Life is good at the Third Street Commune.

Last night First Floor Neighbor dropped her two kids off in our apartment when she ran out for provisions at Met Food. "There’s a big snowstorm coming. I need to get basics: Annie’s Mac and Cheese, Gorilla Cereal, Organic milk," she said. "Dja need anything?" 

Granny Smiths and dishwasher detergent.

As soon as she left, Husband and I struggled with that age old question: what do we want for dinner? Son wanted burgers, Daughter didn’t know. Husband was too distracted to even think about it. And he’s the cook.

"Let’s order out from Grand Canyon," I said.
"Grand Canyon? I love Grand Canyon," First Floor Neighbor’s 5-year old son shouted from the other end of the apartment.
"Order me some waffles, please. I love their waffles," FFN 8-year-old daughter said.
"Waffles. Waffles," Daughter chanted.
"Franks and beans, please," FFN’s son said.

So I called Grand Canyon and spoke to the man who would make everything right.  When FFN returned with the green apples and soap,  I told her that we’d ordered from Grand Canyon, that underrated and oft-ignored coffee shop on Seventh Avenue next to Pino’s. She agreed that its the perfect dinner solution when everyone’s in the mood for something different, the cook is too distracted to cook, and a healthy dinner isn’t the number one priority.

"That’s great," she said. Except now
they know that Grand Canyon delivers. I’ll never hear the end of it," she said. "

I set the table for 6 trying to create some semblance of a civilized family (or commune) dinner. Before long, the doorbell rang and my husband went down to pay the deliveryman and bring the food upstairs. 

Son didn’t even bother to transfer his hamburger and fries out of its Styrofoam take-out container; he just put it on top of his plate. FFN’s son needed help combing his  frank with his  beans, which came in a coffee cup. The girls wanted their waffles cut into pieces and they enjoyed slathering it with syrup.

Husband and I shared a cheese burger. He plated it and served me a glass of wine; very civilized. FFN just wanted a pickle.

After the feeding frenzy, the girls took a one-hour bubble bath together, FFN’s son waited patiently for them to come out. FFN and I shared news of the day, the world, the neighborhood.

It really makes so much sense to be communal. Sure it helps that our kids are best friends and that we like each other a great deal. Life is overwhelming enough. The company, the collaboration, and the convivialitiy really makes things just a little bit easier.

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn’t in New York on December 8, 1980, the night John Lennon died.

At 10:15 p.m., the time he was murdered in front of the Dakota on West 72nd Street, I was asleep in a rooming house in London.

A high school friend, who was studying with a famous English opera teacher, invited me to stay with her for a few weeks at the Repton House in London’s Bloomsbury section, where she was also working as a chambermaid.

I was en-route to Israel set to spend a year on a kibbutz. My planned 2-week stay in London turned into more than a month for reasons I don’t now remember. Perhaps we were were just having too good a time exploring that city and being on our own in a foreign country.

Most of the guests at the Repton House were foreigners who, for one reason or another, were living in London for an extended period of time. The University of London was nearby and  there were quite a few graduate students in the mix. The other chambermaids were young Italian women from Naples, who were studying English in London.

We got friendly with these women who taught us how to curse in Italian. One of them, Rosaria, used to say: Porco Dio, which translates as Pork God.  She’d pronounce it dramatically as she railed against the Repton’s owner who was exploiting the chambermaids terribly.

During my stay at the Repton House, a catastrophic earthquake hit Naples, and we comforted Rosaria in the chambermaid’s kitchen as she cried, uncertain of the fate of her family. She finally spoke to her mother and learned that everyone was okay. She was holding the London Times, which had a photograph of elderly Italian women in black shawls mourning the earthquake dead on its cover.

We used to hang out in the chambermaid’s kitchen in the basement of the hotel, boiling water for tea, which we’d learned to add milk and sugar to. For dinner, we’d make fried eggs and toast slathered with plenty of butter and English jam.

Our room was on the top floor with a perfect view of the rooftops of Bloomsbury. Like an artist’s garret, it felt to me the perfect place to be an American abroad, keeping copious notes in my journal, writing letters home, discovering one of the great cities of the world.

On the night of December 8th there was late-night party at the rooming house. It may have been a party for me as I was leaving the next morning on a flight to Jerusalem. It was a raucous evening, running up and down the stairs, going in and out of each other’s rooms.

There must have been wine, food. Surely we played music and danced. I barely remember anymore what went on. But I do remember there was a wistful feeling in the air. I wasn’t ready to leave, to go off on my own to a part of the world I had never been.

We barely slept that night. The party went late and after it ended, we packed up my things and talked until the first light of dawn.

(Were we awake at the moment of his death? What were we doing? )

On the morning of December 9th, when we went down to the lobby, I noticed that the woman at the reception desk, a cheerful person who reminded me of Lulu, the British singer in "To Sir with Love," was crying. Her dark eye make-up was running; I wondered why she looked so uncharacteristically sad.

"John Lennon died. He was shot." she said. I thought I was hearing things.
"What did you say? " I said certain that I’d misunderstood.
"John Lennon is dead."

I don’t remember how I found out the rest. My friend and I took the Underground to Heathrow, where she waited with me to board the plane. A quiet day at the airport, everyone seemed unaffected by the news. Maybe it was too early. Little did we know of the crowds in Central Park, on West 72nd Street, in Hyde Park.

It was the most awful of good byes. Me flying off alone, my friend returning to a foreign city on her own. John Lennon had been murdered in Manhattan. What was happening to the world?

We discussed my staying longer. Everything seemed up in the air. But I decided to get
on the plane, to go forward with my plans despite the fact that nothing
was the same.

The flight to Jerusalem passed in an instant; a blur of absence and regret. I do remember some Hasidic men standing in the aisles praying. They were davening, moving their upper bodies up and down, while reciting words from tiny Hebrew prayer books. I remember thinking: Say a prayer for John.

My first days in Israel, I stayed with a group of counter-culture Americans who founded a Kibbutz near Jerusalem. They played Beatles records all day in their one-room houses and wanted to talk to me about what had happened, what it had been like in London, in New York. I was a witness from the outside world, but there wasn’t much I could say:

(I woke up in London. Got the terrible news from Lulu. Cried at the airport. Said good bye to a friend. And flew to Jerusalem in a mournful daze.)

