For Narnia!

It’s always so refreshing and enjoyable for me to witness how a nine year old views the world through his imagination. Karen, the kids and I were walking along the towpath when all of a sudden Dylan who I had assumed was killing phantom demons with a branch he was waving around, shouted "for Narnia" as he leapt into the air. Cooper one of our labradoodles joined him and made it his objective to get that branch out of Dylan’s hand and run with it. Even though the branch measured about 4 feet across this did not discourage his quest to conquer it. In fairness Dylan caught on to him and threw the stick for Cooper to fetch. Only to be taunted by Cooper running from him each time he tried to grab it back. It became a game of cat and mouse but not for long. A war was to be fought, being the ever so resourceful nine year old, other sticks became swords and "for Narnia" would echo numerous times along the way. Cooper would follow in tow in hopes one of those sticks would be dropped and he could help fight the war. Near the end of our walk Dylan managed to hoist a sizable log over his head and scream one more time for Narnia, before the log dropped from his hands and bounced of the ground with a resounding thug.


Being that branches are in abundance on our property, Dylan discovered a new use for them.

While staying with us, each morning soon after he woke up he would go to our chicken coop to check for eggs. A few days into this he decided that the chickens weren't laying fast enough, and David caught him inside the coop with a branch poking the chickens trying to coach them into there egg laying box to do their job! Dolly the rooster was not impressed, one does not mess with his girls, and he was pretty vocal about it.

A few days later while we left David, Tom and Dylan to hang Christmas Lights on our house, we returned to find Dylan with branch in hand resuming the duties of his imagination. Hitting bushes, and running around holding the branch high up in the air. At dinner that night his mom asked him who he imagined himself to be. He explained with great determination that first he was a ninja going into great detail as to what he was wearing, this was followed by switching to interrogator and then police officer.

I had forgotten until writing this that I too role-played at that age, except mine where more of the fair maiden kind during the Middle Ages. I wanted to be rescued by a handsome prince and ride off into the sunset with him on a horse. I remember making necklaces out of flowers and wearing them to enhance the role I was playing. Is it any wonder I am what I am ;)

Daddy and his Android!

"Navigate to Philadelphia" The command escaped from Ted’s mouth into his new Verizon Droid phone with Google application. We had all piled into the rental car at our house in Erwinna, me with the kids in the back, Billy 9years old and his older sister Sarah, 13. Their mom Kate sat in the front next to the "navigator". The car turned right on headquarters road and then the ever so pleasant female voice instructed us to turn left in 1 quarter mile. I thought it strange but then maybe I misheard the command. "Turn left now" the phone instructed. Ted took a sharp left almost missing the turn, but avoiding the car from ending up in the ditch. We were now on Tinicum Creek Road headed towards River Road. “We are going the wrong way” I exclaimed, only to be interrupted by Ted, stating the droid is NEVER wrong and to TRUST the droid. It became instantly clear to me not to get between a man and his new toy! I also realized that we were heading southeast when we should have been heading southwest. I only knew that, because I was frantically texting David giving him updates, and asking him where the hell we were heading. I am completely void of any sense of direction, perhaps Droid would not be a bad thing for me. We eventually traversed our way onto I 95 and headed South towards the city. I felt a sense of relief knowing we were on a major freeway and droid or no droid we would end up in Philadelphia. I must admit, that we did get to the city in about the same time it would have taken had we driven the way I would have. And the drive seemed more pleasant. So I gave kudos to the droid.




After parking the car, bathroom break and a quick snack for the kids at Burger King it was off to the Liberty Bell with the help of Droid, even though it was only 3 blocks away! Our next destination involved finding one of the Gastro Pubs I had read about in Bon Appétit. After checking distances from our location on all three listings with Droid we decided on the closest one. "Navigate to South Philadelphia Tap room”, I heard Ted say. It’s only 2 miles from here, a 30 minute walk. Off we went, I figured since this gadget got us to the city, this should be a breeze. As we strolled through the streets, the droid was passed onto Hannah who after a few blocks, got frustrated with it, since it seemed to tell us to go a certain direction we somehow did not want to go. She handed it to me, to which I had a similar reaction, since it kept telling me to make a u turn every few blocks. Captain Ted reassumed the position at the helm of the ship, and every now and then I would hear him repeat the command “navigate to South Philadelphia Tap Room”. “Only a few more blocks” he would declare. I began to fear for our lives as the neighborhood became less desirable to be in. One block would be dotted with cute old homes with colorful shutters and the next block was peppered with adult clothing stores, then nothing, just cheap housing and suspect characters roaming the streets. At this point we had walked well over an hour, but Ted stuck to his guns and according to his calculations we were only 2 blocks away. It wasn’t until 15 minutes later we discovered he had turned the Droid off, which sent me into a silent nervous breakdown. Beads of sweat were forming and rolling down my back, we were all going to die, I believed! I was convinced of this, since we were nearing the neighborhood of row houses that I had driven through months ago, and realized after noticing burnt out houses, drug dealers and prostitutes I did not belong there! The city skyline, was a mere mirage as I looked back for an escape route, in case knives and guns were drawn. The food better be worth it, I thought to myself as I clung to Billy's hand, who I could always pawn if needed to in an emergency. Another 30 minutes had passed, when we finally crossed 611 and I noticed that the city skyline was once again within reach. What had just happened? How did we walk so far out of the way, when we could have gone in a straight line and cut the journey in half? Turns out Droid needed some human intervention, when navigating with Droid one must specify driving or walking! We were walking the driving directions, with all the one way streets one would have navigated in a car, we just walked a giant circle to get to our destination. Ah well no harm done, we got to see many aspects of the city, and burned calories we were soon to digest at the Gastro Pub!



