We are pretty much unpacked in Providence. We are waiting for the Salvation Army to come to pick up 15 boxes of stuff we were sure we needed and had room for. We needed to be in a place that was clean and familiar and relaxing. And where better to celebrate the 4th of July than Newport? And who better to celebrate with than Andy & Neal, fresh from their honeymoon in Cape Breton Island.

Carol and I drove down on Wednesday evening, bringing with us food and drink for a small legion. Thursday, Neal and Andy drove down, arriving at 1:00 PM. We were joined by Steve and Naomi Schorsch-Stein, new arrivals in town (he beginning the program in Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, and she a former student of Carol and daughter of Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor at JTS. They have three wonderful children, 5, 3, and four months. Carol outdid herself for lunch, with a barbecue of hamburgers, hotdogs, and veggieburgers, along with her fabulous potato salad, a fava bean--corn salad, a salade ordinaire, and excellent fruit and brownies for dessert. We served mimosas. It was hot, really hot. We had turned on the air conditioning for the first time ever the night before. It was 90° in Newport and muggy, and it was 94° and muggy in Providence. Some said it hit 105° at the airport. We all went to the pool, which was not too crowded. Even the water in the pool was hot...well, too warm, anyway. In the evening, we waited for the fireworks, which were the best ever, right off Goat Island in front of Fort Adams. The city fathers outdid themselves, as most communities did this year, sending up a barrage of what I call "Fuck you, Osama!" fireworks.

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Friday morning, I drove into work, while Carol and the boys went strawberry picking and for a hike in the Norman Bird Sanctuary. In the evening, we lit candles, made Kiddush (ayshet hayil), and had wonderful barbecued chicken and tempe.

On Saturday, Janet drove down with Evie and Bess for lunch. Once again, Carol outdid herself, with some hors d'oeuvres of crêpes of smoked salmon, an olive taponade, a salade niçoise splendide with fresh very expensive tuna that I overcooked (mea tuna culpa), and a stupendous gâteau au chocolat with fresh fruit. And more mimosas.

Andy & Neal showed their wedding photos.

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After Janet and the others left, we had a blind taste testing of five single-malt scotches, including one from Cape Breton Island that Neal and Andy brought me for my birthday. We went out for supper at the very excellent Buon Appetito in Middletown, an Italian restaurant with a Vietnamese owner/chef. Great pasta! Andy and Neal drove back to New York (actually to New Jersey to visit with Tracey and Jeff and their kids), and we went to bed.

On Sunday, Carol dug up a bed in the front yard in which to place our sculpture of strange bird made of farm implements and tools that we had in our front yard at 150 Upton. I took off what rust I could with steel wool and sprayed it with primer. I'll finish painting it next week. We stopped at Home Depot and picked up an extra medicine cabinet for one of our bathrooms and returned to the apartment for a bit more unpacking.