Weeks later on another kibbutz, I got a letter from my cousin sadly detailing the
events of the days after John’s death in Manhattan. In her neat, all lower-case print, she conveyed her loss in words I still remember. "nothing
seems to matter. john’s dead. a piece of ourselves is gone." My sister
sent me a similarly sad note and clippings from the  Times and
the Voice about John, which I cherished.

In my no-frills room at the kibbutz, I read and re-read those articles my sister sent and  relived the details of that night.  If I couldn’t have been there, I still wanted to visualize it all: the taxi, the street, the hospital, his bloody eyeglasses. Yoko’s look of utter despair.

(John and Yoko had spent the early part of the evening of December 8th recording Yoko’s single, "Walking on Thin Ice." — "Starting Over: Lennon’s hit single from his new album, Double Fantasy, had been on the radio constantly in the chambermaid’s kitchen.)

I wanted, no needed, to know what 72nd Street looked like with those mournful crowds singing ‘Give Peace a Chance." I tried to imagine those moments of silence in Central Park when an entire city grieved together.

All those miles away, all these years away now, it is still so close — that terrible night. Those awful days after. All these years later it still hurts.

It really does.

 

 

Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_The Day John Lennon Died →

As Husband and I lunched at the Second Street Cafe, I overheard two women talking and figured out right away that one of them was the  woman whose house and family were featured in an article called: "When A House is Not Exactly a Home" in the Habitats column of the Sunday Time’s real estate section.

I spotted her three kids and handsome, hip-looking husband sitting a a table; I knew right away it was them having just seen their pictures in the New York Times.

She was telling her friend that she’d gotten a lot of e-mails since the article was printed; a few were quite nasty.

"Sorry to interupt but I recognize you," I said. "I really liked your story." She smiled and seemed to appreciate my saying that.

"I get some really unpleasant comments on my blog when people disagree with me," I told her,  adding that I write Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. "Oh you’re Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn," she said. I definitely appreciated that she knew the blog. "I’ve been called entitled, stereotypical, stupid, idiotic, and worse," I said.

Aside from the fact that the article evoked volcanic rivers of envy *in me for a limestone in Park Slope, a Litchfield County second home AND the ability to afford $7000 a month for anything, I thought she came across as extremely likable in the article and in the restaurant.

To me, the article was really about mid-life restlessness

Crazy, crazy me. I went to nearly every store on 7th and 5th Avenues from Flatbush to 16th Street that I thought might have interesting gifts. I selected at least one gift item per store that caught my eye. Sometimes I mention more. It was an interesting exercise: trying to zone in on the best and most unique gifts in every shop. In a few rare cases, it was difficult to find even one thing. Usually it was incredibly easy because there was so much good stuff to choose from.

EVERY DAY, I keep adding NEW stores. On Monday I did the 99 cent and discount stores above 11th Street on Fifth Avenue, which are pretty fun. I even went into Mandee and found quite a bounty of beaded and embroidered evening bags for under $12.00. On Seventh Avenue, I added Prospect Gardens Pharmacy on the corner of Union and 7th. Best of all, there’s a special list of indie rock CD’s by Henry Crawford for Music Matters on Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets.

I hope you have as much fun reading this highly subjective Brooklyn Holiday Gift Guide as I did schlepping from one end of Park Slope to the other. Support the singularity of our local shops: buy local, it’s more fun that way and good for the community.  Tomorrow: blog shopping.

7th AVENUE 7th AVENUE 7th AVENUE 7th….

SEVENTH AVENUE Lincoln to Berkeley

Slope Sports: Pearl iZumi hats for winter running in cool patterns.

Orange Blossom Kids: On Lincoln east of 7th Avenue. Mini ugly doll. Onesies that say "burp" and "I’m Not A Boy." Sterling silver bubble wands.

Stitch Therapy: On Lincoln east of 7th Avenue. Yarn kits for kids.

Frajean: Hair care products. African art from Kenya (under $40.00) Hat, glove, and scarf sets for ($21.00).

SEVENTH AVENUE Berkeley to Union

Peekaboo Kids: Kitano ultra soft hat and scarf sets in cool colors.

Kiwi: Shearling gloves in nice colors (pricey).

Leaf and Bean: Dr. Seuss and retro-style alarm clocks, European truffles, Nigella Lawson sugar and creamer.

Zuzu’s Petals: Berkeley west of Seventh Avenue. Motion Sensitive chirping bird.

Prospect Gardens Pharmacy" A veritible toy emporium right in the window.

SEVENTH AVENUE Union to President

Blue Apron (just east of 7th Avenue): Hanukkah themed marzipan shaped like challah bread, Torahs, menorahs, Hebrew letters and more ($8.95). To die for chocolates: Mademoiselle de Margaux dark chocolate ($10.95). Small blue bottle of rose flower water. High quality bottles of vanilla and anise. Altman and Kuhn Viennese chocolates in small gorgeous boxes. Pumpkin cheesecake caramels.

Newstand: Lottery ticket.

Facets:  Swiss Army pocket watches ($130.00), Swiss Army travel watches in compact case – can also sit on a table ($80.00), Swiss Army watches on a leather pant strap ($80.00).

Aersoles:  To come

SEVENTH AVENUE President to Carroll

Loom: Beaded elastic belts. Cavallini & Co. desk calendar illustrated with vintage postcards ($13.00). Sockerbageriet gingerbread candies in neat packaging. Vintage-style paint by numbers kits. 8 Days a Week calendar pages, 52 large pages. Monday thru Saturday and Another Day ($22.00). White ceramic cheese plate with color drawings of cheese on it.

Lisa Polansky: To Come.

Sound Track: Anthony and the Johnsons,
Walk the Line Soundtrack, Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltraine,
new Fiona Apple, Sinead O’Connor’s "Throw Down Your Arms," Tracy Chapman, "Where You Live." "Careless Love" by Madeleine Peyroux

SEVENTH AVENUE Carroll to Garfield

Jack Rabbit: Brooklyn Half-Marathon Training Program.

D’Vine Taste: Dried Fruits. Halvah. Fancy olive oils. Proustian Madeleine Cakes.

Community Bookstore:
"The Complete New Yorker,"  "A Field Guide to Getting Lost" by Rebecca
Solnit, "Veronica" by Mary Gaitskill, "Brooklyn Follies" by Paul
Auster,  "Brooklyn Is: Southeast of the Island, Travel Notes" by James
Agee.

Little Things: eeboo Bugs, Color, or Life on Earth Dominoes Game. Creativity For Kids: Feather Fru Fru kit. eeboo Candy Matching Game.

Back to the Land: Dr. Hanuschka, Avalon, Kiss My Face, California Baby, and other skin and hair care products.

Possibilities: White platter with illustration of a cat in black that says: "Everything tastes better with cat hair on it." Mousepad that says: What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?" Magnetic poetry kit: words to inspire the Haiku hidden in you. Stick to your fridge words, locker, or any steel surface (9.95), Magnetic Poetry is now making Poetry Beads: Over 75 two-side word beads to make necklaces, bracelets, and more. Comes with string and colorful plastic beads ($9.95).
 

SEVENTH AVENUE Garfield to 1st

Artesana: Mexican Ornaments. Black ceramic candelabras.

The Clay Pot: Hilary Druxman necklaces and earrings.

Treasure Chest: Pylones mod dog leash. Beautiful jewelry boxes. Hairbrushes will cool illustrations on them.

Lolli:
"Sharing is Overrated," "My Mom doesn’t do anything all day," My
parents call me "no," "Time Outs Don’t Phase Me" t-shirts from Wise
Guy.

Mr. Choi: Socks, yoga pants

SEVENTH AVENUE 2nd to 3rd Streets

Seventh Avenue Books: "Elements of Style" by E.B. White illustrated by Maira Kalmam, "The Brooklyn Bridge, A Cultural History," "Mao: The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang,

Park Slope Books: "A Notebook at Random" by Irving Penn, rare art books.

Good Footing: Ice skates with velcro closures.

Tarzian West: Creuset ceramic jar for utensils.

SEVENTH AVENUE 3rd to 4th Streets

Living on Seventh: Soft fleecy bathrobes in nice colors ($79.00).

City Casuals: Paisley shawls.

The Cocoa Bar: Tin of hot chocolate mix with a nicely wrapped package of homemade marshmallows in three flavors: mint, spicy, and plain.

SEVENTH AVENUE 4th to 5th Streets

Lumiere: plexi hands (for holding jewelry), plexi nudes for earrings.

SEVENTH AVENUE 7th to 8th Streets

Root Stock: Java Coffee fire log. Buddha statue ($64.00). Ceramic apples ($20.00) Veitver sachets.

SEVENTH AVENUE 8th to 9th Streets

Brooklyn Industries: Soft laptop sleeve in fun patterns

Park Slope Stationers: Claire Fontaine notebooks.

SEVENTH AVENUE 9th to 10th

Otto: "3 dots" polka dot cashmere sweaters (pricey). Bathing cap
bags. Nethermeade Perfume from Brooklyn Apothecary Sexy underwear

SEVENTH AVENUE 10th to 11th

4 Play:  To Come

Park Slope Sports: Brooklyn t’s and hoodies. Great scarf/hat for winter runners.

SEVENTH AVENUE 11th to 12th

Nest: Paper curtains

SEVENTH AVENUE 12th to 13th

El Milagro: Frida Kahlo earrings, necklaces, pins, bracelets, etc.

SEVENTH AVENUE 13th to 14th

Sweet Charity: Plastic bowls in hot colors. Nigella Lawson measuring cups

Neda: Striped Bakelite bracelets in window

Music Matters: Indie albums handpicked by Henry Crawford: "Funeral" by Arcade Fire. Album by "Ratatat" by Ratatat, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips."Moon and Antartica" by Modest Mouse. "Fevers and Mirrors" by Bright Eyes, "Santanic Panic in the Attic" by Of Montreal. "Kesby Nights" by Catch 22.  "Set Yourself on Fire" by Stars. "Everything Goes Numb" by Streetlight Manifesto. "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. "Feel Good Lost" by Broken Social Scene.

SEVENTH AVENUE 14th to 15th

Toy Space: Anatomically correct soft baby dolls ($10.00).

Baby Bird: Snoopy t-shirts for babies.

Bird: Shell & fabric scarves/belts ($42.00).

SEVENTH AVENUE 15th to 16th

Rare Device: Tiny birthday books. Letter press notecards. Fleece cell phone holders .

Greenjeans: Handcrafted toys.

5th Avenue 5th Avenue 5th Avenue 5th…..

FIFTH AVENUE Bergen to St. Marks

Lulu’s: Fairy Tales:All Natural, organic hair care products for children including de-tangler and leave-in conditioner. Fun wood animals and people on bungee cords. Extensive stock of bubble-blowing gear. Barettes and hair bands. Nostalgic Toys a go go.

FIFTH AVENUE St. Marks to Prospect lace

Buttercup’s Paw-tisserie:  Liver and cheese brownies for dogs and much more (it’s a bakery for dogs).

Umkarna: Handmade fertility dolls made out of rabbit fur by dollmaker Christian Fastrup (designs based on ancient African shape) in black, white and natural ($65.00). Cavallini & Co. file folders and Ex-Libris book plates with a picture of an old typewriter on them. Utterly beautiful black shawl from India with colorful appliques ($225.00).

Gorilla Coffee: Paint can covered in Gorilla Coffee graphics with 1 lb of Gorilla Coffee, Me Love Brooklyn mug, coasters and magnet ($30.00).

Tabeel Aromatherapy Gift Shop and Hair Locking Center: Microwavable teddy bears for muscle soreness, arthritis, backaches, sprains and headaches.

FIFTH AVENUE Prospect Place to Park Place

Flirt: Cuckoo clock cardigan clip ($19.00). Ozone brand knee-high and over-the-knee socks ($19.00). Yule log box, Lacquered hard candy rings, Lacquered cake decorations earrings ($29.00). Nano iPod case ($18.00). Plastic wallet with vintage ilustration that says: "Greetings from Park Slope Where the Girls Are." The Star of David Lemon Eucalyptus Kosher Soap ($5.00)

The Chocolate Room: Milk chocolate with white chocolate drizzle Dale and Thomas Popcorn ($4.95). Fabulous chocolates.

FIFTH AVENUE Douglas to Degraw

At Home: Fresh pumpkin scented sachet. Kafus small Japanese cast iron teapot. Beautiful Italian pottery in bold colors.