Oh yeah, I changed Tom, Karen, Dylan and Hannah’s names to protect their identity!








http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/07/philadelphia

Halloween Weekend with Friends

I had been a little anxious all week, awaiting our friends’ arrival for Halloween weekend. They were scheduled to arrive on Friday night from New York, and knowing all that could go wrong I prayed extra hard to get them here. Thankfully it all worked out, even the car rental. Kent, Mike the dog, Jen and Ted all managed to coordinate their schedules and pile in the rental car to make the quick trip (once out of the Holland Tunnel) to our abode in Bucks County.

A few phone calls reassuring them that yes, they were still on the right road and at around 8 pm they pulled into our driveway. I guided them in with a flashlight at the edge of our driveway, since it gets pretty dark out here in the country! Kent jumped out of the car ran around to let Mike out. Apparently Mike farted the entire journey, making it pretty intolerable to say the least.



After everyone settled in and Mike was introduced to our pack of dogs, it was time for cocktails. Both fires were going and steaks were marinating to be grilled later on the big open fire in our kitchen. I made a reduction of pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar brown sugar, beef stock, juniper berries, sage, rosemary, onion, garlic, and marjoram to accompany the beef. Along with some pasta tossed with kale that David had prepared. My first attempt at making this sauce resulted in a kitchen filled with smoke. Note to self: don’t take a shower while reducing sauces! Going by reactions around the table it was safe to say the sauce was a hit. There was even talk of bottling and selling it. Dean and Deluca here I come!



The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, having great conversation sipping wine and cocktails.



Saturday we all rose early, David had to work so Jen Ted and I hit the road to peruse local antique stores and also pick up my wooden drying rack I scored at a thrift store for 12 dollars. Kent and Mike stayed at the house and held down the fort. The drive took us up scenic Geigel Hill road into Ottsville. We were a bit ahead of schedule so I just drove them around and wound our way down River Road along the Delaware River. We stopped at Milford to stock up on wine and vodka. At that time stores were open so we headed back up River Road and stopped at the first antique store. I forewarned my friends that the guy here likes to talk and usually doesn’t make much sense. Jen quickly found this out, when he tried to strike up a conversation about a stray cat and his wife being out of it. No clue what the hell he was talking about. I did find a great painting, but he wanted too much money for it, so I took a picture of it instead.

Ted did manage to have conversation with him, much to Jen and mine’s delight. We sat in the car and giggled at the site, 2 flakes engrossed in conversation! This was also the start of our new game of the day, wait for Ted! Our next stop was an old mill turned into a consignment antique store. 3 floors of stuff, Jen bought some old glass insulators, and there we were again, waiting for Ted!

Next it was time to pick up my rack, we browsed a little and yes you guessed it, we waited for Ted (although this time he was buying some cute hats for our dogs to keep their hair back). So the waiting was worth it……



It was lunchtime and we were hungry. Ted had a hankering for beef jerky and pastries (I don’t know) I suggested we should drive to New Hope to C’est La Vie bakery, but instead we settled on driving back to Milford to the Ship’s Inn for some good old English Pub grub, shepherd’s pie and fish and chips. Along with some of their homemade brew! Ted had a hot toddy, very fitting indeed :) after lunch Ted went to the bathroom for what seemed an excessive amount of time, and Jen commented that he took more time then girls. Upon his return, he said “that wall is really interesting” Jen and I cracked up, in his defense he was referring to the history of the place displayed on a wall on the way to the bathroom. A quick jaunt into another antique store, then some dessert buying at Lovin Oven, and we returned back to the house.



Once back I noticed the back door and kitchen window wide open. Kent had attempted to relight the fire but had some trouble with it. There was lighter fluid involved, a house filled with smoke, and freaked out dogs hiding upstairs. Toby had the crap scared out of him, literally! I went into Jen’s room and found some dog doo doo on the white shag carpet of course! Kent claimed that the wood was wet and that was why he couldn’t get it going. Yeah ok city boy! Anyway, some soapy water got it all cleaned up and some newspaper got the fire going.

Our afternoon was spent eating coffee cake drinking chardonnay and napping. We had a big night ahead of us, Halloween! After David got home from work it was time to get ready, make up, lights, camera and ACTION. The pictures speak for themselves!

David Ted (who was not in costume :)) and I left for lambertville, while Jen and Kent stayed at home. I left specific instructions as to how to keep the fire going, and hid the lighter fluid. Lambertville goes all out for Halloween; it’s a small intimate town in New Jersey just across the Delaware River from New Hope, Pa. People decorate their homes and are generous in opening them up to trick or treaters. We stopped at Craig and Kevin’s house and walked to the Boat House bar, with Lisa and Billy owners of Boxwood Flowers. On our way there David got a lot of attention with his outfit. He played the part so well, every now and then this moan would escape from his mouth followed by the statement, “Im a lady!” Walking down the ally towards the bar we passed a restaurant, where David stopped in front of one the windows pretending to fix his hair, much to the dining guests’ delight!

After spending some time at the bar we met up with Craig and Kevin in their costumes and headed to Diana’s restaurant, a popular gathering place on Halloween night. Again David was a huge hit, with people wanting their picture taken with him. I ran into another red riding hood, I think she looked better than me. Someone asked Ted if he was Indiana Jones, it must have been the sunglasses…….

