Christmas in the City

Had a wonderful time in the city

I smile when I recall

The space, the songs, the company

I really had a ball

"Annie's Other Song"

John Denver

This song has been going through my mind since we
arrived back home last Thursday after spending Christmas in New York City.

Daughter #1 (KP) and her husband (K) are now living there and invited us to come for the holiday. Daughter #2 (KE) and her beau (A) were going to spend Christmas with his mother, who lives near the city, so they drove us in, which was very convenient since driving in the city is not something we'd volunteer to do! The traffic going in and out was amazingly sparse compared to the usual teeming mass of vehicles. It proved to be a perfect time to visit.

We saw the huge tree in Rockefeller Center the day after Christmas (Boxing Day for the Aussies and Brits)

On Christmas Eve KP and K took us to a jazz concert at Lincoln Center. Ann Hampton Calloway was performing and she was fabulous! Her back-up trio on piano, base and drums was wonderful too. She's a great entertainer with a beautiful voice. It was a really fun night. Unfortunately they didn't allow photos so I didn't take my camera. I was really sorry to miss getting some shots of Lincoln Center which was decked out in absolute splendor. They won the prize for the best light show. It was gorgeous! Midtown was looking really spectacular. What a time to be without a camera!!

Went to church on Christmas morning at St. Paul The Divine Cathedral

It's such a magnificent building!
The service was beautiful, with lots of Christmas carols being sung. There was such an echo in the sanctuary that the congregation was actually singing a couple of notes behind the choir, and we had to concentrate very hard to hear the sermon.

The cathedral is within walking distance and happily the weather was fairly mild. The wind was a bit nippy, but we did have some sunshine!

Our hosts - KP and K

KE came back to the city in the afternoon and the girls cooked a delicious Christmas dinner of roast lamb, baked potatoes, fancy brussel sprouts with yummy additions, and cauliflower au gratin. My contribution was pumpkin bread, eggnog cheese cake and cookies.

Here we are opening presents

Super soft homemade socks from KP for me! And we gave her a knitting book (of course!).

Ross got a lovely pair of mittens from the girl who loves to knit, and
there were many other presents, including some very good books. I got 3 new gardening books, so I'll be curling up with those on the wintery days and nights to come! KE gave me my very own mad bomber hat, so I won't have to steal Ross's anymore. His was a Christmas present last year from A and I wore it around all winter (but only on the farm!) I'm a little hesitant to be seen in public wearing one of these hats, but KE tells me they're very 'in' at the moment :) Hmmm.

Here's Ross with A and KE

Once in a while I relinquish the camera :)

We took Hanna with us to her new home and she is now officially ensconced in her highrise apartment and has made a very smooth transition from a country cat to a city cat. Here she is under the glass of the coffee table. She had to explore every possible place to play!

Ilsa was not in the least impressed with her new 'playmate' and her welcome couldn't be described as warm :)

Hanna was totally unafraid and tried hard to make friends, but Ilsa just hissed and hid in the bedroom the entire time we were there. She's rather a shy kitty. However, I talked to KP today and she was pleased to report that the two are now friends and playing happily together. Well, she's not really sure that Ilsa is altogether happy about it, but she is playing.

On Christmas afternoon KP and I went for a walk in Central Park. It's pretty even in it's winter colors. There were quite a few people out for a brisk walk or a stroll, even though so many people had left the Big Apple for the holidays.

I really liked these 'natural' decorations, but the city decked out in lights and baubles is quite a sight to see. I'll post more photos next time.

Jasmine is missing Hanna and so are we, but we're happy that she has a loving home and a kitty friend, who's learning to like her. She's a very adaptable cat and did amazingly well on the trip. Nothing seems to phase her. She certainly looks content, doesn't she?

So yes, we had a wonderful time in the city, and Ross surprised us all, as well as himself, by really enjoying the Big Apple. It was his first visit to the city even though he was born and raised in upstate NY!

May 2008 be a wonderful, joy-filled year, rich in blessings for all of you. I look forward to another year of friendship and sharing our corners of this big wide world.

Happy New Year dear blog friends!