A Miner Modification

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week was a busy one. The temple was closed on Wednesday. The missionaries went to The Botanical Gardens in the Bronx where we saw a show at the conservatory called the train show, but it was more about the buildings that you see in picture one. This is a replica of the immigration building at Ellis
Island.

These building were made of foam core and then covered in all natural materials such as grass, leaves, bark, and pine cones.

That night we went to the opera. It was Don Giovanni, Mozart's most famous opera. As Dad said when we got home it was 3 1/2 hours of pure torture. There were no sub titles, so it was hard to know what was going on even though, I had read the plot on the internet.

On Thanksgiving Day Dad got up at 5:00 a.m. to help save places for the parade. We had great seats and the weather was great. It was cold, but as soon as the sun came over the trees in the Park, it was perfect. I added two pictures of the many, many balloons for the kids to look at.

Things don't look as professional as on TV, as many of the balloons have been patched and painted over.

We went to the Garff's for dinner. They cooked the turkey, and we all brought the sides. I made rolls, cranberry salad, and a parcel torte.

The temple was open on Friday and Saturday, so it was back to work.

Today was church.

Tomorrow there is an event here in our neighborhood called "Winter's Eve." There will be a tree lighting, singers, and street vendors. I will let you know how it is.

I have a cold and have done something to my foot that makes it hard to walk. Hope it all goes away soon.

First Snow and First Concert

On Saturday October 29, NYC had a record breaking snow storm for the month of October. Central Park got a total of 2.9 inches, but had over 1000 trees that were damaged or destroyed. The leaves were still on the trees, so the weight of the snow broke the branches. Parts of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut got as much as 15 inches. Many people were without electricity for days. There are still homes in Connecticut that are without power today which is Nov. 6.

On Wednesday we had tickets that had been given to us by a temple patron for a concert at Carnegie Hall. It was the orchestra from the Mannes school of music. They played very modern music including Stavinsky's Rite of Spring. In the program notes it said that a riot broke out the first time that piece was played in public because it was such a change from what people were used to. I did not really like any of the music, but the whole experience was interesting. We were able to walk to the hall in less than 15 minutes, and when we got there we could see Times Square. Things here are closer together than you would think.

Today was the NYC marathon. The finish line was in the park at 66th street. As we came home from church we saw many runners that had just finished the race coming down our street. Helmut you should apply for the race next year. You would be able to be home in 5 minutes from the finish line.

Here are a couple pictures Dad took of the snow from our window.

 

 

UN Day

On Monday we went on a tour of the UN. A lovely lady who works at the temple a couple shifts a week took us. Her name is Anne Knight. She worked at the UN for 23 years. Since the complex is under a much needed refurbishing we really didn't get to see that much, but her personal touch and experiences made it very interesting. She gave us much information on the history of the organization. For those of you who have a negative view of the UN, thinking is is just a drain on the US economy, etc., she gave us some thoughts and numbers that give a different slant on that. If you would like to read them, let me know, and I will send them to you. The only building we were able to go in is the General Assembly. The tall slab-like building is the the Secretariat.

All those offices have been moved for the renovation. The library is always closed to the public. Dad did not get any good pictures of the buildings so If you want to see, google it. The first two pictures are of the flags out front. They run for five blocks.

When the complex was built, people wanted something ultra modern to represent moving into the future. Compare it to the buildings across the street that are known as the tudors. The last picture is of the General Assembly that will be in meetings until December.

This room has room for 1800 people. We were able to go inside during one of their breaks.