Flight from Canada to the USA (NYC) and Settling Down in Somerset, New Jersey

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada-New York-Connecticut-New Jersey

Flight from Canada to the USA (NYC) and Settling Down in Somerset, New Jersey

Today was rather bizarre in more ways than one. When I had planned our itinerary, it had not occurred to me that we’d be flying on that dreaded day—9/11. Yet, here we were, awaking with the knowledge that we’d be airborne on the same day (and at the same time—yikes!) as those passengers who had lost their lives on that fateful day! No more to be said!

So, you can imagine that I was quite keyed up as we awoke in Sylvia’s place for the last time and had a quick breakfast before we gathered our backpacks together to get to Pearson International airport in Toronto for our flight to New York. Yes, Phase Four of our travels had come to a close and we were about to embark on Phase Five (the final phase) in the USA.

Accordingly, we called for an Uber to get us to the airport, said our goodbyes and thank-yous to Sylvia who had been an exemplary hostess at a time when she was herself dealing with a new challenge in her life as a ‘Singleton’ and were on our way. The ride to the airport from Woodbridge took us about an hour and, as we did not have to deal with the return of a rental car at the airport (as we had to do on two previous occasions), we simply went straight to our check-in counter and with loads of time to spare, made it to our gate.

Flight from Toronto to New York City:

We had a very comfortable flight on Delta from Toronto to New York City. Really clear, cloudless skies and bright sunshine, during a flight that left at 11.30 am, meant that we had beautiful views of downtown Toronto, the City Center and the Harbor Front as we skimmed out of Canada. I managed to get some really good footage of the receding city before Llew and I settled down for the short flight. We had a very nice stewardess to take care of us in-flight and she plied us with packets of almonds, much to our unexpected delight, before we disembarked.

As we approached New York, I could see the East River and then the Hudson come into view. I kept clicking pictures with my camera and then, before I knew it, we were approaching JKF while flying over the Tappan Zee Bridge first and then the Verrazano Bridge. At this point, I realized that we’d probably be able to see the Statue of Liberty (and we did—although it was in the far distance and not very distinct) and Governor’s Island (much clearer). It was not lost on me that had we made this descent on 9/11 in 2001, we’d still be able to see the Twin Towers standing proud and tall in Manhattan Harbor. Instead what we did see was the Freedom Tower as we flew eastwards and made our way to JKF. I did get some footage but we did not have a very clear day and so my footage is not so clear. However, we reached down safe and sound—and that was all that mattered, really.

And so it was that we arrived again in the USA via JFK again. This time, the two of us merely picked up our back packs and made our way towards the Air Train. We were on it in no time and getting off at Federal Circle (where the Car Rental offices are) and within minutes, we were at the Budget counter claiming our rental car which we had booked way back in advance. It was then about 1.00 pm and yes, we were hungry, but we wanted to get on with it as we needed to get to Connecticut first, to the home of our friends the Factoras, as we had left the bulk of our baggage in their garage. Once we picked it up, we’d be able to make our way to South Jersey to Somerset, where we’d be spending the next few days.

The Saga of Getting a Rental Car from Budget:

Picking up our car at JFK was pretty painless but getting out of JFK (always a maze) is a bit of a stresser). Still, we did get on to the Throg’s Neck Bridge and once on it, it was a piece of cake getting on to the Merritt Parkway and into Connecticut. The weather was nice—nothing to complain about. However, by the time we had left New York, it became evident to Llew that there was an error message on his dashboard that worried him. He asked me to call Budget to find out what could be done to fix it as we did not want to stay in a car for nearly a week that was not of optimal quality. The phone call to the Customer Service folks at Budget led us to being advised to take the car over to the nearest Budget office to have it seen by a mechanic. As we knew where the Budget office in Fairfield, Connecticut, was, we decided to just head there first. Isn’t it annoying, when time is at a premium and you are trying to get to someplace before night falls, that you have all these unexpected glitches to deal with? I began to feel really frustrated at this nonsense.

Anyway, we finally made it to Fairfield, Connecticut, after fighting endless traffic, and headed straight for the Budget office. We found a single attendant there who told us that he had no mechanic present and no spare car available to give us, other than a hybrid. We told him that we did not want a hybrid and wondered if we could pick up an alternate car from his Budget Office in nearby Westport. He said we could try, When we asked if he could call his office in Westport to request them to hold a vehicle for us, he said he could not reach them. He gave us the number and told us to call them. While I was in the process of calling them, Llew went off to use his rest room and a little later, I did too. When I returned, I found the attendant on the phone himself. I have no idea to whom he was talking or what was being said. But next thing we knew, he miraculously had an alternative car in the back that he told us we could use (that was not a hybrid)! It was not a compact or mid-size car, but a larger one (not our preferred choice) but since we had no option, we agreed to take it. It actually worked out well for us (so, in the end, all was well, as we had a lot of baggage to fit into the trunk and it helped to have the larger one). About an hour after first arriving at Budget in Fairfield, we were finally ready to drive on. However, this car proved to be a real curse to us. Wait until you hear what happened to us at JFK airport just before we returned the car to Budget on our flight back to India!

