Time is the fairest and toughest judge. -Edgar Quinet, historian (17 Feb 1803-1875)
The Writers: A History of American Screenwriters and Their Guild by Miranda J. Banks. "In the darkest moments of the Great Depression, Hollywood studio executives cut their employee's pay by 50 per cent, but did not take pay cuts themselves. This act of bad faith gave impetus to the rise of unions for actors, directors and writers."
Patrick, When are you returning to our humble abode? We haven't heard a word from you. Best wishes,
Mike Hello Humble Abode Portlandians! Trust you are both well and, together with the elk, are enjoying your respective busy lives. If all
goes well we should be arriving at your extremely 'umble abode sometime between 3:00 pm-4:00 pm on Friday, February 20th, if that still suits. Will certainly be in touch if it looks like we will be slower. If this turns out to be the case we won't impose other to than to drop off scotch you have ordered and any wine more than limit we can mule home. Thanks again. Fondestos from Mme Coriandre. Cheers, Patrizzio!
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| Photo: Robbert van der Steeg |
Restaurant is a busy place so we were delighted to find a table next to one of the open windows. What a delight to be able to eat almost al fresco. Delighted to find a 2013 Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine Julie Benau, 13.5%, from Mèze, Languedoc, but 40 minutes or so from where we were staying in Neffiès. I had four exquisite chicken ravioli in creamy marinara sauce while Cora Lee opted for grilled shrimp and scallops with spinach salad, bacon, mushrooms, honey and warm balsamic vinaigrette. Peter ordered mussels and clams in a saffron broth, pomme frites on the side, while Lynne enjoyed a delicious Salade niçoise.
Back home to say goodbye to The Shopaholics who were headed to Nordstom's Rack. JDP played bridge on his computer while I started to pack and load TG. The Sisterhood returned around 4:00 pm and they set about starting dinner. I had packed and loaded all that I could by this time so I took my bike for a short spin on the road outside our house and was very, very pleased not to feel at all uncomfortable, at least on the flat. Even better, gears seemed to shift smoothly so am happy about that as I was concerned that the derailleur might have been damaged or otherwise affected during the accident. Still want to take it in to West Point when back home.
Peter blended up a batch of his killer Margaritas and we sat outside around he fire-pit until about 6:00 pm. Most pleasant early evening watching th sky darken and the stars come out. Dinner was really a sumptuous feast: fall off the bone lamb shanks, garlic mashed potatoes, fried zucchini topped with Parmesan and an avocado and tomatoe salad. We'd opened a 2009 Soda Rock Cabbage, 15%, but it was off, (only bottle thus far so can't really complain), so we washed down with meal with a 2012 Soda Rock Cabernet Franc, 14.6%. Around 9:00 pm we rose from the table and cleared up most of the dishes. Lynne opted for a snort of malt and became quite sleepy once she'd knocked her dram back so she bade us goodnight. The three of us chatted for another hour or so, lads sipping malt, Cora Lee insisting on another bottle of wine, a 2010 Soda Rock Primativo, 16%. We solved many personal and world problems before turning in around 11:00 pm. Wonderful end to our last night here in Palm Desert!
Hello Last Chocolate to Yuma! Trust you are both well and, together with pickle-ball, are enjoying your busy, retired in the sun lives. Glad you enjoyed your virtual chocolates, Maggie. Will stay overnight in Portland, on Friday, with close friends, Marilyn and Michaelo, before heading for home on Saturday. Fondestos from Mme Coriandre to you, Maggie, and Francesco. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrick Many thanks for your e-card. I was sorry to hear from Ray that you had a fall off the bike and hope you are recovering well.
After last winter's fall and a painful shoulder I avoid days with morning frost. I did get out this afternoon hoping to ride thro Sicclinghall and Kirkby Overblow but had to rely on Chris to rescue me after a puncture. Haven't resolved it yet but noticed that the hedges had been trimmed and I may well have picked up a thorn. Two weeks ago I sprained an ankle while running towards the sunset- nothing too serious.
Laura is expecting their second child in May and they are staying with us while Ed awaits his placement for the next two years which they hope will not be too far away. My mother is displaying amazing powers of recovery again after pneumonia and hospital spells in January. If she continues she will be 100 in October. Chris' Mum isn't doing too badly and will be 92 this year. Deafness is a problem with both of them and a degree of senility with the latter.
I hear you are avoiding the Canadian winter and are thinking of moving inland. We are taking a short break of a week in Spain next week. We also had a week in the Lake District at the foot of Windermere in mid January which we enjoyed despite the short days etc.
Lengthy political season over here up to the May election. Your Banking man seems to be doing a reasonable job over here. The oil situation seems to be helping. Hope you are all keeping well despite the incident. Regards Jim
Lucky 'boy', especially with the day/date!!! Are u sure u didn't fracture any ribs considering the pain coughing/laughing, etc.
Hope u feel better soon, Patrizzio. We had an interesting time in Scottsdale with sister in law, an alcoholic, we thought would be dry following what I thought were 2 but in fact 3 stints in rehab. Cindy is only 49 and says she is not an alcoholic. However, her liver damage says otherwise. She needs to get her health back on track. At least, we got her eating and drinking water again. We dropped her off at the Phoenix airport on the 10th and then headed back on the road to Yuma.
Managed a surprise visit with an Ontario cousin & his wife who were in an RV Park in the area in old town Scottsdale. Cindy was meant to join us but she at the last minute backed down. Doug & Carol live on an acreage in Lucan, a small rural community where my Mom grew up & attended school. Grandpa had 2 farms at Grand Bend. My great grandparents came over on the boat with the Black Donnelleys from the Parkhill area, the days of cattle rustlers & posses of deputized sheriffs. Life in Yuma is good. We are so busy the days are flying by. Frank has pinched a nerve in his back, L3 moved fwd by 3/8 of an inch, likely from overdoing it on the Pickleball courts. Too bad, as he had to back out of the Yuma Senior Games, both Men's Doubles & Mixed.
Hello Odd Couple/Social Butterflies, Bernie and Branko! Trust all goes well with you two. Your owner/pet relationship sounds extremely interesting although difficult to discern which mammal plays which role, as you note! Give us a shout as we'd like to hear more about Bernie! I'm still interested in cottage-like property on Scott Street but we shall see what we shall see. Mme Coriandre is now going on about house-boats! Perhaps you have some maritime advice for her? Fondestos from Cora Lee to you both! Cheers, Il Conduttore!
Hi Corinne and Patrick, Our buyer came back and has written another offer. He has come in at XXXk and the buyers agent is waiving the buyers commission which is roughly $YYYY. Please look over the contract and give me a call when you have a moment so we can discuss how we can proceed. All the best, Dave
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