Our last stop for the night was the Nevermore, gay nightclub. What a scary scene, 40 something year olds in muscle t-shirts, drag queens coked up doing catwalks and spinning around on the floor, and sucky music like “party in the USA” Ted noted that their was no dj to be found, suggesting they just had an iPod playing random songs. I did manage to dance a little 



We got home around 1.30 am, the house still standing. Jen had gone to bed, Kent was nursing a cocktail, filled us in on the night. Apparently as soon as we left Milton showed his true colors and became mean towards Mike. He has a personal space issue and lets you know when you get to close. Oh and there was a frog that leaped into the kitchen from the back door and almost jumped into the fire.



Ted fell a sleep on the sofa with hat on, the rest of us slowly nodded off one by one.

Sunday was brunch day!. I made a frittata and Kent made his famous honey pepper bacon. This was not without its usual stress for Kent. The oven wasn’t hot enough, grease everywhere, the sheet pan wasn’t right, I was in the way, I’m messy blah blab blah, I think he burned himself a few times due to excessive shaking. We concluded this would make great TV for bravo! With mimosas in hand we devoured our culinary delights.

This was followed by a walk down the tow path to Stover Farm House, where we gathered black walnuts and nettles for soup. I just love moments like that, it was a perfect time in space, walking with dear friends, enjoying the fall colors and gathering what nature gives us. It can’t get any better than that.

Soon after our return it was time to say goodbye, a good weekend was had by all, I was sad to see them go, but take comfort knowing they’re not to far away and we will see each other soon again!

My nephew's first trip to New York

We left on the bus from Frenchtown at 6:00 AM Thursday morning New York bound, this would be Jonas's first visit to New York. He had arrived a week earlier and found his way to our house without any incident, by way of bus from JFK to Port Authority to Frenchtown. he had actually gotten an earlier bus, so when I drove to Frenchtown to pick him up I found him already there talking to some people and trying to call me from their cell phone. He had been there a few hours, but not to worry, he ate some tacos.

The ride to New York was smooth, and amazingly there was no traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel, even though it was rush hour. I figured well we'll get hit in the city, but again, a cab ride to Kent's place was a breeze. I later discovered why, it was the start of Roshashanah .

Our first stop after arriving at Kent's was to get some breakfast before a hectic day of walking and site seeing. A little cafe in the East Village sufficed our hunger pangs:) Next on the agenda was planning our day around East and West Village and deciding on Broadway show or Blue Man Group. Blue Man won!

First stop was Brooklyn Bridge via a walk along the East River. By the time we got to the bridge rain was coming down but did not alter our stride walking across the bridge. After a few attempts of making pictures of ourselves we made it across, stopping a few times along the way to take in the NY skyline. We took the subway to Soho, next stop Burton to purchase a new backpack. But not until I bought some "fine" sunglasses on the sidewalk.

I watched a woman drop $1200.00 at Burton's and was temporarily reminded of the days I would do that, and actually felt a pang of jealousy. Only to be reinforced when I almost automatically walked into Molton Brown, and started smelling their great soaps, candles etc. It brought me back to the days of working for Heidi and David. I realized their and then that even though it may seem a bit depressing not to be able to buy the finer things (at this time) I have a much richer life without, and one the more finer things in life was walking along side of me!

By the time we left Soho to walk over to Canal Street the weather had improved greatly and our weekend was to get even better. Jonas was looking for a leather jacket or fake leather as long as it was cheap(those damn Belgians are almost as bad as the Dutch ;)) I thought we would be able to find something on Canal Street, but the only things to find there, are I love NY t-shirts, and fake designer watches, bags etc. So it was off to Broadway to see if we would have better luck there.

We entered gay mecca at Top Man Clothing. It was frightening, I don't think I had ever seen so many scruffy skinny men in tight bright colored clothing in one place. It was definitely entertaining. The store came with it's usual loud music and dramatic queens scurrying around carrying cheap clothing to dressing rooms in hope of finding that ultimate nightclub outfit that would make them stand out. They are so cheaply made that I doubt it would survive a night on the town. Jonas did manage to buy a, I guess pleather would be the right word, jacket for a 120 dollars. The clothes might be manufactured cheap and poorly, but lets still rip off the customer :)

My purchases were more of the classic kind, a pair of Levis ( which I have a sneaky suspicion that they're fake) and a fleece lined hoody from Old Navy ( with no sign of their name on the outside of the garment, which I love) I later discovered once back at Kent's place that the security tag was still on the hoody. Instead of going back to the store, the toolbox came out, pliers, hammer, the insistence of wearing bright yellow goggles, and loud banging which sent Mike the dog hiding under the bed.

On our way back to Kent's we stopped at Russ and Daughters to pick up some stuff for lunch, the usual suspects, chopped liver, white fish salad, coleslaw with herring in it, German potato salad, challah bread, and some spicy olives. Except for the potato salad, Kent revolted towards the rest! I'm surprised he let me store the left overs in his fridge.


The late afternoon was spent sipping cocktails on the veranda, I say sipping because that's what Kent and I were doing........Jonas on the other hand (well lets not go there) By the time we were ready to go to Blue Man Group we were feeling mighty fine. We walked over to the theater on Astor Place, via St. Marks place, my old stomping ground. Picked up the tickets and had to go pee, of course the theater bathrooms (known as comfort stations, as we later discovered) were not available until the start of the show. We ventured over to Starbucks where the one bathroom had a line about 10 people deep. I waited patiently while Jonas decided he would have better luck finding a patch of green in the neighborhood. No sooner had he left and I went into panic mode. "what if he gets arrested, or worse, he gets mugged or stabbed!" I was envisioning the phone call I would have to make to my sister, explaining how I lost her son. My panic deepened as the line shrank. When I was next to use the bathroom I seriously contemplated giving up my much coveted spot to start a full scale search for my nephew, until I turned and saw him sitting at a table savoring the scenes around him!

