HVRW Restaurant Week - Tilly's Table w. RQS

 

Tilly's Table is a "Farm to Table" restaurant located on an old farm in Brewster, NY.  Normally, I couldn't afford to eat at this place for a casual weekend dinner with RQS.  But we were finally in luck - it was the Spring edition of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week (HVRW), and the price was finally right.  So I made reservations for two, and made sure that RQS brought a nice dress to wear in her suitcase this weekend.

 

Both of us got dressed to the eights - RQS in one of her three Karina dresses, and me in a LBD from Universal Standard.  Needless to say, we both looked our best when we arrived at the restaurant.  Were we in the right place?  The sun had gone down, and we couldn't be sure of which building on this farm we were supposed to go.  So, I parked the car and chose one of the two possible buildings - and I made the correct choice, as I saw the "Tilly's Table" sign in front of the building's entrance.

Shortly after we entered the building, we were directed to our table and given menus.  RQS was lucky that fish was on the HVRW menu, as she had a dental problem which would be taken care of after the weekend.  So, RQS ordered the salmon and I ordered the prime rib.  YUM!  Both of us had only one complaint - the vegetables were not cooked enough.  They were too firm, especially for someone having a hard time chewing their food.

As you can guess, RQS caught me in the middle of showing her something when she snapped the above photo.  I felt good wearing the dress in the photo, and will be bringing it with me on my upcoming cruise.

All too soon, we had to go home.  I took my time driving back to Croton, as I'm still not used to all the electronics on this car.  For example, the car is equipped to work with Android Auto (AA).  But it took over 30 minutes for AA to fully connect on the drive home.  Obviously, there are some glitches with AA and the car's infotainment system.  But until I figure out how to stop them from causing me problems, I'll have to play debugger on my own again....

By the time you read this, I'll have returned from a cruise

 

As most of my readers know, I write blog entries between 7 and 14 days before they are made available to my readers.  Soon, I'll be posting a record of my most recent California cruise which sails from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Avalon (Catalina Island, CA), San Diego, and Ensenada Mexico before returning to Los Angeles. When I decided on taking this cruise, I had hoped to visit my uncle in his Los Angeles nursing home.  Sadly, he died 11 days before the cruise.  Since it was way too late to cancel the cruise, I decided to go on it anyway - if only to have 9+ days in a row where I could present as Marian and not Mario.  

Right now, I plan to enjoy a full day in Los Angeles, not knowing what I'll be doing.  I've found that my cell phone has NFC, so that I can use Google Wallet to pay for trips on LA's mass transit system.  So, I won't be needing to use Ubers to get around in the daytime.  (I'll still need to use them at night, as I don't want to inadvertently travel through high crime areas after dark.)  For the times I'm near the hotel, I might bring a swimsuit, so that I can get a tan near the pool.

In many ways, San Francisco is like a second home that I stayed in for only a short while.  So, if I can, I'll visit the place where I scattered my late wife's ashes before returning to the cruise ship.  Catalina Island will be new to me, and I'm not sure of what to do there.  But, I'll be visiting RQS's cousin in San Diego.  This is something I look forward to, as this will be the first of RQS's relatives to meet me as Marian,

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this trip will bring me only pleasant memories.  I'll let you know when I start writing posts upon my return.

Universal Standard - How quickly things sold out.

 

The other day, I visited Universal Standard's showroom to look at their new Linen Collection.  As much as I wanted to buy several items, I deferred any decision because I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend several hundred dollars on three garments.  By the time I made my decision (less than a week later) to buy two of these garments, they were listed as being sold out.  Were these limited edition pieces?  I don't know.  But I intend to make another appointment at their showroom the next time a new collection is made available.

This weekend, I plan to visit the same store for their sample sale.  I expect it to be chaotic, where cisgender females will likely strip to their undies to try on some of the garments put out for final sale.  As for me, I'll be wearing a unitard under a duster, so that I can try on clothes without stripping down to my unmentionables.  (This will be he same thing I'll wear when going to Flax's "Barn Sale" next month.)  Hopefully, this trip will be a worthwhile use of my time....

HVRW Restaurant Week - Le Provincal w. Vicki

 

Hudson Valley Restaurant week (HVRW).  It comes twice each year, and I try to have at least one fancy dinner with Vicki each time it comes by.

