same to me; I don't mind.

By the way, check out my picture on Marie's "brattyblog." I'm the blonde chick with the hat on. In this picture it looks like I'm the Ginger Ale Queen of Astoria. Usually I'm critical of my pics but this time I was quite pleased with my posture. How regal!

These are a few of my favorite things....

Since most of my posts have been complaints, I thought I'd write a few things that I actually do like:

1-Jelly beans - I never buy these because if they are near me I will eat an entire bag. I especially like the gourmet ones with the crazy flavors.

2-Devon/clotted cream - This is of course tea related. Nothing makes a scone like some of this stuff smeared on top of it. I don't care about the calories!

3-Overweight cats - Something you can really hold on to.

4-A really good entrance - In a theatre or concert, when a performer comes on stage at just the right moment, with a crescendo of music playing hopefully by live musicians. Of course this only works if the audience is with it.

5-Lush - The best shop in the world, all over the world. A feast for your nasal passages!

6- The New Book Smell - Crack!

7- Karaoke - I should devote a whole post to this. The only thing Karaoke bars are missing is a means to make a really good entrance.


This is not an exclusive list; I have other favorites. More to come in another of my good mood days...