At Home for the Holidays

TD and I recently put up our Christmas tree, which we always enjoy during the holiday season. My sister Cynthia and sister-in-law Barb are coming from Colorado and we'll be together with my two brothers and their families, which will be great. This will be our first Christmas without our parents; my father passed away in April and my mother passed away five and a half years ago so this will be a first for us.
Getting the tree is a project! The calm before the Christmas tree storm:

We used to live on Jane Street, and we have been getting our trees for thirty (!!) years from Billy Romp and his family who come down from Vermont and set up shop in the month of December at the corner of Jane Street and Eighth Avenue.

We love to see Billy each year. We pick out a tree and he straps it onto a cart that is attached to a bike and he walks with us to our apartment. We set up the tree and have a glass of red wine and catch up on the year.
Soon Billy is on his way and we get to work -- the lights, the ornaments, the star on the top, the cloth  below.
And voila –

I like how the tree adds a colorful glow to the room. Everything on the tree is personal to us. We have collected a lot of antique ornaments –

And a lot are handmade. The ornament in the middle that says "Greetings" was one of the last things that my mother made and sent us. She liked to create cards. TD cut out the paper angel on the left. 

In the front hall I put some evergreens in a glass vase and hung a few ornaments on the sprigs –

Our Christmas decorations include this reindeer on the living room fireplace mantle who has a pretty wreath around his neck. I found the reindeer at ABC Carpet and Home –

The fireplace doesn't work so we put a big candle in it for a warm glow –

I'm so grateful to be seeing my siblings and extended family this holiday season. I hope that your holidays have a warm glow too dear reader and I wish you all the very best for the new year ahead.

Summer in the City

Sitting in Madison Square Park and looking out to Fifth Avenue. You can get a glass of wine at the Shake Shack and enjoy the park; sometimes there are concerts. (click on photos to enlarge)
I hope you are having a nice summer. It doesn't seem that long ago since the winter snow was falling. Thankfully summer is now here, and it is not yet too hot. I've been enjoying the city and taking some pictures along the way.
Sitting next to me on a bench in Madison Square Park was a young woman looking casually stylish in an embroidered tunic, silky pants, and chic sandals.

One of my favorite events is the Jane Street sale, held in June, when people in Greenwich Village come out and sell their goods.

I bought this big, old, heavy metal container which is meant to hold ashes at the fireplace.

Now, we put kitty litter and other supplies in it in our kitchen. $25. I love it.
Over on the Hudson River, boats passed each other on a sunny day.

Up at Bryant Park, the lilies are in full bloom. The flowers there are so pretty.

This talented young woman was singing and playing an accordian in Bryant Park - wonderful!

At Bergdorf Goodman, horses are the current window theme.

I had lunch at the Coffee Shop on Union Square with my niece Jane who was much smaller when we started this blog... This summer she is off to art school. Where did the time go? I am her proud godfather.

We took a weekend trip out to Connecticut for Father's Day and had lunch at the Stone House Restaurant.
Here is my nephew Ben, brother Eric, and my pa.

After lunch we had a quick trip to the beach 

and the following day we went to the beach at Hammonasset State Park where the rugosa roses were in fragrant bloom - 

This weekend we had a successful trip to the Union Square Farmer's Market, where fresh flowers, lettuce and bread are now plentiful.

Sunday was the Gay Pride Parade so TD and I marched down Fifth Avenue and Christopher Street with the other revelers -

We stopped for a glass of water along Fifth Avenue -

TD and I say equal rights for all!

Oh, Christmas Tree

I made this ornament many years ago from a photo I took at a Geoffrey Beene exhibition uptown. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

This week TD and I got our Christmas tree up and decorated which is always a creative project. You know already that we have been getting our Christmas tree from Billy Romp on Jane Street for twenty-three years. Billy comes from Vermont and lives in his truck for a month selling Christmas trees, and he wrote a successful book about it, Christmas on Jane Street.
When we went to get our tree the moon was shining over the scene.

We caught up on events of the past year with Billy, shown here between us.

We picked out a frasier fir and Billy delivered it to our apartment himself. He said he only does that for a couple of customers. After sitting down for a glass of wine he was off into the night, and then it was on to a weightier business: decorating.
First the lights, which are a serious affair; lights must be properly placed.

