Bodegas

I don't know a good literal translation for this word, but it is tiny little shops run by one person (typically a very old person) which carries a little bit of everything food-wise, but not really everything as the shop may only be 10 feet by 5 feet. May be just one of lots of very specific food stuff.

We have a bodega in our life that I love. I think the old guy that runs it is Cuban. He speaks Spanish and loves my boys and I. They carry all the little food items I know from my childhood - the pastry to make pastillos (the fired version of an empanadas which we stuff with cheese, meat or guava jelly), Turron (hard nougat candy with nuts), all the canned Goya products, and plantains (green bananas to make tostones). I go in and find something new on the shelves every visit; this week I found a "tomato paste with seasoning (cilantro, etc) for cooking".

I'm pretty sure this little bodega that I love is one of two things; either a front for something, or a relic from when my neighborhood was the old West Side Story. But I go in and find new stuff on the shelves all the time. I hardly ever see another woman in the shop. It is always a bunch of old Cuban guys watching sports on a tiny TV on the top shelf and talking. So it is hard to tell, is it really a bodega or a front?

In the summer they play dominos on the side walk outside the shop. They all acknowledge me now when I walk by or stop in (the shop is on the way to the post office, so I'm by about everyday). But they only speak in Spanish, and I use my terrible Spanish grammar to chat with them, but they don't care.

They've introduced the boys to homemade coconut macaroons, pressed coconut candies, guava jelly, and pastillos. They are the only place I know where I can get the pastries for pastillos. And yeah, I buy a frozen stack of 10 about every week. Recently, with family visits and friends over, I've gone to buying two packs at a time (Special note a pack of 10 sells for $1! Where else can you buy a real food ingredient for only a $1?!).

I know this doesn't sound sexy or exciting. But the fact that this tiny shop exists. That this amazing group of old guys has accepted me and the kids and smile at us, even though I'm still not convinced they are not running numbers, makes me happy every time I visit. They are the old soul of this city. They seem in tune with my soul. And they have never questioned why me, the whitest looking Puerto Rican on the planet visits with a blond child and Asian child. Instead, one guy heads to the freezer for my pastries and the other shows the boys the latest candy in.

I love these old men. They have no idea.

Great Weekend.

In the wagon asleep; I love how they just crash on each other.

Little Man at wheel of pirate ship, Brooklyn Bridge in background.

Big Boy Pirate leader.

Ready to jump on in and fly! (the men in my life)

Touring from the top of the Taxi Boat.
(we look so more relaxed than those family
photos of us in China about a year ago!)

It was a great holiday weekend with the boys. I'm in the middle of a cyclone (i.e., work/life), but decided to unplug and just hang this weekend. Of course I over did it and have a cold today, which is great, because tomorrow morning I'm on a plane to LA and with the swine flu scare out there everyone will likely treat me like I have the plague, but oh well, back to the weekend.

We, the whole family, were supposed to head down to my parents house, but I'm just too crazed at the minute, so I cancelled, and my parents are coming up here to take care of the boys for a few days while my lovely groom and I head to LA. That's another post, about trepidation.

But the weekend was lovely. We loaded up the bikes and headed out on the town! The ships were in for Fleet Week, and we went down Saturday morning around 10 am, and there were no lines what so ever! Better yet, the sailors where in excellent cheer, not yet wore out by the crowds of military wann-a-bes, or snotty kids asking crazy questions. The boys got on the ships, sat in tanks, helicopters, tried on fire equipment and flight gear and were overwhelmed!

But visiting the ships did require some political sensitivities. I'm very anti-war, but I understand that the volunteers/enlisted personnel are serving a noble purpose. But I detest the language of war/violence. So given this information, try explaining to a curious four year old why planes are on a ship, why tanks are on a ship, why the sailors salute as they leave their ship, or my favorite, when I explained that rockets are bullets that go really far.

Then on Sunday we headed down to the South Street Seaport. They have a big pirate ship docked that you can visit - obviously a big hit! And to top it off, a friend of ours was running the booth for water taxi tours, so we went on a free tour. The Big Boy was even given a chance to drive the boat!

Lastly, we spent a lot of time at the water parks, were the boys could run. We could cool off, and then have burgers/chicken fingers at the little restaurants on the piers on the west side. With the bike ride home, the boys would fall asleep in the wagon. We'd sit outside until they would wake up.

So, this weekend was great. I didn't worry about being a stimulating mom, I let the world take care of that. I didn't worry about cooking, they had chicken fingers for just about every meal. I had time to sit at the playground and enjoy the cold water on my feet. I had time to sit on the stoop at home and chat with my hubby. I let hte boys stay up later, but also have longer naps. I had fun riding the bikes with the boys and seeing the city, which I love. I forget, sometimes it is nice to take a vacation, even if it is at home. I need this weekend.