Tuesday, August 23, 2016

City Views, Country Dreams

Good morning from New York.

We are now in a new weather pattern.  The city is now 20 degrees F cooler than it was last week.  Energy is beginning to return.  I am giving my little fan a rest and enjoying being more active outdoors.

Having longer walks around the neighborhood is a pleasure.


My neighborhood has a mixture of architecture, and some crosstown street blocks have some charming brownstone and limestone town houses that have attractive little front garden spaces.  Other such houses present rather bland spartan faces to the street.


The pictures I am showing you here are along one side of a particular Upper West Side street that is always a pleasure to walk along.  I was lucky to have my camera with me last Sunday, and to find that the prettier side of the street was also the shady side.  A slight breeze was blowing, cooling the air, and encouraging me to take these photographs to show you.


I have no idea whether these buildings are filled with small or large apartments, rental or condo or cooperative.  What is clear is that there are some interested gardeners at each address.


These plantings don't seem to be the work of professionals but rather the resulting efforts of residents.  I imagine that even more beautiful gardens are behind the buildings.


These houses have their main entrances on the parlor floor one reaches via a stairway, but also have doorways at the garden level.  I once lived in a garden level 1840s brownstone apartment in Brooklyn.  There was no front garden but I shared a beautiful back garden with the other tenants.  That garden had been established by our landlady who also allowed me to plant a few more flowers and vegetables.  She was then midway through the renovation of another old house in the same neighborhood.


Back in those days, such old Brooklyn houses, ripe for renovation, were priced at about $25,000.  It was the 1970s, and that was quite a lot of money.  The renovation and rescue of those houses also cost a lot and took a long time.  Many marriages, like that of my sweet landlady, broke up during renovations.


Nowadays, those houses sell for millions of dollars.  Even a floor through apartment in one of the houses I am showing you here would cost several million dollars.  Time passes.


I love the look of this tree's roots, and moss, and the little scalloped fencing which might protect it from unskilled car parking.


Moving along, I'll show you a few more front entrance ways.


Some of these areas have decorative gates; some have gates requiring a key.  Do notice the bars on the windows.


The left over bricks and stones in the following photo have been used to fill in a space where a tree once grew.  I like the arrangement and thought it might inspire some future knitting design.


I also like the rather funky look of this curvy decorative area.


Lots of greenery growing here.  I wondered what might have been intended to grow on the wooden lattice leaning against the wall.  It could be part of a past or future plan.

You can see the reflection of a building across the street.


Not far away from that shady block is this large building, The Lucerne Hotel.  Back in the 1920s, my great auntie lived here for a few years with her husband who was a tobacco company executive.  My auntie was widowed before I was born, and moved back to live in Richmond with a couple who were dear friends.

Auntie Mae never had children of her own, but was very fond of my late Dad, and very kind to me.  Every Christmas she would allow me to select a very special doll as her very special gift.  She also gave me a special, long lasting gift of teaching me to knit.

I cannot walk past The Lucerne without thinking of her.


When Auntie Mae died, she left an inheritance to my Dad that allowed me to attend college.  She also left me some beautiful jewelry and her knitting needles.


I still use those needles, particularly the double pointed needles, to create socks, hats, and these fair isle mitts that I have been making for my etsy shop.  I am now working on some red mitts.


I do wish my Auntie could see them.

It's been fun to share these late summer city views with you all.  Thank you for your visits and wonderful comments on my previous post.  Let's enjoy our remaining summer days, rain or shine...but I do hope our current temperature range continues.

66 comments:

  1. What a fascinating post Frances - thank you for showing us such an unusual part of NYC - it all looks so pretty.

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    1. Weaver, I am so glad that we can visit each other's blogs and get an idea of what it is like to live in city and country. xo

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  2. I think the high temps are gone Frances. Every square inch precious in NYC. I watch Million Dollar Listing NY and another flip show about NYC real estate and am always shocked at the prices for the space. Don't know how anyone can afford to live there and also wonder if everyone is a hedge fund manager? I think it is the greedy developers fault that prices have gotten so high. I love the story about your aunt. I wish I had had one like her.

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    1. Donna, I agree that the greedy, sometimes also tasteless, developers have much to answer for.
      Auntie Mae stays close to my heart. xo

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  3. Even a tiny space can be turned into an amazing little garden. It is lovely that people care so much about their environment.
    How precious those knitting needles must be.

