Evelyn's Visit to Aberdeen in 2002

From Evelyn Cooper, July 2002:

This photo was taken near Braeman on my visit to Aberdeen this year. We are in a jolly mood, having just partaken of an excellent barbeque (with wine) supplied by Pattie and Douglas -- Mary's daughter and son in [can't read the town].

Christmas Day in Randolph

We spent a cozy Christmas day in Randolph this year. There's still snow on the ground, but not as much as about a week ago. The weather was very chilly and we had a fire in the fireplace. Again there was more eating and drinking. We had a big pancake breakfast after opening the presents. Later we ate turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie for dessert.

As a joke, my parents got Amy and I "snuggies" and we laughed about that for a while. I can't bear to put the photos from that on here. It isn't pretty.

We did some after Christmas shopping and I picked up a "Coraline" for us to watch at night. It was fun because it came with 3-D glasses. I"m sure it wasn't exactly like it would be in the theatre, but it was pretty interesting. While I was really excited to see the movie, I fell asleep towards the end with my 3-D glasses on and all. Amy thought this was pretty funny.

Christmas Eve 2009 in NJ

We spent Christmas Eve in New Jersey at the Asheys' house with my Aunt Kathryn, cousins Jeff, Pete, Liz, their daughters (Jill and Paige), my sister and my parents.

I was a little late because I had to work on until about 3 PM on Christmas Eve as my company throws a party for employees' children that day and my team runs the party. The party went well. There were games, crafts, sing-a-longs, and lots of kid-friendly food. Decor included balloon arches and giant snowmen and penguins.

I hopped on the train from Newark and my parents picked up in Raritan. Then, we headed to my cousins' house. When we got there, we were greeted by their chocolate lab, Cody, and my cousin Pete. There were tons of appetizers and wine. After that, we had a delicious dinner of pork, gravy, green beans and salad among other things.

Around dessert, we were visited by some close friends of my cousins'. Their kids are similar ages to Jill and Paige. The adults talked in the dining room while the girls (and their brother) hung out in the living room. When the guests left, we went to the living room to open the presents.

Jill and Paige got a brand new electric guitar and amp. Jeff played a song or two and helped Paige to pluck out a tune. They were thrilled. Everyone seemed very happy with their gifts. Cody was eager to get in on the fun and jumped around with us.

There was talk of Santa coming soon, so we decided it was time to leave and headed back to Randolph to get some sleep before another day of eating and drinking.

Pictured: (top, right) Sue, Amy and Heather; (middle, left) Aunt K, Paige and Jeff; (middle, left) Liz and Jill; (bottom, left) Group shot.

New Home for Heather

Sorry I've been out of touch for so long, but life has been very hectic for me. A lot of big changes at once. Most of my time has been filled with preparing to move, then moving and then settling in to my new home. In addition, I am in my busiest season at work. All in all, a very busy time for me.

My new place is shaping up pretty well. I got most of the furniture that I needed. I was thrilled to get my new bed! Sleeping on a mattress on the floor gets old pretty quick. It has a a bunch of drawers under it so that I don't need a dresser.

Another cool thing that I got is a little table that folds up into a little box where you can keep the extra chairs. It's perfect for a small space like mine. And, it got delivered all put together so I didn't have to battle with instructions or funny shaped tools and things.


The location of my new place is better than I had hoped. I'm near a lot of major subway stops and still in the same neighborhood as before. It's great. Hope that you can come to see it soon!

South Beach!

This year, the summer flew right by. I think this is partly because the weather was strange and unsummer-like. We had rain for all of June; Spring-like weather in July and mixed sunny and rainy-ish weather in August. So September and October, the fall have been chilly. Also, Guillaume and I were both working a lot. We had lots of big projects and other things at work that were keeping us very busy.

During this hectic time, I was able to sneak away for a long weekend in August in South Beach in Miami, Florida. Lucky for me, the weather was sunny with little rain. Most people don't go to Florida in August for the very reason that it's sweltering so it wasn't too crowded. Since South Beach can be kind of sceney, I prefer to avoid to the crowds. And, who cares if it's hot if all you've got to do is sit on a beach chair under an umbrella near the ocean?