By this time, it was past 3.00 pm and we were both starving. Even before going to the Factoras, I told Llew that I needed to buy a few items from Stop N Shop at Fairfield (olives, essentially—not bottled ones) as I was not sure where in New Jersey I would find them. Getting to Stop and Shop meant that we had the opportunity to pick up some food. I bought Clam Clowder for me and a Chicken Wrap for Llew. We then called the Factoras to tell them that we were on our way to their garage to pick up our stuff. I also called my brother Roger to see if they would be at home so that we could pay them one last visit before we left Connecticut. Sadly, neither he nor his wife, Lalita, responded to my text as they were both busy at work. I left them a voice mail message and told them to call me if they could see us at about 5.00 pm. By the time, they did get back to me, we were already on the highway to New Jersey—so we lost the opportunity to see them one last time.

We ate our lunch in the Factoras’ driveway at about 5.00 pm—if you can believe it. As I said, it was a bizarre day! Then, having been given the code to their garage door, we opened it, got our bags loaded into the large trunk of our car, had a final look around to make sure we had left nothing behind and we were off. As we passed by our own home on Pequot Avenue, when heading to the I-95, we took one last look at it and waved it goodbye. Finally, we were on our way to New Jersey. We called our friends, Imraan and Ghazala and told them that our ETA was about 8.15 pm. as it was almost 5.45 pm by the time we left. Needless to say, we were right in the thick of traffic throughout our journey, but at least we were moving forward.

Dinner at the Masuds:

By the time we reached our friends, the Masuds’ home, in Somerset, darkness had well and truly fallen over New Jersey as it was almost 9.00 pm. Still, our friends had a superb dinner all laid out and ready for us. Ghazala had laid the table beautifully and the meal was just delicious. We had paneer with chicken, mutton carry, rice, salad, rotis and papads. So you can imagine that having subsisted on soup and a sandwich during a really annoying day, we were so happy to feel embraced by the company of loving, hospitable friends once again who would serve us nothing but the most delicious, home-cooked meals for the next few days. They showed us downstairs to our beautifully-appointed basement apartment which gave us full privacy while we would eat all our meals upstairs with them. It was really the best kind of arrangement and we felt very grateful for it. Just before our meal ended, we were joined by their daughter, Kiran, whom we were seeing after a very long time indeed.

It was at about 10.30 pm that we finally said Good Night to our friends and went down to bed at the start of our last few days in the USA. We had just a bit more shopping to do (while keeping the weight allowance uppermost in our minds) and a lovely wedding to look forward to as we settled down to bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.

Outlet Shopping at Clinton Crossing, Lunch with Friends at Gruel Britannia, A Special Visit to Special Fairfield Friends, A Fun Cookout with ‘Dinner Club Couples’.

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Boston-Connecticut

Outlet Shopping at Clinton Crossing, Lunch with Friends at Gruel Britannia, A Special Visit to Special Fairfield Friends, A Fun Cookout with ‘Dinner Club Couples’.

We had another glorious day today! It was all about returning from Boston to Fairfield, but en route we had such a lovely time too.

Leaving Boston and Shopping at Clinton Crossing Outlets:

We Left Andover, Massachusetts, rather early in the morning and without having breakfast as we wanted to get a head start. We had a 1.00 pm appointment for lunch with friends in Fairfield Connecticut, but prior to that, we wanted to stop at our favorite designer outlet stores at Clinton Crossing in Clinton, Connecticut, to get some shopping done. The road journey (with Llew at the wheel) was quick and uneventful and we arrived in Clinton at about 11.30 pm which left us about an hour for shopping.

It is always fun to return to Clinton Crossing and to the Westfield Outlets that are a couple of exits before it. We went to Westfield first and were absolutely shocked at how deserted the place is. Most of the designer stores have closed down and were empty—the place looked like a ghost town and that too on a Saturday! We could not believe it. I was looking for a black short-sleeved shirt with a collar but could not find it anywhere.

Not to be daunted, we drove on to Clinton. There, it did look as if everyone and his brother was out shopping. Llew specifically wanted a pair of Nike sneakers; but when he went to the store, he found the line outside it so long and the wait time to enter the store to be over a half hour! That was it! We could not afford the time. I looked for a couple of things I wanted (Clark shoes) and did, in fact, find two pairs of sandals I actually liked. There was nothing to be found in my other favorite stores: Ann Taylor, Coach, Lindt, etc. But with those sandals in the bag, we left with the thought that we would return on a weekday morning to pick up Llew’s shoes.

