The Home of Beautiful Bluefaced Leicesters and Shetland Sheep

Come visit us in southern Pennsylvania.

Welcome

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Ninety Degrees in the Family Room

Brogan and I retreated to the basement to escape the temps in the rest of the house. She watched the Disney channel while I tried to read. Ever tried to read while the Disney channel is on???? Don't. Ears cannot block out the stupidity of the programming.
The ancient AC in the basement is on its last legs but we can get the room to 75, which is a great relief. If I could find a T shirt that said, "I survived 100+ in the USA" I'd buy one for Brogan. Bill attempted to go to the store in an atheletic T shirt. When I protested he said, "young guys wear them out all the time".(I'm sure he's recalling the 1950ies.) My reply was that Michael Phelps wears a Speedo and looks great but when the old man up the road wears his size 40 Speedo to mow the lawn everyone just laughs. He got the analogy and Molly got him a shirt. Aside......Speedos should not be made in size 40.
Coward that I am, I am leaving town. Meeting Lisa Rodenfelds and Anne Bisdorf for a few days of R and R in Bedford, PA. sounds heavenly. Spinning,knitting, someone else cooking and sheep talk. Sounds heavenly.
I promised Brogan to take her to the beach on Tuesday for her last big USA trip then we are off to NYC on Thursday. We'll ferry out to the Statue of Liberty on our way to the airport. Her month in the great oven will end. Back to cool rainy N. Ireland.Sounds wonderful doesn't it?

Monday, July 19, 2010

NYC in the Heat or Melting in the Big Apple

Molly and Brogan had a trip to NYC on their wish lists so we went up on Friday. Stayed in NJ with family on Friday and drove off to "the city" on Saturday morning. Over 90 and so humid. Waiting in the AC for the Empire State Building elevator line was long but bearable. The view on the 86th floor was fairly clear. It had been years since I had been there but the view is still exciting.It is hard to believe so many buildings can stand in such a small area. We walked down to the Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's) but without a reservation there was no way we could be seated. Should have planned ahead. A little hamburger joint in Greenwich Village wasn't exactly the dinner we had in mind but it was good and very affordable. Anything that didn't run too fast would have tasted good by the time we ate we were so hungry. Great street entertainers to watch in Washington Square. This part of NYC is my favorite. Residential and quiet. The train ride back to our hotel in Jersey City was a nightmare. Too few trains and too many people. We were stuffed in like cattle, sweaty and miserable. Finally back at the hotel room, I put the AC down to 65 and we wrapped up in covers, enjoyed being cold and watched the NY skyline light up out our window. Beautiful.

Sunday morning up at 6:30, I took my coffee to the dock and watched the Chinese ladies do their AM yoga routine. To my amusement, when they finished yoga they began teaching each other to dance...ballroom style. It was so cute to watch. Jersey City is sooo different now from what it was when I lived in NJ. It is safe,clean and completely revitalized.

When the girls finally got going we braved the train again where we met the nicest man who gave us the skinny on all his celebrity shoe store clients.It was fun meeting him and made the train ride seem too short. Subwayed uptown to Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel and all those stores near the Plaza that we can't afford. The girls loved it. As for me, I just felt hot, dumpy and poor. Again, not fit to be seen in such places but who cares. The girls dumped me whenever possible,but they found me when they got hungry. I hope Brogan, who was suffering from the heat too, will remember NYC as a fun place and not just remember it for the heat. We tried to make it fun. Hope your 22nd birthday was memorable, Molly. Let's spend the next one in a cooler place.