Open Window

Happy 4th of July 2020 Style

4th of July 2020 Style

Growing up the 4th of July was my very favorite holiday. It was so original and festive on Cape Cod. The parade down Main Street started the day off, led by our own marching band dressed in red band uniforms with navy piping and out in the very front was the band leader dressed in white and a topcoat all trimmed with gold braid and carrying a marching baton. He was our own Music Man. The parade had a theme every year and businesses in town would create a float matching the theme. At the end of the parade, the floats would be judged and ribbons would be given for first through third prize. Clowns would walk the parade length squirting spectators with water from the flower in their lapels. A jalopy chugged down Main Street, would stop and then it would rear up on its back tires just like a rearing horse. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and local summer camps would have small groups marching carrying their insignia banner. It was very festive and a lot of fun and we knew the parade was over when we saw the single fire engine bringing up the rear.

Later on there were pancake and blueberry festivals, speed boat races on the pond my house overlooked, and sailboat races in Stage Harbor. And day ended on the 4th with the first band concert of the summer, the only one that wasn't in the bandstand in the center of town, rather it was at the sports field at the school in town, the one just below the Fire Department. This was followed by fireworks which we all watched lying on blankets facing the sky. It was a truly magical, exciting day.

The 4th of July in 2020 is quite different. Fireworks are all cancelled as are most parades. And festivals are discouraged given the challenges to social distancing. But Peter and I are celebrating our way. First we're watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" with James Cagney (the patriotic ending always makes us cry). Then we having a 4th of July feast of Alaskan Kin Crab Legs with lemon butter, Roasted Shrimp Louis, Tuna Sashimi and Black Bean and Corn Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette. 

Happy 4th of July everyone. We hope you are being creative in finding safe ways to celebrate our Independence Day!

Happy New Year One and All!

Celebrating the New Year © 2018 Peter Tooker

Here's hoping for a peaceful year for us all.

 

Happy 4th of July ... Week

Statue of Liberty at Dawn © Claudia Ward

We sincerely wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July ... week, remembering the liberties and principles upon which our country was founded.

As I was watching the Boston Pops last night, I was brought to tears listening to the Oscar, Tony and Emmy award winner Rita Moreno (86),  a woman of Puerto Rican descent describe her first sighting of the Statue of Liberty, followed by a reading from "The New Colossus". This poem was written by Emma Lazarus, a descendent of early Jewish settlers of Portuguese origin, in 1883, to be sold to raise money for the Statue of Liberty's pedestal. In 1903, the poem was inscribed on a plaque that is on display at the Statue of Liberty site for all to see. The Statue was a gift from the people of France; Americans built its foundation.

     The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

 

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

1883.

      (Written in aid of Bartholdi Pedestal Fund)"

 

Happy 4th of July one and all, from a woman of Scottish and Irish descent.

 

Oh Christmas Tree!

Photo © 2018 Claudia Ward "Oh Christmas Tree"

This past Christmas was our first in an apartment and we found there was no room inside for a Christmas Tree. Solution? Put one up outside the living room on the patio, trimmed with outdoor lights and a timer to turn them on and off.

I cannot tell you how much joy that little 5' tree gave us and how happy it seemed to be. It hardly shed any needles during the two and a half months we had it up, and that amount of time is probably the best indication of how happy it made us feel. I watered it the first two days and never had to after that. Between the melting snows and rains, that little tree was tended to just as it would have been in the woods.

We were charmed by it at the start and then mesmerized during a blizzard, and dazzled when freezing rain turned to crystal-like ice. As the days are getting longer, we finally agreed to bid adieu to our little tree. Oh what a Christmas tree it was! I hope this slideshow brings a smile to your heart.

Photos and Slide Show © 2018 Claudia Ward
Music: The C.R.S. Players "Oh, Christmas Tree!"

Cleaning Silver

For many, part of the holiday rituals is cleaning silver before the feasts, and I can honestly say I've never met anyone who has said they like doing it. We all love the shiny results but getting there is brutal. Enter big sister Pam with a process that sounds quick and easy.

"Use a roasting pan, lined with aluminum foil. Boil water and pour into the pan, add baking soda (¼ cup or more), dump in silver in a single layer and POOF, all clean." 

