Day 95: Happy birthday to me

I have received so many lovely birthday cards!  I am thankful to have such great friends and family.

Day 94: Driving home

The George Washington bridge as seen from our sunroof on the way home from PA.

Day 93: Jackpot

We took the parents and my aunt to the Sands Casino here in Bethlehem.  I wasn't going to play any games but I did decide to take a chance on a 5-cent machine.  After a few turns, it got stuck...the reels would not stop spinning!  We had to wait for an employee to come and fix it.  After that, I won a bonus and made $12!  So I quit there and took my winnings home.

Day 92: Fixing the dishwasher

The big project of the day was trying to fix my aunt's dishwasher.  This was really needed yesterday, when we had 20 people over for Thanksgiving dinner, but we just didn't have time to get to it.  My cousin, uncle, dad, and S all had to assist in this task and there was a trip to a home improvement store as well, but it did get fixed in the end!

Day 91: The brothers

My dad and my uncle at Thanksgiving.

Day 90: Surprise lunch

S took the car in for servicing and I suggested he take it to work afterwards and then pick me up for a lunch at yummy Mamoun's.  They have the best falafel in town.  Soooo good!

Day 89: PIE

Today was pie day!  We walked over to another building where we picked up the pies we were given for Thanksgiving.  This is George's blueberry, which is what I also requested.  I can't wait to try it on Thursday!

Day 88: Doctor's appointment

I was meant to have a doctor's appointment on the 24th, but I got a call from the office at the last minute asking if I could come in today instead.  Sure!  It was a good appointment but I had another case of high blood pressure this time round.  Hope it clears up by the next time.

Day 87: Chorale concert

Our landlord sings in the New Haven Chorale so we went for a concert in the afternoon.  The performance was of Handel's Alexander's Feast.

Day 86: The Game

Mira and Joe had come to see us, of course, but also came to see The Game...Yale vs. Harvard.  It was quite a sight...the tailgating was something else.  Sadly our Bulldogs came up short and lost 10-14.  But it was still a fun day!

Day 85: Our visitors

Mira and Joe arrived after fighting the traffic on I-95.  We took them to our local Archie Moore's and then out to see the New Haven nightlife.

Day 84: Good samaritans

We were walking home from work when we heard a familiar sound...a person driving with a flat tire.  The woman who was driving this car realized it just when we did and pulled over at the corner.  We asked her if she needed help and she did, so S changed the tire for her!  Added a bit more time to our walk home but at least we've built up some good karma.

Day 83: Impromptu lunch out

The guys decided they wanted a nice lunch today, so we went to this place down the street that we'd been to last year.  I had this!  Vegetable paella is hidden down in the little pastry bird's nest.

Day 82: Boston at dusk

I took a quick trip to Boston today and was walking back towards South Station when I snapped this photo of the Federal Reserve building.  It's amazing how early it gets dark now.

Day 81: Vultures

I got a ride to work this morning (thanks, S!) and what did we see but police officers standing in the street and along the sidewalk.  This is a sting!  They were waving people over if they were seen committing a violation - talking on their cell phone, driving without seat belts, driving without a license plate.  This is how I got a ticket last December.  Jerks!  I hate when they do this! New Haven has real crime going on; they should be out doing some good, not trying to make money off of tickets.

Day 80: Mrs Delany

We decided to walk down to campus and visit the Yale Center for British Art, which had an exhibit that I wanted to see about Mrs. Delany.  Mrs. Delany was an English woman who lived in the 1700s and created mosaics of flowers and plants made out of paper.  Many of her works can be seen in the British Museum, and the Center here decided to have an exhibition with some of those pieces as well as other items such as paintings of her and her contemporaries.  This was a display of the materials she would have used to create the mosaics.

Day 79: Party

I mainly took this photo to prove I can stay awake past midnight!  After we got back from NYC, we had a quick dinner at home and then went to our friend Tariq's party (he of the blue sweater). We were just saying our goodbyes at this point.

Day 78: Circus

For S's birthday, I took him to the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center.  We had gone to this circus a long time ago, so it was a special treat to come back again.  We really enjoyed it!

Day 77: Birthday

S's birthday and we went out to dinner and then to Libby's in Little Italy (yes, New Haven has a Little Italy) for pastries.  S had cake (I was good and just had a small bite of his) but don't the cannoli look amazing?  I will have to come back and have one sometime!

Day 76: Another breakfast

Today we had a little breakfast party to say goodbye to the people in our office that are moving.  We have another department that is in our office and they are being moved to another building while we are staying put.  Two of my coworkers and I went out this morning and bought all the goods.

Day 75: Spotted while on the way to work

On the bus this morning, I spotted these purple flowers blooming.  Surprised that they are blooming so late in the year! 

Day 74: Birthday breakfast

My employer throws monthly birthday celebrations for all employees, so I went to mine!  It was a breakfast reception and our Executive VP/COO gave a speech and answered questions.  It was nice.

Day 73: Seen at the grocery store

Personal size watermelon!  Cool!  I hate buying a huge watermelon just for two people.

Day 72: East Rock in fall

S and I took a small walk before it got too dark after we were done running errands (which may or may not have included a stop at Target...oops).  The colors have almost finished turning now and this is probably the last weekend of warm weather we'll have.

Day 71: Wanamaker's (Macy's)

I had a long layover in Philadelphia, so I took the train in to the city and walked about.  I went to a museum and also did a bit of shopping.  This is the Christmas tree in the Grand Court at Macy's (the original Wanamaker's, Philadelphia's oldest department store).  They even played the grand organ for a bit, which I discovered is the largest operational pipe organ in the world.  I'd always wanted to visit Wanamaker's since I had heard it mentioned in a song in Guys and Dolls.

Day 70: The best way to end a night in C-ville

Fellini's, of course! 

Day 69: Winery tour in Barboursville

They took us to a vineyard close to Charlottesville for a winery tour and tasting. 

Day 68: Smallest airport ever

I really like flying out of New Haven's dinky airport, because it takes about 2 minutes to get from one end to the other.  The only slightly annoying part is there's only one security checkpoint, but even that's not bad as there's usually no more than two people in line.

Day 67: Election Day

I voted!  My first time voting in person in a very long time!

Fail

I remembered I hadn't taken a picture at 2:30 AM...oh, well!

Day 66: Look closely

Yes, it really is a guy walking down the street wearing a bathrobe.  I had all sorts of lovely photos from our hike but how could I resist posting this sight...