One warm fall weekend = road trip!
Frank Pepe
Blackened thin crusts are the New Haven signature style.
Nautical Newport, RI
An hour and a half wait for dinner? Maybe next time. : (
The prettiest and yummiest lobster bisque and clam chowder ...must be a Johnson and Wales chef in that kitchen.
Breaker Mansion. Summer home of the Vanderbilts, railroad giant and grandparents to Anderson Cooper on CNN!
I think this will be my favorite painting. I think it is a Picasso from his blue period. I love the fifth floor!
This one reminded me of my texan friend. 
It is a thrill to walk around the renovated moma. I love the openness, something which was sorely lacking from the old museum. The allusion of fragility adds to this and makes me like the space even more. 
The sculpture garden is open til closing! 
A tall young man walked in through the door leaving the cold fall air behind
him. He lifted
his head and caught the faint smell of cheeses wafting through the
air. He sat down next to la cave fromagerie and felt his stomach
growling. First a swirl and sip
of Auschlese and of Gruner Vetliner. Lightly sweet and clean. Then a taste of smoky
parmasean encrusted gnocchi and a bite of pork trotters that was creamy
inside and crispy outside. A smile crept to his lips as his taste
buds enjoyed the delicate complexity of the warm cheeses and spices.
Next some bread
squares and medium rare beef tips dipped into a le creuset pot filled
with a blend of near bubbling cheese. It was all very good and the
young man was
pleased with his selection. All that was left to do was unveil the
surprise that was waiting some blocks away. Kanye West opened by Keisha
Cole and Fantasia.
I adore warm raspberry croissants. Every time I've tried to go to J'Adore Bakery for the past year, it was past store hours. This morning I was lucky to find it open. They have now expanded their little shop to include two small tables for seating. I picked up my favorite pastry at my favorite bakery in the city. It's warm, with a flaky crust and buttery soft inside. Good eats indeed.
...I'm a toys r us kid.
I luuuv luuuuv luuuuuuuv being a kid. Adults have responsibilities. Namely parents. They have to take care of a faaamily. In big events they are the ones who step up, take charge and give generously of their time, emotions, and money. They are the leaders and spokespeople for the family. If they look good, we look good. To be an adult, to be a parent, is the greatest and most loving responsiblity. But it is not what i imagined it would be as a child.
A child thinks that being grown up allows you to do anything you want to do, buy anything you want to buy. Now you are making your own money so you can live your life as you please. You can spend time with your friends at all the malls and restaurants whenever and till whatever hour you want. Not so. Adults work work work and save save save to buy a home so their children can have a front lawn to run around in, to send their children to the best pre-school and extra-curricular activities, to buy quality birthday gifts and throw a quality birthday party, to treat them to what kids consider a 4 star restaurant McDonald's....
Makes me think, my parents are soooo great. They have done so much for us children and ask nothing of us except our love and time together. 
What a difficult and sacrificial love it is. Yet I know, our family (the nuclear and extended) is what makes us all enjoy and have strength to see out the struggles and joys. Our family gives depth and meaning to life.
These are the things I remember:
* Catching fireflies and keeping them in a jar next to my bed.
* Falling asleep on the way home and my parents would have to carry me to my room.
* Praciticing piano in the living room when all I wanted to do was go outside.
* Walking to school with my big violin case.
* Making tents out of the sofa cushions and blankets.
* Riding bicycles with my frends up and down the street without our hands.
* Praciting whistling and snapping.
* Trying to blow a bubble without success.
* Yellow wallpaper with bunnies eating carrots in my room.
* Blue wallpaper with cars and trucks in my brothers room.
*
The downstairs basement that my father built with wood, hammer and nails.
* At nights before we pulled the car into the driveway, my dad chased squirrels or bunnies up the tree with the
car all over the lawn. That was FUN.
* The coolness of entering the bathroom from the hallway and exiting to my parents' room.
*
Playing on the snow covered roof outside my brother's room on the second floor.
*
Our playset in the backyard with a slide and horse swing.
*
Keeping a box of Chocolate Chip Cereal by the bed and eating it at night.
*
Having nightmares and being too afraid to run to my parents room or call for help.
*
Wondering how I would be as a grown up.
*
Having dreams about driving. (I finally received my license this year.)
* What do you remember?
Why Cough?
It's gotta be funny sight for those in the know when the three kids
who grew up in a lovely dreamlike house in a lovely dreamlike neighborhood revisit the house with the
youngest one behind the wheel. It was the first time in fifteen
years we went back as a family. It was a nice fall drive. I
didn't remember all the trees and streams... reminded me of CT. I
guess it's just a regular suburban setting. We visited our
friends homes, remembered our first loves, visited our neighbors,
passed by the hill at the dead end where we used to bike up and down
for the thrill of it.
