Another Day, Another Dollar (Not When You Are Retired)

Enjoying The Cold

Marisa Unbound

First one up but at 7:00, sleeping in, as I am definitely getting used to life here.  It looks like another frigid day, though not as cold as Chautauqua which will have a high of 2º today.  What the heck? Where are these temperatures coming from?  It makes it difficult to enjoy the outdoors, to even be outside.  Mitch and Ramiro are up now, Evie as well and it's just before 8:00.  The boys are driving into the city this morning as Mitch is looking at Columbia University and its engineering program as a possible college choice for September, 2016.

Yesterday blends into the other days so I have to think hard about what we did differently.  Not a lot Wednesday I guess.  Beth went off in the morning for a couple of hours, leaving the rest of us home alone.  It was too cold in the morning to do anything outside, so we hung out, played backgammon, the new family interest, as both Mitch and Marisa have learned it and enjoy playing it.  We used to play it all the time in Istanbul.  It's called Tavla by the Turks and we have a Turkish board.  Marisa is really getting it, as she has finally beaten her mother and father.  She loves it.  Around 10:30, Evie needed a few things from the store so Marisa and I drove to Whole Foods, just five minutes away.  Darien is an amazing place for shoppers with a Costco, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Stop N Shop no more than ten minutes away.  Whole Foods is fun to browse but not buy as everything is so much more expensive than anywhere else, 30% more I read somewhere.

Waveny Park Fields

Lodge

Resting On The Trail

A Happy Girl

An easy lunch, then, of Adobo Chicken and rice, then some TV, reading of WILD, then a short nap before we found the energy to actually do something.  It was still sunny out, in the low 20's I think, so the five of us, Marisa, Evie, Beth, Cody, and I decided to go for a long walk at Waveny Park, a huge estate, now park, just inside of New Canaan.  It's a great park, lots of open fields and woods, three or four estate buildings used for various activities, even an area meant for dogs.  We walked for close to three miles through snow trails and woods, perfect for cross country skiing.  Marisa, like Cody, explored the trails, hopping up on stumps, just having fun and we took lots of photos.

Mitch, The Chef

When we got home, it was time to start prepping for dinner.  We were having shrimp with garlic and chili butter, with tomatoes and cilantro.  So Mitch, Evie and I cleaned the shrimp, which Mitch hated.  We then prepped the ingredients, while Mitch sauteed the shrimp briefly in olive oil.  We then added the garlic, chilies, clam juice, for a couple of minutes, then the tomatoes, shrimp, lemon and cilantro  and we had a great dinner, over rice, with salad and broccoli.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Monsters

It sounded like an easy dinner but Marisa, with the help of her father, decided to make chocolate chip cookies at the same time we were making dinner, so there were five of us fighting for space and ovens, including the dog, Cody, who will not move from the kitchen when we are cooking, hoping for a scrap to fall on the floor.  Dinner and the cookies were great, I might add, so the commotion was worth it, everyone pitching in.  By the way, Beth and I were the sous chefs, doing whatever small task was needed, like opening the wine, setting the table, etc.

Shrimp With Garlic and Chile Butter

We then sat up till 10:00, watching shows with Marisa, eating chocolate chip cookies, thinking we might watch more of House of Cards when she went to bed but by 10:00, most of us were tired and I wanted to go up and read my book.  So we will have to save House of Cards for another night.

It's now 8:15 and Beth and Marisa just got up, and the boys are ready to head to the city, on a very cold morning.