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    1. What I like about the little garden spaces along this block is that they are not too perfect or manicured. They seem natural.

      Oh yes, the needles are very precious! xo

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  4. I enjoyed these pictures today very much because they feel they are about life and real people who live in the city and I can feel it; not vast corporations but ordinary back yards and basement flats as we would call them. Nice.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the pictures, Rachel. I did take them to indicate it's not all super glam and shiny glass around these parts. As I was taking these photos, a family of four came down the steps from one of the houses, and seemed so happy when I told them why I was taking pictures. That made me happy, too. xo

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  5. it is amazing what you can do in such a small space.Looking at them must make your walks so much more interesting.How may people,I wonder, just rush by and don't even notice.

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    1. What I should do sometime as a companion piece would be to take photographs of the other side of the street that is interesting, but not quite so pretty. xo

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  6. What an interesting post - I loved seeing all those doorways and entrances made pretty with plants. Lovely to hear about your great aunt too, who clearly made a strong impression on you.

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    1. Thank you, Gina. Sometimes just a simple walk can remind me to share my neighborhood here. I'm glad you like the story about my sweet auntie.

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  7. Thank you so much for showing us these beautiful little corners of the big city.

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    1. As I indicated in an earlier reply, the houses on the other side of this street don't have similar gardens in front of their buildings...but they have wonderful views from their front windows! Best wishes.

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  8. What a great impression, all these details in your neighborhood, Frances. I am impressed of all the details and believe you live in quite a posh area. Such a lovely note about your auntie. How well she 'invested' in you, now is her payback time from wherever she watches. Heatwave here right now, we enjoy it as we do not have to work for money anymore. Enjoy more great days of late summer, dear Frances!

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    1. Bayou, this particular row of houses is really quite lovely in a quiet, relaxed way. The entire neighborhood has gone through many ups and downs since these houses were built. When I first moved to NYC long ago, the area was considered a dangerous place to live by many folks. Actually lots of NYC was considered dangerous. Now ... it's expensive!

      My auntie was a lovely lady, very dear to me. xo

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  9. Your aunts Mae sounds a lovely lady. The gardens you've shown us are delightful - I love the way urban gardens pack so much into tiny spaces

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    1. Dear Su, she was indeed a lovely lady. It pleases me to now live within walking distance of where she spent some happy NY years.
      I agree with you about urban gardens. xo

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  10. What beautiful, magical little gardens Frances.
    After a few days of rain we are having another heatwave. Today was almost unbearable as I don't cope very well with heat. The trusty fan has been on again.
    Loved your sharing of memories of your Auntie Mae.
    Hugs from The UK-x-

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    1. Dear Sheila, I do hope that your weather will cool down as ours seems to have done. Two days so far without the fan being switched on!
      My Auntie was a lovely lady. xo

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    1. I completely agree with you. Each one is similar, but also has its own details and even perhaps...personality. xo

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  12. Thank you for that lovely tour and architectural history lesson. I'd like to think that your Auntie Mae knows that you still knit beautiful things with her knitting needles.
    C xx

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    1. There are lots of interesting older buildings around this area, and i find them more appealing than the the steel and glass towers that cast long shadows.
      Celia, I do hope that somehow Auntie Mae is aware of how she still inspires me. xo

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  13. You have such an artistic eye for choosing the right colours, shapes and angles for your photos. Lovely photos! I also enjoyed the story about the house renovations.
    What a beautiful gift your auntie has left you; the love for knitting and the knitting needles.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Thank you so much, Maria. Some settings I walk past just call out ... please take our picture! I don't always carry my camera with me, but sometimes can remember to have it along when I return to a particular place like the street shown in this post.
      Yes, Auntie Mae's gift will always be with me. xo

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  14. Such a lovely Aunt Mae!
    What splendid gifts she gave you.
    And such charming little gardens.
    Hoping to see you soon.
    x

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    1. Elizabeth, I think that you and she would have enjoyed meeting each other. She was quite a world traveler.
      Yes, hope to see you soon. Isn't this cooler weather a gift! xo

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  15. I loved hearing the story of your Auntie Mae. My grandma was always called May! Weill you show us these house dressed for Hallowe'en? Glad to hear your temperatures are more comfortable. One son has landed and the other follows shortly. It was 35C here today as we drove back from Wakehurst Place in Sussex. That's 95 F!