The lady who lived at our house now came outside with her baby in
tow and dog at the driveway when we parked next to the lawn, stared at
the house, and took pics with the camera phone. When we told her
we used to live there, her stern look dissappeared and she welcomed us
to even take a look at the backyard. There was no more swimming
pool, and the grass was growing greenly. I remember back breaking
days when I, like Scarlett in gone with wind, got down on hands and
knees to pick out the rocks from the dirt so that the grass seeds would
have a chance. Our front yard looked smaller than i remembered
it. No more flower gardens that my mom planted and pruned her
favorite mini red flowers.
We also visited our dearest neighbors, an elderly yet elegant couple
living next door. They were dear to us because
although they were not family, they gave us Christmas presents and
sometimes even money. They thought it was cute that we wouldn't
call them by their
first names or keep our shoes on in their home. They were
warm and idealized what a real neighbor should be. Yes, they
still live
there. Their grandson openened the door and he was no longer the
baby. But my mom recognized him immediately and remembered his
name. When I asked her how she remembered, she said, "It just
came to me." haha
Then we drove to our old pre-school. The backyard was huge,
including mini swimming pool, and mini playground. Dang, we had
it good. We drove to the old Grand Union, now Stop and
Shop. We
passed by
the 31 Baskin Robbins where my dad would buy us ice cream for getting
good report cards. Finally we took a pit stop at
McDonald's! wooo hooo I ordered a happy meal and gave the
toy away to a young
girl. I used to order a cheeseburger and looked in astonishment
when my friend of my age ordered and finished a whole big mac.
That's a lot of food for a kid. We wanted to get our mom a
filet-o-fish as
usual. Funny, my youngest brother paid. We stopped at the
old bakery where my mom bought us, "coh-ro-shun" meaning
croissant. haha
It was so sweet
for her to soak in all the memories. As we each would recall
something she would joyfully exclaim, "You remember
that?" One thing that was sorely missing from the equation... I
wish our dad was able to share our experience. But he had to go to work. Next time
dad. We promise. 
Maybe one day we will buy back that
house. This
will always be the house we come back to and relive precious and
innocent memories of our youth in Wyckoff, NJ.
Whoever is kind to the needy honors God. When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
but even in death the righteous have a refuge.(1)
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm -
he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.(2)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (3)
(1) Proverbs 14:31-32 (2) Psalm 121:6-8 (3)1 Chronicles 16:34
Raindrops keep falling on my head
Though we were sooooo looking forward to our weekend getaway, we had to take a literal and most dissapointing rain check for our trip to BeanTown. I'm never going to make it to Helmand or Ambrosia. 
Thankfully NYC weather was t-shirt gorgeous and we still enjoyed the day together. After starting the day with burritos topped with tabasco chipotle pepper sauce for lunch and some jambajuice, we headed to Bowlmor.
For the first round, the teams were divided women vs. men, Trump style. The women bowled honorably with spares, some strikes, and strong eights and nines. One of the ladies, who said she had not played in awhile, scored 112 points! Consistency was a key component of the mens' game and they ended with the better round. In the second session, we switched around players randomly. Both teams fared well and energetically cheered on their teammates but the weariness from the first game was evident in the scores.
On average I bowl an 80. My first game will be strong and then I easily tire after that. I scored only 68 in the first round because I was twisting my hand. Instead of going straight down the aisle, my bowling ball was moving from the center to the left edge, knocking down only a few pins. I had better luck the second time around because someone cared enough to give me constructive bowling tips.
The suggestion was to use my weakness to my advantage. Start off standing on the most right hand dot and aim to the second arrow from the right. Can you visualize the bowling alley?? So armed with my new strategy I made my aim not sure of what the outcome would be. Thereafter my bowling ball strategically rolled right to the middle of the pins much of the time. There were some solid sevens, nines, and even a strike. Astonishingly these tips helped me to pass 100! Thanks to my skilled coach!
Hungry from all the exercise, we shopped for salad and dessert items at the grocery store. Once we got home, the guys took over the couch and tv for college and professional football. The men's enthusiasm for the sport surprised some of the women so much so that the gals took a break from the rowdiness by congregating around the kitchen. So much food was prepared with both men and women contributing their talents. Salad, dressing, fresh guacomole!, helluvagood(that's the brand name) french onion dip, chips, pigs in a blanket, tofu stew, the most delicious chewy homemade brownies with melted chocolate in the middle, box of pastries, pajun, kimbop, hot wings, store bought apple pie, icecream, and a crudedite plate. Two pies of delivery pizza were devoured as well. To top the night off, a well loved lady came back to a warm and surprise welcome.
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