Yesterday was Monday and it turned out to be a very nice day. In the morning we got rid of the kid so we had the better part of the day for ourselves. Getting rid meant that she went over to a friend of hers and spent the day there.
We took advantage of this and went out to the beach. It promised to be a very nice day but later the sun decided to take the day off and did not shine. But still, the water was great and we still managed to get a sizable sunburn. My fiancée has very white skin meaning that she is suffering more than I do. I am darker skinned. I guess the forty years of wandering in the desert helped some.
In the afternoon we visited our elderly friend who is getting lonelier by the minute. Nobody calls him, nobody shows any interest in his well being. It's pretty sad to see how people who used to call themselves friends can abandon their friends once they become a little needier, lonelier and older.
Anyway, yesterday was a nice healthy day for us.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Monday
Today is Monday and I can't say that the weekend was very uneventful. As I noted earlier we took Abigail to see a Broadway show. The show was Aladdin. It was a surprise and it worked very well. She didn't know why were we going into Manhattan and why did she have to put a dress on.
But when she saw the theater her jaw dropped. I have to admit that I had qualms about the show being a fairytale story but I really liked it. The acting was good, the music catchy and the special effects great for a stage production.
No need to say that the theater was full with no empty seats. All of us enjoyed the production and since Abigail loved it I was very happy.
Another thing.
I have a very bad habit that when I think about buying something and tell myself let just go and get informed about the product, I always wind up buying at the first place. If it is a car and I go just to check out the latest model I wind up getting the car right there and then.
Yesterday was no different. We decided to go and see some rings now that we are engaged.
So what happened?
Bought an engagement ring to my fiancée and two closely matching wedding rings. I am a sucker for beautiful things and for the woman I love.
So you see, the weekend was anything but uneventful.
But when she saw the theater her jaw dropped. I have to admit that I had qualms about the show being a fairytale story but I really liked it. The acting was good, the music catchy and the special effects great for a stage production.
No need to say that the theater was full with no empty seats. All of us enjoyed the production and since Abigail loved it I was very happy.
Another thing.
I have a very bad habit that when I think about buying something and tell myself let just go and get informed about the product, I always wind up buying at the first place. If it is a car and I go just to check out the latest model I wind up getting the car right there and then.
Yesterday was no different. We decided to go and see some rings now that we are engaged.
So what happened?
Bought an engagement ring to my fiancée and two closely matching wedding rings. I am a sucker for beautiful things and for the woman I love.
So you see, the weekend was anything but uneventful.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Saturday, July 4th
Today is Saturday, July 4th. Our plans changed a little bit. Originally we were supposed to be at our weekend hide away but since bad weather was forecasted we decided to stay home for today and go out there tomorrow after the theater and stay until Monday morning.
What's the difference, we can do the same thing tomorrow as we planned to do today. As I always said when one is retired one day is much the same as the other. And now that the school year is over and Abigail is home different days really don't have much meaning to us.
But, I can't say that yesterday was like any other day. Yesterday was Friday, July 2 and my love and I were having lunch in a small local kosher eatery. Exactly at 1:30 I popped THE QUESTION and she said YES!
From that moment on I am elated and looking forward to a happy new life. We are so attuned to each other that getting that piece of paper seems like just a formality.
If all goes as planned we might just do a little more in Las Vegas than just enjoy the sights, like getting married.
It is the third one for both of us and they say three is a lucky number.
What's the difference, we can do the same thing tomorrow as we planned to do today. As I always said when one is retired one day is much the same as the other. And now that the school year is over and Abigail is home different days really don't have much meaning to us.
But, I can't say that yesterday was like any other day. Yesterday was Friday, July 2 and my love and I were having lunch in a small local kosher eatery. Exactly at 1:30 I popped THE QUESTION and she said YES!
From that moment on I am elated and looking forward to a happy new life. We are so attuned to each other that getting that piece of paper seems like just a formality.
If all goes as planned we might just do a little more in Las Vegas than just enjoy the sights, like getting married.
It is the third one for both of us and they say three is a lucky number.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Friday
Today is Friday, July 3 and the prelude to the July fourth holiday. This year that day falls on Saturday so there is no special long weekend or anything else. But still, we had to be out early (like 8:45) in the morning and the roads were like on a Sunday. It seems a lot of people took the weekend off to get a real start of Summer.
We plan to have a quiet weekend. Tonight we will go out to Manhattan Beach and stay there until Saturday night. I understand there is nice fireworks on the fourth so we may see it. Then we come back to Queens later in the evening on Saturday and Sunday we have a surprise thing for Abigail.
