The Jersey Boys, Sleepover and Tea with Alexander

So, Wednesday I take myself over to Times Square to try and get half price tickets for Broadway - you know I am all about saving money.  It takes about 45 minutes to walk there,  I'm not walking too fast.  The humidity today is only 55% and so much better than yesterday at 100%.  I line up for an hour. This is the half price ticket booth.

I am somewhat successful.  I get ticket to "The Jersey Boys" but the discount is only 20%.
It is a great show and worth every penny.  I am a little surprised at the number of middle aged drunk women in the audience.  I saw this musical last year with my friend Mary and we also encountered - drunk women.  I think they were all really happy to know the songs and sing along.
The real treat of the evening was having Hannah stay over.  We stayed up late watching the last 2 weeks of  "Glee" I don't know why but I love this show.

Thursday, Hannah has the day off (she starts her internship next week).  We decide to go to "Bloomingdales" it is part of my quest for a new handbag.  On the way we find a doggy shop and have to take a picture.

 We check out the bags - the only one I like is the  "Chanel" - so we move on.  We do find a gorgeous leather jacket for Hannah, it fits her like a glove and she looks great in it.  Terry would tell you she looks gorgeous in anything she puts on.   We decide it costs too much and we leave.  We check out jackets in "Zara" and "Banana Republic" but nothing comes close to the "Bloomingdales" one.  Actually the label is  "Theory".  We decide to return to "Bloomingdales" and Hannah tries it on again.  We then learn it is "Friends and Family" event and there is 20% off of everything.  If we open a "Bloomingdales" account we get 15% off on top of that.   Ok - so to us it was kind of a no brainer.  Hannah gets a new leather jacket - I should have taken a picture.  We decide I should buy my "Chanel" purse in Paris. - OK

We head over to "Alice's Tea Cup" to meet up with Alexander Liang for tea.  Alexander graduated from Parsons from the program that Hannah is in.  He has just launched his own online magazine.  Please check it out - www.Kentonmagazine.com   I am so impressed with his courage to do this.  He seems very well prepared to embark on this adventure.   Hannah and he talk about the possibility of her  interning with him next year.  I think we stay at "Alice's"   for 2 hours.  "Alice's Tea Cup" is lovely and I would certainly recommend it to anyone visiting NYC.  It is on  East 64th street at Lexington. We have a lovely time - again,  why didn't I take a photo?????
Alexander takes the bus home and Hannah and I walk to our place.  She picks up her things and heads home.  She has a "talk" to attend tonight and then has to write a paper on it.  The talk is about the economy - might be interesting.
Update on the leaking ceiling - apparently yesterday Hannah had a call from the superintendent saying he has fixed the leak on the roof.  Well is poured last night so we will see.  I will keep you informed.

Talk to you later.....

Weather, wool and words with the leasing company.

Tuesday morning finds me on the phone to the Leasing company regarding Hannah's leaking bathroom ceiling.  I get nowhere.  The girl tells me they are still working on it and it takes time.  Since May - I say -   She  basically tells me not to call back as she will only talk to the tenants.  I try to explain to her that I pay the rent and the girls are busy at school.  Nope, she will only talk to the girls.  I do get their mailing address, they do not have an address that I can go to.  Apparently the next step is to complain to them in writing.  Following this we can complain to the Metropolitan Council.  I guess we will go through all of these steps and hope for the best.  I think the girls will be moving out of this apartment at the end of their lease.
The humidity is 100% today - yuk.  It is raining and it is 73 degrees.  How does one dress for this weather.

I met Hannah at her school at 2.45 pm and we walked to 15th between 5th and 6th - very close to her school - to find the Lion Brand Studio.  It is a very nice knitting store here in Manhattan that only sells Lion Brand wool, but what a collection they have.  They will print out patterns for you from their computers for free - always looking for a deal.   They have classes a few times a week and also a Wednesday "Knitting Doctor" clinic.  Anyway, we are there to buy wool to knit Hannah a scarf.  She found a scarf that she liked at Obakki in Vancouver at $140 !!!!  We knew we could make it for a lot less.  We bought some beautiful Angora Merino wool and a circular knitting needle all for $36 - much better price.  I walk Hannah home to her apartment where she spends the evening studying and cooking spaghetti for supper.  I return home on the subway on the "F" line.  It is so far underground there are 2 escalators and a flight of about 30 stairs to climb before you make it to the surface.  Yesterday, one of the escalators was not working.  Oh my poor legs.
When I returned to our apartment my doorman tells me there was a tornado warning in effect until 6 pm.
What the heck is happening to the weather....  Anyway, no tornado and Terry and I have a quiet evening at home.  We "Skype" with Roision and  Jonathan and watch him cook supper for his room mates.  He had to go to the Medical Clinic today to get some Asthma medication.  He has had a very bad cold which has triggered his asthma.  Hope he feels better soon.  Watch some tv and then off to bed.

Till next time.

Drought Relief

Hello: Drought relief - thats what the weather man is calling the torrential rain we are having today.  I think I should let Mark at Global News know about that.  It would be so appropriate in Vancouver.
I use it as my excuse to have a fairly quiet day.  I do go out, I get to wear my new coat.  It is water resistant, not waterproof.  Anyway, I go to the bank to "buy" more quarters - laundry must be in my future somehow.  I think about the couple of apartments that are for sale in our building.  One is for sale at $495,000.  and the other,  2 bedroom corner unit is $945,000 and you still have to share laundry and pay $1.50 per load.  Oh well.
I do go to Hannah's for tea this afternoon when she returns from school.  The highlight of my day.
I get some quilting done - a rainy day activity.
Terry and I have a quiet night watching tv.
I get to chat with Jonathan on Skype and he tells me the first Youth Mass he had at his church went very well. Although he still has a cold/cough and is not feeling well.  I hope he gets some rest and gets well soon.
Oh, I should say, while at Hannah's I see the leak has returned - guess I am on the phone tomorrow - will this saga ever end?
Till tomorrow......

