New York

Better than expected. Taking the bug on the Metro-North to Grand Central, then on a train to Fort Greene for brunch with my friends, high-powered Cookie and Style and Google (don't tell me you need a link) types, and back again was just not as difficult as I'd imagined it would be. She was a brilliant, sweet little bug the whole time, even when we sat down for mushroom-shallot-thyme quiche, spicy pan-fried potatoes, and sweet potato biscuits and she had to make do on a little mat on the floor with a container of Cheerios and freeze-dried corn. (I'm going to try to make a similar quiche tonight; if it works out I'll post a recipe.) The trains ran the way they were supposed to.

The bug slept in her carrier all the way from Rye to the main concourse at GCT, where she woke up and found herself in the middle of the typical Grand Central throng (well, the Sunday version).

She was not as freaked out by the 4 train or the people on it as this picture would suggest.

At brunch in Brooklyn, she crawled over to the coffeetable, grabbed a cookie, and shoved the whole thing in her mouth before I even knew what she was doing. Turned out it had a big hunk of chocolate in it.

One day Mr. Chalmers and I left the bug with her grandma and aunt and went into the city on our own. We took the Garment District by storm—ducking in and out of fabric shops, walking fast, and bargaining like we were pros. I have the most amazing husband ever: he actually seemed to enjoy our whirlwind hunt for curtain material. (Although, come to think of it, he might not have used such words as "whirlwind" or "fast" or "ducking in and out" to describe the experience. I used to live a five-minute walk from those stores, and my fabric-shopping outings were always almost painfully slow, to the point where I wouldn't even buy anything because I could just tell myself I'll think about it, shop around, and come back the next day, or even later in the day. I have a problem making decisions, which is a small part of why Mr. Chalmers's participation was so refreshing.) Luxuriously, we shipped our purchases home right from 39th Street and skipped downtown unencumbered for a beautiful lunch at Lupa: octopus in chickpea puree, roasted sweet-and-sour parsnips, duck agrodolce, buridda, and a red wine from the Alto Adige that was really great. All of it was great.

The elder Chalmerses even got to go to a movie!