Dances with Luggage Carts

Those of you who don't live in Manhattan would have no idea what chaos to expect on Memorial Day evenings, or for that matter, any long summer weekend. Oh sure, you might imagine or have heard of terrible traffic problems coming back into the city. But the scramble to unload cars, find a luggage cart to deposit all your belongings and leave it to begin a desperate search for parking can cause harried doorman to have fits of nerves.

A Long Time in Coming...

We've been waiting for Memorial Day weekend almost since the end of last summer.  Sure, there were some fun autumn events and winter holidays to distract us.  But once New Year's Day came and went we started crossing the days off the calendar.  Not that we want to wish parts of our lives away but this winter was so cold and snowy and dreary and long...  Spring came late this year so there wasn't even that to cheer us up.

But at last, summer has come.  Maybe it doesn't officially arrive until June 21st but, at least here in New York, it unofficially arrives on Memorial Day weekend.  That is when summer shares in beach houses begin, corporations start their summer Friday hours and long lines can be seen waiting for the Hamptons Jitney to take them out to the south shore of Long Island.  For those of us blessed enough to have access to a home out there, Memorial Day weekend marks the start of summer grilling, frozen blender cocktails, time spent by the water and a happy doggie chasing her ball on acres of green grass.  It means farm stands and sweet summer fruit and relaxation.  It means happiness.  And we've been waiting a long time...

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

Both cauliflower and broccoli are staples in my veggie crisper. The broccoli I occasionally sauté with some garlic and olive oil but am most likely to just eat it raw, dipped in hummus. Cauliflower, however, I always cooked. My favorite preparation was roasted with olive oil and a little parmesan cheese but Brian actually likes it raw just fine. He'll usually eat a few raw pieces while I'm chopping it up to be roasted but the idea never appealed to me. That is, until I tasted cauliflower salad.

A Day in the Life

One of my friends has been taking a photography for blogging class and she inspired me to recreate one of their assignments. This is a day in my life, chosen at random and told in pictures with a minimum of written explanation. Obviously not all days are identical but this one was fairly typical of a weekday/workday for me and it was great fun doing it.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Brian and I are way behind in our movie watching but have been trying lately to catch up somewhat with Netflix. Last weekend brought us to Julie & Julia and a tasty looking Boeuf Bourguignon.