Thursday, November 13, 2008

We're off to New York for the weekend tomorrow after I get back from a Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance event Lynn and I are attending on Bob's behalf. Spent the past two days running in circles preparing and I sincerely hope we are able to hold our own. I've really been out of touch with this one particular project, but Bob brought us up to speed today and barring any questions out of left field, we ought to be okay. Fingers crossed!

Lisa and Mike will be with us on Friday night and we're going to a lovely little French place called Gascogne which I read about on Chowhound. Saturday, we're on our own and I suspect we'll do something ethnic. I'd like to go back to Tia Pol in Chelsea, a great tapas joint we've been to in the past, but I'm open minded. Or we could just find some corner bar to inhabit - we love doing stuff like that!

Here's to the weekend!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I'm having a real bout with melancholy this week. The weather is changing and it's getting dark really early and that doesn't help at all, but mostly I'm feeling bad for some of the more important people in my life who have suffered serious and real losses like losing parents and long standing relationships coming to an end. Having been through both experiences, I can empathize. I just want everyone to feel better and loved and secure, but the truth is that they have to go through their trials to get to the other side. Very tough.

There is some happy news on the horizon. We've got a nice trip to Munich coming up after Thanksgiving and we're looking forward to seeing our loved ones over there. We're staying with Lise and Richard and though I'm happy to be seeing them, the one I am most looking forward to seeing is their absolutely beautiful daughter, Stella! I'm also happy to be seeing the Plants and their boy Hugo, who is full of personality. I enjoyed seeing him in Bratislava and here this summer - he's a sweet child, full of happiness and light. Babies are good. It makes me sad that I couldn't give Chris a child. If only we'd gotten together eleven years ago when we first met. But neither of us was ready then - funny how things work, isn't it?

Thursday, November 06, 2008

I know, I know, I'm neglecting this thing again. Went to California and never checked back in again. I'm a bad blogger. My best offense is to blog every day - if I leave things go a few days, it's very hard to get back on track.

I'm blasting Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" right now. They played it during a lot of Barack Obama's campaign appearances and it's a song I've loved for a long time and now it has more significance than ever.

I've been completely emotional since Barack was elected on Tuesday night, alternating between complete euphoria that my country would actually look past color and elect the most amazing candidate we've had in my lifetime, and being completely choked up seeing and hearing the reactions of African-Americans. This is so huge. Seeing people who marched with Martin Luther King with tears streaming down their faces right after the election results were announced is unbelievably moving. I so wish my mother were here to see this. She was on board early, years ago, with Barack, and saw his potential and really talked him up. Hard for me and Lisa not to think of her on Election night as we sat watching the returns come in with the girls, Kerry and Justine, whose interest along with Lily and Jack's as well, thrilled me.

I got the nicest short note from my friend Pete in Munich - "Glad to see that the world can rely on Americans, and not just a few Americans." Boy, did that make me feel good because when I lived there I felt so much that I was being judged by a lot of Europeans because of my godawful Red State fellow citizens who followed Bush blindly. I kept explaining that where I came from the majority of people didn't think like that. I must have explained Blue State/Red State twenty times.

Michelle Obama got completely excoriated when months ago she remarked "For the first time in my adult life, I'm proud of my country" and I totally understood her and today feel the exact same way.

Lots more to post, but not a lot of time. Missed you!