Lemonade in Prospect Heights

It's been a semi-eventful past few days. What does semi-eventful mean? Basically it's been busy, but would have been busier and more exciting had I not caught a cold.

I ventured eastward on Tuesday night, and spent several days at home with my parents. We went to a Nats-Red Sox game, I saw some friends, I worked on an editing assignment, I made a buttercup bag (pics soon), and I repacked my bags for NY. On Friday I woke up with a sore throat, and the germs invaded my ears and nose from there. For the first time in years, I managed to avoid catching a sinus infection/cold during the winter, only to get infected in the summer. Hmph.

In any event, my mom and I took the Vamoose bus to NY, and then spent some time walking around Greenwich Village -- just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the parade in its honor. It was fun watching couples take pictures in front of displayed memorabilia and the (new) inn. Alas, about 10 minutes later we got caught (and wet) in a rain storm. I still wasn't feeling well, so after some Vietnamese food, we headed to our hotel and called it a night. I was a pretty boring person, I must confess, but a stuffy nose, inability to hear much, and a sore throat will do that to you.

This morning I moved into my summer sublet in Brooklyn, on the border of Park Slope and Prospect Heights. I'm renting a room in the garden apartment of a brownstone, and so far it's lovely. The grandchildren of the woman I'm living with live upstairs, and they spent the late afternoon selling lemonade on the sidewalk alongside a small stoop sale. They did well for themselves, earning $21 even as they gave multiple cups away for free (including to family, close neighbors, and yours truly).

The oldest boy, 12, is quite a businessman and kept asking his dad why he had priced a table the same as a lamp given that a table is so much bigger. The youngest boy, 6, wanted to give the lemonade away because "even though we'll lose money, we'll make more friends." In the picture above, the car wheel on the right comes from a car that the boys lured over for 2 cups of $.25 lemonade. The driver ended up purchasing several other items as well. Madame, an 86-year-old neighbor who was born somewhere in Europe and grew up in Lebanon as the daughter of the doctor to King Fuad of Egypt, stopped by as well.

In any event, I'm starting to feel better, which is good since my summer class begins tomorrow morning. I'm trying to figure out if the Park Slope Coop has reciprocity with my midwest coop, but the answer will have to wait until I can talk to their membership people since their manual was mum on the issue. As always, any New York (or other!) recommendations are welcome.