Sunday Rolls Around Again: Mass, Coffee with Friends, Packing to Leave and Attending an Open-Air Music Concert in Westport

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Westport and Fairfiedl, Connecticut

Sunday Rolls Around Again: Mass, Coffee with Friends, Packing to Leave and Attending an Open-Air Music Concert in Westport

The morning after the night before! It was well after midnight by the time my sense of excitement piped down and I was actually able to fall asleep after returning from Halle’s wedding. That I managed to wake up early is just an indication of the way by body is wired. I was already up and blogging when I heard from my doctor friends, Ed and Marguerite Pinto, that they were leaving their church at Westport (St. Luke’s) and as per our arrangement would be in the parking lot at Trader Joe’s in ten minutes. This left me just enough time to wash, get dressed for church myself and see them there. Yes, I am known to do things at lightning speed (but then I had kept my clothes ready for wearing to church last night).

Breakfast with the Drs. Pinto:

As planned, I was at the Trader Joe’s parking lot and there were Ed and Marguerite, both retired physicians (he is a cardiologist, she is a pathologist, both are dear family friends of ours). We hugged and said how long it was since we had met and then I was in their car and they were off. They drove me just a couple of minutes away to McDonald’s where we had decided to meet for coffee. Logistically speaking, given their commitments and mine (and the fact that this is the second last day of my stay in the USA), all we could manage was this early morning meal in MickeyDee’s!

I had selected an Egg and Sausage McMufffin and a “Seniors” coffee (for just $1), we settled down for a lovely long chat. I had about 90 minutes with them before I’d had to leave for Mass at 10.00 am at my own church where they were going to drop me. Th Pintos (who have been our primary care physicians for almost 30 years) had a lot to say about their bi-coastal lifestyle. Since their doctor daughter, Michelle Kittleson, a world-renowned cardiologist herself, married and settled down in Los Angeles, California, and gave them three beautiful grandsons, they decided that after retirement, they would spend as much time as possible close to them. Accordingly, they sold all their other properties to buy a penthouse in Beverley Hills, California, where they live from October to March. They spend the spring and summer in Westport, Connecticut, as they rent a mother-in-law apartment from Marguerite’s sister, Nirmala (also a physician and now our primary care doctor) where Marguerite says she feels as if she has died and gone to heaven (as this was the apartment her own parents used to live in before they both passed away).

Meanwhile, Michelle has been going great guns—publishing medical and non-medical books, making an international name for herself as a cardiologist, raising three boys, following her passion for cooking and baking, etc. They simply could not stop talking about her. They also talked about Bangalore, India, from where Ed had just returned after spending two weeks. He had gone there to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of St. John’s Medical College, an institution that had been founded by a group of Indian Catholics that had included Marguerite’s father, Dr. Monteiro! Yes, as you can see, they are three generations of eminent doctors—all of whom have made a huge contribution to humanity through their work. For my part, I got to discuss my own health issues with Ed who continues to keep a close eye on Llew and my health, even though he is so far away, simply because we are such close friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Ed and Marguerite especially as I hadn’t had the chance to bid them goodbye before I left for India and they were keen to find out how we were doing in Bombay. At the end of our visit, we piled back into their car and they drove me to St. Anthony of Padua Church where I was just in time for the 10.00 am Mass.

Mass and After at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Fairfield:

It was nice to see Fr. John Murray back on the altar today after all the drama surrounding his collapse last Sunday. It turned out that he had come to say Mass on an empty stomach and fainted, probably from hunger or a radical drop in his blood sugar. He was right as rain as he began Mass. Since I was at the 10.00 am Mass, it was much more crowded and lively than the 8.15 am Masses I had attended over the last two Sundays. I recognized a lot more people and was particularly happy to see my friends, Rick and Kelly LaFerreire, whom I was determined to meet at the end of Mass just so that I could visit with them.

Well, our visit—first in church, then in the church patio and then in the parking lot--went on so long that eventually they asked me to come back home with them for coffee after which they would give me a ride back home. I readily agreed as I had not been in touch with them and was also keen to catch up on the doings of their family. I was absolutely shocked to discover that their twin boys, Max and Luke, were off to college in a couple of days! Seems like only yesterday they were born!!! Where do the years fly? I also met Zoe, their sassy and very lovely daughter, whom I have also known since childhood as she was the first friend of my niece Anaya when my brother’s family was living in our home for a year. Zoe would often come over to play with Anaya and I has spent many evenings at our place while I kept an eye on her as her Mum ran errands.

We settled down with coffee at their kitchen table and continued to gab about all they have been doing and after a little while, we got back into their car and they dropped me home. It was a lovely visit and I enjoyed returning to Taintor Road in Southport where so many of our friends have lived over the years.

A Few Varied Hours at Home:

By the time I returned home to Westport, Leslie was out and Sunil was in the garden lounging on one of the chaise-longes. He offered to help me set up some financial accounts but although we spent over an hour on them, we were unable to make much headway as I am hopelessly ignorant about financial matters and Llew was fast asleep in India to answer Sunil’s questions.

I gave up and went inside and after nibbling on fruit and cheese and crackers, I returned to my room to continue with my packing as I would be leaving on Tuesday and I still had to start dividing my weight between two suitcases. After a while, I decided to take a nap as I had not had much sleep. However, just before I fell asleep, my friends Mary-Lauren and Brett, called to ask if I’d like to join them in the evening for an open-air concert at the Levitt’s Pavilion nearby in Westport. They had an extra ticket they had ordered for me and wondered if I’d be interested in attending a concert by North County Band which played a number of their own compositions plus well-known hits. Since I was free and keen to see my friends again, I readily agreed. Leslie volunteered to drive me to the venue. The Factoras also sent me the menu from Yamafuji Sushi and asked me to pick from it. I told them I would go with whatever they ordered—just to order extra for me too.

And so, at 7.00 pm, we were seated under a kindly sky in Westport at a beautiful open-air facility that was constructed, a few years ago, for community events. As it happened to be my wedding anniversary, I was happy to do something fun to mark the day (even if Llew was far away). After Leslie dropped me there, we were a bit early and sat gabbing away until my hosts arrived. They had brought everything with them including chairs, a portable table and all the fixins’ for an al fresco meal under the stars. We set up, began eating (they did not bring wine-instead they had healthy smoothies and flavored Seltzer water for me) and I was introduced for the first time to sweet potato sushi and avocado sushi—both of which were just delicious.

The music was superb. The band had lovely-voiced singers –male and female—and their music was foot-tapping enjoyable. They played for a full two hours by which time darkness had fallen over Connecticut and stars began to twinkle. We had a really lovely time and I was thrilled when Llew awoke in Bombay and we were able to get him on the phone, The Factoras were able to wish him for our anniversary and his being present, even if it was only in spirit, made the occasion feel extraordinary for me.

was then dropped back home, after which I got ready for bed and hit the sack.

Until tomorrow, cheerio!

A Morning Spent in a Basement n Fairfield, Cionnecticut, Shopping for Odds and Ends, Enjoying a Wild Flower Garden and Quiet Dinner at Home with my Hosts

Friday, August 25, 2023

Southport and Fairfield, Connecticut

A Morning Spent in a Basementin Fairfield, Cionnecticut, Shopping for Odds and Ends, Enjoying a Wild Flower Garden and Quiet Dinner at Home with my Hosts

As the days are flying by, I find I have settled into a comfortable routine here in Connecicut. I still wake up far more early than I would have desired, but at least the extra hour or two allows me to catch up with my blog and chats with Llew in Bombay. It also allows me to plan my day.

I got out of bed, made my usual breakfast of muesli with honey yogurt and had a hot coffee. Then, as Leslie would only be beginning work in the afternoon, I had her car at my disposal. I called my friend Mary-Lauren and found out that her daughter Sage and husband Brett would be at their home all day—I could, therefore, take my time about getting to their place. I wanted to sort through my large DVD collection that I had left in three large boxes in their basement. My intention was to bring a lot of my DVDs home to Bombay but I also wanted to thin out my collection and give away a good number.

I spent a good part of the morning shopping for the few items Llew has asked me to bring back and that I wanted to take with me. I then stopped at Dairy Queen for my last Chocolate Cherry Love Blizzard and was enjoying it in the parking lot when Sage texted me to tell me to be at their place before 3.00 pm as Brett had an interview at that point. I told her that I was right on my way.

I spent the next hour down in their basement. I managed to let go at least 60 DVDs and put them into a box to be left at the storage bins at the Pequot Library. I dropped those over at the library later that evening. The ones I did want to bring with me were placed in other boxes and the ones I wanted to retain in the basement I consolidated into two boxes instead of three. I also left behind another heavy box filled with stuff from my office at NYU that I could not carry to India myself. All this done, I got into the car and returned to the Library.

Just before I pulled into the library’s driveway. I noticed the beautiful Wildflower garden in front of the library. I simply had to stop there to take some pictures and this I did. By 6.00 pm, at the time that Leslie would get off work, I was there to return the car to her. She locked up the library and both of us then drove straight to Trader’s Joe’s. I picked up a frozen chicken pot pie as I was really keen to have one before I left. Leslie picked up a Cheese and Tomato Pizza and it ended up being a casual evening at home with my hosts and more Ted Lasso. I am keen to finish the series before I leave for India. I am enjoying it very much as it is really heartwarming. After dinner, Sunil offered me a glass of port wine which I rather enjoyed. We sat chatting for a while when I excused myself to take a shower and retire for the night.

Today was pretty uneventful but tomorrow will be another busy day and it was good to have one with a slightly slower pace today.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

Seeing my Endicronologist and Taking a Long Walk in Southport/Westport with Leslie

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Fairfield and Southport, Connecticut

Seeing my Endicronologist and Taking a Long Walk in Southport/Westport with Leslie

Today was a quieter day as I am now in Return Mode. After an early wake-up during which I blogged, I made my breakfast and drove off for an 8.20 am appointment with my endourologist of at least 15 years, Dr. Glenn Rich in Trumbull. I feel really blessed to have the use of her car as Leslie starts work only at 1.00 pm most afternoons. This allows me to do all my jobs in the morning at great convenience.

Seeing my Doctor Again:

All went well with Dr. Rich although we did talk about checking my arteries for any blockages in light of the fact that my cholesterol is borderline. I tried to get the scan done at Advanced Radiology but they had no appointments available for the next few days and since I am leaving soon, I will get it done in India. This, of course, is only precautionary as the US bases its heath care on preventative medicine. My ECK was clear, my blood pressure is normal, so the chance of heart disease is minimal. Still, you can never be too sure and Dr. Rich wants me to stay on top of my heart health. He was delighted to hear that I work out six days a week, have followed a low-carb diet for 25 years, have never smoked and drink alcohol very sparingly. Hopefully, this will augur well. He would like to see Scan results and asked me to fax them to him. Meanwhile, he gave me an appointment for a year from now.

