4 Below, The Warmth Of Friends

If you had told me three months ago that we would work an agency move on a guaranteed day in January I would have told you we would have two feet of snow or it would be below zero. Friday morning we woke to negative four in Pocono Pines - the day that Smithfield Township was eagerly waiting to move into their beautiful new building. We let our car warm for half an hour and then braved our way down the mountain. It was cold and dark but we were happy to be going....because we were working with our friends. We met up with Kirk, our close friend and partner in moving, at an Exxon station. Kirk is a continental driver who goes away for weeks at a time, but is always in our heart. From the Exxon we headed for Smithfield Township's old building, where we met up with Iz and his partner Vic. Iz and Paul go back many years. We both remember Iz learning to drive the big truck and spending countless hours backing up. He has become such a great mover and great driver. It seems like yesterday. As soon as we started the move everything fell into place and went so smoothly. There was no ego, no bickering, no waiting to see what to do next. Long haul truckers, as with others who live on the road, share a common bond. It is as though it is a badge of honor, a club with select membership, a relationship with yourself, your partner and your truck that no one else will ever experience. When you put a few of us together that are long friends, there is a warmth and love that transcends the frigid temperature and keeps you warm. That was how our Friday felt.

NYC Christmas 2008

Every year we head into NYC to "see the tree". I often wonder if you said that to someone from somewhere else, would they even know what you mean? This year was no exception. We headed in on Sunday afternoon, 4 days before Christmas. There was a homegame at the Meadowlands so I thought the Lincoln would be a poor choice. Instead we went through the Holland - the first time for us! It was a bit longer but we hit no traffic snarls at all so timewise it worked out about the same, minus the aggravation of stop and go on 3. As we pulled to the tollbooth we noted that even the tunnel entrance was decorated! That is the wonder of Christmas- everyone seems happier, decorations abound, there is a hustle and bustle in the air, an unseen excitement!

After we got through the Holland we were down in the financial district and had to make our way to the apartment so just kept heading north. Eventually we came to 23rd street and from there we knew we were almost home! After having the car parked and getting our bags up the elevator we made our traditional 'first night in" dinner walk down to Mike's Pizza for some great NYC pizza. Next morning it was off to Cosmos for breakfast, then uptown via the bus for some Christmas!!

First stop is always FAO Schwarz to see the live toy soldiers, the newest toys- which this year seem based on the upcoming "Hotel For Dogs" movie and paly with anything we can get our hands on. Then we start our leisurely stroll down 5th avenue, window shopping at Gucci, Feragamo, Prada and all the other big designer stores. We duck into Trump to see the five story gold waterfall , into Tiffanys's to browse, and finally into St.Pats to light a candle for those we have loved and lost. It is another cold day and people are lining up to buy pashminas and gloves from the street vendorrs. Finally we see the tree, every year looking prettier then the year before. There are people smiling and speaking languages we have never even heard before taking pictures and hugging, the children so excited! Skaters abound at Rockefellar Center and this is NY Christmas magic.

We finished our stroll heading over to Broadway to see the lights, admiring Times Square, and finally into Macys to see Santa Land. By now we are very cold so we catch a crosstown bus over to 2nd and then transfer to the bus going down 2nd. Tonight it will be Noodles On 28 for dinner where I can never get enough shrimp and asparagus cellophane dumplings! Another Christmas visit behind us, and a year to wait till next year to see another tree and another round of happy folks. I wish us all a happy, healthy and hopefully better 2009.

2008 NY Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Found these photos on my Canon PowerShot and figured it was time to blog!

I remember being a kid and calling the NYC Thanksgiving Parade "the Macy's Day Parade". It seems life forever since I went there- maybe almost 40 years? Well this year Paul and I decided it was our year to go and it was so great! First though I must say that there were a whole lot more people there then I remembered! :)

We woke up early and walked down to Cosmos Diner for our new favorite breakfast of coffee and ham egg and cheese on hard roll sandwiches. Back to the apartment and then we headed uptown on a very cold day. We settled in at Broadway and 37 Street, surrounded by folks having a great time in the cold. The line at Starbucks was a half block long and I decided I did not want a hot chocolate that badly!! We found a spot right against the building to lean on that kept us out of the wind. There were four or five teens next to us, having so much fun taking pictures of each other with their cell phones and trying to keep warm! After waiting about an hour we could hear the buzz from the crowd that the parade was coming! By now we were no longer cold as we were just sandwiched between people. There was no way one could walk or barely move! I had forgotten how big the balloons were! But the excitement was just as great as I remembered, if not more! The bands, the costumes, the floats, the balloons, we even saw Miley Cyrus! Then it was time for Santa, who has always signalled the start of the Christmas season! Well it was a chilly walk home, peeking in different restaurant windows to read menus and Turkey Day specials. Every place sounded so good, but some were awfully pricey. We ended up back in the neighborhood at Cosmos where we had a full Thanksgiving dinner, turkey and all the fixings and pumpkin pie all for $14.95! After that long day we were definitely ready for bed!

Beautiful Sight

Wow how could so much time have elapsed since I last blogged? I guess I sort of developed a "funk". It seems you cannot turn on the news or open a paper without seeing all the bad news that surrounds all of us nowadays. Even work, which has been a source of joy for us for years has been hit hard and we see friends laid off or let go and the remaining ones nervous. Nothing seems the same anymore. But time goes on, and life goes on and the sun comes up in the morning, and all we can do is hope for a better tomorrow for us all. It is time for a change.

Today we went for a ride- it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we ended up with myself, Paul, mom and Tigger driving in Jonas PA. I happened to glance up at a tree and could not believe my luck! A beautiful bald eagle, just sitting in a tree. Breathtaking!! So that is our blog today- a beautiful creature enjoying a sunny day, just as we were.