Blue Man Group.....what can I say, I thought it was mildly entertaining, Jonas loved it. Our seats where first row on the Mezzanine. People sitting in first 5 rows below us put on their suggested rain capes, why I'm not sure. There was no projectile paint or anything for that matter. Turns out when talking to other people who have seen shows with original cast, it was much more interactive.......perhaps according to Kent they got sued and had to Disneyize the show :) Jonas managed to retrieve a lasting souvenir(enough said) Once back at the apartment, more cocktails surfaced and more and more. That as far as this story goes!

The amazing thing about being 20 I had forgotten is the ability to bounce back no matter what kind of abuse the body got the night before. This was very evident Friday morning when we all woke to face a new day. Us forty some year old men moved slowly to avoid running into things or passing out, while the young one was spry and agile! For that I sent him out to get coffee, paper towels, and toilet paper(since we ran out the night before.....again enough said) We had a busy day ahead of us. Uptown midtown etc.

Our first stop was the Met, Jonas wanted to see the Vermeer collection, Kent insisted we see the Arms and Armour collection, and the Afghanistan Exhibition. Vermeer was amazing, the detail and lighting used is pure unadulterated talent. I was amazed at how real everything seemed. While photography was not allowed in this exhibition, that did not stop this old man from snapping away. We heard the security guard raise his voice after each click, to no avail. Finally the old man got so irate that he walked up to the security guard and threatened to slap him! We were hoping he would, purely for entertainment factor, but after some more heated exchange of words the old man finally left the building!



Arms and Armour cool! Even though I had proclaimed the night before that I would not go see that, I'm glad I did. We milled around for a few hours and saw some Van Gogh, some Modern stuff, and then to the rooftop to get a nice view of New York Skyline, amids a cool sculpture that takes up almost the entire rooftop garden.





After getting total censor overload it was time to make our way down 5th Avenue via a quick jaunt in Central Park. Even though the avenue was filled with people the lack of shopping bags signaled that people are still not spending, this was even more evident as we walked passed Bergdorf Goodman and I noticed a sales associate handing out $20.00 gift cards. What does that buy you there, perhaps 1 sock? Fret not, retail nirvana was about to reveal itself,

As we walked passed an ominous mat black building with loud music exiting the front doors I noticed in the corner off my eye a half naked man, as if some radar had gone off, my brain said STOP!!!!!! so I did, grabbed Jonas and said, "we need to go in there" pointing at the half naked man standing in the doorway. We had arrived at the new A&F store. As if their catalog isn't homo erotic enough, now they have to tease us with live versions of those ever so perfect models. I stumbled in to the store, pretending not to stare at this godlike creature, but I'm sure my mouth was open, and perhaps even some drool running down from the corner. I slowly traversed deeper into the depths of the store, hoping to get a glimpse of more scantily clad boys smiling asking if I needed help, as if! its darkness surrounding me, the music was pounding and the throngs of people surely there for the same reason I was, pretending to shop for clothes. I barely made it out of that store alive, I tried to get a picture of the boy out front (yes you could get your pic taken with him) but as I turned on my camera, he left to, I presume go on break. It was like taking candy from a baby......

At this time, we were both ravenous, I tried to concentrate on the job at hand, finding a place for lunch, but the previous distraction made it next to impossible to think of food, at least the conventional kind. Then a familiar site presented itself, red canopy's signaled Takishimaya to me. A wonderful Japanese department store, with a great little restaurant/tearoom downstairs. It was just nice and civilized to sit in a peaceful environment and eat some good food. Perfect to come to reality after that A&F experience. I had a nice chicken salad, and Jonas had a Bento Box.

After lunch our next stop was "the rock" at Rockefeller center, alas we did not go to the top. We both agreed that $20.00 each was a bit steep, and we did kinda get a good view while at the Rooftop Garden at the Met.

Final stop of the day was Time Square, even though I would have preferred for Jonas to have seen it at night,but I felt he appreciated it's over the top grandness :)

We made it back to the apartment around 4ish. As we stepped out of the elevator I noticed enticing aromas wafting in the corridor. Opening Kent's door intensified the smells, I noticed Kent sitting on the veranda, rather tired looking. The "old" man had been slaving over the stove all day prepping his famous buckwheat crepes. Jonas and I finished off our Russ and Daughters left overs, took a nap and got ready for the night, dinner at Janneths, with Jen, us, crepe master Kent and Michael who showed up later with bottles of whiskey and tequila in hand!

The crepes were amazing, delectable morsels of flavor exploding in my mouth, it must have been the bechamel I made;) Just kidding Kent........of course the night was not complete without copious amounts of vodka and mixtures of whiskey and tequila, of which I am proud to say did not partake in (the latter one that is) The night ended with all of us on the roof of the building to get a guided tour and history lesson by Jen of the buildings and bridges in our view, which Jonas appreciated. And then there was the statue of Lenin, yes they have a statue of him on top of the building. This led us to strike numerous poses with him while camera flashes lit up the moonless night (yeah I know way to dramatic, but I'm trying to improve my writing skills)

Sleep!

Saturday, Jonas's last day:( He was leaving at 2pm in a town car to JFK, which was so graciously arranged by Jen. Just as well, it put to ease any worries I had of him getting to the airport safely. Not that I had any doubt he would.