The Weekend

The weekend mornings are relaxing.  We watch the news, check online for Canadian news and drink lots of coffee.
We meet Hannah at 68th and Lexington and walk to the Frick on 5th Avenue and 70th

We really enjoy it.  This priceless art collection of Henry Clay Frick is exhibited in his opulent mansion.
He bequeathed the collection and the mansion to the nation.  He intended this to be a memorial to himself.  It is absolutely beautiful.

On our way home, we see some new parking signs relating to the filming of Gossip Girl.  Hannah has to take a picture.

We all get on the subway.  Hannah goes home and Terry and I head to Times Square looking for a store that sells a tee shirt that Jonathan wants.  When we get there, we discover that the store changed hands a few months ago.  Interestingly enough their website seems to think it is still there!!!!   Jonathan eventually orders the shirt online.
We had hoped to attend Mass tonight.  When we turn up at the church we discover it is Episcopalian and not RC.   We decide to go to Mass in the morning and head home for supper.

Sunday - we head out to St. John the Evangelist for Mass.  It is fairly close to us at 55th Street and between 1st and 2nd Avenue.  It is quite a modern church.

After lunch we head out to the MET.  We have decided to do this every Sunday.  On the way we see what looks a bit like an alien from a distance - on closer inspection it is an Asian statue.

There are, in fact, two of them about 10 blocks apart,  on the boulevard on Park Avenue.  We think it is related to the Asian Studies building.

At the MET, we discover the tour we want to do is being given by the same woman as last week.  We chat with her and discover the talk will be the same one.  We are disappointed but head off on our own to explore the museum.  Before we leave the museum we visit the shop.  Today there is 20% off if you are a member.  You know how much I love to save money .....  I buy Christmas cards - it is almost October.  I also buy a book called "50 Buildings You Should Know"  It looks very interesting. Can't wait to see how many of them we have already seen.

We walk home before the rain comes and catch up on some TV.  Have some spaghetti and meat sauce for supper and off to bed.

Till next time.

The Feast of San Gennaro

Terry manages to get home early on Friday so we head off to meet Hannah.  Hannah finishes school early so instead of her waiting at the school for us we decide to meet in Little Italy.  I want to check it out today as the Feast of San Gennaro is being celebrated this week.  My "New York Book" says this is the time to visit Little Italy.  It is a huge festival with extra food vendors down the middle of the street and lots of fun and games for the whole family.

We have a lovely lunch in one of the many Italian restaurants.  We think of Pat Walley as we know this is one of her favorite places in New York.  We think of Tony Naples, my friend Peggy's husband as San Gennaro is the patron saint of Naples,  I just learned this today.

We visit the church which has a Shrine to San Gennaro.  The church is the Church of the Most Precious Blood.  It is small but very beautiful.

After lunch, Hannah and I head off to Canal Street which runs along the bottom of Little Italy.  Terry can't take it,  so he goes off to get a hair cut and a walk down to Ground Zero.  We meet up an hour later.  We buy a couple of little things on Canal Street, nothing much.  We are hounded by vendors wanting to sell us "Chanel, Coach, Rolex and any other name you can think of.  We resist.

We decide to walk Hannah home before taking the subway back to our place.  On our walk up to Houston this is what we find.

I'm not sure if this is art or someone with too much time on their hands.

We pop into Whole Foods and help Hannah with her groceries.  This is one of the advantages of having your parents in the same city.  When we get to her apartment we find Simone baking cookies.  We are very impressed with what these girls can accomplish in their tiny kitchen.  Simone tells us this has become a Friday tradition in their apartment.  As I write this I realize I should have taken a photo of that - maybe next Friday.

Till next time.

"Next to Normal"

After my very nice quiet afternoon on Wednesday,  the sky opened and there was the most torrential rain and spectacular thunder and lightening show in Manhattan.  The good news is - no drips in Hannah's bathroom, hope this means they really did fix her roof.  The bad news - our PVR got knocked out by the lightening and Law and Order SVU season premier did not get recorded.  Oh well, always reruns.

Thursday, we decide we will go to Broadway tonight.  As I have the time, and I am all about saving money,  I head off to the TKTS booth.  This is the half price ticket centre.  You never really know what shows will be available until you get there.  Apparently "The Lion King" and "Wicked" are NEVER available at half price.  Again, because I have the time I decide to walk.  On the way I find a few interesting things.

This is a plaque that I see on the wall as I walk along 55th Street.  Who knew that the Glasgow School of Art had friends here in Manhattan.  I am impressed.

I had to photograph this ad in the window of a shoe repair store at 55th between Lexington and Park for Hannah.  For those of you who do not know "Christian Louboutin" is the designer who has red soles on his shoes.  Hannah Phang has 2 pairs (one pair was given to her by Heather Jones)  They are very expensive otherwise her closet would be full of them.  What a good idea for someone to come up with red rubber soles to protect or repair them.

Now isn't this the way to cover your doorway while you are renovating?  I guess this is the city of design.  Thank you to Christian Dior on 57th and Madison.  It is truly amazing what you will see in this city on any given day.

The traffic is crazy at the moment thanks to the General Assembly of the United Nations.  Roads are closed and the police presence is way up.  President Obama is in town.  

Another little bit of information on the Catholic Church quest,  I was googling one specific church and managed to stumble upon another blog.     http://www.catholicmanhattan.blogspot.com

This is a blog that a young man (30) started.  Kind of what I wanted to do but so much more.  He decided to attend Mass at every Catholic church in Manhattan.  He has great photos and details about each church and links to other relevant websites.  It has taken him almost 3 years (seeing as I only have 3 months I don't feel too bad at not coming up to his standards).  It also sounds like he was on his own spiritual journey.

For Bill Knutson - he says there are 96 catholic churches here.

So - I get to the TKTS booth about 2.15 pm.  It does not open until 3 pm.  I have a very nice chat with 4 other women waiting in line.  We chat about our time in New York, where we are from, where we are staying.  2 of them go home with web sites I gave them - www.homeaway.com  and www.vrbo.com

These are web sites to find apartments to rent instead of hotels.   I get my tickets to "Next to Normal" and I am on my way home at 3.15 pm.