A while back we bought tickets to Aladdin and that is what we plan to see on Sunday. She doesn't know about it and I hope she will be surprised and she will like it.
As long tickets are the subject we bought tickets to the Met's next season. We will see three operas so this is like a season ticket. Boy, all this culture is making my head swell.
I'm not at the point where I just listen to the music and don't care about the story, I also read the teleprompter about how many times they profess their love to each other.
If tomorrow will be a very busy day I might just skip writing that day. But I will make it up on Sunday. We'll see.
We plan to have a quiet weekend. Tonight we will go out to Manhattan Beach and stay there until Saturday night. I understand there is nice fireworks on the fourth so we may see it. Then we come back to Queens later in the evening on Saturday and Sunday we have a surprise thing for Abigail.
A while back we bought tickets to Aladdin and that is what we plan to see on Sunday. She doesn't know about it and I hope she will be surprised and she will like it.
As long tickets are the subject we bought tickets to the Met's next season. We will see three operas so this is like a season ticket. Boy, all this culture is making my head swell.
I'm not at the point where I just listen to the music and don't care about the story, I also read the teleprompter about how many times they profess their love to each other.
If tomorrow will be a very busy day I might just skip writing that day. But I will make it up on Sunday. We'll see.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Thursday
There is a persistent natural or unnatural phenomena that I find very interesting.
The prelude to that is that there is a Hungarian bon-bon (rumos meggy that is liqueur filled chocolate covered cherry. They fill these up with different type of liqueurs and believe me they taste phenomenal. This is not something one can get drunk on but rather something that makes chocolate eating a lots of fun.
Even though I do not like chocolate but I do love this delicacy. They sell similarly described things here but they just don't even come near the real thing. I think that is because the American laws control the alcohol contents in desserts.
Anyway, every time I visit Hungary I buy a box and slowly eat my way through that box by the end of the trip. The same thing was done during this time. I bought a box of liqueur filled chocolate covered cherry and when ever I had the chance I took one and ate it. It didn't make me sick, it didn't make me drunk, it didn't elevate my sugar.
It was just decadently good.
I bought a box to bring it home on the plain hoping for a good outcome.
Now here is the phenomena.
Every trip I purchased a box of these chocolates whenever I unpacked and opened their boxes the alcohol was gone. It just plainly disappeared and looked like it was just sucked out.
As far as I know nobody was lucky enough to bring such candy home. The smart ones said it was sucked out in the plain at the high altitude while the luggage was in the belly of the plane.
I was hoping that technology might have changed but no such luck. When we opened the candy box the stuff in it was dry and disgusting looking.
Now if anybody has a smart idea about bringing such thing on a plane and getting it here without damage I would love to hear about it.
The prelude to that is that there is a Hungarian bon-bon (rumos meggy that is liqueur filled chocolate covered cherry. They fill these up with different type of liqueurs and believe me they taste phenomenal. This is not something one can get drunk on but rather something that makes chocolate eating a lots of fun.
Even though I do not like chocolate but I do love this delicacy. They sell similarly described things here but they just don't even come near the real thing. I think that is because the American laws control the alcohol contents in desserts.
Anyway, every time I visit Hungary I buy a box and slowly eat my way through that box by the end of the trip. The same thing was done during this time. I bought a box of liqueur filled chocolate covered cherry and when ever I had the chance I took one and ate it. It didn't make me sick, it didn't make me drunk, it didn't elevate my sugar.
It was just decadently good.
I bought a box to bring it home on the plain hoping for a good outcome.
Now here is the phenomena.
Every trip I purchased a box of these chocolates whenever I unpacked and opened their boxes the alcohol was gone. It just plainly disappeared and looked like it was just sucked out.
As far as I know nobody was lucky enough to bring such candy home. The smart ones said it was sucked out in the plain at the high altitude while the luggage was in the belly of the plane.
I was hoping that technology might have changed but no such luck. When we opened the candy box the stuff in it was dry and disgusting looking.
Now if anybody has a smart idea about bringing such thing on a plane and getting it here without damage I would love to hear about it.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Wednesday
Yesterday was great day for me. I finally had the opportunity to immerse myself into the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day and after doing a few important chores we went out to the beach.
Got there a little after three pm and stayed until almost six o'clock. The sun was up, the water was very pleasant and being a weekday and afternoon there were no crowds.
I am a big chicken when it comes to cold or cool water. I am known to stand in the water for an enormous long time without immersion because it's just the way I am. But yesterday I went straight in. Well, almost. Not right there but waited only a few minutes.
