Astoria

Saturday we took the N train all the way to Ditmars Blvd and walked around Astoria. It was fun to walk down 31st St and see the taverna’s and all the Greek names.

We stopped at a record store and K bought a CD of a contemporary pop star whose music was playing on the store’s sound system. Then we stopped at Titan Foods and were overwhelmed with Goodies that K remembers from childhood. We got olives and diples and taramousalata. The taramousalata was made with potatoes and not much garlic. A far cry from what I’ve come to expect.

We stopped at a coffee bar and K ordered Greek coffee while I went for expresso. The pastries were sweet and the atmosphere comfortable. We sat next to an exhaust fan that was kicking up a breeze and a man in back of the room lit a cigarette. No one seemed to care. I think Greeks have a different perspective on smoking.

We cut over to Steinway and walked for a long block. It was kind of boring. Lot’s of women’s clothing and shoes. Nothing Greek there so we cut back to 31st and wondered how people lived so close to the elevated train.

We got down to Broadway and used the Not For Tourist Guide to find a restaurant called Uncle George's. It was a diner atmosphere with all the expected Hellenic cuisine on the menu.

The Sunday project was to consolidate both of Mom’s storage bins into one. It is done and it seems like a landmark achievement.

Gia had arthroscopy on her right knee a week ago last Friday 2/9 and is still in a lot of pain. This after being told that she should be up and around the following Monday. The doctor didn’t declare success after the surgery saying that there was so much inflammation that it was hard to tell the state of the joint. I’m concerned.