Today is Tuesday, February 7, 2023. This is the eve of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to the country at 9 p.m. So I’ll make this blog short since I would like to hear most of the address.

Elliot and I returned from visiting our friends “Peter” and “Ted” in Highland, where we spent two nights with them. Before stopping at their development in a rural enclave in Highland, New York, we spent a few minutes browsing the bookstores in New Plaza. I bought Letters to Juliette at Barner Books, located on Church Street. This is the book that inspired the 2010 film starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave in which Seyfried portrays a fact checker for The New Yorker who goes to Verona and writes a story about a letter she stumbles upon in a wall crevice in Juliette’s courtyard where people have left missives to lost loves throughout many, many years. The letter she reads, which is 50 years old, galvanizes her to reunite Redgrave with her long-lost love in Italy, a man by the name of Lorenzo Bartolini. Coincidentally, Redgrave’s lover is portrayed by her real-life husband, Franco Nero. The book probably does not contain such a story that is the impetus of the romantic 2010 film. Now I’m not sure why I bought it. But I will attempt to read it.

Our stay with our two friends was very relaxing and filled with good conversation and watching series on television I haven’t seen in a dog’s age like Let’s Make a Deal, The Price Is Right, and NCIS. We also watched two Oscar contenders: To Leslie starring Andrea Riseborough as an alcoholic woman in free fall in a small Texas town. The second film we watched was Steven Spielberg’s autographical The Fabelmans with Michelle Williams in a Oscar-worthy performance and Judd Hirsch in a memorable supporting-Oscar performance as Uncle Ben who delivers an impassioned speech to the young Sammy Fabelman, Spielberg’s fictional stand-in, to pursue his dream of making movies. Our hosts rented the films for us to watch. They are not available yet on streaming services. Now I read that it is available on Amazon Prime, but I haven’t seen it there as of yet.

The first night Peter cooked a rump roast with noodles and beets that was very delicious. We were also treated to home baked corn muffins that were light and tasty. For dessert, we had the espresso cake from Cannelle Patisserie, located in Jackson Heights. This was totally sublime. Even though I brought my own almond cake that I baked a few days ago. This we had the second day.

The second day we had dinner in a New Paltz eatery called P&G’s. Here the casual pub offers comfort food like chicken wings, potato skins, chicken tenders, hamburgers, and the like. I enjoyed a dinner of eggplant parmigiana and cream of asparagus soup, which was served in a regular coffee mug.

It’s after 9 p.m. so I should declare my blog over and out.

Who knows how long the President will speak? It could be about 2 hours long, possibly.

So stay safe and be well.