Peter and I happen to have inherited oodles of silver - flatware, serving platters and bowls, wine buckets, commemorative dishes, etc., so we decided to try out this "Fast in, fast out process."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom line is this does work but it is work too. Not as much as using silver polish, but there's still an effort. The two critical keys to the success of this process are:

1. the silver must be touching the aluminum foil as much as possible, and
2. BOILING water.

We filled several large stock pots and a tea kettle full of water and got them all boiling. We bought an industrial size box (4 pounds) of baking soda and a large roll of aluminum foil. You can't skimp on the latter as the process involves the transfer of all that tarnish to the foil, thus the reason why it needs to be touching as much of the silver as possible. We also found using a large "soft" aluminum roasting pan (14" x 20"), the kind you buy at the grocery store, helped a lot.

Peter lined the pan with foil, add the flatware in one layer, sprinkled them liberally with baking soda, and then did it again, foil on top of the first layer, a single layer of flatware, lots of baking soda and another piece of foil. He did as many as three layers, always ending in foil. Then, CAREFULLY pour in the boiling water. If you wear glasses they will steam up and you'll be blind so please BE CAREFUL. Completely cover the pan's contents with boiling water and then listen to the fizzing sound, that's the process at work. You may also detect an odd oder ... it's all part of the process.

Let it set about 10-15 minutes, after which remove the top layer with tongs and rinse it with clean hot water and then buff dry with a clean, soft cloth. Some residual tarnish will come off at this point. Continue removing the contents layer by layer with tongs, repeating the rinse and buff process.

Discard the hot water and the tarnished aluminum foil.

For tall pieces, we found using a large, deep bucket worked nicely, lining it with foil and then stuffing crumpled pieces of foil in and around the the pieces so foil was touching as much silver surface as possible.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see it works, and it works very well but you do have to buff each piece to remove any residual tarnish.

Polishing silver is still work, but this expedites the process, so you can get back to celebrating the holidays.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

 

Joyeux 14 Juillet!

BONNE FÊTE NATIONALE! 
Photograph watermarked A.G. Photographe  and "borrowed" from My French Neighbor

Awesome photograph A.G. Photographe! Thanks for sharing with the world.

 

Le quatorze  juillet, a.k.a. la fête national, is "national day" in France - a day spent celebrating French culture. Outside of France, outlanders often refer to this day as "Bastille Day" because this was the day in 1789 when revolutionaries stormed this formidable prison and it became the symbol of the French revolution. However, if you wish someone happy "le jour de la Bastille" (Bastille Day) when in France, they will likely be dumbfounded or may not even understand what you are talking about.

Parades, city meals, music, dancing and fireworks are just some of the festivities enjoyed by the French on this day. 

Joyeux 14 juillet à tous!

 

 

Happy 4th!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Christmas 2015

Christmas this year was quite remarkable and very unusual. Leslie, a very good friend, arrived two days before Christmas and would be with us through to the following Monday. Oh what plans we had. As most of you know we love to eat and I love to cook, so I naturally planned menus for everyday built upon requests from our guest. We also planned on showing her Montauk Lighthouse decked out for Christmas, taking her to the north fork to enjoy a meal at the oldest family-owned restaurant in the country - Claudio's, and showing her the latest endeavor that we're participating in - a pop-up gallery in Hampton Bays.

On the first night of her visit, we all went up stairs to admire the Christmas tree shining its lights out onto our balcony and coming down the stairs Les fell as she missed the last step. She was able to get herself up and with some help we got her to her room and bed, all of us believing that she was simply bruised. After a long painful night, the local fire department and rescue team carried her gingerly out to an ambulance that then whisked her off to Southampton Hospital around midday. An x-ray of her left wrist revealed a fracture and a CAT scan of her left leg showed a fracture in her tibia plateau. The hospital staff splinted her arm and braced her leg, sending her home with us on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, a nurse in the Emergency room had been able to contact the fire department and when we arrived at our front door, there were seven angels waiting for us who safely transported our guest to an office chair in the kitchen - a chair that would be her only source of mobility for the remainder of her stay. Pain pills made her injuries tolerable for the next several days, and plans now centered around keeping her comfortable, deciding when to make the journey home, and, of course, food.