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    1. Dear Lucille, sorry to hear that you have now got some of our recent heat...hoping it moves along to wherever might be its next port of call. I am all too familiar with 95 F from recent experience.
      Exciting that one of your sons is now over here, although it must be a bit sad for you, particularly as your other son will also be here soon. You will have to visit!
      The houses in this post are not the same ones that go over the top with Halloween decorations. There are some big renovations going on over on the Halloween block, which probably means that the former owners have sold and moved. I hope the holiday tradition won't also have moved.
      xo

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  16. Sorry can't type. This room is too hot and has no fan.

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  17. As Lucille commented, we have New York temperatures and humidity here in the UK at the moment! Quite challenging. You have just reminded me to look out my little fan - I haven't needed it in all the seven years I have lived in this house.

    The 70s was certainly the time to buy houses, both in New York and London where I was living at the time. Can't afford London now of course. I enjoyed looking at your photos and now need to go and find a cool room and a cold drink...

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    1. Marianne, even a little fan, strategically placed, can make a real difference.
      I am coming around to the concept that I may never now be a homeowner, but keep reminding myself that not everywhere costs as much as here or London. xo

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  18. Thank you France's for a wonderful look into your part of the world, loved them all but the little block of old bricks and the funky garden are so much like what I do here in my little bit of England. I spent a few days in Herald Square a couple of years ago and loved all the buildings I was in awe of the flat building. My grandmother taught me to knit and I remember knitting a fair isle slip over for my husband to be, quite adventurous for a beginner. I still have it 60 years on.
    My grand daughter is doing the coast to coast north trip and started of in New York where she hopes to return to at the end for a few days stay. It's a little cooler this morning so maybe a little gardening will be done.
    Enjoy the day
    Hazel c uk

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    1. Hazel, I enjoyed your comment so much. For a while, I worked just over the road from the iconic Flatiron Building at 23rd Street. I think it is a beautiful building, too. When you are walking up Broadway from Union Square there is a fabulous view of the Flatiron, with the Empire State Building in the background.

      Isn't fair isle knitting fun! Hoping your grand daughter is having a splendid holiday.

      Best wishes.

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    2. Thank you for your kind words France's. My DGD is giving a wonderful time so far and is if to Mount Rushmoor tomorrow.
      Have a good weekend.
      Hazel c uk

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  19. Always so nice (and interesting) to visit you and your blog Frances...
    Warm hug from Titti

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    1. Titti, I thought you might like seeing some city greenery tiny places. xo

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  20. Loved seeing the interesting shots of the buildings and the little gardens and individual features. And loved the story of your Auntie Mae....what a special lady and how much she taught you. Hope the temperatures stay nice and comfortable this week dear Frances.
    Helen xox

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    1. Dear Helen, glad that you liked this post...a view of a quieter part of New York, on a very quiet Sunday morning. Hard to believe that just around the corner was a busy farmers market, an even busier flea market, and...The Museum of Natural History.
      Yes, Auntie Mae was lovely! And yes, the more pleasant weather is still with us. xo

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  21. Thanks for sharing your memories of your aunt Mae, she did indeed leave you with a great lagacy when she taught you how to knit! I wonder if your recent observations will find their way into yarn? New York, like London, is getting beyond the reach of ordinary mortals with ever escalating house prices. These properties do look like they are peoples homes, unlike parts of Chelsea which now seems deserted, owned by investment companies and left empty. I never imagined back gardens to the buildings you show, wouldn't we all like to take a peek? Love Val. x

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    1. I appreciate you comment so much, Val.

      What you write about mere mortals' housing rings very true.

      Having seen some brownstone back gardens (including that Brooklyn space) I can say that they can be quite magical! xo

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  22. As I looked at your great photos of those doorway gardens I recalled some of my favourite TV shows in which the central characters lived in such places with the basement entrances.
    Your auntie certainly left you some wonderful gifts - college, knitting and memories. We are blessed when we have such women in our family tree!

