Bear and Otis

This is Bear and his cousin Otis in Rhode Island



This is Bear and his cousin Otis in Belle Harbor
This is Bear and his cousin Otis in Pennsylvania








This is in Memory of Bear's cousin Otis.
You will live on in our hearts.

Fonda Claus

Dearest zuzuites:
It was the first official meeting of the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District ...BID...
Beloved Irene LoRe of Aunt Suzie's had agreed to be Chairman of the Board .
The Autumn sun was streaming through the windows of The Old Stone House.
We were eating bagels.
Bear was with me, under the table, eating his favorite: sesame seed,no shmear.

The spirit was in us all; it had taken years of hard work to get to this point.
The members of The Fifth Avenue Merchant's Association who never gave up despite frustration and lack of support deserved to feel proud.

We were planning a kick off event for the holidays; tossing around ideas about a tree lighting, Menorah lighting, staying open late nights.
Irene asked if anyone would volunteer to be Santa and Mrs. Claus.
My hand shot up.

There you have it.
Now all i need is my Mrs. Santa suit.
So, I went online to check out the possibilities.

I must say, i wasn't prepared for how frumpy Mrs. Santa is.
I don't know what i could have been thinking ...
After all,what sort of woman would be married to Santa Claus?

After considerable research, i have compiled my choices.
OY.

Mrs Claus...

Victorian Santa...could work with overalls

Santa's Helper....

Santa's Trophy Wife....

Santa's Best Friend

november 4, 2008

More Voters

Park Slope VOTES!

I went to vote at P.S.282 at 9 A.M. this morning.
The school is on Sixth Avenue between Berkeley and Lincoln.
I joined the line on Fifth Avenue and Berkeley.
It took an hour to make it into the school gym and vote.
The line was as long when i left, as when i arrived.
The same was true for the line at Middle School 51 on Fifth Avenue
between 5th and 4th street until about 2P.M.
I assume it was also the case at p.s.321. on Seventh Avenue.
Today was a particularly good day to be an American and live in Brooklyn.

Witchy Women

Complete with googley eyes, green streaked witch wigs,
and our superhero mascot,
the zuzus took time out from wedding preparations to
distribute poundsful of candy to the neighborhood trick or treaters.
Halloween brings out the best in Park Slope... because it's
all about the kids.

Priceless

Bless his heart...Bear wore his costume all day.
we could not miss this pairing.

Door Cheer

Zuzus always loves a design challenge, so when one of our
zuzushoppers asked for matching seasonal wreaths
to hang on the outer front doors of his brownstone,
we were equal to the task.
Using a combination of Acorns, Hydrangea, Gourds, and Raspberries
we drew on the feeling of the Autumn Garden and Harvest.
As an extra touch we added fragrant preserved Orange slices
and bundles of Cinnamon sticks , so that coming home
and the aroma of the holidays might be bound in memory.
We don't just decorate...

Not The Last Rose

Almost Halloween and my Roses are still making buds...
very optimistic little tomato plant still blooming next to it

Pat Lapide is way on top of my very short list of favorite people.
She is the Matriarch of a family business in its third generation.
I have been a customer and friend of hers for over 30 years.

Pat was running her Father-In-Law's business
with her husband Larry for a long time before that.
It's a seasonal business:
starting with garden plants and supplies in the Spring
peaking with Watermelons in the Summer,
moving on to grapes and winemaking supplies in the Fall,
ending with christmas trees and wreaths in the Winter.
Wholesale, Retail and everything in between.

There is something in Pat that is missing in too many people.
The depth of her patience, generosity, kindness, humor...
her humanity... attracts and holds everyone she deals with,
regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity.

Lately, now that the crazy rush of Garden season is past,
I have taken to visiting with her for no good reason
other than to feel restored...to be in the company of a person
who generates love, and regularly receives it back...
from the most unlikely sources.

Sitting next to Pat on a white plastic chair,
surrounded by wooden cratesful of wine grapes,
I watch her transactions with a veritable
United nations of amateur vintners.
Everyone calls her "mom".
and most want a special deal...
the "Mom" price.
Of course, they get it.

It's like that all the time.
Whether it's a small bent over Haitian grandma with a single tomato plant
or a grizzled cranky truck driver dropping off his load,
Pat is the same.
She is my Hero.