Why, I don't know, but I walk home.  Realizing I have been on my feet for 4 hours - no wonder my feet hurt.  I rest up at home before we head out to the theatre - by subway this time - at 7pm.

I should point out that Terry has just spent an hour booking up a couple of weekends in December for Whistler !!!!!  That snowboard is calling out to him.

We meet Hannah at the theatre.  We love "Next to Normal"  It is so good.  It won the Pulitzer Prize this year.  There have only been 8 musicals to win this award, the last one was "Rent" which was our all time favorite until we saw "Wicked".  Rent is still number 2 on my list.

While at the theatre - by the way we had great seats - 7th row in the orchestra aisle seat - I see a fellow I recognize - of course I don't know from where, so I ask Hannah.  She gets very excited she says it's "Chad Michael Murray"  I have to say, at this point, this means absolutely nothing to me.  She tells me he is one of the stars of "The Hills" a show she watches and I guess I have seen him -  I think it is one of those semi reality shows.  He is sitting 2 rows in front of us.  She "facebooks"and BBM's  this info on her Blackberry and gets 8 comments back before the end of the show - technology.

We send Hannah home in a cab and Terry and I go home via subway.  Times Square is amazing at 11 pm.  We arrange to meet for lunch tomorrow in Little Italy.  I will meet Hannah after school at 1.30pm

Till tomorrow.

Still Summer here in Manhatan

Weather remains lovely here in Manhattan.  Up to 83 degrees today (Wednesday).
I meant to tell you the story Hannah told us the other night.  She took a cab up to our apartment on Sunday night when she and Franky were coming for dinner.  Franky rode his bike as he had to go visit a friend to finish an assignment after dinner. He bikes everywhere.  Anyway,  Hannah is standing on the road with her hand in the air - as New Yorkers do when they are hailing a cab.  While waiting for the cab,  a guy on a motorbike rides by and high fives her.  She laughed so hard.  Only in New York.  I say only to a cute teenage girl.
Well,  yesterday I walked to the post office at 3rd and 54th.  I then walked along 55th on the way to Madison.  I had forgotten my camera so I need to do that walk again as I did see a couple of things I would like to photograph.  I will explain when I actually get the pictures taken.  Walked up to Madison and 59th to Crate and Barrel - did a little bit of damage in there.  I did not think they were in Canada but the salesgirl tells me they are in Toronto and Calgary.  Hope they make it to Vancouver one day.
This is a running day for Terry - he alternates between running and walking after work every day.  When he returns home we have beef stroganoff for dinner - reminds me of the 80's.  We don't have too many pots  and pans here so I am looking for 1 or 2 pot meals to cook.  We "skype" with Roision and watch "Glee"
I think we have become "Gleeks".  Just found out that "Fin" is from Victoria - who knew???? Loved their rendition of "New York".

Wednesday, as I said, is a beautiful day.  Terry goes off to work - he has found someone in administration here to argue with - just trying to improve patient care.  I take myself off for a walk uptown.   I end up at 87th and Lexington.  On the way I check out a few consignment stores.  I thought they would have great things being on the "Upper East Side" - no such luck.  I come home empty handed.    I am having a quiet afternoon doing some quilting.

Talk to you later -

The MET and Coney Island

Sunday morning was lovely - we did nothing ...... what a great way to spend a morning.
After a while we decide that we really should do something ... so we walked to the MET ( The Metropolitan Museum) It still seems amazing to us that we can say that.  We walk along 62nd Street to 5th Avenue and then walk up alongside Central Park until we reach the Met at 82nd Street.  Terry discovered, last week, that there are free tours at the MET.  A volunteer takes you to a few of her favorite pieces and explains them to you.  So we decide to do that. We learned so much.  It was fantastic and I must say I highly recommend this to anyone visiting the MET.   We decided that perhaps we will do this every Sunday afternoon.

On our way home we pick up some groceries for supper.  Hannah and Franky are coming to join us tonight.   We have supper late - around 9 pm and then watch the end of the football game.  I don't normally watch football but am intrigued by the Manning brothers.  One of them wins.

Monday, Terry does not have to go to the hospital till the afternoon so we take the opportunity to go to Coney Island.  I think of Meghan Walley.  I know she was interested in going to Coney Island when we were all here in 2008 - can't remember if she made it.

The subway is amazing here.  It costs $2.25 regardless of how far you travel.  Our trip to Coney Island takes an hour on the subway - 31 stops for $2.25 - isn't that fantastic.  As soon as we arrive we find Nathan's Hot Dog place - it is the thing to do at Coney Island.  We enjoy a hotdog.

The weather is beautiful and we walk along the boardwalk.  The beach is gorgeous and there are people fishing off of the boardwalk.  There are too many middle aged men without shirts with no regard for skin cancer.  The natural beauty wins out.

We take the subway home and think how lucky we are.

We discover there has been a fire on one of the bridges in Harlem that has shut down all north bound subways that go through Grand Central. We were lucky to take the F train which does not go through Grand Central.  The city is a little crazy at the moment.  Meetings at the United Nations has closed lots of roads on the East side.  Repairs on the West side has closed down roads there.  Traffic is a nightmare.

This evening I get to "Skype" with 3 girlfriends.  It makes being away from home so much easier.
More laundry - isn't it funny how laundry and paperwork follow you wherever you go.
Talk to you soon......

