no man is an island.....

dear jo, dom, em, dylan, and nicky:

i drag today my sister hope to go with me to visit governor's island. ever since they open it to the public in 2008, i've been wanting to go there. finally today was the day. the weather was nice....no complains here.

we took the first trip to the island that leaves manhattan at 10 am. walked around for an hour and a half (the whole island) and took the ferry back to manhattan. we went straight to Soho (again dragging hope with me) and had a nice lunch....my treat of course. before heading back home, i asked hope to buy at least a dessert which she did oblige by buying a chocolate ice cream dipped in chocolate at a Mr. Softee truck near the subway.

anyway, i told hope that next time, we should come back here with all of you and rent a bike. have a picnic as well in one of their numerous picnic grounds.

** governor's island is located in the heart of new york harbor, just 800 yards from lower manhattan and even closer to brooklyn. the entire 92-acre national hsitoric district is open to the public for picnics, tours, car-free biking and more. (info from the brochure)



i like the tree lined street...reminds me of our old neighborhood in brooklyn


hope wants to have her picture taken with the castle williams as her background


a little bit of a history of castle williams


weired entrance for a castle...


view of lower manhattan from governor's island


need i say more what this is all about??


this house looks dilapidated but i like the old style


after walking for an hour, we decided to take a break.....they have this red chair scattered all over the place....me like it


another section of the island where most residents stayed


we finally found a house that was open to the public


like the colonial color and setting of the fireplace


just love the classic staircase....

let the summer season begin................

dear jo, dom, em, dylan, and nicky:

this weekend i feel like it was the official start of summer. yesterday (saturday) and today, i can literally feel the humidity. as soon as i get out of the house, i can sense that i'll be sweating anytime soon. not my cup of tea but what can i do, it's summer time.

anyway, just some random thoughts here. yesterday i was asked by someone (and a few colleagues) who hasn't seen me for a few months if i was on a diet because i look like i lost some weight. i said i was not on a diet but yes, i lost a few pounds. i guess going to the gym religiously is "working out" after all....now if i will just do the same thing of going to church.

anyway, i am not a gym freak if that's what your thinking. i only limit myself to the elliptical machine and treadmill. maybe someday i'll venture on the free weights but for now, i'm sticking to the machines. in regards to eating, i try to eat very healthy. less junk foods. it's working so far so hopefully i'll manage to do it for the whole year.


view from the kitchen window...granda gie's mini-garden