KY Derby and a week of get togethers

After flying back on Monday, we had two quiet nights at home and then it was a full week of evening plans. On Wednesday, we met up with Josephine (visiting from Paris) and Peter for soup dumplings in Chinatown...so delicious. Really nice to catch up with Josephine and I am looking forward to her move back to NYC this summer. Thursday, we went to the Tribeca Film Festival with Sara and saw the Irish film EDEN, a touching drama about marriage. This week Erik and I have both been a little under the weather. I can't figure out if it's a cold I caught from him or allergies we're both coincidentally suffering from. Friday was especially bad. I had to leave work early and head to bed for a long nap. We had plans with Aaron and Caitlin to see their new Greenpoint apartment (only two blocks away) that night, so thankfully I was feeling up to a few hours of socializing after that long rest. Their new place looks great, a large railroad with high ceilings and lovely old details.

Yesterday was the Kentucky Derby. Mike had invited us upstate to his annual party. He and Jeff have such an amazing house. Every room has been beautifully restored with antiques, richly patterned wall-paper, and stain glass lamps. It's always such a treat to go up there. We rode up with Dave, Simone, Henry, Jason, and of course little Sophie in a minivan. Dave did a great job driving through some of the densest fog I have ever seen. I was feeling foggy myself with a stuffed nose and headache. Simone saved my day with some claritin. After a few hours, I was back to my old self.

The race was exciting as usual. The favorite Big Brown won. Sadly, the second place filly (the only female horse in the whole derby) broke both of her ankles right after the finish line. Apparently this is an injury that's impossible to recover from, so they put her down right on the track.

This morning we slept in a little. Today is the NYC Bike Tour, but we are sitting it out this year. Will be fun to see all of the 30,000 bikes ride by our house though.

Posting some upstate pics, as well as one of our almost completed back wall.