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

Friday, August 18, 2023

Fairfield, Connecticut

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

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

Meeting Our New Tenants for Coffee:

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

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

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

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

Next Stop--Meeting our Former Neighbors:

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

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

Off to the Tyre Repair Place with Leslie:

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

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

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

An Evening out with Close Friends in Stratford, Connecticut:

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

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

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

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Southport, Connecticut

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

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

A Futile Meeting at Chase Bank:

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

Biscotti, Coffee and Conversation with a Friend:

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

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

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

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

In the Parking Lot at Pequot Library:

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

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

Reviewing my DVD Collection:

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

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

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

Meeting my Friends for Dinner:

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

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

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

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

tomorrow…cheerio.

A Day Spent with an Ophthalmologist in New York

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

New York City

A Day Spent with an Ophthalmologist in New York

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

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

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

Strolling in Manhattan:

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

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

Seeing the Ophthalmologist:

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

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

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

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

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

Journey Home to Westport:

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

Introduction to a New Parfumerie:

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

Reaching Home:

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow..cheerio!

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

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut

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

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

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

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

Lunch with Liz and George at the Met:

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

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

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

Taking Liz’s Musical Instruments Tour:

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

A Hot Chocolate in the Patron’s Lounge:

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

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

Seeing the Special Exhibitions at the Met:

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

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

Back Home on the Train:

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

Off to my Book Club Meeting:

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

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

Monday, August 14, 2024

Westport-Fairfield, Connecticut

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

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

Early Morning Routine:

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

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

Another Annual Medical Appointment:

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

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

Browsing Through Fairfield Center Stores:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back Home for Dinner Out:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow… cheerio!

A Glorious Summer’s Day Touring Coastal Connecticut with Friends and Dinner with Family

Sunday, August 13, 2023

Fairfield and Southport, Connecticut

A Glorious Summer’s Day Touring Coastal Connecticut with Friends and Dinner with Family

I had an absolutely fabulous Sunday! Truly, it could not have been any better.

My day began at 5.30 am when I awoke and spent some time blogging and reading. I am trying hard to finish The Covenant of Water in time for my Book Club Meeting on Tuesday evening. But I had to start thinking about Sunday service. Leslie told me that she would drop me off at church for the 8.00 am Mass.

Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church:

Leslie and I left at 7.40 am for the 8.00 am Mass and just flew down the Post Road as there was no one on the road at that early hour on a Sunday morning. It was good to be back in our church again and to get a warm welcome from Bill at the door. He, of course, asked immediately about Llew.

Nothing felt more wonderful than to be back in my beloved church again. Fr. Paul Rourke, SJ, of Fairfield University, said the Mass. My friend Patti was the Lector and I could see the delight on her face when she recognized me sitting in our regular pew. Mass was lovely. It was a thrill to be able to belt out the hymns in the right key as Frank, our Music Director, always pitches the hymns in my exact key. In Bombay, its either too high for me (and I have to sing one octave lower—which is uncomfortable) or too low and I can’t take the notes. This was just splendid. Plus, I got to sing all the familiar hymns that I love so much. It was really great.

After Mass, Patti and Bill came up to meet me. I went forward to meet Eleanor, our Parish Co-ordinator, to say Hi to her and there I met Joe—he’s the guy who was head of the volunteer weekly Counting Service I used to do of the Sunday collection. He seems to have suffered a stroke and told me he no longer does it. He also now walks with a walking stick. I guess things change as time goes by, right? Then Frank, our Music Director, came along to say Hello and it was just grand—being enveloped in the warmth of old parish friends who remember us fondly. Everyone asked after Llew and told me to say Hello to him.

Meeting Friends For Breakfast at Harbor View Bakery:

At 9.15 am, after Mass, our friends Swapna and Rasik came along to pick me up with their teenaged sons, Atharva (whom I was meeting for the first time—he was visiting from Boston) and Parth. We drove directly to Harbor View Bakery and Café which is a favorite, after Mass, of Llew and me. They loved the ambience of the place and the location and said that they would be sure to return. It is amazing how long the line to the counter was—fortunately, we were just third in line and we ordered swiftly.

I had my favorite Belgian waffles with whipped cream, strawberries and maple syrup—lots of maple syrup. It was just scrumps! The others had omlettes, pancakes and avocado on toast and, believe me, everything was so good that all of us just focused on the eating and enjoyment of our large platters. Meanwhile, we chatted, caught up and generally had a good time.

