Great day in NYC and great day today

Note to family members today and random thoughts from the last few days. I know I will be "reprimanded" by my friend who thought my other writing was disjointed...

"Dear all: I turned my new spaceheater on so I could sit and write comfortably tonight. I had a nice day at work with no co-workers and lots of waiting mail and phone messages. I hope I will have the same environment tomorrow. Wednesday I spent a very enjoyable day with sister #5, niece #4 and neice friend (friend since first grade). We took friend, a child of "much means", to what I thought were high spots...the Times Square Charmin bathrooms - a HUGE hit - and to the Times Square Information Center to write our New Year's Eve thoughts and wishes on pieces (large size) of confetti that will be part of what they dump onto the streets when the ball drops. Sister #5 had to limit me to 4 pieces, I could have spent the entire day there. Friend was also surprised when neice said "Here comes my cousin" and my son joined us for lunch and also fell asleep in a chair in Bloomingdale's while the girls shopped. A little girl kept asking her dad, "please let me wake up the man!" Our country bumpkin trip of NYC was enjoyable and complete.

But back to thank yous!

Mother and Father - heat and gas!!! Can't get more basic OR needed than that. I felt like a high roller as I pulled into the gas station this a.m. and filled it up!!! What a great feeling not to pull my credit card out. My powder and small money OSJL's gift card were pretty weak next to the gifts I received, but I am a weak giver but I keep trying.

Sister #1: My calendar is up! Now the year can begin! Missed you being in the frozen north with us, but I hope you enjoyed your day.

Sister #3: My pictures are on my table (and although not an "official" gift, I will enjoy the Red Diamond)...I am going to take my equestrian picture to school to show the girls what "back in the day" equestrian looked like! Dinner was superb to say the least!

Sister #4: What can I say!!! My life is complete with my homeless person cart. I can't wait till our brother gets a call from one of his buddies as I wheel my way around town. I was able to bring all my stuff up from my car in one trip on Tuesday night. I don't think I will ever need too buy a new car now that I have my cart!

Sister #5: I had my vest on yesterday in NYC and today. It is perfect.

Brother: Thank you for all brought to our Christmas Eve dinner! And letting me share the holiday season with you.

To all of you: many thanks for all you did for my son. Sister #1 - we left him at the GAP on Wednesday and as those who were with us on Christmas - pants might have been a smart purchase. He is up to his neck in needed socks and underwear! But I know he can never have enough!

Now on to the New Year. Sister #5 did not let me stay long enough to write my wishes to you all on the confetti, so this will have to be my "confetti drop" of wishes. 2008 is right around the corner and let it bring the best to all of us. I picked up my January book club book tonight at the library (My Antonia) so I have my New Year's weekend planned! Can't say I am not living on the edge! (I did enjoy the exhibit of Wick Knaus' art work at the library tonight when I picked up my book)

Thank you all for all you did for me and my son this holiday season & all 2007."

We covered a lot of ground on Wednesday in NYC. Very enjoyable day.

As to the holiday - I missed my Q&A on Sunday night but read a great book while waiting for my son to wake up Monday and Tuesday mornings. Some notes from my life of late below.

December 27, 2007 -- You are not always at ease with your own feelings. In fact there are times when you prefer to pretend they do not exist, and this appears to be one of them. Sooner or later you will have to face up to why your emotions have been so raw of late but for now it's okay to play make-believe.

Dec 27-Jan 2: Lake Vostok is as big as Lake Ontario, but no one on earth knew about it until 1996. Scientists who had been drilling through Antarctica's thick sheets of ice discovered it two miles below the surface. Here's what they were able to find out about the ancient lake: Hermetically sealed off for at least a half million years, it gets no sunlight, has an average temperature below zero, and may harbor life forms as exotic as those on other planets. And yes, it's in a liquid state, for reasons you can read about at tinyurl.com/2lq79d. All that, Libra, is prelude to the following announcement: Lake Vostok will be one of your Prime Metaphors in 2008. I predict you will dig deep to discover an ancient, pristine mystery at the bottom of your life. In my astrological opinion, you should explore it thoroughly, driven by both an innocent sense of wonder and a robust analytical curiosity.

