Harrison & Summer Xmas 2011

Now that Lisa & Sam have relocated from North Dakota to Wappinger Falls, NY, it's easier for them to get together with Lisa's family for celebrations. They decided to drive down and stay in the city for 3 nights over Christmas.
They arrived at Lisa's parents in Queens on Friday around 11am...the same time as my call to said parents asking if I could drop gifts off for the kids since I wouldn't be able to join them for Christmas Eve dinner.

While Lisa & Sam unloaded their car, I took the antsy kids up in the elevator to their grandparents. I asked them if they knew who I was. Harrison looked up at me and responded "Easter?". I hadn't been called Easter in a very long time. Or rather, I used to get my name mispelled as Easter. At least he was close. Summer, timid and shy just stayed glued to her big brother's side.

Sam took the kids out to the nearby playground where I found them upon my leave. Harrison, who will be 6 in Feb had drawn a car on the playground's rubber mat along with the words "My Car by Harrison" I was so lucky to have my camera on me to capture his masterpiece. Very impressive!
I almost got Summer (3) to hug me...her brother gave me a nice big goodbye hug and she came running over to me and then stopped short in front of me on a dime and basically hugged herself. Good enough for me...:-)




Harrison & his "car"


Lucky me...I got a smile out of Summer!




Nothing like asking kids to make silly faces to break the ice

Seafood Dinner 2011

Last night Kathy & Tony hosted the annual Seven Fish dinner. They had it exactly a year ago on Dec 18th. The menu changes to Kathy's fancy although some things are a given like her "famous seafood salad" - and the Mazzola bread as appetizer along with crab dip served with crackers. We ate it up before I remembered to take a photo!





The "kids" playing a board game before dinner

Kathy's menu: Fried Calamari, Seafood lasagna, Salmon En Croute (layered with mushrooms) & String Beans. The "guests" all brought dessert. Both Nikki, Tom & Kris brought cookies. And I brought along a coconut cake, a chocolate layer cake in the shape of a Xmas tree and triple chocolate cupcakes. It was a great night filled with a smorgasbord offering and of course, the best of company.


Fried Calamari

Salmon En Croute


Cookies from Nikki & Tom


Xmas Tree Cake


The Sweets!


One of our hosts..hosting...:-)


Baz,Kris, Nikki & Tom

Friend of a Farmer

A few months late but today we celebrated my girlfriend's Leslie's birthday which was in September. But as we all know, better late than never.

Friend of a Farmer was listed as one of the top ten NYC brunch places and although they don't take reservations for brunch, we decided to meet there.



It was a particularly chilly day and as I passed the place in my car, I saw quite a few people already on line. I quickly parked and stood behind about 15 people. Following the crowd, I learned that was the process. You wait out on line, the hostess comes by, asking the number in your party and depending on what was available, she seats you. Tables for 2 were much faster to seat but most were parties of 4 or more. They don't want to seat you if your entire party is not present. I just had a feeling that would be the case. Leslie was across town and I estimated her arrival. After 2 ladies behind me were whisked away, I waited until the hostess came out again asking for a party of 2. I raised 2 fingers and she motioned to follow her. Once inside, she literally freaked out when she saw I was alone. I assured her my friend was parking the car. She was skeptical, claiming she would be in big trouble if she didn't show soon and as I got to my table, I called and sure enough, Leslie was around the corner.

I love the concept of the place. Very quaint farm-like decor. Fresh produce and ingredients. Wait staff was attentive and the first thing I ordered was their French Press coffee and Leslie requested tea: English Breakfast. When my pot of coffee came and I took a sip, I was in heaven. It was so aromatic, strong and delicious. Unfortuantely, for me, that was the last time I felt that way.


I ordered the Boomer Special: Scrambled eggs, french toast, buttermilk or pumpkin pancakes, bacon, ham or sausage and home fries. I opted for the pumpkin pancakes and sausage.



Leslie ordered the "Healthy Farmers Omelette": egg whites, feta cheese, spinach & tomato although she declined the feta cheese.



Leslie liked her dish. Both arrived beautifully presented. But I am not sure whether my plate had been waiting too long before it was served since the place was so busy because the pancakes were hard and everything was luke-warm. Or was it because I was chatting and let my dish go cold. Not sure but in the end, I was disappointed. I was looking forward to fluffy pancakes a la IHOP. I guess I'll stick to IHOP for my pancakes.