A Driving Tour Around St. Mary’s By The Sea in Bridgeport:

When we finished our breakfast, I told our friends that I would take them on a slight detour to see the area called St. Mary’s By The Sea. This is one of the prettiest parts of Connecticut and has a lovely lighthouse and a fabulous walking path alongside the water (I have often walked along it with various friends through the years). We merely drove around and realized just how beautiful this place is and how blessed we were to live here for 29 years of our lives!

Off to the Farmer’s Market:

The next item on the agenda was the Farmer’s Market (before a short detour at Marshall’s from where I picked up my favorite Italian Fiorentina set of soaps).

The Farmer’s Market in Fairfield takes place on the Town Green and I could not believe how many people were browsing the wares. It carries fresh local produce—veggies and fruit—brought from the neighboring Connecticut farms. There were also bread stalls, pastries, brownies and even artisanal soap and bath bombs. It really is great to browse through these places, but the prices are always far higher than the supermarkets (because the produce is not mass-produced). After spending almost an hour here (with the sun climbing higher in the summer sky and warming the place far more than was comfortable), we piled back into the car and started our driving tour of our beautiful coastal Connecticut.

Off to Southport and Fairfield as our Driving Tour Continues:

Our driving tour continued as I began at Sasco Hill, then on to Sasco Beach and took our friends through the most ritzy parts of western coastal Connecticut. They had already begun to explore the beaches and had seen Jennings and Penfield Beaches. They had also been to Sasco—so we did not get off at these places.

We then moved on towards Harbor Road and got off at the Tide Mill Landing, where we took pictures and watched a man fishing. He had caught a turtle and also at least half a dozen crabs! We took a lot of pictures in this pretty area before heading off along Harbor Road towards the Pequot Yacht Club and the Old Yacht Yard. Then, we headed back to Southport Harbor where we got off and took a bunch of photographs. Of course, they were fully enchanted by the harbor and the marina and the bird sighting (we saw a magnificent black cormorant there). Once again, it occurred to me how lucky we were to live in such a beautiful place and for so many years and how completely I had embraced the area, gotten to know every tiny by lane of it and how entirely it had stolen my heart away. I have them a short history lesson on the success of the Southport Globe onion and the manner in which it made money in the 19th century for the farmers and agriculturists of the neighborhood. They were fascinated. I told them about Perry Green—about the three mansions facing the marina that belonged to the three brothers, etc.

We then left Southport Marina and went past Southport Village to drive along Pequot Avenue to Pequot Beach. We passed the Library and the two churches—Congregation and Trinity—and then got to the beach which was also quite packed. Everyone was swimming or sunbathing—there was hardly a parking spot available. Then, we drove ahead of it, into Westport where I took them to Burying Hill Beach where we stopped to take more pictures.

All of this driving was accompanied by commentary which they fully enjoyed and found very interesting. We then drove back to pass right by our house on Pequot Avenue. It was time to take a quick picture of it before thinking about lunch as everyone felt hungry.

Lunch at the Mhatre’s Residence:

Yes, we did make our way back to Black Road Turnpike, to the Mhatre’s residence, for cold drinks (Rasik gave me a Jameson Irish Whiskey cocktail tinkling with ice) while I went upstairs to their bedroom and began to take inventory of all the clothing that Llew has left behind with them to be brought to Bombay slowly at Rasik’s convenience. I removed everything, then carefully folded everything again, took pictures of everything to show them to Llew and packed and put them back into the bag.

I then went down for lunch which was leftovers from our dinner at their’s on Friday with some additions: we had chicken biryani (from Sher Khan in Hartford), prawn chilli fry and fresh salad with ingredients bought from the Farmer’s Market. For dessert, there was an absolutely delicious Chocolate Mousse Cake (my favorite) as it was Parth’s birthday yesterday. It was truly a delicious meal and I was glad to have them to share it with me.

When lunch was done, I said fond goodbyes to them and Rasik dropped me back to my friend Leslie’s place in Westport.

A Rest Before An Evening Out with Family-Members:

To my astonishment, I found that Leslie and Sitara had returned from their bridal shower and were chilling out at home. We chatted for just a little bit before I excused myself to have a bit of a lie-down and a much-needed rest.

