Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2014

I hope your celebration of Jesus' birth was good.  I celebrated with the East Coast children and their families.  On Christmas Eve, we phoned all the other members of our immediate family in Seattle Washington, San Diego California and in Tucson AZ.  Each family member lit a candle and shared their wish for 2014.  It was a very moving and uplifting experience.

Above is a picture of birds at the feeder on a cold, blustery December day.  I really wasn't prepared for the cold, cold days with 15 and 16 degree days.  There's more snow coming later this week,

On the 20th, my sister and I took Metro North to New York City to see the Christmas decoration.  We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral.  We made our way through the restoration areas to the main altar pictured below.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York NY

 Then, on to Rockefeller Center to see the tree (shown below).  Surprisingly, the area, while crowded, wasn't too crowded.  I love the hustle and bustle of the City, but not when it's overcrowded.

We had lunch at Cucina & Co. in the Met Life Building.   I've been there several times and certainly recommend this restaurant.  Then on to the Empire State Building and took a photo of Lower New York City from the 86th floor Observation Deck (pictured below).

It was a very enjoyable day.  However, as the afternoon came to a close, I wasn't feeling well.  When I arrived home, I went to bed early.  The next morning, I was totally done in and had to cancel my lunch date with my friend, Katie. The rest of that day, as well as the next, was spent in bed.

 It is my prayer that you have 

a Happy and Healthy New Year 2014

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Cold and Snowy Weekend

 

 

 

This past week with the low temperatures and then, the snowfall on Saturday reminded me of why I love San Diego.  Since I'm not used to the cold weather any more, I have been wearing four layers of clothing.  However, Christmas with the East Coast family makes it all worthwhile.

 

Despite the cold, I ventured out to meet family and friends.  As I drove through Poughkeepsie two days after a light snow storm, I noticed how bleek and dismal everything looked.  Usually, the first snow is glistening and beautiful.  It reminded me again of why I love San Diego....no ice, no snow.  Other than that, I enjoyed the warmth of my Fishkill daughter's home.  On Friday, as a Christmas present, my daughters and granddaughters took me to Carnegie Hall in New York City to hear Handel's Messiah performed by the Cecilia Chorus of New York.  For three years I've wanted to attend the performance.  A wonderful friend is a member of the Chorus.  Even though I've known her for years, I only learned on Friday that she is a soprano.  The Concert was very enjoyable.   The vocalists and the orchestra were excellent and the acoustics of that Hall is quite impressive. Well worth attending a concert there.

 

Before the concert, we had dinner at Serafina Broadway on West 55th Street.  For an appetizer we shared Buffalo Mozzarella and the Bruschetta.  Very good options.  My daughters enjoyed Rigatona alla Bolognese.  I ordered Nonna's Mashed Potato.  I needed something to warm me up.  I tasted a small amount of the Rigatona, which was good.  In my opinion though, it just wasn't as good as the mashed potatoes....delish.  I certainly recommend this restaurant.

 

After the concert, we walked across 56th Street to view the store windows along Fifth Avenue.  My younger teenage granddaughter wanted to see The Plaza.  Then we walked down the Avenue to see the Rockefeller Center tree.  The same granddaughter remarked on how crowded the streets were at that time.  The elder teen was accustomed to the City so she wasn't phased by the amount of people.  Christmas in New York can be a wonderful experience.

 

Thankfully, the snow didn't come until Saturday morning.  I elected to stay in the house for the next two days.  We helped my daughter take down her Christmas decorations from the attic and put up her live Christmas tree.  That night,  I was able to sleep on a couch in the living room across from the warm wood stove.    

 

Because I haven't adjusted well to the low temperatures, I am posting only one picture at this time.  I was able to lean out my daughter's back door and snap the picture of the male Northern Cardinal.  Hopefully, a time goes on I'll get more pictures.  Tomorrow we will have 2 to 4 inches of snow.  My Cardiff daughter and her husband sent me walking sticks for the snow, so maybe I'll venture out tomorrow.

 

 

 

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Today's Activities

After rain, sleet and some snow over night, we left early this morning for Belleayre Mountain in the Catskill Mountains in New York.  We left later than expected, since the weather report stated that Orange County received more of the storm than we did in Dutchess County (NY).  It was the first snow of the year for me.  There had been an lighter snow fall earlier in the season, but I was told it wasn't much of anything.



