It was cold but clear and sunny enough to get outside for our annual walk into town. Bindi came along and I took the camera..Enjoy!

Sending my best wishes for the happiest of holidays and for God's richest blessings to fall on all of you and your families. I got this plant arrangement at seedsower's show. It makes me happy whenever I look at it.

I was walking in town today and it was 26 degrees and snowing and the clock at the bank was playing "Here Comes Santa Claus" so I was amused. I bought some blueberry wine to give to a friend. and some merlot to keep. I also bought and ate a giant gingerbread muffin from Dunkin Donuts..oh why did I have to discover them??? We are having chili for dinner. Then we are having our last NCIS marathon of season seven. My puppy has been freaking out for a week now. Wish she could talk so she could tell us what is the matter. No word from our son and it has been three months now.  That makes me sad and also a little angry but what can I do?

I pity all you youngsters who do not remember the joys of the Five and Dime Stores back in the days when television was black and white if you were lucky enough to have one. There were several on the avenue where I lived and my grandmother would always give us a little change to spend there. There is such a store not too far from us and we like to visit on occasion for a bit of nostalgia. They have displays of antique collections, loads of models and a working lunch counter.Dh bought a model to make and I got some felt to make the pointsettia pins in the last photo.

Shopping for Christmas cards yesterday I couldn't help but notice how many of them spoke of peace on earth. Something I read this morning reminded me of the message the angels sang on the night Christ was born. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men of good will." They go together. There is no peace on earth apart from the glory of God.

Some more photos from NYC ... just because ....

You can all be jealous now because I got to do some special things Friday. I got to meet seedsower face to face, see her amazing pointsettia show, and taste some of her fabulous homemade relish!

It was a beautiful day and the area where seedsower lives is rural with many farms and deer running around in the fields. 

Had to take a photo of this door you know.....

The pointsettia show has a theme every year. This year was storytelling ...

They have various musical entertainment ...

Free cider, popcorn and hotdogs are provided ...

The variety of the pointsettias is amazing ...

The best was meeting a xanga friend face to face ... she is only the fourth xanga friend I have met in person but I was her 98th!!!!!

 Got up early and caught the train to NYC. Dropped our bag at the hotel and headed to Chelsea. Our daughter had given us some help by making a list of interesting things to do. There is an unused elevated train line in Chelsea that has been made into a park. It is cool. The rails are still visible through the plantings and there is a nice view of the Hudson River. There are some lounge chairs you can slide along the rail lines to enjoy sunny days. Unfortunately most of my photos came out blurry but here I am trying out the chairs....

And just under the park is the market.... outside

And inside...

Index of shops....

Cool fountain with changing colors in the lights... all very industrial...

There were different restaurants and several bakeries...

A wine merchant....

Anthropologie .. one of my favorite stores to browse in ... practically never buy anything .. too expensive...

And a seafood shop ...

We had a good time looking around and people watching while we drank some coffee....

What good would a parade be without wonderful band music. I love the colorful costumes as well. There were many bands in this parade including the NYPD band...

A few more balloons ...

 We needed to escape our circumstances for a bit so dear husband and I decided to make a trip to New York City to see the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. He knew it was something I had always wanted to do. It worked like a charm and lifted our spirits. The night before, if you go up to Central Park where the parade begins, it is possible to watch them blow up the balloons. You see this shapeless mass of whatever turn into a character you recognize before your eyes. It is a party atmosphere. Very fun!

The parade starts at 9 but we were told to get there early. We ended up right across from Carnegie Hall.

At 7:15 it was already crowded!

Snoopy has been in the parade a long time.

And so has Kermit.

But it was the Wimpy Kid's debut.

A Classic....

It takes a bunch of people on the ground to manage one of these giant balloons and they dress according to who they are leading.

I think Shrek was my favorite balloon in the parade.

Of course it is fun to watch the people, especially the kids.

And I spotted Kris Kringle in the crowd...can you?

More to follow.....

On this day –

Mend a quarrel

Search out a forgotten friend

Dismiss a suspicion and replace it with trust

Encourage someone who has lost faith

Keep a promise

Forget an old grudge

Examine your demands on others

And vow to reduce them

Fight for a principle

Express your gratitude

Overcome an old fear

Take two minutes to appreciate

the beauty of nature

Tell someone you love them

Tell them again

And again

And again

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