Monday, January 31, 2011

A Visit to Long Island and Snow in the City



*

If any thing, there was even more snow on Long Island. 
These photos were taken on Friday at the Jarvis House.


Everything submerged -- like the lawn furniture....


How almost New England --the red barn and the snow...


Quite the photo op season for the berries......


and the grasses too.


Back in the city, the sparrows gather together,


the crosswalks are filled with sloppy old slush,


cars are timidly peeping out from under the drifts.

22nd Street. Monday morning.


The dog was pretty impressed by the snowman in Penn South.
More snow predicted for tomorrow........!



ps Regarding yesterday's post about the unfortunate Beige Family, all the suggestions were great (and I'd welcome even more), but I liked Britt-Arnhild's sensible invitation a lot. Dear Britt-Arnhild, just let me know where to send the $10!

*

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Most Depressing Advertisement I Ever Saw!



Am I completely nuts to be upset by this advertisement that appeared
in Better Homes and Gardens?


The Beige Family look pretty happy on their couch watching TV, eating packaged pizza and drinking carbonated sugar water with chemicals in it --followed by chocolate and packaged popcorn.

And all for only $30 !

It makes me want to weep.

Please submit suggestions to improve 
the poor BEIGE FAMILY'S life
$10 to the charity of choice of the most imaginative responee! 


*

Thursday, January 27, 2011

More Snow....

*





Someone had left seed on the church wall on 22nd Street.


The bushes and fences were heavy-laden with snow.


Such soft, sticky snow........


......that coated the netting that covers the new building...


...and made sculptures of trees.


Sort of crisp and clear and back to normal here....


but the kids got the day off school

Pinwheel Park between 24th and 25th Street



and played in the park.





*

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Forties


 8
It was not meant to snow much this morning, but it did.


It turned the ESB into a ghost.
I thought I had better go somewhere different for a change. 


So I took a bus in the storm to the theater district (via 42nd Street)
to discover new and exciting worlds.


I discovered that there were very few people in Times Square.


And that there is an entire shop devoted to things M&M.



I discovered that there was a very cool dude (sort of lounge lizard)
lodged right next door to King Tut.


Unbelievably huge prize* to the first person who tells me who this is
seen here wearing an acrylic hat almost certainly not made in New York.
Robert thought EAP (Edgar Allen Poe)
but I said he was wearing a civil war uniform, so....



The irreverent part of me thinks this poster should read:
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE RESPIRATOR.

So that was a foray outside my usual territiory.






*to be determined....
For a wonderful selection of modern bar stools go here


Sunday, January 23, 2011

More Flower-Stalking




16'F = minus 8'C for you Euro-types out there.
I know this isn't the least cold if you live in Russia, Maine or North Dakota
but New Yorkers like to complain.


So I went out looking for flowers and found some locked up behind a grille in the florists
on the corner of 8th Avenue and 22nd Street.
White is definitely the best color for azaeleas ... but this is only my opinion.


Paperwhites smell almost better than they look and gosh, do they crumple up and get leggy towards the end of their visit....even so they hint of winter's ending...


Orchids are so wonderful that one has to pinch them to make sure they aren't artificial.
I only like real flowers though, again, that's only my opinionated opinion.


What a jungle scene with a bird-of-paradise in the distance!






*

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Having Had Enough of........

........this



I went down to Dean and DeLuca in Soho


 to contemplate


spring flowers and smell them too.



In the evening they took the top of the Empire State Building away.







*my main blog is now here

Monday, January 17, 2011

Costumes

*




9th Avenue

It takes quite something to get noticed on the streets of New York.
This is Pat, the crossing guard, kitted up against the weather.
A friend told her she looked like a #2 pencil.


The first sighting of a whole tribe of Lady Libertys who hand out flyers for some tax company.
It is 20'F out today. No wonder he doesn't look very cheerful.






Friday, January 14, 2011

Wandering

If you have a dog you end up having to go out in all weathers.


This is good and bad -- at the moment mostly bad.
Here a tangle of bicycles on 8th Avenue.


And a reflection of the same.

This morning the sun, at 8 o'clock, hid behind a water tower.






*

Monday, January 10, 2011

Contrasts




Fruit at home...


 ...in a Moroccan bowl on top of paper Robert wipes his brushes on.


How strange and early in the morning it was...


when we had breakfast at a diner on Long Island. Lots of
little plastic containers of things and lots of paper to throw away. Diners do not
'get' tea --that you need to pour boiling water on top of the bag.....



Sunday, January 9, 2011

Costume



While walking home from dinner last night, 
we came upon an even more thrilling party on 20th Street near 6th Avenue.


The woman, however, looks a little frosty....


...and the beaked creature decidedly odd.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Snowing Again




Everyone's out and about anyway.


Not sure whether bicycling is a good idea, but lots of people do
 it and I haven't seen anyone languishing in the gutter.


Most people in New York wear black though there were quite a lot of red coats about today.


I see we are going to get some mail later: Neither snow nor rain etc etc



It's really coming down now.


Better hurry across 8th Avenue.



*    *    *   *

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Still Cold



Clear and bright.


Blue skies at last....

Elementary School on 21st Street.

Snowbanks obscure the children's dream of life under the sea.


 Time to get back to work.


How dull. Time to play games like: Find the camouflaged knife


What can this possibly be?


Way too easy to guess.
A very old chair.


Pure white flowers for the new year.