We went to Jones Beach which is on the South shore of Long Island and the beach is onto the open ocean. That means there is a continuous supply of waves. Some big some small but they are all waves. One doesn't have the chance to linger in the waves too long because they either knock you over or just splash you from head to toe. That was the main reason I went in pretty fast.
Abigail didn't want to go in because didn't want her hair to get wet. That lasted about six minutes. She started her version of body surfing and at the end it was very hard to get her out of the water she liked it so much, hair getting wet long forgotten.
Today, this morning we noticed that we all got bitten a little by the sun. But that's fine. Next time we will take sun lotions and do some serious tanning time.
I guess Summer is here now.
Got there a little after three pm and stayed until almost six o'clock. The sun was up, the water was very pleasant and being a weekday and afternoon there were no crowds.
I am a big chicken when it comes to cold or cool water. I am known to stand in the water for an enormous long time without immersion because it's just the way I am. But yesterday I went straight in. Well, almost. Not right there but waited only a few minutes.
We went to Jones Beach which is on the South shore of Long Island and the beach is onto the open ocean. That means there is a continuous supply of waves. Some big some small but they are all waves. One doesn't have the chance to linger in the waves too long because they either knock you over or just splash you from head to toe. That was the main reason I went in pretty fast.
Abigail didn't want to go in because didn't want her hair to get wet. That lasted about six minutes. She started her version of body surfing and at the end it was very hard to get her out of the water she liked it so much, hair getting wet long forgotten.
Today, this morning we noticed that we all got bitten a little by the sun. But that's fine. Next time we will take sun lotions and do some serious tanning time.
I guess Summer is here now.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Monday
To continue my story of our Hungarian trip here is another thought.
Yesterday I noted that big name restaurant do not necessarily provide the best of whatever they provide. They probably are glitzy, they require reservation, they are probably crowded because people think those are the places where one has to be seen. They have vast menus but when it comes to quality it is not a certain thing that these are the places where the best food can be found.
This rule also applies to pastry shops. Budapest has more pastry shops than New York has pizza parlors. And believe me New York has a lot of pizza parlors.
There are some big name pastry shops like Gerbeaud, Ruszwurm, New York Pastry Shop and a few more I'm sure. But none of these has real quality merchandise. They cater to the tourist industry who wouldn't know what they are eating. The really good pastry shops are known to the locals and they don't want the wide public to know about them.
But we were lucky enough to discover a few and we took full advantage of this find.
We visited the Duna Park Cukraszda several times because we liked their product, the place and the friendliness of the staff. And also the wide selection of their pastries.
We were also lucky enough to find Daubner Cukraszda in Obuda, in the first district. This is a family owned pastry shop where people who know about them come from all corners of the city. Their pastries are superb, fresh and they have a very large selection.
There are also countless neighborhood pastry shops who would go out of business if their products would not live up to their clients' expectations. These stores also take pride in their products.
The big stores should learn from these smaller operators that their fancy designs are not necessarily cover good products.
Anyway it was a lot of fun to taste our way through the city, cholesterol not withstanding.
Yesterday I noted that big name restaurant do not necessarily provide the best of whatever they provide. They probably are glitzy, they require reservation, they are probably crowded because people think those are the places where one has to be seen. They have vast menus but when it comes to quality it is not a certain thing that these are the places where the best food can be found.
This rule also applies to pastry shops. Budapest has more pastry shops than New York has pizza parlors. And believe me New York has a lot of pizza parlors.
There are some big name pastry shops like Gerbeaud, Ruszwurm, New York Pastry Shop and a few more I'm sure. But none of these has real quality merchandise. They cater to the tourist industry who wouldn't know what they are eating. The really good pastry shops are known to the locals and they don't want the wide public to know about them.
But we were lucky enough to discover a few and we took full advantage of this find.
We visited the Duna Park Cukraszda several times because we liked their product, the place and the friendliness of the staff. And also the wide selection of their pastries.
We were also lucky enough to find Daubner Cukraszda in Obuda, in the first district. This is a family owned pastry shop where people who know about them come from all corners of the city. Their pastries are superb, fresh and they have a very large selection.
There are also countless neighborhood pastry shops who would go out of business if their products would not live up to their clients' expectations. These stores also take pride in their products.
The big stores should learn from these smaller operators that their fancy designs are not necessarily cover good products.
Anyway it was a lot of fun to taste our way through the city, cholesterol not withstanding.
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