Walking In A Winter Wonderland
As pretty much everyone knows by now, the East coast got hit with a pretty big blizzard last night. Knowing it was coming, I rushed around yesterday and did ALL the shopping I needed to do before Wednesday – gifts, groceries, etc. I wanted to make it so that I could have the option of not leaving my apartment again before going to Jersey for Christmas!
Good theory.
Well, technically, I didn’t HAVE to leave my apartment today. And honestly, I’m glad that I took care of everything – this is the kind of weather which makes running errands a pain. But this morning…well, for some reason, I was up at 6:20. It’s as if I was a 10-year-old, trying to see if I’d get a snow day from school. I laid around for about an hour, and then thought, “screw it” – I was up for the day anyway. I looked outside, and saw this:
Looks funny because it was taken behind the screen on my window
It was still and quiet outside, and I was wide awake – no WAY was I going to sit and not go see the park while it was still freshly covered with snow. So I got bundled up and out I went. Now, my apartment is across the street from a pond in the park, so I basically stuck around there – and the pics are all from my iPhone, hence the quality. But still – it was SO nice to go out and walk around! I discovered a couple of things:
1. The only people who go out at 8:00 on a [Sunday] morning after a blizzard are people with dogs and people with cameras.
2. I don’t know if it is because of the holiday season, or the snow, or the shared camaraderie of being some of the few out in the park together at such a unique time, but everyone was SO friendly. Like, saying-hi-as-passing-each-other-on-the-sidewalk friendly. It was odd. But nice 🙂
Anyway, here are some of the pictures…
It's hard to see, but these are ducks that live in the pond, using the one small bit not frozen
This pic isn't pretty - I've just never seen Central Park West so empty during the daytime
So, first snow storm of the season! And I’m not certain, but I think it may be the biggest snow I’ve ever experienced. And now, a day inside – enjoying Beatles Rock Band, wrapping presents, and watching Christmas movies. I love this time of year!
Christmas Light Hero
Okay, in honor of the fact that I finally ordered Beatles Rock Band, and because I’ve really been dropping the ball on Christmas posts (or any posts, for that matter) this month, I thought I’d give you this: Christmas Light Hero
You can read more about it here, but basically a guy who used to do special effects for Disney Imagineering put it together. It must’ve taken him forever to set up, but it looks cool!
This song has been stuck in my head all week
Now maybe it will be stuck in yours, too.
Merry Christmas!
Christmastime is Here Again!
So last year I posted regular (weekly, I believe?) Christmas-related videos. Though I haven’t blogged as much lately as I used to, I figure that this is a good tradition to keep up. So here’s the first – enjoy!
Also, I’m still going to blog about Becky’s wedding, and my trip to Oklahoma, and other things. Someday. 🙂
The whitest Christmas I’ve ever had!
I’m spending Christmas in New Jersey, with Mom and Tim and Rachel. It’s the first Christmas I’ve spent with my mom in seven years or so, so that’s pretty great. So far, it’s Christmas as usual: open presents, eat too much, play Trivial Pursuit, watch something suitably seasonal on tv. The difference this year, however? There is snow! On the ground! Growing up in the Great Plains right by Texas, I lived most of my life without much snow at all. We’d get excited if enough fell to completely cover the ground in white, and even then it was usually an icy, terrible snow, not the soft, powdery stuff. Oklahoma gets cold weather, and lots of ice, but not much snow. But this year? In Jersey? Heck yes. Granted, it’s not snowing on Christmas day…but it snowed about a foot a few days ago, and it’s still here. So below, photos. And when I took them, keep in mind that it was a grey, rainy day – today it’s sunny and lovely, but I’m not getting out to walk around.
Just a note about where I am: Stillwater, NJ, a tiny town where Tim is the pastor of a Presbyterian Church
The church where Tim preaches - it's 150 years old
The manse (aka house where the preacher lives) - it's as old as the church
The woods behind the house...something else you don't see much of in SW OK: trees!
So that’s that. No funny stories, no snark. I’m having a pretty good Christmas, I must say. And I’m REALLY looking forward to the next two weeks; I don’t have to go back to work til January 5th!
