Meredith and Ruby left on January 28, not to return again until Feb 10 and 12. Claire and I are at opposite ends of the apartment, my room /office is next the room where Ruby and Meredith stay, Claire's room is closest to the front door. Since "Nature abhors a vacuum", I figured that I should have my high school friend PJMGGW come to visit. W is her married name.
PJMGGW hadn't been to visit me since I had the whole apartment totally redone, from the cement below the "textured" plaster built back up by re-plastering, re-priming and painting. This also included totally gutting the bathrooms and the kitchen and refinishing the floors. It took several years since I was living and working here through it all. And it included a respite of about a year in the middle for a bit of R & R, peace and quiet, and time off from plaster dust.
Actually PJMGG and I went to Paris 2 years ago in January when there is a Lingerie Trade Show that I attend. in addition to one in September over Labor Day weekend. However, being an independent Sales Agent for an Italian textile company, means that I get to pay my own way for everything, no expense account. So getting myself to Europe twice a year, is not all bad, but it certainly requires, having spent a bundle on the airfare, that I take at least a week to enjoy myself somewhere in Europe. P and I decided to stay in Paris for the week.
P is from southern California. I told her that she MUST get a full length down coat because Paris in January is not at all like "April in Paris". Sometimes it is rainy and cold; often it is frigid and snowy. That year it was BEAUTIFUL, sunny and in the 50"s every day. Why on earth did she need a full length down coat, she wondered. She needed it so that when she came to visit me this year in New York, she would be warm.
So I decided to take a few days off to be a tourist. Generally, we just had a leisurely breakfast after I took Mr J (the dog) to the Park for his morning off leash run-around with his friends from 8 to 9. Just the way that one becomes friends with the parents of your kids’ friends, dog owners become friends with the owners of their dog's friends. Mr. J has 5 special friends, but the whole gang is about 12 to 15 dogs (with their owners) who gather just past the Tennis Center in Central Park in the mornings.
So PJMGG and I would have a leisurely breakfast and discuss everything important in our lives, and the lives of everyone we know and world events. That takes a while. Then we decide what to do that day and get out shortly before noon. First day was Eataly, a play on words, but a perfect name. It is a huge Italian food emporium that also incorporates 5 restaurants within. The Dorm has to visit! We bought food for later and for the dinner party that PJMGG was fixing for her friends J and J on Sunday. Next we went to Uniqlo, a Japanese manufacturer of clothing and retail stores. Only one store in the US tho, in SoHo. She bought a fleece zip-front lightweight jacket. Just happened to be the exact one I had bought the week before. We decided NOT to wear them when we are together.
The following days included lunch at Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery on the Lower East Side prior to a tour of a tenement, much better than it sounds. Dinner with B, on the Upper West Side, the Fantasticks, the longest running musical in history, over 50 years, the Metropolitan Museum and a free tour, PJMGG fixing dinner for J and J, and dinner in Chinatown with JA. We got a lot done in 4 days.
PJMGG left on Tuesday and Meredith arrived on Thursday with her 20 something daughter L. L is named after my daughter L. My L is taller and older, thus, big L. Little L is working in Aspen for the winter and planning on staying there through the summer to work 2 jobs and save up for finishing college in Colorado. Not a bad plan! She could easily have a singing /acting career. One never knows.
Saturday Ruby returned to the Dorm and we were complete once more. Meredith fixed her Mushroom, Pesto Pasta that we all love, and I fixed a whatever-is-in-the-frig salad. There was wine before dinner, wine with dinner and wine after dinner, I think. Little L twirled Vanilla ice cream and Raspberry sorbet together for desert. We eat so well!
L went back to Aspen for a Valentine dinner with a friend. The dorm was joined by 2 other New Yorkers for a Valentine’s day dinner out on the Upper West Side. It was “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one(s) you’re with”, which we did. It was a great evening with great food, great wine (thanks to Ruby) and great camaraderie.
--Anna
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