Monday, December 31, 2007

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! Posted by Picasa

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!). Posted by Picasa



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! Posted by Picasa

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. Posted by Picasa

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?Posted by Picasa
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!

Posted by Picasa
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!

24 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...[Reply]

Happy New Year Kerri! From the looks at your photos you had a great Christmas in the Big Apple.

I am glad to hear that the kitty you took to your daughter is getting acclimated to her surrounding and best of all Elsa is accepting her.

Be happy and Healthy. I will look forward to seeing all that is happening in and around your country home.

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

Happy New Year!

It's wonderful that you could spend Christmas with your girls. I'm happy that Ross enjoyed the city. Having only spent two days there myself I have no trouble believing that this was Ross' first trip. LOL Did I miss the picture of the mad bomber hat? I'm certain that Hanna will win Ilsa over.

Giddy said...[Reply]

And a Happy New Year to you, as well. How nice you were able to get together with the family for the holidays, and in the Big Apple, no less.

Glad to hear the kitties are getting along better. It takes a while, but they will soon be best buddies. Our little Sluggo is turning into the instigator of the "romper room" activities and it's so funny to watch him pounce on big brother, Spike.

verobirdie said...[Reply]

So nice to see you have had such a nice time with your girls and their husband/beau.
Happy new Year to you and to the whole family.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Your trip certainly looks like fun. I enjoyed your city photos this time, as well as your lovely family and that cute kitty under glass. Have a happy new year!

Philosophical Karen said...[Reply]

Happy New Year, Kerri! I enjoyed these pictures of your Christmas in New York City, but I am amazed that there is no snow! Ours was just melting down to something quite reasonable and then we got another 6 inches today (New Year's Day).

Christy Woolum said...[Reply]

Happy New Year! The pictures you took of NYC were beautiful. The buildings were incredible. It looks like a fun time was had by all. I am also happy the country cat make the smooth transition to city cat! lol

Terri said...[Reply]

What a wonderful holiday!
Happy New Year Kerri!
God bless.
Terri

Sigrun said...[Reply]

A happy new year for you and your Family! The socks are great.

Sigrun

Alice said...[Reply]

Such great photos that I felt like I was there with you. Loved the socks and the mittens - Kylie's one very clever knitter. I could feel their warmth from here - or maybe that's because it was 34ÂșC lol.

Fancy Ross not having been to NY before. So glad he was able to make it there as a family occasion and enjoy it. Loved the Central Park photo, too.

Sharon said...[Reply]

Kerri.....thanks for the walk and for sharing your family celebrations with us. May you and your family enjoy many blessings in the new year 2008....

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

i am glad too that i came to know you and your part of the world in 2007 and you may not know it but your blog posts have brought many a smiles :)

Take good care of ourself and yours....and stay warm ..have a happy 2008 :)

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...[Reply]

oops i meant yourself!!!! :)

Annie in Austin said...[Reply]

What a fun post to read, Kerri - and a vicarious thrill for those of us whose only experience of New York City is through movies, television, print and now via our blogging friends. You had quite a cosmopolitan Christmas! Everyone looks wonderful and relaxed - love your snowflake sweater.

I've been gone for a few weeks and am having fun catching up with everyone's adventures... and yes, please ~ we ALL want to see a photo of you in the "mad Bomber hat".

May the new year 2008 be a kind one to you and yours,

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Barbara said...[Reply]

How good to read that you had such a great time with your family in this wonderful and very interesting City (There I stayed for my first holiday without husband and kids but with two girlfriends!).
Wishing you a healthy and happy 2008, full of joy and positive surprises!
Barbara

Susie said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,
What a fun city in which to spend Christmas. So much to see and do...
Loved seeing all the pictures and so glad that you had such a wonderful holiday.
much love...

squire said...[Reply]

Sounds like a great trip. now that Zac is at Penn State, I might make it to the CITY, naw not going to happen.

Judypatooote said...[Reply]

What a wonderful Christmas you had.
The pictures are great....boy KE does a great job with her knitting. My knitting consists of slippers and scarfs....It takes patients and concentration, and I don't have either.....LOL and I must say Ilsa looks pretty scary.... can you believe it's the fifth day in 2008 already.... now I'm excited for Spring to come.... have a great day Kerri, judy

Pam said...[Reply]

Happy New Year! It's so lovely sharing other people's celebrations, isn't it? Your family look lovely - including the fluffy members.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

Your visit to the big city sounded wonderful and perhaps that's what I needed...a driver who knew where they were going. hehehe.

That cathedral is lovely and I would have loved to have gone to a Christmas service in there. The cathedral reminded me of the mission I used to attend as a child. I thought it was the most magnificent and beautiful place I had ever been in, but of course it wasn't as large as St. Paul's Cathedral.

A stroll through Central Park sounds lovely too. KP & K are so lucky to have such a nice centrally located apartment looking over the park. Seems like they live right in the middle of all the excitement of the big city. So glad that Ross enjoyed the visit to the city and surprising that it was his first time there, but sometimes we just don't take the time to visit those places that are closest for us to visit. I've never been to the Kentucky Derby although I've had tickets to attend many times.

Those socks & mittens are the kind of gifts I love...the gifts that are handmade just for you. They mean so much and I would just cry if I wore a hole out in the socks.

Hanna looks quite content in her new home and I'm sure that sour-pus Ilsa will slowly come around once she realizes how much fun it is to have a playmate.

All in all your Christmas adventure sounded wonderful. And with such a lovely family, I have no doubts that you will have a wonderful New Year in 2008.

Love,
Sandy & Jimmy
xoxoxo

ps. Jimmy said I made a mistake in the number of trusses in my post. He said, "We weren't building a warehouse! There were only 12 trusses."
And where on earth I got the number 33 is beyond me. Must have been just a number stuck in my head.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Happy New Year to you and yours, Kerri! It looks like you had a lovely trip, and I'm glad you didn't have to battle the traffic too horribly. I absolutely dread the trip to Long Island for that very reason, and there seems to be no good time to travel there anymore, but you really lucked out! Isn't it funny how many upstate NYers have never been down there, even though it's only a 4-hour drive? I've met so many folks here who are almost proud of the fact that they've never been to NY and probably will never go in their entire life! In any event, I'm glad Ross could overcome his misgivings and have a good time. Oh, and I also vote to see a shot of you in the bomber hat. :)

Midlife Mom said...[Reply]

Oh Kerri what a wonderful time you all had in the city! The pictures are sooooooo good of everything! I haven't been to NYC for years and years but Hubby went last year (I was sick with the flu! aaaccckkkk!)and saw a lot of the sights that you saw. As with your Hubby he didn't think he would like the city but LOVED seeing everything and called me every few hours telling me where he was and what he was seeing!

So glad that Hanna settled in well and that her sister is accepting her and they are becoming buddies. My two just have such a great time racing and tearing through the house playing! They would be so lonely without each other.

Those socks look so comfy and warm! Hey where is the picture of the new hat?????????

We still haven't tracked down the blogger that published our information but are working on it. Not that we can do anything about it but would like to know who did it and why.

Thanks for sharing your Christmas with us, it does my heart good to see families together having such a wonderful time!

Happy 2008!

Cris said...[Reply]

How wonderful that you got to spend Christmas with the girls in NY, your posts show that there were so many happy moments to cherish. Kerri, I was impressed with the beauty of the cathedral. It must be as beautiful inside.

Unknown said...[Reply]

Oooh... I don't know which I'd rather have, your comfy socks or Ross's lovely mittens. (Maybe one of each!) I cracked up at that picture of Ilsa... definitely not a warm welcome from here there. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year!