Wrappers Delight: Sweet Sentiments: Nicely wrapped dark and milk chocolate bars that say love, peace, smooch, mazel tov, or thanks  ($5.00). ncredibly artful Marabelle Chocolate squares in a box. Angie’s Caribbean style rum cake. Chukar Cherries: Chcolate covered dried, bing and rainer tart cherries.

FIFTH AVENUE Degraw to Sackett

Reverse: Tacky costume jewelry. Tensor lamp, misc.

FIFTH AVENUE St. Johns to Lincoln

Romp: Black t-shirt for toddlers that says: "Anti-Crib," "No Nap," "Bedtime Sucker," "Born to Destroy," "The  Wide Awakes," "Keep Your Diaper." Wonderful wooden toys from Germany, Antquarium: space age ant farm. Bilibo: a plastic rocking, spinning open-ended plastic toy. Eggling: crack this plastic egg and it grows herbs and plants inside. Mongolian hats with Asian fabric and fun fur, metal potholder loom

Body Essentials: Dr. Hanuschka skincare products and gift sets.

FIFTH AVENUE Lincoln to Berkeley

Organic Cafe: Bazzini fancy dried fruit assortment ($13.00). Reeds Crystallized Ginger, Tasmanian honey in a beautiful can. Wilkins and Sons Lemon Curd.

FIFTH AVENUE  Sackett to President

Cog and Pearl: Restored vintage phones by Art Thang in cool colors ($150.00). Holga Camera Kit ($75.00). Laura Gilkey handmade felt bags. Viewmaster with homemade views by Vladmaster: Franz Kafka and Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino ($27.00). Blown glass beehive vase ($170.00). "Love Letters Lost" a collection of found love letters by Babbette Hines. "Lost and Found Pet Posters from Around the World." Tiny racehorse earrings, squirrel and acorn earrings ($70.).

FIFTH AVENUE Berkeley to  Union

Extraordinary: Frank Lloyd Wright business card cases ($32.00). Kama Sutra Game. Silver plated yo yo ($20.00)

FIFTH AVENUE Union to Carroll Streets.

Something Else: Wonder Woman hoodie ($55.00). "Kiss me I’m 1/2 Ubekistani" t-shirt, Adidas scarves.

Bob & Judi’s Coolectibles: Handmade in Brooklyn: Mah Jong tile Hanukkah menorahs ($42.00)  Vintage Brooklyn news
photos ($10.00), Tiny Betty Boo tea set. Vintage plastic charm
bracelets ($10.00). Pool balls ($5.00). Vintage 1940’s Santa wrapping
paper ($3.00 per sheet).

Goldy and Mac: Leopard print rubber rain boots ($92.00). Black velvet and fun fur ear muffs ($32.00)

Beacon’s Closet:
Neckerchiefs ($6.00). Polka dot shoelaces($2.50). Chinese notebooks with socialist realist covers
($4.50). Clown and owl nesting dolls ($12.50). plastic rose rings
($6.00). Crochet earrings ($10.00)

FIFTH AVENUE President  to Garfield Streets.

Matter: "I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you," rubber stamp ($45.00). The Design Encyclopedia (from MOMA). Pixel Blocks Building System, old fashioned phone receiver that attaches to a cell
phone ($70.00). Jack Spade bags and wallets. Abart watches.

Scaredy Kat: Reissued Golden Books:
"Doctor Dan and the Band aids," and "The Monster at the End of this Book
Starring Lovable Furry Old Grover." Devil Girl Hot Kisses Hot Cinnamon
Candy in tins designed by R. Crumb. "Smart Women Never Miss" Fly
swatters. Barbie Hanukkah gelt. Dim Sum and Sushi Flashcards.

Diana Kane: PF Flyers leather sneakers in great colors (brown, tan, green, maroon) high top and low ($65 – $80)

Eidolan: Soft hand-knit neck warmer ($25.00). Arianne camisoles, night gowns and
pajamas in an unbelievably soft new micro fiber fabric ($48.00).

Nancy Nancy:
Great Revolutionaries finger puppets. Tins of: Placebo Mint 2 Cure All. "Who’d of
thought you’d turn out to be the gay one in the family" spiral notebook.

Hers and Mine: Chinese red lacquered magnifying glass ($26.00)

FIFTH AVENUE Garfield to 1st Streets.

Kimera: Black wool cardigan with fur collar ($110.00).

3R Living:
Sweep
Dreams’ fireplace broom. Meyer’s Clean Day cleaning products. Meyer’s
Clean Day dog shampoo.Boat wood frames and trays. Newspaper vases. Paint Your Own Wooden Ornaments Kit. Oriental carpet patterned plastic
mats. Bicycle chain bracelets. Rings made out of beer and soda cans.

Lucia: Hand-knit indoor/outdoor slippers with rubber soles ($32.00). Sequined clutch bags ($32.00). Slouchy sock boots ($68.00).

La Rosa Dance Supply: Rainbow toe socks ($3.50).

FIFTH AVENUE 1st to Second Streets

Jonathan Blum: Paintings by Brooklyn’s hometown artist.

FIFTH AVENUE Second to Third Streets

Zelda Victoria: To come.

FIFTH AVENUE 3rd to 4th Streets

Living on Fifth : Honeysuckle candle in a glass, striped wool scarves. Nice shirts.
Razor: Men’s old fashioned wool caps
Serene Rose: Hand-dyed, boiled wool scarves in unusual shapes and colors ($69.00)

FIFTH AVENUE 4th to 5th Streets

Pink Pussycat: Kinky hosiery

Under the Pig Antiques: Phrenology head, vintage Christmas ornaments and decorations.

FIFTH AVENUE 6th to 7th Streets

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co: Secret Identity kits, Great clocks, capes. McSweeneys’ books, zany superhero stuff, great stocking stuffers.

Zuzu’s Petals: Blown glass bear ornaments, set of 12 ($40.00). Boxed set of four colorful bowls ($30.00), Glitter pine cones: ($1.50)

FIFTH AVENUE 7th to 8th Streets

Office Equipment and Furniture: Great coat racks ($40.00)

Save on
Fifth: Paint by Number sets. Matchbox Carwash. Minnie Mouse watches
(6.99). Mod patterned mops and brooms ($9.99). Decorations a go go.

