Happy Birthday Grandma!

Tomorrow is my wonderful grandmother's birthday - she's celebrating 92 years! Felipe and I will be going back to Wisconsin on Saturday to celebrate with her.


In her old kitchen.


Reading the morning newspaper.


Trimming the flowering bushes in her yard.


Reflections in the mirror.


Keeping scores for the Orlando Magic.

This was a series of photos I took of grandma when I spent two weeks visiting her in 2006.

The Best Thank You Note Ever!

After our visit to Spain in March we sent a few books to Felipe's friend Javi and Bea for their kids Iria and Alberto to enjoy. They sent us back the best thank you note I've ever received!

Happy Birthday Aunt Kathy!

Wishing you a Happy Birthday! I'm sure you are having a wonderful time surrounded by the family.

Hopefully soon Felipe and I will be able to take a visit to Michigan!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day!

This is probably the saddest fathers day for me, as it is the first since dad passed away. Sad knowing that I cannot call him or give him a hug and tell him again how much I loved him. But as I look back and think of my dad, I can remember all of the fun stuff that we did together, and I can be glad for all of the memories.

When I was little, he used to take me and my sisters to the public high schools to go swimming at the pools, he would read us Chicken Little and do all the voices, he used to take us to the library on Saturdays, and he took us to Badger volleyball games, and evenings at the Memorial Union terrace, around Christmas time he would take us to the capitol to see the big tree, sometimes we'd go to lake Wingra to go out on a canoe or rowboat, and so many other things.

As I got older, I was able to appreciate a good game of backgammon with him, through him I began to love all sorts of music - classical, jazz, oldies and so on, and I enjoyed hearing his stories about when he was younger, and I learned to appreciate the value of a friendship by seeing how well he got along with his lifelong friends. I wish that I had more time with him, more stories to hear, but for now I can enjoy the wonderful memories of him.

Wish your dad a Happy Father's Day today, give him a hug, and really enjoy the time you have with him :D

Recipe: Curried Zucchini Soup

Tonight I tried a new recipe from the Everyday Food cookbook for Curried Zucchini soup, seemed like a good way to use the in-season zucchini. It turned out really well - very yummy and highly suggested! I think that there is a lot of room for improvisation with this recipe too. It's an easy recipe to make, and I look forward to trying it again....

Curried Zucchini Soup

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
Coarse Salt
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Teaspoons Curry Powder
1 1/2 lbs Zucchini (about 3), sliced 1 inch thick
1 Baking Potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/3 cup sliced almonds for garnish (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 tablespoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder, cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add the zucchini, potato, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.

3. In batches, puree the soup in a blender (do not fill more than halfway) until smooth; serve immediately, or let cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container until chilled. Garnish with toasted almonds (optional).



Eda - I think you might really like this, you should give it a try!

A Walk Beside the Dusk on Riverside Park

Last night Felipe and I took a lovely walk along Riverside Park South on the Hudson River. It was a beautiful night, the temperature was perfect and the passing rain left some pretty amazing clouds in the sky. We walked north a little bit, which gave us a nice view of the George Washington Bridge (see the picture above).

They had an old train caboose from the New York Central Railroad in the park that commemorated the former use of the piers in transport of goods from shipping barges to the Penn Central rail lines.



It was a beautiful walk - the sunset was fantastic! The old piers were great -




Felipe and I had a quiet time watching the water and the sunset. I realize now that we thought it would be a nice night to wear our jeans and black chuckies ;)



Looking down, I found that a kid was having a nice evening at the park too...

The End of the Academic Year...

Last night was the Annual Chief Resident's dinner with the Department of Medicine. At the end of each academic year they celebrate the exiting Chief Resident and the Graduating Medical Housestaff. Each year they throw a party for them at the Roosevelt Hotel. It's a beautiful hotel and they did a fantastic job with all of the preparations.


The evening begins with cocktails and hors d'ouvres. Everyone was dressed nicely (quite a change from scrubs and white coats). The hors d'ourves were delicious and included: Chicken Sate with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce (mmmm....my favorite), Grilled Moroccan Style Lamb Chops with Yogurt and Cucumber, Vegetable Spring Rolls with Sweet Scallion Chili Sauce, Buffalo Mozzarella and Red Pear-Tomato, Tuna Tartar on Pappadam Bread, Goat Cheese and Kalamata Olive Mini-Quiche, and a Lobster and Banana Empanada.