It is amazing to me that I still have the ability to see my doctors, thanks to Medicare and NYU’s Supplemental Health care benefits. For as long as we can swing it, I will make these annual medical pilgrimages to the US. Of course, a time may come when that will no longer be possible…but, for the moment, I revel in the knowledge that I can.

I stopped at CVS for one quick errand: buying OFF Mosquito repellent (as per Llew’s request) to deal with them in India. I also stopped at Stop and Shop to buy my stash of marinated olives as this is something I cannot get in India—I can only find the bottled variety which are usually used in martinis. I then drove back home and went straight for a cofree as it has turned pretty chilly already. In fact, I think that late summer-early fall is probably the best time to be in the US—you avoid the possibility of truly burning up in the summer heat and you do not get the awful brutality of winter. Maybe it might be best to plan future trips at this time of year.

Getting Packing Done:

I spent the rest of the morning worrying about my packing and taking out all heavy stuff so that I could include those things that urgently need to be transported to India. I will leave those things that are not urgent in my friend Mary-Lauren’s basement. They will be transported to India at a later stage. We stopped to eat Lunch (I ate leftovers of my British Breakfast Plate of a few days ago—it was still quite quite delicious) and then I had a nap.

By the time I woke up, Leslie had returned from work and we sat down chatting. It was quite grey outside and looked very gloomy but a thought suddenly occurred to me. I asked Leslie if she was too tired and she said she was fine. I then suggested we go for a walk and I take her to a place she had never been to before—I told her that it was a favorite walking trail for Llew and me, especially during the pandemic, when we enjoyed being out in nature talking about our future plans to relocate to India. She said she would love to go for a walk and so off we went.

Walking Again in Southport/Westport Meadows:

The area I call the Southport Meadows are actually on the border of Westport (as Leslie found out by using a satellite map later on). It is just past Southport Beach and is a vast acreage that has been in the possession of the Audobon Society as part of their conservancy project. Llew and I used to enjoy walking here as it seemed we were always far from the madding crowd in a protect environment where we could enjoy wild flowers, towering trees and, if we were lucky, much wildlife too.

And for Leslie and myself too, it turned out to be a splendid walk. Leslie was utterly charmed as she had no idea such a place existed and she absolutely loved it. She found out that it borders the playing fields of Green Farms Academy (Llew and I used to often walk around the periphery of their football and baseball fields too). We saw a cute little rabbit on our walk as well as a pair of deer. We stopped by the little lakes and the fountains in the private properties and multi-million dollar homes that form the periphery of the meadows. We took pictures and had a really wonderful time as we plucked wild raspberries and blackberries (reminded me very much of the plucking of wild blackberries that I used to do in England when I would take them home and eat them with ice-cream). Oh, the happy past times of rural summers in the West!

When our walk was done, we had a couple of errands to run: I had to pick up mail from my home and so met the Kennedys again briefly, we went to Stop and Shop to return the aerosol mosquito repellent I had bought as well as the Pledge furniture polish as Leslie told me that aerosol containers are not allowed on the aircraft and we stopped at CVS to get something else I needed to buy—clip-on sunglasses as I simply cannot do without them in India.

Dinner and Ted Lasso Back Home:

Once home, we discovered that Sunil had taken over the cooking and had prepared grilled chicken with vegetables for us. We had a lovely dinner while watching Ted Lasso (I am determined to finish the third and final season before I leave from here as we do not have Apple TV at home) and also following the TV coverage about Donald Trump getting booked and having his mug shot taken in Georgia.

Dinner done, we sat chatting for a while before I excused myself to take a sbower and get ready for bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

Lunch at the Pequot Yacht Club With Southport Book Club Friends and Dinner with a Lovely Family in Fairfield.

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Southport and Fairfield, Connecticut

Lunch at the Pequot Yacht Club With Southport Book Club Friends and Dinner with a Lovely Family in Fairfield.

Today was another eventful day! Indeed, most of my days seem to be crammed with activity as I am focusing on meeting friends whom I last saw nine months ago, in November, just before we relocated to India. I awoke early, did some blogging and tried to get back to some reading, I am expected to finish reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sheyan Karunatilaka, a Sri Lankan author whose novel won the Booker Prize last year. Except that the Magical Realism of the book makes it so abstract and so complicated that almost 100 pages into the book, it all still seems like gibberish to me. I am sticking with it, still hoping it will all start to unveil itself like the layers of an onion.

Appointment with my Radiologist:

My day began with an appointment in Trumbull with my radiologist of 25 years, Dr. Neil Specht to whom I go every year for my annual mammogram and ultra-sound. This year, as I am on Medicare for the first time, I am learning exactly how it works. All my physicians accept it, of course, for existing patients—which is a big relief because at this stage in my life, I don’t want to go looking for new doctors who do not know my medical history.

I know Sandra, the technician, very well and she is always wonderful. I usually have a different person doing the ultra sound every year and this year it was Ashley. Fortunately, the doctor told me all was well and very stable and I did not need to worry for another year. I made an appointment for next year and I was off. It is wonderful that Leslie gives me her car to use as I go to these doctor’s appointments as they have made my life very easy—however, these morning appointments are clashing with my tutoring schedule and I am required to do some creative juggling of days and dates—all of which is quite a nuisance.

I stopped at Cathy’s place and picked up a bottle of tequila to take back to Bombay from the stash of alcohol we had left with them. Similarly, I drove to Bonnie’s place to pick up a bottle of Drambuie which she is also holding for me. I hoped to take these two bottles to India. With them in my trunk, I drove to Leslie’s place to return the car to her, but I was well aware that I had a luncheon appointment with my Southport Book Club folks at the Pequot Yacht Club and needed a ride from Leslie’s place. I sent out a text requesting a ride and received a response from Joanie who said she would come and pick me up. In the end, however, it was Laura who came as she now lives in Westport (not too far from Leslie).

Lunch at the Pequot Yacht Club with a Fun-Loving Bunch of Friends:

We were blessed by a truly glorious late summer’s afternoon when the Mill River looked spectacular and there was a bit of wind to provide relief from the sun. We sat on the patio outside overlooking the sea craft passing by. So idyllic! Made me realize how blessed Llew and I were to live in such a heavenly location for 30 years of our lives and how lucky I was to make friends with these gals who are members here!

Alison signed me in and while everyone else had a Cobb Salad with Grilled Chicken, I opted for the Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce which were just lovely—except that they were meant to be an appetizer and did not come with a starch to provide any bulk. Even so, they made a good light lunch. I had an iced Diet Coke to go with it. It was a bit chilly as the wind was picking up and I forgot to bring a cardigan.

We had a really lovely two hours, chatting about our families and our summers. Laura has moved to Westport and is building a home in South Carolina into which she will be moving in a couple of days. Ruthie was leaving with her family for London, Alison’s children no longer need home schooling as they are all at uni now. She has begun a new voluntary project called World Tutors that links up voluntary tutors with students around the world (mainly in the Global South) to help them do better in their studies. After she told me about the project, I volunteered to be part of her teaching corps. She will fill me in on the details later.

Lunch done, the ladies drove off with Alison offering to pick me up again at 3.00pm. I strolled to the village, hoping to get back to Foxtrot Vintage but found that it was closed. I walked instead to The Carousel and looked around a bit, but did not find anything. At 3.00 pm, I phoned Alison who came to get me. We chatted more about her tutoring project until we arrived at Leslie’s.

Dinner with Close Friends at their Fairfield Home:

I had a bit of time to relax with a short nap and then take a shower before it was time for me to call Mimi, my friend, who was working up to 6.00 pm, to let her know that I was ready to be picked up. She and her husband Shayon came along to Leslie’s in their spiffy red Tesla and off we went. It was wonderful catching up with them in the car as I had last seen Mimi last year when she and her family had treated Llew and me to a farewell lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant (Ru Thai) in Bridgeport. Mimi has since changed jobs (she is a corporate lawyer and works as Legal Counsel for Credit Suisse Bank in Manhattan) and Shayon, her husband, is a Professor of Physics at the University of Hartford—and is currently on summer break.

Back at Mimi’s beautiful, spacious home in Fairfield, right opposite the Brooklawn Country Club and Golf Links, we settled down into a really plush and very comfy sofa. It was actually the first time I had been to their place as we usually meet in restaurants. They gave me the tour of their home and showed me their large back yard which is really very well manicured by professional gardeners. I was also thrilled to see the things that Mimi had taken from our estate sale—two masks (one we had bought in Poland and another in South America) that joined her collection of masks on the wall and the Royal Doulton porcelain flowers (which I had always loved) and which are now in a glass vase on the buffet of her dining table. She also has our Stratford-on-Avon plate. Like me, Mimi is a confirmed Anglophile as she studied British Jurisprudence at the University of Cambridge in the UK—the Other Place (as we, from Oxford, call it!).

Their twin children—Anshul and Ankshita—joined us for dinner. The family had just returned from a fabulous holiday in Crete where they had rented an Air B&B for a week. They had also toured Athens. We had a lot to talk about in terms of their wonderful holiday experiences. As for the food, well, what can I say??? They made me a typical Bengali meal (as they are Bengalis, of course) that included everything: 3 types of vegetables, chicken curry (made by Shayon), shrimp with potatoes (made by Mimi), rice, dal, hot and fresh off the tava (griddle), plus pakoras and a delightful salad. Dessert was gulab jamuns and chocolate fudge ice-cream! I mean, truly, it was a meal fit for a king and we all ate well. There was much laughter and chatter around the table as the entire family regaled me with all sorts of stories and I had a really grand time.

By 10.00 pm, I asked if I could stop at another friend’s place—Swapna’s—so that I could pick up two belts that belong to Llew and which he had left behind to be brought back to India later by Swapna’s husband, Rasik. Swapna was still up and told me I was welcome to come and pick up the belts. This gave me a chance to introduce Swapna to Mimi and Shayon and, of course, immediately, they found out that they had met before at someplace else. I did pick up the belts and then off we went. The Sinhas dropped me back to Leslie’s place where we reached at close to 11.00 pm.

