Nilly's sleeping at your place, right Nora? Maybe your place Monday, for her sake (so that she can settle, etc.)?

And by gathering (Monday), I don't mean "cooking dinner." I mean, party snacks (sweet and savory) and party beverages (alcoholic and non) and talking.

OK. Shutting up now.

Having at my place is fine and dandy. then she can just crash whenever she needs to...

I remember a smudge of short dark hair and a body taller than Allyson. Sheesh, it could have been anybody! It could have been Victor wearing falsies. We definitely need to prove Cindy exists. Like, we have more (more recent) proof of our own Mr. Buddha than we do of Cindy.

I think talking it out in-thread will probably work better, because of the "wait for someone to decide to be bossy" element of email communications. So. 23rd, Shalom Hunan or similar, and thence to Coolidge Corner? It will probably require a cavalcade of cars, to avoid 1-hour T rides home, but that all can be arranged.

Also, Coolidge Corner is far enough out of the regular tourist way that it will not spoil the following day's tourism for VW/Jen/DX leading Nilly about Boston. Also also, Newbury Comics, shoe stores, the Booksmith, and general coolery.

Are you taking Nilly to Faneuil Hall and the waterfront? Touristy, but still fun. Mt. Auburn cemetery? And a museum or two? And Harvard, 'cause pretty? Beantown's got plenty of way wicked cool stuff to see.

Nilly's coming to America to see us, and the locations are just icing. She wants to go for walks with people, and talk to everyone, spend time with everyone.

No worries on having some big plans. Each city has its own personality, architecture, that's all around all the time. One of the way cool things about today is that driving back to my apartment, we can see the Hollywood sign, and I'm looking forward to pointing it out to her.

I was talking to her about cleaning my place up for all the visitors coming, and her. She said, "I'm coming to spend time with you, not your floors!"

So then I figured the most important thing was that I took a shower, but then I mopped the floors, anyway.

Taking a walk on the pier in Santa Monica is good because it's spending time with Nilly in a very cool place where she can see the Pacific ocean.

Willing to bet that most of the pics Nilly takes will be of people, not places, you know?

I am getting plastic/paper ware for Nilly's visit and taking her to the supermarket. She has assured me that this is fine. That is the extent of my kosher preparation.

This is about the extent of my preparation as well, though I did buy a few kosher snacks this weekend. It seems to be what Nilly wants.

Would the Laistas be interested in hanging out at my apartment before or after dinner, or both, on Monday? I would be happy to have that happen as well.

Also, MIT for the mathy part of Nilly. Which means you can get ice cream at Toscanini's (if that's kosher).

missing Boston fiercely

Xposty, of course. Okay, the 24th. Actually, if Nilly has been touring the city all day, she can come back to home base, take a nap, and then head out to Brookline at what, at 6:30 or so for a 7:30 dinner.

Nothing fancy is happening in LA.

Nothing fancy's happening here, either. I cooked professionally for ten years, damn it, and this ain't cooking. I'm throwing some noodles with cheese, olive oil and pine nuts together Thursday night - that's boiling water and adding stuff to boiled noodles. Saturday is throwing meat on fire (Thag - AKA Nic - will stand and turn things over and over). Sunday we'll drive around the countryside.

I'm not opening a banquet table for seventy people and offering six courses with champagne tastings in between, for heaven's sake. It's just a bunch of friends, having a good time. Nothing fancy going on here either.

Also, unlike (it feels like an anomaly, anyway), unlike damned near all of the people I know? I'm socially inclined and like entertaining. I only snarl and shun the humans when it comes to schools.

Nilly's going to have a ball in Boston, for the same reason she's going to have a ball in LA, and here, and NY, and DC: she gets to meet cool people and see new cool places.

That's all.