I didn't do much of anything while I was there. In the morning, I'd take a yoga class and eat

breakfast. Then, I'd head to the beach with my book and ipod. I'd break for lunch and go back

to the beach again afterwards. After the beach, I'd head to the pool on the roof of the hotel and then look for somewhere to eat. I found an excellent Indian place, enjoyed middle eastern food and took myself out to Wish, a fancy restaurant in the hotel where I stayed.

I stayed at this place called The Hotel of South Beach, which was fantastic. The rooms were nice and the staff was very helpful. The pool on the roof was a nice way to end the beach day. You could see the ocean from the pool and the mojitos were excellent! On Saturday, you could see the cruise ships leaving their ports.

There is a sandwich place, La Sandwicherie, which has fantastic sandwiches. The owners are from France and make the best sandwiches ever. It is on 14th street and Washington near the Club Deuce Bar, one of the older (and divey) bars around. It has an open counter with stools where you can sit and order your sandwich. One sandwich can easily feed two people and comes with the famous La Sandwicherie Vinagrette. It's excellent.

Had a great time in South Beach and looking forward to going back again some time soon.

The High Line in NYC

Recently, after years of planning and negotiations, the High Line reopened in NYC. It is now an amazing park that is open to the public that allows spectacular views and shows innovative design. Guillaume and I decided to visit it to see what all the fuss was about.

It was really amazing. You can access the park via stairs at three or four different access points. You can see the old tracks through the giant bushes and wildflowers growing around them. There are benches to rest and take in the interesting aerial view of the street. At one place, there is a mini-theatre style set up of benches looking through a giant glass window over the street. It's an interesting angle to view the cars whooshing by. The path follows the tracks, which wind through new and old buildings.

The design of the park gives you a good glimpse of its history. Built in the 1930s, the High Line was part of the West Side Improvement, a public-private infrastructure project. It was an elevated train track that removed dangerous trains carrying freight off the streets near Manhattan's largest industrial district. Trains stopped running on these tracks in the 1980s.

In 1999, Friends of the High Line formed because the structure was slated to be demolished. This group works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure. You can see historic photos of the High Line here

Guillaume's Work Summer Party 2009

A few weeks ago, we went to Guillaume's work summer party on Randall's Island in NYC. It's always an over-the-top, fun event. There is a free ferry specifically for the party that takes you to the island.

It has something for everyone. This year there was a fake "rooftop" wine bar that looked just like a NYC apartment building rooftop. They had several different versions of wine and loungy seating on a high platform that rested beneath the trees. There was a skating rink, baby pools, sandcastles and a fake boardwalk for families to enjoy. The kids can make crafts and watch musicians. At night the skating rink turned into a giant dj booth for dancing. Of course, there were tons of Michael Jackson songs this year.

The food was also excellent. You could get the typical hot dogs and hamburgers and corn or you could opt for veggie samosas or jerk chicken empandas. There was also a giant seafood shack with crabs and other stuff like that. There were plenty of bars and places to get lemonade and iced tea and soda.

We mingled with Guillaumes co-workers and bosses and ate ourselves silly. We even tried shooting some hoops along the fake boardwalk. After that we took the ferry home and called it a night. It was a blast!

BBQ in NYC

A few weekends ago, we celebrated Gay Pride with our friends in NYC. After a champagne brunch with Bill and Terry, we skipped the hustle and bustle of the parade in the Village and headed to Chelsea to Stephen's courtyard for a BBQ. After Stephen got the barbeque going, Andrew and Annique prepared some seared tuna and sausauges. Others had hot dogs and burgers. It was an excellent Sunday afternoon with good food and good friends.

A Wedding in the Adirondacks

Mara, my friend from graduate school married Karl in Old Forge, New York during the Fourth of July weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and Guillaume and I had a great time. The wedding took place in the St. Mary of the Snows church in Otter Lake and the reception was at the North Woods Inn in Old Forge. The day after the wedding, we joined the newly-married couple for a pig roast.

Mother's Day at Bob and Sue's

On Mother's Day, we told Bob and Sue the good news that we were engaged. We celebrated with an excellent dinner and a special bottle of champagne from France.

Amy and Heather

Here's a picture of Amy and I at Kathryn and George's party a few weeks ago.

Heather and Guillaume Are Engaged

Just a few weeks ago, Guillaume and I got engaged. We had a perfect day together. First we walked across the Brooklyn bridge, then we stopped for some wine and cheese. After that we had an excellent dinner and he popped the question. Some fireworks started just after that. It was excellent!