What a splendid day it had been! I consider myself so blessed to have friends who are so warm, hospitable and welcoming and who are making my stay here in Connecticut so special.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

Lovely Lunch at Centro in Fairfield with an Italian Friend and Browsing for Vintage Jewelry in a Thrift Store in Southport, Connecticut

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Fairfield and Southport, Connecticut

Lovely Lunch at Centro with an Italian Friend and Browsing for Vintage Jewelry in a Thrift Store

Today was much less eventful than many of the past few days, but it is good to have some breathing room in the midst of non-stop activity. I awoke early, as usual, and had my muesli and coffee for breakfast even while I taught three of my online classes. I am glad that I am able to carry them out; but they leave me exhausted.

Browsing for Vintage Jewelry:

After breakfast, Leslie (who was going to run a few errands) dropped me off at the Carousel Thrift Store which reopened today after 2 weeks’ summer break. It was packed and I could not believe how many women had zeroed in on the idea of getting there early to get first dibs at everything. I left with a nice haul of costume jewelry and ran into an old friend there. Butzi Moffit comes across for a natter and a browse around with her assistant every so often. I spent a few minutes visiting with her before I left and walked towards the village where I was to be met by my friend, Fausta, with whom I was supposed to have lunch at Centro’s Italian Restaurant in Fairfield Center.

Italian Lunch with a Friend:

Fausta came, as planned, in her car and met me outside Barbara Barbara where I sat for a few minutes on a bench to get my breath back. It was a warm afternoon but not humid and I was glad to have such terrific weather throughout my stay here. I was on the phone with Misha of NYU—dealing with medical insurance issues—when she arrived. We settled down in Centro’s and studied the menu. It felt nice to be able to have lunch on a week day—this is the huge benefit of being retired and I am enjoying it immensely.

Both of us chose to stick with iced water and for lunch we chose the Salmon Salade Nicoise which was absolutely delicious and very large. We both took doggie bags home. Of course, we caught up with a whole lot of things and chatted quite continuously. I was also happy to bump into Mary-Jo, a lady I knew years ago through my next-door neighbor, Trish—who has since moved to Mill Hill Terrace. We visited for a while and then left.

Fausta dropped me off at Balducci’s from where I picked up Maldon Salt and then she dropped me home. Once over at Leslie’s, I had a nice afternoon nap and made a few calls (Annu in CA, Rosemary in Florida, etc). It was great that I finally had the time to make calls.

In the evening, I watched Ted Lasso with Leslie before we stopped to eat dinner. I enjoyed the remnants of my Salade Nicoise before we called it a day.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

Long Morning Walk to the Salt Marshes in Fairfield, Lunch with Bonnie in Southport, A Spurt of Shopping, Dinner and Dessert with my Brother’s Family

Monday, August 21, 2023

Long Morning Walk to the Salt Marshes in Fairfield, Lunch with Bonnie in Southport, A Spurt of Shopping, Dinner and Dessert with my Brother’s Family

Today was another enjoyable day, but then I guess in these posts I am focusing on all the fun I am having and leaving out the nitty gritty, annoying details pertaining to banking and medical insurance issues that have been plaguing me since I arrived here and that I am trying hard to resolve.

Anyway, I awoke at 5.30 or 6.00 am (getting latter now for sure), did some blogging (no time to read at all) and then washed and got ready for the three classes I taught, back to back, for an hour each. By the time I was done and could have my breakfast, it was 10.30 am and I was famished.

Breakfast of muesli and yogurt and coffee done, I got ready to leave with Leslie to get her car tyres fixed at Town Fair Tyres. My friend Bonnie was going to pick me up from there at 10.45 and by the time we arrived, she was already in the parking lot. It was not long before she drove me to her place where we parked.

A Lovely Long Walk in the Fairfield Marshes:

I will always be grateful to Bonnie for showing me this gorgeous walk in Fairfield. It takes you across the Salt Marshes that back up to the sea and are always filled with bird life especially white egrets which are Bonnie’s favorite bird. This time too, we had such a swell walk together as we always have so much to discuss and so much to notice. We swung by the edge of the water (we could not go on to the beach as they had some tree-trimming going on), but then we got on to the marshes and walked to the water. We had a lot to talk about with regards to her daughter’s wedding at the weekend and I could see that Bonnie was keyed up and also excited.

Reviewing Stuff in Bonnie’s Basement:

Once we arrived at her place, we had a cold Coke each as the walk had left us winded. Then, we went straight down to her basement as I needed to pick up some of the items I had left behind in her home. This took us about fifteen minutes and by this time, Bonnie told me she was hungry and wanted to know if I would go back with her to The Driftwood Café in Southport Village to share a tuna sandwich—as we’d had one last week and she said she was “jones-ing” for one. I had never heard this expression which she told me dated back to the 1950s! Interesting. With my items placed in my suitcase (which will become my carry-on on my flight back, but a silver tray left behind as we simply did not have the weight allowance for it, we left Bonnie’s place together and made our way to Southport Village,

Lunch at The Driftwood Café in Southport Village:

We settled down at The Driftwood Café and ordered the same thing we’d had last week. We shared a tuna sandwich on toasted whole wheat with a Diet Coke each. Lovely light lunch and being in the neighborhood hangout that has been in business for decades was quite something.

Library Browsing:

Bonnie then dropped me and my suitcase back to the Pequot Library parking lot where I awaited Leslie’s arrival at 2.00 pm. I placed my suitcase in her trunk and then went down to the basement bins to see if I could find any friends. Sadly, I missed Stephanie who had left on vacation—I was looking forward to getting a picture with her. However, I did meet Sandy Zera who gave me a hug and told me that she missed both Llew and me very much. A little social visiting later, I was on my way again.

A Long Spurt of Shopping:

This time, since I had access to Leslie’s car until 6.00 pm when I would need me to return to take her back home, I was able to go from one big shop to the next buying up all the items on our list: sadly, Bed Bath and Beyond had closed but I was able to go to Stop and Shop, Staples, Home Goods, the Main Fairfield Library where I needed to do some reference work, and then, because it was so hot, I stopped at Dairy Queen and had my favorite blizzard—yes, for lunch (after all, ‘tis the season!)! This time, I was able to explain to the salesperson exactly how I like my blizzards and she made me a really great one! With a chocolate ice-xream base, chocolate dipping sauce and chocolate-covered cherries! I was thrilled! With my Blizzard done, I went off to Home Goods where I found the oven mitts I wanted.

With about 20 minutes to spare, I swung back on the Post Road to get to the Pequot Library to be just in time to meet Leslie who would be finishing up her shift at work. I requested her to drop me off to my next port of call, Colony Grill, as I had plans to meet my brother’s family there.

Dinner with my Brother’s Family:

I had plans to see my brother Roger and his family at Colony Grill at 7.00 pm and thought I would simply get there an hour earlier and wait. But, en route to the place, Leslie happened to inform me that the Fairfield Main Library was open till 8.00 pm. It made more sense for me to go there and pass my time in a library rather than in a crowded and noisy place on my own. So that’s what I did. This left me an hour to browse through some of my favorite magazines (that I really do miss in India) such as Victoria and Real Simple. In fact, I found out that Victoria has a special issue on England (they do this once a year) and that they had beautiful photo-features on Oxford and Highclerc Castle. Well, I decided to take pictures of these pages because the photography was so beautiful.

6.50pm, I began walking towards Colony Grill and was there in five minutes. My brother’s family had arrived and we were lucky, apparently, to find a booth as there was a line out the door. They told me that this is one of their favorite places in Fairfield and that they take all their guests to this place. I have to say that I was very surprised as I have never (in all my years living in Fairfield) ever been to this spot! The pizza, it seems, is renowned here and since pizza is all they serve, they have gained a vast reputation for it.

Pizza at Colony Grill takes the form of something called “hot oil pizza”. It is extremely thin crust, comes with a very thin layer of what looks like cheese (but is not mozzarella as it is not stringy) and a light tomato sauce. Although I thought it was a novel experience, this is not my idea of pizza and nowhere in the world (not even anywhere in Italy) have I come across pizza like this. I cannot say I was a huge fan. I prefer my pizza with more body and much more filling on it. This has a couple of meatballs, a lot of delicious pepperoni (saving grace) and a few pieces of sausage (all on the individual pizzas that went by these names). There was also a pickled chilli pepper at the top which was able to offer some much-needed heat. Overall, it was an unusual eating experience.

More importantly, we had a really good time at the dinner and talked about all sorts of things including my stay here and all the things I am managing to accomplish. It was lovely and we had a nice evening.

After dinner, when we left the place, the family conferred among themselves and decided to go out for dessert. Here too, they took me to a place to which I had never been. It’s called Whale Tea and is in a tucked-away corner at the other end of the Bodega strip mall. Inside I found those novelty teas that I had first seen in Hawai’i a long time ago. They are filled with tapioca pearls which I do not like at all. Aside from the teas, there was what is called ‘stir-fried’ ice-cream or ‘rolled’ ice-cream. It’s similar to the sort of gimmicky thing they do at Cold Stone Creamery where they flatten the ice-cream down with one’s own choice of mix-ins and toppings. Using a flat spatula, these are then rolled into an ice-cream cup. I had just a couple of tastes as I’d had my Dairy Queen blizzard in the afternoon and did not want to overdose on ice-cream! More chatter, more laughter around the table until finally, it was time for me to take their leave and say Goodbye to them as I do not think I will see them again before I return to India.

Roger then dropped me back home to Leslie’s and I was able to spend a few moments with Leslie and Sunil before calling it a night. Yes, it had been another splendid day and I am really grateful I have all these opportunities to meet up with a variety of people and enjoy a variety of experiences.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

Breakfast with Former Southport Neighbors at Gruel Britannia, Mass at St. Anthony’s, Lunch with Friends at South Street Seaport in Manhattan and Viewing the Frick Collection in the Met-Brauer Museum

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Southport and Fairfield, Connecticut and Manhattan, New York

Breakfast with Former Southport Neighbors at Gruel Britannia, Mass at St. Anthony’s, Lunch with Friends at South Street Seaport in Manhattan and Viewing the Frick Collection in the Met-Brauer Museum

Today was unbelievably eventful and very very enjoyable. My day began early as I had to get ready for breakfast at 8.30 am in Southport. I was lucky that, after I washed and dressed, Leslie dropped me to Gruel Britannia, the cool British-themed restaurant that opened, a few years ago, in Southport, Connecticut.

I took my seat in a place that was practically empty at that hour. I was really hungry and ordered a decaff coffee right away as I waited for my friends Pui and Ken Hom to show up. They came about 15 minutes later, after I’d had a chance to study the menu and decide what I wanted. There were so many exciting choices (I certainly had my eye on the smoked salmon brioche roll), but eventually, since it was a British eatery, I chose The British Breakfast Plate. Pui chose the Smoked Salmon Platter and Ken had the Avocado Toast—all of which are absolutely scrumptious, I am sure). Certainly my platter was much too large for me to finish at one go and I asked for it to be packed for me. I had a hard time, to be honest, carrying it around with me all day, but I had little choice in the matter.

