11/21/03 Rich and Ricotta; Erin, Ice Cream and WTC; Up-words @ Brian's w/Dave & GF:

Evening hours at home. Richard had just eaten a large dinner. Richard is still hungry. Richard has some leftover ricotta cheese and some lovely vanilla extract and some sugar laying around. They call his name. He responds. He puts them together, to make the basics of a pastry filling to eat as a fun dessert.

Erin and I hang out. She introduces me to an amazing flavor of ice cream. Ben & Jerry's "One Sweet Whirled." Coffee ice cream with caramel, marshmallow, and fudge chips swirled in, thus the name. We eat a pint together. She wants to show me something in the neighborhood that I've not yet seen... we walk towards Fulton Street.

She makes me close my eyes as we make a left on Fulton and head for Church. She snaps this photo as I open my eyes to see the new....

It's about to open. It's amazing to see something worth looking at in a location that has been nothing but difficult to look at for years now. And all the while, we've both lived in this neighborhood. This is our backyard! And this is the first tangible change. This is the first new structure above ground at the World Trade Center site.

Rich and I go to Brian's for a game of upwards with Dave and his girlfriend. This move is not legal in the game (you can make maximum stacks of 5). This soon collapses all over Brian's apartment.