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!