We had a truly wonderful time together and the Homs treated me to breakfast—they refused to allow me to pay and I was really grateful for the treat. We chatted non-stop through the entire two hours we spent together and I have to say I was reluctant to leave as we were having such a good time. But I did have to go to Mass which began at 10.00n am. They dropped me to church (which was literally just around the corner) and off I went.

Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church:

I had attended the 8.15 am Mass last Sunday when I had run into a few friends. This Sunday, I was attending the 10.00 am Mass--when you usually see different people and I was surprised that so many of them came up to say Hi to me and Welcome Back—just as several had done last week. It’s funny…but I recalled the early years when I used to go back to my parish in Bandra, Bombay (35 years ago) and folks used to come up to me to say Welcome Back to my parish in Bombay! Of course, as the years went by (all 35 of them!), people moved or passed away, younger congregations became evident and fewer people continued to know me—the old timers still do, of course, and they still know my Dad and Russel…but time does have an impact, all the same.

Mass was said by Fr. John Murray, SJ, whose masses I always enjoy. Indeed, there is something extraordinary about returning to Mass at St. Anthony’s, indeed hearing Mass in any part of the world, except India. I hate to say this because I don’t want to appear as if I am simply bad-mouthing my own city (as it is now), but I find the music, the choir, the sermon simply superb when I travel as the priests make the Mass so interesting and refrain from putting their congregation to sleep. If there is one thing I miss about living overseas (whether it is the UK or the USA), it is the quality of the Masses I enjoy in these countries. We, in Bombay, simply cannot compare (in my humble opinion).

After Mass, I went to the sacristy to say Hello to Wendy Long, my friend, who was at the Lectern—only to discover that there was high drama going on. Fr. Murray was flat out on the floor. Whether it was the ‘heat’ that got him (to my mind, it was a really pleasant day....but he had his heavy vestments on) or a heart attack, who knows? Many people were swarming around him, bringing him water, a candy bar and calling the ambulance and the EMT services. Through all of this drama, I met Joanne and Fausta, two friends, who hugged and kissed me and looked very worried about the priest’s fate.

Touring our Lovely New Church Gardens:

I had been hearing a lot about the new church gardens that have been created on our church property, thanks to the efforts of a bunch of parishioners who planted them and take care of them. Fausta had to run but Joanne offered to show me around them and then to drop me to Fairfield Station as I had to take the train into Manhattan for my next appointment with my friends.

Yes, the gardens are lovely. We used to have just one, devoted to Our Lady (the Blessed Mother), but I was surprised to see that a large Vegetable Garden had also been planted. The beds were filled with various kinds of tomatoes, Swiss chard, lettuce, chilli peppers, and all sorts of herbs. I was told by Joanne that the produce is harvested and donated to Merton House, a Catholic charity nearby. We then moved on to the Pollinator Garden which was absolutely buzzing with bees and monarch butterflies. Since these gardens receive full sun, it is almost magical the towering heights to which they grow.

Finally, we stopped at the piece de resistance: the Labyrinth Garden that was designed and planted in memory of our beloved Parish priest, Fr. John Baran, who died in 2016. He was deeply loved by all of us because he was such a special person. When he passed away, he left us all bereft and it was decided that a great way to remember him would be by creating a stone labyrinth on the ground in a maze-like design that would be surrounded by flowers and plants and benches (many of which have been placed there in memory of other parishioners who have died such as my friend, Fred Wheeler). Yes, I could sense the spirit of Fr. John in this space and I was glad I had the chance to spend a few thoughtful moments in his garden.

On the Train to New York:

Joanne was lovely and she did drop me off to Fairfield Station to allow me to get on to the 11.12 am train (which was running late—which was why I managed to get it). I bought my ticket and settled down to await the arrival of the train. During the long journey into the city, I spoke to my friend Ian who was supposed to be present for lunch in New York City today, but who had developed a sudden and very painful attack of gout. He told me all about his ailment before we went on to talk about a large number of things. In fact, our conversation went on for over an hour while we pulled into Grand Central Station. I realized that I needed to use the facilities so off I went to the basement rest rooms where I could not believe now long the line was! Fortunately, it moved really quickly and I was able to then hop on the subway to get to my next destination.

We were initially supposed to meet in midtown Manhattan but Susan, who was joining my friend Jenny and me for lunch suddenly decided that Midtown would be too crowded and that we should meet downtown at South Street Seaport. She wanted us to eat at a new place that has sprung up right on the waterfront and which she discovered yesterday—called Industry Kitchen. I have to say that the journey to get down to Fulton Street from Grand Central was long and annoying as it involved changing trains.

Anyway, Susan had made a reservation for 1.30 and it was just 1.30 when I arrived at the place. Both Susan and Jenny were there and we were soon seated in the shade on the patio which happened to be buzzing. As in every major touring destination, here too, in New York City, there are tons of tourists everywhere. We had little glimpses of Brooklyn Bridge from our table and under really benign blue skies and a river that sparkled wondrously, we ordered our meal. I had a frozen margarita (that was really stiff) while Jenny Lou had prosecco and Susan had a Bloody Mary. For our brunch, I chose Waffles with Strawberry Compote, Whipped Cream and Maple Syrup, Jenny chose the Bean Soup and Lamb Chops and Susan had Huevos Rancheros. Needless to say, our meal was simply splendid. Portions were not outsized and all of us managed to finish them all while we chatted nineteen to the dozen. We are old friends that go back at least 35 years—so you can imagine that we have a whole history to recount when we meet and so many people to inquire and talk about—not to mention ourselves and our lives and the turns they have taken.

But, by 4.00pm, Susan said she had another evening’s appointment, Jenny said she wanted to get back home as she had a long way to go to Southern New Jersey and I wanted to go and see the Frick Collection as I had tried to see it last November and had not succeeded.

A Walk Around Wall Street:

However, before I got on the subway to try to get to Uptown Madison Avenue, I decided to take a stroll around South Street Seaport which used to be my haunt in my early days as a new immigrant in New York. I have really happy memories of this place as it was instrumental in enabling me to accept the reality of my new life as an immigrant in a city for which I did not care too much and where my experiences were not very happy.

I was also quite happy to wander around the city’s Financial District and to take in the sights of the skyscrapers of the old and new corporate buildings towering all around me. It was such an uplifting feeling. But I realized that the reason I had found this area so dirty and decrepit thirty-five years ago, had much to do with my own state of mind at the time. Now that I am in a different mental place, the world seems like a far happier place to me! It is really uncanny! Anyway, it was great to pass by the Federal Reserve Bank and to notice the heavily grilled windows that house the country’s gold reserves in the basement and to catch a glimpse of the new Peace Tower that has taken the place of the old twin towers of the World Trade Center. Almost 25 years have passed since that fateful day when I was in Manhattan and saw the twin towers fall! Now the 9/11 Memorial and Museum stand in the place of the former towers. The new building is much shorter but it is still quite striking.

I got into the subway at Fulton Street and then found myself going through a really horribly complicated journey to get across town and then uptown. So irritating. It took me a full hour to get to the Met-Brauer because the L train which would have connected me to 14th Street and Union Square was not running, Instead, we had to go back to street level and take a special shuttle bus that was running passengers to Union Square.

Seeing the Frick Collection at the Met-Brauer Museum:

Anyway, by the time I finally arrived at the Met-Brauer, it was about 5.10 pm and since the Museum closes at 6.00 pm, I knew I had just 45 minutes to see it. The assistant told me that it was on three floors. I was given a free ticket with my Met ID card and off I went. I took the elevator to the fourth floor and thought I would make my way downstairs. This seemed like the most efficient way to do it.

Sadly, no photography was allowed in the Museum, but I managed to feast my eyes on the absolutely first-rate collection of art and decorative objects that Henry Clay Frick managed to amass in his lifetime and which he housed in his mansion on 70th Street and Fifth Avenue. Of course, I have been to the Frick Mansion many times—it is one of my favorite places in New York City. But I had not seen the art work for a really long time and I was delighted to take in the masterpieces of painters such as Rembrandt, Monet, Turner, Constable, Vermeer, Bronzino. Hobbema, El Greco, etc. Plus, there is a huge amount of work by Chardin and Boucher (which reminded me very much of the Wallace Collection in London). Truly, it was a feast for the eyes and I was satiated. I was super thrilled that despite the awful journey to get to the site, I managed to make it on time and was able to see it all—because who knows when I will be able to return to New York City again or have so much time to see it all.

On the Bus Back to Harlem:

Now that I know that there are buses that go uptown to Harlem so easily, you can bet I will give the subway a pass. Accordingly, I jumped on to the Uptown Madison Avenue bus and, since it was a Sunday, we just zipped through to the north. In the bus, I had a chance to chat to my friend Raquel in Boston who was very disappointed that I was not able to make it to Boston on this trip. Still, maybe next time…when Llew is with me, I shall.

On the Train Back Home to Westport:

I was very happy to discover that Leslie was free to pick me up from Westport station and take me straight home. She had cooked dinner and there was the appetizing aroma of chilli wafting around the kitchen. She had also baked cornbread from a package which was absolutely delicious and I volunteered to fix a green salad which I did. With her husband Sunil at home, the three of us had a really nice dinner and caught up on our day.

Yes, it was, as I said, a truly eventful and very satisfying day and I felt deeply pleased at its outcome. I simply then brushed and flossed by teeth and changed for bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

A Hearty Breakfast with a Dear Friend in Southport, Ice-Cream with our Realtor and a Fabulous Dinner Party in Syosset, Long Island

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Fairfield and Southport, Connecticut

A Hearty Breakfast with a Dear Friend in Southport, Ice-Cream with our Realtor and a Fabulous Dinner Party in Syosset, Long Island

I woke up early today happy to note that I had a lovely day in store. I merely washed and got dressed and then called an Uber for my ride. Both Leslie and Sunil were busy with the family conference call they do by Zoom every Saturday with their international family. Hence, I could not drag them off to give me a ride. The Uber worked fine and within 10 minutes’ of calling for one, the driver was at my door. He was an exceptionally polite man and I had a very good ride.

