1 Here I am with Andy Ricker - the chef/owner of Pok Pok and Hannah Milman - MSLO's SVP, Exec Editorial Director, Crafts. Andy opened his first restaurant, the original Pok Pok, in Portland, Oregon in 2005. He now runs multiple restaurants on both coasts.

2 Hannah is friends with Matthew Adams - director of operations at Pok Pok NYC. Posing with Matthew and Andy

3 Hannah and Matthew - We had all been wanting to dine at Pok Pok and we were very happy that this evening finally came to be.

4 We were seated at the best table in the house right below Hing Phra, the house altar. Here I am with Hannah Millman, Ian Berry, and Kate Berry. Kevin Sharkey was taking the photo.

5 Hannah's camera purse!

6 This is the Hing Phra. Upon the altar is a Buddha statue, placed by Monks during an opening ceremony. The offerings to the Buddha often include fruit, rice, flowers, and something to drink.

7 The Pok Pok Bar

8 A simple setting at the bar – Thai melamine side plates, stainless steel water cups, and the standard Thai table setting of a spoon and a fork - the spoon is used for eating the food and the fork is used to push the food onto the spoon.

9 This is Nang kwak, the beckoning lady, bringing good fortune to the business. An offering of water and candy is placed next to her.

10 And this doll, holding a water jar, is a symbol of welcome. There's also a bunch of very tasty whiskey on the shelf!

11 Beer Lao, the national beer of Laos, is made in a government-owned and run brewery. This lager is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, beers in Southeast Asia.

12 Bowls were brought to the table with bags of Thua Thawt Samun Phrai, which are house-roasted red peanuts with kaffir lime leaf, dry chiles, fried garlic, and sea salt.

13 Thua Thawt Samun Phrai, a very tasty concoction, is a common bar snack in Thailand.

14 This tasty dish is Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings with Vietnamese table salad - cu cai (pickled carrot and daikon), cucumbers, lettuce and rau ram (Vietnamese coriandar). Pok Pok uses traditional and not commonly found herbs, giving an authentic flavor to the dishes.

15 The chicken wings were great with a nice cold beer!

16 Andy Ricker is considered to be one of the leading American voices on Thai cooking and he now has a much-anticipated debut cookbook of 70 of the most popular recipes from Thailand and his Pok Pok restaurants. These bottles are Pok Pok Som drinking vinegar.

17 We were given a sampler of Pok Pok Som drinking vinegars - Thai Basil, Ginger, Pineapple, Honey, Pomegranate and Tamarind. Mixed with 4 parts soda water to one part drinking vinegar, it makes an excellent aperitif. Drinking vinegar for health reasons is an age-old practice around the world. These were all delicious and refreshing!

18 We ordered Laap Pet Isaan - Minced Duck salad (laap) from the northeast of Thailand, with lots of herbs, toasted rice powder, lemongrass, and fried duck tongue. The flavors were deeply intense and good.

19 Laap Meuang - Northern Thai minced pork salad (laap) with complex spice mixture, pork offal, fried pork skins, fried garlic and shallots, and herbs. Wow!

20 Raw vegetables and herbs to eat with the laap. The purple stem is from the lotus plant. Also on the plate - Thai olive leaf (sour), Thai basil, khao tong (fish herb), phak phai (rau ram in Vietnamese), rice paddy herb, cucumber, napa cabbage, and Thai eggplant.

21 This is Plaa Thawt Yam Boraan - Deep fried whole local porgy with "ancient" salad of green mango, carrot, toasted coconut, lemongrass, chiles, and peanuts in a roasted chile paste dressing.

22 Naa Kin! I really enjoyed this dish!

23 We also had Kung Op Wung Sen - prawns baked in a clay pot and topped with glass noodles.

24 Kate and Kevin - Naa rak, meaning cute!

25 Kevin enjoyed the Whiskey Soda Float - cola with bourbon ice cream!

26 We also enjoyed an ice cream sandwich - coconut-jackfruit ice cream (no dairy, just coconut cream, sugar, and jackfruit) in a bun lined with sweet sticky rice, with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup drizzled on top, sprinkled with peanuts. It's another very common street snack in Thailand.

27 The specials board at Pok Pok NY

28 After a fun and delicious meal, I left with this farewell - "Sawaat Dii Khrap, Khun Martha. Thanks for coming to Pok Pok NY!"

1 This is beautiful Princess Peony, who is quite used to having a bath, as she's been receiving them her entire life.

2 Before placing her in the warm water of the tub, Maria gave Peony a good brushing on the grooming table to loosen up any snarls.

3 Cats are notoriously skittish about water. The key is to make it as gentle an experience as possible, and it's important to talk to the cat in soothing tones throughout the process.

