Archive for January, 2010


>Breaking News Alert

>The New York Times
Thu, January 28, 2010 — 1:17 PM ET
—–

J.D. Salinger, Author of ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ Is Dead at 91

J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, has died in Cornish, N.H., where he lived in seclusion for more than 50 years, his son told The Associated Press. He was 91.

Mr. Salinger’s literary reputation rests on a slender but enormously influential body of published work: the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” the collection “Nine Stories” and two compilations, each with two long stories about the fictional Glass family: “Franny and Zooey” and “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.”

Read More: ~The New York Times~

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>It is the perfect day

>for umbrella hunting, I thought, as I stood on the train platform in my hooded sweat jacket and polka dot rain boots. The weather had been cold and we got snow, then it cleared up and we had had bright, sunny days, but still cold. Now it had warmed up and was raining.

Many people had umbrellas and I watched them. Long umbrellas like canes, short ones folded up ones to fit in a brief case or pocket book. Mostly black, but one with tan and black in a checkerboard pattern, one clear plastic with pink trim and one pink nylon one. One that looked like it was broken, but was still in use.
The wind blew across the platform giving me a momentary chill and a smile. Yes a perfect day for umbrella hunting. Would I be successful? Only time will tell.

>more on Saturday

>One of the problems posting a week later is the things I forget.

Such as, as I was walking to meet Em I stopped at a street vendor’s table, this one was selling pictures of NYC. As I was looking at the pictures I saw one of the Manhattan skyline. The old, pre-9/11 skyline and thinking, how can they sell this? Why would anyone buy it? The vendor came over telling me the prices, I am sure he thought since I was standing there looking at the pictures so intently I wanted to buy. So I did, 3 for $10, I got a picture of Central Park, (I gave it to Em), a picture of Time Square (gave to a friend) and a picture of the Chrysler Building (I’m keeping that one, no idea where I am going to hang it.

Last Saturday

Em and I went to the city. Normally we go down together, but this time we didn’t. Em likes to be on the train platform 20 minutes before the train arrives. I am content to be there 20 seconds before the train arrive. How have we managed to stay friends so long? **shrugs**

She went down first because she had to be there for her nail appointment. I get mine done on Friday evenings normally, yesterday I went early because of going to see the movie. That will be in a later post. I wonder if I can do 10 posts today? I went down on the next train and stopped at Sephora (looking for new perfume) before going to the nail salon to see how much longer she would be. I also stopped at a discount fragrance store. They didn’t have the perfume I was looking for.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, to pretty to stay at the salon and wait for her, so I went to Bryant Park. It is pretty near the salon and Em said she wanted to go to Central Park after her appointment. I couldn’t decide if this man was (a) people watching, (b) waiting for someone or (c) guarding the park entrance. I came in a different way so if he was guarding the entrance, I managed to slip past him.

There was ice skating at the park so I watched the skaters for a while, then Em showed up and we went to Central Park. You can see how bright and clear the sky was, the temperature was above freezing but the ponds were still partially frozen. We both had our cameras. I had my little one and Em had her nice one and we were both taking pictures of the ice. In my sidebar is a slideshow with all the pictures I took.

Walking around looking at the ice on the ponds reminded me of the very first time I visited Central Park. It was also the very first time I was ever in New York, city or state. D and Em were living in Brooklyn and I was living in Florida (I grew up in Florida, remember that for the trivia contest), I had come up to visit them, it was November. Being from Florida I of course was not used to cold and did not have proper clothing. Em loaned me a coat and took me shopping for boots. We went to Central Park with a friend of theirs, a very nice young man named Andy. I took a picture of him, but I have no idea where it is now, if it even still exists. We took a carriage ride. I don’t remember much about it, just that we took one. We bought doughnuts and threw them on the ice for the ducks. Yes I know, I KNOW. I used most of my roll of film (pre-digital camera days) trying to get a picture of the ducks landing on the ice. They were coming in to land on the ice to eat the doughnuts, and sliding and falling on their beaks. It was so funny and I wanted a picture of it. I didn’t get one. Anyway, that is what walking around the park last Saturday looking at the frozen ponds made me think of, and I haven’t thought of that in years. I wonder which one of my many albums the pictures are in.