Friday/Saturday

Friday morning Terry does not go into the hospital until later.  We go grocery shopping. We decide to try Atlantic salmon for supper.  You know we are really pacific people.  He leaves for the hospital around 10.30 am and I wait until noon (9am pacific time) to Skype with Roision and the Curvy girls.  9.15 am and no- one is on line. I get worried and think perhaps there is something wrong with Skype at Roision's end.  I call Roision and discover the Curvy girls are late and no-one has arrived yet .... Eventually the girls turn up. I get to see and chat with Debra, Patti, Andrea, Julia and Peggy.  It is so good to see everyone.  Unfortunately I have to leave at 1 pm my time - maybe not unfortunately as I am off to meet Hannah.
Hannah and I meet at DSW (designer shoe warehouse) at Union Square - nothing here for us to buy.  We head upstairs to Filene's Basement. I know it seems strange that a basement would be upstairs but here in Union Square it is on the 2nd - the 6th floor.  AT LAST ...... I find a coat - I purposely did not bring a coat to NYC as I intended to buy one here.  I get a coat and a pair of pj's ( probably too much information)  Hannah gets a pair of BCBG shoes ( only after we have a conversation with a New Yorker who tells her she can't walk but a block in those shoes - "and in NYC we walk everywhere") She also gets a gorgeous Calvin Klein coat.  After all this shopping we are hungry.  We head out along University Place (I think) and find a restaurant called "Nanoosh" a Mediterranean hummus bar.  I think - 'why didn't I find this while Roision was here' - she loves hummus.  Anyway, Hannah and I have a lovely lunch there.  She walks over to Franky's and I take the subway home.  She "facebooks " me later to see if I got home ok - I am so good on the subway ...... of course I got home ok.
Poor Terry gets pasta for supper as I had such a late lunch I am not ready for supper and we keep the salmon until Saturday.  We have a quiet evening at home.

Saturday - the clean up continues in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island from the tornado on Thursday. Some people in Queens still do not have power.  It is amazing.

Terry goes for a run and I putter about in the apartment.  At 2 pm we leave to take the subway uptown to 103rd Street.  We walk over to 5th Avenue to the Museum of the City of New York.  We discover it is under renovations and not all of the exhibits are available.  We decide to return another day in the hope that we will see more.

  There are a couple of churches we want to check out while we are uptown in this neighborhood.  We head over to St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral. I know it is not catholic but it has the onion domes and is quite beautiful to see.  It is on east 97th.

  We then head over to east 90th to visit "The Roman Catholic Church of our Lady of Good Council"  this is where we thought we might go to Mass tonight but seeing as how we did not spend any time at the museum we are way to early.  On the web site it looks spectacular and I am keen to see the inside.  When we arrive there, it is all locked up.  A lot of the churches here in Manhattan  are locked up until Mass times.  We decide to come back another Sunday for Mass.  So - what to do?  We check out another church !!!!

We take ourselves over to east 88th to see The Church of the Holy Trinity - it is in our "New York" Eyewitness Travel Guide book.   It has a beautiful door - it is Episcopalian  - It is also famous for its bell tower.

 We walk to 980 Park to find St. Ignatius Loyola Church.   It looks very nice from the outside but we cannot get inside a there is a wedding going on inside. It apparently has some "Tiffany" stained glass windows which I would love to see.  Oh well, another day.

  We decide we will go to Mass at St. Paul the Apostle which is at Columbus Circle and 60th Street.  It is a beautiful Church, we don't get a very good photo of the outside as it is under scaffolding.  It is beautiful inside.  I wonder how a place like NYC can have so many beautiful churches - they are spectacular.  I don't think I have seen such opulent churches in Canada.  I also wonder about the candle lighting.  You know how catholics can light a candle and say a prayer for someone - we don't do that in Canada but all of the churches here and in Europe you can.  Terry says he thinks it is an insurance issue - he probably got that information from Father Horgan.
Anyway,  Mass was very nice.  We leave the church and head home.
I realize we have been walking for 4 HOURS plus 1 hour Mass - it is no wonder that my feet are about to give way.
I get home - cook the salmon - eat and drink a very nice glass of wine - ok maybe 2

GOODNIGHT........

TORNADO IN BROOKLYN??????

Hi Folks,
Well, yesterday started out as a lovely day, a bit humid but nice.  Hannah had an interview at her school to get permission to do her internship with "All Saints" - she gets permission but has to do the necessary paperwork.   I met her at the school after her interview to go shopping......  I was willing and able to spend money - no such luck.  I was looking for pretty napkins - I know,  all of my friends who have seen the drawer in my kitchen realize that I need cloth napkins like a hole in the head - but I love them.  Anyway, we head to "Anthropologie". I bought some of my favorite napkins here before.  No luck today. We then pop into "Pier One" and I find some very pretty lemon and red ones - reminds me a little of the drapes in my family room.  I take 12 of them as they are only $2.95 each.  I get to the check out and the computer tells the sales associate that these napkins are not for sale. "WHAT"  I say.  Apparently it is a quality control thing, the associate assures me that I do not want to buy substandard goods.  We leave empty handed.  Next we head off to "Kate Spade" - you know I am excited as I think there may be a new handbag in my future.  Napkins and handbags - no accounting for taste.  Again, no such luck .....

We decide to go for lunch and Hannah and I share a burger and fries at a cute little place in Soho.  We know the rain is coming so we walk back to Houston and 1st and Hannah walks the couple of blocks home and I take the subway home.
Terry has already come home and gone for a run - again trying to miss the rain.

THE RAIN CAME .... boy did it ever.  Hannah had a bucket and six bowls all over her very leaky bathroom, yes, that saga continues.  I talk to Albeeno the superintendent who gives me the same story - he can't do anything until the Leasing company fixes the roof.  Apparently my suggestion of putting a tarp over the problem area is not taken very well.  I promise to call the company tomorrow.
I wake up at 3 am with the most torrential rain and worry about Hannah.
This morning we watch the news and discover a TORNADO has touched down in Brooklyn - can you believe it.  A woman lost her life in Queens when a tree landed on her car.  There are trees down all over the place.  Even this morning - it is now almost 11 am - the folks on Staten Island are still without power.
Where we are it is a beautiful  morning around 70 degrees with clear skies - it is hard to believe what went on just a few hours ago.

I have talked to Hannah this morning and the drips have stopped but only because the water is now dripping down the walls .  She has gone off to school and I called the Leasing company, left a message.
To my surprise someone just called me back .... It is apparently a long process to repair a roof...  This has been going on since May when the girls moved in!!!!!!!!  I will keep you up to date.

