Rainy End to April

The daffodils were down this morning. Apparently they were not appreciating the cold rain. It rained yesterday afternoon and through the night and today is supposed to be the same.

Lots of umbrellas bobbing on the streets and people hopping over puddles.

A group of three people walked around me. One guy says to the others, "I apologize. I have the ability to walk really fast."  I thought that was an interesting way to put it. Most (though not all) people have the ability to walk fast...they just don't do it when they are walking in a group.

In places it was too windy for an umbrella so I settled for a short walk this morning and took my frizzed out hair home early.


Morning temperature: 42 degrees (felt like 29), rain
Morning steps: 4848

Birthday Fiesta

Happy Birthday, Pinkie LaMauve!

 

 

Morning temperature: 47 degrees

Morning steps: 7742

Tulip Town

Suddenly there are tulips ALL over. Most places seem to have only one color...purple flowers on one street or in the parks, red on another and then there were these yellow ones. I guess you can't tell by this photo but these are huge! They were about 2 feet tall and the flowers themselves were about 4 inches tall.

Morning temperature: 46 degrees
Morning steps: 7232

Ancient Mariner

Yes...that's Pier 54 again but this time it's all about the ancient ship in the background.

Street Fair

I walked through my first street fair of the season. It covered 10 blocks beginning right around the corner from my apartment. Contrary to the proof of these photos, I did not buy anything to eat...but it always looks good! There are lots of vendors selling non-edible items too. Last year, I attended my first street fair of the season on April 28 so this must be the right time.

People

These little kids and their 3 chaperones had just been to the playground and were on their way back to school. They were all wearing green vests and hanging onto a rope (except for little red jacket.) Earth day was still in their thoughts as one boy sang tunelessly at the top of his lungs "It's time to clean the world!"
 

There are people all over the place now in the morning. People on the streets. People in the parks. People drinking coffee on a park bench. People playing guitars and singing in the parks. Where were they all winter??? There were even New Yorkers making eye contact...which just isn't done!

Morning temperature: 46 degrees
Morning steps: 5835

Manhattan Schist

Grass, trees, Manhattan schist and tall buildings

This schist has a lot to do with what makes Manhattan...Manhattan. Lots of serious bedrock allowed the skyscrapers to be built without sinking. And the bedrock was extensive enough for tunnels to be drilled into it for crossings onto the island from under the rivers. When I'm in one of the tunnels I can't think about the fact that I'm under the waterway. That's too much to comprehend. The fact that the weight and pressure hasn't caused them to collapse so far doesn't make me feel that much better. There's always a first time!

Morning temperature: 43 degrees (felt like 36)
Morning steps: 5835

Bob & Jo

The beautiful 70+ degree weather is gone already. It was a blustery 50 degrees this morning. That wind can be cold! But there were a ton of birds and squirrels in the park. The birds in particular were making a lot of noise.

A trio of police officers, a woman and two men, circled the park several times. The woman was the tallest. She was reading her phone on the first loop and they were talking non-stop but I suppose they were observing also. Not much to see that early on a weekday morning.

Morning temperature: 50 degrees
Morning steps: 5814

Happy Earth Day!

There is a lot of blooming going on around here. There are also lots of landscapers and gardeners working in the parks to get them looking their spring best. Every day there is something new.

Morning temperature: 52 degrees
Morning steps: 5794

Empire Theatre

I have a newspaper clipping of this 1998 photo by Dan Hogan Charles from the New York Times

I went to see a movie in the Empire Theatre (originally the Eltinge which opened in 1912). It reminded me of the newspaper clipping I have saved in my journal from 1998. The theatre was moved down 42nd Street to become part of an entertainment complex.

It was pretty amazing that they moved an entire theatre but now when I look at the photo...it seems pretty amazing that there was that much open space on 42nd Street...though, of course, not for long.

The old Broadway theatre had 759 seats. As a movie house it offers 4916 seats within the 25 movie auditoriums. There are some very long escalators moving people between the levels. Seeing the theatre itself is worth as much or more than seeing a movie there.

Last week we were talking about the Titanic which sunk in April 1912 and today it's a theatre that opened in September 1912.



Morning temperature: 42 degrees
Morning steps: 5570

Happy Easter!

Easter Eve

Happy Birthday to my mom!

The Carpathia in New York

The picture below shows all that remains of Pier 54 where the Carpathia docked on April 18, 1912 with 705 Titanic survivors aboard. From just the right angle you can still see the marks in the rusted metal from the words White Star and Cunard.

I don't know why there is no plaque commemorating the arrival of the Carpathia when interest still remains high for all things Titanic related. There was a tragic loss of life, of course, but 705 lives saved seems worth celebrating.

The Carpathia at Pier 54 in 1912

The Lusitania docked at Pier 54 in 1910

The Carpathia's maiden voyage was in 1903. She was put into military service during World War I and was torpedoed 3 times by a German U-Boat in 1918 and sunk off the coast of Ireland. Her wreck was not located until 2000.

Pier 54 before the 1991 demolition

Pier 54 was rebuilt in 1910 along with the rest of the Chelsea Piers. A fire meant another rebuild in 1932 and it was demolished in 1991. In its' heyday the luxury liners departed from these piers.

This one's for you, McKenna. Thanks for keeping the memories alive.

 

Morning temperature: 35 degrees (felt like 31)

Morning steps: 6800

Daffodil Morning

Thirty-six degrees but it looks like spring

Another nippy morning. Some people don't let the thermometer phase them. There were men in suits with no topcoats and a woman in an ankle length fur coat with dirty white running shoes. But the crowds walking to work were visibly reduced. Could that many people be gone on the Thursday before Easter?

