Well, come on in!

a visitor from space...

HRH at work? and the view from the bedroom...

How about An End- Of- Year Catch-up of Items I've Been Saving On my Desktop for God knows how long That Require Your Immediate Attention So I Can Drag Them To The Trash one by one having done due diligence for God and country? (Please say yes.)

I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but a good thorough housecleaning (see clean house, a Christmas miracle, above) is just the thing this time of year. As you are here, you, kind reader, must hold the dustpan while I sweep. Hopefully you'll find something of interest that is worth your time. Then we can all dump the trash, load up the bong and laze about indulging in fantasies about the beaches we wish we were sprawled on.

(You know I'm kidding, right?)

Here's the harbor near me after the storm.

Mais attendez! Regardez cet objet d'art!

Our crystalline Christmas fruit centerpiece by the T.

A masterpiece, as always.

OK. Here's a message you won't want to miss by none other than David Stockman, President Reagan's Director of the Office of Management of the Budget. (The OMB is the only economic office in Government on which one can solidly rely for honest reporting, no matter who's "in charge" of congress or the White House. True, their reports often get buried by congresscritters who don't want to hear the news, but at least these OMB folks do their JOB.) He has something to say about the current "deal" between OBlimey and the Rethugs on continuing tax cuts for the Richistan crowd. To quote him:

"IF there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republican push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing."

Way to tell it like it is, David. This is what a Republican used to look like. Wait, wait!! Pull over!! Look, kids! Not endangered! They're extinct now! He's the only one left!! And don't let those two "moderates" from Maine fool you! They voted with Bush every single time. Checkenshits in moderates' clothing.

Is Eric Holder, US Attorney General, any better? Is he, despite his straight as a board posture, a cowering chickenshit when it comes to really going after the banks that brought the nation low, only to profit from the nation's tragedy and continue to enjoy lax rules, record profits, and turn a blind eye oversight (or is that overlook)? Andrew Ross Sorkin  thinks so. Nothing has been done. Token gestures, and it's three years since the first big bank went down (virtually none to follow, while 400 local banks, few of whom were guilty of anything truly nefarious compared to the big guys, failed.)

Sad News for 'Arty' Luddites

For old style 35 mm photographers it's a sad day and a harbinger of things no one's noticed yet and things to come. The last Kodachrome film processing plant in the world closed today in Kansas, of all places. Read this and weep for the permanent loss of intense, real life color on film as digital photography emerges to rule forever as king of the virtual "darkroom". Will National Geographic be as stunning?What will the diehards do? Ask the photographers who all rushed to have their last minute rolls developed.

The Nation magazine has published an interesting List: The Most Progressive Honor Roll of 2010. Worth taking a look at so as to know Who's who when the 2012 circus rolls around.

Wikileaks, Bad? Governments Who Hound Him, Good?

Before you condemn Wikileaks' Mr. Assange as a "terrorist" who should have kept his laptop shut, you may want to consider the considerable list of things he published for our benefit (assembled by Glenn Greenwald recently) that reveal things ordinary citizens should know about. Like Oblimey's cave to the Powers that Be (thought he was one?) to kill Spain's and Germany's attempts to bring a case against the Bush administration for Crimes against humanity, etc. The press itself disses Wiki's service to humankind and its efforts to disarm the corrupt power brokers who manipulate information in order to further their unconscionable, selfish agendas. Read this quick list (click on the "continue reading" option) before you decide how much censorship of government shenanigans you think is appropriate. A woman I met in France recently, who no doubt considered herself intelligent and humane, insisted Mr. Assange was a criminal; that "we don't need to know all that stuff." Yeah, until we do, Madame. And De Nile is not just a river in Egypt.

There's just so much going on!... I mean, if you have any doubt that the government of the US is badly crippled, and deliberately so thanks to the Reaganite wave of Government- is- the- Problem mentality that infected the Republican Party and the corporate owned media like mad cow disease over the last 30 years, just settle back with a nice cup of tea (you might want to spike that) and this shocking article in the last issue of Vanity Fair, "Washington, We Have a Problem." As used as I am to psychlogically disabling revelations from our nations' capitol, this one really put my lights out.... or on. whatever... Do check it out.