I am excited to be "Skyping " with the Curvy girls and Roision today.  The girls are going over to our house this morning for tea with Roision.  Thanks to Roision for hosting this event.  After that I get to go to Union Square and meet up with Hannah again - I feel so lucky,  I get to spend this time with her.
We will try very hard to spend some money today.  Filene's Basement here we come.

Broadway

Good morning.
Tuesday was a kind of catching up day, housework, laundry and the inevitable paperwork plus a  couple of business phone calls back to BC.
Wednesday, I head out on a mission to get half price tickets to see "Next to Normal".  It won the Pulitzer Prize this year.  It is also recommended by Marina Knutson - so it must be good.  I leave the apartment and am feeling a little lazy so I take the subway.  I check out JC Penny that has apparently just opened in Manhattan.  It is in Manhattan Mall which is across from Macy's.  I pop into Macy's.  I can't believe the sales - seems like everything is on sale.  I am really just wasting time.  The half price tickets, for the evening performance, go on sale at 3 pm.  I arrive at the booth around 2.40 pm and the line up has already started - maybe about 100 people in front of me.  I have lined up before for tickets so I came prepared with a bottle of water and a magazine.  It is quite unnecessary as there is so much going on in Times Square it is entertainment in itself.  There is a board telling you the plays and musicals that are offering half price tickets and I don't see "Next to Normal" mmmmm - I wonder.  Last week while in Times Square I noticed they were offering half price tickets for it - so....  When I get to the window I decide to ask about that.  Apparently "Next to Normal" is not performed on a Wednesday night - should have done my homework.
We chose Wednesday as Hannah does not have school on a Thursday.  She hopes to be doing her internship on Thursdays.  Anyway, we did have a couple of backups.  I  get tickets for "Promises, Promises"
Hannah made her way up to our apartment around 5 pm.  We had a little bit of business to sort out.  I received a new Canadian credit card for her in the mail.  The bank was saying that they believe her card was compromised and were replacing it.  We needed to call the bank to get that all sorted out.  We thought the bank might be worried as she has not used that card in a while - she has moved to her US card.  Anyway, all is well.
We have dinner at a French bistro on the block next to our apartment.  Not as good as the Italian place on the opposite block but fills us up.  We head over to the theatre.
"Promises, Promises" was very good.  Sean Hayes (from Will and Grace) and Kristin Chenoweth  (from "Wicked")  I already knew that Kristen could sing but was surprised to hear what a good singer Sean was.  The story is very cute and funny.  Burt Bacharach and Hal David music from the 60's.  "I Say a Little Prayer for you",  "A House is not a Home" and  "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" were the ones we recognized.
We get out of the theatre and Hannah laughs at us when we ask her is she ok to take a cab home by herself.  She suggests she take the subway - well thats not going to happen!!!!  We send her in the cab with the instruction to call us when she arrives home.  These are the struggles a teenage girl has when her parents live in the same city.  Terry and I take the subway - because we are a frightening couple and can take on anyone.  Actually I feel safer here in New York than downtown Vancouver at 11 pm.
Anyway, everyone gets home safely and off to bed......
We decide I will try next week to get the tickets to "Next to Normal".  I am not sure why I am worried about late nights for Hannah as I don't think she gets to sleep before 1 am anyway!!!!!
Well - talk to you later.

Monday 13th September

Terry goes off to the hospital this morning.  I head out around 10 am and decide to walk instead of taking the subway.  I make my way over to the Theatre District, to Foxwoods Theatre at 42nd between 7th and 8th.  I get tickets for "Spider-man Turn off the Dark",  the new musical about Spider-man.   Apparently it is quite the spectacle.   It does not start until December but there are previews in November.  I got tickets for Hannah, Terry and I to go November 17th - a week before Terry and I come home.

I do a little bit of shopping,  I buy an immersion blender - want to make some home made soup.  I know I can leave it for Hannah. This is a very good excuse that I use whenever I can.   It has been raining here in NYC and rainy days make me think of soup.  I find a NYC information Centre at 7th and 53rd and pick up some maps and information for the Fab 5 when they get here.  I get home and realize I have been walking for 3 hours - enough,  I say.

I chat with Hannah on Facebook for a wee bit.  She tells me she really likes her classes.  I am hoping we can have tea one day and she can tell me all about them.  I chat with Jonathan and my sister-in-law Loraine in Scotland and then her daughter Louise.  I really enjoy these chats and am grateful for Facebook.  Did you ever think you would hear me say that.

I watch the US Open and then hear the thunder.  Needless to say the tennis is postponed.  Terry does not get home until after 7 pm.   We are watching the tennis as I write I really hope Rafa can win.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Sunday 12th September

We are up and out early this morning.  Terry gets it into his head we should walk over the Queensboro Bridge - (I have just discovered this is how you spell Queensboro).  The Queensboro Bridge is just 2 blocks from our apartment and connects Upper Manhattan to Queens.  We walk across the bridge and turn around and walk back.  It starts raining on the return walk.  We do some grocery shopping and head home.

This afternoon we spend the time figuring out how to post photos on this blog.  Terry also orders some books online to read on his ipad.  We are so techy today...

We leave the apartment at 5.30 pm to head downtown on the subway to meet Hannah at an Indian restaurant at 1st and 6th.  "Banjara" is the restaurant and we have eaten there before.  We have a lovely meal.  We think the waiters have a thing for Hannah as we get extra Naan bread specially made for us.  Hannah is given a "Shirley Temple" - on the house.  They continue to wave and smile at her and bring ice cream, again on the house.  We enjoy our time together.

We walk Hannah home and then head home ourselves.  We are disappointed to discover the US Open final has been cancelled until tomorrow.  We understand as it has rained all day today.  Good luck to Rafa tomorrow.

9/11

Watched the events at Ground Zero on tv this morning....

