Rose To Rice

I never thought of eating both... he's a genius

Some Would Say 'Not Enough'

(from September 5th)

On a moderate whim we hit the big city to see one of Laura's newest obsessions: Too Many Zooz. Anything with a honky horn and she's already halfway there. And this may be one of the honkiest.

 What else but Indian food first. Jackson Diner. Eh. No Makhani but decent spices and beer prices.

We then did something neither of us had ever done; barhop. Spontaneity can be fun. Carroll Place, total hipster bar, with woodworked walls and Pitchfork-approved playlist. Straight liquor because we ain't got time for filler. Anywhere. Then stumbled over to the hiphop pool bar called Fat Black Pussycat. Terrific. Once again, straight Jameson. This was getting us thru the night, but our show didn't start til midnight so we needed some sustenance.  

Wine slushies and decadent cupcakes at twilight. Sweet Revenge is just that. But it hit the damn spot. 

This photo was taken at some point of the evening. 

As was this one.

And a wild concert indeed took place. There are stories, but Laura will have to tell you someday. I don't have the clearance level. We came out of the venue in the wee hours and of wee teetotalism. Luckily my friends Greg and Joseph were on their way home from a wrap party (fancy) and invited us in to sober up while they toured us thru their village apartment upgrades as of late. 

All I know from there is that by the time we were heading back to the kids, this was happening, so we decided 'what the hell' - - we are young, we are green, keep our teeth nice and clean. 

And someone had the presence of mind to prove it

Delicious Genderosity

(from August 16th)

That's my old friend Donald. He wrote and performed a show in NYC in August. We bought tickets because we will find every excuse to spend a night in the city.

That's Elvis. I didn't know him. 

We got in to the city a little late and had little time to eat dinner before curtain. About 30 minutes to order, eat and dash a few blocks to the theater. MasalaWala was the answer. Holy crap I don't know that I've ever had more exotic tasting food. Look at that cauliflower.

Being short on time did not keep us from downing an entire bottle of wine either.

Making Makhani

Laura made Chicken Makhani from scratch tonight. Delicious and colorful. I think I ate the bay leaf tho....

Wake Me When We Land

 We are officially in a holding pattern. Just circling the runway. Waiting for a sign. Waiting for powers that are out of our control to let us know when we're allowed to continue with our normal day to day activities. Waiting for the littlest member of our family to let us know when we can finally exhale.

 In the meantime, this fool's got plenty of questions about what exactly is going to happen when it is that something does begin to indeed, happen. So far all she's taken from it is that she's going to Isabella's house and she wants to meet her brother while wearing a grey sweater. Priorities.

So we wait. In the cold. I think Laura has scheduled Indian buffet for Friday. It worked last time. I wouldn't be surprised. That and she should go climb some fences.

Real Scary On Halloween...

...is a pregnant lady at an Indian buffet

On And Off And Tom Again

Best laid plans. Last made plans. It doesn't matter. Tom rendezvoused with Laura in Budd Lake and dinner was waiting for them when they got here. It was already dark but no one seemed to notice. A cutting board with spoons and bananas sat next to an empty bottle of wine within the hour, and that wasn't the best part.

excited to be found

Yuula took to Tom faster than anyone she's ever met, including her mother and me. She must know. And Tom took to her dance floor before the beat could even think about dropping. This went on well into the night. It was too surreal to capture any good photo.

The next morning we took to the yard, spoke in reminiscence and plant species, and got our feet wet with dew.

Decision was made to show Tom (who apparently enjoys antiquing just as much if not more and better than we do) our favorite joints and maybe grab some lunch. Olde Engine, and that expensive mess on 611 and we were ready to dine. Where else but Tandoori Palace, the Indian Express train with stellar butter naan and the perfect tikka masala sauce. Yuula ate a ton of tandoori chicken, mostly because she was being rewarded with mango lassi. Who wouldn't?

Peddler's Village was next but it's hard to seek out treasure with bellies full of basmati. Let's just say we tested out every chair in the place and a few crusade helmets as well.

Coffee and Main Street was next. We may have won the award for most time spent in Stroudsburg Square for any human being. Yuula smelled the flowers by color and found monsters down the cannon barrels.

Tom wanted to pick up some records to bring home. I helped him decide which Stones album would be optimal and seeked out some transitional material with little success. But I did find Paul Simon's Graceland for a fiver!

Then off to see Laura and say goodbyes. Yuula takes over that place whenever she visits. Pretty sure this girl was not hired to be baby chauffeur.

Strange to see Tom. Strange only because it's been seven years since I last saw him, albeit extremely briefly (7 minutes), and 13 years since we last hung out.

This was us in December of 1999.

This was us yesterday.

We switched sides.

And after all this time, the only thing that changed is our wastebands, in opposite directions. He's still the best friend I ever had.

Many Walks After Many Works

I don't know where we've been. Or how the time went so fast. But such is the way of a vacation week, always. Tomorrow is the last day and we plan on relaxing as much as possible. We got a lot of work done and crossed off 80% of our to-do list. Not bad. That lawn will be there next week.

So here are some of the finer moments. Or at least the finer ones we caught on film.

you lookin' at my burger?

that's coconut tea over that clementine

she's going to color herself in

making a spring comeback

celebrate! it's night night

we're not good at hide and seek yet

Suddenly the wheels are in motion

And I I'm ready to sail any ocean

Suddenly I don't need the answers

Cos I I'm ready to take all my chances with you

Little Xanadu again, I can't help it.

Pride In Red Pine

This morning we put the finishing touches on the shed. Trim and railing and voila. There needs to be some touchup paint work done, but I think there will always need to be some touchup paint work done, so I'm not getting too crazy about that.

Front (Working Side)


Back (Relaxing Side)


The garden on the other hand is not finished. Chicken wire is 97% installed. The seven garden boxes are built and laid out and leveled. The alcove is leveled and shelved out. So it seems like tomorrow may not be a planting day so much as another day of preparation. Just as well. We're broke til the weekend.



Good news is I have a new favorite lunch. Indian cheese steak sprinkled with turmeric & red curry. Gets the blood flowing. Have one.

The Week's Overfloweth