Posted in Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, Only in New York, tagged Business and Economy, Metro Areas, Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey, New York, New York City, New York City Metro, United States on November 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »
What a city this is!! New York speaks loud and clear and in many language, it’s just one ginormous kaleidoscope of humanity. You just never know what or who you’re going to come across in an afternoon.
Practice, practice, practice
Two Tourists in Central Park
ICONIC Still Life-A girl, a dog and two birds
Cirque du Soleil here I come!
Friends
Burying A Nut
A Nuthatch Seeking Insects
All photos courtesy of Murray Head
Posted in Fab Fotos, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, tagged Bird, bird feeder, House Sparrow, New York City, Shopping, Squirrel, Suet, United States on November 16, 2012| 2 Comments »
Up until two weeks ago I wasn’t really thinking it was winter yet! After all the calendar says it’s not winter yet BUT after Hurricane Sandy followed by a Nor’easter which blanketed us in snow…Uhmmmm I think it has arrived! The birds at our feeders are there ALL day long and their day begins just before dawn! The squirrels are right there along side the multitudes of sparrows, hanging on the squirrel-proof feeder. We have put ears of dried corn out for the squirrels thinking that might dissuade them from the bird seed and suet. Well it hasn’t, but we’re cutting everybody some slack because we think they’re storing up for, what else, winter!
Murray captured some feathered friends in the parks of New York City. As always,many of his photos capture the personality and attitude of the species. Even when he is photographing the very common, very ubiquitous House Sparrows, the pictures are excellent.
A perky tri-color House Sparrow
Male Purple Thrush Berry Happy
Lovely Lady Cardinal
An In-Your-Face Sparrow
Camera-shy Woodpecker
Female Purple Thrush
Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Smooth or Crunchy, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged Children and Youth, Cooking, holiday, Holidays, Home, New Jersey, Pilgrims, Red Cabbage, side dish, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, United States on November 13, 2012| 5 Comments »
Thanksgiving Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Most people think of Thanksgiving dinner as the ultimate American meal. After all, wasn’t it first celebrated with Native Americans and the Pilgrims? Well that’s what I was told in grammar (age-related term) school.
However, this country is a melting pot, a diverse population made up of so many different ethnicities, I wouldn’t begin to try to number them. I grew up in an Italian family (more about the German side later). My first husband was also from an Italian family so for the first half of my life, Thanksgiving was tweaked to keep all the paisans happy. When we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents, the cry at the table was, “When do we eat the turkey”? I wonder how many of you had to eat your way through several courses BEFORE the turkey made it to the table? When you walk into most homes on Thanksgiving Day, the savory odor of roasting turkey greets you, or the sweet aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven. When you entered my grandmother’s apartment, it was the rich simmering smell of tomato sauce that assaulted your nose. The meal started with Baccala, a dried codfish served with greens. I think it was served like a salad. Then we had ravioli; big fat pasta puffs filled with cheese and a bowl of meatballs and sausages on the side. I guess at some point the turkey came out but I really don’t remember it much.
Once I was married, the Italian Thanksgiving took on another level of ethnicity. Now there were side dishes that only would appear on an Italian table. The stuffing was heavily flavored with grated Parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic. We had stuffed mushrooms and stuffed artichokes right along with candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and salad with Italian dressing!
Then came the period in my life where I spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Marian and my cousins in New Jersey. Aunt Marian was married to Uncle Henny who was German and so Red Cabbage was always a side dish on Thanksgiving. The creamed onions, turnips and candied sweets were there and because my cousins and myself were all adults, we made culinary contributions. Peter insisted on a green vegetable and in those days, the only green vegetable he acknowledged was broccoli so I always steamed or sautéed some. My cousin Marian liked to bring a lentil salad, cousin Janet baked pies. I have five girl cousins, all with spouses and some with children. Thanksgiving dinner was a BIG deal at Aunt Marian’s with about 20 people!
I’m actually half Italian and half German so I fit in wherever we went! As for my own Thanksgiving meals, I often went for something different, whether it be various stuffings or the year I tried brining the bird. I’ve made seasonal soups and lots of sides. Earlier today I posted one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and decided that for the count down to turkey day, I’d post a recipe a day. I hope you enjoy them and would love it if my readers would send in comments about their favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert or ethnic accompaniment.
Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Battle of Leyte, Korean War, United States, Veteran, Veterans Day, Vietnam, Vietnam War, World War II on November 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Book given to U.S. veterans in 1919 to help them readjust to civilian life (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Or for that matter, the hundreds of thousands of U.S. Veterans we hail JUST for returning. We salute the Veterans of all wars; today the oldest living veterans are from World War II, The Big One, as my parents generation referred to the war that shaped and altered their lives. That war brought about many changes in life as they knew it. My father and his friends grew up in an America that was growing industrially and agriculturally and with an ever-expanding middle class. Most were raised by frugal parents (my grandparents) who remembered all too clearly the sufferings of the Great Depression. However, their lives were not overshadowed by nuclear threat and they were the children of a people who were thrilled and excited to be in the United States and imbued their children with a love of their newly-adopted country. And so their sons went to war. Most of those remaining veterans are now in their 80’s. My dad died a few years ago and I remember vividly how in the last ten to fifteen years, he spent hours reminiscing about his days aboard a destroyer, how scared he was in the Battle of Leyte, how he and his buddies got drunk in Hawaii and all got tattoos. I never understood this almost-obsession with the war days. His life was certainly more than the years he spent in the Navy, but as he got older, he just wanted to talk about the 1940’s.
We also honor the Veterans of the Korean War and the Vietnamese War today. Those veterans are in my age group; I don’t know any in my present circle of friends so not sure if as we age, they’re going to spend hours discussing those days in Asia. My brother served in Vietnam as a tail gunner on helicopters, a very hairy position. He returned home in one piece, at least physically. However, when they came home, there were no ticker tape parades, there was no big fanfare – I think the best they got was a chance for a VA mortgage. In the end, although serving your country is always a noble deed, the war itself was not popular and many who were honorably discharged, returned home feeling dishonored. BUT today, you too are celebrated for your service to our country.
Now we are winding down not one but two wars and our veterans are coming home and many not all in one piece. It is important that we support a government that welcomes these servicemen and women home, that we offer them continuing education and the opportunity to find decent jobs. Hopefully we have elected a President who will honor these moral obligations and a Congress and Senate that will enact the necessary legislation to make it happen!
I always used to call my Dad on Veteran’s Day because I knew that call was as important to him as one on his birthday. If you know a veteran, call him or her and thank them!
Posted in BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, tagged Grove, Jersey Shore, Lillagaard, New Jersey, New York City, Tea house, United States, Wednesday on November 2, 2012| 6 Comments »
I felt I had to write something more about what I saw two days when we finally got to the shore to check out our cottage and the town of Ocean Grove. You’ve heard ALL the words on the news (that is if you have power to get the news) UNPRECEDENTED-UNBELIEVABLE-UNREAL-DISASTROUS-MIND-BOGGLING and on and on and on.
YES all adjectives apply. Trying to keep things in perspective is actually easy this time around; When I think of the food I lost, I think of the people who lost their homes. When I think of the damage in my yard, I think of the people watched an angry sea surge over their yards and swallow them out and spit out sand where their lawns had been. When I think of the shingles flown off my roof, I think of the residents of Breezy Point and Mantolooking whose homes were engulfed in fire. When I was concerned about the slimy mud on the side of the house and windows, I only had to walk over to The Lillagaard Hotel where the tea room I ran is/was located and saw the layer of mud left in the kitchen and dining room left behind by the two feet of water that broke through the door and flooded the lower level.
YES, things are put in perspective, sometimes unfortunately at the expense of another’s loss and pain.
Yesterday we drove to the shore with our friends, Joe and Michael. They were kind enough to drive us to Ocean Grove as they were going to check on their cottage. My camera battery was dead and I had no power in NJ to recharge. Joe took a lot of photos and graciously forwarded them to me so I could post them on my blog. This is what we saw in Ocean Grove on Wednesday!
NOT a rare sight around town
Storm surge deposited lamp post and debris across Ocean Ave
A boardwalk buried in sand
Where there was once a Fishing Shack at the end of this pier!
Mounds of sand left background-Had been on Abbott Avenue and was plowed to beach to open up the street!!!!
Twisted railings, Note the sand is now level with the boardwalk!
View from the boardwalk-the piles of sand are from the streets to the west NOT washed and deposited over the boardwalk.
The Camp Meeting Association is holding a massive clean-up tomorrow (Saturday). Our dear friends Dick and Jane who own The Lillagaard need our help to empty out the Tea Room and salvage what we can. BUT we don’t have enough gas to get there and back and none to be had in New Jersey. And we can’t get back into the City unless we have 3 people in the car! Do two cats counts as one person?
Posted in Obscure Origins of Common and Not So Common Phrases, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged Beauty salon, Boat, Business, Glossary of nautical terms, manicure, Sail, Sheet (sailing), United States on September 23, 2012| 1 Comment »
I bought a lemon.
Today a friend of mine called and mentioned that she had an errand to do first and then she would go to the (1) Beauty Parlor. Now when is the last time you heard someone say they were going to the beauty parlor? When exactly did the beauty parlor turn into the hairdresser’s?