FIFTH AVENUE 8th to 9th Streets

Galaxy Comics: Family Guy figurines.Corpse Bride figurines. X-Men
Christmas ornaments. Richard Nixon and other presidential dolls. Charlie Brown and many other character bobble heads.

Record and Tape Shots: Huge collection of LPs.

Tip Top Gifts: Commando sweaters with elbow and shoulder patches. Pea coats. Flame wallets. Everlast boxing clubs in red. Punching bags. Timex watches with night light.

FIFTH AVENUE 10th to 11th Streets

Payless Shoe Source: Hello Kitty slippers. Furry bags. Colorful embroidered slippers that look Indian Blingy evening bags

Jeans Express: Big t-shirt nightgowns with rapper expressions on them about money. PJ bottoms in fun patterns and colors ($3.99)

FIFTH AVENUE 11th to 12th Streets

Beauty and Hair Supply Shop:  Bandanna fabric by the yard in many colors.

FIFTH AVENUE 12th to 13th Streets

Mandee:  Small embroidered and/or beaded evening bags $7.99 – $11.99.

Jeans Stop: Official street greeting cards with fun homeboy illustrations that say: "I can’t knock your hustle you broke my heart," "No one else I’d roll wit," "I can’t knock your hustle, you broke my heart," "Let’s light it up. I meant the cake, you fools," "Ain’t no shorty like the one I got."

FIFTH AVENUE 13th to 14th Streets

Tower Electronics: Spider Man, Disney Princesses, and Spongebob small-size metal folding tables and chairs. Jack Jack (from The Incredibles) doll. Disney princesses night lights. 

H&A Jewelry: Silver and gold lockets.

Amazing 99 cents Store: Christmas ornaments.

Sister, Ducky (her 15-month old baby), and I were in The Cocoa Bar, our new favorite place to sit and sip latte. We were sitting in the window seat, a good place for watching the people walk by on Seventh Avenue.

Ducky had a dirty diaper. Sister knew that the public bathroom was out-of-order so she started to change her on the seat, with her trusty diaper pad. Knowing this was a dicey thing to do, in a cafe and all, I stood in front of her so no one would have to see what she was doing.

"Make sure you have everything you need," I said in an attempt to make it a speedy operation. She got out the diaper, the wipes, a plastic bag for the dirty diaper.

Everything she needed.

I stood in front of Sister trying to hide the baby from view. Ducky wasn’t real happy about being changed in public and she twisted and cried a bit. But it all went very quickly and cleanly.  The whole operation took less than two minutes.

Afterwards, Ducky went back to sitting in the stroller, sucking on a rattle. My sister packed up the dirty diaper and I took it out to the garbage pail on the corner of Third Street and Seventh Avenue. Sister went into the out-of-order bathroom and washed her hands. Then I went in there. We were sipping our lattes when one of the cafe barista’s came over to us.

"I know you had to do it. But we can’t allow you to do that here," the barista said.

"Sorry," Sister said.

"We did it here because the bathroom was out of order," I chimed in aware that I might sound defensive.

"I know. But for future reference. You can’t do it here. It’s against the law," the barista said.

"I’m really sorry," Sister said looking really embarrassed.

"Thanks for telling us," I said.

"Okay," she said and walked back to the coffee bar.

All in all, it was a very civilized exchange. I could tell that Sister felt funny about the whole thing. I knew it wasn’t the best idea in the world to do it in the first place. Who likes to see a baby being diapered in a restaurant? Actually it’s pretty damn gross. But what were we to do?

"Did you ever imagine that you’d be diapering a baby in a cafe," I said to my Sister.

"Nope," she said.

Sister became a mom just over three months ago after longing for a baby for years and years. Pre-baby, she would sometimes get annoyed by the child-centered parents of  Park Slope. The stroller grid-lock. The kids running wild in restaurants. The public breast feeding (Sister says she didn’t mind this: it was just that everyone had babies and she didn’t.) The parents gloating over their so-called adorable children. 

It was hard enough
not having her own child. And worse to be surrounded by so many people with children. But then it happened, Ducky arrived and everything changed.

Three months into motherhood, Sister is already becoming one of those child-absorbed Park Slope parents. And we’re all thrilled.

Diapering a baby in a cafe. Imagine.

Even though we both knew it was a terrible thing to do. Terrible. I must admit, it was kinda cool being reprimanded by the barista after Sister diapered  Ducky.

BECAUSE she was diapering Ducky, her baby, her very own little girl.

We co-exist quite easily with the people who live above us. In fact, we like
them very, much although we never socialize and rarely borrow sugar,
eggs, or milk.

It’s a friendship with healthy boundaries.

We converse on Seventh Avenue, in the stairwell, the
vestibule, in the lobby at PS 321. But we’ve never invited
them over for dinner, or a cocktail. (We really should.)

But we’re pretty close already, sort of. 

It’s not like we know the intimate details of each other’s lives
because we don’t. Yet,  we’re "close" in that New York City neighbor sort of
way: we can hear the pitter patter and loud THUMPING of their children’s feet. The baby’s
crying. The murmur of voices. But we NEVER hear exactly what they are saying. Nor do we want to.
.
I know when they have dinner parties, when their kids have play dates (it gets really noisy then), how well one of them plays guitar. That sort of thing.

I am also aware of their comings and goings. I guess that’s pretty
intimate. I know that HE wakes up around 5 a.m. and goes downstairs to
get his New York Times off the stoop.

Years ago, pre-kids, SHE went running in the Park every morning.
I admired her as I continued to sleep in my warm winter bed.

Pre-kids ,they used to vacuum their apartment on Sunday mornings and we’d listen to it roar.

It’s actually kind of a one-sided relationship. We hear their noise but they don’t hear ours
(the people below us get that in spades). THe people above us are on the top-floor, so they don’t have to listen to  the comings and
goings of anyone (except maybe the occasional pigeon).

Fact: This apartment building is
minimally insulated between floors. Running, thumping, banging,
falling: the sound of two active children running up and down a hallway
is a bit like a roller derby.

Strangely, it doesn’t bother me that much. I know SHE worries about her kids being noisy. SHE told me that
once and I said something like: "What are you going to do? It’s just the way it is in this building. Please don’t think about it." And I meant it.

Because in a way, our upstairs neighbors are like family. A family in that "we live in the same building" kind of way.