Mecca Moderne= Disney Jidda

So it looks like the old city of Mecca is the latest victim of a US style architectural mauling (as in "malling"), complete with a life size copy of Big Ben's clock tower and high rise Dubai style luxe apartments- a "Vegas" modernization the likes of which will trash historic parts of the city and allow the muslim hoi polloi to enshrine and enjoy their privileged status to the hilt, especially during the hajj. To wit:

Like the luxury boxes that encircle most sports stadiums, the apartments will allow the wealthy to peer directly down at the main event from the comfort of their suites without having to mix with the ordinary rabble below.

"How nice for them", one feels compelled to remark. Yet there are those Saudis who are not happy with this new separation of the haves and have nots in Islam's holiest city, Islam being (like Catholicism) a religion that, at least in theory, once prided itself on taking care of its own. The article continues:

“We don’t want to bring New York to Mecca,” [ Oh! The irony!] Mr. Angawi said. “The hajj was always supposed to be a time when everyone is the same. There are no classes, no nationalities. It is the one place where we find balance. You are supposed to leave worldly things behind you.”

The government, however, seems unmoved by such sentiments. When I mentioned Mr. Angawi’s observations at the end of a long conversation with Prince Sultan, the minister of tourism and antiquities, he simply frowned.

“When I am in Mecca and go around the kaaba, I don’t look up.”

He said this with a straight face, the Minister of Antiquities!, (wouldn't his job be preservation of the old city??), before closing his eyes and covering his ears, chanting "lalalala I can't hear you!". Clearly a man of the people. Wonder if he's heard of the Medicis, their posh palaces hugging the local cathedral, chummy, not to say 'close', with the Pope and all. Or the Louis line in France. If Islam is headed in this class based direction, not sure there's much more anyone needs to do to encourage its demise. Catholicism had a head start historically, and look where the church is today. Believers dropping like flies post Vatican II and fallout from what I like to call "The Diddling". Disney folk music, dumbing down the mass for the 'masses'. Pshaw!

“When the government fears the people, it is called democracy. When the people fear the government, it is called tyranny.”

Thomas Jefferson

Science Tidbits

I. Myth: Global warming doesn't exist cuz the winter is colder now.

Are you just plain tired of all the mindless wackos who insist that, because winters are getting more extreme, snowier and colder, global warming is a myth? Are you even more tired of not knowing how to respond to their idiocy? Well, here's yer answer, from none other than a scientist, the director of seasonal forecasting at some environmental firm. He says it's the snow in Siberia's to blame! Who knew? It's really, really interesting and explains the apparent dichotomy to the average moron's satisfaction. Of course, you have to get one if em to listen first. Email it to everyone you know, especially progressives who need talking points because they're too dazed and confused by the last election to speak intelligently for their team.

II. Don't play fast and loose with science terms.

According to the NY Times, for a snowstorm to be considered a blizzard, it must have sustained winds of at least 35 mph for three hours and visibility must be less than a quarter of a mile. Who knew? I thought we could just call any ol storm a blizzard if you couldn't see ten feet in front of you on a two hour drive home from Portland...

And speaking of the last blizzard -- don't you just love the way that slob Gov. Chris "The Crisco Kid" Christie of NJ maneuvered to get his porcine presence on the last plane to Disney just as the snowstorm hit his state and paralyzed the airlines? Whadda guy! A man who knows his job and does [everything he can to avoid] it. I can just see him, settling into his first class (oversized) seat, gazing out his little jet window down at the Turnpike commuters wending their way through the state he despises, and thinkin: "Suckers!" Oh, and by the way, the man who is supposed to be in charge when the governor is absent appeared to be on vacay as well. OOOps.

And smug he may well be. Something fishy in Joisy what with the group of his "advisers" raising money behind the scenes to push his emasculate- the- state agenda. Why does any public official need outside money to push his 'agenda' once he's elected? Shouldn't his agenda be the people's agenda? Only if it isn't do you need to skirt rules governing outside money. Something smells nasty here.

"Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants."Benjamin Franklin

"nothing in its nature to produce happiness.." Now there's a thinker for ya.

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the Country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed.” –Abraham Lincoln

Wonder what Abe would say now?

Now just look at that... a nice clean desktop. Uh... what's that icon over there? Oh, yeah, the novel. hmmm....

Guess I know what's next. I pray it's better than this lengthy drivel.

Downtown Camden, Maine, on Christmas Eve...

fresh snow yesterday...

not a colorized photo below, incredible, isn't it?