This afternoon Terry and I walked to Columbus Circle which is at 8th and 59th - basically the bottom left hand corner of Central Park.  We took the subway from there to 190th Street.  We have not been this far north on Manhattan before.  The bus tour only goes to 125th Street.  We are on our way to "The Cloisters"
This is the Metropolitan Museum's branch for medieval art.  John D. Rockefellar provided for the buildings,  the land and also the acquisition of the George Grey Barnard collection.  I am not very fond of medieval art but can appreciate the collection.  A highlight for me was to see the Unicorn Tapestries - these were woven in Brussels around 1500.  The gardens and land around the Cloisters are beautiful.  It is a very peaceful place in this very busy city.

We return home and get ready for Mass.  Tonight we attend Mass at St. Catherine of Siena on East 68th Street. This church is directly across the street from Memorial Sloan Kettering - the hospital where Terry is doing his research.

This is my least favorite church - so far.  There is a lot of brick and somehow just didn't do it for me.

As we walked home from Mass we passed another church, a Slovakian Roman Catholic Church.  St. John Nepomucene Church.   It is so beautiful.  The Mass for this church was over but we looked inside. The lights were low and it was so serene. I am not sure if you can get the feeling from the picture but it was gorgeous.

Now back to the practicalities  of life  -  we pop into a pizza place and order a veggie pizza to take home.

We watch the semi final matches from the US Open  (we taped it).  Happy Rafa got through but disappointed that Roger did not make it.  We are thinking of Michael Kwan tonight we know Roger was his pick.  Well he lasted longer than my pick - Andy Murray.   We watch the women and are very happy for Kim Clijsters, we wanted her to win.

Anyway - talk to you tomorrow.

We are so pleased with ourselves - we figured out how to put photos on the blog.......

Have a look back.

Fashion

Thursday was spend "housecleaning" very boring but necessary. More loads of laundry, cleaning the floors and furniture.

Friday, Terry's meeting was cancelled so we decide to take advantage of him being available and off we go to the Lower East Side to visit the Tenement Museum.  The immigrants had a very difficult time when they first arrived here.  The apartment we visited on the tour would have had an Irish family of 5 living in it and perhaps more than one family.  I did not learn too much as I know about tenement buildings from Glasgow.  However, in Glasgow the flats of the tenements would only house one family. These flats would have housed many families.  On one of the tours we heard that people who worked the day shift would rent out their rooms to people who worked the night shift.  It is interesting to note that the flat we visited is, in fact, bigger than Hannah's apartment.  The difference is that Hannah shares her apartment with Simone - not three other families!!!!

Tonight is "Fashion's Night Out" This is the second year for this. Apparently this was the brain child of Anna Wintour - the editor of Vogue (Meryl Streep played her in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada")  It is a night where the designers and department stores basically throw a party and encourage people to come out and visit the stores.  Terry and I walk up and down Madison Avenue. We are a most unlikely pair to be there. All the beautiful people are there wearing their designer clothes and there we are wearing our usual scruffy but comfy clothes - including runners - the only shoes I wear here.  We check out DKNY - we hear that Donna Karen herself will be here as she is celebrating her 25th year. We later hear she singed her hair on one of the cake candles. We don't stay long enough to see her.  We go to Michael Kors - Idina Mendel is supposed to be singing here tonight.  She is the singer who played the original "green witch" in  "Wicked" on Broadway. She, more recently, had a part in "Glee".  We don't see her either.  Brian Adams has a photography exhibit and apparently is performing at the Calvin Klein store.  The Dolce and Gabana store is very busy with models dancing in the windows.   It is a very busy avenue and fun to see, but we return home empty handed.  Actually, that is not quite true - someone hands me a balloon - I think she feels sorry for us.
It has been another full day here in the big apple.

Tomorrow will be a sombre day here as it is, what has become known as, "9-11" ........

Roision's Last Day

Dinner last night was very nice.  Italian.  We did take some pictures - I promise that within the next little while I will get Hannah to help me post them on here.  Hannah and Franky did join us which was a thrill for us.  It is always nice when the "young" folks spend time with us.  After dinner, we returned home to watch the US Open - it really is hard to get used to being on the east coast for these night matches at the US Open.  Games that start at 11pm really start at 11pm and not 8pm on the west coast.  Could not stay awake to watch Rafa last night.

This morning Roision and I walked to Lexington and 78th (12 blocks north and 3 blocks west) we were on a quest to find a store called "The Vegan Diva's".  Roision is vegetarian so we thought this might be a good place for coffee.  When we got there we discovered it is actually a grocery store that stocks a few shelves of baked goods by the Vegan Diva's.  Anyway, we bought some cookies, bagels and cream cheese and headed to the nearest Starbucks for our coffee and muffin.

 On our way home we pop into a beautiful Catholic Church.  I am trying to see how many Catholic Churches I can find while here in Manhattan. This one is on Lexington and 76th. It is St. Vincent Ferrer Church. The stained glass windows are exquisite.  St. Vincent, we discover, was born in Valencia, Spain. We find that of interest as Roision lives in Spain. I hope to post a picture of the windows - so beautiful.   We get home just after noon and have a quiet afternoon.  Roision gets packed and ready for her evening flight.  Terry gets home and we  have a very light supper before the car from Carmel arrives to take Roision to the airport.  It has been so good to have her here, we have had a wonderful week.
Terry and I are sitting watching the tennis while he plays his guitar.  Actually I am waiting for the washer - got the sheets and towels done tonight.  Tennis and laundry - how do you spend your Wednesday evening?
Talk to you tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROISION

Going back to Sunday afternoon "Billy Elliott" was great.  I loved all the tap dancing.  We all really enjoyed it.  After the theatre we headed off to Times Square looking for an Italian restaurant - we found "Tony's" Di Napoli - made us think of Peggy's husband Tony Naples.  We ordered 2 pasta dishes, one penne with broccoli and rigatoni with vodka and mushrooms - delicious!!!!!!!  After dinner Hannah went off to get the subway home to her apartment and Roision, Terry and I went off to the Rockefellar Centre.
We took the elevator ride to the "Top of the Rock" for wonderful views of Manhattan (I still prefer the view from The Empire State Building.  It was certainly a lovely time to see Manhattan from above.  The sun was setting and the city looked beautiful.  After this we head home.

