Time flies.....!

Thanksgiving seems like it was yesterday and here we are already counting down to Christmas. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week with a visit from our dear friends, Larry and LaDawn Gibbons. Along with some friendly competition in the evening playing board games, we watched football, ate, laughed, ate, watched the Macy's day parade, ate, and laughed some more. We had about 12 friends for Thanksgiving dinner and then hosted our annual Thanksgiving Day Bingo game for about 30 people. There were hundreds of fabulous prizes won and several pieces of pie eaten. It was a great New York Thanksgiving.
And now we are in full swing getting ready for Christmas. Merry Christmas to all.

And here's what's happening in our neck of the woods!

Big doings in our neighborhood this weekend. The new Apple Store opens on 67th & Broadway tomorrow at 10:00 and when I walked by tonight at 4:30 and a guy was already sitting by the front door, wrapped in a blanket so he could be the first one in tomorrow. I stopped to chat with him and as you can imagine, he was somewhat geeky so our conversation was very short. "You mean you are going to stay here all night to be the first one in? Nods head. "Why would you do that?" Shrugs shoulders. Okay, that about wraps it up. Then while I was doing my grocery shopping at Whole Foods in the Time Warner Shops, they lit up the Christmas Stars that are synchronized to light up as Christmas music plays.
It is pretty amazing to be able to walk to so many shops and stores. You just have to remember to only buy what you can carry home or hope the store has those two favorite words plastered on the walls of the store---WE DELIVER!

Signs of the Times

In preparation for winter squirrels gather nuts, bears put on weight, rats start to grow fur, and cardboard boxes become a hot commodity for the homeless who use them for shelter. In New York we turn our playgrounds into ice skating rinks and put winter doors on our restaurants. While I am not ready for winter, I am getting ready for winter. I'm gathering more nuts, putting on weight, growing fur, etc.

"Playbor" Day Weekend

Friday evening found us kicking off the Labor Day Weekend canoeing in Central Park. Then we had an early start for the tennis matches at the US Open. We were able to see Federer vs Hewitt, Oudin vs Sharipova and Roddick vs Isner. Sunday was a big day at church and then my sister Marilyn arrived from Utah for a visit. We had a nice dinner and then walked over to the Lincoln Center for the outdoor televised opera. Monday found us taking a four mile walk through Central Park, a subway ride down to Union Square and a loooong walk over to the Highline Park. After putting in nine miles of walking that day we decided a quiet evening at home wouldn't be all that bad. All in all, it was a fabulous Playbor Day weekend.

Saturday is a special day

Saturday is the day you will find Paul and me in Central Park. We get up early and run (I walk) in the park and then come home and shower clean up for the day. Once the newspapers have arrived, we pack up our bag with newspapers and books and head back to the park to read. At least that is our intent. Mostly we watch the other people in the park. It is quite amusing to see parents walking briskly through the park while reading from their travel book and then to see the children about ten paces behind looking like they would rather be back at the hotel playing video games. Musicians are out trying to earn a few dollars playing for the tourists, squirrels are posing for photos, and Paul and I observe all of this while pretending to be totally absorbed in our books. It is a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

On the Hudson River Line

We were invited to join the 50th birthday celebration of a friend and boarded a yacht and cruised up and down the Hudson River for a few hours. It was a picture perfect night as you will be able to tell from the photos. Paul and I were so excited when the boat cruised right up to our neighborhood because we had never seen our apartment building from that angle before. It is the glass building behind the first group of tall buildings----kind of in the middle of the photo.
The highlight of the evening was cruising very close to Lady Liberty just as the sun was setting. She looked as beautiful and majestic as ever. FYI: they have now re-opened the Statue of Liberty to the public so you can climb up to the top again. It's been closed for about six years.

Mid-summer night swing!

Imagine this. Paul and me. Okay that was easy. Paul and me and the Lincoln Center. A little more difficult, but still imaginable. Here goes, Paul, me, the Lincoln Center, Paul and me dancing!!! That's right. It was Rockabilly night at the Lincoln Center and we were able to break out the Texas Swing. I won't say we were the best dancers on the floor, but the night was hot and humid, so we were the best dancers who had totally sweat out their shirts. It was a fun New York crowd. Some people looked like they had stepped out of the 50's, others had dressed up like they were from the 40's and then there were those who had on black shoes, black socks and shorts. However, no matter how they were dressed many of these people could flat out dance and it was fun to be among them.