Once, in the middle of the night, they got a phone call which was
unusual. I got worried: ‘I hope everything is alright,’ I said to
Husband while trying to fall back to sleep. The next day, I asked if
everything was okay. He seemed a little startled (maybe I did push a
boundary?) but it was some kind of family
health emergency.

About a year ago, we heard them get up in the middle of the
night someone ran down the hallway. But we didn’t think much of it. I
figured they had a kid throwing up or something.

Turned out that a wall of kitchen cabinets fell off the kitchen wall.
We didn’t hear THAT because it was in the front of the
apartment and the bedrooms are in the back.

They lost almost all of their china, bowls, glasses, and other breakable kitchen supplies.
It was a horrible mess. The next day, we went upstairs to commiserate, observe the wreckage, and listen to the tale.

These thought came to mind because this morning HE was playing blues guitar. He’s really talented and I love to catch a little bit of his music — even if it is very muffled. I know he sings, but I can just barely hear
it. Sometimes I am tempted to take one of my guitars upstairs and jam
along.

But that would REALLY be crossing boundaries.

HE plays guitar really well. He told that he was in a  a rock and roll musician when he was in his twenties, a roots rock band. I can and
can’t imagine it. Now, he’s got an important job and wears a suit and tie every
day.

But he used to play in a rock ‘n roll band. And he’s still really, really good.

Nice story on WNYC Saturday morning about the water polo team at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. I reproduce it here, but urge you to check out WNYC’s website. Better yet, listen to WNYC (AM 820).

REPORTER: The USC water polo team generally practices and competes in an Olympic-size pool in the open California air. But this is not southern California. This is a 25-yard-by-40-foot pool in the basement of St. Francis College. The school has 24-hundred students, most of them commuters and many of them the first in their family to go to college. The pool here in Brooklyn Heights is so small, that during water polo season, it is filled almost to overflowing, so that players are forced to swim in the shallow end, rather than stand. But even with modest facilities and without widespread prestige, St. Francis has become a magnet for water polo players from around the world. Carl Quigley has coached the team since graduating here 30 years ago.

QUIGLEY: Kids go home over the summer, and their friends ask them,

Everybody loves Saturday in Brooklyn. And this one’s a busy one. Here’s some stuff you WON’T want to miss this  SATURDAY DECEMBER 3rd:

DESIGN COLLECTIVE GIFT FAIR at the OLD STONE HOUSE: In JJ Byrne Park on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. Over 20 local designers will be selling their clothing, jewelry, bags, obects d’art, skincare products, paintings,  and MORE. Organized by Fofolle designer Kathy Malone.

FIRST NIGHT AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM: Warm up your winter with sizzling Latin music, dance, and film. Discover Brooklyn

My Warholian 15-minutes of fame have been going on for nearly an hour. Well, they started when I got an  e-mail from a friend around 8:00 this morning.

It

For weeks I’ve been smelling a skunk. A dead one. It seemed pretty unlikely: there aren’t too many skunks in Brooklyn as far as I know. Especially dead ones.

But still. I kept smelling skunk.

At first, I though it was my boots. I actually took them off and sniffed. They didn’t smell that great. But they didn’t smelll like a skunk.

Then I smelled my nylon knee-highs. Same thing. Not the most fragrant things in the world But no dead skunk.

The smell seemed to follow me around. I smelled it in my bedroom. On the street. In my office. The kitchen. I could be anywhere and I’d smell dead skunk.

In my office, the smell was especially bad. On a few occassions, I emptied out the garbage pail thinking that maybe there was something rotten in there. Then I looked under the couch, behind my desk, the bookcase, and underneath my office mate’s desk, too.

I wondered if, perhaps, there was a dead animal: mouse, or even a rat. But it didn’t really smell like a dead rodent. It smelled like a skunk. A dead one.

When my office mate came in the other day I finally told her about the skunk smell. "Maybe it’s me," she said. But I assured her that I’d been smelling it even when she wasn’t around. She seemed relieved.

Yesterday, I started smelling the dead skunk again. I was in my office and frankly feeling pretty fed up about the whole thing.

So when my office mate came in, we spent a good deal of time sniffing around the room. She looked inside one of my desk drawers, which is an embarassing mess.

"You don’t want to look in there," I said.

"Maybe I do," she said mischeviously.

"Do you smell it in there?" I said excitedly."

"No," she said shutting the drawer.

Then my office mate had a theory: "Maybe it’s the desk chair. Over a month  ago we switched chairs, remember? " she said. "And that’s about when you said you started smelling it, right? " she was being quite the junior detective.

"Yeah, you’re right." I said as I raced to put my nose on the seat of her black office chair:  "It smells like me. It doesn’t smell like a skunk. It smells like me."

We left it at that. I had to get home and she had other things to concentrate on other than searching for the source of the dead skunk smell.

Tonight, watching the video of "Yours, Mine, and Ours," the original with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, I smelled the skunk again. I was sitting inthe living room, typing on a Dell laptop computer.

"Maybe it’s the computer," I said to myself feeling weary of the whole situation. And then it happened. I suddenly knew where the smell was coming from.

"It’s my watch," I said out loud to the family. "ssssh, we’re watching the movie," Daughter said.

No-one seemed to care very much that I’d discovered the source of the skunk smeel. But I was thrilled.  My new digital watch with the wide striped band I bought at a shop on Spring Street off Lafayette called Pylones for $10.00. The plastic on the watch smells like a dead skunk. I took off the watch and took a long, deep breath.

Yup. Pure, unadulterated skunk.

I got the watch about a month ago, maybe a little more. I wear it every so often. That’s why the smell comes and goes. I only smell it on the days when I wear the watch.

Mystery solved. Now, what do I do with my groovy new $10.00 watch? I really like it but I can’t wear it.

Unless I want to smell dead skunk all the time.

We’ve decided to stay in Brooklyn for the holidays. Well, it was my idea. I told Husband I need to be here instead of on the farm, the walnut farm, in Northern California.

It took days to get up the nerve. I knew Husband wouldn’t take it well. He looks forward to our visits to the family farm he grew up on. Our twice-yearly trips make him feel grounded; they connect him to his past. They’re also a much-needed chance to spend time with his mother, his siblings, their children, and other members of his family.

