Scattered Thoughts . . .

While we were in Manhattan last week, among the  many sights we saw, we stopped at Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library. Not only does Bryant Park put up a large ice rink for Christmas but they also have very many little shops. It really is a well-designed little park with many events throughout the year.  This time of year, however, it is decorated for Christmas with a little Christmas Village. The rink is quite nice, however, it is not your typical hockey ice rink. This ice rink has illuminated boards topped by a smooth white handrail. The facilities are nice. The shops are nice. The Christmas tree is nice. Other Christmas villages around the country could learn a thing or two from Bryant Park.  Sheila and Adam are on line at one of the shops waiting for some French pastries and hot apple cider... A penguin skate aid... some of the adults could have used a skate aid too! It still was not dark out when we left the park but we were dee

On our first night in Manhattan, we took a short walk uptown to see the Christmas tree and Christmas decorations in Rockefeller Center.  Somehow, we lucked out and avoided the typical Christmas crowds. I don't know how or why it happened but we actually had plenty of room to spread out and pose for some photos! The last time we visited Rockefeller Center during Christmas, we were in a Manhattan-wide mass of people, shoulder to shoulder, unable to even breath easily. On this particular night last week it was relatively quiet making our visit quite enjoyable... This photo, below, of the Zamboni on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center is one I would never normally shoot but our five year old hockey nut grandson, Lukey, will probably find this photo the most exciting of the bunch so... here it is... A lot of looking upward... Below is a single photo of the building-sized Christmas light show put on by Saks Fifth Avenue each year

During our visit to Manhattan last week, we managed to squeeze in a visit with some of my family. They live only a short commuter train ride away from Manhattan and seeing some of Manhattan at Christmastime sounded good to them anyway so we all met at a restaurant in the Empire State Building on our last evening in Manhattan. Sheila's family has been growing in recent years so we've been busy with grandchildren and creating our own new family events and memories so there really has been little time for anything else. Health problems, medical appointments and hundreds of miles of distance don't help with this situation at all either. So, it has been quite a few years since we've seen any of my own family.  After Sheila put her radiation treatment behind her, there were a number of things that moved up in priority for her, as can be expected. Seeing Manhattan at Christmastime was one of those things and getting to see my family again was another. So, once Sheila