Extra, extra, read all about it!

The congregations that meet in our church building take turns shoveling the snow from the sidewalks when it storms. We knew a storm was coming so Paul and I planned to get up early and go shovel last Friday morning. We got to the church which is right across the street from Lincoln Center, at 6:00 a.m. and began shoveling. The street vendors were setting up their carts for the day and even though it was snowing and cold, many people were out getting their morning coffee and newspaper. The newspaper vendor on the corner by the church had to cross the street to do something and asked if we would watch her papers. I stood by her wire stand of papers and brushed the snow away and then noticed a gentleman standing a few feet away. He had a cup of coffee and I looked up and said "good morning." He then said, "I'll take a copy of the NY Times and handed me $1.50" So I handed him a paper. Right after that someone walked up and wanted a copy of the Post. She handed me 50 cents and I handed her the Post. I had a chance to make one more sale before the "real"vendor came back. Selling papers on the street corner was a once in a lifetime experience and now what's next....singing on Broadway, riding on the Zamboni at the Ranger's game, sleeping on a subway vent, walking the runways during Fashion Week....the possibilities are endless in this great city.

PBR in MSG

You have to be a true fan to know what the title of this blog means. Paul and I spent last Saturday night in Madison Square Garden watching the Professional Bull Riders. As Paul likes to say, "It's five action packed minutes stretched into three hours." At least we got to wear our boots and Paul broke out his open road cowboy hat for the night. Alot of people stared at him on the subway and believe me, there were stranger people riding in the same car with us. I suppose they just hadn't seen such a handsome cowboy in the city before.

A city full of surprises

The other day I was shopping in our neighborhood and stopped in to see if the North Face store had a warm hat that would look good on me. The answer to that is a very firm "no," but as I was trying on hats, I looked over and noticed that the guy next to me was dressed like Elvis. Not just Elvis hair, but the Elvis white jumpsuit, white shoes, gold belt, and Elvis sunglasses. I desperately wanted to take a picture but couldn't find a way to do it without drawing attention to myself and Elvis.
Elvis may have left the building without being photographed, but take a look at the Santa's trying to get to work on the subway last Saturday. Santa and his helpers must be in demand this holiday season.

Post without photos----BORING!

I hope to add photos to this post at some point, but I will have to get them from Paige because she took all the photos while her family was visiting for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time with them. We were able to see the Macy's store Christmas windows, play in snow for the filming of Mr. Popper's Penguins, watch the balloons being inflated for the parade, eat at some fun restaurants and just enjoy being with Tyson, Avery and Payton and Paige and Brent. The weather was perfect and even too warm one day for coats!
Lat night Paul and I walked through our neighborhood where they were celebrating Winter's Eve. Bands were playing, restaurants had sampling tables out, jugglers were juggling, Christmas trees were glowing as we made our way from Columbus Circle, to Lincoln Center and home again. Christmas is in full swing in the city and it is a magical time to be here.

Fore!

Each time we have visitors, I try and show them all the familiar sights and then I try and add in at least one thing I have never done or seen. When my sister Ranonne and her husband came last weekend, the "something new" was hitting golf balls at the Golf Club on Pier 59. It is a multi-story structure with a net 200 yards out to keep the balls from going into the Hudson River. With my golfing abilities, no net needed. However, it was lots of fun and I did manage to hit a ball 150 yards if you count the distance it rolled.

Celebrating John Lennon's 70th Birthday

Paul and I decided to Come Together with hundreds of others in Strawberry Fields Forever to celebrate John's 70th birthday. You didn't even need a Ticket to Ride to play your guitar or violin or even to sing along. It was crowded and I did cry for Help a few times as we squeezed through all the people. With a little Instant Karma we were able to find a good place to stand. In My Life I have never thought that I Am the Walrus, but I do Imagine a world where we Give Peace a Chance and All You Need is Love.

Somewhere over the rainbow

This photo was taken out of our dining room window one evening after a rainstorm.
We were a little bit panicked at first thinking that the end of the rainbow (and its pot of gold) was sitting in Yankee Stadium, but we quickly determined that even Mother Nature wouldn't play such a nasty trick on us.