Monday, we walked to the Grey Line bus station and bought our tickets for the "Hop on hop off" bus. We start with the lower loop.  The bus drives around most of lower Manhattan.  Roision and I have seen most of that on our own so we stay on the bus until we get to the South Street Seaport.  It is a lovely spot right on the water with a very nice boardwalk.  We buy some lunch and decide to eat outside looking at the boats and ferries going by.  After lunch we "hop" back on the bus and continue the tour of lower Manhattan until we return to Times Square.  We then "hop" on the bus to do the "upper loop" This loop starts by going north on 8th Ave towards Central Park.  We stay on the bus and admire the architecture of the beautiful buildings of the Upper West Side.  We get off the bus at "The Cathedral of St. John The Divine" It might just be my favorite church on the earth.  It is an Episcopalian  Cathedral and so big.  It is so beautiful.  The stained glass windows are unbelievable.  It truly is worth a visit if you are ever in the city.  After this we go looking for an ice cream - we don't find any but I do fine a book about the cathedral.  I have been looking to buy a book about the cathedral for about 3 years.   I am SO happy to find it.  We get back on the bus and continue the upper tour through Harlem and down 5th Avenue with Central Park on our right.  We pass by many of the famous museums.  This area is called museum mile - the Guggenheim, the Frick, the Museum of the City of New York and of course the Metropolitan Museum are all there.  We get off the bus at the Plaza - get our ice cream - and walk through Central Park.  We walk up to 78th street and leave the park at this point.   We head home for a well deserved rest but feel that Roision has managed to get a good look at the city.

Tuesday - this morning is a big day -  ROISION'S BIRTHDAY!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY .....

We get ourselves out into the city early.  We find a post office and Roision posts her postcards.  We walk to Grand Central Terminal at  42nd Street.  We have a look around and this beautiful building and then have a coffee and muffin from Magnolia Bakery - a pretty famous bakery here in Manhattan.  We then take the subway to Brooklyn. We get off at the first stop in Brooklyn and make our way to the Brooklyn Bridge which we will walk over to return to Manhattan.  The upper level of the two tier bridge is for bikes and pedestrians. It is something else you must so if you visit Manhattan.  I prefer to walk towards Manhattan than walking towards Brooklyn - just because you get a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. The sun is shinning, it is hot but there is a lovely breeze from the water.  It takes us half an hour to walk across the bridge.  We make our way to Broadway and walk up to Canal Street.  We decide to spend some money. We each buy some designer sunglasses - on Canal Street so you know we only paid $8.  We each buy a canvas bag with NEW YORK written on it.  Roision buys some trinkets to take home with her.  We continue walking north until we reach Houston Street where we find the subway to take us home.   We rest up this afternoon.  Hannah and Franky will join us tonight for dinner.  We are taking Roision out to celebrate her birthday.  We will go back to The East River Cafe - the place we had lunch with our friends the Knutsons.
Well, enough for now - more tomorrow......

Roision is in NYC

Roision arrived in New York early Thursday morning.  She had a rough flight with lots of turbulence.
She had a bit of a nap before we headed out into the city.  I decided to throw her into the deep end, so we took the subway to Times Square.  It was 2 pm and 94 degrees so we did not stay too long.  We then take the subway to Hannah's apartment.  After buying some coffee and muffins we head up the 4 flights of stairs to Hannah's apartment.  We have a lovely visit and do the dance of joy when her internet provider arrives and hooks them up.  Both she and Simone are very happy to be back online.  Roision is fading fast so we return home and rest up for the evening.

Friday we go to Ground Zero, the World Trade Centre.  It is the one thing that Roision really wants to visit.  I think it is a place that we should all visit while in New York.  It does feel like hallowed ground and deserves our time.  We visit St. Paul's chapel where the volunteers and and rescue workers were taken care of during the rescue efforts and clean up.  We check out the preview centre which shows what the area will look like when the rebuilding is finished.  It will be beautiful.
We walked from Ground Zero through the Financial District up to Tribeca (which means the triangle below Canal) We admire the beautiful architecture. We walk along Canal Street - the "knock off" area.  We refrain from buying any Chanel, Hermes or Coach....  We continue walking north through Soho (which means south of Houston) checking out the "Cast Iron Historic District" with the most beautiful buildings.  We walk by the Loft that Verna, Jacquie and Heather and the girls will live in when they visit.  We walk across Houston Street (pronounced Howston) and find ourselves in Greenwich Village.  Greenwich Village is a lovely neighborhood - NYU is here as is Parsons, The New School for Design - you know who goes to this school  (Hannah Phang).  Our goal today is to get to Union Square which is 14th Street between Park and Broadway.  We walk up Broadway and arrive at Union Square.  This is one of my favorite places, partly because I know it quite well.  We look around the farmers market and buy some fruit juice.  We sit on one of the benches to drink our juice and decide to call Hannah to see if she would like to join us.  Turns out she is a few feet away from us eating lunch. What a lovely surprise.
Roision and I take the subway home - we had just walked a quarter of the length of Manhattan!!!!!
We Skype with Terry, who is in Quebec presenting a paper at a conference.  He is having a busy but good time.

Saturday, I must confess, get on the subway going in the wrong direction.  We do, however, manage to get it right and get to Times Square/42nd Street.  We walk from there, which is 7th Avenue, to 12th Avenue to get to The Circle Line Cruise terminal.  We take the 3 hour cruise which takes you completely around Manhattan.  I think it is one of the best ways to spend $35.  You get very close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  You get a very good idea of the size of Manhattan and see a lot of the sights from a different angle.  We really enjoy it.
We walk from the cruise terminal down to 34th Street and 5th Avenue to the Empire State Building.  On leaving the terminal there is horrible black smoke coming from an area just north of the terminal.  We hear on the news there was a large fire at a sanitation centre.  We had just passed this centre 20 mins before!!!!!
The line up for the Empire State Building was so long we decided we would come back another time.   We decide to walk to see the Flatiron Building which is at 23rd and 5th.  It is a gorgeous building.  We take the subway home pick up some dips and appetizers for supper and wait for Terry to return home.   He returns, we eat some, we drink some wine and off to sleep.