Breakfast with an Old Friend, Jane Dean:

My friend Jane Dean is old—in more ways than one. I discovered that she is 88 (although chatting with her, it is hard to believe she is on the wrong side of sixty!) and she is someone I have known closely for at least 15 years. Jane used to live in Southport Village, traveled to India with Llew and me when we had taken 22 Southport ladies on a tour of India, invited us frequently to her home for wonderful meals, over the years, and, in general, has been a dear friend. About a year ago, she sold her home and moved to an assisted living community called Maplewood, about five minutes down the road in Southport, which is better than any five-star hotel. She has other Southport friends there—so she does not lack for company or for things to do (it helps to have a vibrant mind and loads of interests in one’s old age), but she is only now getting used to the loss of her independence and the fact that she is not really in her own home.

Breakfast was in the dining hall which looks like a posh restaurant. She told me to come for breakfast because that is one meal during which, as she said, “you can have whatever you like”. After a couple of false starts (I wanted Waffles which they could not provide and then Eggs Benedict which they said they cannot do!), I settled for a ham, cheese and mushroom omlette with sausages, orange juice and decaff coffee. Jane was being good and decided to have oatmeal with fresh blueberries. Oh, the meal was just splendid and I enjoyed every mouthful. But, more than anything else, I enjoyed Jane’s company for there are not many people I know who can keep up a scintillating conversation, match me idea for idea, flit from one subject to the next quite effortlessly (and when I say topics I don’t mean idle gossip) and bring fun and laughter into all her pronouncements. She is also very fond of Llew, gets my monthly newsletter, keeps abreast of all our news and sends me some of her’s too. It’s all great fun and we really enjoy being with her.

When breakfast was over at 9.30am, we took the elevator and adjourned to her room on the second floor where we sat down and chatted some more. I love Jane’s lovely collection of paintings and art work on her wall, the photographs of her family and other keepsakes and mementoes that have colored her life. But soon, it was time for me to leave and when Jane discovered that I had taken an Uber, she told me that she would give me a ride home.

Accordingly, I requested her to drop me off to Trader Joe’s from where I could pick up a salad for lunch and then spend a large part of the morning packing. I was rather worried about fitting my things into my two suitcases—and so that’s what I did.

I spent a good part of the morning working on packing my two lamps (that I have brought back from my office at NYU) back in my suitcases in such a way that they do not break. I do not want the banker’s lamp to break as it has a glass lampshade and, for that matter, I do not want the other ceramic lamp to break either. It has a beautiful lampshade and I am hoping that it will not be bent out of shape in the process of reaching India.

When I had spent more than an hour working on my suitcase, I weighed it and found that I had exactly 48 pounds in it (I am allowed 50). So, I will not be putting anything more into that suitcase. Everything else will have to fit into the other suitcase (or be left behind for other folks to bring to us).

Just when I was starting to feel fatigued and my back started aching, I got a call from our realtor, Britt, asking me to join her for ice-cream at Dairy Queen (my favorite neighborhood ice-cream place).

Ice-Cream with our Realtor, Britt Petrucci:

We have also been blessed with an extraordinary realtor, Britt Petrucchi, who handled our tenancy agreement and then went out on a limb to iron out so many aspects and clauses (as we were so far away in India). She was keen to meet me after she knew that I was Stateside and, as she used to work in my favorite ice-cream place (Dairy Queen), she suggested we go there for a Blizzard—my favorite kind. Well, sadly, my favorite blizzard-maker, Beth-Ann, is no longer at the Fairfield DQ—she is now in Monroe, CT. Of course, I was heartbroken to find this out, but was also delighted to hear that Britt is Beth-Ann’s best friend! Wow! It seems that they had both started working at this DQ when they were 15 years old. They are now in their early-40s! Of course, they do other jobs for a living; but they always return to do part-time hours in this happy place, Britt told me. Sadly, not any ore. Management has changed and they do not see eye to eye with the new owner! So sad!

Well, I was treated by Britt to a Chocolate Cherry Love Blizzard (which was not nearly as good as the ones that Beth-Anne usually makes for me), but hey, I did not complain. I enjoyed my huge ice-cream and had a chance to visit with Britt and learn a lot about her and her family. She has been really terrific to us and both Llew and I have grown really fond of her. So I was super glad I was able to make the time to see her.

Britt dropped me back home to Leslie’s place in Westport. I had a bit of a lie-down before I woke up to take a shower and get ready for the next item on my agenda: I was invited to Syosset, Long Island, to the home of one of my oldest friends in the USA, Doreen. She and her husband John live in a lovely house with a large garden at the back and tons of space indoors. Doreen and John had also invited a couple called Ralph and Lynne who live in nearby Norwalk and I was very fortunate that they offered to come and pick me up and take me with them to the Bellomo’s place.

< Off to Dinner with the Bellomos in Syosset, Long Island:

Ralph arrived with Lynne at 5.30 pm and off we went. The miles were swiftly eaten up by our non-stop chatting as we made our way to Long Island. This couple is originally from Bandra and we do have a lot of friends in common—so there was a lot to talk about. By the time we reached Doreen’s place, it was just past 7.00 pm. Doreen’s Mum was already seated outside and I was delighted to see her after absolute years. She looked very well indeed and chatting with her is always a pleasure.

A little later, we were joined by another couple—also close friends of ours—Anita and Allan Walther. I had, in fact, introduced Anita to Doreen at least 30 years ago and we have all remained very close friends. Anita’s mother Kamla also came along and it was a pleasure to see her too after such a long time as she lives in Delhi. There was much to chat about over Doreen’s spread of appetizers: cheese and grapes, chicken malai kebabs served on sheikh kebab skewers with peppers and onions, Indian style potato samosas with mint chutney and tamarind chutney as we sipped wines and seltzers. As twilight gradually descended over the group, we adjourned inside.

We found that Doreen had cooked a huge spread that included mutton korma, pea pullao, black pepper shrimp, mango salad, cauliflower gratin, fish oreganato and an assorted bread basket. In fact, even though I took only a small spoon of each dish, there was so much on my plate that I was full just looking at it. Desserts were equally lovely: Doreen made Ina Garten’s Peach and Raspberry Cobbler, there was vanilla ice-cream to go with the Cobbler and Ralph and Lynne brought a mousse cake (I had taken Chocolate Truffles from Trader Joe’s). So, you can just imagine how stuffed we were by the time we arose from the table. Indeed Doreen had taken an enormous amount of trouble and we were most impressed by and very grateful for her efforts.

When it was about 11.00 pm, Ralph and Lynne decided to call it a night as we had at least a 90 minute drive back to Connecticut. We said our long goodbyes before we were finally out the door and in our car and headed back on the highway. It was about 12.30 pm, by the time I put my key into the door.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

A Gorgeous Summer’s Day with Meetings with New Tenants, Old Neighbors and a Dinner Party with Friends in Connecticut

Friday, August 18, 2023

Fairfield, Connecticut

A Gorgeous Summer’s Day with Meetings with New Tenants, Old Neighbors and a Dinner Party with Friends in Connecticut

Friday dawned bright and clear and as I got myself ready for what I knew would be another eventful day! I awoke at 5.30am (waking up later now, thankfully) and had a cup of coffee followed by my usual breakfast of muesli with honey yogurt and milk and coffee. Then, as Leslie did not need the car till 11.00 am (when she needed to take it to Town Fair Types to get her flat attended to), I took it to my first appointment.

Meeting Our New Tenants for Coffee:

I arrived at my own (former) home in Connecticut and felt so odd to be ringing the bell! In the past, I always let myself in through the garage door (with the garage code) or the front door with my own key. To have to wait until someone else opened the door was truly strange. Jennifer came to the door looking as fresh as a daisy in a spotless white linen shirt and blue printed pants. She is lovely—so elegant, so poised. She is a high-end interior designer, and she looked the part! She gave me a big hug and welcomed me inside. Truly, it’s hard to describe it but I had a few out-of-body experiences as I walked in and took in my home that is my home and yet is not my home! It was super weird.

We sat down with a large mug of coffee and chatted about a lot of things. I met their dog, a little pug named Leila, who was quiet and good! Jennifer’s husband, Steven came along--he is Head of Securities of a huge global financial firm and he too seemed exactly made for the role. Such a lovely couple! So classy, so friendly, so international in their attitude. We really did luck out! Best of all, it was very clear to see that they respect their new space and are treating it well. Jenifer does not allow shoes in the house as she wishes to keep our newly-polished parquet floors pristine. I too was requested to remove my footwear! This is not something that we are accustomed to in the USA (in Canada, yes. There is the weird custom of taking shoes off at the door and people walking about in socks!).

Anyway, after we sat down with coffee, Jennifer told me a bit about themselves and their lifestyle in Southport. He travels a great deal for work—all over the world. She often goes off with him but not if it promises to be too hectic. They were just back from a lovely 10- day vacation in Ireland and they looked tanned and relaxed! Well, they led me on a tour of the lower level and I was filled with awe at the beautiful pieces of unique furniture they have collected over the years. They have an absolutely gorgeous carved teak wall paneling from Vietnam (where Jennifer spent part of her childhood) which has found the perfect place above the bay window in our living room. She has removed the cross grating from all windows. She also has two genuine Indian howdahs which are massive seats carved in teak wood and used on the top of elephants in India! She has placed these in her living room. So you see, this is not your ordinary showroom type furniture that is now in my home! This is genuine designer material from out of the pages io a sophisticated design magazine! I am thrilled! She has replaced the light fixture over the kitchen table and placed it carefully in bubble wrap down in the basement. So, yes, there are changes in our home which is her blank canvas and still a work in progress. As a designer, her vision and aesthetic are similar to mind: English Country and traditional. But, of course, where I lack professionalism, she has it in spades! We are just lucky to find tenants who completely belong in the ritzy, snazzy, stylish neighborhood that is Southport.

An hour later, I left, fully confident that we had been blessed in finding tenants who would never trash our home and would treat it entirely as their own—in fact, that was what Jennifer kept telling me repeatedly: We will treat your home as if it is our own! That’s great!

Next Stop--Meeting our Former Neighbors:

I had told my next-door neighbors, Pui and Ken Hom, that I would come and visit them right after my visit with the Kennedys. So I left my car in my driveway and off I went to the Homs next-door. You should have seen the welcome I received from their dog, Gus (who is known to us as Gussie)!. That dog truly went mad! He was chasing all over the place (once the door was opened by Pui), just filled with elation at seeing me after so many months. It was just a splendid reunion and I can just imagine what it will be like when he meets Llew.

We settled down in their family room. Pui and I had a chance to have a long catch up before Ken, freshly shaved and showered, came downstairs to join us. Of course, they gave me our mail and a shared a lot of news with me and, before we knew it, I took some photographs with them and left. I stayed with them for about an hour and then it was time for me to take the car back to Leslie, which I did.

