Turkish Delight In A New York Minute

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE NYC?! Well, lots and lots, that's how.

Hubby and I were lucky enough to be able to visit NY this past weekend. We had hoped to visit in June to see Deb's production of Love! That 4-Letter Word, but alas, we couldn't make it. Hopefully the show will manifest itself with more funding in the near future. Yeah, that'd be boffo!

Anyway, we finally made it up just in time for Tripod's one night stand. These fellows are absolutely hilarious! Google that shit and watch their YouTube clips. You won't be disappointed. Their chemistry is brilliant, and despite the jet lag, their timing was perfect. I especially enjoyed when Scod gazed lovingly into my eyes, and then hubby's. ;) The set was entirely too short, only 45 minutes. This was because of the venue, which runs shows back to back. We didn't get a chance to chat with them afterward either, as they were hustled out of the building posthaste and we were expressly forbidden to linger on the sidewalk. Le sigh. Oh well. They assured us they'd like to return, "legally", to do a full length show. Brill!

We (me, hubby, Deb, and John) had met up with another Umbie forumite, Gayle, and her lovely family. I'd met Gayle in spring 2007 when we saw the Umbies in Hampton, VA. Also joining our group was CAT, a friend of Deb's I'd met in November. So the eight of us traversed the streets (specifically, along 8th Ave near 26th), and found a lovely Irish pub/restaurant, The Molly Wee. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was very nice. We spent a few hours there just chatting and having fun. It was Good Times.

The next day, hubby and I traveled to The City to visit museums. Now, if you don't know me well, you don't know what a museum whore I am. I could spend days, literally, DAYS in a museum. I love them! We knew of a Superheros exhibit at The Met, and though the exhibit itself wasn't as impressive as we'd hoped, the Met is spectacular. Hubby and I both kept getting distracted by all the Really Cool Stuff we saw there. (Seriously, DAYS!) I'll have to put a lot of time aside to hang out there when my lovely Rainy comes to visit from Spain. She'll dig it. We'd also learned of a Dalí: Painting and Film exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I'm very sad that the exhibit won't be there when Rainy comes, because It. Was. Brilliant. And she LOVES Dalí. Oh well, she'll still have fun, and I'm very glad we got to see it.

We also visited the Museum of Sex. It's pretty much what you'd expect, and if you "enjoy" porn and have a good idea of the "goings on" in alternative sexual vice, you'll probably be a bit nonplussed. Not worth the $14.50 admission. Too bad hubby left the $3 off coupons on his desk. At least we can say, "Been there, done that". Having said that, though, the Sex in Film exhibit aka Censorship was pretty cool. The set up was nice, and it was actually (gasp!) educational. Plus, any time Cary Grant is involved in anything sexual, it gets my panties in a whirl. ;) (That was the Overtly Subliminal section of the exhibit, or something along those lines, I don't remember the actual name.)

By then, our feet were in a seriously hurty way, so we took the train back to Terrytown. We met up with Deb and John. Tagging along, to our great pleasure, were Kim and Tom™. They are a fantastic couple. Deb had met Kim through the theater, and Tom is (OMG!) a tech geek just like hubby and John. It couldn't have been a more perfect sextuple. Hubby found a Turkish restaurant, Turkois Grille, via google maps located deep in the heart of an Hasidic community. Weird, right? Perhaps they had just found zen. ;) Anyway, hubby chose this restaurant based on the fact they have live belly dancing on Saturday nights. Dinner and a show! She (we never got her name) was very good. She'd performed a basic dance in the beginning, and then a basic taxim sword dance. Then, she danced through the crowd pulling diners out of their chairs to join her. It was so much fun. At our table, she chose hubby first, then Kim, then me. Kim's been watching belly dancing instructional videos, so she wasn't half bad (plus, she probably just has "the moves"). I think the dancer was somewhat surprised by how I kept up with her moves, even though she was clearly more graceful. I'm still a novice, after all. Although, I will be reporting this to my belly dancing instructor. She'll be proud of my public appearance, and I'm quite proud of myself since I haven't danced publicly in a good 15 years.

It was so fun. And I haven't even mentioned the food yet! Divine, is the only word I can think of. Granted I haven't had much experience with Turkish cuisine, but I know what I like, and THAT was it! The meat was so tender, the rice cooked perfectly, and don't get me started on the dessert plate and Turkish coffee. Perfecto!

I love visiting NY, and I'm looking forward to next time, whenever that may be. For now, NY, I say adieu, and save some ornery for me!

Happy Birthday, America!

Yay for the 4th of July being on a Friday! This means all Americans have a three day weekend, including yours truly. Fab! We went to hubby's high school friend's birthday party on Friday — her 30th, I can feel it looming! It was good times, burgers, hot dogs, all the fixin's. The kids had a blast and made some new friends. Boffo.

After that we headed to the folks' house and had some Dirty John's Style™ hot dogs and homemade raspberry ice cream. Then we ditched the kids there. Mwahahahaha.

I really like hanging out with my husband. I know it sounds cliché , but he's my best friend. Any time we get to spend alone is Time Well Spent. We imbibed (Cuba Libre is his current favorite cocktail) and fell asleep watching Blazing Saddles. I will neither confirm nor deny the presence of Gary as the reason for our movie choice.

On Saturday, we slept in. I tend to snore in the morning, so I slept later than hubby. We had coffee on the back porch and watched the Yankees/Red Sox game. Then we headed to a fancy bistro in town, Element (Thanks Helen!), which is an annex of Apartment 2G. Great food, great service and a fantastic atmosphere. It's sort of an oddity in this town, but I like odd. ;) Then it was home again for drinking and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I love that movie and I hadn't watched it since I'd gotten it two Xmas' ago. Great stuff.

So today, we're chillin' on the porch listening to some Fresh Tunes, awaiting the return of the children. It was good to have a break, but somehow I always (eventually) miss the noise. It's weird, right? :)