New York

I had a nice three days at home between trips (that's sarcasm you detect) and now I'm here in lovely New York (no sarcasm). I think it's lovely because I'm usually here in January and August. New York in May is wonderful. We walked several blocks without shivering in the snow or sweating in the sweltering humid heat.

I'm here with our Julian Chichester company (versus Mr Brown) at the ICFF (Int'l Contemporary Furniture Fair) show. And it's quite a show. We're actually in the British Design section and there is quite a symphony of different accents all around me. They probably think I'm the one who sounds odd.

We have two great workers here with us setting up the space. One is an employee and one is our employee's friend, Jose. I've already taken a liking to Jose.

Last night we finished setting up and went to a nice dinner. We neglected to tell Elias and Jose that we were going to dinner that night and they didn't bring a change of clothes. And Jose was wearing a sleeveless shirt - which could potentially be a problem. We were discussing what to do about it and Julian said he thought Jose could wear his jacket. Now, Julian is known for his frumpy oversized velvet jackets, but Jose is a big guy. We were skeptical that it would fit, but fit it did.

So Jose got to wear one of Julian's famous jackets.

Not that fine dining is the end-all, but it was fun taking the boys to a nice dinner in NY - I know it was one of the nicest restaurants Jose had been in. He was so cute with everything.

Afterwards, I walked with them over to Times Square (Jose also has never been to NY). It was great to see his eyes light up.

I'm hoping to take them to a few other of my favorite spots in the coming days. Traveling is often a drag. I don't even like going to New York, but seeing New York through the eyes of these boys is bringing me a bit of joy.