and for those with another vice...namely gaming, the table was set for that too.

...and there was a whole lot of backgammon goin on. Here's Nadine in the glittery green shirt. I hear she always wins. Damn not only is she beautiful, she's a player.

The hostess with the mostess..Josephine. Here in the glow of her sparkling chandelier.

O.K. I know, I can't compete with beautiful Nadine...that's why I'm sort of hiding behind Nick in this montage...and you know what the worst thing is...she's soooo nice. I really hate her...I'll think of a reason later.

...and this was the icing on the cake...literally...the turkey cake. I don't think anyone had the courage to cut it...much less taste it, but ...he was the perfect mascot for our Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 19, 2004 - C.I.A. dinner to celebrate Lori!

We had to find a place to celebrate Lori's upcoming birthday. What could be better than the Culinary Institue of America! If you read this blog you know it's a place we love, and there's a great choice of restaurants, and the chef/students are really cute. So there we went.

As we entered the main building we encountered this article...it set the stage for our gastronomic experience.

The occassion was a birthday celebration for lovely Lori P.

and here's good friend Jordan...impatiently waiting for food.

We ate at American Bounty. My first course was pretty extraordinary. Fois gras Cobler! Sooo good. The other gals had the soups. Also excellent.

Pat and Cat...the two little twins with the big appetites!

As for main dishes...the two young carnivores Jord and Lori ordered the filet.

Cat, well she's practically a vegan, so she ordered the mushroom and goat cheese strudel.

and this was my seafood medly. It was devine!

Here I am wishing Lor a happy 17th. Lucky her...I wish I could be 17 again...instead of ummm, like, 27.... yes 27 that's how old I am...Yes...unfortunately.

After dinner my Cheese selection was sublime...enjoyed with a glass of port, bien sur.

and this was Cat's dessert: assorted tropical sorbet under a palm tree. All in all it was a memorable birthday for Miss Lori.

Saturday, November 13, 2004 - First snow of the season... and a memorable meal.

It was just a light dusting but it removed all doubt about impending winter. That evening we had a wonderful dinner at Luc & Marie's.

We woke up this November morning to find that and inch or so of snow had fallen. Through our lace curtains, the sun dappled whiteness looked pure and beautiful.

From our porch, looking up Deer Hill Avenue, everything was covered with a light coating of pure, powdery white.

...and this is looking down Deer Hill. A winter wonderland, well before Thanksgiving.

That night we had dinner at Luc and Marie's. Here the guys are checking out the wine. Luc alway serves great wine. I love their red dining room too...it lends a warm and festive atmosphere to every gathering.

To begin with we had these broiled goat cheese croutons with pears, roasted walnuts and and a dijon vinigarette... That was followed by the most perfect roast beef.

This is the salad Marie made. It's base on the Lebanese salad called Fatouch. The dressing has pomagrant juice in it. Exotically delicious.

Do you believe this apple tarte? It's totally perfect looking...and it was delicious too.

Luc and I always argue about politics ... always! And our arguments frequently become very heated. But in the end we inevitably agree to disagree...like right before this photo was taken. Luc's a much better debater then I am anyway. Damn.

...and here's Luc's better half, Marie. Not only is she a great cook and a wonderful hostess, she also has a great sense of humor. I alway have fun when I'm with her.

This is Bea. She made that beautiful apple tarte.

Everytime I go to Marie and Luc's house I admire this painting. Marie's brother painted it. Talented family!

Saturday, November 6, 2004 - Mom's memorial and the sculpture garden.

It was a beautiful day in early November. The autumn leaves seemed to have held their color longer than usual and were still radiant...

We got together for Mom's yearly memorial as we do every year on the first Saturday in November. We each recite a little poem or tell a little story...Mom was the absolute best. The most fun, interesting, open-minded, beautiful person ever. Of course we miss her, but this is never a sad, mournful day. She just could never inspire anything negative, ever. Halim, June, Jordan, me, Cat, Colly and Dad. Nick took the photo.

