Sunday Mass in our Parish, Breakfast with Former Neighbors At Harborview Market, Lunch with Our Hosts at Centro, Dinner on

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Sunday Mass in our Parish, Breakfast with Former Neighbors At Harborview Market, Lunch with Our Hosts at Centro, Dinner on Long Island.

Today was another lovely day filed with reunions with old friends and neighbors. Once again, we left our hosts sleeping in (as they are fairly late risers) and left their home for the 8.00 am Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fairfield which was our Parish. It was great to be in the same church again—not much changes, does it? However, we did not recognize many of the people. All of the ‘regulars’ who used to occupy the pews around us were missing—probably on vacation as August is a month when most people move to other locales. Still, it was good to hear a great sermon again, to listen to familiar hymns belted out by Frank, our Music Director and, best of all, after Mass, to meet some of the friends who still remember us warmly such as Pat (a fellow-Lector), Eleanor (our Director), Frank (our Music Director who came down from the choir loft to meet us) and a couple of the ushers. We visited with a few of them.

Next, I took Llew to the Labyrinth Garden at the side of the church that was set up by our parishioners in honor or Fr. John Baran, our late beloved parish priest. It is a lovely space and we stopped and took a few pictures there.

Meeting with our Former Neighbors and a Beloved Dog:

Our next stop was right next door to our home in Southport—we were off to see our former neighbors, Ken and Pui Hom, who live just next door. But, most important of all, we were delighted at the prospect of meeting their dog, Gus, who adored his “Uncle Llew”. Yes, we had a nice reunion there but did not stay long as we decided to go out for breakfast. They chose the ‘Harborview Market’ at the Bridgeport border which has some really delicious breakfast items.

We ended up ordering coffees, almond croissants and pain au chocolat for the four of us which we ate outside with the lovely warming sun on our backs. It was a beautiful late summer’s morning in Fairfield and we felt very blessed in the beautiful weather we’d been having.

Bulk Buying at BJs:

We then bid goodbye to our friends and set off to BJs—the huge wholesale and bulk-buying place in Bridgeport from where we filled our cart buying our annual supply of the provisions that we either do not get easily in Bombay or have to pay exorbitant prices to purchase. These included decaff tea, decaff coffee, craisins, the particular toothpastes we like using, our vitamin supplements, oral hygiene items (such as gum picks), etc. I also bought a big pack of Ranch Dressing mixture, real maple syrup, etc. Anyway, our cart was full as we paid our bill and made our way to the trunk of our car to store all these items away.

Lunch with our Hosts:

By the time this chore was done, we’d be in great shape to meet our hosts, Bonnie and Art, at Centro’s, where we were meeting to treat them to lunch to say Thank you for their hospitality. And so after parking, we met them inside and decided to sit outside. It was such a lovely morning that it seemed shameful not to enjoy the sun.

Once settled down, Bonnie ordered a Lugano Pizza, Llew had a burger that was, somewhat disappointingly, served on a single slice of ciabatta bread and did not resemble a burger at all, Art had the Grilled Chicken Salad and I (to be different and eat something I had not eaten in years), chose Huevos Rancheros (Mexican ranch-style eggs) that was served on a grilled corn tortilla with refried beans, avocado, sour cream and tomato salsa. The meal was lovely. A couple of the folks at our table had a glass of wine but I stuck with water. Everything was delicious and as our friends would be leaving, the next day, for a few days in Cape Cod, it was also wonderful to treat them to this meal and have them all to ourselves.

Getting Ready for our Dinner Date at the Home of Long Island Friends:

During days that had been nothing but go, go go, we were happy to have the opportunity to return to our hosts’ home for a very short nap before we took our showers and left for the next item on our agenda: Dinner at the home of our friends, Doreen and John Bellomo at Syosset, Long Island. Since they had also invited our mutual friends, Allan and Anita Walther, we had decided to drive us to their place in White Plains in Westchester and leave our car in their driveway. We would then drive in their car to Long Island. As we also expected it to be a very late night, we had carried an overnight backpack with us as we would spend the night at the Walthers and leave early on Monday morning as we had doctor’s appointments lined up in Fairfield.

And so we followed our plan. The Walthers were waiting for us and with Anita’s mother also in their car, we made our way to Long Island. It was a great opportunity for all of us to catch up on all the travels the Walthers do and to tell them about our Great American Driving Tour which went off really well.

It is always a joy to see Doreen and John who are two of our oldest friends in the USA. They are always warm and generous hosts and we have so much to talk about when we meet. Doreen always outdoes herself in the huge menu she puts on the table. It was great to have two massive platters of antipasto (John’s Italian heritage kicking in—done by their daughter, Lauren) while we sipped drinks. And then, we all sat down at the table (including Doreen’s Mother who was also present) to enjoy her vast spread: Tandoori Chicken, Mutton Rogan Josh, Turkey Burgers and Baingan Bharta, Vegetable Pullao with Thai Green Shrimp Curry, Boondi Raita with Avocado, Corn and Mango Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. Dessert was a Chocolate Coffee Cake made by Doreen and a Key Lime Pie that was brought by the Walthers. Gosh! We were ever so stuffed when we got up from the table as the variety of food offerings were just too hard to resist. And of course, conversation simply flowed around the table as we had so much to tell them about our retired lives in India and everyone’s plans for their own retirement. It was indeed a marvelous evening and we were really happy to have had the time to spend with them.

As the evening came to a close, we said our goodbyes and returned to the Walthers’ car. It was a very peaceful night that we spent at their home, after taking exactly an hour to get back from Long Island to Westchester.

And so another lovely day came to a close. A day in which we felt, again, just how blessed we are in our vast number of friends and in their fondness of and generosity towards us.

tomorrow, cheerio…