mass at saint pat's, homeward bound and grumpy's

 we had a big breakfast all together at 8:30 this morning, and then charlotte and jonathan took the subway to saint patrick's cathedral on fifth avenue for a special choral mass. greg and i met them with their suitcases at rockefeller center to see the tree and to walk downtown to penn station.

 i wanted them to see radio city music hall and they obliged me with a pic in front of it. my dad and mom loved coming here to see the rockettes when i was a child. we then walked through times square and we saw them off on the 1:30 empire train to buffalo. eva wrote at 11:22 to say that the train was only thirty minutes late and all were home and happily together again and looking at some of charlotte's photos. it was a wonderful visit and i'm so glad they were able to come.

 after seeing them onto the train, greg and i walked downtown, past gristede's which was very convenient as i had to buy shabbos candles for our homeschooling craft fair this coming friday!

 and then we very happily stopped at grumpy's.

 chocolate and coffee!

a walk through soho and tribeca

 morgana, charlotte and jonathan were out early this morning to attend a tour at the tenement museum, after which they had lunch at quan sushi in chinatown. greg and i met them in soho by old saint patrick's cathedral, built in 1809. greg and i had a peaceful moment sitting inside the beautiful sanctuary while charlotte and jonathan walked around. a very old cemetery surrounds it and i was hoping we could walk through, but the gate was locked. beneath the basilica are catacombs, consisting of thirty five family crypts and five clerical vaults. supposedly, tours are offered, which i should look into, especially if charlotte and jonathan come to visit again. perhaps it's something they would like to do. the basilica was the seat of the archdiocese until st. pat's was built in midtown. new st. pat's and old st. pat's. i'm a little partial to the peacefulness of the old.

 mass is in three languages: english, spanish and chinese.

 

 

it was a beautiful day for walking and we went down to the twin tower memorial (where chanda joined us) and then walked back home along the river. by then the sun was setting and it felt cold!

 we had a delicious dinner of vegetable barley soup after which they played several different card games . . 

 hanabi . . 

 three blind mice . . 

watching the florida state football game . . 

thursday celebration

 we arrived at my sister's house in connecticut around 12:45 pm. we were able to listen to arlo guthrie's entire alice's restaurant song. usually we arrive just as it's beginning at noontime on the radio, and miss the end.

 we immediately set to work arranging the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. i don't know how my mom started this tradition. i think it was a thing from the late '50's, early '60's. the marshmallow makers probably started it.

 my mom waiting for dinner to begin . . 

 and she is the first one served.

 turkey, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed celery and sweet potatoes.

 afterwards, we walked by the lake . . 

 jonathan identified a bird that my sister said she had never seen before (it was a bufflehead duck, smaller than the common mallards we see, and i think i'll try to be more aware next time i'm by the lake).

 did i stand in the water to take this photo?

 playing "bowl" . . 

 and skyping with my cousin in annapolis . . 

 time for dessert . . 

 chocolate cookies . . (one of my mom's favorites) . .

 pumpkin pie . . 

and key lime pie . . and then we were all very full and ready for bed.

touring, baking and cooking

 morgana, jonathan and charlotte were up early to traipse about the city. their first stop was the cathedral of saint john the divine.

 new tom otterness figures in the cathedral (otterness characters can be found all over the city. i always enjoy running into them).

 the beautiful rose window which chanda studied in her first lesson block with svetlana and the waldorf group about two years ago.

 in the center of the window is a figure of jesus.

 walking through central park.

 at the met museum. i'm so glad they were able to see the christmas tree and the neapolitan baroque creche.

 in the temple of dendur . . 

 and at the metropolitan opera house where they saw la boheme.

it was such a busy day for them. they did so much and i think they had a fun time.

meanwhile, chanda had a dance rehearsal and i baked and cooked all day. by the time they came home i was able to make a little extra gingerbread for everyone to have as a snack and we sat down and talked about the day while sipping hot cider. they brought out lovely gifts they had for us: a beautiful origami packet, exquisite ink blocks made from sheesham wood and oiled with mustard oil, and sweet maple candy. (thank you so much, eva. they're wonderful and we look forward to creating origami birds and printed cloth!)