Sunday, November 30, 2008

'tis the season



Went with friends David and Michael to get 
a Christmas tree. Included in the deal
was a big bag of birdseed (?).  We browsed 
a bit—and we were definitely enchanted.  
So is your tree real or fake?

Saturday, November 29, 2008

the road IS mine



And everyone else's! Headed up to Mass. for yet 
another Thanksgiving dinner (because I 
definitely need two 4,000-calorie meals in one 
week!). Hard to post from here, but will try.

Friday, November 28, 2008

I'm thankful



. . . for my brother and sister-in-law, 
who cooked this delicious meal!
Hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving too.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Municipal Bldg.



I love the top of this building
(clearly visible from the Manhattan
side of the Brooklyn Bridge).
It's down near City Hall (and across
the street from the criminal court,
where I once spent a huge chunk of
time on the jury of a major murder trial).

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Happy Birthday


This is my friend Barbara, who's celebrating her 50th
and listening to one of the editors at our magazine
read a (very funny) list of "50 reasons why we love Barbara."
This started with my daughter Katie, who wrote a
list of "21 reasons why I love Lila" for her sister's
21st birthday. I suggested Barb do one for her sister
on her 55th (and then my colleague Lisa did the same
for her sister's recent 60th birthday).
My mom will be 89 in a few months—what do you think?

going home . . .



. . . tonight in a light rain—down the FDR, past the
Manhattan Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge, with lower
Manhattan beyond. This picture doesn't really do
it justice, but it IS so beautiful, even in the rain.

Monday, November 24, 2008

apple pie for Thanksgiving



We all braved the bitter cold to get to the
greenmarket yesterday. Looks like there'll
be lots of apple pies on Thursday. I like
mine a la mode (but prefer pumpkin).
How about you?

Sunday, November 23, 2008

homeland security?


Sure hope it never comes to this!
(Actually, I took this shot of the
Empire State Building from across
the river, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.)



Saturday, November 22, 2008

So why . . .



. . . can you never find one when you need one?
Perhaps this is why I never take cabs—although
I would LOVE to find myself in the Cash Cab 
 (license # 7N78) one of these days.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Techno Christmas



Okay, I give in — the holidays are upon us.
They're having a wonderful gift fair at Grand
Central. At the entrance is this "Christmas tree"
made of TV screens with images that change
every few minutes. Kinda cool.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

namaste



I love this museum, and visit whenever I can.
Really hoping I can find time to see this exhibit.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

all lit up



Love it when we light up the beautiful
architecture (as they've been doing in
Paris forever). This is the New York
Life (insurance co.) building, designed
in the '20s by Cass Gilbert, who also
designed the Woolworth Building.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Are you kidding?




Passed these places tonight on my
way to the subway after dinner
w/friends. I definitely don't need
the gift wrap, seeing as how I don't
yet have any gifts to wrap!
I guess it's all about the economy;
they're reminding us already because
they're afraid no one will buy anything
-- and they may be right!

Monday, November 17, 2008

They bottled it!


The manager of my fave neighborhood restaurant
shared this with me today.  I was pretty excited to
discover you can find "Parisian life in a bottle."
It's called St.-Germain, BTW, and it's delish!
(How come I didn't know about this?)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

matching



Here's a house, in Queens, with a matching mailbox.
This neighborhood, near the Whitestone Bridge has
lots of properties like this one.
Personally, I'm not all about the McMansion, but
I love that these homeowners did this.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

weekend fun


Or not. When I saw this, I thought I'd been
magically transported from 43rd and Madison
to somewhere in, say . . . Montana?

Friday, November 14, 2008

Chrysler Bldg.


This is just one of many, many, many photos
(this one shot from the office) that I've taken
of my all-time fave NYC building.
Learn more about it  here.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

workout


All that candy yesterday (yes, I was weak)!
So—time to hit the gym.  Okay, this one's in
the Village and mine is near Grand Central,
but a treadmill's a treadmill and sweat is sweat.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Kourtney's mom strikes again


Every once in a while, the entire staff
gets an e-mail from Kourtney: "My mom
has done it again." And we know that
yet another large box has arrived, filled
with tasty treats for all of us to dig into.
We LOVE Kourtney's mom!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

water


This is the City Hall Park Fountain, designed in 1871 by 
Jacob Wrey Mould. For some reason, it was moved to the 
Bronx in 1920. But when he was mayor, Giuliani
said "I don't think so!" and back downtown it came.

Monday, November 10, 2008

autumn in New York






Well . . . in Brooklyn. Prospect Park, to be exact.
We had a gorgeous, crisp, sunny fall day here
today—hope yours was just as glorious.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Tom's

This is Tom's, the best place for breakfast ever—
and it's right in my neighborhood.  
There's always a line to get in, 
but no one minds, because they hand out gratis coffee 
(also oranges, cookies, and even strawberries and 
whipped cream) while you're waiting.
 Gus, the owner, is so welcoming
(and informative)!
  Even the Swedish royal family loves it
(they probably 
ordered the pumpkin pancakes).

Saturday, November 8, 2008

art for peace


Been trying to pay more attention to
the art that's all around us in this
city. This is Obelisk to Peace, by
Irving Marantz— at the corner of
Park and 34th Street.

Friday, November 7, 2008

par-tay!


There are a bunch of passageways in the west '50s
in Manhattan that run between crosstown streets
(very convenient when it's raining).  One of them
(part of the City Center theater complex) is used
sometimes for receptions, but they don't 
close it to pedestrians.
Went through recently while they were having a
get-together—and looked up.  The whole party
was up there on the ceiling!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

what so proudly . . .


I'm still overwhelmed with emotion over our historic election. 
 Dug into the archives to find this shot of the
flag over the Brooklyn Bridge (taken the day I met 
PHX-CDG/Lynn, my friend from Paris Daily Photo).

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

let's make history


At 11-something on 11/4, I can't begin to tell you how
proud I am of my country for electing Barack Obama
the 44th president of the United States.  It was an incredible
campaign and a victory well-earned.  It won't be easy, but
let's move ahead and become friends with the 
rest of the world once more.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

checking the polls


Can't wait for this election to be over, so I
can put down the computer(s) and the op-eds,
and go back to reading actual literature!
Doesn't everyone feel that way at this point?
(And I'm hoping the result doesn't make
me want to leave the country.)

Monday, November 3, 2008

last flowers of fall




Shot these on the North Fork of Long Island
on Saturday.  I'd like to dedicate this post
to my cousin John Ripley, a true hero, who
passed away this weekend.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween encore


My brother's band, the Lone Sharks, kept Halloween
going for one more night with a party on Shelter Island.
Everyone caught the last ferry off the island.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Trick or Treat






It's New York's fabulous Halloween parade,
three hours of you-name-it! I love it because
I can enjoy it from 10 flights up—and I don't
have to find a costume. The highlight for me
was 200 or so people (with Michael out front
in red) all dancing to "Thriller." (I put a picture
here, but you kind of had to be there.)