Off to the Tyre Repair Place with Leslie:

Back home, I gave Leslie the car and then accompanied her as she drove to Town Fair Types on the Post Road to settle the issue of her flat tyre and get a replacement. This took about a half hour. She has been told to bring the car back on Monday as they were too full over the weekend to service it. We finished this errand and drove back home together.

Sunil and Leslie had some work to do during the morning and I had a chance to relax and catch up with my blog. I walked down to Trader Joe’s to get myself a salad for lunch and thought I would eat it alone at home as I did not know how long their errand would last.

I’m not sure where the time went as I tried to sort out my ride for the evening. I had been invited to my former colleague’s place in Stratford for dinner. I knew she was also inviting other folks from Fairfield, and I needed to see if I could get a ride from them. Eventually, Sunil told me he would drop me off at their place before heading off for their evening out.

An Evening out with Close Friends in Stratford, Connecticut:

I showered, got dressed and had a little gift put together for my friend Liz Petrino who is in the English Department at Fairfield University. She and I once had offices, side by side, and we became close friends. Liz is Italian-American and meals at her place are always outstanding. This time, she invited another professor, Betsy Bowen and her husband Jeff (Betsy was the one who had hired me at Fairfield U) and we have remained close friends.

En route to Liz’s place, Jeff kept up a steady stream of conversation. I learned a lot about them—including the fact that Jeff who was a high school teacher of English in a private school in Greenwich, had just retired and that Betsy is on a Phase Out scheme with Fairfield U too. It is funny but all of us are at that stage in our lives when we are either retired or contemplating imminent retirement. If only all of them would know how GREAT retirement is and how much they will enjoy it! So many folks are reluctant to retire (even if they can afford it) because they wonder what they will do with themselves. They have no idea how fabulous leisure can feel, now terrific it is not to have to deal with the daily nitty-gritty that stress really is. I would like to shout it from the mountain tops to everyone: Get Retired Already!!!

Liz and her husband Tom put up a really terrific show. Both of them are superb chefs and after we settled down with prosciutto with melon and olives for nibbles with white wine, we were treated to Tom’s home made pizzas that were out of this world: Pesto with chicken, pepperoni with mushrooms, sausage with peppers---I mean, it was just awesome! Dinner followed: a big tuna-rice salad that was absolutely delicious and for dessert, there was tiramisu that Liz had made herself. I mean, this is one of my favorite desserts (so I really do wish I had saved more room for a second helping!—but the pizzas were extraordinary too!). Anyway, I think you know what I mean. It was spectacular. We had a brilliantly delightful summer’s evening, I took a walk down to the vegetable patch to admire Tom’s variety of tomatoes, herbs, lettuces, Swiss chard, I chatted with their teenage son, David (who is a real darling) and watched the antics of their cat, Charlemagne (Charlie for short!). In short, it was a truly memorable evening with friends who are sincere and genuine and warm and generous.

Back inside (as it did get a tad cooler as the evening progressed), we sat in the living room and Liz brought us limoncello over ice in the little crystal liqueur glasses that I had presented her when I was leaving the USA permanently for India. I was so happy to see that she actually uses them!

So, you can see that we had the perfect evening and one I will not easily forget. We finally said our goodbyes at about 11.00 pm when Jeff and Betsy dropped me back home to Westport and I could retire for the night—having had another truly lovely day.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

A Very Busy Day With Bank and Health Insurance Chores, A Rummage Through my DVD Collection and Thai Dinner with Old Friends

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Southport, Connecticut

A Very Busy Day With Bank and Health Insurance Chores, A Rummage Through my DVD Collection and Thai Dinner with Old Friends.

My day began, as usual, with wake-up at 5.00 am (the better to get down to some blogging and texting and sending out pictures to friends). When I did get going, it was to have breakfast (muesli and yogurt with coffee) and to chat with Leslie for a bit before I had to leave for my meeting at Chase Bank. Leslie told me to take the car and bring it back to her by 12.30 as she needed to be dropped to work at 1.00pm.

A Futile Meeting at Chase Bank:

My meeting was scheduled to begin at 9.30 am. Llew was standing by, on the phone, at home in Bombay, as he was required to be in it too. We were able to deal with the initial issue (changing the address on his savings and checking accounts), but we did run into a major glitch with regards to our investment accounts. After great effort and being in the meeting (in which Keith, the investments officer, was also brought it), it was ascertained that the issue that had plagued us, could not be resolved. We would have to think of other solutions.

Biscotti, Coffee and Conversation with a Friend:

up on my agenda was a coffee morning visit with a former Southport Book Club friend, Cyndy French. She is a physician, and it is always fun discussing medical conditions with her. I had not had the time to say Goodbye to everyone we know in Southport before we left in November of last year. When she saw the ‘For Rent’ sign outside our house, she reached out to me in India to find out what was going on. I explained that we had moved to India. She was sorry she did not get a chance to say Bye and so I decided to make the time to meet her on this visit.

Her home, right in the heart of Southport Village, is just adorable and when I entered, I found that she had not one, not two, but three Welsh Pembroke corgis (my favorite dog breed!). They were yappy, of course, but finally settled down enough to allow us to have some coffee and nibble on the most delicious almond biscotti right there in the kitchen before we moved to the living room (as her maids were cleaning). We had a lovely long chinwag and catch up and resolved to stay connected.

I left Cyndy’s and drove to Leslie’s. I reached there at 12. 15 and 15 minutes later, we were on our way to Leslie’s work at the library. I decided to stick with her as I had a few errands to run myself and really appreciated having the car with me.

Once we reached the Pequot Library, I decided to simply sit in the parking lot and make a few calls as I had a number of headache-y things to resolve.

In the Parking Lot at Pequot Library:

The first thing on my mind was calling United Health Care to resolve an issue that has come up regarding our insurance policy through NYU. Since I cannot make calls in the library, I just sat in the car and dealt with each matter one after the other, Chriselle also called at this time and I had a chat with her. I drew a blank with UHC and then turned to NYU where Misha Thompson of HR, who has been helping me throughout, came on the line. Long conversations with these official folks ate up the hours.

By 1.45, I was hungry and was glad I had carried the remnants of my Sakura dinner with me. I sat right there in the car and ate it. I then needed to use the rest room so I stepped into the library where I had the pleasure of running into Stephanie Coakley, the Director, with whom I had a really wonderful chat. It was fabulous to meet her and talk to her about my current research and proposed book. But while I was in the middle of our conversation, Misha called me and I had to run out again and take the call in my car. More time was spent there and, finally, it about 4.00 pm, when I left the matter in her hands to resolve it as best she could.

Reviewing my DVD Collection:

The next thing I needed to tackle was my DVD collection which I had left at the home of my friend Mary-Lauren, nine months ago. She was kind enough to hang on to our stuff in her basement. Her daughter Sage was inside and she let me in and, next thing I knew, she found the items in the closest in four big boxes. Later, Brett, her father, came downstairs to say Hello to me and since they were both headed out, he told me to merely shut the door behind me and leave.

I spent almost an hour on my own, down in the basement, riffling through my vast collection of DVDs. I chose about 30 of them and these (in terms of my fondness for the material) is what I intend to take to Bombay on this trip. I certainly hope I will have the space and weight allowance—always an issue when one is relocating!

That done, I closed the door behind me and found that I had about an hour before I had to meet my friends in the parking lot of the Pequot Library at 7.00 pm. I thought I would spend it at Home Goods, but I then realized that Michael’s, the craft store, was right there in the same strip mall on the Post Road. I needed to buy two springs of orchids for two porcelain vases that I inherited from my maternal grandmother. And so I stepped inside, found what I was looking for, bought them and left.

Meeting my Friends for Dinner:

All that was left then was to arrive at the Pequot Library so that I could hand over the car keys to Leslie (who could then drive home) and to meet my friends, Dhiru and Kirti, who invited me out for a Thai Dinner. They were already in the library when I arrived and I introduced them to Leslie.

We left shortly after and drove to Rainbow Thai, a tiny little restaurant right on the Saugatuck River at Westport. The setting could not have been better as the sun set and lights were reflected on the water. As the Vyases are vegetarian, we kept the meal vegetarian (expect for the Chicken Coconut Soup which I absolutely love—Tom Kha Gai). We also had vegetarian Pad Thai, Mango Curry (simply delicious) and Tofu with Basil and Chilli. Yes, everything was scrumptious, and I was glad to eat Thai food after a really long time. Best of all, I got to discuss Kirti’s upcoming book publications—she is getting a book of poetry published by a printer in Lower Parel in Bombay who just happens to be a good friend of mine, Maneck Davar! Maneck was in my batch at Elphinstone College in Bombay and we have renewed acquaintance after all these years and are good friends! Kirti requested me to give her a blurb for the back jacket of her book of poetry which I felt privileged to do. I told her to send me the pdf and after I have taken a look at it, I will certainly write her a blurb.

Well, that brought our evening to a close. We took a few pictures and left. It was a nice meal and a good evening with old friends. We left the place, they dropped me back home, I spent just a few minutes talking to Leslie and Sunil before I got Llew on the phone for a long chat. I had to catch him up on a lot of happenings of the day (regarding Chase, NYU and UHC) and we will now have to re-strategize in terms of these official goings-on in our lives.

On that note, I got ready for bed and fell asleep.

tomorrow…cheerio.

A Day Spent with an Ophthalmologist in New York

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

New York City

A Day Spent with an Ophthalmologist in New York

Today was a most unusual sort of day and one that left me a bit saddened by its outcome.

I awoke, as usual, rather early, and sent out Thank you notes to my Book Club friends (whom I had met last night) for a lovely and lively evening. There was not too much time left after my breakfast (muesli with yogurt and milk and decaff coffee) to do much. Hence, I got dressed and ready for my appointment in the city with a new physician I would be seeing and with whom I had set up an appointment.

Leslie dropped me off at Westport station for my train, I bought my ticket from the machine and off I went. It was a lovely day, thankfully, but because I knew that my pupils would be dilated after my appointment, I did not make plans to meet anyone else after it ended.

Strolling in Manhattan:

My appointment was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (perhaps the ritziest part of the city) and as I strolled along from the Hunter College stop on the 6 line from Lexington Avenue toward Park and Madison (my clinic is on 72nd Street), I did a spot of window shopping. I also realized that I was feeling peckish and since my appointment was at 1.45 and would probably go until at least 2.45, I decided to try to find some lunch before I saw the doctor.

