Christmas in NYC

DH's son lives in NYC and this year he invited us to spend Christmas with him and his partner and his partner's parents in NY. We went on the 20th and came back on Christmas Day, with Christmas Eve being the family dinner and gift exchange. We had a wonderful time (as long as I don't think of the cost. Prices are breathtaking and we ate out a lot and took a lot of cabs. Fortunately, part of the trip was DH's son's Christmas gift to us, and his grandmother, who was with us.) We stayed at a hotel that was next to the World Trade Center site. Here are some views from our window.




One day we visited DS (Dear Son's) office, which is on the 66th floor in the Chrysler Building. The vistas were amazing.


Here is a photo of a gallery space at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I particularly liked.
Part of a Christmas window at Bergdorf Goodman's.
Let's see if I can remember all the things we did:

Thursday evening: arrived; ate dinner at Duane Park Cafe, a neighborhood restaurant
Friday: visited the Met; lunch at Cafe Boulud; visit with cousin; jazz and dinner at the Jazz Standard/Blue Smoke
Saturday: Spent the day in Brooklyn visiting old friends of the family; lunch at a local pizza place; visit with another cousin; dinner at the Hearth; theater--The Piano Teacher
Sunday: The Tenement Museum followed by lunch in China Town; dinner that night at Georgione's
Monday: lunch at the Bar Room at the Museum of Modern Art followed by visiting some of the exhibits and last minute Christmas shopping in the gift store; viewing of Christmas windows at Bergdorf's; Chirstmas Eve Dinner and gifts at DS's apartment.
Tuesday: Home again, home again.

Happy Thanksgiving

I haven't felt like blogging much recently. We are leaving for Maryland on Tuesday to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Harry and Meg will come with us. I am looking forward to it and hope we will have a good time without too much family drama. Hope everyone else who celebrates the day has a Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe!

Happy Birthday Granny!

Today is my paternal grandmother's 92nd birthday. She is doing well, living in a retirement community in Maryland. My parents, along with one of my nephews, his girlfriend, and Granny's daughter, are taking her out to dinner tonight. Granny has always been stylish and made almost all of my clothes until I was about 11. I was her first grandchild; she was only 44 when I was born. She and I used to watch the Miss America Pageant together to see all the gowns. When I was out with her people sometimes thought she was my mother. She didn't have the opportunity for much formal education beyond high school, but she is an avid reader and traveler. She has visited many places around the world. She and her siblings overcame a lot of hardship in their lives. I wish I was with her today, but will see her at Thanksgiving.

At the Zoo

While in Laguna Beach, we went to see the San Diego Zoo--about a 90 minute drive south. I had an image of the SDZ as one of the best and had wanted to see it for a long time. Either my standards for zoos have increased or I haven't been to a zoo in a while and held an outdated image, but I was disappointed. We were there in the mid-afternoon and did not take very many photos, but the animals all looked bored and tired to me--a function of being captive in the zoo or naptime after lunch?

Countertops

Happy Halloween. Anyone have any trick-or-treaters? We had 43. Yep--counted 'em.

Here are some photos of the new countertops. They are quartz. Hope we didn't make a mistake by not getting granite. Seems every home improvement show we watch goes gaga over granite.



The next project is the floor. Not that fond of the green vinyl. Am thinking of trying to install a tile floor myself. Color--some shade of beige or brown, of course!

Well, that's it for today. Sure am enjoying these fall temperatures. Off to Chicago next week.

Waiting

I am waiting for the countertop installers to come back to finish the job they started yesterday. The were supposed to finish yesterday, but one of the pieces was not the correct size, so they said they would be back either yesterday afternoon or today with the correct piece. Yesterday afternoon, they called to say it would be today at 11:00. Then, today around 11:00 one of the guys called to say he was supposed to be here at 12:30 (surprise to me) but that he would be a little late--12:45 (hardly worth calling about). However, here it is at 1:20 and still no installers and no additional phone call. In the meantime, it is raining (yay!) and we are expecting company to arrive for the weekend around 3:00. At this point, the countertop probably will not be complete by then. I took the day off of work. I need to vacuum, but if I start vacumming and the countertop guy arrives, I won't be able to hear him (this is the kind of thing I worry about.). DH is at work, but leaving early to go grocery shopping. I feel stuck and increasingly irritable about the whole thing. So, just thought I would take this opportunity to post to my blog ;-) Oh, also, I'm not convinced that I just love the new countertops--all $5,500 worth of them!!