As challenging and uncomfortable as this time was for Les, she kept her positive attitude and a healthy appetite. Salmon and lentils; arugula, pear & goat cheese salad with pomegranate vinaigrette; fennel, onion & mushroom galette; prime roast beef; coquilles St. Jacques; and, rack of lamb were all consumed with pleasure and appreciation. Knowing that cooking would be out of the question once she got home, we packed a cooler for her stocked with cream of tomato and turkey barley soups, ham & leek empanadas, leftover lamb, chicken pot pies, chili, and bite-sized apple muffins. For the trip across the sound on the ferry, we enjoyed a picnic of roast beef sandwiches, chips, and iced tea. Given her handicapped status we were allowed to stay in the car and they ushered us to the stern of the ferry so we'd be one of the first cars off and that provided us with a fantastic view of the crossing at water level. The skies were filled with incredible clouds and we all enjoyed our front-row seats.

Finally, at her home-base hospital, we learned that Leslie's leg would heal on its own with time and the wrist would likely require surgery but she'd need to consult with an orthopedic specialist. They released her into the care of her very good friends, and five nights after her fall, she found herself at home enjoying and sharing the meals we'd packed for her.

So this Christmas was all about food, love, and support - wonderful things to share.

 

Photos & Slide Show ©2016 Claudia Ward
Music: "Leaving Paris" by Alexandre Desplat from the soundtrack of "Julie & Julia"

2016 Calendars

The 2016 Calendars are available for sale. There are two sizes, a desktop calendar with a sturdy 3" deep standing easel that measures 11" by 6" that features a calendar and one of my wave images for each month, and a wall calendar that measures 21" inches when open and 13" wide with a strong metal spiral connecting a calendar page to a page featuring a single wave image.

Both are printed on high-quality heavy card stock, and either will look great in your house or make a unique holiday gift. The desktop calendar is available for $25 each, including shipping, and the wall calendar's price is $30 including shipping. 

If you are interested in ordering one or some of these calendars, please email me at [email protected] and I will expedite your order as soon as possible. Please be sure to include your snail-mail mailing address. An invoice will accompany your order and you can send me a check for the invoiced amount.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays and thanks for all of your support throughout the year.

2015 Calendars

 

Well it's that time of year again - time to start thinking of wrapping up one year and starting another ... and I'd like to help. Once again (and by popular demand), I have created two calendars for 2015 of my favorite subject matter: Waves. The desktop calendar (11" x 6") comes with a built in sturdy easel, the base of which is 3" deep; and, the wall calendar measures almost 21" tall when open by 13" wide.

 

Both calendars are printed on high-quality heavy card stock, and either will look great in your house or make a unique holiday gift. The desktop calendar is $30.00 which includes shipping, and the wall calendar is $35.00 and also includes shipping. If you are interested in ordering one or some of these calendars, please email me at [email protected] and I will expedite your order as soon as possible. Please be sure to include your snail-mail mailing address. An invoice will accompany your order and you can send me a check for the invoiced amount.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays and thanks for all of your support throughout the year.

Holiday Card

This was the photograph on our holiday card this year. It was taken in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris last May. I was so taken with the man in the red jacket and his remote controlled sailboat, as were the children. He was rather like a pied piper, and if you look closely, he also captured the interest of none other than Peter.

In this age of technology, I think I'm going to be migrating to online holiday greetings next year. It'll be fun to find some clever way to send a little holiday cheer.

 

2014 Calendars

As many of you know, I've been making photo calendars for a number of years and this year I'd like to share them with you, if you are so inclined. By popular demand, I've made two sizes this year, one for a desktop and one to hang on a wall. The desktop is 11" x 6" and comes with a built in sturdy easel, the base of which is 3" deep.

The wall calendar measures almost 21" tall when open by 13" wide and the photograph and the calendar are separated by a strong metal spiral. Both are printed on high-quality heavy card stock, and either will look great in your house or make a unique holiday gift. The desktop calendar is $25.00 which includes shipping, and the wall calendar is $30.00 and also includes shipping. If you are interested in ordering one or some of these calendars, please email me at [email protected] and I will expedite your order as soon as possible. Please be sure to include your snail-mail mailing address. An invoice will accompany your order and you can send me a check for the invoiced amount.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays and thanks for all of your support throughout the year.

