I have certain friends — Vivian among them — who will send me a note to say ‘hello’ or ‘let’s get together’. After our Hanukkah gift exchange, Vivian wrote to thank me — and she mentioned that I had a certain movie I wanted to see with her. We went and “BIG EYES” did…
I met two Rhode Island School of Design alums — Clifford Selbert and his wife Robin Perkins at a send-off event for freshman students. I learned their daughter is a fan of “America’s Funniest Videos”. I invited them to see a show. Vin featured them on television … and after a few re-scheduled shows, they…
http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2014/04/chocolate-toffee-matzo-crunch/ I make a recipe my sister Annie found in the Orange County Register of all places — “Chocolate Toffee Matzoh”. It’s for Passover, and every time I make it, it gets devoured. For Hanukkah this year, my former brother-in-law Jonny requested I bring some. “Not the right holiday,” I protested, but he insisted. When…
Lynda is a decorator and her strong knowledge of powerful colors comes through in everything she does. I love her Hermes orange personalized note cards. When it came time to write her a ‘thank you’ for the beautiful candle they gave as a hostess present — I chose this new card I just got… the…
You know that feeling of trying & trying to get something on the calendar and it never quite works out? And sometimes it all magically falls into place? Darlene and her mother Vivian and I wanted to see each other to exchange Hanukkah gifts. It was almost over when I sent Darlene an e-mail —…
When I was working on a “Holocaust Memorial Pin” — at least fifteen years ago — everyone told me, “Have you met Darlene Basch?” It became such a litany that finally, at a panel at Temple Emanuel, I walked into the room for a lecture — and there, sitting up in front, was … Darlene…
Sone people have exceptionally good manners. Our neighbor Renee wasn’t able to come to our party. Bob, her husband, represented them well, and we were happy to have him as the family representative. We sent him home with a Hanukkah “popper” (those party favors that have a paper hat & little toy inside) and a…
We invited our neighbors to a party on Sunday … and the Chens have a dear friend, Hiro, who was looking at cars with all of us when we talked about the party. Of course we extended a heartfelt invitation to Hiro. When he arrived, he came bearing a red-silk wrapped bottle … and later…
After our “Neighbors’ Party” and all our neighbors had left, I got to look at the wonderful hostess gifts they had given us. Kumiko got here first, and she insisted I look at hers first. I was glad I did — the cake server on a high heel (it’s removeable magnet that attaches to the…
I don’t let myself drink a bottle I’ve received until AFTER I’ve written the note. We gave a small party for our neighbors, and Bruce and Deb brought a beautiful bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne. It’s been calling my name for days now, so it’s the first letter I’m sending out… because I have to stick…
