-
Modern Love
Modern Love is a new series on Amazon Prime, and each of its 8 episodes is a stand alone story based on a column in the New York Times. In the column, people write in and tell their stories about experiences in their life that relate to love in its many forms. If you have access to Amazon Prime, I recommend watching the series, it is very good. The episodes are uneven, though, with some being really, really good (Are two reallys justified there? Yes.) and some being just OK. I don’t want to give anything away because I find that I enjoy TV/movies/books more if I don’t know much…
-
Wordless Wednesday
-
Friday Randomness
This is Ted’s cousin, Sewdaye, and her husband Bryan, who were married in early September. They had a Hindu ceremony on Friday, which brought back so many memories of our own wedding, 26 years ago. The pundit who performed their ceremony (and ours) was Ted’s mom’s cousin, who flew over from England both times. Here we are with him and his wife after the wedding. It was a wonderful day. Saturday they had what I call a western ceremony, which to me means western civilization, not cowboy boots. This wedding was also beautiful, weather was perfect, and it was great to see so much family. Ted’s family is divided between…
-
Wordless Wednesday
-
Belotti Ristorante
My lovely sister-in-law is visiting California from Alaska, and I got to spend Friday with her. We started out with lunch at one of my very favorite restaurants, Belotti Ristorante. I first heard about this restaurant on a local TV show, Check Please, Bay Area, and as I am a huge fan of pasta, I was intrigued. Ted, Maya, and I went for a late lunch there back in March, and I loved it. They loved it too, but they don’t love pasta as much as I do. Kathy, happily, LOVES Italy. She has been to Italy a few times, most recently she went for a month (alone even, so…
-
Perfect Baked Potatoes
What is it about a really good baked potato? I am reminded of a movie that came out many years ago, Eating, all about women and our issues with food. There’s a line where one woman says, “I think I’m looking for a man who can excite me as much as a baked potato.” See the trailer here. I remember seeing the movie and discussing it with a coworker, who then went on to tell me about a baked potato she had a couple of years before that was so amazing, and why couldn’t they always be that way? Over the years, I have come across different baked potato recipes,…
-
Wordless Wednesday
-
Richard’s Dad
There was sad news that my brother Richard’s father, Bob, passed away on Monday. The story is that at the same time that my mom contacted Dad back in 1987, she also contacted Bob about Richard. Apparently, when Bob first heard, he was excited and said, “Where are Joyce and Richard???” Tragically, before they made contact, one of his other children committed suicide, which understandably threw him into a bit of a tailspin, and they did not meet. Richard and Bob did talk on the phone a few times, exchanged letters and emails, and Richard wanted very badly to meet him, to get to know him, to perhaps have a…
-
Wordless Wednesday
-
Books on Tape*
Or, more accurately, audio books. I’ve never really liked the idea of listening to audio books, but many people that I know love them. Most of the people I know that love them listen on long car rides. I work from home, so don’t really have long car rides in my life. A few months ago, Maya and I were at our local Amazon bookstore, and as a Prime member, they said I was entitled to a free month with two audio books. OK, I thought, maybe I’ll use it. A few days later, I was talking to my stepmom, Julie, and she was telling me about an audiobook she…
-
Another Meme
Another picture from our trip to France last year. Not positive who the artist is, but it looks like Van Gogh to me… Anyway, feeling lazy, but wanting to post SOMETHING just to make me think about blogging and perhaps encourage myself to blog more…so, here’s a meme, that I got from my friend Carla on Facebook. Just a list, and the answers must start with the FIRST letter of your LAST name. I’m not going to overthink it, just use the first one I come up with. Probably I could come up with funnier, more original answers if I tried. Animal…………………Antelope Girl’s name………….Alice Boy’s name………….Arthur Color……………………Aubergine Food…………………….Artichoke Drink……………………Absinthe Reason…
-
Meme Monday
(I don’t have a caption for the picture…it’s a beautiful picture that Maya took at the Musee D’Orsay in Paris last summer, but I don’t know the artist. I just like it and thought I would share it with you.) Thankfully, Nance did a meme a few weeks ago, or perhaps August would have escaped me without a blog post. So, without further ado, here we go. J is: Wearing: Capris and one of my NYDJ tops. It’s my summer uniform. I love the tops because they are light and loose and do not make me feel gross and sweaty in the summertime, which I hate. Also slippers, as my…
-
Two Years
July 5th was 2 years since my Dad died unexpectedly, while hiking in Italy with my step-mom. In some ways it feels like yesterday, and in others it feels longer. It still hurts a lot. We spent the day at the Marin Headlands, with a short hike and views of the ocean. Loyal readers know that I met my Dad when I was 21, and have never lived in the same state at the same time, so of course, I have no childhood memories of him. My sisters do, though, and they said that one thing he used to cook for them is Quiche Lorraine. Ted and dairy don’t get…
-
Lokma Chicken Sandwich
Back in May, Ted’s mom and I took a Friday off and went to San Francisco to see the Monet exhibit. I had seen it back in March, with Ted and Maya, but wanted to see it one more time before it left. It turns out that my MIL had been to Monet’s gardens once with Ted’s brother, several years ago, and she also loves Monet. Who knew? I love finding common cause. It’s especially nice to find out that you have more in common with someone you love than you thought. So, we went to the City and looked at beautiful art, then perused the gift shop, drove out…
-
Chicken Tchakhokbelli (Chakhokbili)
My most recent visit with my Great Aunt included a lovely lunch with both my Great Aunt Flo and my Aunt Carolyn at Red Lobster, a trip down memory lane looking at photo albums, and of course, Aunt Flo giving me things. One of the things she gave me is this recipe, which apparently my Grandma used to make when they had company. I considered making it for Maya and Ted, but 1. It looks horrible, and 2. See number 1. They both said they would not eat it if I did make it, so why bother. One conversation that came up was about typing, and why the bottom of…