Sunday morning - those guys in their cars that drive by our building with the windows down and the boom boxes blaring - are starting to get on my nerve......
Anyway, I check my email and Hannah has sent me an email saying  "we are okay" - there had been a huge accident outside their building.  Fire trucks and police cars were all over the place. They were returning home at 2 am to find a cab had crashed into the coffee shop which is right next door to their building.  She was concerned that I would see something on the news and worry (which I would)  It was, in fact, the top story on the news this morning,  Anyway, seems like the cab was avoiding an SUV and drove into the coffee shop. 3 pedestrians, the cab driver and his passenger were all taken to hospital, one person is in ICU.  You just never know......
Roision, Terry and I will go to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral at noon and then head over to the Imperial Theatre to see "Billy Elliott"  I will report back later.
The weather is gorgeous today with a high of 77 degrees

Wednesday

Today is the day I am left alone.
Terry heads off to Quebec City to present a paper at a conference.  He leaves around lunch time.
I head out after that to 18th and 5th to Barnes and Noble, a book store.  It is well set up for students of the New School.  Hannah has given me a list of textbooks that she needs.  There is a blue line on the floor of the store with instructions to "follow the blue line for The New School".  Way at the back of the store is where I find all of the New School books. The girls there are very helpful. I find 3 of the 4 books, the fourth one is sold out but replacements are expected in a couple of days.  Hannah has managed to get a couple of other books from friends. $250 later ( 2 of the books are used) I leave the store.
On my way back to the subway I just happen to pass by the Kate Spade store - I have to have a look. There might be a new handbag in my future.  I do have a birthday coming up .......
I pick up some groceries from the Food Emporium before heading home.  These textbooks are heavy....
I watch some tennis on tv - Rebecca Marino from Vancouver plays so well against Venus.  Even Venus seems impressed.  She looses in 2 sets but does take Venus to a tiebreak in the first.
Next, I am back to Bed Bath and Beyond - they must be sick of me by now.  It is just so convenient, it is one block from our apartment.  Miss Hannah is looking for red sheets.  I find some and buy them, I will use them for the air mattress for Roision before I send them over to Hannah.  The sofa bed that I thought Roision could sleep in does not look very comfortable.  The sofa itself is comfortable - the mattress leaves a lot to be desired.  We will figure something out.
I try to call a couple of friends in Vancouver but it appears everyone is out and about.  I do get to chat to Jonathan.  He has moved out of his sublet and is staying with a family from his Parish until Tuesday when he can move into the house he has rented.  I spend the evening watching the tennis - Roddick looses - and working on my quilt.
I get to Skype with Terry in Quebec - all seems well there.
Roision arrives tomorrow morning, I will wait for her in our lobby.
Talk to you later.

Tuesday

Today I go to the Imperial Theatre and get tickets for "Billy Elliot".  Terry, Hannah, Roision and I will go to the 2 pm performance. I am very excited as I have not seen this musical before.
I then start the business portion of my day.  I call Albino, the superintendent of Hannah's building to ask when he is going to fix the leak in their bathroom.  He basically tells me that he can fix the inside but really the roof needs to be fixed by the Management company.  We talk about the girls needing a new lock on their mail box and the fact that there are mice in the building. He tells me he will get to all of it this week. I tell him I will call him on Thursday if the girls have not heard from him. I am hopeful.
I take the subway down to Soho where the Management Company is.  It is so hot I buy a bottle of water from Duane Reade - the drug store here, I also feel like I need a drink before I talk to "the company"
They do try to give me the runaround - they tell me I need to call the superintendent regarding things about the apartment, when I tell them he told me to call them they say - well it is the leasing company you need to call.... I get a phone number from them but no address.  I then talk about the $75 fee we are disputing (see previous post).  I do get to talk to Linda, the leasing manager. This is the girl I was lead to believe was in some other office - the one who never returned my calls.  I told her had she returned my calls I may have paid the $75 but now I was really ticked off and "what could she do for me"  I feel I had some level of success when she agreed to waive the fee if the girls continue to pay their rent on time. It's not much but I am happy with it.  Now to call the leasing agent - I eventually get to talk to someone, having been put on hold for a very long time. Anyway, they are apparently trying to get the correct contractor to fix the roof. She assures me it will be fixed before winter but cannot say whether it will be fixed before the next rain storm.  So the girls will have a bucket in their bathroom a while longer.  I will call them again next week.
I wander around Soho and find the address that the Fab 5 will be living in when they come in October.
FABULOUS..... So many great stores in the area - Prada, Kate Spade, Topshop, All Saints to name but a few. I even found a Nespresso coffee shop 2 blocks from their address.  They are going to love being there.

This evening Hannah takes a cab to our place after school and we all get ready to head out to Queens.
We take the subway to Flushing Meadows to the US Open.  We feel very lucky as we will get to see Rafa Nadal as well as Caroline Wosniaki - both number 1 seeds.  Unfortunately for us Sharapova takes 3 sets to win her match so we are not allowed into Arthur Ashe until 8.30 pm - should have been 7pm.  We have a fun time wandering around. We buy a tee shirt for Jonathan and one for Hannah. Terry buys some binoculars - we know our seats will be "up high".  We see Patrick McEnroe and Mary Corrillo - Patrick takes pictures with his Iphone and posts them on his Twitter page. You can see Terry and Hannah (her head is above the large tennis ball) his post is "crowd pumped on the plaza" and it would be dated August 31st - for those of you who do Twitter and follow Patrick McEnroe.
Rafa is great but has his hands full. Our seats are pretty high up but still a great view of the court. The binoculars let us see the faces of the players.  The first set takes an hour to complete.  We need to leave after the 2nd set which is about 10.45pm,  it seems that at least half of the stadium leave at that point.  It was great to be there and now I want to go to Wimbledon and the French Open - Australia is still a wee bit far for me. We get home at midnight and I watch the Wosniaki match on TV.
In bed by 1am - so unlike me.     It has been a full day.
Good Night.