Christmas Day - Post Mortem

 

I hope all of my readers have had a very Happy Holiday season.  As you can see, this is how I looked on Christmas Eve.  What you can't see are my stockings falling to my knees because I didn't since the waist of the false garter stockings high enough.  (I also don't like how the dress is sitting in this picture, but that's another issue that can be handled by Photoshop.)

RQS and I didn't get moving until 3:00 pm, as we knew we could make a 5:00 pm dinner on Christmas Eve.  This would be the best dinner so far of the holiday season, as we also has a 5:00 pm dinner in New Jersey with TCL.  Today, we had to be out the door by 3:15 pm to make it to TCL's place by 4:45 pm, and we just made it in time.

After a few minutes of waiting, the three of us made it to a Chinese Restaurant in Mahwah.  Unlike the past times we were at this place, service was slow and sloppy.  At least, the food was decent.  Mind you, I'd have gotten much better food in NYC, but one takes what one can get in suburbia.  Both RQS and I felt that the quality of food and service has gone down a notch, and we will likely hunt for another place to eat next year.

Following dinner, we went back to TCL's place, where we had some tea and cookies.  To say that her place had a strong cat odor would be putting it mildly - I'd bet that her two male cats had been marking territory, and that TCL had grown insensitive to the odor.  (I'm glad that I don't have to take care of cats any longer.)

All in all, it was a nice day.  Yet, I'm glad that Christmas is over until next year.

A rescue from a "Medical Prison"

 

By the time you read this, RQS will have been out of the hospital for 2 weeks. Hopefully, her blood levels will be level, and that she will not need a new medication.

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On the day before Thanksgiving, RQS was still in the hospital waiting to be released.  Having given the shift supervisor holy hell the night before, it seems like things started to get moving quickly. By the time I got to the hospital, she had been given her new prescription and was ready to go home.  Although she was released, the social worker assigned to her had arranged for RQS to get lunch - which never came.  So, RQS got dressed, and we took an Uber back to her place.

Once at RQS's place, we rested for a while.  Then, RQS got dressed, and we left for Croton.  A couple of hours later, we were in my car and off to get some Chinese food for dinner.  We've been to this place near Jefferson Valley several times, but we've never came close to spending $100.  This time, we broke that barrier - but it was well worth it!  We started with the Seafood Soup for 2, and then proceeded to the main course.  RQS had the mixed Seafood over thin, fried noodles, while I had the Roast Duck with Mixed Veggies.  Everything was very tasty and well worth every cent.

By the time we got home, RQS was ready to crash.  After a few minutes watching TV, we were back in the bedroom - where she promptly fell into a much needed 13 hour sleep.

Lunch with a friend, then dinner with a meetup - a quick post.

 

Yes, I had two meals out today, and I'm going to pay for it when I look at the scale tomorrow morning.  Being more serious, there were so many things I wanted to take care of today, but didn't have the energy to do much more than to go out for lunch and for dinner - both as Marian.

My alarms and reminders were set, and I was ready to go to meet SJM at the Capri pizzeria in Ossining at 12:30 pm.  For a change, I arrived on time - and SJM was late for a change.  I won't go into details, but she had resolved the issue she called me about last week, and she vented a little about all the issues she currently has on her plate.  Considering what's she's dealing with, she could use a vacation from her life for a while.  

After lunch, I went home and napped for a while before going to my meetup in Scarsdale.  For those unfamiliar with the neighborhood, parking is always at a premium in this town, and it is one of the most desirable places to own a home in the county.  (It often ranks among the top 5 most expensive neighborhoods in the USA - and for good reason.  I wish I could afford to live there.)   I found a spot directly across the street from the upscale Chinese restaurant, and arrived a minute or two late.  (This was not a problem, as no one had yet placed an order.)  As usual, I got into some nice conversations with the ladies, one of whom was asking me for recommendations for a long delayed honeymoon trip with her husband.  I recommended NCL's Hawaii Cruisetour, but noted that it is a shore excursion intense cruise which would keep them exhausted.  I then noted that they wouldn't have the energy for romance, and she responded - they had more than enough time for romance when they'd get home.

When dinner was over, a group of us walked over to the heart of town for ice cream.  Although we first headed to a small ice cream shop in town, it was too crowded for comfort.  So we walked over to the Haagen Dazs shop across the street.  A little bit later, it was time to go home.  And it felt real nice to finally take off my bra for the evening.

Holiday Planning - a quick post

 

Holiday Season is here.  And this year, my plans were not as simple as they might have been in years past.  My niece and nephew will not be coming to New York this year, and this means that my brother will not be doing anything special for the holiday.  RQS has no family to visit, leaving my family and friends as her options for people with whom to share the holiday.  This meant that I had something special for us to do together, and find someone who was also alone on the holiday.

Our original plans were for RQS to come up to Croton, and we would find a nice place to eat on Christmas day.  However, most of the places we looked at were offering Christmas Eve dining, but not Christmas Day dining.  So we regrouped.  Instead of being in Croton, I'd go down to Queens and we'd have a special dinner in NYC, specifically a high-class Chinese restaurant. (We joked that we were becoming "Honorary Jews" for the day, as it is a custom for many Jews to eat Chinese food on this holiday.)  Though we had found such a restaurant, our plans changed again.  TCL had no place to be on Xmas, as she couldn't make plans early enough to afford visiting one of her offspring for the holiday.  So, RQS and I agreed to have a fancy Christmas Eve dinner at a local restaurant (with me presenting as Marian - I can't wait to get dressed up for this), and then visit TCL for a Chinese dinner on Christmas (with me presenting as Mario).

When will I get to see my brother?  Who knows?  But I expect that it may be after my next visit to RQS's place in Queens.....

Co-Op Issues - a short post.

 

I am known to my co-op board of directors as both Mario and Marian.  This is not and will not be an issue for me with the co-op.  But there is something that annoys me quite a bit, and it's related to a personnel issue that we've been dealing with for a while.  Although I can't talk about this issue, I can say that it has caused me to write "nastygrams" which would have made my late wife proud.

My late wife was good at writing complaint letters to businesses.  I can still remember a letter she wrote to our (then) favorite Chinese Restaurant complaining of horrible service given by a waiter who ignored us for the entire meal.  Needless to say, the owner gave us a free meal and made sure that we didn't see that waiter again.

Lately, I have been developing a similar skill when doing my duties for the co-op.  We have a vendor whose performance is sub par, and I have been in contact with the owner to get things resolved to our satisfaction. (This is about all I can say about the issue, as it doesn't mention the vendor or the nature of the issue.)  This has been a good experience for me, as I have learned something about myself at the same time as I've learned things about others.

Hopefully, these issues will be resolved soon.  If not, I will continue with my letter writing and documenting the lack of progress on these issues as needed.