On the Road to Belleayre Mountain

 

After leaving my grandson at the mountain, we turned around and proceeded to Wappingers Falls to root for my son-in-law who was running in the Knights of Columbus Holiday Run.  We whooped and hollered for each of the runners as they crossed the finish line.  Armed with special hot coffees from Starbucks to ward off the cold, we enjoyed doing this.  Congratulations to all the participants for a five mile run with a long uphill finish.

Village of Wappingers Falls, NY

The rest of the day was filled with regular errands.  Still it was a great day.

 

 

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What a Week

Unfortunately, due to a tragic Metro-North train accident in New York, my daughters and one of their husbands had to find alternate ways to get to work.

Due to expected parking problems, I drove with my daughters and one of their husbands to the Southeast train station in Brewster and back to Beacon at night.  Driving to this station added one-half hour to their already long commute.  Yesterday, the MTA had succeeded in opening one track. So last evening, my whole family returned to their regular train route from Grand Central Station in New York north to Beacon.

When I drove with them in the mornings, on the way back to Beacon, I stopped for breakfast at the Eveready Diner in Brewster, New York at Exit 19 on Route 84.  The staff was very pleasant and friendly, and the food is good.  I recommend that you try it out when you are in the area.  It is only one of the Eveready Diners.  I had visited the Eveready Diner in Hyde Park, NY on several occasions and enjoyed it.  The waiter advised me that there is another one in Rhinebeck, NY.

I think that everyone is glad to resume their normal routine. 

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Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was certainly a busy one, but very enjoyable.  On Wednesday, my granddaughter made the pies while I peeled the apples.  My daughter cooked the turkey which was very moist.  I made my sweet potato casserole, but as I became engaged in conversation my granddaughter added the marshmallows at the right time.  My dinner consisted of a tiny bit of turkey and a little mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Delish.... The dinner on Thursday with the family went by very quickly ending with an unplanned card game while watching "The Heat" with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.  A half sandwich of turkey and cranberry sauce was just the snack I needed at the end of the day.

I was so happy to see my Marine grandson, now a Lance Corporal.  Haven't seen him since April.  Looking forward to seeing him at Christmas.  Looking good.  He's happy to be a US Marine.  He graciously took the time to play cards with his grandmother.

Friday's excursion was a trip to the mall with my daughter and granddaughter to meet her other grandmother.  We missed the early morning crowd.  Our visit, though not purposely planned, seemed to be sandwiched between the busiest times.  I am not a crowd lover so this was perfect for me.  Before we left, we enjoyed coffee at Gloria Jean's in the Poughkeepsie Galleria.  I recommend it.  We returned home to prepare Thursday's leftovers for lunch with my daughter and son-in-law's friends visiting from Albany.  That evening I prepared to move to another daughter's in Fishkill so I could be ready for an early start the next morning.

Around six a.m., we piled into the van to travel to the Philadelphia area to participate in the Jamie O'Brien Kindem Memorial Run ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/216973548459287/ )   The temperature was 28 degrees.  Since I'm used to warmer weather, I wore four layers of clothing.  I was happy to be able to participate.  I was just a walker pushing one of the strollers (we had my daughter's two little ones with us).  We joined Jamie's husband, children and family at McKenzie's Brew House on Swedesford Road in Berwyn PA.  The staff was friendly and handled the crowd cordially and expertly.  I had hummus with flat breat, actually just two pieces, on the Tappas menu.  My son-in-law had what looked like a very generous Bacon Cheeseburger.  My daughter told us her fish tacos were delicious  Even the children enjoyed the ample servings from their menu.  My daughter made a point of stopping to speak with the hostess to tell her how good the food was.  If you are in that area of Pennsylvania, you might want to stop in.  Of course, we had more traffic probably due to this weekend being a big shopping opportunity coupled with the celebration of Hannukah and Thanksgiving.  When we arrived back home in Fishkill NY, we were ready for bed.

On Sunday, I accompanied my Beacon daughter to Worcester MA to bring my second oldest grandson to WPI.  The trip of 159 miles took us 6 hours.  Unbeknownst to us, there had been a 70 car pileup on the 290, due to early morning icy road conditions.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities.  As we inched along, we thought it was due to the conflagration of holidays and all the college students returning to school. Thankfully, our GPS put us on the right roads at the right time.  Without it, we might have been sitting in even worse traffic.  I didn't get an opportunity to see the campus as it was dark by the time we arrived.  Maybe another time.

Since I'm a "goer" this weekend was quite enjoyable for me.

Happy Hannukah!

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