August 24, 2011

Twinsies!

The second day of work back in late June, I wore my off-white blouse with the black blocking on top and cute visible zipper in back. My new colleague (and next-door work neighbor) Lori told me she had the same exact blouse. I made a vow there and then never to wear the shirt to work again.

Until earlier this week. Lori had an idea. "Let's pick a day and both wear our shirts," she said. "It'll be fun!"

Always game for a goofy challenge, I complied. Last night at the end of the day we reminded each other: "Tomorrow is our day!"

It was fun to see her this morning, she looked totally adorable. No one batted an eye until we decided to take a little stroll though the halls together around lunchtime. Some noticed; some didn't. It was a fun distraction to break up an otherwise doldrums sort of day.


Lori and Susie at work.


August 22, 2011

Avalon of the heart

One of the highlights of our summers here in the US is getting to spend time with our friends in Avalon, NJ. We can always be guaranteed good laughs, mighty-fine food and engaging conversation (not to mention heavy-duty exercise). Avalon is one of my favorite places to take photos!

We were there last weekend. We had a few nice hours on the beach and some great games on the tennis court. But mostly it was a stormy weekend, with amazing colors and light.


Nina basking in the sun.

Ginger keeps watch.

Early morning at the beach

This is one upset seagull

Beach

Nina swimming

Nina fetching her ball in the surf. 

Beach buddies.

Storm moving in

View from the balcony

August 2, 2011

Regatta redux

My sisters and I, back in the day, spent a lot of time at the river when our brother was a big rower. We were there, we said, to support our brother, but we had ulterior motives: to swoon over my brother's crew friends. We were so goofy and obvious; we bugged our poor brother to death wanting to know if this one or that one had a girlfriend (or, even worse, "liked" one of us).

This past Saturday, I was once again on the riverbanks to watch another rower: our son Charlie. He did a crew camp for one week and they had a mini-regatta for the parents. It was so fun to see the kids in the boats. Charlie said he learned a lot, and he really seemed to like it.

Watching him race, I was reminded of my brother. They could be twins separated by a generation.




July 31, 2011

Signs of the times

First of all, about my last post: sorry for the incorrect info on cricket. Of course, that sport is called croquet. 

There's so much happening. I am soooo busy.  I love my new full-time job, even the commute. It's so much fun to see new things and people every day. 

But I'm in a rush as usual. No time to post, hello goodbye. It's a sign of the busy times!





July 12, 2011

Cricket - not the bug.

I shot this last summer at the Merion Cricket Club. I thought it was in name only. I had no idea! But look at the luscious lawn.



July 10, 2011

Summer makes me feel fine!

Such a lovely weekend and summer so far! It's only the beginning of July, which means there's much more fun to come!

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June 29, 2011

Two friends

Charlie and his longtime friend Oscar are together yet again this summer. I saw them both at Arlanda Airport the day they were going to set off for a two-week sojourn to the north of Sweden (with the midnight sun). It was good to see them together. They've been good friends for eight years. They are growing up so fast. I took the young photo in 2005. 

Charlie and Oscar, 2011

Charlie and Oscar, 2005

June 15, 2011

Beggar with one arm, a cat and a dog

I'm once again in Stockholm, where the number of beggars keeps going up and up every time I visit. People normally ignore them, once in a while someone throws a coin. But this guy I passed today was getting lots of attention and quite a few donations. I think it must have been the white sleeping kitty/resting dog combo. It was genuinely sweet. More on Sweden later.


 

May 24, 2011

Man cannot live by bread alone! Um, yes he can!

I love, love, love bread. I try not to eat too much, though. But last weekend - and the weekend before - I had a hankering for focaccia, so I made some. It turned out super yummy. Below is the recipe in case you want to give it a try.




1 pkg dry yeast
3.5 c cold water
6 c flour
1.5 tsp salt
about .5 c oil
2 tsp kosher or gourmet salt
a few rosemary sprigs or grape tomatoes for garnish

1. Dissolve the yeast into the cold water. Add the 1.5 tsp salt and the flour, a little at a time, till well mixed. The dough will be a bit loose. Cover well and let rise 1-2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in a cookie sheet (with edges, I normally use a small cookie sheet sized 13-1/4x9-1/4x5/8, to be exact) and add HALF of the dough. Put some oil on your hands and work the dough into all four corners of the pan. The surface of the bread should be a bit oily. When dough fully covers the cookie sheet, make small holes in the dough with your oily fingers. You want the dough to look lumpy. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
3. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the focaccia to taste. Pour a little oil over your rosemary sprigs and arrange them on the top of the focaccia. Or you can cut grape tomatoes in half and arrange them cut side up on the focaccia. Let the focaccia rest for ten minutes before putting into a preheated, 400-degree F oven.  Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly brown on top.
4. Let it cool a tiny bit, then cut into pieces and consume immediately.

Although I've tweaked this recipe a bit I have to credit my friend Barbara for passing this recipe on to me. I think of her every time I make it!

May 19, 2011

Teen angel

Tati from Fashion Forward went to the senior prom the other night, and I asked if it would be OK to come over and take some quick photos. Unfortunately, something was wrong with my lens and only a couple of the shots turned out. As I was leaving, I stole this shot in the garage among the hammers, drywall, garden tools and unwanted scraps. I love it - it serendipitously looks like she has a halo to match her dress. 

Close-up
And the full view

May 10, 2011

"Hey, what's for lunch?"

Poppy wants to know what I'm serving for lunch. Little does she know that there's more than one way to skin a cat!  PS. More posts coming soon!




April 27, 2011

Inspired by my friend Tony's artist studio on a sunny Sunday in springtime

My friend Tony is an amazing artist, and I always enjoy spending time with him. I got the chance to visit his studio one sunny Sunday and I was so completely inspired. 

I'm pretty sure this is organized chaos.

And this. The view blows me away!

Tony's wife, the beautiful Ari

I have always wanted one of these half doors. 

An old photo Tony keeps close at hand, of his wife when the two of them first started dating. Love that!

Books.

Colors.

Paints.

The window (again!)

An old sink.


And, finally, Tony.

April 21, 2011

Wallpaper in Stockholm and an Hermès scarf

Just a few shots of cool wallpaper I happened upon in Stockholm, and one of these is an Hermès Scarf, it's not hard to see which one, I guess.






April 12, 2011

Hangin out in Stockholm

So fun to see old friends! A couple shots of the day Karolina and I did the rounds in Stockholm. We started with a latte (of course!) at Stureplan and ended the day at our favorite old hangout - the Salvation Army Shop in Ropsten (I'll show off what I thrifted later!)

Karo in the tunnel....


And me in the tunnel
Smelling the soaps in Gertrude, a very cool shop for bed and bath and home stuff.

What to do with your letters? Hang them up!

Love the cups on the wall and I'm nuts about these chairs!

An old-fashioned hair stylist shop in Hjorthagen, near the thrift shop.