Rocco: 1948–2010

I need to say first of all, before I wish ya'll a Merry Christmas, that we are completely heartsore at the loss of our dear, dear friend and compatriot Ronnie Valentine, who died last weekend, sitting at this desk in Union, Maine, we are told by his daughter. He was here for pancakes only last Monday, after helping P to move the huge power tools out of the big room for Christmas and the party we had thought he'd attend this Sunday. Ronnie was one in a million, a zillion even. A guy whose very presence always made me feel immediately tres femme (a testament to his essential masculinity that didn't require parading or posturing). I liked that about him. Not many men really make you feel like a woman the minute they lay eyes on you – triggering the Insta-flirt response without warning. I liked his honest, outspoken politics, his good, knowledgeable mind, his amazing way with anything that required the slightest bit of engineering, his respect for a good idea, his depth of caring, his open, all encompassing smile, his patient, loving way with my young son, his gentle nature, his laugh and his quirky, one of a kind sense of humor and utter willingness to be silly, the kind I rarely experience outside of family. God, we'll miss you, Rocco. A legend in your own time.

It's christmas eve, and i guess if you don't find yourself in need of just one more trip out to the store today for something or other you're just, well, too organized for my liking. We have managed to turn the massive thing that is this barn/ studio into a home for the holidays; the churren, as my Nanny used to call us, arriving later in the day, to sleep on sofas and whatever ends up on the floor. I still have chicken liver pate to make, and P's gifts to wrap, but am in pretty good shape, all in all, considering I have none of my own kitchen things to work with and am making do with various items from Reny's (and Mona's kitchen next door), a Maine institution for bargain hunters.

I wish the rest of my family was here. My love goes out to them and theirs. Like the song says: "Someday we'll be together." I just hope it isn't after we're all dead. That scenario just doesn't sound like as much fun to me as a real family gathering can be. Or as Patti once put it: "What if all they have in heaven is Rock and Rye and Merit Lights?"

Here are some photos of the recent snowfall en route to Portland to shop for foodstuffs yesterday, and downtown Camden today as I ran out for some candy goodies. This is, quite possibly, the only time of year living in a small New England town is worth the price you pay in sheer boredom and provincial, politically correct thought the entire rest of the year. It is pretty darn pretty, I'll give you that...

Merry Christmas, everybody. And Rocco, dear sweet boy – thanks for all the love; we'll see you on the flip side.

kiss, kiss, everybody. be glad you're alive to see it all.

envision whirled peas

R.I.P.

"I keep sweepin and sweepin, but there's just too many feet..."

The legendary Captain Beefheart, (Don Van Vliet) artist, musician and composer, friend of Zappa, inspirer of bands like Devo, and idol of thousands has passed on to that big blues club in the sky. I didn't know he was a painter as well, and that his work was shown in NY. May he rest in peace, or at least find some worthy trouble to get into.

"It's that time of year when the world falls in love...."

With Frank's voice and the old song waltzing in my ears, we plowed through the throngs of folks clogging the arterial sidewalks of New York like so much bad cholesterol, walking from Chinatown to Central Park last weekend in an effort to do a little Christmas shopping and see what's what in the windows of luxe Fifth Avenue vendors. I have to say I have never in my life seen such mobs of people, scary at times, as one attempted to cross the street and progress up Broadway or Fifth where clots of pedestrians fifty to a hundred deep stood immobilized and waving their cellphones at the sights. There were lines outside major stores, not to view the windows (which were frankly not what they used to be) but to simply get a chance to enter the store and shop. Can you imagine a bigger waste of time? Even Canal Street was impossible, and we got there early in the morning.

Dean and de Luca, though mobbed, was relaxing by comparison.

Sidestreets downtown (south of houston) were pleasant enough, especially Chinatown/Mott area, where I love to stop and marvel at the silk kiddie pjs and the wealth of gorgeous street veg at ridiculously cheap prices, strictly for local consumption. Dem Chinese take care a dey own. And shopping from street vendors on lower Broadway, always a treat.