Sadly, there are not too many casual places in which one can find a bite in this snazzy part of town. When I spotted Eli Zabar’s Bakery, about two blocks away from the clinic. I went in for quick snack. I ended up buying an almond croissant ($5, if you can believe it!) and enjoyed it outside in the little street-side chairs and tables that he has set up (as there is no place to sit inside). Then, I hurried forth to my appointment.

Seeing the Ophthalmologist:

Llew has been seeing Dr. Rosberger for at least 20 years now at his clinic on Park Avenue called Maculacare. He is recognized as one of the finest retina-specialists in the USA and Llew was keen that I should see him for a second opinion. It turns out that, about two months ago, I had begun to notice a peculiarity in my right eye that causes distortion of the image particularly when I am reading (not so much while watching TV, unless I cover my left eye). I had seen one of the leading ophthalmologists in Bombay, Dr. Borse, who had been treating my Dad for decades, and he had diagnosed my condition as age-related pulling away of the retina from the eye wall which had resulted in a gap or hole. This hole was causing the distortion, he said. He further opined that it would possibly get better with time until I would not notice the condition at all. He even gave me some medication (powder to be dissolved in water) which, he said, might hasten the automatic repair of the condition.

After my eyes were examined by someone called Sonam (Dr. Rosberger’s assistant) and my eyesight found to be 20/20 (or so he said) with my current glasses, I was sat in another room after my pupils were dilated. Along came Dr. Rosberger who remembered Llew well and told me to give him regards. He then began his careful examination of my eyes using the scanners, bright lights, etc. I was then sent into another room for more scans. It was not long before Dr. Rosberger pronounced his verdict and gave me the dreaded diagnosis. Yes, he said, my macula has degenerated just a little bit. I have caught it at the earliest stages and it is restricted, right now, only to one eye. This condition, he said, is age-related and myopia-related (I have been short-sighted or near-sighted and have worn glasses since the age of 13 and contact lenses since the age of 18). There is also an epiretinal membrane that has formed on my retina (which, as the doctor described it, has a crumbled appearance instead of lying down flat on the retina). This crumbling is causing the distortion of vision.

Furthermore, the doctor said, that there is little possibility that this could get better on its own. Could it get worse? Yes, it could. Is there any treatment for it? Apart from surgery, no. And in the case of surgery (particularly at this early stage), risks outweigh benefits and are, therefore, not recommended. He told me that from my now, my eyes will need to be monitored carefully every six months. He set up an appointment for me, six months from now—in the heart of a frigid New York winter (frankly, wild horses will not bring me back to North America in this season!). So I shall see Dr Borse in Bombay. Of course, he cautioned me seriously, if there is any change of any kind, I would need to see him immediately, he said.

Wow! You can just imagine how hard I was hit by this news! I now join the line of folks I know who are living with this condition: my Dad, of course, who is now legally blind, has had it since his 60s; Llew who has battled all sorts of serious eye conditions including two detached retinas (due to acute myopia) 45 years ago, has severe macular degeneration; my friend Jane Dean (whom I shall be seeing next week for breakfast), who is almost 90 and who tells me that she has great difficulty reading my monthly newsletters which she loves; my friend Liz Virkar in Bombay who is currently undergoing some kind of eye treatment that involves periodic shots in her eye for the same condition. Of course, there are severity of stages in this condition and each person’s eyes react differently. But, overall, it is not a diagnosis one would like to receive. Fortunately, I have profoundly inspiring men in my life (my Dad, my husband) who live with this condition daily and have never let it affect their quality of life or their enjoyment of it. So, I propose to soldier on bravely, resorting as always to prayer and leaving myself and my eyesight in the hands of the Lord and His Blessed Mother. May it be done according to their will.

Dr. Rosberger also wanted to take some photographs of my eye—as he explained, it was not an MRI or an X-ray—just pictures. But he also wanted to test the condition of my optic nerve and to find out if there was any bleeding or inflammation in my eye (he rather doubted this, but he wanted to be certain). Hence, I was sent to another room where an assistant named Thairides (yes, that’s her name!) gave me a shot in a vein on my right hand. This put an orange dye into my veins. This dye would spread, through my heart, all over my body and would enter my eyes and the veins in my eye. Pictures were then taken of my right eye and on studying them, Dr. Rosberger confirmed that there was no bleeding or inflammation—all of which are positive signs. All this done, he made his notes and told me to make an appointment to see him after six months (which I did).As he did not tell me to alter my normal lifestyle in any way, I guess I can continue in this vein for as long as possible. Naturally, because I love reading and watching TV so much, I hope this will not affect my enjoyment of these activities (especially now that I am retired and have so much more time to indulge in them).

Journey Home to Westport:

Whew! That done, I left the clinic (which is on the lower level) and emerged out on to the street between Madison and Park Avenues and found my eyesight deeply affected by the pupil dilation. All I could do was think of getting on a bus and riding uptown to 125th Street so that I could take the first train going out to Westport. And that was exactly what I intended to do.

Introduction to a New Parfumerie:

But, before I got there, I found that I passed what was the former showroom of Jo Malone (opposite the Met-Brauer Museum—which is now permanently closed but which houses the collection of the Frick Museum temporarily). I found that Jo Malone closed their showroom too (it is now an optician) but I did pass by a parfumerie called Fueguia 1833 (an Argentinian parfumerie that was founded in 1833 in Patagonia and is based on the concept of botanical extracts). I really loved the showroom which was set up around the concept of dozens of beautiful crystal flacons each of which had a glass globe over it. To experience the scent, the assistant sprayed the inside of the glass globe to allow you to sniff it—what a novel concept. Of course, this offers no indication of how the perfume will react with the warmth of your skin…but you get the idea. I love the fragrance of fig and I was naturally drawn to it. The assistant was kind enough to make me a small sample sized bottle of it and I left the store feeling delighted that I had the essence of Fig in my purse. Jo Malone used to make a Fig fragrance which I used to love but which they discontinued (much to my annoyance). I hate it when cosmetics companies discontinue their products. Anyway, I was delighted with my little treasure.

Reaching Home:

A few steps ahead, I found the bus stop and in a few minutes, along came the M1. I hopped into it all the way up Madison Avenue till 125th Street which I reached with just five minutes to spare before my train arrived. I was grateful for my sunglasses which kept the unpleasantness of the sun out of my dilated eyes as I walked really fast for my train.

Five minutes later, I was in my train and headed to Westport. I got off at Southport station and waited for a few minutes until, right after 6pm, Leslie picked me up (at the conclusion of her work). We reached home and I reached for a cuppa and some cookies as I was really ravenous (having eaten only my croissant for lunch).

I then had an uneventful evening as my eyes were quite badly dilated. Sunil, who was nursing a cold, was upstairs, fast asleep. This left Leslie and me to rustle up some dinner. She chose to make an Israeli couscous dish with chicken stock and spinach and some roasted brocolli, but I had my leftovers from our dinner at Sakura (noodles, vegetables and steak) and since I had eaten a light lunch, I took a healthy helping—but still left some for tomorrow (there was so much!).

Basically, that was my day! Apart from seeing the eye doctor, I did not do too much.

Until tomorrow..cheerio!

Another Glorious Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and a Book Club Meeting with Fairfield Friends:

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut

Another Glorious Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and a Book Club Meeting with Fairfield Friends:

Life here in Westport, Connecticut, has entered a routine phase. I awake by 4.30 am and spend most of my time still in bed as I read or blog or communicate with friends via texting. But by 6.30 am, I start teaching online in India and today, I taught Arjun and Veer. In-between, I helped myself to a cup of coffee to keep me going. After I finished teaching my two sessions, back to back, I made myself some breakfast (muesli with honey yoghurt and milk) and soon got myself ready for my day in the city. I had made plans to meet my docent batch-mate and friend Liz Kaplan for lunch and I would need to time my train to make it on time.

Just as I was getting ready to call an Uber to get to Westport station, Sunil told me that he could run me to the station. Accordingly, we left in exactly five minutes and in less than ten minutes I was at Westport getting my ticket from the machine on the platform. I had a little while to use the restroom at the station before my train (9.40am) came along and I made myself comfortable inside. I used my time on the train to talk to Llew, to my friend Ashley (who has relocated back to Bandra recently) and to wish my friend Delyse a very Happy Birthday.

At 125th and Harlem, I got off the train and decided to do what Leslie had suggested: instead of taking the subway down to the Met, I walked two blocks to Fifth Avenue. From there, I jumped into the M1 bus (that was actually waiting there) and, hey presto, in about twenty minutes, I was being dropped right outside the Met! I simply could not believe that after literally decades of going by subway and then crosstown bus to the Met from 125th, there was a simpler way to do it! Gosh! Live and Learn!!!

Lunch with Liz and George at the Met:

From the get-go at the Met, I was stunned at the number of people that had invaded the museum. Yes, it was a somewhat damp day (although it was not raining) and I am aware that the Met is on the To-Do List of every visitor to NYC, but to see it simply crawling with humanity…well, I have to say that I do not recall ever seeing it so crowded. Tourism, post-pandemic, is certainly back with a bag and the number of global visitors has to be seen to be believed.

I walked in through the staff entrance on the ground floor, had a chance to quickly browse through the Clearance items in the gift-store and then took the elevator upstairs to get to the staff dining hall where I was supposed to meet my friends Liz and George. And indeed within a minutef entering the space, I spotted Liz and had a fond reunion with her. In very little time after that, I made my way to the Salad Bar at the cafeteria and helped myself to the most wonderfully fresh ingredients and two dolmades (Greek stuffed vine-leaves—one of my favorite things to eat). Indeed, I absolutely love the salads at the Met and ate them in-between my tours for 27 years…they were always something to which I looked forward. And now too, whenever I return to the Met, it is to the Salad Bar that I make a beeline to mix my own.

Liz, George and I settled down for a lovely chat over lunch (they too picked salads) and did a lot of catching up. Liz is almost 90 and her daughter is planning a grand family trip to Japan for them in the winter to celebrate her milestone birthday—so she has a lot to anticipate. She moved from giving Highlights tours for which we were all trained together to giving specialty Musical Instruments tours, And since I had never taken one of those with her, I had made a date that I would take her 1.00 pm tour. Accordingly, after lunch, I browsed a bit in the gift shop and then made my way to Velez Blanco Patio for the start of Liz’s tour.