A few more things to accomplish on this last day. A trip to the new Hollister store, which as you can imagine, I was VERY excited about, same concept as A&F. Just read the NYT article attached.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/fashion/20CRITIC.html?fta=y

Enough said! Took the train uptown to see Flat Iron Building, then train back downtown to Wall Street. However, the announcer came on mumbled something and next we know we are going over the bridge into Brooklyn. We got out at the next available stop, as did a number of equally confused passengers. We all stood on the platform like deer caught in the headlights waiting for a train to come and take us back. About 20 minutes later, people started walking up the stairs, and little by little we all followed without a word or question asked. It was quite surreal, we all seem to know where we were suppose to be headed, like lemmings going towards the edge of a cliff. Then we saw the sign! Uptown Manhattan.....

back on the train, we got out on Broadway and Lafayette and decided to take the #6 to Wall Street. As we started to board I hear an announcement"next stop Brooklyn Bridge". "OK, that' it" I yelled. "we're done!" We made out way back to the apartment via Canal Street and then Moss Street, in China town. The street was bustling with people buying fresh fish, meats and vegetables. Almost every window adorned with Peking duck.
I was starving :) We walked briskly through the crowd towards Houston, and finally found our way there. A quick stop at Whole Foods (even though I have sworn to NEVER shop there again) picked up some sandwiches and back to the apartment, just in time to eat, freshen up and say goodbye to my Nephew. :(

The Hamton's

David and I decided to leave for the Hampton's to stay with our friends Danielle, John and their adorable kids Max and Julian last weekend. This was our first trip leaving the chickens and ducks by themselves. I got home from work Friday at around 3.45pm which gave me about an hour to get everything done, pile the dogs into the car with our weekend bags, and drive to Flemington, NJ to rendezvous with David.

I had let the chickens out, so they could get some "free ranging" in, before being cooped up for the weekend. I filled numerous bowls of water and put them in the fenced area. Watered plants that would need it, and gave black cat enough food and water to survive living inside by herself.

After I loaded up the car it was time to get the birds back in their coop. They had all gathered under the hibiscus tree(one of their favorite spots). As I walked towards them to corral them towards the barn, they decided it was not time for them to go in and just ran around the base of the tree with me in tow. I got so frustrated, I picked up a branch and started hitting the tree, hoping the birds would run away. I forgot that the tree was also a feeding ground for bees. Needless to say it took about 10 seconds before I felt a sharp pain in my arm and saw something yellow and black dangling from it. I screamed which set the chickens off, and they ran right into their coop. Mission accomplished!

Next, dogs piled into the old Mercedes convertible, and off we went. Met up with David transferred everything into the suburban and headed for NYC, to have dinner with Danielle and gang before heading out to the Hampton's. Of course it being Friday, traffic at the Holland tunnel was bumper to bumper, I think it took us about an hour and a half to get from Hoboken to NYC through the tunnel:)

Got to Brooklyn and took the dogs to the dog run, and ate pizza back at the brownstone. Danielle had a "few" bags of food, and asked if she could load them in our truck. Lets just say that Costco must have had to close their doors, because she bought them out! For those of you who know this petite girl....you know what I'm talking about:)

2 hours later we arrived at their house in East Hampton's.

Saturday morning after taking the dogs, ours and their 50 pound puppy, Luca to the dog park we went into town to buy more food. Stopped at Lucy's Whey, a wonderful cheese shop. We got this amazing creamy blue cheese with a hint of hazelnut, the hint due to the cows being fed hazelnuts. I wonder how many hazelnuts they eat.........they're not cheap.

Stopped by a thrift store, yes they have them even there. Items just cost more! Got hungry and stopped to get some lunch, lobster rolls, fried oysters YUM!

Back to the house, but first a quick stop to pick up some arugula. Once back at the house I took a nap while everyone else lounged around the pool. Julian the 4 year old never tiring ball of energy decided to come into my bed to play with the dogs. I tried to get him to take a nap, but to no avail. He just ran around the room, pulling on the dogs legs, trying to get "high 5's" from them. Toby, the dachshund had this look of disdain on him, while Cooper and Milton were ever patient with him. I managed some sleep, woke up hungry and dove into the cheese we bought, combined with some other goodies, such as truffle infused salami, and olives. We grilled some shrimp that were marinated in lime pesto. After nibbling on those delights we went to the bay with the kids to go clamming. Such fun, the clams were just laying on the surface, ready for the picking. I got nibbled on by a crab, found a scallop and fished out a big ass crab! As is evident by the photo you see. Clams were rinsed and put on the grill with corn, which gave the clams a smoky flavor. I don't think I have ever had clams that fresh. This was followed by Danielle's veal chops, marinated with garlic, basil and lemons. Accompanied by my purple pole beans and great wine. Actually there was a lot of wine....:)

Danielle and I played backgammon, she whooped my butt...and now I owe her a homemade piece of art. That was our bet. Does a jar of pickles count?

Sunday morning, grrrrrr not feeling so hot. I went back to bed, while David, John kids and dogs went to the beach. They came back rather quickly, turns out since they went in our car, without beach permit it was impossible to go. beach cops were in full force handing out 150 dollar tickets. I wonder if that came with a sombrero and lounge chair.

David had stopped at Gold something Deli picked up some bagels, cream cheese, chopped liver and nova salmon....$50.00 bucks! Hampton prices.....anyway it was yummy. A few hours later, a neighbor showed up with more clams, really big ones, and a half hour later Danielle had whipped together a clam and crab chowder. Now I'm fast but this girl not only beats me at backgammon but putting gourmet foodis some fierce competition. Soup was delish, while eating it we were planning dinner. Seriously this whole weekend was a gastronomic weekend. Everything revolved around eating and planning the next meal. We decided to all pile into John and Danielle's jeep for another attempt at the beach, but not without stopping first to pick up some pistachio gelato, a bag of chips, crab dip and shrimp!