 

A Day to Give Thanks

As I sit here once again as I do every year, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I feel the thrill I always feel when I hear a marching band. The Macy's parade has been an annual event since the 1920s and has grown more spectacular every year. It demonstrates the best in American creativity, ingenuity, and talent, and heralds itself as the official opening of the holiday shopping season, and for the very first time, Macy's will be open for shopping this Thanksgiving Day. Thankfully this gives us one more day for shopping.

In the past week, we have all been peppered with a barrage of ads for the shopping events of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the few remaining weeks until Christmas. I am having a real problem seeing the connection between retail sales and giving thanks. Couldn't we have one day, when store-doors stayed closed and we focused on each other and all that we do have - not all those things retailers want us to buy. I don't begrudge anyone making a living but sales on one single day couldn't possibly make or break a company's profitability.

Thinking about all of this, made me question what I know about the origination of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. I like most Americans know that Thanksgiving is based on a feast the Pilgrims and Indians had celebrating the bounty of their autumn harvest, but knew little more. Apparently it was Abraham Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War (1861), who declared the last Thursday in November a national day of Thanksgiving. Some how my instincts tell me that Lincoln was sincere in creating a day to truly give thanks. 

As I mentioned before, Macy's began the parade in the 1920s and Franklin D. Roosevelt (President from 1933 to 1945) moved the holiday up one week, to lengthen the holiday shopping season. The Great Depression was wreaking havoc across the U.S. so I guess no one can be blamed for trying anything to help the economy get back on track, including the commercialization of our day for thanks. And, once the precedent is set, there's no turning back, especially when it gets traction and becomes part of tradition. (BTW, Congress moved the holiday back to the last Thursday in November in 1941 because many states had refused to "extend the season".)

I really am not meaning to sermonize, despite appearances, I simply want to remind myself and those I love to remember the true purpose for this day. We are exceptionally fortunate in this country even given recent hardships like the financial crisis, floods, and super-storm Sandy and the painful ramifications thereof.

Today, Peter and I are celebrating our day of thanks with friends, enjoying the bounty of the northeast - oysters, tuna, lobster, sweet potatoes, and apples. Untraditional perhaps, but a meal caught or grown from our local waters and shore. I truly do give thanks for all we have and wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Bridgehampton Lions Club Pumpkin Carving Contest

A week ago, Peter and I stumbled upon an event that we didn't know was happening at the end of our street. Going out around dusk for a short walk before dinner, we found our street lined with parked cars just like it is during the summer and were perpelexed about what could be going on to attract so many people. Well at the end of our street is our Community House and that's where the Lion's Club was sponsoring a pumpkin carving contest. It was really well attended and the carvings were diverse, detailed, and original. Even though some were carved with stencils, the skill and techniques used to make them all were original. 

There was a pumpkin carved with amazing profiles, an owl carving, a 3D Surfer, a Mr. Peanut, a flashing cat, a one-eyed alien, a mushroom cap creation, a totem pole of pumpkins, and the Compost Zombie (a.k.a. The Walking Dead) - the winner. Fun was had by one and all, and we wanted to share a glimpse of our community life here on the east end of Long Island, after the summer people have gone.

Hope you enjoyed your Halloween.

 

Pumpkin Carving Video and iPhone Photos by Peter Tooker

Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

 

The Holiday Season in New York

There really is no place like New York City, and Manhattan to be exact, during the holiday season. Fifth Avenue is decked out in its finest - as it should be - and Rockefeller Center's ice skating rink is surrounded by musical minstrels dressed in smart uniforms. Around the corner is Radio City Music Hall and this year they had three camels - presumably for the Wise Men - waiting in the wings on 51st Street ...  now that was a surprise!

Every shop is decorated to celebrate this remarkable season and at key locations we always find Salvationists ringing their bells- and this year they were dancing on Lexington Avenue! 

  

Happy Holidays everyone!

