the view

Not only have I had two days without much nausea, but my most recent diptychs are framed and mounted for the open studio tomorrow, and--most significantly--we signed a lease today for a new apartment! We're going to be renting a three bedroom with river views up in Hudson Heights (the neighborhood I've been pining after).

This wasn't an entirely foreseen turn of events, but as I have slowly felt less awful I also felt slowly felt more and more like moving. And the sooner the better. I was dreading the winter cooped up in these 600 square feet with an antsy toddler and an oversized belly. Not to mention that my tolerance for the more ghetto elements of our present neighborhood has all but dissipated.

So, on Wednesday evening I spent a little time on craigslist checking out the HH apartment listings. I arranged to meet with two realtors on the following day two see a number of two-bedrooms and one elusive three-bedroom. The first apartments I saw were dimly-lit, with awkward floorplans, and no views to speak of. The elusive three-bedroom with river views had been promised by a realtor who was having difficulty getting apartment access. He promised to meet up with me as soon as he could get us into the apartment. I wandered over to Frank's Market and bought a nectarine, Greek yogurt, a can of lemonata, and string beans from the deli. Then I walked down to the wall overlooking the Hudson river and slowly ate the beans. A line of trees stretched along the cliff to the north of me, along the river. Behind them stood a number of old apartment complexes. As I sipped the lemonata I thought how lovely it would be to live in one of these apartments, gazing out at the Hudson through the trees. Ike was home with the babysitter sleeping, I wasn't in a rush to be anywhere,  and was miraculously without nausea. I felt cheerful for the first time in months, I didn't care if the realtor showed up or not. There was no one else on the street with me, and only one car passed the whole time I loitered there. As I was finishing the nectarine, the realtor called and said he'd found a way in, but I'd better come quick. Luckily the building was right around the corner from my little lunch spot. He escorted me up to the third floor (in an elevator) and opened the door to 3G. Immediately as I walked in I saw the trees: the two large windows in the living room looked out toward the river through the trees. And not only that, two of the three bedrooms also looked out to the river. The third bedroom was tiny and had a window facing south toward another building, but it was a real bedroom. The apartment wasn't pristine, and it was still inhabited by tenants, but it was old and grand and lovely. The kitchen had no window and was barely larger than our present postage stamp kitchen, but I didn't care. I wanted the views, the big bedrooms, the old walls with original details, the high ceilings, and the hardwood floors.

And today Charles met the realtor and signed a year's lease, beginning June 5th. Hurrah!

Now the work begins. I hope the nausea stays away!