More on Laguna Beach

We're back. Really enjoyed LB while we were there. The flight(s) back weren't very pleasant. That's the problem with visiting somewhere on the opposite coast. Oh well, I'm looking at photos and remembering the good times. The last day was the best. It started out overcast, but ended up 70 and sunny. I took a walk on the beach, had a swim, and then DH and I went to the San Diego Zoo and out to dinner. The Zoo was not as nice as I expected, but dinner was fabulous (and only cost a little more than breakfast at the resort!). We ate at a place called 75 French. The decor was rich, sedate, and private and the food was outstanding! I started with lobster prepared two ways--a bisque and a small sandwich called a slider. This was followed by spinach and fingerling potatoes topped with a perfectly cooked halibut fillet. DH started with a salad of butter lettuce and blue cheese and then had duck prepared three ways. His dessert was best--an apple pastry with cinnamon ice cream. Below are a few photos of LB--sorry no photos of the food!

The view from our balcony!
A series of switchback paths led down to the beach. I was intrigued by this plant with the purplish/maroon leaves (flowers?).

A view as we walked down the path.

The "old man in the cliff."

The Montage

Hello from The Montage at Laguna Beach! This place is amazing, although I do feel somewhat like a poser being here. I wonder how many other folks are here on expense account who otherwise would never be able to afford a place like this? Photos will have to wait till I get home.

The Montage sits on cliff overlooking the Pacific. Views from our room are spectacular. The staff here are all trained to stop and stand aside whenever you pass. Very odd! Prices for food are astronomical. This morning our breakfast for two was $85.00. Beautifully landscaped. We saw some hummingbirds feeding on flowers; thought of Mary.

That's it for now. More later.

Off to Laguna Beach

Just a quick post to say we are leaving for Laguna Beach, CA tomorrow morning. After several weeks of effort, I have managed to lose all of 1.5 lbs.! However, my big clothes do fit, so I am not going to worry about it while we are gone--just have a good time! Finally, we have some beautiful fall weather here in NC. It's supposed to be in the 70s out in Laguna Beach, too. "Talk" to you all in a week or so.

Sunday Post

Well, ladies, I think we've gotten all the mileage we can out of the hair color post. Inspired by Mary's recent post, yesterday I went around my yard and took photos of everything in bloom. Here are the results.

My mother-in-law says these flowers are called something like "Japanese Anemonies?" Can anyone confirm or refute? We have white ones in the front and pink in the back. They don't start blooming until September. (Don't adjust your glasses--the pink ones are out of focus!)
I've never known what these little grape flowers are called, either. (And, yes, that is a maple tree taking root in a flower bed, and water droplets--from the sky, not from a hose!)
Flower on one of our pond plants:
Lone red bloomer:
A scraggly collection around the mailbox:

A New Phase

Well, I've graduated to a whole new phase of life. . .trifocals! Just picked them up today. They are those "seamless" type. Distance and close-up are great. I'm having trouble with the mid-range (unfortunately, including the computer screen), but my understanding is that my brain will adjust. So, now it is glasses on all the time as opposed to peering over or taking on and off. Something to get used to. I've also stopped coloring my hair to cover the gray. In order to make the transition more gradual, I am now getting it highlighted to blend the brown and the gray. Once all of the dyed hair grows out, I'll see what I'm left with (lots of gray on top and front; not so much in back). Anyway, I wonder if I'll look like a granny with my gray hair and glasses. Hey; I'm not even 50 yet!

Dieting, Again?

No, not really, because I never got off the ground (so to speak) with that last diet (or the 3 since I wrote that post). In fact, as I so often do when even thinking about dieting, I've gained about 5-8 lbs. I am now feeling really uncomfortable in my biggest clothes. Not good!

I don't remember if I've posted about this before, but I am going with DH to Laguna Beach on Oct. 12 - 17. One of the organizations he manages is having a meeting out there and I am tagging along, which I try to do when he goes to particularly nice locations. Then, 3 weeks later, I am going to Chicago for the annual conference of the national organization I belong to. After that, we are going to NYC to visit DH's son for the week before Christmas. So, I have all of these occasions coming up and a shrinking wardrobe (Oh; I guess it's not shrinking literally. If it were only true!)

