A Sweet Retreat

I had a fabulous time in New York. The company was great, the food was awesome, and the sights were incredible. Dan's cousin, Homa is just like our darling Katie...very artsy, creative, and wandering about in her own little world. She is such an amazing person! She really showed me a great time. She took me to Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan, because she knows I have an affinity toward all things sweet. Yum! We sat in the bakery eating cake and playing an African game called Bao. Bao is an interesting game Homa brought back from a recent trip to Africa. It's a game of skill and logic and involves these big, hard seeds that I believe were retrieved from some large animal's dung. Just sayin'

This is me and Homa. Behind us is Union Square, I think. I can't really remember. All I remember is that we went to Max Brenner's chocolate shop which was across the street. If you can believe this, I wasn't in the mood for dessert because we had a big brunch earlier in the day. I did however have a big glass of the best chocolate milk EVER!

We took a short road trip to DC one day. Well, it would have been short except that Homa borrowed a friend's car - a big diesel Mercedes Benz that averaged about 50mph the whole trip. Brutal! But the company was good, and when we got back to New York, Homa treated me to a 45 minute massage at this little Asian massage parlor. Very nice!

We went to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. This is a self portrait by Frida Khalo on the left and me looking through a mirror on the right.
The art museum inspired some creativity in us. Katie's only request from New York City was a painting from Homa. Her request specifically, a picture of Katie and Homa in a flower garden. This is Homa painting Katie's picture. I also did a little portrait of my own.

We went into St. Patrick's Cathedral, prayed, and lit a candle.

I had a little time alone and I spent some time in China Town, and I visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had lunch at Chelsea Market, which is where the Food Network Studios are. I had the BEST clam chowder, fresh bread, and farm fresh milk and butter at Chelsea Market! I was completely in my element, the only thing missing was my Danny. He would have loved it!

I obviously had a fantastic time. I saw most of the things I wanted to see. I had a great time bonding with Homa. I got to do the Museum of American History in DC. And, I had lots of time for renewal of my mind. I had a great 45 minute walk in DC when I just allowed myself to be aware of my surroundings...not the people, but the nature. The flowers, trees, and natural wonders that often go unnoticed in my chaotic life. I was walking along and saw a fat squirrel. I stopped to take a picture of him and he came right up to me. I remembered that I had a little piece of bread in my purse and the squirrel took it right out of my hand. The lesson: there may be times in our lives when we think we have nothing to offer, but if we dig deep enough we can usually find something that we can offer and that will be a blessing.

A big thanks to Dan who made this all possible for me...now he knows that my days don't consist of bon bons and soap operas.