So we shopped all day Saturday after a late night drive down Riverside to West 84th to the flat T found on craigslist, $120 a night for two nights. It was ok, run by a group of Asians (I am told I can't say "orientals" anymore – does this mean "occidental" is taboo as well?) who appeared to be affiliated with Columbia U. The place was a little messy, but the bed was comfy and the sheets and towels clean. Nice neighborhood as well. We must have walked a hundred miles Saturday, much to T's distress as the boots she wore turned out to be not exactly "made for walkin" as my Frye's are. We'd hop a cab, which were plentiful, thank God, whenever it got to be too much. Of course T had to make one last heroic effort to return, with my new ring, to the Mother Ship on 57th and 5th, where we tried on diamond earrings and generally swanned around trying to look like we belonged there.

The Met was stunning. The last time I was there was 1989 I think, and I don't recall them having installed the cool digital libretto readers for each seat then. Low light, so no distraction to others. Nice to follow along without having to lower your eyes from the stage much. The first act of La Boheme was an ambush of such amazing beauty I found myself grabbing a tissue (thanks, Christy) and dabbing at the water fountains that sprang from nowhere on the outside corners of my eyes. I wasn't the least bit upset, just completely overwhelmed at the beauty of the tenor's voice and the music. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so astonished at my own vulnerability. It was the intensely present beauty of the thing, a joy, tears of pure joy and gratitude that there is such human effort at beauty in the world. As T said, these are the words, and the feelings, everyone wishes someone would say to them. She nailed it, as simple as it sounds. So I took the tissue, just went with the uncontrolled tear ducks, and mopped resignedly at my cheeks. Why I bothered with makeup I'll never know. It was glorious.

Drove home Sunday in torrential rain; still, breezed up Riverside and even took the Cross Bronx, world's worst road, without incident. Not much traffic thankfully. Lunch in CT at Rein's. We had a ball in New York. It's funny, you don't go there for a couple years, then when you do it's like old home week. A great city, but, frankly, it paled next to Paris and Rome. And the crowds were like lunkheads, standing around as though they were the only people on the planet.

Tip: Ladies, you need a good, comfy city walking shoe that won't make you look like Whistler's Mother? Get yourself a pair of Frye boots on Zappos.com. I have worn these things to death for the last three months and they really, how you say ... rock.

Will post again before Christmas, then take a breather for a week or so. We have a ten foot tree this year! It is stunning. Now have to decide what to put on it!

Here's a memorable quote from Krugman's column commenting on Congress' (particularly Republican) failure to bring the banks to heel: "what happens when an ideology backed by vast wealth and immense power confronts inconvenient facts. And the answer is, the facts lose." I think that pretty much applies to most congressional "efforts" these days.

Yup -- Yesterday was a bad day for democracy in DC.

Is anyone else out there feeling a little zaftig around the middle? After three months of mouthwatering Eurofood, I'm feeling a little insulin resistant and so are my jeans. So here's a little good advice from the Times on the efficacy of exercising before breakfast, research that refutes the notion you have to 'carb up' to exercise effectively. I did a workout this morning with nothing but tea and water in my system and am sure I felt my pancreas thank me. (Nothin like a few months of worshipping at the patisserie to get your pancreas workin overtime.)

ciao for now..

What's wrong with this picture?

Is Camilla wondering why they don't like her? Really? She needs to get out more... of the car, that is. And Charles.. well, do you think he ironed that shirt himself?

It would appear the monarchy in Britain is no longer as popular as people generally seem to believe it is. (Actually, it's popularity numbers are really in the 20-40% range and have been for some time.) In case you're wondering why the demonstrators attacked the Prince's Rolls as he and his emerald-clad second wife – the one who replaced the dead popular one – "swanned" (as one commenter in the Times put it) through a rowdy neighborhood on their way to the theatah, a 'hood crowded with people demonstrating against increases in college tuition fees among other cuts to the neediest, consider the financial disclosures at this link. Then ask yourself if you'd be pissed as well that your tuition was going up (more than trebling) so the Prince can continue to spend a cool couple million a year on travel expenses. The comment section re this incident from readers of the Times is, once again, the most interesting part of the paper.

I'm off to New York and the Opera. To stare in the store holiday windows and see what New Yorkers are doing these days.

Here's a little gem, the laugh du jour, you will NOT want to miss. Check this hilarious gal out. I nearly lost my mind reading it. (No wise cracks please..)

Can Congress be a ...

"DISGUSTED!"

