Strolling Through Central Park

Today was another scorcher...so I decided to walk to Central Park, via 7th Avenue, where there was a street fair! It was time to fill up on junk food!!! Corn dog, watermelon, and some weird muffin made of sweet corn and mozzerella cheese (delicious!).

When I reached Central Park, I saw people everywhere. There were people lying in the grass.

People sitting on the rocks.

People crossing the bridges.

Kids playing on one of the playgrounds.

People walking on the paths in the park and sitting on the benches.

And tons of people sitting in the Sheeps Meadow.

There were people riding bicycles,

wearing rollerblades...

jogging...

taking horse & buggy rides...

and doing some more rollerblading...

more jogging...

and hitching a ride on a bike buggy...

in a wheelchair...

in a stroller...

and on a leash.

A fun day was had by all!

Even More NYC Photos

Here are a few more pictures that I took today -

the first two were taken in Times Square.

Can you tell that it is Fleet Week?

There were one or two tourists in Times Square today...

Here's a pic taken on Jen's 11th Floor Terrace, looking towards the Empire State Building.

Looking from the terrace to the west - that's the Hudson River (or should I say runway?).

A close-up view of the Empire State Building.

One of the rooftop sitting areas.

Another sitting area with an awesome view.

A view of all the covered rooftop areas.

The main rooftop seating/sunning area.

Some NYC Photos

Here are several pictures that I took recently...the first batch is from Jen's softball game on Thursday, and the rest are of her new apartment. She's not finished yet - still has a couple pieces of furniture that will be coming soon, and she has pictures/posters to hang.

This was my view as I sat on the bleachers at the softball field in Central Park.

Seth is leading the "In the Heights" team in their warm up.


Jen and her fellow merchandise coworker, Rodrigo.

My little girl, the catcher.

Practicing before the game.

What great form!

Jen's apartment - still not completely finished...

but a lot better than when we were sleeping on the floor!

The dining area.

With my back to the window, looking towards the dining area.

With my back to Jen's bed, looking towards the kitchen and front door.

Jen's desk area.

The necessary room.

The kitchen (that's where she's going to cook...)

Tying up Loose Ends

We're pretty much finished. Just waiting for the missing box #1 of 2 for the sideboard, and trying to figure out how to move a queen mattress/box spring, ottoman, and bedding from the West 90s to the West 30s. So far, "official moving companies" are charging $300+ and I find that a bit ridiculous. Jen still needs to hang pictures/posters, I need to change out the shower head, and there's a few things we ordered that need to be returned.

Yesterday was fun, I watched Jen play on the Broadway Softball League. "In the Heights" beat "Happiness" 15 to 1. It was fun to watch! Jen played catcher, and actually got a hit once and was able to score a run! She surely doesn't get her sports ability from me! I got to sit on the bleachers that were under shade trees, looking south towards the buildings on Central Park South, it was 77 degrees and gorgeous.

I'm not quite sure when I'll be leaving. My hubby said to stay here until next weekend. He's not in the greatest of moods because his turbine engine is broken, and he had to ship it to Mexico for repair. Instead of being sent "Next Day Air," it was sent "Slow Boat to China." He is pissed. And the US rep is not the most communicative guy, and doesn't return phone calls. So Greg is fit to be tied. He cancelled the trip to Austin, TX (where we were supposed to be now). So it's not a hard choice - stay here in NYC in a nice, quiet apartment OR be at home listening to moaning and groaning about a broken engine. He is hoping that the engine is back in his hands for a jet rally next weekend in Ft. Collins, CO.

It is Fleet Week here in NYC - the place is crawling with sailors and Marines. I told Jen she should walk the streets...

Randomness

Here's a batch of photos that were on my camera...

The daytime view out Jen's apartment window, looking northwest.

The view from Jen's apartment window, looking northeast.

Enjoying my belated Mother's Day gift from Jen - it's a banana split waffle from HK, a restaurant a couple blocks away from Jen's new apartment. Danger, danger! (It was delicious...)

A building a few blocks from Jen's place - they're putting up a new ad, and it's being painted. The guys are on scaffolding and are covering up the British-type ad with a new one.

This was taken at our vet's office in Colorado Springs the last time I stopped in. This little guy had just gotten a clean bill of health.

A gathering of deer in a neighbor's yard -
a very typical scene in Colorado Springs.

Jon Bon Jovi Sighting

This morning, I accompanied Jen crosstown to the 35th Street ferry that would take her to NJ for a rendezvous with my sister, Nancy. They had a planned meeting of 5 minutes where Nancy would pass Jen 'the goods' that we purchased at The Christmas Tree Store in NJ, and that Nancy has been storing for two months.

As we got off the M34 bus at the SeaStreak ferry dock, I walked past a park bench with a family sitting on it and did a doubletake. Jon Bon Jovi. Nice. He was there with his wife Dorthea and their four children - two little boys, and a teenaged boy and girl. They were also waiting for the ferry to take them back to their home in NJ. I was tempted to take Jen's place and lust after him for the next hour on the ferry ride, but decided that I should just stay in Manhattan and wander.

And wander I did. I walked from 35th Street and 1st Avenue all the way down to 1st Street and 1st Avenue. Then I walked over to 2nd Avenue and walked up it, back to 35th Street. About 70 blocks or so...it was a good walk with lots to see.

We're back at the apartment now, having successfully transferred 'the goods' - and everything is put away. It sure feels like naptime to me.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

That's the name of the musical that Jen and I attended this afternoon. The composer of the song that the show was named after was Jay Gorney - both his wife and daughter were in attendance at the show today, sitting a couple seats in front of us. I recognized the daughter - Karen Lynn Gorney - as Tara from "All My Children" from back in the 70's, as well as Stephanie from "Saturday Night Fever." She's now 64 years old...but I still recognized her! For more info to help jog your memory, here's her website address: http://www.karenlynngorney.com/index.htm.

The theatre, The Triad, is adorable. Tiny, intimate, ornate. Little tables scattered among the chairs and padded banquettes...very cozy. The show was awesome. Six actors and three musicians singing/playing songs from the Depression era. Interspersed with comments by FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eddie Cantor, Herbert Hoover and Will Rogers. It was interesting to note the parallels between the 30s and now. Here's a website that describes the show and songs I heard in more detail: http://www.curtainup.com/brothercanyouspareadime.html.

Jen's voice teacher, Bill Daugherty, was awesome. He's got a fantastic voice, lots of energy, and so much talent. It is so fun going to shows now and knowing someone on the stage! It adds an entirely new perspective to watching the performance.

Afterwards, Jen and I stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond for a few odds and ends. We're in the "fine tuning" stage of organizing her stuff...more furniture arrives this week, and then she'll be DONE.

I was planning on going back to CO on Tuesday, so that I could drive to Austin, TX with Greg on Wednesday for a long weekend at an R/C jet rally, but he's decided not to go. He also cancelled our trip the following weekend to San Diego - it was for a dental conference that seems to have fallen apart because of the economy and fears of the swine flu. Too bad! So now he's told me to stay in NYC as long as I'd like...

The Day After Moving Day

I just went back and corrected all my typos in the previous post - I was literally falling asleep as I was typing! But now I've had a good night's sleep, and I'm (almost) ready to start the day (at 11AM or whatever time it is).

We got all the boxes unpacked last night and all we need to do is organize. Jen's going to IKEA on Monday to pick up a few pieces of furniture, and we're (sort of patiently) waiting for a delivery from them for a few pieces that we've ordered online. Once we have all the pieces, it'll be a lot easier to visualize where everything needs to go.

We are actually taking a break this afternoon and going to see "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" It is a musical that was written by Jen's voice coach - he also stars in it. He is an amazing talent.

Jen is working tonight after we see the show, so I'll probably go to The Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond, or back to the apartment and watch my NetFlix movies! At least I now have furniture to sit on and a bed to sleep on. :)

Moving Day

I will summarize the past three days: packing, taping, tossing, exterminating, bending, pulling, lifting, organizing, pushing, washing, drying, folding, aching, moaning, groaning. There! I think that about says it all!

The extermination of those dreaded bedbugs took place yesterday starting at 6:30AM. Fortunately, the exterminator did not find any signs of an infestation...woo hoo! But then where did the bugs come from that bit Jen? I guess we'll never know. But those little boogers (buggers) are gone now!

We had a lazy day today, since our appointment with the movers wasn't until 3PM. But then they called at 12:45PM and said they'd be available in 45 minutes if that'd work. So we jumped in our clothes, grabbed a cab and I told him to "step on it" (he didn't).

There were three movers - the guy in charge was Omari and he was from Antigua. He looked, acted and spoke like Taye Diggs in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." Not bad...

The entire move should have taken a total of 3 1/2 hours, but once we got to the new place, the movers "broke" the service elevator - Jen's mattress and box springs as well as some boxes were stuck in the elevator. Two hours later, they finished up the move.

The new place is awesome! I was worried that the new place wouldn't be able to fit all her "stuff" - but it did, and there's extra room left over! Such a nice change!

Well...I am falling asleep as I write this, so I think I had better go to bed...

Life in New York

After such an "interesting" Saturday night, I had a quiet Sunday...I decided to fly to NYC on JetBlue and take their redeye flight which left DEN at 12:55 AM on Monday and got into JFK at 6 AM. Needless to say, I was a bit tired.

I made my way to Jen's apartment after taking the AirTrain and the subway, and then slept for a couple hours when I reached my destination. I called Jen's new super and explained our situation with "the bugs" and asked if we could get her keys early. Fortunately, he said yes! So, while Jen was in class (the timing of all this couldn't be any worse - it's finals week!!!), I schlepped a ton of her clothes to the laundromat and washed, dried, folded and bagged them! Fortunately, Jen was done and joined me during the folding process.

Instead of bringing all the newly washed clothes back up 6 flights of stairs into a possibly bug-infested apartment, we took all the clean things to the new place! Awesome. This place is 180 degrees different than what she is in now. Thank God!

We decided to camp out at the new place, instead of (trying) to sleep in the old one. Aside from the lack of furniture and the hard floor, it was a nice first night in the new apartment!

I spent Tuesday washing more clothes - again, Jen was done with classes in time to fold and schlep to the new place (I also make her go up and down the six flights to take back things and bring down new things . . .). While Jen went to work, I went back to the old place and totally cleaned the bathroom - if anyone dares to use it, I will have a fit!

Jen's roommate decided to move now, also - but she isn't taking the precautions that we are with her clothes, stuff, etc. She used up all OUR trashbags to bag up her things, but she bagged them all with the bugs still inside (if there are any, of course!). Hopefully, she won't get a nasty surprise at her next apartment!

On Wednesday, I have to get get the old place ready for the exterminator - he wants everything at least three feet from the walls . . . when the place is only 8 feet wide, that doesn't leave a whole lot of space for boxes, etc! I'll do the best that I can.

The old apartment will be fumigated on Thursday morning and the movers will come on Friday afternoon (where I'll pay big, burley guys to do the schlepping). I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel . . .

Jen demonstrating how large this place is as she stretches side . . .

. . . to side! The pictures don't really do it justice. Granted, it's smaller based on Colorado standards, but compared to her old place, this is a palace!

The bathroom features an awesome triple medicine cabinet with mirrors - makes for some camera fun! Do you see me peeking around the doorframe?

More camera and mirror fun - it's going to provide Jen with many, many nights of entertainment!

A view of the kitchen, featuring lots and lots of CABINETS and a DISHWASHER (which is a rare thing in NYC apartments)!



A beautiful microwave/convection oven and a GAS STOVE. The stove has a griddle in the center - she can now make Grandma's grilled cheese sandwiches with ease!

View from her apartment window.

Our lovely double bed - all we're missing is a mattress, box springs, sheets, and another blanket or two!

After a hard day of laundry, schlepping clothes, cleaning the old place and hauling dishes and stuff to the new place, I rewarded myself with an hour on the 11th floor rooftop patio. If you look closely, there's a little white peak to the right of center - that's the Chrysler Building.

And this is looking north - mainly apartment buildings.

And the highlight - the Empire State building (bathed in purple lights - for Frontier, maybe?), and the New Yorker hotel. Those lighted canopies have tables and chairs underneathe them for dinners under the stars, poker games, or shelter from the sun!