New York City, Saturday

The Homer Reunion in NYC

Saturday, Sept 15

A gathering of Tom's classmates found their way to NYC by plane, train, and bus. Yes, bus! Some for business. Others purely for entertainment provided by those who were there for business.

Notice the fabulous apartment with the view south from 62nd. Notice the famous photographer shooting the picture. The new Avedon? Right to left: Melanie, Tacie, Jim, Jim, Luanne(me), Tom. Background photographer: John.

It was a day of laughter. Normal day to day cares weren't mentioned as we covered the antics of dogs (thanks Higgs!), travels, renovations, and updates on others who couldn't make it. The mystery guest failed to appear--who has that gmail account?

Seeking Starbucks, coffee at Cosi, the Millenium or the Marriott, the Irish Festival that wasn't, the Free Taiwan parade, the German parade, the Frick (who knew Higgs was so into art?), on to Mediterraneo, the visit to the almost penthouse (wish we could have stayed to see the lights of the night--another time?), the speakerphone call to the plastic surgeon in Hawaii, and the arrival of the classmate-photographer.

Tom and I took the train up and back for a very full day. We're thrilled that we were all able to gather, and look forward to future reunions in Hawaii, San Francisco, DC, or wherever. Skaneateles would always be great.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Having recently read A Thousand Splendid Suns, it was time to do my part by sending wool hats to afghans for Afghans. If you haven't read the book, "compelling" is the best word for it.

I mailed them to San Francisco yesterday and know that four more people will have warm heads, comforted by hand-knit wool. The next due date is October 12.

My friend Joyce had a birthday yesterday, I left a goodie bag on her porch with two olive oils (Santisi and Goccia Umbra) and a bar of Olive Oil soap. One from Olio2go and others from my olive oil collection!

A Great Birthday Weekend

Labor Day Weekend was the setting for Tom's ___ Birthday. We're thrilled that Il Fornaio now has a restaurant in Reston. During our California years, we regularly dined at the ocean view Del Mar location, and when traveling around the state at at Carmel, Beverly Hills, and Irvine.

It was a lovely Saturday lunch and we had no problem getting an outside table. The only think missing was the Del Mar view! Tom's brother joined us for our leisurely lunch for five.

Later in the afternoon friends came and we celebrated with our first meal on the new porch. With selections from Wegmans (the sirloin!) and the Burke Farmers Market, our menu consisted of Insalata Caprese, a potato salad capers, red onion, and Zisola extra virgin olive oil (from Olio2go), canteloupe. I can't forget the Rosemary Ciabatta from Wes at The Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm.

Throughout the weekend I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni. Very well written, but it was so depressing at times that I almost put it down, yet it was so compelling I couldn't stop reading. I'm astounded by the depth of torture in Afghan's bloody history. To call the society "conservative" is to be nice. It's hard to believe that those events could happen in my lifetime. I've knit for afghans for Afghans in the past and it is definitely time to do so again. The next deadline is October 12th!