So, here's my latest plan. This morning we went to a favorite breakfast place and I had blueberry pancakes, which I had been craving. Now, I must put that behind me (oops; it's hard to write this post without making these types of references). I am setting some rules:

No wine or alcohol of any kind (empty calories that make me lose my inhibitions about eating more).
No sweets or processed foods except those I deem "diet" foods such as low-cal fudge bars, yogurt, sweetened low-fat ricotta, etc.
No eating after 8:00 p.m. except for one bowl of cereal or one diet treat (I find I really need some comfort food before bed.)
Remember at every meal that the stomach is only about as large as a fist and try not to stretch it out!
Lots of water.
And, finally, a promise to myself to use my rowing machine 10 minutes per day. I know that's not a lot but maybe it is enough to help me tone some muscles--particularly the upper arms (you ladies know what I mean).

My goals are to have my biggest clothes fit comfortably by the time we go to Laguna Beach and have them be loose by the time I go to Chicago. And, finally, to be in the next size down by the time we go to NYC. I really think these goals are reasonable. Wish me luck!!

More Kitchen Stuff

This post is all about the kitchen and mostly just photos.

We decided to replace all of the gold knobs in our kitchen with silver ones.


We are thinking about replacing our laminate counter top with quartz. These are some samples that I ordered. I like the third from the left best (brown with white flecks). I think it will go well with our white cabinets and appliances.
Dinner the other night. The most deluxe tuna melts ever--made with crab salad, sliced tomato, grated cheddar, on a "Holland Rusk" (basically a piece of round toasted white bread). Here they are before the oven.

And, voile (sp?), dinner is served!

Wine, Chocolate, & Karaoke

What do they have in common? Indulgence, pure indulgence. And, guilty pleasures. Has anyone tried the milk chocolate from Trader Joe's? It almost tastes like caramel--another of my favorite treats. Well boys and girls. . .can you guess? It's PMS time again.

Another Weekend Project

We have been quite the busy homeowners lately. Our newest installation is a new light fixture in our foyer.

All of this foreign activity makes Meg a little nervous. (See the scratches in the sofa? From Meg. We ordered a new sofa yesterday, but it won't come in for months. The new sofa will have a blanket on it.)

Well, how do you like it? It's minimalist!
Okay; just kidding. Here's the real thing.
Here's a photo showing both the foyer and the dining room with both of our new lights. We like the way the forms echo each other. I think that's it for a while. Next, I would like to get new kitchen counters, but I don't think that will be DIY. I may, however, tile the kitchen floor!

New Light Fixture

Yay! We found a light fixture that we thought would work well in our dining room in the Crate and Barrel catalog. It arrived today. Here are the results. You can compare to the results from my blog post from a week or two ago. (I copied the photo here for your viewing pleasure.) We REALLY like this one a LOT better! What do you think?

(BTW, if you click on the photo it enlarges and you can really see the details in the room. DH made all of the tea pots on the buffet.)

Favorite Summer Meal

Tomatoes and mozzarella! Yum, yum. Slice up some tomatoes. Slice up some mozzarella. Chop up some fresh basil. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve with crusty bread and red wine. Yummy!

Here are some photos of tonight's dinner:

A home grown tomato.

Four types of tomatoes. One homegrown and the others heirloom varieties from the grocery store.

The plated meal.

Enjoy!

The Birthday: Part 2

(Continued from previous post.)

A message popped up on her screen: Birthday Reminder—Martha’s birthday is September 19^th. September 19^th? That didn’t sound right; she thought it might be the 16^th, which was today. She called her mother.

“Hi Mom.”

“Hi”

“How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“I just called to ask you if today was Martha’s birthday.”

“Yes; it is.”

“Did you do anything to celebrate?”

“A few days ago, your father and I went with her to her house in Baltimore.” (This would be the row house she had rehabbed, but was having trouble selling. She almost said, “and you bought her house for her birthday!” But, before she could say it, her mother was saying, “Your Dad and I bought the house from her and plan to rent it out.”)

“You’re kidding! I was just going to say that, but as a joke!”

“Why, what’s wrong with that?”

“Well, you already own one house that you can’t sell (in addition to the one they lived in.) and now you have two and the housing market is terrible.”

“Well, Martha was going under. She was just drowning in debt. Parent’s can’t stand by and watch their children suffer.”

“I can't believe it. I think I’m missing out. Will you replace my kitchen?”

“Anyway, we took her out for lunch at Fell’s Point for her birthday.”