Thanksgiving - Our Way

For the last several years we've had unconventional Thanksgiving dinners and this year was no exception - except that I think we outdid ourselves. A relative from New England joined us, so we decided on a seafood theme for our feast, and what a feast it was.

We started with an oyster shooter each, and then the appetizers began: chilled raw oysters with mignonette, oysters rockefeller (Peter's way), shrimp with remoulade and cocktail sauce, local bay scallops wrapped in bacon with a pineapple mustard dipping sauce, and deviled eggs (don't ask me how they snuck in). These were all accompanied by a lovely chilled chardonnay.

The main course was set out on the island so everyone could help themselves to: steamed lobster with melted butter, sweet potato fries with smoked chile cream, roasted asparagus and mushroom salad with toasted pecans, blue cheese and red chile-mustard vinaigrette, and Yorkshire pudding (go figure!)

If that all wasn't enough, dessert was the pièce de résistance - a homemade French apple tart with the thinnest crust I've ever made topped with .... drum roll please ... brown sugar-bourbon ice cream, enjoyed with a Sicilian Malvasia. I can honestly (and not so humbly) say this is the best dessert I've ever had. The evening was finished with a grappa and espresso.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

The Fourth of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Flags Over Newport Harbor, ©2012 Claudia Ward

I woke up curious this morning, curious about the history surrounding this national holiday - the 4th of July, a.k.a. Independence Day, so I began surfing the web for answers and stumbled upon a couple of interesting tidbits that I thought I'd share with you here.

Flags Over Nantucket, ©2012 Claudia Ward

We all believe that America's Continental Congress declared independence from Britain on July 4th 1776 but, in fact, the vote for independence occurred on July 2nd 1776 and the "Declaration" was published in the newspapers on the 4th.

American Flag on an American Eagle, ©2012 Peter Tooker, HDR

The Declaration of Independence - the document - was not fully executed until August 1776. In fact, John Hancock was the only one to provide his "John Hancock" on the Declaration on the 4th of July.

Flying the Flag on Narragansett Bay, ©2012 Peter Tooker

Presidents John Hancock and John Adams, each a signer of the Declaration of Independence, both died on the 4th of July 1826, adding meaning and significance to this special date.

Our Banner Unfurled, ©2012 Claudia Ward

The American Flag has gone through a lot of changes over the centuries. "In 1958, a history teacher assigned Robert Heft and his classmates at Lancaster High School to each redesign the national banner to recognize Alaska and Hawaii, both nearing statehood." Heft was the only one who stitched a new flag, simply adding two stars. His teacher apparently gave him a B-, to which Heft took exception. He mailed his flag to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who personally selected Heft's design to become our new banner in 1960. Heft's teacher revised his grade to an A!

 

Oh Say Can You See ...? ©2012 Peter Tooker

 So enjoy your 4th! Celebrate our independence and raise a flag or two.

 

Special thanks to The Huffington Post and TheFW for pointing me toward these tidbits.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, one and all.

Open Window's Second Year

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Mexican Train Tiles and Turtles
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself. 

The Outer Banks of North Caroline
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward taken with the iPhone using the Pro HDR App

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Spanish Mustang on the Outer Banks
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter. 

Antique Hood Ornament
Photo © 2011 Claudia Ward 

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

Light Painting for New Year's
Photo © 2011 Peter Tooker 

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.   

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories". 

  

Photos & Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker © 2011
Music: Concerto in E-flat Major for Trumpet & Orchestra: 1. Allegro Con Spirito by Wynton Marsalis, National Philharmonic Orchestra & Raymond Leppard 

 

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you thought of year two and if there is something you'd like to see more of in the coming months.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Sent from my iPhone

Reflections: Veteran's Day Flag 11/11/11

 
Reflection of a Veteran's Day Flag 11/11/11

Veteran's Day - a day to remember and thank all veteran's who have protected this wonderful country of ours and the freedom that we should all cherish. We thank you all ... for all of your sacrifices, because we know that they were not small.

 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th everyone. Enjoy the holiday and stay safe.

