My, how time flies...

I know I started a story and then left you hanging, and I'm sorry. But living in The Big Apple is kinda time consuming... 


Every morning I roll out of bed, pull on jeans and a fleece, hat, scarf, down coat, warm boots and mittens, and Zoe and I head for the park. We just discovered Fort Greene Park, where dogs are allowed off-leash until 9 in the morning, and that's now our daily destination. It's about 4 blocks from here and every morning the sidewalks are filled with commuters walking purposefully to work, and moms or nannies, often with full strollers, walking their kids to a school near the park. Zoe has adapted amazing well to the crowded sidewalks and trots right along. Until she notices someone she finds particularly interesting and then she either tries to say hello, or just stares at them as we go by. She makes people smile, and at 7:30 on a frigid Brooklyn morning, I think that's pretty cool.


It would be wonderful if I could get all my errands done when I'm up and out early with Zoe, but since I can't take her in any store that sells food, I have to make two trips. Often covering the same territory. It's a bit frustrating, but I keep telling myself that all this walking is keeping me healthy. 


I decided to paint the apartment. Given the size of the place, I figured I could get it all done in one day. Someone told me the nearest hardware store that sells paint is about a mile and a half away, so one morning I walked there, lugged home paint and supplies, painted the living room - two coats - and hated the color. So back to the hardware store, lug home more paint and supplies (I'll bet you're thinking: aren't there those yellow cars called "cabs" in New York? Yes, there are cabs, but I'm determined to only take one if it's absolutely, positively necessary. And so far I haven't run into a situation that fits those parameters), and paint the living room again. This time I love the color - but run out of paint before I'm done. Another someone tells me about another hardware store that sells Ben Moore and it's only about a half mile from here! Yippee! I walk there, pick up just a little more paint, come home, finish the living room and... the colors don't match. Different store, different mixer, slightly different color. Back to the first store, more damn paint and the living room is DONE. A one-day task that slipped into a one-week ordeal.




Then there's the subway trips into Manhattan. I made it to Crate & Barrel and back in 45 minutes the other day. Forty-five minutes to Crate & Barrel! And back! For a girl who has lived in the wilds of New Hampshire for twenty-five years and who has had to drive an hour and a half one way to find a C&B, that is LIFE ALTERING! There was this pillow I'd seen on the Pottery Barn website. I wanted to see it in person. That trip took a little over an hour. That includes round-trip on the 4/5 train (I sound like a New Yorker, huh?), wandering the store and coming home. 


I have no idea how the days fly by, but they do. And I'm loving every second.