Esthetic/Aesthetic

Henry and 4th Place

I often joke about the "Mafia" in Carroll Gardens as if such a thing could exist in reality anymore, and then I come across this 2 blocks from my apartment and think, "hmmm, maybe so". 

Butch, The Carroll Gardens Troubadour

I'd like to introduce you to Butch, The Neighborhood Troubadour (as I've referred to him for the past year or so).  Perhaps you've seen him and his guitar wandering the streets of Carroll Gardens?

The Court Street "SpringFest"

I have a little place in my heart reserved for the SpringFest/Street Fair on Court Street.  Its the anniversary of when I signed my lease on my apartment, starting my love affair with Brooklyn.  I didn't even mind it when the sausage truck woke me up at 8AM.  Alright, I minded a little bit.  But not as much as I minded when the smooth jazz combo started up at 10AM down the block.  I would have taken a picture of them but they put me to sleep.

The view from Huntington Street, early in the day.

The newest addition was the pony and "wagan" rides on Carroll Street.

PJ Hanley's was, as usual, the most popular attraction.

Partly because of the live band...

but mostly (so I'm told) because of the sausages.

I liked having the opportunity to sit outside the MiniBar and drink wine and watch all the people and dogs walk by. 

   

St. Mary Star of the Sea

I've lived across from St. Mary's for almost 2 years now and I still love looking at it every time I walk by, it's beautiful.  I like to include it on my tour when visitors from out of town or out of the neighborhood come by.  "There's Hanley's, the oldest bar in Brooklyn.  And there's the church where Al Capone got married."  Its a pretty impressive 2 block walking tour.  Apparently, Al also used to make moonshine in the basement of PJ Hanley's when it was called Ryans, which is new trivia to me as of today.

Homeless in Brooklyn

This awesome bit of street art was found on the Carroll Gardens side of the Carroll Street Bridge. 

Sunset out my window

Grace Court

I realize it was just a year ago that I said Dennett Place was the cutest street, but Grace Court is cuter.

Happy Birthday, Riley

It was a good week, and I even worked a few days so paying bills isn't such a distant possibility (I'm just joking of course, I've been doing freelance long enough to know to stash cash away).  I went to the Tea Lounge up on Court Street one day.  I'd been wanting to go in ever since it opened but was frightened by the thought of dealing with lots and lots of kids, since the Park Slope version is apparently a nannies paradise.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find no kids, just lots of people sipping tea (delicious, by the way, and lots of options) and reading or working on their laptops.  It was reminiscent of the late, great Drip Cafe on the Upper West Side, without the awkward blind dates, of course.  I also finally walked across the Carroll Street Bridge, and would have taken pictures but there was some scary cars hanging around, just parked suspiciously, which made me feel like dragging out a camera would be just asking for trouble.  Next time I'll be braver.  So, although I know I should be working on lining up the next job, I'm completely uninspired by the possibilities (dog bachelor anyone?), so I think I'll take the week to see some movies, drink some tea and avoid reality. 

Also, my sister and her husband are bringing a new kid into the family today.  I can't wait to meet him!

Italia!

    Once again the place to be was at PJ Hanley's for the final World Cup game and it was crazy exciting.  I thought the place was at capacity for the US/Italy game but today proved me wrong.  The game was great.  There was this!

And an enormous cheer from the bar when they showed Bill Clinton in the stands (someone shouted 'Bill, come back!").  But the post game was why you watch an Italian World Cup game in Carroll Gardens.  Here are my badly taken pictures (I promise to bring a real camera during these things in the future.  Really!  I promise, why don't you believe me?) You can double click to make them bigger if you want a close up of the sexy man with the flag.   

Facts for the Fourth

As I was waiting for my bagel the other day at Bagels On The Park I read the little sign about the history of Carroll Gardens and learned that our little neighborhood was named after Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and he also led a Maryland regiment that defended the Old Stone House at Gowanus in the Revolutionary War.  And I also learned that there are approximately 35,000 people in the neighborhood, which interestingly makes it the second largest town I've ever lived in, if the neighborhood was a town in itself, that is.  Some other facts from our library.

Is there something wrong with me that when I read the headline "Crack found in Shuttle" I thought it was the kind you could smoke, not stick your finger in?  Perhaps we'll just blame the long weekend, hot weather, and too much drinking.  Happy 4th, suckas!!