Another summer spent in NYC with my daughter...

This summer is passing by under the main motto of "Stay somewhere in the shade". We came back from our European trip on June 7th and since then it was a constant struggle to keep cool. We would go to the playgrounds only if they were under the canopy of trees, venture out onto the lawns safely protected by towering oaks, play the running game when we would have to run through the sun-burning patches of sidewalk and slow down when we reach the "shady" part of it. It is mid-August outside and this summer is not coming back the same way as all of the previous ones. I already feel a tinge of nostalgic feeling for these daily walks along the same route - up the steps to the Riverside Drive, then onto our favorite spot under the welcoming giants of trees. At first I was a bit nervous and unhappy that I would not be able to put Sofusha into a day camp for the summer. I really wanted her to start connecting with a bunch of other kids, to keep exploring her humanity through association with her peers, but the cards fell differently and we had to spend each of our summer days together... I still fantasize about an occasional solitary stroll in the park, crowned by several hours of relaxed reading in the shade while drinking coffee and savoring a yummy croissant. And I actually was able to do it - in part, without the croissant factor but still (: However, no solitary walks and no fun beach outings, no joyful movie siestas and afternoon shopping sprees can compare to strolling hand-in-hand with your dearest child. It does require patience and light attitude but the rewards one reaps are immense. We would walk and pick up acorns, straws, little sticks, stones,flowers, and she would always ask me to put them into my bag as if they were some kind of treasures. Sometimes I felt like cheating and throwing them away when she was not looking but I would feel that it was not the right thing to do since for Sofusha those WERE treasures and I put them all diligently into my bag. Only the other day I emptied it out and washed it. Since the summer is on its way out... We would lounge under the lush greenery as if it were some extravagant resort for the initiated and I don`t think I would enjoy the latter more than this natural oasis of shade. We would read, paint, draw, play with our toys, soccer ball and just fool around - the memories of these happy hours will forever shine in front of me as as a glorious and radiant sunrise that keeps happening. And that is why this summer is so different from the other unbearably hot ones - this summer is unforgettable.

West Village life-style (with a child) ):

Residing in the charming and quaint old neighborhood of West Village is not for the faint of heart, I should admit. We decided to try it out for a short while (I have never ever stayed here before though have always been fascinated by all these townhouses, trendy restaurants, cute little coffee-shops). This is the beauty of a short-term rental, you know if something goes wrong or you just find some irreconcilable factors that do not appeal to you from whichever angle you observe them. The first day was completely euphoric. We wondered along the 7th ave South, crossed to 8th ave, found a nice homey looking old time diner "Bonbonniere", which already had some mom with an infant strapped to her seated at the outdoor table. Being a mother, the ways I pick eateries nowadays changed - I always make sure the place is not overly crowded and preferably already has some little patrons on the premises. We sat, took the menus, first I just took one but my daughter loves to peruse it on her own, so I had to get the second one. We ordered a hearty beef stew and a cup of green pea soup. Having spent plenty of energy staring with curiosity around our new neighborhood, I swallowed the meal in big spoonfuls. Sonia was not bent on eating as much as I was. But overall our introduction to West Village scene went exhilaratingly fine. I mentioned loudly to another customer that it was our first time living in West Village and the gay couple sitting at the counter cringed sentimentally. I almost expected a cupcake or something on the house in the honor of our arrival to the hood but it did not happen ): Anyway, West Village is a grand neighborhood for adults seeking entertainment and bohemian flavor but it is a rather challenging escapade to reside here with children or even with one child, especially when you never use a stroller on your outings. There are many open basement cellars, of which I always has to be alert. My daughter loves to break away from me and run ahead, so I chase her. And I just look way far ahead of myself to see the gaping openings of cellars. Another danger lies in narrowness of the sidewalks, they are more narrow than those on UWS or UES and this is still worsened by the fact of how crowded they get, especially on week-ends. So this is definitely a hand-hold area. Another minus is the absence of that luscious wide spacious greenery zone situated Uptown, namely Central Park. Here, as one local mom friendlily shared with me, "we have tons of playgrounds - Bleecker Street, Jane Street etc." But nothing to compare with CP. But on the other hand, there is a Magnolia Bakery, many steep stoops with all sorts of ornaments and flower pots on them (climbing which to the very top has a magnetizing effect on Sonia for some reason). I don`t count as an attraction numerous quaint cozy coffee-shops and cafes, where one can people watch from the benches next to window, type away on one`s laptop sitting at the teeny-weeny table and just be your own Postmillennial self. With a child, these hot spots are off limits cause the child needs space to run around and you don`t want her knocking off hot cups of cappuccinos. So we just stroll around and do the people watching in reverse. ): But occasionally we find a nice secluded bakery or cafe with just a bunch of people inside like it happened today - we found an authentic French patisserie Claude, a long-term resident of West Village itself and asked a lonely patron to take a picture of us. The explorations go on... ):