Lunch at ‘Gruel Britannia’:

My friend Leslie and her husband Sunil had planned with us to meet at ‘Gruel Britannia’, a little British eatery on the Post Road in Fairfield, where I love the food and the ambience (given that I am such a confirmed Anglophile). Leslie was already there when we arrived, a little after 1.00 pm and found ourselves seats in the house. Sunil, her husband, joined us just a bit later.

Before we sat down to catch up and order our food, I saw the owner of the place, Karen, whom I know well. I went up there to meet her and was quite delighted at the lovey reception I received. I asked if we could take pictures together and she readily agreed. In fact, she gave me her phone number and begged me to whatsapp them to her so that she could use them on all her social media pages. It was a lovely reunion as Karen is always warm and friendly—aside from being an amazing chef.

When I did return to our table to order, we ended up with me ordering Bangers, Mash and Onion Gravy (which was just superlative), a ⁠Turkey Sandwich with Bacon and Avocado and a Side Salad for Leslie, ⁠Shepherd’s Pie for Sunil and ⁠Coronation Chicken Salad for Llew. It was a proper pub lunch and the meal offered us an opportunity to chat about everything that has been happening locally since our departure, to the travels we had recently undertaken and our plans for the future. All too soon, it was time for us to part, but we were really pleased that we were able to see another set of friends whom we love dearly.

A Visit with Special Friends in Fairfield:

The next hour was spent in the home of our friends, the Deans, in Fairfield. They are the lovely people who had left their beautiful mountain cabin home in the Grand Tetons National Park for our exclusive use (even though none of them were staying there at the time). It was fabulous to see Virginia again and to meet Jimmy who was recovering from recent surgery. We sat outside on their deck overlooking their lovely garden and were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet their son, Jimmy, who was visiting from Montana. We were too full to have even a cup of tea with them but we did enjoy our chinwag and our chance to tell them how much we had enjoyed their mountain home and how grateful we were for the opportunity to stay in it.

An Evening’s Cookout with our Dinner Club Friends:

All that was left then was our evening’s plans—for which we were running a bit late. But we were trying to squeeze in visits with a variety of friends in different places—so it was inevitable that we would end up late at some events.

When Llew and I lived in Fairfield, we had been members of a Dinner Club that met every quarter to enjoy a meal in the home of one of our members. I had requested my friend Bonnie (in whose home we were staying) to see if she could organize one of our Dinner Club evenings while we were in town. Bonnie was quick to oblige and tried to make it happen: but, since August is such a busy month, several of the members had other plans. In the end, it was just Art and Bonnie and Dan and Amy who were free to join in.

Nevertheless, Bonnie went all out to organize a really lovely pot-luck do. For starters, there was a delicious Lamb Sausage from an Italian deli which we enjoyed with drinks on her beautifully-decorated deck. Then, Art did some fantastic grilling—we had flank steak with chimichuri sauce as his main dish and Bonnie provided all the sides: Boston baked beans, a lovely salad with ripe peaches, tomato and mozzarella, Amy brought a simple salad of arugula with shaved parmesan cheese. There was also grilled corn on the cob. For dessert, Bonnie cut us huge slices of her Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Best of all, was the very companionable chatting we did as darkness fell over Fairfield and the fireflies came out to play on the lawns. It brought back all the years of friendship that Llew and I have enjoyed with our Book and Dinner Club friends with whom we have been through so many good times and bad during our lives in the USA. It was such a lovely setting, reminiscent of the many years of Dinner Club evenings we have enjoyed through the decades.

with that, our day came to an end and we were happy to be able to simply climb up one floor and get into bed—after trying hard to give Bonnie a hand with putting things away (although she would have none of it).

Until tomorrow, cheerio…

My Last Day in the USA Dawns! Lunch with my Hosts, a Walk Around the Neighborhood and a Tearful Goodbye

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Westport, CT

My Last Day in the USA Dawns! Lunch with my Hosts, a Walk Around the Neighborhood and a Tearful Goodbye

Hard to believe I have reached the last day of my long stay in the USA. When I first arrived here, it seemed to me as if I had all the time in the world to spend at my leisure. But, as in the case of all good things, time passes quickly when you are having fun, And I have had the month of my life! So, no complaints. And I am now all set, mentally, for the next phase of my life.

