Progress

With temperatures in the 70sF until late, we were able to sit out on the deck this evening with one of the Man's former colleagues who is over here on business.  Yay, suddenly summer seems like a possibility.

Earlier I'd spent a positive morning with my refugee friends. The family's youngest child has been offered a place in the Albany School District's "Pre-K lottery" (great news, but oh dear, let's not get into the implications of education-by-lottery) so we went to the registration office to pick up papers. 

Then we went to call on another Karen family that just arrived yesterday from Thailand.  When we arrived at their apartment they were halfway through a vist from the caseworker who is helping them get settled.  There was a communication problem but my friend, who will normally tell you that she can't speak English, was able to interpret.  She did a great job.  She's no longer the struggling newcomer - she knows the ropes now and can lend others a hand.  I hope she realises how far she has come, and I hope she felt as proud of herself today as I felt on her behalf. 

Wildly sociable

I've had a sociable sort of day, catching up with a friend this morning, and joining Exile #2 at a knitting meeting this afternoon (even though I didn't have any knitting to do).

And late this afternoon the Boy and I joined other families from his school for a "Walk on the Wild Side" event at our favourite environmental education centre - really just an excuse to turn up and hike, and raise a little money for the PTO and Friends of Five Rivers.  We were lucky to have perfect weather, and it was a good time of day for wildlife spotting - we saw a turtle, a goose and a speed-swimming water rat.

For your viewing pleasure, here are our colourful front lawn trees again, taken this morning:

Hooray for the pink, white and green

 A few days of warm weather, and spring is springing up all over the place - our neighbourhood is quickly turning into a leafy suburb again. 

On our own front lawn, the ornamental cherry is at its peak, and the ornamental plum and the maple are coming into blossom and leaf respectively alongside it.  I have to say, for a day or two at exactly this time of year we have the prettiest trees on the block.  I wish they were easier to photograph.

Breakfast is ready

Friday ended up being rather grown-up altogether for the Man and me - our daytime art gallery trip was followed by a fundraising gala in the evening.

It was a Friends of Five Rivers event, the 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony and Reception, held at the same venue as last year.  Just as a year ago, the sun came out for the party, so everywhere looked bright and lovely which added to the generally festive mood.



There was a substantial Silent Auction, so the guests spent plenty of time cruising up and down the long line of tables deciding what to bid on.  The Man and I got into a bidding war with the Girl's 5th grade Math teacher over a couple of tempting food hampers.  It was an accident (honest!  She was meant to come back and bid again!) that we ended up taking home both... We are now quite shamefully well off for granola, nuts and jam.  But our rival-in-hampers put in the winning bid for a piece of artwork, so at least she didn't go home empty handed.

Magnificent magnolias

The beautiful weather has continued, bringing our ornamental cherry into full bloom.  The Man and his children took a trip to the shops this morning, on bikes and roller-blades.

The sunshine brings the neighbourhood kids outside, too, so the Boy has taken to setting off around the block as the fancy takes him, to see who's shooting hoops in their front yard - there's usually someone.  It could turn into a sociable summer.

I'd received a tip that the magnolias at the Pine Hollow Arboretum would be at their peak this weekend, so the Man and I stopped by to see for ourselves - and we weren't disappointed.

Sam I Am

The Man, Girl and I enjoyed a trip to Troy where we picked up supplies at the Farmers' Market, spent some time in Market Block Books (proper bookshops just smell so good, don't they?) and appreciated a couple of the Uncle Sam statues that have recently popped up around town.

On the way home we stopped in at the Albany Children's Book Festival.  We didn't attend any of the drop-in presentations, but toured the tables of the fifty authors/ill
ustrators talking about and selling their books in the gym of the Albany Academy for Girls.  I chatted with a couple of them, but it was a daunting number to get around.  The event seemed to be well attended, though, and there was a buzz about the place. There was a  display of children's book illustrations courtesy of the R. Michelson Gallery in Northampton, MA, featuring newer works and some old favourites, including some limited edition Dr Seuss prints.

This evening we had a friend and her daughter round for dinner.  We should do that more often - much fun and laughter.

A beautiful day, and it's exciting to see the blossom is finally beginning to appear...

 

Fenimore

The Man took a day off work, and we drove out to Cooperstown to visit the Fenimore Art Museum.

It's a wonderful place, big enough in scale to be satisfying, but not overwhelming.  The exhibits are focused on American Art, including an outstanding collection of Native American artwork and traditional craft.  I very much enjoyed the permanent exhibition of American folk art, memorialising both historic events and personal experiences. 

The original building is a 1930s neo-Georgian mansion, but in the 1990s a highly successful extension was added - interestingly, as a lower floor, built into the hill on which the museum stands, above Otsego Lake.

 
Near the end of our visit we took a few minutes to walk outside, enjoying the beauty of the lake and the replica Iroquois bark house on its shore.

Although rather a long way to drive for a relatively short day trip, I thought the visit was very well worth it.