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    1. Pondside, we do see TV or movie crews using neighborhood areas for their film locations. Even my own block appeared in Law and Order...well, lots of New York appeared in Law and Order...and I never actually watched the show. The SoHo neighborhood where I once lived, and also worked for years, appears in lots of commercials.
      What you have said about Auntie Mae is so true. Since she was widowed while still young, and my Dad's Mom (my Auntie's sister) had died (via a streetcar accident) when he was a child, I think she loved being close to our little family, and we certainly loved her. xo

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  23. I always enjoy your walks through NY. You live in a beautiful area Frances. It all looks well taken care off.

    Your mittens look lovely! Can't imagine wearing them yet. It's warm and humid in Rotterdam :-)

    Have a lovely weekend ahead!

    Madelief x

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    1. Dear Madelief, thanks so much for visiting and commenting. I think I am very fortunate to live in this neighborhood, but perhaps in a future blog, I will show you all some of the less lovely views. It is, after all, a city neighborhood, filled with contrasts.

      I wouldn't want to wear those mitts quite yet myself, but am preparing some new items for the etsy.com shop for a few months from now. It's interesting to learn how to keep notes and draw charts so that I can replicate these experimental designs. A good workout for colored pencils and gel pens and grid paper.
      How lovely your garden looked in the photographs of the supper party day! xo

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  24. Dear Frances,
    This post touched me a lot! Reading about your aunt and what an important person she was in your life, as well as feeling your deep gratitude for her, brought me to tears! She would be very proud of you, if she could only see what your creativity and knitting skills create! I saw in my imagination little Frances and her collection of dolls... I had a lovely aunt whose love and care marked my childhood, too!
    I like your neighbourhood! All thise small picturesque and hidden from the eyes gardens make the houses look so cosy!
    Have a lovely weekend!x

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    1. Rossichka, I am so glad that I was able to give you an idea of my love for my Auntie...and also glad that your childhood was also graced by a dear aunt.
      Yes, there are lots of areas in this neighborhood that retain a special atmosphere, and it is along those streets that I most enjoy walking. However...there are lots of other streets that look very different, with one large glossy shop or apartment building after the other...none of them having much charm. I admit that some of the shops do provide items that I need...like coffee! xo

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  25. Such a wonderful post today. Your sweet story of your Aunt May so touched my heart. I teared up . How wonderful that you can walk by a place where she lived.
    Connections !
    I think when you live in a city and if lucky to have a small piece of land you use it to help with all the streets, concrete, cars. people and noise. I think the need to have some nature, green and soft air is strong in us.
    Even if no outside space a window ledge stands in for the earth.
    When in Japan visiting family wherever we go even the smallest apartment, or tiny ones under the freeways have plants outside. Green, flowers or veggies. Lots of time they are planted in the ugly styrofoam ice chests. Even spaces in the dirt between the apartment and the road are planted with vegetables or flowers. It is wonderful.

    cheers, parsnip and thehamish

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    1. Dear Parsnip, I appreciate your comment so much. Connections are so important.

      I was also very interested in what you wrote about Japan, a place that I have yet to visit. I regularly watch documentaries on NHK World, and particularly like those that tell me more about traditional Japanese craft and art. Maybe so day I will see Kyoto in person. xo

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  26. Dear Frances,
    Gosh, I've missed SO much - I'm so sorry to have been such an infrequent visitor. My only excuse is that since feeling a little less worried about my sight, I've been squeezing the last drops out of this summer. On the other hand it's been a real pleasure catching up with your posts - Patti Smith, Paul Simon, The Band (alas my favourite Band album was a casualty to a failed relationship and I never did replace the LP) and so many wonderful snippets of your life. The photographs, as ever, were so potent - knitting resonant with memories of your aunt, uniquely 'New York' architecture and joyful planting. Just lovely. Cxx

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    1. Aw shucks, Chris...I've just been able to post more frequently since finding that open retirement doorway.
      I am glad to hear that you are less worried about your sight, and enjoying late summer. Perhaps on board that ship?
      What you write about lost LP albums rings a familiar bell over here. It still amazes me how many albums I bought, and still have, without the machinery to play them. I never quite got the same enthusiasm for tapes or cd recordings.
      I so appreciate your comment on the recent posts. xo to you and Tom.