Visiting the "NO MAN`S LAND" exhibition at RUBELL MUSEUM

The other day me, my significant and our precious one decided to embark on an escapade to South Miami or in other words Miami Beach but mind it, NOT Downtown Miami - these are two completely different parts of the city. Actually to be more precise, our destination was Wynwood, the artsy-trendy district of Miami filled with warehouses, industrial buildings, street art, quaint little cafes and bake-shops. We were planning to visit the Rubell Museum located in the heart of it since we missed out on the major happening of Miami Art Basel. Hence we decided to make up for the lost impressions with a mini-outing to Rubell exhibition instead. My main recommendation to whoever stays in Sunny Isles or any other place located farther away from the main city of Miami - rent a car. We did not and that is why needed to take a bus. And buses stop often. We changed two buses and our total trip time to Wynwood was around 2 hrs. But the exhibition was worth the pain. At first, after being greeted by a polite courteous receptionist, I looked around and thought it was kind of small - however the artworks presented on the ground floor were intriguing - large red clay colored sacks hanging in bunches like tumors or grapes from the vine or countless testicles of some giant Gulliver in one spacious hall

, then a cathedral made of long wool (or some other natural fabric) stripes; then a flirtatious matchstick-skinny mannequin and various abstractions. But the key pieces of the exhibition were one floor up - a fabulous selection of female (predominantly) body (and spirit) representation by females: Marlene Dumas, Cecily Brown, Cindy Sherman, Miriam Cahn - just to name a few. My personal favorite was "Jealousy in the Harem", 2005 by Dumas - a relatively recent watercolor and inkwash on paper. These media plus the reclining pose gave it the effect of fragility and insecurity but also of an exuberant femininity.

There were also numerous artworks by emerging young artists, some of the paintings were done in 2015 and when I walked around them, I felt the strong smell of fresh paint. Among the up-and-coming artists my attention was drawn to Hayv Kaharaman, an Iraqi artist, whose works reflect the controversial issues of gender, honor killings and war, all issues that plague her home country of Iraq. One of her paintings, the photo of which you can see here, is called "Migrant". The featured wood panel depicts a beautiful woman in a noose.

There were a lot of other striking works worth mentioning but as they say it is better to see it once than to hear it one hundred times - that is the way it goes, right? ):

Traveling with a toddler - advice to myself and others - notes from the minimalist`s perspective

I. I learned throughout my frequent trips that it is desirable NOT to pack too many toys. At first I would take her lots and lots - her multiple dolls, stuffed animals, toy cars, toy food, paints, play - dough etc. Now I just take 3 colored markers, some pencils, one or two containers of play dough plus 2 of her favorite stuffed animals (favorite at the moment!). Why 2 of the latter? One acts as a back-up toy in case we lose the Number One. I am not a big fan of buying new toys for her in every new town/country we visit, though sometimes my sentimental side attempts to kick in and force me into buying some cute memento for her, e.g. a sweet camel from Dubai or a dolphin from sunny Florida. I prefer her to have one favorite toy friend towards whom she has enough time to develop a genuine affection. The only item I regret in the past that we could not take with us was her potty but my worst fears about repetitive disasters soon evaporated when she quickly got the grasp of going on the toilet seat after a week-long training in the daycare. At times though when I play with her with our scarce game equipment and I use my creativity cells to the utmost in order to come up with fresh playing ideas and scenarios, I start fantasizing about large size toy kitchens with all the utensils, toy bikes, toddler-size dolls with beds and wardrobes... I start thinking how easier all these accessories would make my life and eliminate the need for my participation in most of my daughter`s games or at least the need to set them up. But we had all of those in the past and not necessarily she would get absorbed into playing with them on her own. She would always need a playmate and that role usually was granted onto me. I think at her current stage of development she needs to grow some friendships. As for the toys, they will never substitute human-to-human interaction (this is a remark applying to adults too ):). II. Another major factor to consider while traveling with a toddler is to plan ahead and develop the trip agenda in advance, taking into account the vicinity of children-friendly events and activities. E.G.: When I was planning a trip to Athens, Greece, I came with her completely unprepared, without performing any research about the above-mentioned. It turned out that Athens is not the most children-accommodating city - there are not so many playgrounds in the city, not so many parks, with the exception of National Gardens next to Syntagma Square. Also I did not consider the sweltering heat that envelops Athens in July. But anyway, one learns from one`s mistakes, does not one? ):

Софія і наші "жахливі" 2 рочки та 8 місяців!

