All as planned--and more

Dear family and friends,

We all had a very good day. Laury had driven home from Cold Spring (80 miles) yesterday morning but was ready to drive into NYC. Merwin had her drive his car, which keeps him relaxed sitting in the front seat.

I had prepared for breakfast the evening before by making a variation on my usual blintzes, filling only, and a recipe in the cookbook Anna sent me: 1 package salt-free farmers cheese, an 8- oz package cream cheese, and 1 C of ricotta, mixed together with 2 eggs and the juice of 1/2 lemon, poured into a loaf pan. I popped this into the oven about an hour before I expected Merwin and JR to join me for breakfast. Served with frozen rasberries, jam, sour cream and plain yogurt, it made a nice breakfast. The extra cheeses made the mix stick to the pan as farmers cheese alone does not do, so if I make this richer version again, I will butter the loaf pan thoroughly. Merwin takes on the job of scrubbing afterward.

Merwin made three turkey sandwiches for himself, JR and Laury: we ate these in our NYC apartment. On Sundays, cars can park free on our street, but during fashion week, as it is now (for the last time we hope), it is hard to find a spot: we squeezed into one close to a truck. Merwin put a note on the car saying where we live, and eventually someone who needed to unload the truck contacted the doorman, and we had to move the car to a spot right in front of our building. Not bad.

We went to the NYPL where we found the Allen Room empty. So Laury and I looked around the room while Merwin and JR went to copy some pages from the book I needed. JR had never been inside the NYPL before, so it was fun for him to see the great expanses and gorgeous reading rooms. Then he went to wait for a return at the Duke Theater. The rest of us joined him close to 3, and found that he had gotten a seat. So we were happy to be there for Measure for Measure.

We liked the production very much. Ironically, though I have lots of trouble sleeping whether at night or when I try during the day, I have no trouble in the theater. I drop off into deep moments of blissful sleep. But I don't want to sleep when I am trying to watch a play. Since Laury and I are editing MM, I wanted to be attentive to every moment that we might record in our performance notes. Later today I will be writing up the notes I took, but I wonder if I shouldn't try to see the performance again. We liked it very much, and I want to do it justice.

Laury wanted to meet her friend Steve for supper after the play, and I thought I could try it. We made a reservation at my favorite, Szechuan Gourmet, which is right around the corner from us on 39th Street. They know me there as "Bernice," so in spite of its being Chinese New Year, we got a table for five and had a fantastic meal: 3 appetizers and 5 main dishes for under $100.

Then home and bed. I had held up all day, a real blessing not only for me but for all those who wanted me to be there with them.

Now I am off to the gym; Merwin will go to his workout later, and JR will sleep in.

Love to all,
Bernice