Friday, July 31 - Greta's 20th HS Reunion

Greta flew home today for her 20th Irondequoit High School Reunion. I picked her up in the morning and we toured Irondequoit before going home to Webster.

We drove past the Thornton Rd house.

We went to Penfield CC for lunch and then had a pre-reunion drink on the deck.
Some of the old high school gang.

Tuesday, July 28 - Blueberry Crisp, Marinade

We bought 2 lbs of blueberries yesterday at BJs which Larry managed to spill all over the garage floor when he was trying to get them out of the car with a stack of library books. We picked them all up and should I mention that we soaked them a few times and cleaned them really well so that we could use them. I guess no different than if they fell on the ground during picking.

I made a blueberry crisp again and this is the recipe. I combine a few recipes so here it is in one place so I don't have to look for all the things again.

BLUEBERRY CRISP

Topping:

1/2 pkg Almond Paste (4 oz) (optional)

3/4 cup oats

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

5 Tbsp butter (COLD), cut into small pieces
1/4 chopped almonds (optional)

pinch salt

Cut up almond paste into small pieces and put in food processor together with oats, flour, sugar, butter pieces and salt. Pulse until just crumbly. DO NOT OVER PULSE! Chill for 30 minutes.

Filling:

8 cups blueberries (that's about 1+ cups more than the 2 lbs.)

1/2 cup Splenda (or sugar)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup flour

Combine all ingredients and put in deep 9x9 baking dish.

Sprinkle topping over all.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 60 minutes or until filling is bubbly.

If crust gets too dark can cover with aluminum foil.

The stools for our kitchen remodeling came today. We thought they would come late in the afternoon because the UPS guy always comes around 4:00 but he said he wanted to free up the space in the truck so he delivered them early. They came in 2 big boxes. We think they'll look good, now we just need to put them somewhere until we need them.


After spending the morning trying to decide if we want an ISE or Waste King garbage disposal, we put the decision on hold and went out on the boat since it was a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day which we haven't seen in a long while. I even hopped in the water (near the shore) to loosen something that is on the bottom of the boat. But it didn't seem to be stuck and something must not be connected so the speedometer doesn't work.

We had a really good dinner tonight. It was a new marinade recipe that we used on pork chops.

Marinade

1/2 cup Heinz 57 Sauce

1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1 tbsp Black Pepper

1 tbsp Tabasco sauce

Combine all ingredients and marinate meat for 24 hours. Grill to desired doneness.

I had actually marinated it for 48 hours since we had something else for dinner last night.

Kayaking then Thunderstorm

It's 7:20 PM and this is the first rain we've had all day.
We met Ann and went kayaking this morning at Bay Creek. Helen & Alan and Jane & Bill were there for a lesson. We had a beautiful day and a great kayak. We saw turtles and swans. We each got single kayaks. Next time Larry & I will try a tandem.




We had to have our picture taken for the church directory at 2:45 and we were out of there by 3:37 (not that I was watching the clock). We then went to Wegmans and bought some things we needed as well as yellow fin tuna for dinner. After we were done eating, I thought I should have taken a picture. This is the recipe I used and we also had grilled zucchini & yellow squash as well as grilled corn on the cob. It was all preceded by our favorite vodka gimlet. We thought we were going to get rained on but we were able to have our drink and all of dinner outdoors. I love being able to eat outdoors.!!
Now is a different story. It's raining buckets and thundering too. I'm glad we don't have anywhere to be because it's sort of nice being indoors and listening to the thunderstorm.

Wednesday, July 22

My Barry Manilow video was blocked on YouTube for copyright claim by Stiletto Entertainment. I guess I didn't own it just because I took it. They own Barry.
Today I'm going to get my hair done and then we're going to pick up the boat from being repaired. Maybe the sun will come out by then.

Well the sun came out shortly before we went to get the boat. After tying up at the dock we started going to Penfield to play golf but then Larry thought there may be practice for the member golf. We called and he was right so we went home and played tennis instead. It was our warm up for pickleball tonight.