The View

Of all the shows we attend, The View is probably one of the toughest tickets to get these days. They've been on the air for over 10 years and obviously it was easier in the early days. Now they only allow you to request tickets once a year and if you request more than once, you get disqualified. Harumph! Kathy was able to secure tickets for today's show. We were hoping for some good give-away since it was Cyber-Monday.

Other shows have you line up outside but then at some point when you get indoors, there's a waiting area usually with seating. Not The View. We stood from 7:30am until 10:30 when we were ushered into the studio. On our way in, we were given a bottle of cranberry juice and a package of fudge striped cookies.



All five ladies were in attendance. Barbara Walters, Whoopie Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Sheppard and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The guests today were Meredith Viera, an original panel member with her husband, Richard Cohen and actress, Nancy Travis.


The ladies with Meredith and Richard

It was a good show...and we did get a gift card...worth $150...for Holiday cards! So it wasn't exactly what we anticipated but a gift is a gift. I will try to make good use of it.

One of the best things about these shows is deciding where to go for lunch afterwards! But today, we had a surprise invitation by Winnie's father who offered to cook for us! We couldn't pass it up. He made a feast...curried beef stew, sauteed napa cabbage, glass noodles with bacon, chai sui and roast duck. WOW! Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Moy!

Turkey Day 2011

The thing I love most about Thanksgiving at my mom's is that the menu is pretty much set. Turkey, stuffing, mash with gravy, sweet potatoes, stringbeans, jellied cranberry sauce and homemade rolls. For as long as I can remember, I am in charge of the turkey and stuffing. My mom, the sweet potatoes. Kathy kneads and bakes the rolls and when Nikki & Kris were old enough, became responsible for the mash. Dessert is the only variance. But it's always a feast. This year did not disappoint. Kris baked a blueberry pie. Kathy made her famous pumpkin roll and a pumpkin pie. Miranda & Evelyn made apple crisp and chocolate bark. Nikki provided sugar cookies with sprinkles. It was all oh-so-lovely!

And as much as the food is a big part of the day...the very best part is having the family all together. I am indeed blessed and very thankful!




Chocolate Bark


An array of riches





Our beautiful kids!

The Chew

I don't really remember when it started but I have been attending tapings of morning shows for awhile. The first one was about 16 years ago and it was Regis & Kathie Lee. Went a couple of times. But it is a live show at 9am so a person needs to be there super early.

Later, started to attend Rosie, Martha Stewart, her daughter's Whatever, The View, Tony Danza and then Mike & Juliet (a local morning show on Fox), Rachel Ray, Wendy Williams, Nate and Anderson Cooper. Yep...has kept me (us) busy! But it's a nice way to spend some time with friends and family. And sometimes...we hit the jackpot...great giveaways! But mostly, it's a show and lunch afterwards. Fun!

The other day, Connie (her tickets), Kathy, Winnie and I went to see a brand new show..The Chew. It was surprisingly better than I expected. I liked that they got their "stuff" down. We have gone to "first time" tapings and oh boy...it becomes a long day as they try to work out the kinks. But this was pretty good but it is a cooking show and I think, as a food show, they should give out at least one sample of something to the whole audience instead of only a chosen few. But it certainly whetted the appetite! The four of us enjoyed a delicious lunch at Big Wong's. A good day all around!




Photos courtesy of Connie

Wreath 2011

Working at Michael's these last 3 weeks have proved interesting. Many ups and downs, pros and cons. But for the most part, I am still enjoying it. I still love the store and all the merchandise. But still haven't seen all of it. Usually at the end of a 6 hour shift, I just want to get out of there. But when I'm home, I wished I stayed to browsed and get more familiar.

In the meantime, I am loving my department - "beads". I can see why it might drive some people crazy. There are literally thousands of products and they are constantly being moved around by customers. It's never ending but when I am able to straighten up and put things in their right places...it satisfies something in me.

Little by little, I am getting to know instantly where something may belong. The first day I was placed there, I felt lost. But quickly turned that around and since I was basically left alone, was able to get a feel of my area. But after 5 hours of getting most of everything back into it's proper places, I felt resentful when customers came in. I didn't want anyone to touch anything! LOL

Being in an environment that promotes creativity is truly fulfilling to my heart. Although I don't feel as if I have the time to make any crafts these days, the ideas are always there.

Christmas is throughout the store. Last year, I decorated a wreath and this year I did the same - in hopes of showing Michael's and maybe I can even sell them. Never know! But even if that doesn't happen....decorating the wreath made me happy.