We went to a new restaurant for dinner. I don’t know where Em finds these places. The restaurant is called Rothmann’s NYC and was very nice. Not super fancy (I mean, they had a TV in the bar with the game on!) but very nice. A place you can dress up to go to but you don’t have to be in super formal clothes (I was wearing jeans). So we each had a drink, Em got a salad and we split a steak. She got dessert and I got a second drink, however, the dessert was big enough to share (hear me laughing at how clever I was?).

All in all, another great day in the city.

>Chicago

>25-or-6-to-4

>Ever have a ‘flash’ of memory?

>This morning I couldn’t find my gloves, looked on my bed, in my little bag for work; checked the pockets of my jacket and still, not there. So I figured I must have left them on the train yesterday, put another pair on and left for work. On the way to the train station I was thinking about lost gloves and such when I got a mental image of me putting my gloves in my purse. That is not where I normally put them. When I got to the train station I stuck my hand in my pocketbook and there they were.


Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It’s called ‘rain’. – Michael McClary

>When I put my change in jars, I sort it. One jar for pennies, one for quarters and one for the rest. I recently ran out room for the pennies.

The jar is a Sunfresh “Fruit Made Easy” jar.
It is 6″ tall and 3-¼” in diameter. I don’t know how many ounces it held, that was on the label and as you can tell, I removed the label.
Can you guess how many pennies in the jar? Come on PLEASE?
Oh you want a prize if you guess it, hmmm.

O.K. How about a pair of silver and glass bead earrings? I realize this picture is not great quality, my camera is not designed for this type of photography. The ear wires are silver as are the chains, the beads are glass. They are about 2-¼” long. Not very fancy, just pretty little ear bobs. Hand made by me.

Contest open only to United States residents due to cost of international postage.
To enter: If you are a facebook friend, send me a message with your guess.
Post a comment here with the number of pennies you think are in the jar.
Send me an e-mail.

>The bats are dying, some have been found with this white fungus around their noses, like this one. Isn’t he cute! I know I can’t be the only one to think bats are cute. Well, maybe.

Anyway this is only one of the causes, the other causes? They don’t know. The bat experts are the ones that don’t know, they just know that whatever it is causes the bats to deplete their fat stores and they starve to death while hibernating. Here are some links.

NYSDEC

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

If you think it doesn’t matter that the bats are dying, think on this, one bat can eat 600 to 1,000 mosquitoes and other bugs in one hour. Every hour! They are bug eating machines! And in places where there are fruit eating bats, they are often the primary source of pollination for fruit trees. For some trees, the only source.

Besides being cool and cute, bats are important for the environment and our well-being. Imagine all those bugs that won’t be eaten.

>Sorry folks

>I am seriously behind on my blogging. For that I apologize to my readers.

Yesterday Em and I went to the city. It was a beautiful day. I took lots of pictures and have to blog about it. Until I do, enjoy the updated slide show or go to my facebook account (if you are a friend of mine on facebook) and look at the pictures I took. I will be back later to blog about yesterday. Promise.

>I really should know this.

>After all the time I have been riding the train, I should know that if you get to the train station a minute after the time it was supposed to be there, and there are people on the platform, THE TRAIN HASN’T COME YET. So what did I do when the aforesaid happened? Did I get out of my car and go to the platform? NO, I sat in the car trying to convince Stitch to wait with me for a while when I saw the train pull in. Then I got out of the car and ran, something else I should know not to do, and missed the train.

That was yesterday, this morning the train was pulling out as I drove into the parking lot.

Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It’s called ‘rain’. – Michael McClary