At 5:30 we went to pickleball but ran into Anna & Ed who were returning saying that no one was there. We invited them to come over for a drink instead. Then Jane called and said Lila was there, also coming back from no pickleball. Jane said Bill forgot about pickleball after coming back from golf and taking a shower. So they also came over too. We sat out on the deck enjoying one of the few nice evenings we've had lately.

Thursday & Friday, July 16-17

Last night I read two books to Tucker in my bed.
Tucker pays close attention while Hunter plays a computer game.

Thursday I took Myles & Hunter to camp and then hung out at the pool with Stone Barrington for the day.

Myles let me borrow his Yankees hat to wear to the pool so I wouldn't wear the Boston one that I had with me.

After camp we didn't even have time for a snack because Myles had a playdate. We dropped him off at his playdate and then Hunter and I went to the ice cream/candy store where we bought a bunch of various gummies. We ate a bunch before going home.

We went to Route 22 for dinner. Notice the rapt attention to the movie on the screen at the restaurant.



Tucker took this picture of Greta
When we got home Hunter only wanted Mommy to read to him so I read to Tucker again.

The next morning I left around 8:30 to go home and got there about 3:30.

That night we had the wine tasting for Audrey's daughter Heather.

July 15 - NYC

Today I went into the city and met Nadine in Times Square and then we walked to meet Rich for lunch. We wound up on the west side when we should have been on the east side so we had to cross the park at 96th street. It was a beautiful day and we got some well needed exercise. Nadine called Rich and left a message on his cell that we were going to be late. When we were walking on 96th between Park and Madison who did we run into but Rich. He had left his cell phone at home and his office machine was full so he was going back to his office to check his messages., With all the streets that there are to walk on it was amazing that we were all on the same block at the same time. He had already held our table so we went to the restaurant and had a wonderful 2+ hour lunch. We went to Pascalou on Madison Ave at 93rd. Nadine and I had Tuna Nicoise Salad and Rich had a Duck meal. The restaurant was very nice and the menu very diverse.

After lunch Nadine and I caught the cross town bus and then took the subway down to Aunt Harrie's. We had the most wonderful visit and were sad when we had to leave. Next time we have to plan to stay later and go out for dinner with Aunt Harrie.

I took the train back to Old Greenwich and arrived about 7:30.

Monday-Tuesday, July 13-14 - Greta Visit

Monday I left Laura's at 8:30 and got to Greta's about 11:30. No traffic until just before exit 5.
Tucker wanted to hang out in my new car so we did that for quite a while.
I picked Myles and Hunter up at camp and we had a snack then hung out at the kiddie pool.
When it was time to leave we got ice cream first. When it was time to leave we got ice cream first.

Tuesday was crazy hair day at camp so Hunter tested out the hairspray Monday night.

Tuesday, Greta took off from work and we spent the whole day together, a first for us since she had the kids.

We took Myles & Hunter to camp, with their "crazy hair"

and then we played the par 3 at WCC. We took one bag with some clubs - driver, 7 wood, 6, 9, pitching wedge, 60 wedge and putter. It was a real small course so we were able to stay together the whole time, which was good since we were carrying and sharing the clubs.


We went back to the Beach Club for a delicious salad at the snack bar and then hung out at the pool until camp was over. Then we went to the beach

for awhile with the boys and then to the kiddie pool where it was fun for them to play. That night we watched the first half of the Bee movie before bed.

Sunday, July 12 - Kayaking on the Charles

Today was a beautiful day after 4 hours of heavy rain overnight.

We rented Kayaks a few blocks away from where Laura lives at Charles River Canoe & Kayak and had a great time out on the water. We saw a lot of turtles and at the end, near where we parked the car, all kinds of water fowl that came for the bread treats.

Of course, we got off to our usual late start but it didn't matter because the day got nicer as it went on.

For dinner we came home and Laura made a new chicken dish with broccoli.

Earlier in the day we rented the movie The Wrestler and watched that before ending out last night together for this trip.