 

Flag Day

June 14th is Flag Day in the United States commemorating the day, in 1777, that the Second Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the flag of these united states. Who designed the original flag is subject to great dispute despite us all being told in grade school that it was Betsy Ross. It is clear that Ross was probably one of several who made flags for our young country.

As historian and author Laurel Thacher Ulrich wrote:

There is really no point in arguing over who made the first flag because there wasn't one. The stars and stripes that we know today had multiple parents and dozens of siblings. True, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a cryptic resolution specifying that "the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation," but nobody specified the shape of the flag, the arrangement of the stars, or the ratio of the canton to the field. 

An early design of the U.S. flag is now known as the "Betsy Ross flag" and had a field of 13 alternating red and white stripes with a blue canton holding a circle of 13 five-pointed stars - one star for each colony. The distinctive feature of the Ross flag was the arrangement of the stars in a circle, symbolizing no colony would be viewed above another.

Personally I believe our flag is one of the most attractive and love seeing it unfurling in the wind. Americans' pride in the stars and stripes and all they have come to mean is evident wherever you look - on city skyscrapers and country gates, on metropolitan bridges and dinghy docks, on Corinthian columns and even on a veteran's bicycle.

 Photos and slide show ©2011 Claudia Ward
Music: The Star Spangled Banner by The American Military Band

These are just a smattering of places I've seen and enjoyed our flag. How about you?

 

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend marks the opening of the "summer season" in the Hamptons - those who rent houses can take possession and those who own, aired theirs out weeks ago. The variety of people who decide to claim the Hamptons as their own for the summer is endless. Established Wall Street and corporate business types gravitate to the Hamptons to socialize together and with those in the arts and film. Middle aged couples and singles seek out the peace and relaxation that comes from removing themselves from the day-to-day grind of suburban commuting and/or city living. Young couples are attracted to the beach and barbecues, and all that means for their growing families. And the recently graduated singles find the singles-scene irresistible, as they gather to look one another over to find some fun and maybe a mate. 

These seasonal interlopers come in every size and shape, and are endlessly entertaining to observe. Some are decked out in designer wear, others supplied by Target. Some wear leather high-heeled sandals and others find plastic more to their liking. Sneakers may be pitch-black, and top-siders may be blue. Luggage could even have initials of its own. 

Every year Peter and I consider the arrival of the LIRR Cannonball train to be the official start of the season. For nearly two decades, you'd find me on that train every Friday of the year - the 3:58 p.m. out of Penn Station, arriving "on or close" to 6:15 p.m. in Bridgehampton. Once Memorial Day comes around, the railroad doubles the size of the train, from six double-decker cars to twelve, to accommodate the throngs, requiring the train to stop twice in every station. I used to strategically plan exactly where to sit in order to get off the last of the first six cars to stop, which would place me at the top of the stairs, for a quick and "painless" get-away.

The diversity of the crowds on the Cannonball was, and is, always amazing, but their excitement in anticipation of the summer to come and being in the Hamptons is palpable. They arrive on the same train and depart to their various corners of our world in everything from Mercedes to Volkswagen's - always anxious and eager to get under way. The pandemonium they create as they disembark the train in each station by the hundreds, never lasts long - generally not more than twenty minutes or so, but we find it immensely entertaining and worthy of recording - so here is a second year's recording of Friday night's arrival of the Cannonball in Bridgehampton.

 Photos and slide show ©2011 Claudia Ward
Music: Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi

So what do you think?

 

Valentine's Day

A day to celebrate love - new and old. 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette

I love this new trend of using vinaigrettes on cooked vegetables which you can find nearly everywhere these days. The vinaigrette replaces the more commonly used butter and brings with it a lot more flavor and texture to complement the primary vegetable. Perusing November's bon appétit, I found this recipe for Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette. I made it for Thanksgiving and it was declared "A Repeat" which in our family vernacular means, "Please, make it again".

Finding dried cherries was a bit of a challenge and worth the search, but if you can't find cherries, I'd imagine that dried cranberries or even golden raisins might be acceptable substitutes. Toasting the walnuts is simple, just place them in a dry skillet and toast over a medium-high flame for 3-5 minutes, shaking the skillet to toss or turn the nuts. Do not leave the nuts, for they can burn. These beans can be made a day ahead, are delicious served at room temperature or chilled, and are great left over. So what's not to like about that?

Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette
Makes 8 Servings 

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup dried tart cherries
1½ pounds trimmed slender green beans (such as haricot verts)
½ cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
=======================================

• Whisk first 7 ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix in the dried cherries; set aside. DO AHEAD: Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature; rewhisk before using.
• Fill large bowl with water and ice; set aside. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water or steam them, until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes (or more if you prefer). Drain. Transfer beans to bowl with ice water; cool. (This step stops the cooking and intensifies the color of the vegetable.) DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap beans in paper towels; enclose in a resealable plastic bag and chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.
• Toss green beans, walnuts, and vinaigrette in large bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Serve.

If you need another vegetable for the holiday side board, try these, they will not fail you.

 

Holidays In New York

Everything dresses up for the holidays in New York - the buildings, the boats and of course, the Christmas Trees. Dressing the columns of the New York Stock Exchange in lights depicting the American Flag began in 2001 - the Christmas after 9/11 and continued for eight years. That became one of my favorite holiday decorations, especially because it was in "my hood". The South Street Seaport puts christmas trees on all of the tall ships and even some tugs, elegant Fifth Avenue shops wrap themselves up as gigantic presents or cinch themselves in golden belts, and of course, Rockefeller Center brings out life-size toy soldiers to herald the season's Greetings.

When we posted Harbour Lights earlier this week, a friend who is a former New Yorker and now an ex-pat in the English countryside, said she'd "love to see some more shots of the city at holiday time." Well, this one's for you Deb, I hope you enjoy them.

  Photos ©2006 Claudia Ward
Music: Guillâume, prends ton tambouri by The Christmas Revels

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!

Apple-Sausage Stuffing

Everyone loves the traditions of holiday meals, but each generation likes to put their own spin on the traditional classics, at least that's the way I felt years ago when I first began hosting holiday gatherings in my home. Stuffing is one of these classics and in our family it was always very simple - day old bread with sautéed onions and celery, melted butter, and poultry seasoning.

When I ran across this recipe for Apple-Sausage Stuffing years ago, I couldn't resist. Who doesn't like sausage, apples, bacon, and mushrooms? Answer ... my father, oh well. Everyone else has loved this version of the stuffing classic. I made it yesterday and Peter couldn't keep his spoon out of the pot. This recipe is easy and the results are yummy whether you stuff a bird or cook it outside in a casserole. If you're looking for a variation on a theme, try this one - you won't be disappointed.

Apple-Sausage Stuffing
Makes enough stuffing for a 10-to-12 pound turkey

1 pound link sausage
10 slices of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
½ pound mushrooms, sliced
2 apples, cored and diced (hard apples like Red Delicious)
1 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon each sage and ground thyme
1 loaf (1 pound) firm-type white bread cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups of chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
=======================================

• In a medium-size stock pot, fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel, cool and then crumble. Drain off some, but not all, of the bacon fat.
• Add sausage to the pot and brown on all sides. Remove sausages and cut into 1-inch pieces. 
• Return the bacon and sausage to the pot.
• Add onion, celery, mushrooms, apples, parsley, and herbs. Sauté; stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the bread cubes and chicken broth.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Pour mixture into a bowl, cover and cool.
• Stuff turkey, loosely (do not pack it in tightly), with the mixture just before placing in the oven. Stuff body and neck cavities; sew or skewer openings. Tie legs together and turn wings under body. Cook turkey according to your preferred method or place stuffed turkey on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in a preheated moderate oven (350℉) for 20 minutes to the pound. N.B. Once the turkey is cooked, remove all of the stuffing from the bird, never leave it inside the bird ... you don't want to get sick.
• If you'd rather not stuff a bird, spoon the stuffing into a well greased 2-quart casserole and place in the oven along with the turkey for the last hour of cooking.

 

Harbour Lights in Downtown New York

Downtown New York holds a special place in my heart, as many of you know. It just suits all my sensibilities - the narrow streets, the architecture, the history, and easy access to views across the waters of the Hudson River, New York Harbor, and the East River. Perched above the East River, set deep in the South Street Seaport, is one of my favorite places in all of New York - Harbour Lights, a restaurant with one of the all time best views in the city, hands down.