Morning temperature: 36 degrees
Morning steps: 6488

The Library

 

This is my neighborhood library, Muhlenberg. It opened in 1906. I like to borrow books from the library but they also lend DVDs and games as well as offer computers to use. Lately I'm noticing how much more the libraries offer. I'm lucky to live in an area with multiple choices of branches. Some of the other libraries are specialty libraries or research libraries.

 

They offer classes, special programs, lectures and performances. Most things are free. Some branches offer movies and children's programs. The classes are a huge variety of useful and interesting topics from money management, physics, history, computer programs to knitting and so much more.

 

Support your library!







April Showers

This is my tree...looking like spring on a rainy day

These April showers had better bring a lot of May flowers!

Look up at the Sky Day

A resting place for ducks on the Hudson

It just happens to be Look up at the Sky Day...which, this year, coincides with the Blood Moon. I guess that's not technically true since it will appear in the wee hours tonight. In my area it's supposed to be visible after 1am. We have some cloudy weather so I may not have the best advantage. I have to decide if I should sleep or look for it.

Morning temperature: 62 degrees
Morning steps: 5527

The Green Radish

Gorilla Cheese

More Flowers

There were even more flowers at the GreenMarket today. It was a little gray but the rain predicted for this morning is holding off till later so lots of people were out.

Some people were gambling on warmer temperatures later apparently since they were without jackets.

I enjoy seeing the dads wearing pink princess backpacks as they walk their daughters to school. A little girl with a big camera was chasing squirrels and birds for photo ops. Her father stood behind her taking pictures of her taking pictures of the "wild" life.

And it's Friday again.


Morning temperature: 54 degrees
Morning steps: 7154

National Card & Letter Writing Month

This is my local post office,  the Old Chelsea Post Office. It opened in 1933 when FDR was president and James A Farley was postmaster. Now James A Farley is the name of my all time favorite post office in NYC across from Penn Station.

I love mail. I love receiving mail and sending mail. Naturally I'm talking about fun mail. I'm not so appreciative of bills and junk - though the occasional clever piece of advertising will often give me seconds of fun.

Here it is the 10th day of April and I have not been doing much to celebrate National Card & Letter Writing Month. The celebration is to promote literacy (and perhaps sell some postage stamps.)

I have gone through several letter writing phases in my life and I know the pleasure of writing with a good fountain pen. I survived an addiction to the Current catalog which caused me to buy all kinds of stationery especially note cards that folded in a way to become their own envelopes.

I just googled National Card & Letter Writing Month and was led to a Pinterest site where the person managed to misspell stationery over and over again. This spelling was one I learned a trick for long ago and never misspell. A "stationer" (now an old fashioned term) refers to a person or store that sells stationery. Stationary means standing still...not moving. Picture that Stationer with an "e" and you'll always spell stationery correctly.

I admit to doing a lot less letter writing and a lot more card making. I also write fewer handwritten letters. The first thing I liked about using a computer was the ease of correcting mistakes while typing a document. I always hated making a mistake in a handwritten letter. In order to avoid crossing out mistakes I often would extend the sentence saying something like "oops, I didn't mean to write that - what I meant was ...."

So why not buy a card or make a card and send it. Write a letter or write a postcard. April is as good a time as any.

Morning temperature: 43 degrees
Morning steps: 7081

Robin

There's a robin in there!

Morning temperature: 45 degrees
Morning steps: 6506

A Little Rain Must Fall

Ghostly buildings on the Hudson

Rainy days don't necessarily bring me down. I often bought treats for my co-workers on a dark rainy day. I knew it would cheer them up and chase away the grumpy - wumps. Sometimes people accused me of being nice...but really it was self-preservation. Buying some chocolate or donuts or fruit bought happier co-workers and was money well spent!

Morning temperature: 49 degrees
Morning steps: 7526

Flowers Sighted at the GreenMarket!

The GreenMarket has been open all winter although there were fewer vendors. The selection has been down to potatoes, organic meats, honey, eggs, maple syrup and baked goods. Now there are some new crops and flowers for sale. I know those flowers had to be grown in hothouses but still it's a welcome sign of spring.

Morning temperature: 44 degrees
Morning steps: 6300

Don't Be Afraid

It's only a pile of fake fur...but I was feeling like that yesterday!

Finish

Friday Drizzle

Another barren-looking park ready for spring

Today is National Tell-A-Lie Day. I'm not going to endorse that one. Better to celebrate National Walk to Work Day or Vitamin C Day or Friday!

I did have some chocolate mousse yesterday. I had to look up the difference between mousse and pudding. Apparently there is not much difference. Mousse is supposedly lighter but probably also has more calories. Chocolate is a good thing...either way.

Morning temperature: 43 degrees
Morning steps: 6436

National Chocolate Mousse Day

It looks like this building has a tattoo

Apparently it's National Chocolate Mousse Day. An interesting thought but who needs an excuse to have chocolate mousse?

Morning temperature: 48 degrees
Morning steps: 6947

Getting Used to April

The park still looks like winter but at least there's no snow

Morning temperature: 42degrees
Morning steps: 6202

April Fool's Day

They're everywhere!

It was the same temperature today as yesterday but what a difference a little sun makes!

It's April and flowers and people are coming out of hibernation.

Morning temperature: 39 degrees
Morning steps: 7768