Category Archives: Family

Pinching the Mums (Stillwater Diary)

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Mark Stern

My wonderful, clever mother, Doris, grew up in a small, three-story apartment building, owned by her parents, on New Main Street in south Yonkers. My grandfather’s tailor shop (a child’s wonderland) occupied the ground floor. When my parents bought their … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Photos | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Star-Spangled Crème Pâtissière Redux

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Mark Stern

Last year, Mark made the confection, adapting a “scintillating strawberry” recipe by Jacques Torres, to celebrate Julie and her newly acquired American citizenship. This year it’s to celebrate our country–its goodness and resilience. “All men are created equal,” originally referred … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Food, Friends, Photography, Photos | Tagged | 12 Comments

15 1/6

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Mark Stern

Leo’s scary episode of digestive distress, which began on April 7, routed all of us to the vet in Hurley last Monday for an all-day visit that stretched into an anxious overnight at the Kingston emergency hospital. He began to recover in the late afternoon … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, Family, Photography, Photos | Tagged | 6 Comments

Mary Tyler Moore 1936-2017

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Mark Stern

Mary Tyler Moore, the pioneering and iconic actress, who “turned the world on with her smile,” died today in Greenwich, CT. She was 80. Moore’s eponymous series (for which she won her three of her six Emmys) was must-see TV in my … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Photography, Photos, Television, www.robinholland.com | Tagged | Leave a comment

Women’s March on NYC: I Had All My Sisters With Me

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Mark Stern

Brothers too (the march, like NOW,  for women/women’s rights, but not exclusively of women), and wonderfully, lots of nieces and nephews. Spitting distance from Trump Tower, the march ended, everyone routed east or west on 55th Street. A young guy (who had been inventing chants, … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Friends, History, Photography, Photos, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Reading and Riding

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Mark Stern

We all feel happy. There are two dogs on the 1, a Yorkie squirming out of her stylish carrying bag, and the other, small and soft with a sweet face, sitting on the floor, semi-hidden between her mom’s knees. To my … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, Family, Friends, Literature, Photography, Photos | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Deconstructing the Sofa (Working Like a Dog)

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Mark Stern

I never liked Mark’s high-backed Vico Magistretti sofa. But all four of our Labs have considered its red wool the ultimate in comfiness for nap time. Before we realized how much we’d accommodate our dogs (happily, with love), and how much physical, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, Family, Friends, Photography, Photos | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Leo Saved From Drowning* (Stillwater Diary)

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Mark Stern

Leo, standing in the water, looked up at me. I’m trained, and threw the tennis ball across the swimming hole toward the big, flat rock–not that far (I don’t have a mighty arm). He swam easily but had difficulty getting his mouth around … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, Family, Film, Friends, Photography, Photos | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Real Life, Dream Life

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Mark Stern

Had I not loved my mother profoundly and had she not died 13 years ago (seems like forever, seems like yesterday), I would still have been mesmerized and moved by Italian auteur Nanni Moretti’s beautiful film “Mia Madre.” Margherita (Margherita Buy, wonderful), a … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Film, Photography, Photos | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sociopathy: Big Screen (Art) and Small (Not)

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Mark Stern

Hypnotic actor Brady Corbet’s unnerving directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” which he co-wrote with Monica Fastvold, proceeds with increasing dread, in counterpoint to its sumptuous photography (by Lol Crawley) of the dark and elegant rooms of a large provincial French house and the lovely landscape. Prescott (Tom … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Film, Photography, Photos, Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments