Happy Thanksgiving

I adore watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Perhaps it is a way to feel connected to my family in New York while living out west (let me clarify, they watch the parade on TV too). Maybe I just like parades (I do). Anyhow, seeing the parade in person is on my bucket list. Yesterday, I found an article that listed hotels that are on the parade route and as I bookmarked it dreamily thinking about how fun it would be to order room service and watch the parade. Then, last night, my daughter who is going to school in New York starts sending me text messages while she and some friends were wandering around the upper west side looking for the parade balloons. Next thing I know, she is sending me photos! Sigh, maybe next Thanksgiving I'll be able to cross this off my list...

Don't Freak Out, I'm OK But...

A 7:00am phone call is never a good way to start the day. Hardly anything good ever comes from one.

Lauren: "Hi Mom, don't freak, I'm okay but..."

Me: "but what?"

Lauren: "I got hit by a cab last night."

Me: "Oh my God, are you okay, did you get hurt, holy crap" (my voice is rising and respiration increasing by the nanosecond)

Lauren: "Mom! Mom! Mom! I told you not to freak out. I'm okay. I just needed a few stitches on my face."

Seriously, parenthood is not for the faint of heart. Sounds like she'll now have a scar near her eyebrow just like I do. She's got some road rash on her leg and is bit sore from hitting the ground and tired from being in the ER half the night. I know it could have been much worse.

The ironic part is that Lauren has a seriously bad reputation for jay-walking (I do too so I can't say anything). In fact, her old boyfriend used to call her Tenacious J! But last night she was in a crosswalk crossing with the light. She didn't even see it coming.

I guess the upside of being hit by a cab is a free ride to and from the hospital. I'm thinking she should get free cab rides for life! With that rite of passage behind her I think she can officially call herself a New Yorker now.

I ♥ NY

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

As many of you know, a giant piece of my heart currently resides in my birth place, New York City. One of my favorite cousins sent me the link to the amazing video of the sights of daily life in New York over the course of the day. Be sure to let it fully load and view it on full screen if possible. Watching it made me start checking air fares. I need to go back to see my girl and my city.

Happy Friday!

NY Street Art

I'm in love with the simplicity and creativity of Joshua Allen Harris's amazing street art. Wouldn't it be incredible to walk down the street just as one of these were coming to life?

Tenement Museum in NYC

Next time you are in Manhattan's lower east side, be sure to plan enough time for a visit to the Tenement Museum. The museum has purchased an 1860s tenement building which had been condemned in the 1940s when the landlord decided to boot the residential tenants rather than make improvements to the building to meet new building codes.

The museum researched the building and through census records was able to identify over 7,000 people who'd lived in the building between 1860 and 1940. They were able to contact descendents of many of the tenants and piece together what the apartments looked like at various points in time.

My cousin and I toured two of the apartments last weekend. One had been re-created to look like it had when German-Jewish immigrant family moved in around 1870. At that time, the building would not have had electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. Families would have provided their own coal burning stove. Ideally, they would have purchased it from the previous tenants. If not, they would have had to schlep it up to which ever of the five floors they lived on. They also would have needed to haul up the coal necessary for cooking and heating their space.

Four outhouses behind the building provided relief for the twenty families in the building, as well as, the patrons of the saloon and garment shop on the first floor.

The second apartment that we toured had been inhabited by Italian-Catholic immigrants in the 1930s. By this time the building had been upgraded with electricity and indoor plumbing had been introduced. Each floor had two toilets in the hallway. The museum was able to connect with a woman who'd lived in the tenement as a child. Audio recordings of her recollections add a intimate glimpse into the challenges of raising a family in 325 square feet of space.

The museum offers tours of other apartments and I hope to make it back there on a subsequent trip to New York. There is also a gift store which offered many interesting and unique gifts . You can visit the Tenement Museum's website here.

Hell Yah!

How cool is my kid? Check this out!

Sunday Dinner with the New York Fam

I spent the weekend with my New York family. I went to the city, visited the Tenement Museum, and ate at some charming (read small) cafes. I spent a few nights with cousin on Long Island and had a great time with her ridiculously adorable daughter.

But one of the highlights was having Sunday dinner with my Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle, cousins, and the cousin's babies. We so rarely have the opportunity to share a meal together which is a shame because my Aunt Jo is an excellent cook.

Tonight, we started the meal with antipasto. Besides being visually stunning it tasted like salty, creamy deliciousness. Next up was my spaghetti with my Aunt's famous meatballs and tomato sauce. Heaven!

For dessert, we had the choice of chocolate cheesecake, crumb cake (my fave!), or chocolate covered pretzels and mugs of steaming coffee.

After dinner I headed back into the city to meet up with the girl child. We're having a sleep over at her place tonight which thus far has consisted of us camped out on her bed each with a laptop on our lap. It's been way too long since we've had a girls night like this.

More Random Pictures from New York

Lady Liberty, up close & personal from a boat

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral

Rockefeller Center

Times Square (social anxiety nightmare)

My favorite sign in Greenwich Village (wish they were all over the city)

Lauren in Queens

I went to see Lauren's new apartment in Queens on Sunday. I was so nervous about it beforehand. What if it was roach-infested rat's nest? What if the neighborhood seemed filled with shady characters? How could I be expected to leave my baby girl in New York under these conditions?

Happily, the place she found is newly remodeled. She shares the place with two roommates and her room is quite spacious (so rare in NYC!) But my favorite thing about her place is the street that she lives on. It is a dead end street so there is very little traffic. While we were there on Sunday several kids were riding their bikes and scooters on the block and many neighbors sitting outside on their stoop enjoying the gorgeous weather.

I was so relieved and am now really able to be excited for her! Good job, Lauren!