Big thanks to Mark Bittman for extra time and a tasty turkey

For Thanksgiving we were planning to open a bag of green beans, a bag of corn, a can of pumpkin, a box of stuffing, and spend several hours hanging around basting a turkey. Until Marc saw this. 45 minutes to roast a turkey. What? Why haven't we heard about this before?

Start with a turkey.

Do this.

And this.

Hurt it. School it.

Don't be afraid of it.

Roast it for 45 minutes. Or more like 1 hour and then some. But not four hours. Use the extra time to watch more football.

Harper shows us how to attack mashed potatoes.

A stirring picture of a mother and her daughter.

Feasting with special guests Traore, Soh, Frank, Bachir.

I love a man with dish pan hands.

It's not a real fur coat

Harper recently inherited a coat. Which she loves to put on and wear around the house. Even babies like to feel luxurious.

One of Marc's favorite games involves hiding things in Harper's hood. She doesn't usually know she's playing this game.

Clio Calypso comes to visit

Cousins Harper and Clio met for the first time yesterday and had a nice time getting to know each other. Proud parents Sunny and Marc, and Jeff and Sarah enjoyed catching up, and some more of those potato walnut croquettes.

I recall Central Park in fall

Someday I will sing this old song and actually be able to recall the park in fall. For now we are enjoying being able to walk around in it and take a million pictures any day of the week.

Harper wouldn't look at the camera or smile. She was mesmerized by the fountain. And then scared of it. And then scared of every other fountain we saw. She has a fear of noisy water: rushing rivers, crashing waves, and now trickling fountains.

We don't think there is a prettier place in the park.

We have decided to let strangers take our picture if they offer. We have usually declined because strangers' standards are not our standard. But in rejecting their random act of kindness we deny them the good feeling that comes from doing something nice for someone. And we wouldn't have these pictures of all of us together.

November Ranger

"Make it outta here, it's all gravy. Every day of the rest of your life, man, gravy." -a soldier named King (Platoon, 1986)

This is my dad's mantra. I think it's a good one. And I am chiming in with my sister in honoring our dad on Veteran's Day.

ABC & 123

New York City: 1

Marc commissioned me to take a bunch of pictures of the city before we leave it behind and head west. Here is the first series. Of many.

The corner of 118th and 2nd
Pigeons love this corner for some reason.

118th between 1st and 2nd
One of the nice parks in our neighbourhood

Sweetest heart of purple moon

Marc loves the moon. When we are outside at night he likes to look at it. A lot. I think the moon is lovely (who doesn't) but it's extra lovely to Marc. I like to see it first and tell him "from me to you." He likes this. A lot. Tonight when we were walking home through the park Marc saw it first and said "to me from you" because he knew if he dedicated it to me I wouldn't really care (yes, I'm not romantic). Knowing of Marc's love for pretty moons I have become much more aware of its phases. So I know that Wednesday night there will be a full moon. It's to Marc, from Sunny.

I make empanadas for dinner sometimes

These were complicated but mostly worth it. So I thought I would try potato and walnut croquettes last night. Beyond complicated. Labyrinthine. Two and a half hours later we ate dinner. At least they were delicious.

Tire swings

We took Harper to the park last week and showed her the tire swing. Obviously she did not want to leave when it was time to go.

Pure delight

Yes. Harper had a haircut. It's a little uneven but that runs in my family. Or at least I have had bad and/or uneven haircuts all my life.

"Healthy Spaces, for People and the Earth"

This article in the NYTimes today features our neighbourhood garden. And 50 Cent's garden in Queens.

Yes We Did

Yes We Can by gausa

Last night on 125th Street in Harlem I felt like we were driving in a wedding party on Christmas day. Cars were honking and driving slow. Everyone was nice to each other. No one had road rage. We were waving to everyone. And smiling. No one could stop smiling. I still can't.