Fishy dinners in Ayvelik

Here's my simple dinner of fried sardines and a salad. It's been fish and salad for me every day because, you know, kebabs are not really my style.

Fıgs, anyone?

Fıgs are 2 Turkish lira a kilo, or 63 cents a pound and perfectly ripe and succulent!

Clearly, the cats run this town

Cats are everywhere in Istanbul and everyone, it seems, has a favorite stray that they feed. The cats also engage in commerce, like this very special Van cat with one green eye and one blue eye at a fabric store in the Grand Bazaar. Annoyed by the attention she was receiving, this cat leapt onto her perch and glared at her crowd of admirers. Her owner stroked her cheek and she promptly snapped at him. What attitude!

I met another cat at the Aya Sophia who was guarding a "No Entry" portion of the museum.

I imagine that if you tried to enter, she would bite your ankles!

Where in the World is Kutlwano now?

Answer: Istanbul!
It's time for another little trip, so it's off to Turkey that I go. While I would have loved to go to India, J. vetoed it as too potentially hazardous and if there is anything he requires, it's peace of mind. So Turkey it is, for five weeks. I expect the food will be delicious and the ruins will be impressive. Possibly, there will be lovely beaches and maybe even a Greek island or two to visit.

As an added bonus, my friend Jenny is spending the first bit of her honeymoon in Istanbul due to Hurricane Irene related itinerary changes and I will get to see her for the first time, as a married woman! (She and her husband eloped). Jenny was my roommate my senior year of high school and we've stayed in close touch. I'm amazed that we've managed to see each other at least once a year since then, although we have always lived in different cities and sometimes different countries.

Opening Day at the US Open

On my last day in New York before embarking on another trip, I visited the opening day of the US Open with my friend Amy. As always, there were courtside cocktails, shopping at the Ralph Lauren store and the best tennis in town. We watched both Mardy Fish and Maria Sharapova--a young giantess--dispatch their opponents.

It was a beautiful day at the US Open, with nary a sign that Hurricane / Tropical Storm Irene had just passed through the day before. While my brother Chris, a real tennis fan, was supposed to accompany me, he didn't make it home from a wedding in Chicago due to Irene-related delays. Too bad for him but lucky for me: I got to hang out with my friend Amy instead, on what happened to be her birthday!

Pickles, peaches and peppers

It has been a long, wonderful summer here in New York. Not only that, it has been an immensely bountiful summer. I've visited produce auctions in Pennsylvania and jarred lots of vegetables for the coming winter. Here, below, is my most recent produce auction purchase: tomatoes for 5.00 a box and peaches for 8.00 a box. All total, with the help of my mother and friends, I've canned:
56 jars (pints and quarts) of hot, spicy dill pickles (clearly, I got a little carried away with the pickles)
26 quarts of spicy tomato sauce
19 jelly jars of strawberry jam
8 pints of peach chutney
8 jelly jars of black raspberry jam
2 quarts of hot peppers (for J, on a whim)

It's going to be a delicious winter!

Southeast Asia Top 14

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Southeast Asia:

Beach, Phu Quoc
Lotus Flower, Phu Quoc
Chris on his motorcycle, Phu Quoc

I spent many hours lounging by this pool in Phu Quoc

Hotel, Phu Quoc

The incredibly clear waters of Phu Quoc

Hat vendor, Hanoi

Temple of Literature, Hanoi

H'mong village, Sapa

This temple seems to be glowing in the morning light

People picking lice out of other people's hair, bas reliefs, Bayan

A moody sunrise at Angkor Wat

Chris on the early morning ferry to Surithani
A flower market in Bangkok