another eye opens

First time on a catamaran, first time handling a sea cucumber

and a giant starfish!

meanwhile, a new Japanese grocery store opened on my block, selling all kinds of things I can’t even identify

currently in the Atrium at the Museum of Modern Art, what looks like a giant Rothko canvas…

turns out to be a square of pollen laid down by Wolfgang Leib

from Whole Foods — genuine genetically modified food! a pluot is a plum crossed with an apricot. cute and tart if disturbing as a concept

my amaryllis is busting out all over….

getting more explosive every day

As previously mentioned, the week began with fire just down the hill that blazed all afternoon

here’s the view from the roof of the house in the previous shot, overlooking our friends Rick (above) and Peter’s house — the fire went right up to their property line

this field has burned numerous times — luckily, no casualties to the nearby houses — even the horses survived

Andy by the pool

front door at Vista Dos Mares

Eric (above right) came for cocktails with his partner Greg — turns out his college best friend is the next-door neighbor of Andy Holtzman (above left)

dinner at Villa Venti — aka the private home of Greg and Alex, who live in a classic Hicks house

it was hard to tear ourselves away from this

what a difference a day makes/24 little hours…

first day on the island, the ritual includes cocktail hour at Al’s Mar Azul

here’s why

Philip on his first visit from London

Michael and Andy with their property manager, Wendy

Not standard procedure — wildfire in the fields down the hill, close enough to make us worry

fires are fascinating but scary — certainly frightened the horses

Tuesday is farmer’s market day

I love seeing local produce — we got ambitious and bought some chayote (aka chow chow)

peeled it, sliced it, slathered it with olive oil and salt, and cooked it on the grill — yum!

the salad crew, or Still Life with Cocktails

Dennis is on his third or fourth visit from Michigan

I watched the DVD of Pedro Almodovar last film THE SKIN I LIVE IN — wow, creepy!

Friday afternoon in the snow, Andy and I made a long-anticipated pilgrimage to Spa Castle — we didn’t follow these hardy souls into the outdoor pools, though

Then Saturday night we did some gallery-hopping, beginning at Coates Wyllie on W. 29th Street, where the group show CHARACTER SATURATION included Rupert Nesbitt’s “Elusive Fox”

Then we taxied across town to Alexander and Bonin for Matthew Benedict’s show “Americana,” which included this beautiful collage construction titled “Silent”

Ben and Matt are old friends from school (Art Institute of Chicago)

I had never seen Matt’s work before — it’s often witty…

…and often macabre.

Andy’s favorite piece was the painting “Six of Spades”

Afterwards we had dinner at Trestle on Tenth with Jim Corbin, who stopped at Equinox to tweak the nipple of the Equinox spokesmodel

One of my pet peeves these days is people in restaurants photographing every dish that comes to the table. And here I am snapping a shot of my fish tacos at Rosa Mexicano. It’s official: I annoy myself.

IKEA art

Brooklyn trio: Dave, David, and Andy

West Coast duo: Keith and Adam

my newly painted hallway is Newburgh Green

still life with tamarind pulp