The Sun Will Come Out...Tomorrow

A highlight of our trip was a broadway musical. We were told that we could get half-price tickets the day of a show at Times Square, starting at 2:00. Well, I know a little bit about lining up. So we made a day of it, arriving at Times Square at 12:00 to scope things out and then lining up at 1:00. It was hard work as it was a hot, sunny day and Times Square was so busy.  However, we scored tickets for Annie and our seats were pretty good.

I loved the play. Of course, I knew it and the music by heart. The kids wanted to see Cinderella and Spider-Man, but I think Annie was better for all of us. It is also such a New York play. Aveen and Amrita ended up liking it way more than they would admit. And they loved that they could eat skiddles while watching - a no-no at the NAC.

It was a truly wonderful performance, worth every penny. I wish we could have seen more shows. I was really happy re-living a fond childhood memory and have all those songs stuck in my head. I guess I will just have to wait for the next visit to see another show.

By Grand Central Station, I Sat and Wept

No, I didn't. I ate a slice of pizza, but I doubt the book would have done as well had it had "pizza" in the title!

Grand Central Station is beautiful, with constellations on the light blue ceiling and the whispering wall (which works!).

We also went to the public library and knew the names of the magnificent lions (Patience and Fortitude), thanks to the mystery kids novel set in NYC we are reading.

And I would be remiss if I didn't add that a trip to the American Girl store was a highlight for all of us. It just made Amrita so happy to go there and get her doll. And the store is just like going to Disney World - they know all about little girls. They had the prettiest public bathroom I have ever seen.

The day ended with a trip to the public pool at Central Park. While it is a wonderful, Olympic size pool, the armed security guards made the experience less than relaxing. But I felt mostly safe.  

NYC is such a big, busy, crazy city that you never feel "safe" - especially when the subway train grinds to a halt between stations and you smell smoke but safe isn't the point.

I Heart NY - Days 1 & 2

We arrive to an unusual Brownstone with a Japanese style bathroom with a sunken tub, the dining room in the bedroom and a lot of sliding doors.  Not to mention the elevator. It is large enough and close to Central Park and close to a subway line. All in all, it is more adequate than amazing.

On our first full day, we met our friends for breakfast at the Boathouse in Central Park. Amazing crabcakes, stunning park and wonderful seeing our friends. Afterwards, we took a subway to Brooklyn and walked along the Brooklyn Bridge.  Then we took the Statin Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. 

We were exhausted afterwards. It was a lot of walking. It was a gorgeous day, though. The loveliest part was a family of singers in a part of Central Park that was almost a makeshift cathedral. Simple yet beautiful.

Hit the Kid with the Ball

After dinner tonight, the kids were bored.  It had been a quiet weekend in our neighbourhood with lots of people away, as it is often the case in the deep of summer.  The kids didn't know what to do and didn't like any of our suggestions.

We went to stand outside our house.  Our neighbours/friends who had been away and had just come back came out to say hi to us.  Then another family who had been away also arrived and joined the group. 

We took the all the kids to the park and started to play Hit the Kid with the Ball, a game that the dads on the street invented.  The objective is for the grown ups to hit all the kids with a ball as the kids run across the climbers.  Not the safest game, but lots of fun.

As we were playing, our other neighbour/friends who live by the park arrived.  Then a couple of other kids who were at the park joined in.  Before we knew it, the climbers were filled with laughing, running kids. 

A summer Sunday evening when the park was ours.

Jaime's Balcony

We have a balcony on the second floor of our house, off of our bedroom, as many of the houses on our block do.  Many of the other balconies are screened in with beautiful patio furniture, a lovely oasis. 

I've always wanted a balcony, because balconies remind me of my grandparents' home in Kolkata.  The verandah off the master bedroom was the family room.  I have memories playing there on the floor with someone who was special to me.  I have memories of my grandfather reading the Statesman on the wicker chair.  I have memories of my grandmother bringing out tea.  I have memories of rushing to the balcony to see who was ringing the doorbell.  I have memories of all of us there together on many an evening when "loadshedding" had struck and we were trying to escape the dark rooms with no fans working, trying not to get bitten by the mosquitoes. 

When we moved into our house, we realized we couldn't really use the balcony, as there is a hydro wire that crosses it, inconveniently placed.  We were resigned to it.  We didn't want the children going out there.  We locked the door and forgot about it.  The only person who used it was our handyman.  While he renovated our bathroom, he left some tools out there and a bit of a mess and forgot about it.

Months passed.

Later this spring, our neighbour mentioned it - the tools and the mess.  She had recently had her balcony renovated, so she could see ours.  I mentioned it to Jaime, and we sighed at the fact that we couldn't enjoy our balcony.

But Jaime thought there was something we could do. Slowly.  He put away the tools.  He cleaned up the mess.  One day, he bought a floor covering.  Another day, he came home with big plants - flowering plants and greens that look tropical.  He placed these plants around the perimeter so that the children could not get close to the hydro wire.  Another day, he came home with wrought iron patio furniture.

The balcony that was only good for leaving tools has now been transformed into something beautiful.  It is still not large and closed in, but it is a place where we can watch the sunset and gaze at the stars and take a breath of air. 

I reminded Jaime that six months ago, tomorrow, I had my big surgery.  He reminded me that something unusable and ugly and potentially dangerous can be transformed into something beautiful and soothing.

The Fifth Week of Summer

I haven't blogged much lately etante donne qu'il faut que j'etudie le francais.  My test is in two weeks.  (It hasn't come together yet - in fact, I can't speak English or French these days.)  Hours later, we will whisk ourselves off to NYC.

It has been almost two weeks since we dropped Beanie off at camp.  We got a letter from him yesterday!  He wrote about his activities - archery, pingpong, swimming tuck.  And he is on the camp council! We pick him up on Sunday - in a little over 48 hours!

I will probably write only in tweets until I pass mon examen orale.

An unusual week

Filled with insomnia and....

.... a classmate who starts waving around a needle for his diabetes medicine....

....a French teacher who gets a parking ticket while we are doing "auto-apprenticage" and the police have to come....

....a quick visit from a friends whose car battery dies just in those few minutes and we give a boost....

....a request for us to give a home for a night to a rescued medical student from Belgium whom we don't know....

.....heavy rains, sudden lightning storms....