Party at Kathryn and George's House in NYC

We had a blast at Kathryn and George's (my second cousins on my dad's side) house a few weekends ago. Bob, Sue and Amy came into town for the big event. We had dinner beforehand at Da Andrea, a restaurant near my apartment. We got to the party around 9 pm. We were surprised to see that Jeffery Heller came in from Minnesota for the occasion. There was tons of good food and good wine. We also got to meet Nisha, their kitten, whose name means "night" in Persian.

PICTURED: George, Kathryn, Bob and Sue

New Book from Ron Offen's Niece: "Twilight of Avalon"

From Ron Offen:
My niece Anna Grube has just had a book published by Simon & Schuster, under her pen name, Anna Elliott. Anna is my the daughter of my sister, Pamela Veley (nee Offen) who lives in Hartford, CT. That would make her the grand-niece of Stan & Isabel.

Anyway, the title of the book is "Twilight of Avalon," It is an historical novel based on the Trystan and Isolde myth. I'm hoping that everyone in the family will by a copy. So far it has received good reviews!

Check out Anna's website: www.annaelliottbooks.com for more information.

Easter in NJ

We had a blast celebrating Easter in NJ. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious. Before dinner, we enjoyed some buffalo chicken wings, cheese, crackers and wine. The meal consisted of ham, potato salad (yum!), sedek, shrimp rosoto and kielbasa. For desert, we had sponge cake, banana cream pie, nut roll and cookies.  

Pictured: (back row) Jeff, Guillaume, Pete, Liz, George, Kathryn, Amy and Sue. (front row) Heather, Jill, Paige, Aunt Kathryn, and Bob.

Matthews-Fox, Attorneys and Counselors at Law

Congrats to Sue who is opening Matthews-Fox, providing services in education law, public/regulatory and administrative law. There will be an office in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Good luck with the new venture, Sue!

The Andrews Sisters Out on the Town in NYC

Last week, Amy came to visit me in NYC. The first night we hung out and chatted at some local bars, such as Vol de Nuit. The next day, we had lunch with Jeff at Galaxy (YUM!) and then walked around the city enjoying the fact that neither of us had to work. The day was warm and sunny and pleasant. We had to stop by my apartment to get Amy something less warm to wear.

First stop was Evolution, an art and science store in Soho, that Jeff recommended for Amy a long time ago. Despite the fact that it was during the afternoon on a weekday, the store was crowded. I suppose they were mostly tourists. The walls were covered with stuffed animals -- monkeys and birds and wolves. There were thousands of shiny bugs in glass cases. It made me a little nauseous. Upstairs, we saw real human skeletons -- a male, a female with a fetus, and a five-year-old kid. It was interesting and creepy at the same time. Amy turned from the skeletons and went to the case of stuffed birds pointing out one that was native to Australia.

From there, we headed to Kiosk, another small and interesting shop. Tara told me about this one a few months ago. It's interesting because many of the products on sale are part of a changing exhibit. Some of the objects are always there.

After that we were ready to have a beer at Eight Mile Creek, an Australian Bar in Soho, but it wasn't open, yet. We continued walking around Soho and Nolita and then up the Bowery. We passed some of the grittier parts of the City until we eventually passed Houston and entered the lower part of the East Village. On the way, we passed the New Museum and took a photo. We stopped to have a lambic and a blonde beer at dba, where there is a large outdoor garden. The after work crowd was beginning to fill it up.

Soon it became too chilly to be outside, so we headed to PDT, a local speakeasy. To enter PDT, you need to go into the (fake) phone booth at Crif Dogs, a hot dog stand. You press the button on the phone and a wall opens up. If you don't have reservations, you can try to grab a stool at the bar. The bartenders, who look like they are from the 1920s, are skilled mixologists and can whip up some cool drinks. We were fortunate enough to land a small table.

Amy ordered the Cranberry Cobbler and I ordered the Persephone. The cranberry cobbler was like a grown-up slushie. Tons of ice with some cranberries and mint on top. It was delicious. My drink was a little strong and a bit difficult to drink, but fruity. Amy ordered one of the famous hot dogs, which appears through a little door behind the bar from the hot dog stand. These dogs are not like any you've had before. Amy ordered the Chang Dog, which has kimchi on it and was designed by the Momofoku chef, David Chang.