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  27. Dear Frances,
    I hesitate to ask after you have already been so kind about my fledgling blog,but the thing is this.I need an auntie Mae ! I am just beginning to knit again and am having a problem scaling and writing patterns.I have a few questions my books do not help with.The last of the people L could ask died this year.Could you e mail me ?

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    1. Thank you very much for your comment, Angela. I would be happy to help you with your knitting questions. It's a pleasure to help someone else get more acquainted with how knitting's simple loop over loop potential.
      Do look out for an email. xo

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  28. Hello Frances! This has just passed across my timeline and I thought you might be interested - coloured postcards of NY in the early 1900s - http://mashable.com/2016/06/18/nyc-photochroms/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-retronaut-link#OV9Cp3NygkqL

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    1. Thank you, Mrs Jones, for sharing the link.
      Best wishes.

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  29. I love seeing all the little gardens, They do so much to humanize the architecture. And what a lovely legacy from your aunt! I had a great aunt who taught me to embroider and another aunt who taught me to make clothes with the sewing machine. Bless all those aunts!

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    1. Vicki, when we walk along city sidewalks and pass by these pretty little front gardens, it might be akin to finding an oasis.

      I'm hoping that the connections that we had with our aunties are even now being created with a younger generation. It is my lovely Mom who taught me about sewing. I will never, ever be as good at that skill as she, and benefitted by lovely clothes she made for me until I "flew" the nest to NYC...and bought my first Singer. xo

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  30. I always knew you were just the sort to have had a fabulous Auntie, Frances. The sort who would live in a hotel and emerge in furs and diamonds and be very kind. I will be posting off knitting needles to my own few nieces and nephews this very morning in the hope that they will hold me in equally deserved esteem.

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    1. Dear Mise, thanks so much for visiting and for those kind words. I love to imagine my Auntie all dressed up in her 1920s outfits, going out for dinner and Broadway shows.
      I expect that you own nieces and nephews already hold you in esteem, for many reasons. In this post, I forgot to mention that my Auntie knit a sweater for my favorite doll, and of course, lots of sweaters for my brothers and myself. I could go on and on.
      Please do visit again. xo

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  31. Frances, I loved seeing the gardens people create in small spaces in the city. Since moving to a small London flat I so value the little bit of green I can create on a tiny terrace! And how I wish I could have picked up a place for a bargain years ago like the people you mention.
    Your auntie Mae left you some wonderful gifts!
    (I think you've been getting some spam as a result of my email account being hacked - I'm so sorry and please delete!). Warm wishes from London xxx

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    1. Dear Karen, it's lovely to hear from you, and I appreciate your comments ... about the Upper West Side front gardens, over the shoulder real estate views, and my sweet Auntie Mae.

      I am beginning to put some plans together for a UK visit this autumn. It would be grand to see you again. I will let you know when I have some definite dates.

      Meanwhile...I will delete the mystery email.

      And...say again how beautiful your posts always are. I definitely recommend that any folks visiting here, who see this reply of mine to you, will have click over to your site. xo

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    2. Hello Frances,
      Thanks so much for your magical mystery tour around some of NY's front gardens. I too like to wander around our neighbourhood, often finding inspiration in what other residents choose to cultivate in such a small space. It's amazing the ideas people come up with! Our weather now has the nip of autumn in the mornings, so we have to make the most of any sun we get now. Hope your temperatures stay stable so you can enjoy more rambles with your camera. Lots of love, xo

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    3. Jean, I'm glad that you enjoyed this little neighborhood tour. We have plenty more warm days left for such walks, even if the daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter. xo

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  32. Frances, I really enjoyed that stroll. The buildings and gardens are fully charming and I take such a delight in old architecture as seen here. That wonderful window-box with the shell pattern and the trunk growth right up through the metal fencing!
    No matter where you live, you can plant a singular and inviting garden space, I happy that people take the time to make little spaces of beauty.
    I've often thought, that if I did not live the country life, and instead chose the city life, it would have to be in such a place as your 1840's past dwelling place.

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    1. Yes, Jeri, it's the older architecture that seems of have a more human scale with which to connect. The gleaming towers are impressive in size but I do not warm to them.

      You know what...I can still easily remember the sunlight coming through the back window of that Brooklyn garden apartment. It looked wonderful on the beautiful old wooden floors. And of course, the apartment had two fireplaces. xo

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