Even though it was overcast, the beach was great, it was afternoon, so not to many people were left. Except for the 2 "crazy queens" who mistakenly took Luca the puppy playing with their dog

for fighting and got all upset when Luca knocked down their "designer dog". We ate our "designer" snacks:) played with our mutt dogs, and headed back to the house, where Danielle proceeded to make burgers. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend

www.lucyswhey.com

Bread and Butter Pickles 101

last Saturday I made these bread and butter pickles from our first cucumber harvest. It's the easiest thing to make and looks pretty. I'm thinking about putting a makeshift sign on the road, Pickles for Sale.

Ok Lucy the chicken has become aggressive Luke the rooster, and unfortunately his days with us are numbered. Just like a horny teenager we watch him jump on our chickens and ducks (yeah doesn't care) flatten them as he tries to insert whatever he has down there, while pecking at their heads. It's very violent and disturbing to watch! I usually kick him or whack him over the head with a stick, but to no avail. We found a farmer up the road who is willing to take him in exchange for another mild tempered egg laying female. At least he will have a good life there, because if it was up to me I would have made soup out of him.

Work is fine, if you don't mind working with a coked up manic chef! Yeah, it's only a matter of time before this guy implodes. I've known this since the first week he started, but wasn't sure because I thought Sodexo employees were randomly drug tested. Turns out they changed that policy because their turnover at the higher level positions was to high.........(no pun intended)

Anyway, other employees are noticing his erratic behaviour, that and the broken skin and blood vessels covering his nose! He's been nicknamed the snowman.

my birthday is coming up :)

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/2009_Motorcycles/2009_Motorcycles.jsp?locale=en_US#/model/xl883n

Oh yeah baby......I want this BAD!

The reality of reality!

Farrah Fawcett dies, her death overshadowed by what seems to be an even more important death, that of Michael Jackson! It fascinates me how much importance we put on these inevitable events. We make these people almost seem immortal and then are in complete shock when they die "before their time". The world came to a complete stop yesterday, as Michael Jackson's death dominated the media. Gone were the stories of Iranian protesters. People risking their lives for what they believe in, even sacrificing it, like Nedan Agha Soltan. She doesn't have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame or sold 100 million albums. She is the face of so many more in this world that die each day for freedom, and the right to democracy. Yet she as many others who fight for the same cause will be forgotten about in no time, while we continue to immortalize someone who gave us the moonwalk, scary plastic surgery, strange behavior and court trials.

Even though I too am glued to the television, waiting for the 911 tape release, when is the funeral, who's going to attend? I am also reminded again at how fragile life is. It affirms my belief that what I know to be true is each day, each minute can be the last. Yes we get caught up all the time in our daily garbage, but I try to remind myself constantly to come back to now, tomorrow doesn't matter, yesterday is done, now is what matters! It is such a peaceful place to be in. I wonder what this world would be like if we all truly lived that way. Try it! Just take a deep breath and listen to it, that's all. Pay attention to what you feel and how you feel. It's pretty amazing. You just lived in the now.......

And so maybe that's the lesson in this, no matter how much fame and fortune you have, it does not buy you time. That should be the media's angle! Reminding us of what is REALLY important. Now, family, friends, good food, good wine, or whatever your libation is, good music and love, much much love..........

Peace!

"You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present." Eckhart Tolle Source: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Page: 75

Working my way up the corporate ladder!

I get this call yesterday from Velma, assistant to the Hampton couple who decided not to hire me for the Summer (their loss)! Anyway turns out that the chef they hired had a tragic event happen last week. His girlfriend was in a bad accident and in critical condition. They had not heard from him, so Velma's boss thought it would be a good idea to call me and see if I could come fill in on a weekly basis. I'm not kidding! Oh yeah sure let me drop everything I'm doing, load up the car and show up so that you can fire me in a week....HA! I politely declined :)

Anyway, I had my meeting with the GM at work today and it looks as is I will be moving up. My new title is going to be "retail manager" which will mean a pay increase. I actually already had that title. It was more a case of the non spoken word......It's kind of interesting how I saw that opportunity and ran with it. It's so unlike me to be so bold and aggressive about it. But I've learned to go after what I want, and if a door opens, run through it! I'm probably going to become a Sodexo employee, which will mean more opportunities and better benefits, for me and David. Yeah Lutherans are not to big on domestic partner benefits:)

So my goal for the next 30 days is to continue increasing sales, make the place enjoyable and make good food!

week in review

What's this can I eat it?
Taking the car apart....
Mom's Purple Pole beans
me in uniform
Hydraulic tools rock!
Elizabeth has resumed her duties!
Annie our "big girl" or is that a rooster in the making.....
a new friend outside our bedroom window! She's been growing........

the rollercoaster called life!

Now that I am jacked up on caffeine (cup #5) and the adrenaline I feel after completing my first 5 mile run I think I have finally come out of my depressing slump. It has been a bumpy road for about 2 weeks, where I found myself weeping uncontrollably one minute and deliriously happy the next minute. i have felt so out of whack, that I contemplated getting myself locked up and pumped full of chemicals to just get through the day. Wait I did do that, only it was our house and the chemical was vodka:) Don't worry I limited myself to 2 drinks in the evening, just enough to dull the pain.
I think it finally hit me, what we went through in the past year, and having had a lot of good times since moving back to the East coast, it triggered all these emotions in me and the floodgates just opened up. It was as if all this heavy crap was buried deep and just erupted like a volcano. Not even sure what I was thinking or feeling, but whatever it was, it needed to come out and get released. So much has happened in the past 12 months, and I just kind of shut down and kept moving forward without realizing or even respecting what I went through. I think sometimes I feel I need to be the strong one, make everything seem fine, protect the people I love around me, with no regard of what I am feeling. It must be that male macho thing:)
The road to get here was no easy task, and I guess the road ahead is no easy one either, but at least it's never boring....... and as Virginia Woolf said"peace cannot be found by avoiding life." I absolutely love that!