Harbour Lights is on the third floor of Pier 17, tucked securely into the northeast corner of the building. Peter and I have been going to Harbour Lights for years and were so glad when we saw it reopen after 911. We've loved sitting out on the deck on a summer day, enjoying a lobster salad but even more enjoying the panoramic view of Brooklyn, the river with its three southern bridges - the Brooklyn, the Manhattan and the Williamsburg, and lower Manhattan. Spectacular on any day, this view is breathtaking at night when all the lights of these burroughs and bridges come up, and on a crisp evening around the holidays, there's no more festive location. Harbour Lights dresses itself elegantly in garland and white lights in December, but never seems to detract from the city just beyond it's picture windows. 

Peter and I met friends here last week and of course Peter came with cameras in hand. He couldn't wait to see how HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography would reveal parts of the city we both love. We sincerely hope you feel the festiveness of the holiday season in downtown New York.

 

Photos @2010 Peter Tooker; Slide Show by Claudia Ward & Peter Tooker 

New York's Thanksgiving Day Parade

I have lived in New York City, on the island of Manhattan, for 27 of my adult years, and in all that time I attended Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade only once, just two years ago, and boy did that make me regret not going before! I'd heard many a friend talk about seeing the balloons being inflated on the upper west side the evening before, and the incredible joy and excitement that is in the air on the day of the parade, but none of that ever enticed me away from watching the parade on television, as I have every year of my life. What a shame because I can honestly say it was one of the most wonderful experiences ever. 

I polled a number of people in advance to determine where it would be best to stand. Hating crowds and not being very tall, I was hoping to find a vantage point that would afford us a fairly unencumbered view and the ability to photograph the floats, balloons, and, of course, Santa and his sleigh coming to town. I know I was asking a lot, but a girl can hope. The best advice we thought we'd received was to go up to the 70's, get on the park side of Central Park West and perch on top of one of the gigantic rocks - that would separate us from the crowd and create a good vantage point.

On Thanksgiving morning we targeted to be on the upper west side about an hour before the parade started which was a mistake. The subway left us on the west side of the avenue and there was absolutely no way to cross Central Park West; it was completely barricaded off and lined with police. We meandered north along Columbus Avenue which runs parallel to the parade route and saw the balloons queued up along 77th Street on the south side of the Museum of Natural History. Thinking we might be able to cross to Central Park if we continued walking north, we eventually came across the another queue of balloons along 81st Street. But it was still painfully evident that we weren't going to be allowed to cross to the park. We didn't know it immediately but eventually it became clear that we were smack dab in the middle of the staging area for the entire parade.

You see, the parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West, and all of the floats and people stand at the ready along Central Park West, and the balloons float patiently together along 77th and 81st Streets. Faced with impenetrable crowds of clowns, jesters, pirates, cowboys, elves, dolls, band members, and balloon handlers, and hearing the announcers starting the parade, we stopped in our tracks and looked around, and to our immense satisfaction found that we were inside the grounds of the Museum of Natural History at the corner of 81st and Central Park West. From here we could see over half of the parade's participants waiting to be called to "Join the Parade". It was wonderful watching all these characters "before the curtain went up". We saw two cherry pies sharing breakfast from a paper bag and another one taking pictures, two brightly clad clowns dancing together under the sun, and the Raggedy Andys admiring Kermit the Frog as he turned from 81st Street. 

Set back from Central Park West and 81st Street, we could watch and photograph the happenings on each with not a single soul in front of us to impede our view or dampen our joy. So we hope you enjoy the slide show of that wonderful morning - but remember it's still no substitute for the real thing. There's real magic in the air in New York, New York on Thanksgiving morning - try to experience it at least once in your life time.

 Photos and Slide Show ©2010 Claudia Ward; Peter Tooker, Production Assistant

Music: New York New York by the Broadway Kids

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Happy Easter

Photo by Peter Tooker 2010 ALL RIGHT RESERVED 

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you young (and older) lovers out there! 

This is the window of one of our favorite local restaurants, all dressed up to mark this holiday.