Saturday, July 11 - Savory Bulgur @ Laura's

Today was supposed to be our lazy chill-out day. A little grocery shopping, a pedicure, make some fruit salad with all the fruit we bought and try out a new recipe.
We went to Stop & Shop after Laura came home from the gym and then back home to unpack and have lunch. Before going to our pedicure appointment Laura noticed that she was missing her new flavor Crystal Light and then a few more items. On our way to the appointment we checked out the car to make sure we didn't leave a bag in the trunk or perhaps the items had fallen out of a bag. Then I asked Laura if she had her receipt, so we went back in the house to check it out. It turned out there were ten items that we were missing. Next we called and changed the time of our appointment and went back to Stop & Shop. The checkout girl with the blue streak in her hair had the bag with all the items under her counter. As an added surprise, I noticed that Laura was mischarged for her oatmeal which was in the bag since they were they were priced as 2/$4 on the receipt and she was charged 3.97. When she went to get another one there weren't anymore. I told the gal at the service desk that we couldn't get two but were charged full price thinking we would be charged $2 but instead we got all the money back since it rang up wrong.

Our only relaxing time of the day was when we had our pedicures. Then we went back to the house to work on the fruit salad and dinner. It took us a couple of hours but everything was delicious.
Laura tried a new Weight Watchers recipe with bulgur wheat that neither of ever cooked with before now.

Savory Bulgur with Vegetables

POINTS® Value: 1
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 12 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Bulgur is made of wheat berries that have been steamed, dried and crushed. It has a mild taste and chewy texture - perfect in salads, meat and vegetable dishes.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup(s) zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup(s) carrot(s), sliced
1/2 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s), chopped
1/4 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped
1/2 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup(s) parsley, fresh, chopped
3 cup(s) cooked bulgur
Instructions

* In a large skillet, heat oil. Add vegetables and cook until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.

* Add broth, mustard, lemon juice and garlic powder; bring to a boil. Add parsley and bulgur; heat through. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.


Laura preparing the Bulgur

The Bulgur

The Fruit Salad

We watched TV in bed and both fell asleep watching Castle and then woke up near the end of Eli Stone before really going to sleep.

Friday, July 10 in Boston

Laura went to the gym this morning and I did yoga at home - that great neck yoga. After all the getting ready and lunch etc, etc, we were finally leaving to go into Boston at 2:40. We were meeting Robyn for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory at 5:30 so since we got a late start we bagged all the previous plans:

1 - go to see the tall ships
2 - go to Faneuil Hall and wander around

Instead we went directly to the area for the restaurant and spent almost 2 hours at the Apple store. Laura wants to buy a laptop and after her visit to the store she's considering a MacBook. The more I have mine the more I love it.

We met Robyn for dinner and all tried to keep the calories under control by ordering salads. After dinner Laura and I walked over to the South End and went to The Beehive, her favorite bar for a glass of wine.

On the way home while waiting for the T we were entertained by some students.

July 7 - Barry Manilow Concert

We went to the Barry Manilow concert tonight. Larry's first one. At least my fifth.
I had to delete this video from YouTube (see July 22)

July 6, Monday

I started off the day by doing my yoga neck and shoulder stretches. I didn't have a chance over the weekend. Then Larry and I took a walk. It was a beautiful morning. After being home for a while the clouds started to roll in and the temperature dropped. Oh well, at least it was warm for part of the day.
I worked on my book of letters most of the day except for when we went to Wegmans. I'm leaving Thursday to isit Laura and Greta so had to stock up for Larry. I made pasta with clam sauce using fresh littleneck clams. YUM!!

Later in the evening, we had a sunshine thunder storm. The sky was bright and there was a downpour. You just knew there was going to be a rainbow and sure enough, there it was.

In the above picture you can see the sun shining over the lake but raining at the same time.

Fourth of July with the Livingstones

We had a wonderful weekend with Kris and her family over the Fourth.
We went fishing in the pond and everyone caught a fish, including Larry.








When we came home I made a blueberry crisp that Larry likes better than the strawberry rhubarb crisp.