Then tonight we were around some ladies that were indulging in a lot of wine and my husband said, “Yeah, well she was (2)three sheets to the wind. Every generation has had their own slang and lingo. I think it was more likely my parent’s generation that referred to being drunk or (2b)tipsy as three sheets to the wind. My generation got smashed or plastered (now there’s a visual) (and another phrase that needs explaining). Generation X and Y get pounded, hammered or wrecked. The origin of the phrase three sheets to the wind is based in nautical terminology as you might have guessed. I was wrong because I thought the sheets referred to the sails. In fact, sheets are the chains or ropes that are attached to the corners of the sails. If the ropes are loose then the sails flap in the wind, causing the boat to lurch about like a drunken sailor.
There was a time when a woman with a “reputation” was known to have (3)round heels! I’ll bet you have already figured this one out-if someone was wearing shoes with round heels, then the slightest push would tip them over onto their back and you get the picture from there.
And (4)trollops, those loose women of the last generation. NOT to be confused with Trolls.
(5) Party Lines: Can you imagine trying to explain to your 30 something children that when you were little, not only did you NOT have a cell phone, you didn’t even have a house phone with a private line. So funny to even write it because I’m sure they don’t consider their house phone lines as private since they have never known anything else. Prior to WWII multiple lines or party lines were the norm for telephone subscribers. You shared a telephone line with 2 or 3 other households and each home had their own “ring”.
Bonus phrase: The car is a lemon – that term has been around since 1950’s when used to describe defective automobiles. Lemons, those cute little yellow citrus fruits used so often to impart a slight tartness to a dish, to make refreshing lemonade in the summer and to make that glass of water in a restaurant a bit more appealing. How did it ever get to be associated with bad quality and poor workmanship? I read that it probably came about because lemons leave a sour taste in your mouth and so does a purchase that turns out to be a, a lemon!
Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Grand Central Terminal, Lenox Hill Hospital, Lexington Avenue, Neil Armstrong, New York City, Public address, september 11 2001, United States on September 11, 2012| 1 Comment »
September 11, 2001,the day the world stopped turning, the day life changed as we knew it. WHERE WERE YOU? We remember where we were, who we were with and what we were doing on those days during our lives that mark an unforgettable event.
September 11, 2001 (Photo credit: wallyg)
If you are a baby boomer like me, then you remember that infamous day, November 22, 1963. I was in high school and an announcement came over the PA system informing us that President Kennedy had been shot and school was dismissed so we could all go home and be with our families.
Our parents could probably tell us just where they were on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th 1941 and VJ Day! Life-altering events are etched in our minds and hearts.
July 21, 1969, “The Eagle Has Landed “-Neil Armstrong walks on the lunar surface. The United States has put a man on the moon. I was at a lake in Connecticut with my first husband. We were visiting a friend of the family, it was a beautiful summer day and I remember the thrill of hearing that news! Oh boy, it was great to be an American that day!
Some of us even remember where we were the day John Lennon was shot. December 8, 1980. It wasn’t life-altering for me but it certainly was meaningful.
And that brings us to September 11, 2001 – This is my generation’s “A date which will live in infamy”. Where were you that beautiful September Tuesday? A day with the clearest of clear blue skies, all the better to see the planes as they careened into our Towers. It was Primary Day in New York City, a day of political aspirations and apparently also one of sinister aspirations.
I was with my husband, Peter and we had just voted in the Primary and as we left the polling place, we stopped to greet one of the candidates standing outside. As we stood with him, a man rushed up to him and asked if he had heard about the plane that crashed into Grand Central Terminal? We looked at each other in bewilderment and remarked to each other how could a plane crash into the GCT considering it sits in the middle of some very tall buildings – a plane would have to drop out of the sky straight down.
We got as far as the corner of our street and just then a crosstown bus pulled up so I quickly kissed him goodbye and hopped on the bus to go to work. I normally took the crosstown bus as far as Lexington Avenue where I would board the Number 6 subway train to 59th Street. The bus hadn’t even gone one block when it was obvious something was wrong. Many of the passengers were on cell phones and exclamations of “What?” were heard all around. One woman was on the phone with her mother who was watching a special report on TV. This woman began to repeat what she was being told. OMG! I called Peter immediately and said put the TV on. The bus got to Lexington Avenue and I decided not to get off. What I had heard and the smoke that I could see as we reached Lexington Avenue, convinced me that going underground was not a good idea.
I got off at Fifth Avenue, chaos and confusion was rampant. Where were the buses? My cell phone isn’t working – what should I do? Should I go to the office and if so, how? Should I go home? Panic, terror and desperation brings strangers together and so I got in a cab with 2 other women who were heading south. We were tense, we looked at our cab driver, he wasn’t an American…
The office was in the cold clutches of uncertainty, misinformation and frustration. What the hell were we doing here? The TV wouldn’t work, who had a radio? Even the computers were not giving us any much-needed information. After less than 2 hours I announced I was going home and advised everyone else to do so.
