It's a nice place to visit, but I.............

We went to visit Emily for a few days in NYC. We had a great time and Emily treated us very very well. We visited Wall St. The Battery, Ground Zero, and Central Park, and W.A.O. Schwartz,Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, and we walked, walked, walked from 23rd and 8th to 3rd avenue and then downtown to Bleeker Street! Through Little Italy, Soho, and finally Tribeca. Then I took the train to our hotel and Em and Beverly went on back uptown to the Times Square/Theater District. Bev worked a blister on her foot she walked so much in her new boots. One small interesting note for dog lovers.......Patchie learned how to tinkle in a plant area about 2 feet square because of the scarcity of grass .....

Some small changes I noticed. Subway rides cost 25 cents when I lived in N.Y. versus the current two dollars. A pizza slice was 25 cents with a small coke back then and its $4 a slice now. A cheap bottle of vino was about $4 then -it's $25 now for Gallo. As Dylan said, "The times they are a-Changin'".

Here are some pictures and videos.

This is taken from ground zero, Emily lives in the building on the left on the 31st floor
Em and Mommy on subway, and Beverly in WAO Schwartz's

Beverly with the tree at Rockefeller Plaza

On the street
Ground Zero
With the bull near Wall St

Like Gene Kelly, just a-walkin' in the rain..




Now here's some video of what went on today.........

First is Bryant Park Pond where lots of people were skating.


Here Bev was explaining to Emily what we had done before we met her at work. We are in a soup joint and I asked Bev to repeat what she said to Em......





This is Ground Zero and you can hear the jack-hammer which is non-stop from 0600 to 1130 p.m. The place is still a haunting area and looks like a disaster area still after more than 6 years......

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.....

En español se dicen " Feliz Navidad"

It's Saturday morning and the Walkers just popped in with a little chihuahua toy dog who sings. Evelyn is ga ga over it and reacted by talking and singing along. Of course, by the time I got my camera from upstairs, she had calmed down a little but it is still great to watch.



Later on Paige and Nana baked some cookies. Here's Paige cracking some pecans........

Strung out..........

After school today Nana, Paige and Graham strung popcorn and cranberries to make garlands for the Christmas tree. It was a neat project that kept them busy for quite a while. After lunch they did some more stringing and then went to Memorial Park where they got a little excercise. Steph said they were tired out later in the afternoon and just sat quietly reading before dinner.

My camera is not working properly. I dropped it at Anna's concert last week and now the flash doesn't work. But it still will record video so here's what was going on.

Anna's Ballet Showcase.

We passed up the big Arrow Construction company Christmas party in El Paso on Saturday night( they give the best party with unlimited lobster shrimp and wine etc and terrific gifts for everyone who attends ) so we could attend Anna's wonderful ballet performance at Hutto High School in Austin Texas. It was a cold windy day and our seats were too far from the stage to get any decent video but I got a few short ones anyway just so you can get the gist of it. We took some other shots of Colin and Anna too so they will fill out this post.












Sorry for the overload but, ain't my grandkids great?
Huh?

Ballet Anyone?.........

The twins had a ballet exhibition on Thursday and Nana took these videos. Also yesterday we had Evelyn for an hour and I took those videos. This morning, Friday, she had a nice talk to the baby she saw on the screen. I don't know if she knows its herself or not but she sure is captivated by the images.

Evelyn's Progress

We took care of Evie for an hour today and she is really getting good motor skills and can sing on key too.

I took a few videos and they tell the tale......

Niagara Falls Revisited

Last year for Beverly's birthday we went to Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Marriott which has a terrific view of the falls. We upgraded to the 25th floor even though it was extravagant to do so.
But as you will see from the photos, it was worth every Shylock grabbing penny. The view from our window, all day long was spellbinding.

We really enjoyed the area and we walked a lot. We ate lunch in a celebrated Italian joint and we thought it was..blah! Really, the food all over the area we found was mediocre but I guess when you have a restaurant that serves dinner and a view of Niagara you don't need a talented chef nor an awesome platter.

I had been to the falls a few times before in the early 1960s. I remembered before we went this time how mind arresting it had been, but this time, while it was still awe inspiring, there was a big difference. In 1960, the Canadian side was not built up at all. The American side, because of a the split in the river, does not have great access to get close to the falls. There is a little park there and walkway to get relatively close but nowhere where commercial stuff could really take advantage of the falls view.
The Canadian side however is smack dab up against the river and falls with excellent geography with a scarp slope that lends itself to buildings and other commercial enterprises with wonderful views of the action below. Whereas there was nothing much but the Customs Shed on the Canadian side in 1959, with the subsequent improved transportation (lots of Asians there),booming U.S.population, and our market economy, to say nothing of the romantic attraction that the falls is. it is now is overfull with commercial enterprises and BIG HOTELS all along the bank of the river.

Anyway, despite the commercialization we enjoyed it tremendously and when I chanced upon this folder as I was ruminating earlier today I thought it might make a nice post. Have at it.