After cocktails we proceeded into the grand ballroom:



and we were seated for the dinner and program. While everyone ate, there were speeches from Dr. Schafer, Dr. Pecker, The Chief Resident Holly Vanni, and some of the Senior Housestaff. They had wonderful tributes prepared, and a very funny video as well in honor of Dr. Pecker.

Dinner was delicious. We started out with a grilled eggplant and goat cheese bundles with oven roasted tomatoes, yellow tomato emulsion and herb salad:


The main course was fire roasted filet of beef with potato confit, sautéed spinach, oven roasted tomatoes and port wine reduction.


For dessert they served pyramid of chocolate and ginger crème brulée with mango and papaya salsa, blueberries and a chocolate straw:


It was a wonderful evening and a pleasure to see all of the housetaff celebrating their accomplishments. Congratulations to them all!

Feliz Cumpleaños Primitivo!

Photo by Eda

A very happy birthday to my father in law over in Spain! I hope that it is filled with fun and enjoyment. Felipe and I are wishing that we could celebrate with you at the pizza parlor....

Happy Birthday Primitivo!

A Little Bit of Las Vegas

This last few weeks Felipe has been working from Las Vegas. Last week I was able to go visit for a long weekend - and it was great! I arrived late Wednesday night, and walked around the strip with Felipe and his coworkers.

We stayed at the Signature at MGM Grand, and it's a very nice hotel! Our room looked a little like this:

It was like a studio apartment, with a half kitchen, missing only the oven! plus a super nice bathroom with a whirlpool tub.


A nice view from the balcony, overlooking the Monte Carlo, New York New York and the mountains.

Most of the daytime on Thursday and Friday I spent relaxing at the pool. It was nice, the Signature is a little less party party than some of the other hotels, and so the pool was very laid back. Here's a view of one of the Signature towers:


and a view of the pool:


Friday night we went to dinner at one of the MGM Grand Restaurants - Craftsteak


After dinner we walked around and I took a few pictures of the MGM Grand-




We walked a bit further up the strip again to watch the Fountain Show at the Bellagio


When I told my mom I was going to Las Vegas, she told me that I should watch for Elvis...and so I did :D



and one more:

Of course the real king eluded me...maybe next time!

Saturday we slept in (yay!) and then met up with Josh and Virginia to go to In N Out Burger for lunch. It was good, definitely living up to the legendary reputation :D

We spent a good deal of the rest of the day walking around, walking in and out of casinos. I did stop to make a bet on the Belmont Stakes - I picked three horses and put $4 down on each. One of my picks, Summer Bird, won and so I won also - $50! We ended up watching the race at the Ceasar's Palace sports bet, and it was kind of exciting with all the people cheering for their horse pick.

Saturday night we had a lot planned, after cleaning up a bit in the hotel room, we went to have dinner at the Nobhill Tavern in the MGM Grand. It was a wonderful dinner. Felipe and I both got the summer Menu:

I got the Gazpacho with cherry tomatoes, cucumber and burrata for starter and Felipe the Ceasar's Salad (without the ceasar). The Gazpacho was delicious and felipe enjoyed his salad, as much as he could. For the main I had the Chicken with Herb Dumplings, served with a very yummy seasonal corn and summer squash with grilled scallions. This was absolutely wonderful...at the end of the meal I wished I were still eating it! Felipe's main was the Kurobuta Pork Chop with three-bean salad, oven-roasted tomatoes and pork jus. It was huge pork chop and it seemed that felipe really enjoyed it! For dessert, we both enjoyed the Dulce de Leche Creme Brulee. Yummy!

After dinner we went with Josh and Virginia to see Cirque du Soleil's "Love" - their show that is set to the music of the Beatles at the Mirage.




The theater was all round with large screens that had video projections. The music was great and the whole production was fantastic. Go to the link to see a short medley video of the performance, it was really amazing.

It was a wonderful way to end the weekend, I only wished I could stay longer - maybe not for the Vegas experience, but for the lovely weekend I had with my fantastic husband.