Out from under the bed came the two big boxes in which we store ornaments – including antiques and ones we've made.

We put on the ornaments and adjusted them and spun the tree a little too to get it to the right position.

When the tree is done it's like a big jolly gift in the room.

People don't use colored light much but I love them and I like how they look with our colorful art work.

Bell approves too.

Mount Everest Man

Our great friend Don Healy is back from the summit of Mount Everest! You may remember that I wrote about his climb before he and his wife Joyce left New York in March. Well, I am happy to tell you that he made it to the top on May 24th, a few days after his 65 birthday. And don't forget, he has an artificial hip.
The Healys had a jolly celebration this week in their home on Jane Street, and Don presented a slide presentation of his journey, which was quite amazing. The Healys live in a great house which is reached by traveling through the alley of a building which fronts Jane Street. The Healys' house was originally a blacksmith shop built in 1833. Around 1850 it became a bakery, and the baker built the front house. The Healys completely renovated and created a three storey home with a central stair well and exposed brick walls. We started with drinks in the courtyard and then moved up to seats on the top floor for the slide presentation. When it started to pour, rain splashed on the big sky lights overhead. It was very cozy.
As many good things do, this story begins with a book. Don said that he has wanted to climb Mount Everest ever since he was a boy and read The Conquest of Everest by Sir John Hunt.

While training for mountain climbing a few years ago, a serious bicycle accident left him with a shattered hip and debilitated for eleven weeks. Nevertheless, in March with a new hip he and Joyce left for Kathmandu, destination Mount Everest.

Joyce trekked with Don to base camp (a difficult climb in itself) and returned home in April. Don continued his eight week climb to the summit. EIGHT WEEKS! You can read about his adventure in detail on his blog. The extreme weather and lack of oxygen are only two factors which make it very dangerous. It took Don eleven hours to climb the last very steep mile because he had to take four breaths of oxygen for every one step.
But make it he did, pictured here on the summit where other climbers have left their prayer rugs.

Then began the careful descent; more accidents happen going down the mountain than going up. Don made it back safely, fifteen pounds lighter.

Upon returning, he set about raising money for the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC) in Kathmandu, which specializes in orthopedic surgery for children in rural areas with congenital deformities. Because of his hip replacement, Don wanted to sponsor an organization that provides orthopedic care to those in need. To find out about making a contribution, go to his web site Everest Hip Hop, and click on the "Donate" button.
With his accomplishment Don proved that age and physical setbacks need not be barriers to achieving one's goals. It's an inspiration to know a true adventurer, and it's a good story too: There was a feature about Don in The Wall Street Journal, and he appeared on the Today show, interviewed by Matt Lauer:

Congratulations Don!

A Beautiful Thing to the Rescue

This ornament from my youth is decorated with my childhood nickname.

Honestly, I was not feeling in the holiday spirit. The job search has been tough since my work ended at the ad agency after Labor Day. Anyone need an advertising copywriter?! There have been some starts and stops, but in this economy the media business in New York is sort of a disaster and the job search has not been easy or pleasant. But it was time to get our Christmas tree.

We have been getting our Christmas tree for twenty-one years from Billy Romp who arrives every year at Thanksgiving-time from Vermont to sell trees at the the corner of Eighth Avenue and Jane Street. When TD and I first moved in together we lived on the top floor of this building at 35 Jane:

There are window seats in the windows, and one year we looked down and saw a red pick-up truck below and this:

Piles of fresh Christmas trees lining Eighth Avenue like a city forest. That was in 1988, and we've been going to Billy Romp ever since, even after we moved off of Jane Street. On Friday we walked over. It was freezing cold out. We found Billy there, and helping him out was Evan. Evan was the boy who lived upstairs with his parents when we lived at 76 Jane. We attended the celebratory baby shower and remember the day he was born. When the house was sold on Jane Street, Evan and his mother moved to the upper west side. It was great to see him again. He said he's now eighteen, and applying to colleges. Gulp.

