In early October I went with Juditha and Jim to Ocean Grove (we were reading poems at an event in Long Branch and decided to make it an overnight). The next morning we had brunch in town, then went for a long walk, Juditha and Jim giving me a first-rate tour of the area where they had once lived. The next week we had the delightful experience of watching over our very grownup nieces in Arlington while their mother spent a long weekend in New Orleans. They really did all the hard parts, we just looked on...! For Thanksgiving we flew to Buffalo on a very skinny plane (more storage under the seats than in the overhead compartments). We watched four members of the Rados family compete in the annual Turkey Trot, and did serious sightseeing in the burgeoning Buffalo metropolis. Back home I read with the Cools at a "Talk Turkey" themed reading at the Highland Park Library.
After a quiet Christmas at home, we stepped out in NYC for a few days before the New Year. The first day we met our friend Helga briefly at her show at the Nailya Alexander Gallery, had dinner at L'Artusi, and saw a terrific play "School Girls." The next day we had lunch with Eddie, Wendy and Alex, and then dinner with Joel and Susan at The Tartinery, followed by a performance by Artek at Old St. Patrick's. On the third day we had dinner at Loring Place and went to a performance by Tenet of Monteverdi at St. Joseph's. Back home on New Year's Eve (no Times Square for us!). In late January we took a day trip to Wilmington, Delaware, saw Chris Schopfer's factory, had lunch at De La Coeur Cafe, and went to the John Sloan exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum.
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| Detail of "Dante and Virgil in Union Square" by Isabel Bishop |
In early February we flew to Long Beach, stayed with Janet in Laguna Beach a few days, had dinner with Kent's family, a quick visit with SMHS friend Joan, then stayed for a few days at an Air Bnb in Pasadena, had brunch with Ed and Gipsy, a few meals and a visit to the Italian American Museum in L.A. with Kirk and Melinda, plus our annual visit to
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| San Juan Capistrano |
Santa Anita with Mimi. Back home in time for Valentine's dinner with Bill at Enoterra.
Then we had big plans to go to DC but slopoet contracted a bad cold, don't even ask, the next few weeks were a blur. Except that in moments of brief health she attended one class, one session of book group, took the train to NY to attend another Tenet concert at St Luke's, and performed a few poems with the Cools at the New Brunswick Library (themed reading was "Mud Season"). Followed by a relapse of sorts. It's now mid-March, life will start picking up again. I'm certain of that. For anyone actually following this blog, there is a real surprise coming up soon involving publication of a certain book.