Karen thank you for listening to me last week and your thoughts, they really helped.
David, I love you, I know I don't say it enough, but you are so patient with me and know me better than I know myself. I would be truly lost without you!

Giving and Receiving

OK, I just need to share this with you all!

As I returned from picking herbs from my garden to make meatloaf tonight, I noticed this beautiful French Lavender plant in a small pot with a note attached. Even though it was drenched, as we got hit by yet another thunderstorm, it was still legible
the note reads..."thank you so much for the home grown greens and delicious muffins(David made) I enjoyed them both."
I tell ya, unconscious giving and receiving is a beautiful thing, this gesture brought me to tears! That's why I love living here, people don't give a shit where you came from, but do care and appreciate how you conduct yourself in the present. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such unspoken kindness.

Peace, and enjoy the gift of giving!

Why I love NYC!

OK, so another great weekend spent in the city, this time's reason (as if I need one to go) was a prelude to Kent's birthday which kind of coincides with Belmont races. Arrived on Friday night, took the bus in, so much easier! And a better choice for me, since I seem to always take a wrong turn and end up in Jersey City or heading uptown when I should be going downtown. This way I get to Port Authority on 41st and 8 ave, just walk through some double doors and get into a cab, and say Houston and Avenue A, but only after calling Kent to verify the cross street, because I've only been there a million times.

Friday night was relatively calm, we had some pizza with appropriate alcoholic beverages :) got to sleep at a reasonable hour. Oh and got Kent and JR hooked on Chelsey Lately, E network, if you haven't seen this show, its a must, the midget sidekick called Chewy should give you enough cause to investigate! At around 4am Mike the 90 or is it 120 pound dog woke me up thinking he could kick me off the couch so he could sleep there....yeah no! Not gonna happen.......

Saturday, another trip to the OTB this time to bet on Belmont Races, and even though I was not going to bet on any horses this time around I somehow had a change of plan, maybe it was the vodka screwdriver ( a requirement, as you all well know from my last OTB experience). I had expected the place to be busier, but was not disappointed by the scenery. A guy wearing pants resembling shiny garbage bags, tucked into oh so fashionable cowboy boots passed me on my way to the betting booth. The very vocal Latin and African American Ladies dressed as if they were going to a fancy dinner at Mickey D's, outside were not short of entertainment. I'm not often grossed out by public places, but man I wish I had some sort of disinfectant hand lotion. Even though I didn't touch anything in this place, we even brought our own pens (courtesy of Kent, he's had some experience in this) I felt the need to run back to the apartment and take a sanitizing shower!

After placing our bets, we headed to Essex market to pick up some last minute items for the Birthday dinner. Essex market is kind of a farmers market with a roof on it, we went to the cheese man, 1 because he's supposedly cute, and 2 they have a great selection of cheese. 1, didn't work, he wasn't there.....The market is amazing, all this great produce, meats and fish, with somewhat of an eclectic feeling. I was expecting to see sawdust on the butcher's floor, you get the picture :) One more stop at Russ & Daughters for some gefilte fish, chicken liver and rollmops (pickled herring rolled and stuffed with onions)

Back to the apartment, a quick nap and this time I was Kent's assistant in the kitchen! I think after my last cooking stint, he was too nervous to let me have the reigns. He likes to have everything in its place and super clean, I like to make a big mess :) Time before the race was spent watching Bridezilla (Kent and JR, had never seen this show, what the hell is wrong with these people) We particularly enjoyed the bride, who bitched about her cake being $500.00, when she can get one for a $100.00.....oh and her dress was turquoise, which she brought back to the tailor because it wasn't showing enough cleavage. The poor tailor tried explaining to her that those parts under her arms, should not be shown, and is not considered cleavage, that's just plain fat honey! But as usual Bridezilla got her way.....much to my delight!

The race was an exciting event, my horse Summer Bird started out in the lead, but of course no horse can keep that up. However it came in second, so I still won some money. Actually everyone in our group either picked the winner, second and our third place. Ted who joined the party at race's end could hear all of us screaming as he walked towards the apartment door. It was safe to say that all our winnings covered the food and booze :) for the night. After dinner we watched the moon rise (almost full) JR, confirmed this after going online, putting to rest the numerous debates on whether it was or wasn't. Then we were entertained by 2 bikers parked outside the building searching the street for the drugs they dropped. Well at least that's what we wanted to believe, we even went as far as to spy on them with binoculars, until one of them saw us and asked if we had a flashlight! JR obliged gladly, ran down with a Maglite, (can be used as a defensive weapon if needed) and proceeded to tell them that we were admiring their bikes, hence the spying..... turned out that one of the bike's battery's was dead. But still doesn't explain the looking around the street. I think I might have missed something in that story... maybe someone can help me out.