For as long as we’ve been together, we’ve spent the holidays out there. That’s a lot of years and a lot of Chirstmases with my husband’s family. I don’t even know what the holidays are like in New York with my family anymore.

I must say, Christmas in California is pretty special: a real goyisha treat for a Jewish girl from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. There’s a tall Christmas tree festooned with family heirloom ornaments. The house, fragrant with mulled cider and eucaplytus branches, is decorated with colorful Mexican folkart Mexican nativity creches. There are hot cinnamon buns on Christmas morning.

Best of all, my kids get to spend days on the farm with their cousins in a
kind of free-form indoor/outdoor existence that’s so unlike life in Park Slope. Climbing a fig tree, taking walks in a walnut orchard,
lighting sparklers in the backyard, it’s all part of the Christmas they know.

So I finally blurted it out one night before dinner in the kitchen.  "I don’t think I can go to California this Christmas."

There was a stunned silence.

I offered up my reasons like non-sequiters: My work. Son’s New year’s Eve gig at the Liberty Heights Tap Room. Our new neice Ducky.

Husband immediately looked disappointed but he seemed to understand. "Well, I guess that means I’ll be going to California with Daughter and Son."  he said.

Son, who was standing by the sink, cleared his throat, "Um, Dad, if you don’t mind I think I want to stay in New York with mom," To which my husband replied:

"Well, I guess it’ll just be me and Daughter."

"I’m not going without mom," she shouted from the dining room where she was working on her homework.

"Well, I guess I’m going alone," Husband said sadly. "I’m sorry, Dad," Son said, giving his dad a big hug.

By morning Husband had decided that he was going to spend Christmas in Brooklyn with us.

"I don’t want to go without my family."

So it was decided that we will spend the holidays in Brooklyn. Together.  We’ll have to figure out what to do here: reinvent our holiday ritual as we rediscover New York at Christmastime.

Ice skating in Prospect Park, Christmas decorations in Dyker Heights, fireworks on New Years Eve at Grand Army Plaza, after the show at the Liberty Heights Tap Room…

It just might be fun to do something a little different.

On Tuesday night, my daughter and I walked from 3rd Street to Union Street to check out the shops. There was a lot to see and all the store owners were really friendly. Especially after I told them I was doing an on-line gift guide.

Many pointed out what they consider their best gifts. The woman at Scaredy Cat showed me her stock of re-issued Golden books which, she said, evoked a kind of sense memory in her because she read them as a child.

Judi at Bob and Judi’s Coolectibles told me that the Mah Jong menorahs she sells are made by an 80-year old man who lives in Kensington. "He gets the tiles in Florida and makes them up here," she said. "He’s been bringing those to us for years."

At 3R Living, the shop girl was more than happy to show me all kinds of cool things in the shop including the oriental rug patterned plastic floor mats in various sizes that may just be my gift to myself.

One of the owners of Eidolan suggested the hand knit neck warmers that come in lovely colors. She also showed me "a new groovy micro fiber" used in some of the Arianne camisoles, pajamas and nightgowns they sell there.

The owner of  Nancy Nancy says that he is now carrying more political stuff. "Check out our  anti-Bush section and our religious (we call it our sacrilegious) section over there." He apologized for how much stuff was in the store. "But we’re stocking up for Christmas. We have to." he said.

Fifth Avenue Union to Carroll Streets.

Something Else: Wonder Woman hoodie ($55.00), "Kiss me I’m 1/2 Ubekistani" t-shirt, Adidas scarves.

Bob & Judi’s Coolectibles: handmade in Brooklyn Mah Jong tile menorahs, vintage Brooklyn news photos ($10.00), tiny Betty Boo tea set, vintage plastic charm braclets ($10.00). pool balls ($5.00), vintage 1940’s Santa wrapping paper ($3.00 per sheet)

Goldy and Mac: Leopard print rubber boots ($92.00), black velvet and fur ear muffs ($32.00)

Beacon’s CLoset: Neckerchiefs ($6.00), polka dot shoelaces($2.50), Chinese notebooks ($4.50), Clown and owl nesting dolls ($12.50), plastic rose rings ($6.00), crochet earrings ($10.00)

Fifth Avenue President  to Garfield Streets.

Matter: The Design Encyclopedia from MOMA, pixel blocks building system, old fashioned phone receiver that attaches to a cell phone ($70.00)

Scaredy Cat: Reissued Golden Books: "Doctor Dan and the Bandaids," and "The Monster at the End of this Book Starring Lovable Furry Old Grover," Devil Girl Hot Kisses Hot Cinamon Candy in a tin designed by R. Crumb, "Smart Women Never Miss" fly swatter, Barbie Hanukkah gelt. Dim Sum and Sushi Flashcards.

Diana Kane: PF Flyers leather sneakers high top and low ($65 – $80)

Eidolan: Soft hand knit neck warmer ($25.00), Arianne camisoles and night gown and pajamas made of an unbelievably soft micro fiber ($48.00).

Nancy Nancy: Great Revolutionaries finger puppets, tins of Placebo Mint 2 Cure All, "Who’d of thought you’d turn out to be the gay one in the family" spiral notebooks.

Hers and Mine: Chinese red laquered magnifying glass ($26.00)

Fifth Avenue Garfield to 1st Streets.

Kimera: Black wool cardigan with wool collar ($110.00)

3R Living:Sweep Dreams child-size broom, Meyer’s Clean Day cleaning products, Meyer’s Clean Day dog shampoo, boat wood frams and trays, newspaper vases, paint your own ornamnent, necklaces and jewelry made out of wooden rulers.

Lucia: Handknit indoor/outdoor slippers with rubber soles ($32.00), sequined clutch bags ($32.00), slouchy sock boots ($68.00).

La Rosa Dance Supply: Rainbow toe socks ($3.50)

Fifth Avenue 1st to Second Streets

Jonanath Blum: Wonderful paintings of dogs, bridges, dancing Jews and others by Fifth Avenue’s hometown artist.

Fifth Avenue Second to Third Streets

Zelda Victoria: To come.

FOR THE COMPLETE "OTBKB BROOKLYN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE" go to today’s scoop du jour.

Walking back from my therapy appointment on 11th Street, I got to stop in all my favorite shops on Fifth Avenue to see what they had to offer in the way of holiday gifts. What a bounty!

As you’ll see, Fifth Avenue between 10th and Union Street has it all. From the Pink Pussycat to Tip Top Gifts, it’s a holiday wonderland.

