Ithaca is Gorges.

Where did last week go? I have no idea.

This post's title comes from a popular shirt seen both upstate in Ithaca, NY and down here in NYC. One can't go for more than a few days without seeing the vivid green and the large white letters proclaiming that Ithaca is Gorges. This weekend, M. and I were upstate to attend a college friend's wedding. The weather wasn't the best, but we didn't let that damper our expedition to upstate New York where we both spent our undergraduate years. Studying at Cornell, one quickly gets used to dreary and rainy weather as that is what it does for much of the year (when not snowing of course!). Today on our way home, we drove into Ithaca and strolled down memory lane for a bit. We had hoped to walk about the campus, but it was raining too hard for that. The picture at the left shows one of the many gorges left by long-gone glaciers that dot the Ithaca landscape. The rain paused long enough for one brief photo-op, so I grabbed it!
As the rain picked back up again, we hopped back into the car and drove around. We admired the new buildings that had cropped up since our last visit, marvelled at the dedicated students up and running around on a rainy Sunday morning and then settled for a dim-sum brunch at our favorite Thai Restaurant. Visiting this restaurant while in Ithaca has become a tradition, and I can't think of a visit that hasn't included at least one meal at the Thai Cuisine. Sunday brunch is particularly special as it is menu-free and entirely dependent on the offerings that day. Served dim-sum style, it's an opportunity to taste a variety of dishes that I know I (a conservative menu-orderer who finds favorites and sticks to them) would not ordinarily try. The waiters show a variety of options, and you can choose to try any number of specialties for $2.50 a plate. We were in foodie heaven. The dishes ranged from a fried radish cake with a spicy cucumber sauce, vegetarian pad thai (their recipe is the standard to which I hold all pad thai recipes), steamed bok choy with a tamarind curry sauce, crab cakes (M.'s favorite), steamed Thai broccoli in mushroom sauce, and there were so many more that I can't even remember. We definitely didn't leave hungry.

And now we're home, contemplating another week. This week I have Curriculum Night at my school. This means at least one very late night while I present myself and my classroom to the parents of my students, as well as multiple hours of preparation. A college friend pops into town tomorrow night, and so no cooking wil be done as we meet up with people to celebrate his visit. I gave myself the goal of using my slow cooker more this year - perhaps this will be the week to get going on that pact! Have a happy Monday everyone....