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Alice was off apple picking this afternoon, and returned with half of a half bushel or Macintosh, Jonagold and Cortlands. I was trying to convince her to help me make an apple galette; if she'd do the crust I'd slice and arrange the apples. But we are both too tired to proceed further.

I think all desserts sound better in french. Galette is a much better name than "folded over at the edges pastry thing" although I am not sure what the french is for cookie. And cookie is a fairly splendid word too. I can be convinced either way – what do you think?

On Friday I left a nice young man with an awesome mask sanding the bathtub preparatory to coating it with vile chemicals and rendering shiny, white, clean and not-a-health-hazard, and drove to New HAven to catch a train to New York.

Considering how close the Big City is, and how much fun I have, it always surprises me how much resistance I put up to the idea of going. This time Kate asked me to go with her, and I did, and we slept in a tiny tiny room with a bathroom containing fixtures swiped off an airplane, and we walked EVERYWHERE. It was faabulous. We think we should go back again soon.

The above circle is a happy part of the breakfast we had yesterday at Pain Quotidien (everyday bread); pain chocolat, iced coffee, Earl Grey tea, a fritatta, and more coffee. And a soft boiled egg.

After that we walked to the Chrysler Building and up to Columbus Circle and over to the MMA, and back to our hotel, and then I bolted for home while Kate did a wedding thing.

Today I was at the farm all day working at a horse show, and Alice made cupcakes. With raspberry frosting. So they made a circle. Al has kindly pointed out that the candy he likes best is not terribly colorful, and can look…. dubious when rendered in fabric. And he suggested I branch out into dessert. Since he is right about a lot of things, I'm following his suggestion this time.

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Lollipop (L, O, double L, I, P, o, p, you seeeee! It's a lick on a stick guaranteed to make you sick, lollipop for meeeee!)(sung to the tune of Harrigan)

I decided my ceiling problem was something to be outsourced rather than addressed, so a sympathetic and capable soul was recommended by a local friend (Thank you any how Jenny!) and will come address the issue on Tuesday.

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They're made in Germany, and they are coated with little beads of sugar, and then they are gumdrops inside – I don't know what else to call them. They are not quite gumdrops, they are sort of like nonpareils, and they are raspberry flavored.

I was powerful and invincible today: I removed the light and fan from the bathroom, scrubbed the ceiling, and put three (Three!!) coats of clean white paint on it. My shoulders are sore, and I am unspeakably tired, but I wanted to find a non-ugly, quieter fan to go in that space. So Alice and I went to the big box hardware store and found several only faintly useful people, and a pretty light, and brought them home…

Whereupon I was vanquished by the remains of the light/fan combo. It is stuck in the ceiling, and I can't get it out. So we are kind of stuck at the moment, and I will have some kind of brainstorm tomorrow.

Alice was tired and I was headachey, so we stopped at Sweeties, the candy store in the middle of town, and Alice found something for a treat and something for me to show you. Have some rock candy. Al thought it was a napkin. Intricately folded. 

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I am thinking candy for October, but I might run out. Then I might have to go get more.

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For some very loose meanings for harvest, the circles really do mostly reflect the season. The harvest moon was staring in my window last night before the clouds covered it up, and wine is made from the grape harvest, so on the whole, a pretty good job adhering to a theme. I enjoyed using my collected slightly muddy greens as backgrounds, and I am feeling quite smug about the walls I implied using vertical strips.

I turn 52 today (thank you Mum!)

I have been around the sun 52 times.

There are 52 cards in a deck of cards, and I have one year for each.

There are 52 weeks in a year, so I've lived 52 squared weeks

I have two years for each letter of the alphabet.

I just like thinking about these things!

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Peas in a pod are sometimes not terribly alike.

Women with art due are sometimes very tired and fail to address their commitments.

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Which is of course a joke my mother will recognize – at any Chinese restaurant the only things my kids would eat was chicken with broccoli.

It did not look like this. Alice suggested a line of stitching to set of the chicken from her background, and I love the way it looks now.

The broccoli all standing on the trays at the supermarket made me think of a forest, and contemplate for a moment what it would be like to be that small.

I am still working on the next chicken, a gold laced Wyandotte.