Sometimes it is cold even in Florida

Not often, and we don't like to turn on the heat. Mark and I just put on sweatshirts and socks and add a blanket to the bed. But the little dogs got groomed and it turned cold at the same time. So we had to go shopping.

Happily Ever After

We went up to NY for a long and fun weekend, to witness the marriage of our Jesse Sage to her Thom.

The trip on Friday was wet. We decided to save some money and took the train from the plane. Not a hardship though it is time consuming. But it was pouring when we got out of the subway. We stopped for a slice (must always do that first thing when we get to the city). The rain had let up a bit by the time we left the pizza place, but by the time we sloshed through puddles to Val & Tony's Park Slope apartment (our home away from home, thanks V&T) we were soaked. What we didn't realize was that we had dragged our luggage through a few too many puddles and every single thing in our bags was wet, or at least damp. Tired and wet, we decided to forget all the plans for the afternoon and we spread our clothes out on every surface and relaxed while they dried.

Later we got back on the train and met Jesse & Thom at Blossom, a vegan restaurant in Chelsea, for the first of many very good very veggie meals.

Back in Brooklyn, at Jesse & Thom's house, we belately opened holiday gifts.

The next day, in better weather, Mark and I had brunch at a new place right on the other end of the block from Val & Tony's house.

Then we headed back into the city, with Helen, to check out the William Steig show at the Jewish Museum. It was wonderful and enlightening. What made it even better was that the people who work at the museum cannot handle money on Saturdays so it is free to get in! On the down side, the gift shop isn't open.

We met Jesse and Thom downtown for another wonderful veggie meal, this time at Ghenet, a great Ethiopian restaurant. The great news is that they are about to open in Brooklyn as well, right there in the Slope!

Later Mark and I finally got to see Tom Stoppard's new play, Rock 'N' Roll, which we didn't get to see in November due to the stagehands strike. Very good, but no Coast of Utopia.

There was great entertainment in the subway on the way home too.

When we got back to Brooklyn around midnight we were able to pick up the Sunday Times and stop in for some late night pizza. Just two of the many things we love about the city -- the Sunday paper on the way home Saturday night and good food available practically round the clock.

Sunday morning we got up and out early and met Jesse and Thom at a local spa. The men had massages, the women mani/pedis, and then we picked up Helen and headed for Queens, where Haverly met us for yet another great veggie meal -- dim sum brunch.

Sunday night found us back in the city (yes, all we do is eat, well, eat and walk, so it evens out) for an amazing dinner with Mark's brother Jerry and his wife Marjorie, who kindly picked a vegan restaurant, Candle 79.

Monday, January 14th. Downtown Brooklyn. The municipal building. Big, cold, drab. And yet very romantic.

For more photos take a look at Jesse's blog entry, No Little White Chapel.

After the very brief, sweet, ceremony, we all walked the streets of downtown Brooklyn to a nice little restaurant for a nice little celebration.

You can see more photos on Jesse's blog.

So now they are married, and she is Jesse Armstrong! The big hoopla, however, will be in April in Mexico and that will be quite a party, I mean parties....

After that it was time to get ready to head back to Tampa. No, we did not take the train to the plane. But we did, as always, make the trip better with yummy rapini/fresh mutz heros from our favorite Italian deli.

Animals at home too

Of course we spent a fair amount of time at home, entertained by our own animals -- dogs and birds -- and the ones that live outside our house too, like the possums who like to hang out on the screen over the pool at night and drive our dogs crazy.

After we had enough fun possum watching, we headed down the road just a bit to the new sweet spot, Choxotica, where we tasted lots of different chocolates and had chocolate drinks. In a very cold room. With lots of tvs.

At home we watched the ball drop and later went to bed. The dogs went to bed first.

Happy New Year!

Big Cat Rescue

On New Year's Eve we went to Big Cat Rescue and took a tour. It is an amazing place that rescues cats from roadside zoos, bad pet situations, fur and game farms, etc. It's so close to home, and a place I will return to again and again, I'm sure.
You can see a slideshow of photos by Barbara, right here. The last one is a movie, of two best friends, a lion and a tiger.