Labor Day Catchall

According to Wikipedia, "Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and parades." I for one am thanking heaven that I had the opportunity to wear white for two days straight. Now that the city is full of people again, here are some hard numbers from the recent weekend to greet the work week, school year, and general dog-eat-dog world of black clothes and no beaches:

*8 kinds of vegetables equaled around 10 pounds of produce at the Saturday CSA pick-up.
*14 Red Jacket Orchards peaches equaled 1 quart of spiced peaches in brandy.
*2 pounds of Hearty Roots tomatoes, plus basil and garlic from the same farm, equaled 1 pint of tomato sauce, after Marcella Hazan.
*1 pound of organic strawberries (I cheated; they're from California) equaled 1 pint of frozen strawberries.
*1 new (nameless?) "restaurant" equals 10 umbrellas and tables between the McCarren Dog Run and the Green Dome Garden. A portable grill (and griller) turns out breakfast and lunch sandwiches and other picnic-happy fare. A cup of organic free-trade coffee equals 150 pennies.
*2 friends equaled one introduction to a Williamsburg gay bar, Metropolitan Bar, on Lorimer just south of, yes, Metropolitan. Said friends also equaled much merriment over butter and its harbingers.
*3 performers in I Eat Pandas (cheating again: they perform in Manhattan, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, on 26th and 8th) equaled many laughs.
*1 gaffe in the Williamsburg Courier (which deserves a post of its own) also equaled many laughs (in a funny/not funny way):


For those interested in putting the labor back in Labor Day, consider coming out to hear Rinku Sen and Fekkak Mamdouh speak this week. Sen is the author of Stir It Up: Lessons on Community Organizing. Mamdouh is co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, the first national restaurant worker organization in the U.S.