We picked out a nice tree and caught up with Billy Romp. Here he is now:

A couple of years ago he published a children's book called Christmas on Jane Street, and I have to say Billy Romp is great at getting the publicity! Just yesterday there was a big article about him and his ex-wife in The New York Times.
Billy trimmed the bottom of our tree and placed it on a cart. We said good-bye until next year and Evan carted the tree home with me to 15th Street.

We carried it up two flights and Evan put the tree in the tree stand. It took a couple attempts to get the tree straight. I really enjoyed catching up with Evan.

When TD got home we put lights on the tree. (We're kind of obsessed with the lights. TD likes them pushed into the tree and I pull them out so you can see them better.)

We got out the boxes of ornaments. We have two large boxes that are kept under the bed. I love our ornaments – there are antiques and things we've made and paper ornaments TD cut out. I stick everything on the tree including small Christmas cards and pine cones and decorations off of presents.

A work in progress.

When it was done I felt better. This tree is really pretty. With a tall slender shape, it fits into our space and reaches up to the ceiling. The colorful lights and all of the ornaments which hold sentimental value make me happy. At night the tree delights my eye. Now I have to chill out. These next three weeks in the business world will be quiet so there probably will not be much happening in the job market. I want to enjoy the holidays and appreciate the moment and be grateful for a life of beautiful things.

A 30th to Remember

The other night our friend Brian Healy celebrated his 30th birthday at Marie's Crisis, the legendary theater sing-along piano bar in the West Village on Grove Street. I've known Brian since he was six; Ted remembers when he was born. The Healys are close friends and former neighbors, along with the Gabels, from Jane Street; we all traveled together, our little Jane Street coterie, a year ago to Amsterdam to visit Ton Mutsaer, the sister of our great Jane Street friend Gerard Mutsaer.

Marie's Crisis is a fantastic, ancient, New York institution which Ted and I used to frequent more regularly. Off of Grove Street, a few steps down lead into a ground floor bar, which is dark with low ceilings. Patrons sit on high stools and stand around the hard working piano player, singing out popular show tunes. The long bar is along the back wall which is lined with a huge, fading, dingy mirror. Strings of artificial autumn leaves interspersed with rust-colored lights circled the room where the walls met the low ceiling. Colorful traffic lights from the street outside twinkled through the sidewalk-level windows.

Marie's Crisis had never closed for a private event but Brian promised a big turnout, and they all came. Brian is an enthusiastic, ebullient, much-loved New Yorker and has a million friends. We found sitting at the piano the Healys and the Gabels and our great friends Tom Meehan, who wrote the Broadway musicals Annie, The Producers and Hairspray, and his wife Carolyn. There were lots of good looking young guys there; this fall they're wearing closely cropped beards and tweed jackets. It was fun to catch up with Brian's friends and relatives.

Some of his friends are professional theater and opera singers, and one at a time they came forward to sing a solo. Solos were also offered by the talented waitstaff at Marie's; it was like a Broadway show that went on and on.
A cake was lit


and a wish was made.

Brian's father Don offered everyone a drink on the house.
Here are the handsome Healys.

I'm not a big Broadway singer (Ted is) but after a couple Heinekens, what the hell.
At 11:00 the extremely talented piano player was replaced by another extremely talented piano player. His name was Danny Daly and he played everything by memory, with no sheet music.

Brian himself stepped forward and delivered a rousing rendition of Judy Garland's "Chicago" which brought down the house. By then everyone – man, woman and child – was belting out the show tunes. There were a lot of Judy and Liza numbers; those gals really did have the best songs – "Cabaret," "Over the Rainbow," "Maybe this Time," "The Man That Got Away," etc., etc. I was positively winded.

It was getting late, into the wee hours, and we were hoping we could outlast Tom and Carolyn, who were happily ensconced behind glittering martinis. But at last we had to fold, and bid them adieu. I was reminded of the story that Elaine Stritch told in her one woman show, At Liberty, about when she stayed up all night singing and drinking with Judy Garland. Finally, Judy Garland had to call it quits and she remarked, "Elaine, I never thought I'd say this, but 'Good night!'"

Many happy returns of the day to Brian Healy. It was a great birthday in New York. We'll see you for 30 more.