Walking in the woods with the dogs is definitely something that I will miss while we are in New York for the next couple of months. It's such a peaceful part of my day, well... except when we run into some mule deer or a herd of elk or a porcupine. But even when there's a bit of drama on the walk I always return refreshed and rosy cheeked with very happy beasties. Other things I will miss are access to our pantry and kitchen equipment, amazing sunrises and sunsets, our library and DVD collection, and all of the menus and artwork that are framed upon our walls. But it is a temporary exile and one we are looking forward to with great anticipation.
This week has been tough. Things are very slow at work and knowing that escape is so close makes the moments tick by even more slowly. We are reorganizing the house and weeding through all of the magazines and articles that we didn't have time to read this past year. The wine room has been inventoried and locked up for the duration. I'll spend the day before we leave feverishly cleaning the house so that it will be a nice welcome home when we return in April. I know that there will be mice in residence when we get back, it's unavoidable in the country. But Lucky will be on his game after months in the city and they will stand no chance against our little tiger.
We're slowly compiling our list of restaurants, bookstores and marketplaces to visit back east. We've even invested in a very discreet little point and shoot camera so we can document our adventures for the blog. I am absolutely determined to make it to the giant Japanese supermarket in NJ this year. No excuses about the traffic will be tolerated. I have a (subjective) list of the best used bookstores in the city and cannot wait to see what treasures we can unearth in them. I know that Alex loves to wander through all of the chocolate shops and we can spend hours in the Mac store in Soho. Can't forget about the wine stores, I cannot wait to be able to meander through the enormous wine stores in New York and browse to my heart's content. JB Prince, Korin, Broadway Pan Handler, lots of shopping to do. It should be an interesting trip. We're still trying to put something together to meet some of our readers but a viable kitchen for entertaining may be in short supply. Perhaps we could just meet somewhere to eat & drink & share ideas. We''ll also be entertaining travel agents & hopefully some members of the press. Lots to do, and that's just the culinary aspect. The best part of all is that when we return we'll be refreshed and ready to tackle a new season in Colorado.
