Billy Hilfiger, I wish I’d known ya! a picture and a song say a thousand words

 

 

Every now and then, some random story moves me as this did today.  My cousin posted this YouTube video as a tribute to Billy Hilfiger.  After watching the video, I wished I had known him.  The Hilfigers, yes all related to Tommy, are a large clan.  I’ve known a few of them.  Technically they lived down the street from me growing up, about 3 miles away, in Elmira NY, 1970s.

 What I like about the video is that with one lovely song and many good pictures, I feel I’ve learned something about a life, though probably unconventional and short, that was very well lived.  A picture, and a song paint a thousand words.  Rock on Mr. Billy Hilfiger, Rock on.

 

The girls, the spa, and the food

When it came right down to it, the food was delicious.

At the spa, I enjoyed a Greek wrap and Mimosa for lunch. The wrap’s flavor came from a combination of the black olives, feta cheese, and a delicious dressing lightly glazing the wrap contents.

Dinner started out disappointing because again, we could not get into the Italian restaurant across from our lodging. But, one door shuts and another opens and we went to a cozy booth in a little restaurant down the road.

My main entrée was delicious: tender pot roast resting on  a mashed potato mountain and topped with gravy. The best part of the meal were the Utica Greens, Utica Greens | SAVEUR http://po.st/IZCAFg via , L ordered for the table. Wilted greens, onions, smothered in cheese, breadcrumbs and whatever else went into this dish which I hope to make sometime soon. All this food enjoyed with a glass of Merlot and laughs as we discussed our high school days.

Breakfast, back at the spa, included delicious cups of coffee, almond croissants, homemade granola, and cut fruit.

In between our food fest events, we took spa treatments, checked into the lodge, and chatted randomly. Jobs, home decor, food, heart-break, kids, food, vacations, aging, food, family reunions, Hometown news, next spa meeting, food.

30 years earlier, my friend M and I swore off the topic of food. We would not become our  aging parents, talking about food. We would not talk about the intricacies of a manicotti recipe or the turkey stuffing or the latest food magazines.

Toward the end of one conversation I turned to M and said, “We are doing it again: talking about food.”  We had covered: manicotti, turkey stuffing, and recipe on p. 91 for escarole in the Wegmans’ food magazine.

Cest la vie.

When we went to the parking lot to say goodbye, I pulled out my bag of gifts.
For each spa girl, one homegrown spaghetti squash. We all laughed.

I thought L would already have one since she has a lush garden and had brought a gift of homemade blackberry preserves for all of us, but she did not.

We all chuckled, got into or cars, and drove in our respective directions. I’m looking forward to our next meal.