After that Amy headed back to NJ on the train. All in all, we had a great time!

Skiing in Colorado

In early February, Guillaume and I and some friends took a trip to Colorado to go skiing. We enjoyed great weather and had an excellent time.

After flying into Denver, we got our rental car and immediately headed to Idaho Springs in order to grab some lunch and a beer at the TommyKnocker brewery. Idaho Springs looks like it hasn't changed much since it was founded in the 1800s. The brewery gets its name from the TommyKnocker spirits that haunted the gold miners back when Idaho Springs was a gold mining town. While our waiter was a bit of a space cadet, the food was good and their beer was delicious. We bought ourselves a "piglet", which is like a small cardboard keg, of the Tommy Knocker Ale (I think) to take home with us. All the breweries in the area seem to sell these piglet things.

About 45 minutes or so later, we arrived in Dillon, where we picked up the keys to our condo that we found on vrbo.com. Our condo was located at the base of the mountain in Keystone. We decided that we would stay in Keystone because I had stayed there before with my former roommate, Lindsay, and also because of its proximity to other nice mountains, such as Breckenridge and Vail.

The condo was excellent! It had a nice kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a balcony, a gas fireplace and access to a hot tub. We could see Keystone mountain from our balcony. There were long icicles hanging from the snow-blanketed roof. A short bus ride took us to the village where there are restaurants and shops. We could walk to the base lifts.

We arrived on Saturday and the next day was Super Bowl Sunday, so we decided to stay close to home. The football lovers stopped skiing early to watch the game at a dive bar conveniently located near our condo. The Goat was an interesting place and was filled with locals. A BBQ snack bar was attached to it. The menu included Tater Tots and our dinner cost us about $7 total. Needless to say, we only spent one night at The Goat.

On Monday, we hit Breckenridge. It was a brutally cold and windy day. Despite our millions of layers, we could still feel the wind coming through our jackets. We hid our faces behind masks and gators and shivered on the chairlift. During lunch, the more expert skiers hit the bowls while Claudina and I waited in the lodge. The views from the lodge windows were gorgeous.

The next morning we woke up with aching calves and spent the next few days in Keystone. Eventually, we headed to Vail to experience the chi-chi village and try some new trails. Vail was very,very, very nice, but the trails seemed a bit flatter and more crowded. We had dinner in a nice French restaurant in the village. All in all it was an excellent day.

Back at Keystone, we skied our favorite slopes and ate at the Snake River Saloon. Before dinner, we shot some pool as we waited for a table to open up. It was quite crowded and had a different (better) atmosphere than The Goat. I ate a delicious steak and Guillaume tried the pork with black cherry sauce. It was really good. Another night, we went to the BigHorn Steakhouse where I had a delicious rack of lamb. Yum.

As usual, the vacation was over way too quickly. I can't wait to go skiing again.

Amy Turns 24

Guillaume and I journeyed to New Jersey on Sunday to celebrate Amy's 24th birthday. My parents took us all out to dinner to a local restaurant in Randolph to celebrate. We had a delicious dinner and yummy desserts. It was nice to see everyone.

Pictured: The birthday girl.

The Ornate and Excessive Holiday Party

Guillaume and I were invited to a semi-famous holiday party in the neighborhood in December. Part of the fun of the party is that the dress code is always different. This year, we received a very elegant invite in the mail directing us to dress in an ornate and excessive manner. Unfortunately, Guillaume was already in France and couldn't go to the party. So, I went with Tara, Bill and Terry.

Figuring out what to wear was tough for me as I am definitely not an ornate and excessive kind of gal. Tara suggested that I wear a gold dress that I have that I usually use for weddings. I ended up wearing that, but it's more of a summer dress and there was a snowstorm on the day of the party. I had to walk to the party in the snow. I ended up wearing my Wellies and sweatpants underneath my dress and changed when I got there.

Tara and I met a lot of new friends at the party and had a great time. One of the highlights was when Terry, who lives upstairs from the party hosts, brought down Larry, his Boston Terrier. As a result of meeting Larry, Boston Terriers are my new favorite dog breed. Though, I think that Larry's just a charming guy in general and it would be hard to find another dog like him.

Pictured: Tara, Bill and Heather in front of the Christmas tree at Jeff and Andrew's place and (bottom, left) Larry.