After the memorial, and lunch at the Hilltop, we went to an amazing place. The Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden. Here Jord, Lori, Halim and June stroll through the magnificent foliage and diverse plantings.

Nick loves the ladies...especially naked ones. This is Rodin's Eva. She does not look like she's enjoying his attention.

This Max Ernst sculpture is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the scenery. It's an adorable piece too.

Nick and I pose with Jordy in front of this undulating piece by French artist Jean Dubuffet. One of my favs.

I love Calder...here I am under one of his little horsies.

Chinese carp - goldfish - swim placidly in the central lake.

Here Colly relaxes in a gazebo near the reflecting pool.

Ok...um this DELIGHTFUL sculpture is personage by Joan Miro. It's one of the more ...popular...sculptures in the garden, for obvious reasons.

Sunday, October 31, 2005 - Halloween!

We live in a wonderful Halloween neighborhood full of Victorian houses. This year we had just returned from Europe so we didn't have our usual big party. Just a few of my best buds to help with the candy distribution. It was a beautiful, warm night though so we just sat on the porch drinking wine and looking at all the great costumes.

Sunday morning I decorated the house. Everything was ready by the time the first visitors arrived.

The cat-in-the-hat and tigger...The costumes are cute but these felines are gonna have to work...

Jord and Lori did an excellent job giving out candy...we get...like 900 trick-or-treaters so it's not easy.

For three solid hours it's non stop...and everyone gets into it, men, women, children...even the family dogs.

Nick and Cath supervise the action...with Mr. Skeleton on the porch swing.

Finally...Nick put on his wig, so I agreed to pose with him. He wasn't too happy about it as you can see. If you're wondering, Nick was a mousketeer and I was a Victorian Zombie in mourning garb...not everyone got that.

Our street has lots of Victorian Houses, many have parties, like this one across the street.

...here I am again, the victorian mourning zombie in front of our neighbor's beautiful japanese maple.

Isn't this cute...the cat-in-the-hat spawned a little bitty cat-in-the-hat. Awwww.

Not to be outdone, Lori found a grrrrrrreat tiger boyfriend.

...and this was the best, the stand up dracula I put in the window. Several little trick-or-treaters were...traumatised. Happy Halloween!

Yes! finely got my Athens/Paris photos posted. They're now on two seperate sites. One is for Athens, and all Greece related random stuff. It's called Greece...My Way. The other is for Paris and all France related sundry items. It's called France...My Way.
Please check them out....now and often. Thanks.

Still working on this...I'm thinking of making a separate blog for my Athens/Paris photos...I suppose I'll link it up to this one...Anyway everything should be up-to-date by the end of the week...I hope. In the meantime I made this primitive little montage. It symbolizes my recent travels. And the fact that I was so disappointed with the election results that I briefly considered emigrating...to France, or to Greece, or to Outer Mongolia. (What?.. I hear Ulaan Baatar is a really happening place) Anyway, in the end I realized that I like this country too much and will therefore remain here, committed to struggling alongside the nearly 50% of the population that share my views of an open, enlightened, tolerant society... Ok, I'm done. Till later. PS. Nick, though by no means a Bush supporter, got all mad and indignant when I referred to our newly reelected(?)leader as a monkey-faced "MF". He said it demonstrated my lack of maturity and limited vocabulary. I thought about it, and in retrospect I apologize to both monkeys and MFs for the unflattering association. There. Now I'm really done. For now. Update: He made me change the "real" word into "MF" for this blog. Damn.

No seriously, despite appearances to the contrary, I'm really working on updating this blog.

I know I've been back for a week...

...I've just been really busy, and it takes lots of time to edit and post photos, so yes, I'm working on it. Just not quite there yet. I hope to have my Athens/Paris photos up by mid week, plus some Halloween stuff as well. Till then...OXooX