Happy 2009!

We woke to snow on New Year's Eve -- snow globe snow -- the kind that falls and swirls and lifts and falls again. Lovely. I watched it fly from my favorite chair with a hot cup of coffee and the Christmas tree twinkling in the window.

Our second surprise of the day was a visit from Susan Borger with a giant Chinese food carton filled with scones: cherry & pistachio, candied ginger & white chocolate, and cranberry & white chocolate. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Susan and I kaffee klatch periodically and our favorite place to go is Aldo's. He roasts his own coffee, which Susan loves (not me -- too bitter), and he makes fabulous pecan & raisin scones. He moved his shop months ago and hasn't reopened, so I have been sconeless for months. Well, Aldo better watch out! He's got major competition. Susan's scones are fantastic! The scones were accompanied by a jar of Bellini jam with Proseco. (When Susan and her husband came for Christmas for dinner, we had Bombay Bellinis (champagne with mango nectar -- yum!) I am sad to say there is only one scone left. I'll be sconeless again. Many thanks, Susan for the thoughtful and delicious gift -- and for driving through the snowstorm to deliver them!

The scones fortified us until it was time to go to dinner at Ann's house in East Hampton. We hemmed and hawed about going because it was still snowing and the roads were icy. Although East Hampton is only 12 miles away as the crow flies, we have to take 2 ferries and traverse Shelter Island to get there. The desire to see Ann and Paula won over reason, so we headed out at 5 o'clock.

I haven't been on the ferries or Shelter Island for a long time -- not since Clara graduated from East Hampton's Ross School three years ago. I love riding the ferry, especially in the snow. No matter how hurried or harried I am, being on the ferry makes me stop and breathe. The sound and sight of the water is soothing, and the view of Greenport harbor from the water is wonderful. (One of my rug hooking resolutions this year is to hook a large pictorial of this scene.)

Shelter Island Heights, built as a Methodist camp around 1870, was a spectacular sight. The snow had stopped, but everything was sugar-coated and many of the old houses had Christmas lights sparkling in the windows. When we reached the South Ferry, the snow started again and was still blowing when we reached Ann's lovely little Art Deco house pictured above.



Paula and Ann were both dressed in twinkling attire -- Paula in a black and gold kimono-inspired tunic and Ann in her "Eiffel Tower" fancy shoes (they remind her of the Eiffel Tower when the light show starts!) The table was magnificent -- all gold and glitter and snowflakes!


We toasted with champagne and had a delicious dinner of crab cakes with red pepper aiolo, crisp green beans with a lemony vinaigrette, roasted potatoes and tangy cole slaw -- all very yummy. We popped the crackers and put on our crowns. I got a whoopie cushion in mine, which Clara promptly appropriated to take to the party she was attending later in the evening. (Yes, she's turning 21 in June, but who can ignore a whoopie cushion?)


Guess what dessert was? A giant snowball! How cool -- and appropriate -- is that?



I shouldn't have eaten any, I was so stuffed with everything else, but who can refuse a piece of giant snowball that's all chocolate inside? I ate every bit of it and had to refrain from licking the plate.



We watched one of Paula's favorite movies, Benny and Joon, featuring a very young Johnny Depp. It was sweet and funny and heartwarming -- the perfect way to end the old year and start the new. Thank you, Ann & Paula, for the delicious meal and our enduring, glittering friendship. Happy New Year, Everyone!