Red Hook Pool

A few Sundays ago, I and two other ladies took a daytrip to exotic Red Hook! It's not really that exotic but somehow it felt that way. We finally checked out the Red Hook public swimming pool, which I'd been interested in after hearing that "it has giant pyramids in the middle, and when you get near them a disembodied voice says, 'stay away from the pyramids! stay AWAY from the pyramids!!!'" I have to say I was a bit undewhelmed by these pyramids, they aren't really as big as the ones in Egypt. But after someone had the nerve to flout regulations and dive into the pool, the disembodied voice did come on immediately to say "there is no diving in the pool. NO! DIVING! in the POOL!!!" so that was fun. Luckily I'd asked someone about special instructions before going down there because there are several. No food allowed in the building, not even inside your bag. Nothing but you, your bathing suit, towel and flip-flops are allowed in the pool area. You must lock up your belongings with your own lock. And finally, just like in high school, you must wet yourself down in the shower before going near the pool. There aren't any chairs to sit on and there are children everywhere. Still, it was quite pleasant. Clean and not overly chlorinated. I think they clean it in the middle of the day, which is why one person reported being shooed out in the middle of the day when she went. The hours are 11 to 3 and 4 to 7, 7 days a week from June 25 to Labor Day. (Hurry up!)

Foodies are all abuzz about the taco trucks in Red Hook Park. They are still going strong, and I had a competent huarache (like an oblong sope with beans stuffed in the crust). I don't think I've ever had a great huarache, which makes me think I should just stop trying. But the real winner of the day was this lime sorbet we bought from a roving cart. Oh so fresh and refreshing! It was miles away from the shaved-ice and syrup guys. This guy has a cart and teenage helpers, with the sorbet in big metal canisters. But yes, it was homemade.

museum piece

Do you recognize this watering can? Yesterday I went to the Upper East Side municipal cooling center, otherwise known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, basically just to find some relief from the heat. I went into one exhibit, called "A Curator's Eye," honoring someone who'd just retired or something and showing the items he'd selected for the collection in recent years. When I saw this I knew immediately that it had come from the Ikea catalog, which is cool, I'm glad Ikea is being included in museum collections, it makes me feel better about owning so much of it. But I went into hysterical laughter when I read the caption: Vallo Watering Can, 2004. Promised gift of anonymous donor. Can't someone come up with the two dollars the Met would need to buy this thing outright? Hell, I would do it! And is the donor anonymous because it's so embarrassing to only promise he'll probably give it to them in the future, or because it's too cheap a gift, or what? And is the watering can used? It had better not have a scratch on it.
I'm sure there's some reasonable explanation for the status of this item, perhaps to do with storage fees, (surely not a tax break!) but I really can't figure out what it is.

another vacation

Sorry for the hiatus, I was visiting Ronnie Bostock and his parents in Colorado.

Their town is a bit hippie, I have to say. We went to a skateboard competition and look how the police officer was dressed!
But to be fair, they only dress like that when it's "Mountain Fair Weekend." It was just funny to see him with the little hat and shirt but still have a gun, handcuffs, and a nightstick on.

We went camping for one night (all I can really handle) at Fryingpan Lakes.

And after we set up camp it rained for three hours, which was pretty at first, and then just...elemental.