This is how Joe from Ann Arbor put it in the comments section of the NY Times article on Oblimey's cave in to the the Rethugs on tax cuts for the wealthiest americans this morning. A tax cut, remember, NOT passed by Congress, that Bush decreed by fiat as a little parting gift to his rich buddies ONLY because it was "temporary", otherwise it would not exist in the first place cuz it would not have won congressional passage at the time. This is so outrageous as to be unbelievable, as in:

"Unbelievable..$900 bn [added to] to the deficit by virtue of tax cuts to the millionaires !! It seems Republicans only oppose deficit spending when it helps the middle class and the poor."

And the comments just go on from there, nearly all of them outraged that a supposedly gifted public speaker like Oblimey didn't feel he could have made a better bully pulpit argument against welfare for the wealthiest while the rest of the nation endures a gutting of programs to help the less advantaged and a slow spiral into economic limbo. "Hey", demanded one commenter, "what happens to the unemployed at the end of the 13 month extension of benefits that the Repubs refuse to support unless the richest americans get a huge break? " In 13 months there will be no new jobs cause the Treasury has been further looted by the Repugs" – an apparent band of thugs myopically focussed, as they have been since the 80s, on "starving the Beast" that is the Federal Government? OUR GOVERNMENT??!!

Clearly a lot of folks are pissed off, and well they should be. This is the most outrageous slap in the face of American taxpayers since the bank bailout. Maybe it's time to form a "Coffee Party", a counterweight to those lightweight "tea dunker" Knownothings. One that symbolizes informed ALERTNESS and represents the folks who are AWAKE enough to see what the f$@* is going on here! The Republican party has determined that "no government is good government" and that ALL remaining government (what's left after the Bush years) must be organized to advantage the wealthiest citizens and warmongering corporations. Well, that would be fine if the millionaire members of the Senate Club weren't also slurping millions out of the public trough with their government paychecks, pensions and benefits, the very ones they deny to average americans.

Here's my question. These neo-non-cons, if they worked for a corporation, and badmouthed their employer the way they badmouth Uncle Sam, they'd be fired. And furthermore, isn't engaging in the desctruction of the government treasonous? So why are these guys still collecting paychecks from the very public trough they claim to want to dismantle? If the Rethugs meant what they said, that our money belongs in our pockets – they'd say "Here ya go, here's my paycheck (after all I AM a millionaire and don't need it), my health insurance premium, my perks. I'm giving them back to the taxpayers. " But you don't see them doing that, do you?

non

Cuz they're hypocrites. Here's my suggestion to the Rethugs in Congress and in state houses across the country: QUIT YOUR CUSHY GOVERNMENT JOBS AND GO RAISE PIGS. IT'S A SMELLY ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH YOU COULD FIND TRUE FULFILLMENT. TIME TO WEAN YOURSELF AND YOUR RICH PALS OFF THE GOVERNMENT TIT YOU'RE SO FOND OF CONDEMNING EVEN AS YOU SUCK SO GREEDILY.

Ever wonder why they think this way? All I can tell you is this is a kind of anti-meritocratic Neo-Calvinism in full bloom that found its voice in the 70s and is now shouted from the rooftops of DC politicos. A kind of religio-socioeconomics – God's favor as a major variable – its basic tenet is this: If you are wealthy it's because you have been chosen by God, because you are deserving in His eyes to thrive and lead. If you are poor it's because you haven't accepted Jesus as your savior, or worked hard enough, are not living a life that pleases God. You are not predestined to be so, so assume the position and smile. The fact that you are chosen implies a certain merit which needs no explanation, one takes it on faith, as should your fellow society members. You are rich, ergo you deserve preferential treatment by your society that verges on canonization. For the Rethugs this translates as tax cuts for the wealthy and sex lives sanctioned by a closet, among other things.

As my momma used to say, "So help me God..."

WHERE IS MY EFFING SHOE!!!!!!

OK – I'm done. How about a laugh to open the mind and free the spirit from the drudgery of thought?

Try this on for laughs. (Like my momma used to say, I never wear it. )

"One ringy dingy...

Will wonders never cease?

Carlotta would be so pleased....

Now I really need to get my nails done...

You coulda knocked me down with a feather. Can you believe the guy who could never keep a gift a secret waited overnight to give me this for my birthday? I mean.... wull yeah .. I cried! Sweet. I've always said he was sweet (among other things).