I hope that everyone else had a great holiday, too. And in honor of the winter wonderland outside, and because it’s the greatest Christmas song ever (well, Top Five, anyway – but only if sung by Bing Crosby): “White Christmas”
Another reason to love New York at Christmas…
The city CLEARS OUT. I was out after work today (the 22nd), and my walk to the train was…pleasant. There were just so many fewer people out – usually, I have to battle to cross the street at 36th and 7th…today, I could’ve skipped. It was weird. And lovely.
Sources (aka Robert) tell me that it only gets better (aka emptier) up til Christmas Day, at which point the city turns into a ghost town. That’d be interesting to see…and someday, I will! However, I’m going to spend Christmas in Jersey this year, with Mom and Tim and Rachel. It’ll be the first Christmas I’ve spent with Mom in about 7 years, so that will be nice.
So how am I spending my last pre-Christmas night in the quickly-emptying city? At home, watching classic Christmas movies, of course!
Christmas is almost here…
And I haven’t posted a YouTube of a Christmas song in nearly two weeks! This week, a classic from the 80s. You can see a straight George Michael! Bono sans sunglasses! And an untold number of other Reagan-era musicians. Without further ado…”Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band-Aid.
A
Christmas Candy!
I decided that this year I would make Christmas goodies to send to family in Oklahoma. Originally I was going to make shortbread with Robert at his and Kevin’s place; however, he had to go out of town at the last minute (more on that in a moment). So instead, I decided to make fudge and haystacks at my place. This should have been simple, and making the actual candy was easy. But there was a little problem…
I could not find marshmallow creme or chow mein noodles anywhere in New York City.
Eventually, obviously, I did get everything I needed – they don’t sell Kraft marshmallow creme here, they sell something called Fluff. And the chow mein noodles were found at the last place I looked – in the small grocery store in my neighborhood (go figure!). But in the end, it was all good…
Fudge. Obviously.
And what did Robert have to do instead? He went to Jersey to help Kevin’s dad slaughter the deer he’d hunted.
Poor Bambi.
Fairytale of New York
It’s weird…I’m in the Christmas spirit, listen to Christmas music like no other…but at the same time, I don’t feel it’s super Christmasy right now. Part of this is my general aversion to shopping – if you’re not in stores, you’re not really getting the Joy Of Christmas shoved down your throat. But I suppose that the biggest reason for it feeling like it’s not really Christmastime is that I’m once again not decorating for Christmas. This makes three years in a row (i.e., every year since I moved from OK) I’ve been decor-free. I used to always decorate a tree, hang stockings, put up lights (in my house, say, around the windows – I’m sure my friend Kevin is gagging over that one), the whole bit. But when I moved I got rid of all that: lights, ornaments, fake trees – everything. The good news is that I now know I’m not allergic to real trees, so eventually I’ll get one of those…but not with the space I have. Hopefully next year, I’ll have either more space in my current apartment, or a new, larger apartment. Til then, I’ll have to enjoy the apartments of the friends who have decorated. Well, apartment, anyway.
Last weekend, I had finally returned from my trip to Houston. (You may have noticed I did not blog about my trip to Houston – that’s because there was nothing really blog-worthy that happened). On Saturday, I went to a friend-of-a-friend’s party. They live across the street from Central Park, a couple of blocks from Robert and Kevin’s place. When we were walking to the party, it was snowing…while we were at the party, it started snowing harder…by the time we left, it was sticking to the ground. So we all went back to their apartment, picked up Tucker, and went on a walk in the park. There is nothing better than watching the snow fall in New York. Okay, fine, there are things better. But it’s downright – dare I say it? – magical. Certainly the most “Christmasy” thing that has happened to date.
So, in honor of Saturday’s brief-but-nice snow, here’s the song “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues. If you live outside of the UK you may not be familiar with the song, though it has been pretty big there. And just to warn you…the song doesn’t start picking up til about 1:24, so if you’re the impatient sort, you may want to fast forward. Consider yourself warned.
*Note: this song is not actually very fairytaleish, but it’s entertaining.
I am so so glad I left Oklahoma
Any time I forget this fact, I’ll watch this holiday treat from the Oklahoma GOP. make sure to click on the bottom of the screen to play the song
Aide-mémoire 