Missed Q&A: TOM BLANTON, DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE: It’s a great little institution that was put together by some journalists and historians, who had really used the Freedom of Information Act to get secret files out of the government.

New York City Lunch Spot: With its cheery décor, Brasserie 360 seems like just the thing for somewhat dreary intersection of Third Avenue and 60th Street. A new staircase connects the old ground-floor Yellowfingers space to the old second-story Contrapunto space. That’s big enough for two sizable talents: Belgian-born Luc Dendievel (Bayard’s), who’s out to refine classic brasserie dishes like like saffron-mussel soup and braised veal cheeks. Upstairs is home to Kazuo Yoshida, formerly of Jewel Bako, and his sushi bar.

Times Square Confetti Project: Share your personal goals, dreams and wishes on a piece of confetti on our Wishing Wall. The wishes will be collected at the end of the year, and added to the confetti that will flutter down onto the streets of Times Square at the 12 o’clock hour on New Year’s Eve
WHEN:
December 20th - 30th, 2007
8am - 8pm
WHERE:
Times Square Information Center
1560 Broadway on 7th

Dylan’s Candy Store across from lunch spot and a post lunch stop: New York socialite Dylan Lauren has successfully managed to transform candy into a chic lifestyle product with her Upper East Side landmark treatery, Dylan's Candy Bar. As the daughter of famed fashion designer, Ralph Lauren, Dylan grew up observing her father's flare for fashion and his business savvy, but opted not to go into the family business. She does, however, continue to incorporate style and fashion into the décor of Dylan's Candy Bar. Windows are dressed with the latest colors of the season, creating an ever expanding line of candy-inspired apparel and accessories, with detailing that looks good enough to eat. The Duke University graduate who majored in Art History has combined her love of both candy and pop art, pioneering a brand new concept: the artistically hip and fashion forward candy store. Candy is not just a sugary treat to Dylan, but an abstract concept representing fantasy, joy and irreplaceable childhood memories

Time Square Clean Bathrooms: In time for the holiday season, the Ultimate Charmin Family Experience is here! And by "family experience," Charmin means going to the bathroom together in delightfully clean (at this point) bathrooms in Times Square! There are 20 clean and comfortable restrooms, open from 8AM to 11PM through December 31 (well, the potties are closed on Christmas and will close at 6PM on December 24 and 31), but there's also a waiting room with flat-screen TVs and a fireplace.
Workers will be cleaning the bathrooms after each use (and it's probably considerate of you to flush), so these might be the cleanest bathrooms in the city. And don't forget to take your picture with a Charmin bear!
The Charmin facilities were designed by the Gigunda Group, which has designed other Charmin promotions (like the mobile restrooms) before.

Christmas Eve and Day Reading:
The bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "No Ordinary Time" presents the touching memoir of herself as a young girl, growing up in love with her father and baseball. "A fine writer's conscious mastery of her difficult craft".--"The Boston Globe".

Industry reviews
"In a season awash in X-rated memoirs, 'Wait Till Next Year' is an anomaly: a reminiscence that is suitable, in fact ideal, for a preadolescent readership of not just girls but boys, too....For self-esteem-building female role models, for baseball lore and inning-by-inning action and for a lively trip into the recent American past, you could hardly do better."
New York Times Book Review - Ann Hulbert (10/26/1997)

"What emerges is a perfectly affable and often ever poignant memoir....There is plenty...to like here .Goodwin shifts gracefully between a child's recollections and an adult's overview....But there is too little baseball."
San Francisco Chronicle Book Review - Peter Delacorte (10/12/1997)

"This is a book in the grand tradition of girlhood memoirs, either fact or fiction, dating from Louisa May Alcott to Carson McCullers and Harper Lee."
Washington Post Book World - Ron Fimrite (11/02/1997)

"Lively, tender, and...hilarious....[Goodwin's] memoir is uplifting evidence that the American dream still exists--not so much in the content of the dream as is the tireless, daunting dreaming."
Schimel

January book club book:
“No romantic novel ever written in
America, by man or woman, is one
half so beautiful as MY ANTONIA."
-- H. L. Mencken