I HATE NEW YORK

Everyone is asking if we  miss NY . . . we spent Sunday with our LI family and they all want to know if we want to return to NY.  HA  HA  HA  HA      GOOD GOD NO NO NO NO NO

From the minute we hit Staten Island on our trip up from MD and ran into the bumper to bumper traffic for the next 4 hours we knew we had made a good move when we sold the house up here and moved to paradise. Going to the shower on Saturday wasn't too bad but there just isn't a thing out here that I miss.

The baby shower was WONDERFUL and my friend Jeanne must have spent a fortune on food. The shower was at a restaurant in Rocky Point and they started serving food about 15 minutes after the guest of honor arrived and never stopped serving for the next 4 hours.  Sharon and I were helping with gifts and games and never really sat down to eat but we were so stuffed anyway.  Any time we did sit down there was something new to try and every dish was better than the last. Baby mommy was so happy that there were so many people there for her and it took her hours to open all the gifts.
Every time I go to a baby shower I am amazed at the gifts that the mommies receive. There are things out on the market that I could never have imagined when I was having babies. It sure is different.
After the shower Sharon and I helped cart gifts back to Jeanne's house and then stayed a while to chat with Jeanne and Frank. By the time I came back to AM's I was done.
Sunday we got up and went to mass and then went over to our nieces house for a family gathering. My niece Colleen has a fabulous house and she never hesitates to open her door to host family parties. All the nieces and nephews were there with their children ranging in age from 3 to 17. How great to see them all and spend the day laughing and eating. There is a flaw in Aunt AM's family in that they can never get the right amount of food for a gathering. There is ALWAYS way way too  much food. Especially dessert!  I may not eat for another week after all the food that was there yesterday. The very best dessert that was served was a creation of Aunt AM's grand daughter Rachael . . . This young lady made up a batch of TO DIE FOR goodies.  She took Oreo cookies, smashed them up into crumbs and mixed those crumbs into 8 oz of soft cream cheese. This mix was rolled into 1 inch balls and then dipped in melted chocolate and let cool.  OMG!  Best dessert I have had in ages. I can't wait to have a party so I can make these things.

Today we took a ride across Long Island to visit Ger's cousin Loretta. Loretta and her partner in crime, Mary, are Sisters of St. Joseph and have been best buds for the past 60 years. They met in the convent when they were both novices and have worked together teaching and then as missionaries in Appalachia. They are the most amazing women I know and now that they are retired and living in  the Mother House of their order they are still active in their community. We had to leave their place before 3 so we wouldn't  be in traffic on our way home. Apparently after 3:00 the roads are filled with school buses and so much traffic you can't get from point A to point B in less than an hour.

Nope,  we don't miss New York in the least and I am already looking forward to getting out of here.