4 Use a good quality shampoo specifically made for pets. The shampoo should be diluted in a container of warm water. Once Peony was good and wet, Sanu poured the water/shampoo over the back, being careful not to get the face wet. Cats don't fare well getting water in their nasal passages.

5 After cleaning one area at a time, including tail and legs, fresh warm water was poured over Peony to remove the shampoo.

6 Sanu passed her hands over Peony's fur, gently squeezing excess water.

7 Simply adorable!

8 Peony was wrapped in a large terry towel to absorb more water.

9 Her face was wiped clean with a damp cotton pad.

10 Not all cats will tolerate a blow-dryer, but if your cat will let you, use it on the low setting to dry the coat more thoroughly.

11 Comb as you blow.

12 Of course, it helps to have two sets of hands.

13 Don't forget the chest and belly area.

14 Removing matted fur is important because collected mats can cause skin irritation and hair balls.

15 Nearly done

16 So elegant and fluffy!

17 Now for Peony's sister, Empress Tang

18 A gentle shampoo and rinse

19 Another sweet face!

20 And it's off to the grooming table!

21 A clean and gorgeous Empress Tang who loves lounging in bowls

1 The entire region was blanketed heavy fog.

2 Speaking of blankets, the burlapping has begun on the terrace hedges. Draping and hand-sewing burlap over bamboo framework protects the plants from freezing winds and heavy snow.

3 More bamboo framework - This path leads down to the stable, which could not be seen.

4 This is the boxwood hedge surrounding the herbaceous peony garden. Soon, it too, will be burlapped.

5 A view of my house

6 This is the garden behind the Summer House, which was recently planted with hundreds of lilies and allium.

7 This is the large in-ground birdbath, which has finally collected some rainwater. You can begin to see the outline of the stable in the distance.

8 Walking towards the stable

9 Two of my Sicilian miniature donkeys, Rufus and Clive - Clive doesn't look too white.

10 Well, that would explain why! Like many mammals, equines love rolling in the mud.

11 These two weeping cherry trees have very nice form.

12 Looking from one end of the stable to the other

13 The stable courtyard with the carriage house and property office building

14 A front view of the stable

15 The same pathway as before, looking up towards my non-visible house

16 Standing at the stable end of the boxwood allee - The large stone on the left is used as a horse mounting block. I brought it here when I moved from my Turkey Hill property.

17 The beehives were moved behind the stable for the winter. They receive sun throughout the day here and the stone wall provides good wind protection. The hives were wrapped in roofing paper to help keep out the cold.

18 A view through the linden allee

19 Betsy and Sasa emerged through the fog.

20 Another view of the stable

21 A stand of tall white pines

22 This is the heated greenhouse where many tropical plants survive the harsh winter.

23 The vegetable garden and the chicken coops beyond

24 A stand of metasequoia, or dawn redwood, which have dropped all their needles

25 More tall white pines

26 A road leading to the woods

27 A stand of beech trees, most still with leaves

28 The boxwood allee looking towards the stable - Where is it?

29 The pin oak allee with the equipment barn on the left

30 This is the pinetum, which is growing quite well and was recently planted with new specimens.

31 The blueberry pergola - The plastic bird netting was just removed and placed in storage.

32 The vegetable greenhouse - Produce grows in the ground in this minimally heated space. Seeds are sprouting nicely in here.

33 The equipment barn

34 The long pergola with some new additions.

35 These are six wisteria vines that were recently brought here from my East Hampton garden, which is going through a re-design. I plan on having another pergola constructed in the spring for the wisteria to grow upon.

36 A view of the little basket house with reddish bald cypress needles carpeting the ground.

37 The back side of the main greenhouse, head house, and shade pergola

38 This is the front entrance of the greenhouse.

39 Off to the side of the greenhouse is this stand of fastigiate oak trees. Fastigiate means, having erect and almost parallel branches tapering toward the top.

40 Black raspberry canes on their wire supports

41 The cutting garden with a structure known as the hay barn beyond

42 The wonderful structure of a weeping beech and the large cast iron fire pit, with my house in the background

43 An old apple tree and quince tree next to the corn crib

44 The apple tree has a hollow trunk and critters were going inside and damaging the tree. An apple wood log was placed in the hole to keep animals out, preventing further damage.

45 Looking towards my house

46 Next to the house is the flower room kitchen, carport, and blog studio building.

47 Near the front gate is the gym garage, with my gym upstairs.

48 Next to the gym garage is the little tenant house, where Alexis, Jude, and Truman stayed at Thanksgiving.

49 Another look at the basket house and that red carpet of bald cypress needles