Welcome Guests!

One of my favorite photos, which I keep in my study. Barry Kraft in 2000, at Ashland Oregon's Shakespeare Festival where he was an actor, dramaturg, and director, watching the actors onstage while holding the Three-Text Hamlet, which I invented with Paul Bertram, and which I prepared for publication using Quark Xpress.



Dear Family and Friends,

Lovely hot day yesterday but we were comfortable inside with our Mitsubishi air conditioners, installed last fall. They are so nice and quiet.

The big event of the day was a brunch for Barry, his bride Jessica, her father Jack, and Phe, my friend of over 50 years. I wrote about Barry and Jessica yesterday and included a link to their photos from the Galapagos. A good time was had by all, certainly by me! It's thrilling to me that these friends, old and relatively new, could come for brunch. After about 10 days in DC, partly to celebrate Jessica's brother's wedding, they will return to Jack's home, and we can hope to see them again.

After asking Jessica if the only other meal they have had here—a year ago or so—was brunch, and getting the negative answer, I told her I was then free to bring out the old chestnut for this brunch: baked eggs and cheese, the dish Merwin's mother's family brought with them when they came to the USA from England in 1903.

Nephew Mike has been making baked eggs regularly for his family since visiting here last summer:Congratulations Mike! on the new grandchild, Connor, making it three girls (Jeremy's children) and two boys (April's children). Go, Mike! Congratulations, Dinah!

At the brunch there were also by popular demand, mini-bagels, lox, cream cheese; spinach Pie, courtesy Sophie (this gets better and better, Sophie), and a new dish, a spin-off on a Bittman recipe. His called for day-old cooked Jasmine rice: I used coos-coos. His called for finely sliced garlic sauteed till they were crisp and brown and the same treatment for peeled, finely sliced fresh ginger. These were to be passed around as an optional extra: I folded them right into the coos-coos. Similarly, he called for sesame oil and light soy sauce to be passed around; I mixed in a very small amount of each. What I skipped altogether were the eggs Bittman used: we already had enough eggs.

Jessica suggested a ginger soup to match that at Sherwood's perhaps. I am going to try it soon. Process ginger and about 3x the amount of carrots, add water, and cook till vegetables are the consistency you want. Is this right, Jessica? I think we should go to Sherwood's today and check out their version—and then go on from there. I think I just want to get out for lunch with Rachael today.

One strange thing: at the Galapagos, people throw postcards into a barrel in a store and visitors from around the world shuffle through to find anyone from their home town and post the card when they get home. Or hand deliver the card if it's really close by. We got not a postcard but Barry's very short letter celebrating Shakespeare's birthday (23 April) on a scrap of paper. Someone had picked it out of the barrel and was kind enough to send it to us in an envelope. I think this came from the Mid-West, St. Louis perhaps. Unfortunately, I didn't save the envelope, but I have Barry's Galapagos letter along with a pile of other things from him: Barry has good ideas that I have incorporated into hamletworks.org, and he has also corrected errors in the Three-Text book. It's an amazing thing, the friendships that result from Shakespeare.

After a long nap, I had lots of backs and forths with the hamletworks.org team, arriving next Thursday. Final details still to be worked out: how to use the air train to get to Jamaica and hence to Glen Head or wherever is easier; who gets which of the guest beds; and, for me, planning an agenda—and the meals!

Now it's time for my walk in the neighborhood or my bicycle. Looking forward to a cooler, pleasant day with Rachael visiting.

Love to all,
Bernice