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As you would expect, I usually present myself as Marian when dining with Vicki.  During HVRW, I always try to dress up a little when going to nice restaurants, and I made sure that I was wearing a nice dress with stockings (actually, tights) when she picked me up.  (I rarely present as a male when with Vicki.) Tonight's dinner was at Le Provincal, a French bistro in Mamaroneck. This is one of our go-to places for French food, but one we rarely eat at because of its normal price.  HVRW makes this place affordable to us, as we would likely spend close to $200 for a meal for two.

Vicki drives differently than I do, and this is not a criticism or compliment.  Like me, she tries to drive safely, but I noticed the differences in driving style, as I was a passenger for this trip.  Arriving in Mamaroneck, Vicki moved close to the center of the street so she could slide into a parking spot both quickly and easily.  However, some woman (Vicki used another word) decided to slide in between her and the cars to her right, stealing the spot from Vicki.  I looked at the driver, and I noticed that she was likely an immigrant from a place where cutting into lines was accepted, and that there would be no gain from arguing with a person who is that inconsiderate.  Vicki wanted to block this woman from getting to the parking spot, and I wanted to get another packing spot which would likely open up near the restaurant.  Eventually, Vicki relented, and we got a spot much closer to the restaurant than the first spot was.

Dinner was excellent (as usual), but the wait staff we expected to see was off for the night.  The dinner more than made up for the loss of the parking spot.  Sadly, dinner was over too soon, and we took the long way home to chat.  (It helped that Vicki missed my exit, and took side roads back to my place.)  All in all, this was a pleasant evening.  But next time, I'll do the driving.

 

It's amazing how apathetic some people can be.

 

As readers of this blog know, I am on my co-op's board.  Tonight we held our third yearly meeting, where we failed to reach a quorum.  Given that our apartments are sizable investments, it surprises me that so few people show up for our yearly meeting.  Tonight, we had only 33% of the shareholders present that we would need to have an official meeting.

Unlike most co-op board meetings, I can talk about what we discussed tonight, as it occurred in a public forum.  Before people showed up, I made reference to my transgender nature because one person didn't respect our co-op's president and deferred to me because I often present as a white male.  (Little does he know!)  I asked this woman whether she thinks it is because she is black or if she is female.  And she thinks that it's a little bit of both.  That's when I showed her a couple of pictures of RQS, noting that RQS is what used to be called as "passable".  (Later on, RQS reminded me that when summer comes, one can more easily see the color in her skin.)

There was a point where our president passed a question to me to answer, and I mentioned a lot of things to explain why we can't give more notice for potential maintenance increases.  Hopefully, I was able to satisfy the shareholder's need for an answer.

I was glad when the meeting ended, as I was tired and wanted to go home to rest.  And after my nightly call to RQS, rest I did....

 

Lunch with Maria - with a closeup view of MNRR/Amtrak

 

Today, Maria and I finally got the chance to meet for lunch.  She has her hands full raising her two grandchildren, as well as taking care of a daughter who is not responsible enough to take care of herself and her children.  So, we get together much less often than we would like.  But when we do, the conversation flows like the Niagara river.

Maria wasn't in the best of moods when we got together, as she had several problems on her mind.  I listened a bit, and gave some suggestions when asked. But for the most part, I let her speak until she was ready to let me jump in with the changes going on in my life.  While chatting, both Metro North and Amtrak trains passed by the restaurant, and we had to suspend our conversation for a few seconds while the trains passed by.

I asked Maria if her older daughter was likely to get married, and she noted that this daughter wasn't yet ready for a husband, children, or any of the other situations a woman in her 20's might find herself in. So I had a little fun in mentioning that I'm looking for a good excuse to make myself as pretty as possible again, to wear a fancy dress, and go out in the world as Marian to a formal affair.  Maria smiled at that.  I'm not so sure if this would ever happen, but it would be nice if it does....

The car is no longer mine - a quick post

 

DCD and I finally did it.  Tonight, I signed over the car to him, and he can start the process of getting the car back on the road.

I'll miss this car.  But my current car is a better choice for me.  I need the safety features in the car, as I no longer have the alertness that I had 50 years ago.  Even now, I have started thinking about how long I will continue to be able to safely drive a car.  I'm roughly 67 years old, and I can see the differences between how I drove when just a few years younger and how I drive now.

Hopefully, the car will serve him well.  I wish him the best while he owns it, as he really needs a set of wheels to commute to and from his job.

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On other matters, I picked up my tax paperwork today and then filed these forms.  State taxes were in the range I expected, but at the low end of the range.  Federal taxes were slightly overpaid, so I will eventually get a refund which will go to my clothing budget.