Taking Liz’s Musical Instruments Tour:

Needless to say, Liz’s tour was simply marvelous. I was visiting that part of the museum after ages and had no idea that it had undergone a major renovation and that many of the items had been rearranged. Lis took us brilliantly through the various sections introducing us to rattles, whistles and bells (early Federal era musical toys that were fashioned out of silver, gold and coral) all the way to contemporary musical instruments. Of course, she showed us the Stradivari violins and the Todini harpsichord but in-between, there was a conch shell we saw as well as a Rondador, an instrument I had never seen in my life—not to mention whistling jars! It was a superbly enlightening one hour and I came away having learned so much about the history of global music. Full marks to my friend Liz who made it humorous and showed off her expert knowledge on the subject.

A Hot Chocolate in the Patron’s Lounge:

As Liz was (understandably) very fatigued after giving the tour, we made our way up to the Patron’s Lounge where we settled down on the plushiest sofas to enjoy a much-needed hot chocolate. It is incredibly peaceful up there, on the fourth floor of the Museum, which is a private space devoted only to members and to us, ID-card holders of the Met. The fact that tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available there, makes it doubly attractive.

I was also really sleepy and tired after the tour and could do with a nap. I bid Liz goodbye and thanks and told her to carry on as I lay right there on the sofa and had my customary 20-minute shut eye. It always does me a world of good and, just a little later, as expected, I got my second wind and was ready to roll again.

Seeing the Special Exhibitions at the Met:

This time, I decided to take a look at the special exhibitions at the Met. I chose to see the newest one that has just been installed. It is by the Abstract Expressionist Cecily Brown, a British artist who was influenced early by Maggie Hambling and then moved to the USA. Her canvasses are a riot of color in the Pollock vein although she names Edvard Munch as an influence. Once I read the curatorial notes, I began to get a better idea of her work (in the beginning, I found it hard to respond to) and warmed to her ideas and perspectives.

Then, on a different note, I decided to go and see some of my favorite canvasses in the Met and the museum made it easy as they had a special exhibition entitled ‘Dutch Masters at the Met’ down in the Lehman Wing. There I feasted my eyes on canvasses by Rembrandt, Pieter de Hooch and Vermeer and, of course, I had the best time. Truly, if I could have spent my retirement living in New York City, this is exactly what I would do—haunt the best museums in the world with a vengeance.

Back Home on the Train:

It was almost 5.00 pm and the museum was closing by the time I finished with it. I went straight to the 86 bus stop and then took the Uptown 5 train to 125th Street in Harlem from where I jumped into the Metro-North train and came back home. Leslie told me to get off at Southport station as she was just about to finish library duty and could pick me up. She was already there when my train arrived and we drove back to her place well in time for me to get ready for my Book Club Meeting that was at 8 pm.

Off to my Book Club Meeting:

As decided, I had just finished my shower and was ready to leave when my friend Bonnie rolled up to take me for our Book Club Meeting to Cathy’s house in Fairfield. I am exceedingly grateful to my friends who are giving me rides in this way and making my life fun and easy. In fact, I told her to give me five minutes while I finished reading the last 10 pages of the novel “The Covenant of Water” which is really exceedingly lengthy and which I have taken over a month to read—all 750 pages of it. But it was truly a worthwhile red and at the end of it, when I finished the book, all I could say was “Wow”. Indeed, we’d have much to discuss when we were all together.

We arrived at Cathy’s and realized that Bonnie, Cathy and I were all wearing red and white! Of course, we had to take pictures together. Mary-Lauren and Mary-Jo joined us subsequently. I was really sorry that Amy was not present as she had a family crisis and had temporarily moved away from Fairfield to be close to her parents. We discussed so many things happening in our families and it seemed to me I had never left. How great it felt to be back in the bosom of some of my dearest friends in Fairfield. Of course, we then got down to the serious business of eating as food and wine are essential parts of our Book Club evenings. Cathy had dips for appetizers and an Asian-style grilled salmon with rice studded with golden raisins and scented with cumin as well as a hugely colorful and very delicious salad. For dessert, we had chocolate cups (from The Pantry), a mixed berry salad and macarons. All simply wonderful!

While eating at the table, we found that the book left us a world of ideas to discuss. Everyone had their favorite character, their opinion on the plot and personal aspects of the lives that resonated with the book. Overall, a truly satisfying book to dissect and a really great contemporary novel. We have hopes that it will win the Pulitzer Prize this year.

At the end of the meeting (I can’t believe I did this for 27 years of my life), we all said our goodbyes and Bonnie dropped me back home. It was a really fabulous day and I give thanks that I am able to have a life that is filled with so many varying interests and so many fabulous and fond friends.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

A Varied but Fun-Filled Day with Friends and an Unusual Japanese Dinner at Sakura.

Monday, August 14, 2024

Westport-Fairfield, Connecticut

A Varied but Fun-Filled Day with Friends and an Unusual Japanese Dinner at Sakura.

I am still waking up early, but as it gives me a chance to read and catch up with my blogs, I am not complaining.

Early Morning Routine:

Today too, I awoke early enough to read (finishing The Covenant of Water—it is really a looooong book!) and blogging. I had a quick chat with Llew (leaving Goa and en route to Bombay) before I made myself my breakfast (muesli with yogurt and milk) and left Sitara to make me a decaff coffee (which was delicious) before I began teaching. I taught three classes in a row of one hour each (Yash, Vir and Trivik) before I was able to relax. I felt very tired and sleepy actually, so I did stop to take a 20 minute nap before deciding to try and finish off my book!

A little later, when I realized that everyone else in the household had left to do their own set of morning chores, I walked down to Trader Joe’s to get myself some lunch. I chose a Lemon Chicken Salad with Arugula—the base was Israeli couscous which was quite delicious and very healthy indeed.

Another Annual Medical Appointment:

At 1.00 pm, I sat in front of the TV and ate my salad at the same time that I tried to get myself ready for leaving the house by 1.30 pm when Leslie would drive me to my next medical appointment. I had an appointment with Dr. Sapna Tandon, my gynecologist at 2.10 pm and Leslie was kind enough to get back home from her chores and take me there en route to her work at 2.00 pm.

A half hour later, I was facing my worst annual nightmare—my routine gynec exam. Enough said. However, I have known and gone to the same gynec for the last 22 years. I trust her with my life. She is fantastic and we have a very special relationship. This resulted in the visit being much more pleasant than it could be and within 45 minutes, I was all done. There! That was out of the way. Although I will have to wait to get test results, she did say she did not anticipate any problems.

Browsing Through Fairfield Center Stores:

I had some time on my hands and much as I would have liked to roam at will through all the stores of Fairfield Center, I am still mindful of my weak knee and do not wish to provoke any further physical discomfort. Hence, I restricted my browsing to just Loft, Chico and Capri—these are stores where I have found really good bargains in times past. And in Chico’s, once again I did. I found a really lovely, chunky silver-toned necklace at the throwaway price of $10 (otherwise priced at $60). It was a no-brainer and I bought it.

Since I drew a blank at Capri, I thought it would be best to walk across to the Fairfield Public Library where I could browse through the newest bestsellers. I did just that and for the next hour, I leafed through Nigella Lawson’s latest book Eat, Cook Repeat (only to find it woefully stingy with pictures). Then, just as soon as my eyes began to close, I took a nap—yes, right there on a chair in a quiet corner of the library!

Meeting my Friend Diana for Ice-Cream (but first an Errand at Fairfield University):

I had texted my friend Diana Thompson earlier to find out if we could meet this week and she had happened to have a window open this evening. Naturally, she drove across to the library and picked me up from the parking lot. Before we set off for our tea/coffee/ice-c ream, however, I asked a favor of her. Could she drive me to the campus of Fairfield University so that I could pick up tickets form the box office of the Quick Center for the Arts? I wanted to buy tickets to a bunch of lectures/talks at the Center for my friend Leslie who had told me that she was interested in them and wanted to buy them herself. I thought they would make a great gift that would keep on giving throughout the next year for Leslie who is interested in Judaic Studies. Well, Kyle at the box office (who knows me well) told me that the office was technically closed, but that he would keep it open for me if I could get there in a few minutes. I did, as Diana just revved up her car and took me there.

In the next half hour, I bought Leslie eight tickets for four different events. I picked the ones that I knew would be of special interest to her as she had mentioned Barbara Herschel, Tim Snyder and Dana Hor. I also included another big event: Art Speigelman, author of Maus, one of the most successful graphic novels of all time (and one which I teach my IB students) was also coming to the Center. Since Leslie is a librarian, I thought she would really appreciate this event and so I included it too.

That task done, Diana and I could relax for at least the next hour. As Diana had never been to Shake Shack and I was keen to have one of their chocolate milk shakes (which is made extra thick so that it resembles a giant chocolate ice-cream), we ordered shakes, settled down on tables outside (as it was a tad too chilly inside) and caught up on all the happenings in the life of her sons, Matthew and James and her husband, Jonathan. It was just lovely to spent time with my English friend who is always full of fun and humor.

Back Home for Dinner Out:

As this was the evening I would be taking Leslie, Sunil and Sitara out for dinner to Sakura, I told Diana to drop me back by 7.00 pm. This left me enough time to run in for a quick shower and to get ready for our 7.30 pm reservation at Sakura, a long-standing Japanese restaurant in Westport which is their favorite and which does a very novel version of hibachi—the table-side grill that involves a great deal of drama.

Well, it was all that and more as we drove there as a family, found our table, took our seats and then gave ourselves up to the novelty of Japanese dining. I have to say that I was surprised how packed the restaurant was. It has a huge hibachi room and yet every seat was taken.

Hibachi dining involves a few set items on the menu (such as noodles, rice—choice of brown or white--a helping of vegetables, and a couple of shrimp). Then there is one’s individual choice of a protein such as swordfish, shrimp, chicken, steak, etc. Each of us chose a different protein and, when it came to our turn, the server arrived at our table and began his ritual. There were five other people at our table and he served them and us simultaneously as he tossed and stir-fried and added oil and butter and a bit more fire. Occasionally, the fire revved up leaving lots of room for video or still photography. We enjoyed the showmanship of our server and everything else that led to a large meal being placed on our plates with two types of sauces (ginger-garlic and chilli) plus soy that did the rounds at our table.

Just before it was time for me to pay the bill, I gave Leslie the gift I’d brought her and Sunil and boy, oh boy, was she amazed! She simply could not believe that I had bought them all these tickets! Of course, she was simply delighted and thought it was a most relevant gift that one she would most certainly enjoy in the coming fall and in the spring of next year. I was so pleased to see her look so surprised and delighted by it all .It was a big success!

All that was left then was for us to drive back home (where we reached in 5 minutes) and get ready for bed. I fade away by 10.00 pm as I am still awaking early.

I am pleasantly surprised at how fulfilling and fun each of my days in Connecticut are and what a good time I am having!

Until tomorrow… cheerio!