Подорожуємо з Сонею вздовж і поперек Сонячної Еллади. Без татка цього разу. Думала-гадала, як же воно буде - наодинці з нашею тиранусею. Основний висновок, зроблений мною - зробила велику помилку, узявши зі собою важкий наш Бугабу візок - тут на афінських бруківках та вузеньких-превузеньких тротуарах мені з ним надзвичайно важко - та що там прибіднюватись - просто неможливо. Тому ми зробили крок назустріч дорослішанню і тепер усюди тільки за ручку. Деколи мені здається, що я ту ручку Софію відкручу, так я її міцно тримаю, коли вона пручається і намагається вирватись на волю, коли за пів-метра від нас інтенсивний рух на дорозі. На майданчиках не полегшало - Софія відбирає іграшки у всіх і вся, як і останні, уже не пам'ятаю скільки точно місяців, здається, вона вже відбирає ці іграшки цілу вічність. А якщо у неї щось відтягнуть, не приведи Господь, тут такі арії анархічні розпочинаються, що усі революціонери-крикуни відпочивають. Але мені хоть-би що, я собі сиджу і розводжу очима по сторонам, ніби дитина то не моя, а те, що вона аж надривається, ну то хай собі, хіба вона комусь заважає? Але кілька днів сталось позитивне зрушення у нашому процесі соціальної адаптації. Софія помітила іграшковий потяг, у якому можна було кілька хвиль ніби-то прокататись - швидше проколиватись з одного боку в інший. Я завжди розкошелююсь на таке задоволення і цього разу вже приготувала 50 центів, аж побачила, що там треба аж один (чи одне? біс його зна) Євро. І тут мене вже зашкребло - українська заощадливість узяла своє. Але тут звідкілясь виникла ще якась дружня на вигляд мамуня з донею, якій теж до несхочу кортіло на потяг. Софія уже посідала своє почесне місце і виглядало на те, що ні з ким вона цю мандрівку ділити не хотіла. Але мені вже дуже захтілось зекономити 50 центяків, от я й сказала матусі цій: а ну давайте, ми їх обидвох одразу, але одразу хочу застерегти, моя доня може агресивно досить... Матуся згідно похитала головою, я запхала Євро у дірочку і потяг рушив. Вона прудко посадила своє маля поряд з моїм - і о, диво, о небеса? Софія на це не зважала, навіть оком не зморгнула, а навпаки - широко посміхалась... Значить може, коли хоче. (: Отак поступово і почнемо вливатись у суспільство...

Most of our livelihood is in the storage... I feel light and restless... (:

Since I don`t have a lot of supremely important things here, in this rented apt in Morningside Heights. E.g.: I don`t my Persian Lamb Coat (which I hardly ever wear), our kid`s gate that used to create a protective zone around the table with many of our sharp and pointy possessions, neither do I have most of my daughter`s toys here - her recently purchased bike and scooter, her Retro Rocket Flyer, her Russian-speaking doll, you name it - we don`t have it ): So I had to summon all of receding imagination and come up with ideas on how to entertain my daughter in almost Spartan (according to the modern standards (:) conditions. The first effort was painting with Q-tips and washable paints earlier today. I looked it up on Instagram on another brave stay-at-home mom`s profile - so it wasn`t entirely my original idea. Sofia dabbled a bit with it and in the end with the lightning speed dipped her finger into the brown color trying to get it into her mouth. I intercepted this action and the painting session ended in some crying. Next, what can we try next? I would not say I`m desperate for ideas but after searching online and finding such tips as: Developing your child`s motor skills with needle and threads (totally unsafe and unsound as an advice I believe), I do need some ideas. What do we have here: my clothes, her clothes, some toy food, 3 children`s books, lots of breakable adult dishware, open fridge (the fridge lock does not work on it), an always accessible sink, 4 wooden light chairs that Sofia is capable and very fond of dragging around, 1 wooden table (seemed to be in almost new condition when we first came to this apt, which is a week ago), bathroom - off limits because it is freezing cold and why should it be of access in any case? Ah, and of course I forgot to mention the whole neighborhood near Columbia University that we have at our disposition for another 23 days or so. When the temperature gets over its current rebellious state (19 Degrees today), we are going to explore it in full! And planning to set up as many play dates as possible. Let the PD marathon begin! Will try to provide comments soon on how current situation progresses. P.S. The photo is from our previous 1-junior bedroom apt (basically a large studio in other words) where we had this so desirable now baby gate...

Sofia the scooter aficionado

Sofia just loves scooters - any kind of them - for adults, for children. Even though she doesn`t have her own yet, being a 21 monther I thought it would be a bit too early to add it to her substantial toy arsenal. But gradually I started realizing that I would have to do it soon because she gets simply too anxious and excited when seeing another scooter passing by. And she starts following it, even if we have to head in the opposite direction. Hence, the Amazon order has been made and now awaiting this peculiar piece of transportation hoping that it will satisfy Sofia`s passion. However, since it`s going to be HERS, there is a chance she`ll lose interest in it. We`ll see. (: