Random moments in October

So it's November 9, and the first marking period ended yesterday!

Bob and I were actually able to see Frank's first Mendelssohn Club concert at the Kimmel Center.

First, we had dinner at a.table.

It was a delicious 1000 Open Table points meal!

Then we stopped at Pain Quotidien for al fresco coffee -- and a little smooch.

And then it was off to the choral-organ concert, which was lovely, as was the venue.

It was a great evening -- here's the mural near where we parked our car.

Here's part of my Halloween costume -- I was Queen Elizabeth, and one of my students played Harry.

I discovered that I was actually channeling my mom....

Some of the English teachers dressed for the day.

Prince Harry looks awesome along with a character from Dr Who.

This was the view from our side porch last weekend.

Another arty shot of our back yard...

Day two in NYC.

We awoke at 7:45am -- wow, a great night's sleep!  We were meeting Andrea and Marlon and the kids at 10:00am at The Bluebell Cafe.
http://www.thebluebellcafenyc.com/welcome.html
By 9:15 we had checked out and retrieved our car, and I found a primo spot on 22nd Street close to 3rd Avenue.  Little-known secret: on Sunday all on-street parking is FREE in Manhattan!!!  So awesome.

Anyway, we snagged a 6-person table when we knew they were close to the place.  The children are still clinging to Mommy, but they warmed up to us as Bob was just being Bob -- a fabulous grandpa wanna-be.

Nori and Andrea were apparently looking at a sign on the wall...

 Lorenzo was pretending that his bacon was his tongue...

 Marlon and Nori were checking out a coloring book...

 Nori was contemplating her choice of colors...

 And once out on the street, Nori modeled her ensemble.

Lorenzo showed off his Star Wars jacket.

 And Nori was jumping!

And we ended our visit with Bob and Lorenzo dueling!

Initially stressful but ultimately fun weekend in NYC.

Bob was due home on Friday morning, but because of three truck breakdowns related to the same issue, Friday evening found him near the Ohio/Pennsylvania border, and he couldn't begin driving until 4:30am. We had matinee tickets for Once, so I was torn -- should I see if Frank and Chris wanted the tickets or try to make the show by meeting Bob in Keasbey, NJ, where he could park the truck for the night. We decided on the latter, figuring that we could at least see the second half of the show. And we timed things so well that I arrived only five minutes before Bob, who is seen backing his rig into a teeny space.

And here's another shot of one of places where one can get a tanker washed out.

So Bob changed in the truck, and off we went at 12:30 to Manhattan.

Believe or not, we parked on 28th Street, stowed our bags at the Hotel Indigo, and made it to the theater in time to buy an expensive beer in a sippy cup onstage before the play Once began!

After enjoying an excellent production, we walked back to the hotel, rested for a few minutes, and then left for dinner at our favorite NYC restaurant, Colicchio and Sons taproom across the street from the Chelsea market.
 http://www.craftrestaurantsinc.com/colicchio-and-sons/
On the way, we saw two subway entrance signs where someone had carefully added a tilde decal to the NR line -- too funny!

Our beer guy Chase was off, but his associate, Jessica, talked to us, and somehow we ended up with soup and two of our four beers on the house - wow. Here's the soup and Bob's bone marrow appetizer and duck confit entree. I was being good, so I ordered skate and beef carpaccio.

On the walk back to the hotel, I decided that we had to walk by Rosa Mexicano for a pomegranate margarita -- yummy as always.

And then we had some spectacular views of the Empire State Building as we walked up Broadway.

Here's another shot.

Back to the hotel by 10:15 and in bed by 10:30...

Almost October.

As the years go by, I find that time is on super warp speed.  I've already been in school for 4 weeks, and our interim grades are due next week. Wow.  

I'm teaching 12th grade British Literature for the first time in 12 years -- a lot of prep work but so rewarding. I've always been an anglophile -- my viewing list of favorite TV shows includes many BBC/ITV shows (Luther, Broadchurch, Whitechapel, Call the Midwife, Inspector Lewis, Foyle's War, etc.). 

There's a different vibe in a senior versus a sophomore class.  First of all, you can make so many connections with what's currently under discussion and previous pieces of literature they've read.  And most of them are 18, so that creates a whole other layer of discussion. I've got our quarterback in my class as well as one of the leads in the fall show, so there's another dimension.  Happy?  Absolutely.

And of course my little sophomores are just so innocent -- they're a treat, and I'm so lucky to have cornered the gifted group at my school.  They're awkward but insightful, oblivious yet empathetic...awesome. 

My only wish is always that my favorite movie critic could share this new part of my journey...

School and Weight Watchers have begun.

On Tuesday I had my first day of work where all the students came -- I now have one class of seniors along with my usual 10th grade gifted English classes.  Yesterday, as the day came to an end, I realized how much I continue to enjoy the interaction with these kids -- they make all  the stuff outside of the classroom bearable.

Also, a friend and I had decided to start Weight Watchers online on the same day and then track our progress together.  I do so much better when I have someone to talk to about all the challenges of eating properly.  This works so well because T. and I don't get to see each other that often, and this gives us the opportunity to stay connected on a more regular basis.  Yay!

So Monday was our start day.  As soon as I can change the weigh-in day, I'll change it to Friday so that I'm not weighing in the day after a weekend.   Anyway, we've already issued a challenge to each other: to avoid eating anything after 6:30. Of course, it's easier for me to keep to that because I don't have evening meetings and dinners like T. does. 

Today I have off because it's a Jewish holiday -- time to continue planning and getting my Edmodo up and running. 

One day more.

Tomorrow begins the first day of the 2013-2014 school year. I've successfully procrastinated as to the quiz I need to create for the summer reading.  That's because I know I have time in school as well as next weekend...

A busy day.

Thursday was a busy day! We decided to get our discount tickets at South Street Seaport - a good decision, as it turned out. After our free breakfast at the Park South, we took the subway to the financial district and then walked to the temporary kiosk (the original building had been destroyed by Sandy). The line was short, so in no time at all we had our tickets to Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike! We also saw some sort of event being set up -- looked like extras waiting for a shoot.

Our next stop was Macy's, always a favorite place to shop. This was one of the murals we saw leaving the subway station.

After spending some quality time in Macy's, we had developed a powerful hunger.  Originally. we planned to have lunch in the Village, but we decided to stay closer to our hotel (and Lord and Taylor!), so we chose an old favorite: Artisanal  We both had the restaurant week lunch special.  First came cold cucumber soup with a dollop of greek yogurt - yum.

I had a tasty Spaniard sandwich for my entree; Nancy had an equally tasty chicken fricasse. 

 We both ordered sorbet for dessert.

After lunch we walked to Lord and Taylor.  We checked out a number of different items, but ultimately neither of us bought anything.  Back at the hotel, I took a nap while Nancy read.  All too soon, it was time to go to the theater, which we did via subway. 

The play was quite funny although many times we were laughing at things that maybe the entire audience didn't get -- like references to life in the '50s and Wawa and Upper Black Eddy in Bucks County...  

And how could we spend a few days in New York without having a pomegranate margarita at Rosa Mexicano?  We walked up to Lincoln Center and enjoyed some guacamole along with our yummy drinks. We took a cab back to the hotel and were asleep a little after midnight.

 

NYC with Nancy B.!

Today's itinerary was driving to New York and visiting the 9/11 Memorial site. Our drive was uneventful, and we were on the street by 11:30.

First, we walked by the flatiron building on our way to Chelsea. Although the sky was gray, we only had a few drops of rain all day. 

We had lunch at the Cookshop, a nice place on 10th Avenue.  Then it was on to Chelsea Market, where we had delicious macarons for dessert. 

After our lunch we took the subway to the 9/11 memorial. The tallest building there is looking close to being finished.

We saw a number of white roses placed in the etchings of people's names.

And we passed a Belgian waffle stand!

For dinner, I chose Giorgio's of Gramercy. We arrived after chilling for about an hour in our room. The dinner was great, helped tremendously by our server.  He was knowledgeable and funny. We chose the 3- course prix fixe with accompanying wines. Both our meals were delicious, and the wines were interesting and fun. This is my tuna appetizer.

Our final stop of the night was Eataly's Birriera, where we had a lovely visit with the amazing Swanna MacNair. On our way back to the hotel, we saw a purple Empire State Building!

Steve Frederick's memorial service.

On Saturday morning I was on my way home by 7:30AM.  I had decided to sing in the memorial choir for the celebration of life service for my former principal and friend Steve Frederick.  Davis Giersch, conductor of the choir, recommended going through the line at 11:00 so that we'd have plenty of time to get through and make our 12:30 rehearsal of the 5 songs we were singing.  I had been practicing the two songs I didn't know well on the way home from the beach.  I got home at about 9:30, practiced with the piano for a while, and dressed for the event, leaving for the high school before 11:00.

I actually met Nancy B. in the receiving line, and we caught up during the 40 minutes it took to meet the family.  I had seen Steve, his wife, and daughter Steph (who graduated with Sam) at Henning's on a number of occasions, so I reminded them of those times, and we laughed a little.

I went to the audion and met up with Donna Hill, a woman with whom I'd done a few plays in the early '80s.  We chatted until the rehearsal began.  The choir was comprised of so many talented singers that the rehearsal went really well, and I had plenty of time to hit the ladies room before going to the auditorium for the service.  We sang 4 songs right at the beginning and then a benediction at the end.

Sean Burns and Matt Klenk are in the foreground - I'm at the left, and a great picture of Steve fills the screen behind us.

The service was long because of all the music and speakers, but it was a lovely celebration of a caring, funny, talented music teacher and principal.  I think it's awesome that I was hired by a musician/principal who continued to be involved in conducting, playing, and singing (he and Frank sang in a few concerts together) until the very end of his life. 

Days #6 & 7 at the beach.

Wow - I'm back home, and somehow the last two days at the beach flew by!!  So Thursday was the day when many people left - the Wilkinson crew and Kelsey.  The Rybickis, Alicia and her friend Lauren, and I went to the Tuckahoe Inn for lunch before Kelsey returned to volleyball practice in Virginia the next day - she's assistant coach besides being a first-year math teacher.  After our return, I accompanied Judy, Fran, Nicole, Alicia, and Perry to the promenade.   We walked around, and Judy talked to people about her car repair issues.  We met up with Fran and Perry at a beach bar restaurnant where I had a beer and some steamed clams -- yum.

It was my turn to cook, so Judy took me to the Acme AGAIN to buy my stuff.  Upon our return, we chilled for a while and then I prepared the chicken and pierogies.  After we ate, Nicole was looking through her music collection for an appropriate song for her first dance at the upcoming wedding (September 2014).  We all got pretty silly -- such fun when the sisters and nieces are silly.

Nicole and Alicia were rocking out to some songs by the end of the night!

The next day preparations for packing started so that we wouldn't have a huge job first thing in the morning.  Nicole and Alicia got mani-pedis while the rest of us were slowly gathering our belongings.  It's amazing how similar their hands are!

Frank also called to say that he was stopping by for the night - yay!  He arrived at 3PM, and we headed down to the beach.  It was absolutely gorgeous, and we stayed for a couple of hours before returning to the house.  And our strong niece Nicole brought beer to the beach!

I mistakenly bought some nasty suntan lotion at Whole Foods (it must be good if it comes from Whole Foods!) -- it was the same stuff that's in diaper rash cream. Ewwww.  It took me forever to get that crap off my skin.  So never buy this lotion -- ALBA very emollient!

Dinner was pizza again just because it was easy, and we didn't want to cook again and have a huge clean-up.  After dinner a bunch of people went to Stone Harbor for Kohr Bros. ice cream, but Frank, Judy, Fran, and I stayed behind.  We finished a bottle of fake Bailey's (Canadian wine-based cream liqueur) and went to bed at midnight.

Day #5 -- The Cootie tournament.

Today was designated for our second annual Cootie tournament.  Last year Aunt Judy won, much to the surprise of the cootie players (especially Aunt Fran and Kelsey!).  This year a new set of rules was implemented: 5 rounds for 5 players and then the top 5 scorers played until someone scored 75 points.

This game was given to us by our Aunt Bobbie - it's really a multiple solitaire game where the person who gets rid of a pile of 13 cards while playing solitaire wins.  Fran and Kelsey are the masters of the game, but different people have amazing nights.

 Earlier in the day, we got ready to celebrate two events: Tyler's 16th birthday and Kelsey's graduation from college and her master's program.

Some of us went to Patti's Party World, an awesome party store near Rio Grande.  We got some fun stuff for both celebrants.

Then we went shopping in Sea Isle.  This was the ocean view from the shops on the Promenade.

 After all returned from shopping and the beach, Steve took Tyler and Kelsey to pick up pizza at Uncle Oogie's, named #8 in best pizza places at the shore (and there's a ton of pizza places!).  Meanwhile, the sisters and families created a party atmosphere.

The celebrants returned, and the surprise was effective! Here we are anxiously awaiting their return.

 The pizzas are here!

And Kelsey is way surprised -- she thought it was just for Tyler!

Tyler allows his picture to be taken!

Here's Kelsey in her graduation gifts.

 And Kelsey and Tyler posing for the crowd.

And a couple of secret service agents showed up to monitor the Cootie championship.

And Kelsey won the championship, with Fran in second place and Tyler in third.  So much fun!