Heather's Birthday at Von in NYC

This year, I had a fantastic little birthday get together at Von in New York City. We spent some time hanging out and chatting and then headed to another place for dancing. Here's a photo of Amy and I at the bar.

Awesome 80s Prom in NYC

This year for Elaine's birthday, we went to the Awesome 80s prom at Webster Hall in New York City. You had to wear 80s attire. One of elaine's friends wore her prom dress from high school. It was a strange experience!

Bonne Annee 2009!

On December 26, I hopped on a plane from JFK and headed to Paris where Guillaume was waiting to pick me up a the airport. He had already been in France for a week and I joined him for the second week.

Despite the very cold weather, we had a blast. We spent some time with Guillaume's friends in Paris and at their homes. We saw Guillaume's grandparents and spent time with his parents and brother and sister.

The first night, we met Patrice and Aurelien at Le Piano Vache and had a ball. Another night, we met a group of Guillaume's friends and went out for fondue at a restaurant in the Latin Quarter. We ate tons of meat and cheese and I learned a new French phrase that means translates to mean bad wine.

On New Year's Eve, after eating another delicious dinner with Guillaume and his family, we headed to Arnaud and Jennifer's house to see everyone and ring in the new year. We met Louis-Maxime's and Virginie's little newborn sleeping daughter there. She is adorable!

We spent the days wandering around Paris in the cold weather. Some mornings it snowed, which was very pretty. We went shopping at Printemps and saw all the christmas decorations on the big stores. We also visited Bon Marche because I hadn't been there. We decided to visit the Eiffel Tower one night to see the lights. I hadn't been there since my first trip to France with Joanne, ten years ago.

Right before we left France, we had a raclette night with Guillaume's family. This was really fun. there was a huge wheel of cheese that we cut into small pieces, lots of yummy cured meat, small cooked potatoes and those little pickles and onions that I love. It's a bit like fondue. There is a machine with many little drawers in the center of the table. Everyone gets a drawer and puts a piece of cheese in it. The cheese melts and then you drip it over your meat or potato. It gives you time to chat while the cheese is melting. It's very fun.

Guillaume and I couldn't get the same flight home, so I left on a different day. The day I left, there was a huge snowstorm in Paris, which caused huge delays and made everyone angry at the airport. I spent my extra time in the airport buying and Astrix comic book and working on my huge pile of French homework that my teacher gave me before her maternity leave. Time went by fairly quickly and I got all of my homework done. I also managed to get the last sandwich in the airport, which almost caused a brawl.

We had an excellent trip and wait to go back again!

PICTURED: Heather (top, right) in front of Notre Dame; Guillaume's mom's homemade Tarte Tatin second from top, left); Heather and Guillaume (third from top, right) in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background; (above) The fondue pot at the restaurant where we went with Guillaume's friends; and the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night.

Christmas Eve 2008

Happy 2009 everyone! The end of 2008 was an extremely busy time for me busily planning holiday events at work and preparing for the holidays at home. 

After hosting a children's christmas party at my office on the morning of Christmas eve, I took the train to NJ to join my family's annual Chris

tmas eve event. Aunt Kathryn, my cousins and my parents and sister were all there. 

We had a delicious dinner cooked by my mom (and I'm sure my dad and Amy helped) of pork with beans and pasta salad and all kinds of stuff.  Dessert was also delicious as my mom made her famous cake and 

there were tons of excellent cookies and other treats.

After dinner, we opened our presents and hung out. Somehow Peter found an antique 

toy that Jeff had lost when he was a child.

 Liz and Pete got some electric

 salt and pepper grinders. I got some beautiful sake glasses. Liz and I also received the most amazing pop-up book I've ever seen!  Jill and Paige got a brand new guitar! Jeff played us a few songs. The sound of the guitar was beautiful.

This Christmas Eve tradition has been happening for many years. Until my grandmother moved in with my p

arents, she hosted it every year at her house. I'm not sure who did hosted it before she did. Maybe my dad's grandma. As usual, we had a great time with everyone. 

After everyone went home, we opened our own presents, which was unusual because we usually do that in the morning. Mom wanted to open the gifts early because she bought a Wii for Amy and Dad and she was excited about it. Well, needless to say they loved it. We set it up and played games for the rest of the time I was there!