Posted on by LA · 56 Comments

The Orchid Show

I love flowers.  Can’t grow them, but love to look at them.  So, every year I attend the New York Botanic Garden Orchid Show.  When I began going, it was a family event: the husband and the daughter included.  Time passes, and now it’s just husband and me.  It’s bittersweet, because my Daughter has a whole life of her own (which is great) but I miss those little moments.

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I’ve been attending the orchid show almost since its inception 16 years ago.  Though always beautiful, I don’t think this years show is as pretty as past shows.  My husband always makes the same joke every year:  he says, “Didn’t we see this flower last year?”  I smile and snap another 300 pictures.

Today is a wet, cold day in NYC.  School is closed due to threat of impending Nor’easter, though no snow is to be had quite yet. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

And no- I have no idea what any of these flowers are called.  I just think they’re pretty!

Posted on by LA · 31 Comments

Holiday Traditions

Ok.  I know none of you are surprised that I love the holidays and that we have some traditions in our household.  But here’s a little roundup of what we do.

We are a multi religious household.  I am somewhat Catholic and my Husband is somewhat Jewish.  This makes my daughter culturally religious.  We celebrate both Catholic and Jewish holidays.

  1. Hanukkah.  We light candles and give presents and eat little bits of chocolate “gelt”.  As last night was the first night, I say Happy Hanukkah to all!
  2. We have a Christmas Tree.  We get a small (about 5 feet) real tree.  There was a shortage this year, so most of the tree vendors that come down for the holiday were not here.  Luckily, my local corner store sells trees.  I like a real tree cause of the smell.  I also do not have room to store an artificial tree.
  3. Gingerbread house.  My daughter and I decorate one every year .  When she was little we did the graham crackers on milk carton variety.  Then we bought the kits where you build a house.  We now buy a pre-assembled one.  So much easier.  But we love to decorate them.  Not well- we are not particularly creative, but it’s fun.
  4. Holiday show.  every year we go to a holiday themed show.  In the past we have seen The Nutcracker, A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life done live on stage (it was done as a radio broadcast)  This year we will be seeing Pentatonix.
  5. Seasonal City Decorations.  NYC is a great place to see holiday decorations.  One night we go to see what we consider our favorites.  the windows of Bergdorf Goodman, Lord and Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue.  The Tree at Rockefeller Center.  The brightly lit stores on Fifth Avenue, including the big light bow outside of Cartier.  Big festive recreations of holiday string lights on 6th ave.  The little tree and Menorah at Madison Square Park.  The copy of A Christmas Carol at the Morgan Library.  My favorite though, is the baroque tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It’s just beautiful.
  6. Christmas Cards.  I still send out cards with pictures of my daughter and pets.  We display the cards that we receive.  I like it- it makes me feel good.
  7. Holiday movies.  It’s a Wonderful Life.  Miracle on 34th Street.  A Christmas Carol.  Santa Claus id Coming to Town, The Grinch, A Christmas Story.  These make me smile and feel good.
  8. Presents.  enough said.
  9. Christamas Carols.  Lots of them.

I’m sure we have more, but I have a bit of a cold, so my mind is muddled.  I’m now going to drink hot tea, and get under a blanket for a bit.  It’s a bit chilly in NYC, I have things that must get done in a bit, but right now, I must try to let the cold medicine work a little.

Cheers to all!!