A Miner Modification

New Years 2012

We had a good New Years and hope you all did too. I would love to hear from each of you about what is going on with you.

The temple was open on Saturday until after the 11:45 session. We had to go in at 8:00 am instead of 1:00 pm as usual, so we really worked a normal day. The only problem with that was we had not gotten home the night before until 11:00 pm because we have to stay and clean the temple after the 8:30 session. It was a short night. Anyway, after we got home we went out to eat with some of the missionaries and then played a card game at 10:00 that night until it was time for midnight. We went up on the roof of our building and watched the fireworks from Central Park. It was a great view as we were directly across from where they exploded. We did not have to look up at all.

Our church now starts at 9:00 am, so it was another short night. We have to leave here at 7:30 to catch the 7:43 train because the next one doesn't come until after 8:00. We only had an hour of church, but we were gone almost 4 hours as we didn't get home until 11:15 am.

This morning we went to breakfast with some missionaries and then to see War Horse. It is a very good movie. We had to go grocery shopping after that along with half of NYC. We went into Trader Joe's and left because the line was so long to check out. I don't care how much you save, I was not going to wait in two check out lines.

Tomorrow it is back to work. We are looking forward to the two week break the end of January. We are going to stay here and play tourists. We will go to some of the places that are not open on Mondays, our normal day off.

We have spent the rest of the day watching football.

As I said, let me know what you are doing.  I get really excited when I get an email from one of you.

Boxing Day Wanderings

It was so good to talk to all of you on Christmas day. We miss you greatly! On the day after Christmas Dad and I took the subway to 34th Street where Macy's is, and then walked over to Fifth Avenue to see the store windows and other sights. It was a long walk, but we saw many interesting things. We walked 34 blocks north plus the east-west blocks. The east-west blocks are much longer than the north-south. We certainly weren't the only people out doing the same thing. By the time we got home the streets were packed with people.Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Update

Not too much exciting is happening here, but I thought I'd let you know what we have been doing.

On Friday, Dad went to the doctor to get his prescriptions renewed, and the doctor gave him a flu and pneumonia shot. He told Dad that some people had a reaction to the pneumonia shot, and he might run a slight fever. He ran a fever for two days, and his arm was swollen and red. He had to go to the temple on Saturday because he was the coordinator. That night he took some Advil so we could go out to eat with our friends the Zingmarks. We went to a soul food restaurant in Harlem called Amy Ruth's. It was recommended by some people at the temple. The food was delicious. Best fried okra I've ever had. He then was not feeling well on Sunday, so we didn't go to church. It is not safe for me to go to our branch by myself. I felt a bit bad about not teaching Primary, but not that bad.

That night President Garff had the missionaries over to hear a friend of theirs talk about their mission to Hawaii where he taught a class on entrepreneurship at BYU Hawaii.

Monday morning a sister who works at the temple had the sisters come to her house for brunch. She lives just a couple blocks from here in the penthouse of a building that overlooks the Hudson river. Her home is gorgeous-like looking at a magazine, and the food was great.

That evening the apartment building we live in had their Christmas party. They served dinner in the lobby. It was very fancy, but not much room to eat. After that we went to the Garff's to watch The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with David Archuleta for family home evening. (We were so happy to hear yesterday that he has decided to serve a full time mission.)

We have next Saturday off, so are looking forward to a 3 day weekend. I know you are all busy getting ready for Christmas. We will miss you so much. I get choked up just typing it.

Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular

From December 7th, 2011

On Monday we went to Radio City to see the Rockettes Christmas show. It brought back many memories of our dancing daughters. The tap numbers reminded me of the performance by Jenny and Debbie at the ward Christmas party when they were about 16 and 18. They did a tap number with Donna Mannewitz. Our cultural hall has carpet, so Bill Mannewitz had made plywood platforms for each girl to tap on. For some reason, I got the giggles and laughed through the whole number. I still smile when I think about it. The Rockettes did the toy soldier routine that Mandy had done in one of her showcases. All the kick routines reminded me of Katie and all the girls that we enjoyed watching so much. We did not get any pictures as Dad forgot the camera. After the show we went out to eat with our friends the Zingmarks.

We started our new schedule yesterday working the night shift.  We go at 3:00 p.m. and get home around 10:00 p.m. It is going to take some getting used to. Many nights on the day schedule I went to bed by 10:00 p.m. I am really tired this morning, but I'm sure I will get used to it.

Celebrity Sighting

From December 1st, 2011

You can't guess who came to the temple today.  David Archuleta!  Dad and I were the witness couple on the session he went through. He is just as cute in person as he is on TV.

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.

Hudson River Valley

We enjoyed our trip to the Hudson River Valley very much even though the fall leaves were not at all spectacular. Too much rain and hurricane Irene has stymied the usual turn of the leaves. There were spots here and there of red and yellow, but not too much. We first visited the Hyde Park home of FDR and Eleanor. The first two pictures are of the house and the grave site of the two.

 

The graves are actually in front of the marble marker.  We then went to Val-Kill, the home of Eleanor that was built from the buildings of the furniture factory that Eleanor and two friends started to help local people have jobs. It failed during the depression. The first picture is of the sun porch, and the second is of the "front door in the back."

 

She spent most of her time there, and lived there until her death. Many famous people visited her there including John Kennedy, Haile Selassie, Winston Churchill, King George, Khrushchev, Nehru, and Tito. We went to the Vanderbilt mansion that is in Hyde Park. It is one of many mansions built by the family, the most famous being the one in Ashville NC.

We then drove to Poughkeepsie and walked across a bridge called Walkway on the Hudson. It is 1.24 miles across, and then of course, you have to come back. We ate dinner at a restaurant that was right on the Hudson. The picture of the boat is taken from the restaurant.

It was a fun, but tiring day, and then on Tuesday it was back to work.

A Tale of Two Cities

There is a stark contrast between where we live and the area where we go to church. The East New York area of Brooklyn shows signs of poverty and a higher crime rate. Here are some pictures we took at the subway stop where we go to church and the buildings across the street.

 

 

We did not have a day off this week because the temple was open for two sessions on Columbus Day. I have been training this week to work in the office of the temple.  Dad has been training to learn the responsibilities of the recorder. They train the missionaries to do these jobs, so if they need us we can fill in. I have to work in the office tomorrow for one of the secretaries that will be gone. I'm sure I will be taking lots of messages since I know so little. Setting up appointments is quite complicated. The instructions for setting up an appointment for a living sealing is 42 steps long. Next Monday we are going to the Hudson River Valley. We will tour the FDR home and the Eleanor Roosevelt home. I hope the leaves have turned some, so we can see them.