Yeah, right, she thought.

The Birthday: A short story

Her husband woke her and she instantly knew why. She had been having a dream and banging her fist on the bed. In the dream, she was hitting her brother. As is so often the case with these things, when morning came, she could not remember anything else about the dream. Just that she was angry with her brother—more like frustrated. So frustrated that all she could manage to do was punch him. Not surprising.

Michael was 46 and lived in Mexico. The night before, she had several email exchanges with him. The subject was the contested custody of his two children. He and his Mexican wife were getting a divorce—a nasty one. Michael had not matured into a competent adult. She suspected he had bipolar disorder or something else that made it impossible for him to maintain jobs and relationships. And yet, he had moved to Mexico, fallen in love, and married a pregnant woman about 15 years his junior. They subsequently had a child of their own. The two girls were less than 2 years apart in age. Now the marriage was in the toilet and they were fighting over the kids. Michael currently had no consistent means of support, so how he was living, she didn’t understand. He obviously had enough money to pay for a roof over his head, an occasional outing with the girls, and lawyer fees, although she suspected the latter was working under agreement to be paid later, or else their parents were helping him. That would not be unusual, although she never knew how much her parents helped him and her sister. Michael was always the whipping boy of the family and her mother was more inclined to help him than her father, but even her father was unlikely to stand by while one of his children were in such dire straights.

She had talked with her mother earlier that day and suspected that the dream was more a result of that conversation, which had more to do with her sister. (To be continued.)

Oh What A Beautiful Morning

Oh, what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feeling; everything's going my way! (Oklahoma)

It was sunny and 55 degrees when we got up this morning!! Loved it! Took the dogs for a nice walk. They were frisky. The Morning Glories that took months to produce one bloom are full of blooms these days.


I am so happy that our 2007 conference is history! There were a few glitches, but, all in all, I think it was a success. We seemed to get more on-site registrations than usual, so I am looking forward to seeing the final numbers (financial, that is!). Our opening and closing keynote speakers were big hits.

I tackled the grouting on the kitchen tile project today. I ran out of grout before I was finished. Grouting was more difficult than putting the tiles up (and surprisingly physical). I think I liked them better before the grout, but it is better than a plain painted wall that was getting stained with grease from cooking! Compared to putting small tiles on a small wall space between the counter and the cabinets, I think doing a large horizontal space like a kitchen or bathroom floor would be relatively easy. I will probably take on those projects at some point now that I've gotten my feet wet.

(In the photo above, the grouted tile is on the left and the not yet grouted tile is on the right. What do you think?)

Well, hope all out there in cyberland have been well. I have not caught up with reading other blogs yet, but I am off work tomorrow, so I will probably "drop in" then! Take care.

September 11th

I was so busy getting ready for our annual conference--the signature event of my organization--that I almost forgot it was September 11th. I had thought about it first thing in the morning. I meant to wear a pin with red, white, and blue ribbons on it that a colleague made for all of us in the office 6 years ago. Ironically, that was the first year I worked where I am now and we were preparing for conference when the Twin Towers were hit. Then, I went off to graduate school for 4 years and now I am back at the same place I left--albeit in a different position. However, my colleague has been there the entire time. Of course, I forgot to wear the pin. Then, I thought about September 11th again in the afternoon. She (my colleague) told me that she had never watched any of the video footage of that day--the thought of it was just too hard. I told her that to me, the images of the planes flying into the Twin Towers was surreal. What really got me was seeing the videos of New Yorkers streaming down the street in confusion and terror with dust and debris all around them. We are spending Christmas in NYC with my stepson who lives a few blocks from where the World Trade Center used to be. I am angry and dismayed that 6 years later, Osama Bin Laden is still free, but we have made a mess of Iraq!

My mom just sent me this quote. I must try to remember this more often: "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Take care.

More on Tiling

Next lesson: There's a fine line between not enough tile adhesive and too much. Also, getting tiles to fit around light switches is challenging. The tiles I used were 2"x2", 1"x1" and 1/2"x1". We do not have a tile cutter and I did not rent one. We had decided on a pattern for laying the tiles. However, fitting tiles around the light switches caused some slight changes in design. Oh well. . .it is rustic. Here are a few photos. I still have to grout the tiles, but I probably won't do that till next weekend. The organization I work for puts on a large statewide conference annually and it is this coming week, so I will be away for a few days.