Bev was trying this barrel out for size. It has already been over the falls once and the woman in it survived.

























And finally, my current wallpaper.....

Evelyn's First Taste of Table food

Until yesterday Evie hadn't had any food other than Mommy's supply. Here's her very first try at soup made by Auntie Jennifer. As you can see she was definitely interested.


Here is another shot around the table.


And a few pictures from yesterday......

Anna doesn't look like she was a 'doubtful starter' as of yesterday morning because she was running a fever for the prior 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, from a viral infection. But,to the Twins delight as well as Nana and G'Dad's, she made it. She really didn't want to miss the annual tea at the Coronado Club downtown Houston.
.Evie oggling Grandad
Al and Paige roasting a marshmallow.

Old friends

Brian and Sandy visited us briefly on Saturday. They live in Lufkin and we have known them for more than 30 years. In the 70s we lived in Farmer's Branch TX and on the same steet as Brian and Sandy and our other close old friends Steve and Linda. Its always good to see them. Here's a video of Bev showing them around our little complex....

Here's a picture of Brian looking at art and one of Beverly and Sandra looking cool


We went over to see Stephanie and Al and the kids and we got a video of Graham singing ............And here's another rendition..


While at the Walker's Bev got a picture of me doing what I do best, eating candy covered popcorn,and I got a nice shot of Steph and Evie.

Picnic

After we picked up the twins from their morning class we went to the park outside their house and had a lunch on the grass. Steph had sandwiches with terrific bread and a light curried chicken filling. It really was nice; Kate Jackson was there too.


This first vid is when we first got home and Paige is showing her work. Graham hears the compliments PK is getting and wants to get some of the praise too. Then we learn that his older sister did some of the detail for him!


Next is a bunch of us on the blanket.

Evie Bea was so good and active today. She liked the picnic and although I missed the shot of her crawling to get her rattle, when we restaged it she tried to crawl and rolled over instead.

Pediatric Dentistry

It wasn't like this 60 years ago I can tell you. But then, what was?

Steph said she was taking the kids to the dentist and I could tag along if I wanted to. With Nana out of town I was inclined to go since I wanted to show the kids my band-aid that I got for having my flu shot this morning. (They still think Grandad is pretty nifty and brave and stuff so I do all I can to enhance my standing)
Anyway, my camera acted up a little bit so some of the stuff I shot I wont publish 'cos either the video jerks or the audio repeats and I think I have enough that you will get the picture.

Additional Video

In my prior post I somehow left out the video taken at the Thanksgiving dinner table. While I was getting that one loaded I also saw one of Jennifer cooking that I thought I should publish. I include a few others for good measure.

My Thanksgiving Post - Now with Video!

I'm just going to post a few pics and maybe later I will have time to upload some video. We are having a great Thanksgiving with Emily here all the way from NYC and traveling up to Pflugerville to see ALL the Martins. Steph and her family are suffering on the beach at Cabo San Lucas, poor things, so they were not at our do. Last year Emily was absent from our Thanksgiving get together, maybe next year we will all be present.
Anthony was particularly generous with the wine and Jennifer did a sterling job on all the food. The kids were terrific and The Cowboys and Aggies won. What a Thanksgiving. Now if the Texans can beat the Browns today, it will be a great w/e too.
We took Emily to the airport and it was pouring. She called us when she arrived at home last night.We hated to see her go, BUT, she'll be back for Christmas, yeah!



Nana and Anna
Marion (Anthony's Mom) and Emily

A beautiful poinsettia that came from Costco./ Emily and Anna and Colin O
At the table enjoying the wine.
My world famous pie-lets.

Emily and Anna/ The Downward girls contingent.


A few videos that you may enjoy. Anna dancing, Colin talking about a beautiful cat and dancing around on a ball. Jennifer reading Colin's bedtime story. And some around the table at Thanksgiving.

Evelyn Bea's Christening.

It was a real Christening with William, a Presbyterian minister and a friend of the family, who performed the rites, referencing commitment to Christ and engagement with Him several times in the lovely relaxed and family type home-spun service. We had almost ideal conditions. It rained all morning and all through the previous night and just about time for the celebration it stopped and the sun came out. It was cool enough that we were all quite comfortable. Evie Bea was drenched 3 times with the Holy water and didn't yell or fuss. She was at her best.

The musicians were very good - a quartet who played non stop for 2+ hours ( except we asked them to put a sock in it during the service.)
With Steph in charge of the food you can imagine the extravaganza. We were all hard pressed to attempt a little decorum whilst piling our plates not so high we looked like gourmandise.........There was salmon, quail eggs, tuna tartar, tenderloin, quiche, and all kinds of fruit and veggie dishes. The mimosas with Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin went down well, pun intended.






Here are a few pictures and a few videos of the event.

















William's thoughtful intro.....
Al's reading
Inside the conservatory.


Beverly and Evelyn.