Barn doors on Sandy's farm

Thanksgiving 2012. No Brussels sprouts, no pumpkin pie and no guests ― just us and the dogs. Practiced the piano, edited a video of Sandy Saunders making the last mowing of the season at Wing and Wing, the field below Castle Rock, the not very medieval, but never-the-less impressive wreck of a castle on the hilltop overlooking Garrison, NY. It can been seen from almost everywhere.

We walked in the sunshine on a windless day. Probably the happiest late November day I have ever spent. Cooked Pommes gaufrettes au beurre from the incomparable Jean and Pierre Troisgros cookbook, with fried turkey breasts in a sauce made from the last of a bottle of Cockburn 20 year-old Tawney port, white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice and a knob of butter. It was planned to be Madeira sauce, but Yannitelli, our local wine merchant, had run out. Glad to be a victim of the increasing popularity of this wonderful beverage, without which Washington and his generals would never have won the war.

The photograph is of the barn at Sandy Saunders' house. Pray for the mild winter to continue.

In spite of the large amount of time taken up with printing, mounting, installing and fundraising for my Newburgh Exhibition, there is time left for domestic bliss in the form of stewed red currents, as done by Mrs. Beaton, accompanied by a glass of Sauternes. The dog belongs to Sandy Saunders and is a friend of our dog Louis. He comes for visits at the week-ends. His name is Hansel.