I walked out onto Madison Avenue into a sea of moving humanity. The streets were filled with people moving northward in around whatever vehicles were on the road clogged in total gridlock. I found a pay phone and called home to say I was on my way on foot. I stopped at a bodega with an ATM machine and to this day I don’t know what inspired me to do so but was so glad I did. I had a premonition that everything was going to be frozen. I wasn’t far from wrong as shortly thereafter, Manhattan went into virtual lockdown. You couldn’t get on the island and you couldn’t really get out so easily. We didn’t want to leave, we ended up glued to the television for the rest of the day and night. We fielded calls from friends around the country who wanted to make sure we were safe.
My friend Gail didn’t want to be alone, so she came over. Every television in the apartment was on tuned to different stations. My cousin Christine wanted to be with us, so she came over. Nobody was leaving, we clung to each other while crying and wailing the same montra over and over again, “Oh my God”.
Helen called me and suggested we walk to Lenox Hill Hospital and give blood. So I left with her filed with good intentions only to be turned away – No blood needed – No survivors!
I went back home in shock. My daughter was living on East 27th Street and she was ensconced safely in her apartment. Her aunt and cousin joined her to spend the night. There is such comfort in sharing with those you care about and love, whether it be some joyful news or some tragedy.
That’s how I spent September 11, 2001, I will never forget it. Where were you? Let us know.
Posted in Fab Fotos, Obscure Origins of Common and Not So Common Phrases, Only in New York, tagged American Redstart, Bird, Black and White Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Feather, Martin Turner, Murray, Murray Head, Recreation, Romish Fox, United States on September 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The origin of this proverb dates back to the mid-16th Century. In 1545 Martin Turner used a version of this phrase in his papist satire, The Rescuing of Romish Fox; “Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together.”
In nature, birds of the same species often do flock and fly together. Ornithologists explain this behavior as a “safety” in numbers tactic to reduce their risk of predation.
Well the only person shooting these birds is Murray and he’s using a lens, not a gun. See for yourself this marvelous flock of birds.
American Goldfinch
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
American Redstaart (femaile)
Black and White Warbler
Red Tailed Hawk
All photos courtesy of Murray Head
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged Business and Economy, Empire State Building, Facebook, Fifth Avenue, Greg Moore, Metro Areas, New York, New York City, New York City Metro, United States on August 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »
If you live in New York City, you have seen this! A ginormous blow up rat squatting in the middle of the sidewalk or on the street (taking up a parking space!).
I saw this photo and comments from my friend, Greg Moore on Facebook. I asked for permission to reprint it because first of all, I wish I had thought of posting a blog about it myself and secondly, it seemed so perfect a contribution to my ONLY IN NEW YORK category. Now here’s my question, does this only happen in New York City? Please comment and let us know if the RAT has relatives in other cities.
I’m the City Mouse!
This thing is about as “New York” as the Statue of Liberty…or the Empire State Building! I have a feeling this is one of those “only-in-New-York” kinda things! It’s the giant, inflatable “strike rat”! Whenever there’s a labor dispute or a strike where they feel that a business is hiring workers unfairly, they (I guess) call “Rent-a-Rat”, this huge, hideously ugly, inflatable rat, which they park on the sidewalk in front of the offending business. This guy has been outside my office building all week. I’m DYING to interview this guy who sits next to the rat all day long. I have so many QUESTIONS for him: What is your job title? What do you tell your family you do? What do you put on your resume? What is the rat’s name? What would differentiate a “good” day from a “bad” one? I saw him pack it in, right at 5PM. He deflated his rat, shoved it in a bag along with his folding chair and headed toward the subway. (this one, by the way is the SMALLER one! They also have one that’s about 3-stories high! I know that, because the apartment building next to mine apparently hired non-union doormen and they hauled out the HUGE rat…and its head appeared right outside my third-story window for about a week! Rather alarming…but very New York!).
Thanks to Greg Moore for his astute observation and comments.
Posted in Fab Fotos, New York Speaks, Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna, Only in New York, tagged Arts, Central Park, God, Mother Nature, Murray Head, stories, United States, Visual arts on August 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Every season brings us proof of a higher power, a creator more talented than ourselves. Some of us refer to this master artist as God, some as Mother Nature and others, well I can’t really speak for those who don’t acknowledge or appreciate the fact that the beauty around us was NOT put here by us. I, for one, marvel at the beauty God has created BUT I’m quite happy to credit Mother Nature here in my blog for the endless seasons of exquisite art. AND OF COURSE, I have to credit Murray Head for his unbelievable artistic eye and steady lens, for if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t get a glimpse of any of these wonders of the world. I live 5 blocks from Central Park, but I can’t tell you the last time I was there. So thank you Murray for bringing Mother Nature’s Art Show to us all.
Pink Perfection
Wonderful White Water Lilly
Serene Summer Scene
Reflection
Harmony
All photos courtesy of Murray Head
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