There's more to this ring story than you might think, and its resonance is far reaching, but that's grist for different writing mill. For a woman who poo-pooed such nonsense all her life, not to mention one who held strong anti-blood- diamond sentiments, I have to say candlelight is a lovely thing reflected in these little gems. And, yes, it will make me very happy each time I look at it.

Thank you, my dahlink.

Tomorrow I'll be regaling everyone with some commentary on the unforgivable and deteriorating state of american and Maine politics, along with pics of the latest gorgeous snowfall here, but for now I'm just a little too stunned (purring like a cat in fact) to get all fired up about that madness. Let me just enjoy the moment.

OK. that was nice.

To quote President Bartlet: What's next?

"It's that time of year when the world falls in love"

yeah! with food!

holiday baking in UK, mince tarts and sausage rolls...mmmmm

the Queen Victoria headed out to sea

UK beach

just for W

sorbonne lecture hall

au revoir to Mme. Lillian!
UK in deep freeze...

Well, I managed to make it to Britain just before the snow flew and the nation became paralyzed with ice and snow, in some places the coldest temperatures on record. Of course everyone in the media is wondering (are they really or are they just bored?) why the roads aren't all clear by now, etc. It's not that there isn't enough salt and sand, or even a shortage of snow plows, but the British seem intent on defying the weather and carrying on driving while it's still snowing, clogging the roads and generally making a mess of things for the teams of snowplows trying to clear things up. In Maine, where winter is a serious thing, it is generally understood that, out of not only convenience but politeness to the road crews, without whom we would not survive the winters, everyone stays off the roads (Mainers do not suffer from the apparent social paranoia that's rampant here that people will say you're a bum if you miss a day's work.) That is to say we stay home, including the kiddies, until the road crews have had a chance to do their jobs! Roads here are clogged with jacknifed trucks and stalled cars. I mean, duh! Dont' blame the road crews.

[Saw a nice story about midwives being picked up by a local farmer in his tractor and carried to the local hospital. Nice story in the midst of all the whining on the telly. ]

They haven't got that message here yet as this is the most snow they've had in 45 years or something and no one is apparently sensible enough in the government to ask that people stay home til things are cleared up, which in Maine anyway, usually takes overnight or 24 or so generally for a foot of snow.

SO... what you end up with is a bunch of talk show people this morning on BBC TV wingeing about not having won the bid for the World Cup Games 2018 because the media here recently aired an exposee on corruption in FIFA (the World Cup assoc) – yet another instance where a noble organization, BBC in this case, gets blamed for telling the truth, (like Mr. Wiki). I mean, what kind of planet is this becoming ( has it always been so? Well, Jesus, Che and RFK come to mind) that condemns those who tell the truth? It's mindbending really. There is no doubt in my mind that Russia and Qatar got the bid for World Cup 2018 and 2022 respectively because the British fans are plain crazy and don't know how to behave at a match, AND it's likely the whole thing is corrupt as well! Maybe Britain should follow William's example of calm acceptance and seek other answers.

Then there is the tale of my lost suitcase.... OMG> Do we really want to go there? It's been three days and the thing appears to be lost in the back of some warehouse somewhere in Southampton and inaccessible. I can tell you this, if that case is not made available to me in time for me to repack my two cases for my flight tomorrow, someone will be paying to ship it to me in the US, and, should profound apologies not follow, a friendship I once treasured will be lost forever. Were it where I left it, there would be no problem today. What price must I continue to pay in order not to "inconvenience busy people"?

We'll see how this one pans out.

Yesterday the kitchen here in Southampton was filled with the smell of mince, apples and cinnammon. No, not I, but my hostess was preparing goodies for the holidays. Together with the gorgeous snowfall, it made for a nice mood in which to return to the states and get ready for the holidays myself! A trip to the Big Apple appears to be in the works once I manage to cross the pond; been years since I had tea at the Palm Court at Christmas with the man at the white piano and a violinist whanging out carols to the diners amid the general spirit of bonhomie that fills that place. Can't wait... and then there's "the world's best cheesecake" place near Penn Station. mmmmmmm..... like I said, can't wait. Had a nice lesson in cookie decorating yesterday as well. M'all set, as they say!

All this was followed by a lovely supper with the neighbor, Jane, who is possibly the most delightful over 70 person I've ever met. Funny, witty, smart and wise, full of stories and a delight. Uses words like "winker" and "not enough room to swing a cat". As if!

Cross fingers that suitcase finds its way to me soon!