This Book Stuck with Me

Ayelet Waldman's Bad Mother is a brutally honest account of motherhood. What appealed to me most were the things she dared to say about motherhood which many mothers must feel and think but wouldn't say out loud. I wrote a post about the book last summer. Click here for the link.

Best Article of 2009

This one is a no-brainer for me. Mark Bittman's NY Times'article on 101 Simple Salads posted during the summer has become a mainstay of our dining repertoire. Here's the link. Bookmark, refer to it often, and enjoy!

p.s. Bittman has done similar lists for suppers, picnics and appetizers. I can't find a link for the appetizers. I seem to have only a hard copy of the article. I'll keep looking and update.

Sidewalk Bistro

One steamy night this past summer I had the most ridiculously wonderful dinner in New York City. As some of you know, my daughter moved to NYC in August to start graduate school. I traveled out there to make sure she got settled into her new apartment and provide some moral support. Actually, she didn't need the moral support, I did, but that's another story.

Ban made the trip east with me and since he'd never been to New York before I wanted to spend some time in the city, in addition to time on Long Island with family. We spent a glorious day walking, biking, and taking the subway all over Manhattan. I posted about our adventures here and here. But late that night, we ventured out on foot into the Hell's Kitchen area and walked around until we found somewhere that appealed. Being New York City, you can imagine how many delectable temptations faced us but one stuck out in particular.

It was a little French bistro with sidewalk seating. I can't remember the name. I even looked back through my credit card statements (Ban must have paid). But I do remember the steam coming up through the manhole cover, and the crisp, refreshing taste of the glass of champagne, and the creamy smooth texture of the mussels that we ate. I remember feeling simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated and promising one another that we'd be back for more explorations sooner rather than later.

Best of 2009 Challenge - Trip

Blogger and social media guru extraordinaire, Gwen Bell posed a challenge to bloggers yesterday on twitter. She outlined 31 days of blog topics which all involve some reflection upon the past year. I loved the idea and today is the first day of the challenge. So, here is a post about my best trip in 2009. This was tough because I took a few really fun trips but one stands out as a milestone in a year full of ups and downs.

The best trip of 2009 was my summer trip to Island Park with my son. One of my dearest friends owns a cabin up there and she and her daughter were planning to spend the week there at the end of July. We pretty much crashed their week by inviting ourselves up there on a whim. You can read about the trip here. However, there was more to the story that I wasn't able to write about at the time.

Earlier this year, Ryan experienced some serious health problems. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. I've never felt more helpless. We are very lucky that we have good health insurance and were able to get Ryan excellent medical care when he needed it. His path to recovery was steady but slow.

What made the trip to Island Park remarkable was how happy and healthy my son appeared that week. He seemed like his old self for the first time in over six months. I kept watching him and found myself moved to tears on several occasions. I've always believed that this cabin is a magical place but this trip made my heart believe that everything was going to be alright after all.