I can't remember who decided we should go out, although I think it was Ted! Anyway bar/club destination became "the hose" within walking distance of Kent's apartment. Although if you were to ask him, he would have a different take on it. The complaining started soon after our walk there. JR came to me and plotted for us to get a cab, which Kent did not want to get into, nor did he want to walk....anyway, we hailed a cab "discreetly" I grabbed Kent's arm and dragged him into to the cab, less than 5 minutes later up a flight of stairs we found ourselves in a narrow bar with strange young people.....it's going to be hard for me to describe some of the characters, there was the guy wearing 1920's swimwear

and some other guy wearing a suit and shoes with the same stripe pattern as the fore mentioned swimsuit example! Anyway I really shouldn't talk , I apparently had a lot of steam to blow off and danced my ass off much to everyone's entertainment, witnessed by Kent periodically bursting out in uncontrollable laughter. Anyway, it got late and Kent and Jr went home, Ted and I stayed on to watch a very strange performance by someone in a black body suit including head, a large white wig, fake eyes attached to covered face,some guy banging on drums and this strange black think screaming!

Not sure what time sleep came, but did not get up until 1pm Sunday....:)Went to a Animal Rescue Benefit at some bar in the East Village where $20.00 got you all the cheap booze and food you could eat! I had a Coke and some greasy parm chicken sub, which combined with the Rollmops and chicken liver I ate earlier did not serve me well! Bus back home at 6pm bed by 9pm.

Hampton's next weekend!

I think it is safe to say I am catching up for the years spent in purgatory (Reno)!

Thank you all for another great time!!!!!!! Love you all!!!!!!!

http://www.essexstreetmarket.com/

http://www.nycotb.com/newnycotb/Default.aspx

http://www.thehosenyc.com/

http://www.russanddaughters.com/

Drill at the fire station

last night was a very informative and interactive session at the fire house. We have a bunch of donated props in the back of the station, a car and mobile home, which come in handy for exercises.

Our exercise was to learn about different ways of accessing the interior of a crashed car, to stabilize or assist in extracting the victim. First take out the "cribbing" tote bags out of the truck, and use cribbing blocks to stabilize car under 3 crucial points. I found this to be rather primitive. Wood blocks stacked and shimmied under the frame of the car? I asked if this was really the only way to get the job done, surely there must be some hydraulic system out there than can do the job more efficient and safe? I guess when you rely on your funds coming from donations, one is limited to what one can buy! I think I mentioned something about looking to join another fire station, one that is better equipped and modernised! Knowing my clumsiness I will get my hand crushed as I shove one of these 4X4 under the frame of a car.

Some of the other primitive tools we have to access the car, are lawnmower blades wrapped on one hand with duct tape. When placed on metal and hit with a mallet the blades will cut through the metal, as was demonstrated when the door lock was smashed in and we need to access the locking mechanism through the metal!

A hay hook comes in handy to smash windows, of course my thought was, this poor person just got in a car crash and now a guy in a fire suit is approaching the car swinging a large hay hook at him or her. Screwdriver with fore mentioned mallet will also do the trick to cut metal.

One thing I noticed our instructor failed to mention was, first approach the car and see if any of the doors are unlocked and can be opened without the use of caveman tools!

Also used an electric saw to cut trough the main frame of the car, as I got almost through the metal, the vibrations of the saw made my whole body shake and my brain was slushing around in my skull giving me an insane headache. I also had to be careful not to swing the blade throught the imaginary victim once I got throught the metal. Well guess what, I decapitated him/her!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a blast! It has been a few years since we got to enjoy this weekend. Having a business kind of took care of that. Memorial Day for us in the past meant, great we're closed for the day lets sleep!

This year was a bit different. Our friend Whitney arrived on Friday, it was so great to see her.

Julie and Felicia got here on Saturday, on their way to Maine from Florida. It promised to be a fun filled weekend with great food and great wine.

Friday Whitney, David and I went to Frenchtown for dinner. Something David and I can't afford to do at this time, so Whitney was more than happy to pay. I felt somewhat embarrassed by this, but she reminded me that during the good years we entertained so much and were very generous, so in her mind she felt honored to be able to return the favor. But still I felt uneasy about it. Anyway I had a soft shell crab, David and I shared lamb chops, they were amazing. We were all pleasantly surprised at how good the food was, to many times these days, we fork out to much money for bad food.

Saturday, while David worked, Whitney and I went to a Polo match here in Erwinna. For some reason I thought it would be more glamorous than it was. The commentator was an annoying voice who felt the need to explain the game and its rules throughout the match. There were no spectators, no big hats, just downright drab!

Julie and Felicia arrived around 5pm, I cooked dinner, nothing special, just some roasted chickens and Julie made a fabulous salad with greens from our veggie garden. We drank wine, laughed a lot went for a walk to the Evermoore, an abandoned bed and breakfast with beautiful gardens which are overgrown, but still accessible to snip a flower here or there. Actually, David fills our house with beautiful arrangements he makes from stuff he snips over there.

Sunday, we all went to a flea market outside of Lambertville. Whitney bought us a beautiful pastel painting of a salmon hanging on a line. It is now hanging at the top of our staircase. Julie and Felicia cooked an amazing dinner for us, shrimp scallops, Swiss chard and a little bit of butter :) all this topped off with Pot De Creme flavored with fennel. I would never have thought of putting fennel in there, but I was pleasantly surprised. All in all a great weekend.

But more important is to remember that for us to have had this great weekend, sacrifices were made. We might not agree on war, but we can agree that Memorial Day should be remembered for the men and women who give up their lives daily so that we can enjoy the freedoms and liberties we sometimes take for granted.

Peace!

Diana and Josephines second swimming lesson

Success,

the first day was a bit stressful for them, they weren't sure when they could not stand on the bottom of the creek. However once I coached them in they discovered that it was what they are meant to do, and immediately started grooming and putting their heads under water.

Today was much better for them, they were like little kids.....once we got them out of the water and tried to make them follow us back home, they decided to swiftly turn around and run right back into the water. So cute!!!!

Saturday morning at the farm.....