So, I awoke, as usual, at about 6.00 am and did a bit of blogging and reading and went over in my mind all the things I had to accomplish today. I had my last breakfast in the US (of muesli with honey yogurt and milk with a cup of decaff coffee) before I turned my attention to the matter of my packing. I think I was pretty much all set with the weighing of my two suitcases and my one strolley (which contained nothing other than our sterling silver tea and coffee service which I had picked up from my friend Bonnie who stored them for us in her basement). And then, I told my hosts, Leslie and Sunil, that I would take them for our last meal together somewhere of their choice. They chose the Sherwood Diner, which is just five minutes away—a great choice, I thought, as I had never eaten there and I have always loved American diners.

So the morning passed at leisure with us chatting about this and that. Leslie would leave and go on duty at the Library at 2.00 pm which meant an early lunch (12. 30) was in order.

Lunch at Sherwood Diner:

At 12. 30 pm, Leslie and I drove off to Sherwood Diner. Sunil took his car so that Leslie could drive straight to work after lunch and I would get back home with him. The diner was far more crowded than I expected (for a week day afternoon), but then I realized that it was the last day before schools reopened and many families had come in groups, probably to treat their kids to a last meal before school began.

Leslie and Sunil opted for omelettes and, of course, in the US, these are humongous: Leslie had the spinach and feta cheese one (like Eggs Florentine) and Sunil had the Country one (with ham and cheese). No marks to guess that I had my favorite diner food of all time: Belgian Waffles with maple syrup, whipped cream and fresh berries. Of course, we enjoyed our meal thoroughly as we chatted about all sorts of things and took pictures. In the parking lot, we parted company, as Leslie left for work and Sunil drove me home.

Back home, I took an afternoon nap (mine is never more than 20 minutes) and made some calls to say goodbye to family members and friends. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready to leave. I called for an Uber to pick me up at 6.30 pm as I had to be at JFK airport at 8.00 pm for my 11.00 pm flight via Virgin Atlantic to London. I would have a long layover in London (over 7 hours) and I was rather looking forward to it, actually.

Since I had about two hours to kill, in the late afternoon, I decided to take a walk around Leslie’s little protected enclave which is something I had promised myself I would do sometime before leaving. I was glad I managed to find the time to do so on a beautioful afternoon when the weather was just perfect.

Off to the Airport—Goodbye Connecticut and the USA!

Leslie returned on schedule at 6.15 pm, Sunil helped me carry my bags to the curb and, right on schedule, at 6.30 pm, my driver arrived. He turned out to be a Pakistani from Lahore named Ahsan and he was really lovely. Of course, although I tried hard, I burst with emotion like a dam and sobbed uncontrollably when saying goodbye to my hosts. Not only had they gone out of their way to make me welcome and comfortable but they did not consider it a huge favor or anything of the kind. They kept telling me what a pleasure it had been to have me and how much they had enjoyed my company. I, for my part, had the best month with them. Leslie and Sunil were marvelous company and I learned so much more about both of them from the time we spent together. I left with wonderful memories of places we had explored together and experiences we had enjoyed—which I was sure I would cherish for a very long time to come. Indeed, I was really sorry to say Goodbye to them.

My sobbing continued in the Uber for quite a while. I must say my driver was very sweet and sympathetic and when I apologized, he told me not to worry at all—airport drives mean tears, he said. I was glad I was not the only one!

At JFK Airport and On The Flight:

All went well when I arrived at JFK airport. I was afraid (I always am) that I would be overweight and subject to all kinds of stress. But I had the sweetest Traffic Assistant named Naharul who was a thorough gentleman. Not only did he give me window seats on both sectors but he didn’t seem to think my baggage was overweight and my suitcases went through without any questions asked! Phew! That was a huge relief!

I whiled away time at the airport by going to McDonald’s where I got myself a Fillet o Fish burger (my favorite kind) and ate it as I was aware that dinner would be served around midnight and I was not sure I wanted to stay awake till then. I actually ran into a lovely stewardess named Samantha who was operating my flight who was also getting a MickeyD’s Meal! She informed me that, as a result of a technical glitch that had disabled all air control systems in the UK, our flight coming into JFK from London had been delayed—fortunately, only by an hour. Hence, our departure was delayed by an hour. This was quite tolerable, of course, so I sat down and did some reading before getting to the gate and staying there until our boarding was announced.

It was a very pleasant flight during which I think I managed to sleep for about two hours. The meal on board was not bad at all—chicken pot pie with beans and potatoes, a bread roll with cheese, a Greek salad with a small brownie bar for dessert. I had a Gin and Tonic before dinner and in a little while (after watching the end of the movie, Tar, which I had started on the flight in as well as a new British movie called Allelujah about life in a hospice for the elderly starring Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Saunders and a new young Indian actor whose name is Bally Gill), I dropped off.

Until tomorrow, cheerio!

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.

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!