GIFTS ON FIFTH AVENUE

FIFTH AVENUE 3rd to 4th Streets

Living on Seventh:
Razor: Men’s old fashioned wool caps
Serene Rose: Hand dyed, boiled wool scarves in unusual shapes ($69.00)

FIFTH AVENUE 4th to 5th Streets

Pink Pussycat: Kinky hosiery
Under the Pig: Phrenology head

FIFTH AVENUE 6th to 7th Streets

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co: Great clocks, capes, McSweeneys’ books, zany superhero stuff, great stocking stuffers.

Zuzu’s: Blown glass bear oranments, set of 12 ($40.00). Boxed set of four colorful bowls ($30.00), Glitter pine cones: ($1.50)

FIFTH AVENUE 7th to 8th Streets

Office Equipment and Furniture: Great coat racks ($40.00)
Save on
Fifth: Paint by Number sets, Matchbox Carwash, Minnie Mouse watches
(6.99), mod patterned mops and brooms ($9.99), decorations a go go.

FIFTH AVENUE 8th to 9th Streets

Galaxy Comics: Family Guy figurines, Corpse Bride figurines, X-Men
Christmas ornaments, Richard Nixon doll, Charlie Brown bobble heads.

Tip Top Gifts: Commando sweaters with elbow and shoulder patches,
pea coats, flame wallets, Everlast boxing clubs in red, punching bag,
Timex watches

FIFTH AVENUE 10th to 11th Streets

Payless Shoe Source: Hello Kitty slippers, furry bags, colorful embroidered slippers that look Indian, blingy evening bags

Next: Fifth Avenue Union to 3rd Streets….

FOR THE COMPLETE "OTBKB BROOKLYN HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE" go to today’s scoop du jou

NIGHT AND DAY
230 FIFTH AVENUE (AT PRESIDENT)
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN NY 11215
718-399-2161

PERFORMANCES DECEMBER 2005

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4

6PM SEX SCENES
Erotic Stories by Polly Frost & Ray Sawhill
Read by: Jake Thomas, Karen Grenke, Lyndsay Becker, Jason Jacobs, Mason Pettit, Tami Mansfield & Sarah Kozinn

MONDAY DECEMBER 5

6PM ARTISTS SALON–all welcome

TUESDAY DECEMBER 6

7PM Kevin Ray

My sister, Ducky, and I walked from 3rd Street to 15th Street on Sunday shopping for a birthday present for our stepmother. On the way, we stopped into all our favorite  stores to see what they had in stock for the gift giving season.

One of the things I like best about shopping in the neighborhood is the chance to converse with the shopkeepers.

Today I learned that the owner of Otto is now featuring her own label of clothing and bags. Sweet Charity gives a small portion of their profits to animal rescue organizations in upstate New York and Utah, and Root Stock has logs that smell like coffee.

The complete Broklyn Gift Shopping list is on Scoop du Jour (below).

GIFTS ON Seventh Avenue

3rd to 4th Streets

Living on Seventh: Soft fleecy bathrobes in nice colors
City Casuals: Paisley shawls

4th to 5th Streets

Lumiere: plexi hands (good for holding jewelry), plexi nudes for earrings.

7th to 8th Streets

Root Stock: Java Coffee fire log (yup), Buddha statue, ceramic apples, Veitver sachets.

8th to 9th Streets

Brooklyn Industries: Soft laptop sleeve in fun patterns
Park Slope Stationers: Claire Fontaine notebooks.

9th to 10th

Otto: "3 dots" polka dot cashmere sweaters (pricey), bathing cap bags, Nethermeade Perfume from Brooklyn Apothocary, sexy underwear

11th to 12th

Nest: Paper curtains

13th to 14th

Sweet Charity: plastic bowls in hot colors, Nigella Lawson measuring cups
Shop next door: Striped Bakelite braclets in window

14th to 15th

Toy Space: anatomically correct soft baby dolls
Baby Bird: Snoopy t-shirts for babies
Bird: Shell & fabric scarves/belts

15th to 16th

Rare Device: Hand printed notecards, fleece cell phone holders, tiny birthday books.

 

Lucky for us, we in Park Slope don’t have to go to malls to purchase Christmas/Hanukah gifts for friends and family.

Instead of the stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere of a mall with its national brand uniformity and commercialism, we can WALK from one end of the Slope to another and support our favorite local merchants.

On my ramblings from 3rd Street to Lincoln Place on Seventh Avenue. I selected one item per store that tickled my fancy. Coming soon: Fifth Avenue, South Slope, and more.

Please send any great gifts you’ve seen in our local shops to louisecrawford@gmail.com

GIFTS ON 7th Avenue:

3rd to 2nd Streets

–Seventh Avenue Books: "Elements of Style" by E.B. White illustrated by Maira Kalmam
–Park Slope Books:A rare photography book
—Good Footing: Ice skates with velcro closures
—Tarzian West: Creuset ceramic jar for utensils

1st to Garfield

—Artesana: Mexican Ornaments, black ceramic candleabras
—The Clay Pot: Hilary Druxman necklaces or earrings
—Treasure Chest: Pylones mod dog leash
—Lolli: Colorful terri cloth bibs
—Mr. Choi: Socks, yoga pants

Garfield to Carroll

—Jack Rabbit: Brooklyn Half-Marathon Training Program
—D’Vine Taste: Dried Fruits, Halvah
—Community Bookstore: "The Complete New Yorker,"  "A Field Guide to Getting Lost" by Rebecca Solnit, "Veronica" by Mary Gaitskill, "Brooklyn Follies" by Paul Auster
—Little Things: Candy Dominoes Game

Carroll to President

—Loom: Beaded elastic belts, Cavallini & Co. desk calendar illustrated with vintage postcards.
—Sound Track: Anthony and the Johnsons, Walk the Line Soundtrack, Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltraine,

Union to Berkeley

—Peekaboo Kids: Ultra soft hat and scarf sets in cool colors
—Kiwi: Cashmere gloves
—Zuzu’s Petals: Motion Sensitive chirping bird

Berkeley to Lincoln

—Slope Sports: Pearl iZumi hats for winter running in cool patterns
—Orange Blossom Kids: Mini ugly doll
—Stitch Therapy: Yarn kits for kids