Spoiler Alert-If you are one of the very few people who do not know how "The Sopranos" ended, and you do not want to know, do not read this blog.   I cannot believe that it has been twenty years since “The Sopranos” first aired. I admittedly only watched the first episode because my Mother told me to. One of the producers of The Sopranos-Brad Grey-was a close friend of my family. I originally checked out the show at my Mother’s request, to see what Brad was up to. I did n...

My husband and I did not watch Game of Thrones when it began airing. For years my daughter has been telling my husband and I that we were really missing out, that we would love it. After my other daughter got married her husband joined in, also telling us that we would love it.   As the years went by, we were tempted to start watching it, but the time commitment seemed overwhelming. During Thanksgiving, however, my nephew and brother-in-law joined the chorus, telling us it w...

  World Cup fever. Did you have it? Our home did. And anticipating Sunday’s 11:00 a.m. final I bought all of the ingredients for a huge breakfast so we could enjoy the final game over a family breakfast.     It has always amazed me how the rest of the world is transfixed and emotionally connected to soccer (football). The scenes of highly emotional fans reacting to their country’s games throughout the world were astounding. Yet here, in the United States, soccer does not...

Today, I am all about surprises. Yesterday, my husband and I threw our eldest daughter a surprise bridal shower and, even though there were slip-ups, i.e. text messages not meant for her sent in a group family text, I think we pulled it off. She had a fabulous day and she seemed, genuinely, surprised.   For me, planning the party was more fun than I expected. I really enjoyed planning a party for someone else. I loved figuring out what restaurant she would most like to have ...

My family uses Verizon for our television access. We have premium access, allegedly the best package with the greatest amount of television  stations. Apparently, that is no longer sufficient.   I had read about the television series “The Handmaids Tale,” over a year ago while it was still in production. The book ranks as one of my favorite books of all time, so I was very excited for the release of the television series. I was shocked to learn that it would only be released ...

I am unsure whether what I am about to write is currently politically correct but I was very saddened to read about the closing of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I have very vivid happy memories of going to the circus with my parents and then with my own children.   As a child I loved the clowns. But one of my most enduring memories of the circus is the small rectangular flashlight on a necklace that I asked my parents to buy me every year. While at the circus...

Today I am thinking about hang-overs. Probably because I have one. We spent Saturday night at my sister-in-law’s fiftieth birthday party at Dockers in Quogue. It was a fabulous time but, as I am writing this on Sunday morning, I am feeling the pain now.  I have a very low tolerance for alcohol; one glass on an empty stomach and I am in pain the next day.   Hang-overs are also on my mind as today is my youngest daughter, Sydney’s, twenty-first birthday. Sydney is spending the ...

It happened on Saturday. We were on our friend’s boat watching The Blue Angel’s airshow. The sky was clear blue and the weather on the water was incredible. There was the subtlest breeze so it wasn’t too hot or too cold. And the airshow was astounding. Surrounded by family and friends I couldn’t help but look around and think, “What a perfect moment. I am so lucky to be here.”   Have you had a perfect moment lately? What was it?     Happy Memorial Day Gotham! And thank you ...

With the untimely passing of Prince this week, many musicians have been interviewed as to how  he influenced their career and music. What I find most impressive, however, are the numerous lay people who are speaking out about how his lyrics and music impacted them.   During my senior year of high school, my parents were pressuring me to attend college locally and live at home. I knew I really wanted to go away to school and live in a dorm room, but felt very torn by my parent...

  I know the whole Tom Brady/Deflategate controversy is fundamentally over, but I am still curious as to what people thought about it. Essentially, Tom Brady was reinstated only because the Judge found that the NFL did not follow the procedure required by the collective bargaining agreement. No decision was made by the Federal Court as to the facts of the matter, i.e. whether Tom Brady knew what was happening and whether he acted appropriately in throwing away his cell phone....