A good half hour later, after chatting a bit with Llew who is still in Goa, I got up to have a shower and get ready. My brother Roger (who had just returned with his family from Montreal) was coming to pick me up at 6.00 pm and I was ready for him when he got there. We had a nice reunion and then he drove me over to his place in Fairfield.

It was nice to meet his wife, Lalita and his son Arav. Their daughter Anaya was at a 3-day YMCA Counselling Camp and was not at home. We had a very full evening as we explored the lushness of their deck and garden—full of colorful perennials and annuals. Roger definitely has a green thumb that he has inherited from our mother and, after admiring the tomatoes on their deck, we sat down to have drinks and nibbles—a Gin and Tonic for me with crisps, cheese and crackers (goat cheese, smoked Gouda), salted nuts. They were nice nibbles (not too heavy) while dinner was organized: bowtie pasta with artichokes, lemon and basil, grilled shisito peppers and grilled chicken (which was grilled in an air fryer—something that everyone is suddenly talking about). For dessert, there was Haagen-Daz ice-cream (chocolate with a dark chocolate coating which was exceptional). The evening gave way to twilight and twilight gave way to darkness as the evening lengthened and we spent a lot of time chatting and enjoying the good food and the lovely summer’s evening.

By 9.00 pm, I said bye to everyone and got ready to leave. Roger dropped me off, back to Leslie’s place, where I stayed up with them chatting for a while and sending pictures of an awesome day to my friends.

Then, sleep beckoned and I brushed and flossed my teeth and made it to bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!

A Relaxing Day Devoted to Retail Therapy in Southport, Connecticut

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Southport and Westport, Connecticut:

A Relaxing Day Devoted to Retail Therapy in Southport, Connecticut

It is amazing to me how much things change even within the space of a few months—forget about a few years. The things I did today really brought this home to me.

But, to begin at the beginning, I awoke early (about 5.00 pm), began reading, blogging, etc. I had a muesli and yogurt breakfast with coffee and then told Leslie that I would leave with her to get to the Pequot Library by 9.30 am. The Library opens at 10.00 to patrons, so I had about half an hour to sit quietly by myself in the Reading Room at the back (which I love—it reminds one of a gentleman’s study on an English country estate) working on my blog and catching up with it. I had carried my laptop with me.

Our friend Debbie’s wedding was being live streamed from Goa. Llew was there in Goa and I began to follow it (while home in Westport initially) but then gradually even while at the library. I caught most of the nuptial ceremony and service.

Browsing and Buying:

I spent most of the next three hours just strolling through Southport Village. It was a damp and drizzly day and on Saturday morning, for some reason, there were not a lot of folks in the vicinity. I decided to start at the first new shop in the village—Foxtrot Home! Such a cute name. It specializes in interiors, vintage and antique accessories for the home.

I went in there and was just enchanted by the space—it has a Gorgeous collection of items to suit the tastes and styles of Southport homes. Lots of traditional and classical decorating items, all with a fairly nautical touch (as it is also summer). I saw the jewelry cabinet and made a bee-line for it and found it had a bunch of exquisite vintage and antique items that I truly coveted. I ended up buying six necklaces (all of which came from a French estate, except for one contemporary lariat piece). The last, the contemporary one was on a leather rope. I had seen the exact same one on an English lady at St. Paul’s, Knightsbridge in London last week and I had loved it and wondered from where she bought it. And two weeks later, I find it in a shop in Southport! What are the odds? Well, my buys were well packed and bagged and I left feeling very pleased with them.

After this shop, I browsed in the Fairfield Women’s Exchange and then across the street in Barbara Barbara. It is amazing to me how much time really thorough browsing takes!

But then soon it was about 1.30 and I walked (in a light drizzle) back to the Pequot Library, where, half an hour later, Leslie told me that Sunil, her husband, who had returned from his trip to India, would pick us up. We all left together and he drove us home.

She had picked up a sandwich for lunch from Village Bagel shop earlier in the morning, but I knew that my leftover lunch from Wood N Tap in Farmington was still in the fridge. When we got home, I had it for lunch. Leslie’s daughter Sitara had arrived from Boston and we spent a while gabbing. It was fun to be in the bosom of a full family again (although I thoroughly enjoyed my time alone with Leslie which was, as she put it, one long pyjama party!)

It was a very quiet Saturday evening at home as Leslie and I continued watching Ted Lasso (we are close to completing the third and final series) and then it was time for me to have dinner (we made omlettes and ate them with salad) and get ready for bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!