City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

I've been meaning to give you all an update on my night at the Metropolitan Opera, but instead seem to have been devoting most of my free time to painting my Christmas tea cup cards.

As of now, I think I will be able to complete this year's supply in time to get them in the mail for delivery prior to December 25.  I've already bought my first batch of Christmas stamps.

Later on today, I will be having my first experience working until 10 p.m., the seasonal closing hour for the shop.  I'll show you a few more photographs of the mall's light fixtures with the changing lights.  Every 30 minutes, these lights put on an extra show with rapidly changing colors and glittery effects, accompanied by really loud version of holiday tunes.  

One gets used to this drama reather quickly.  I am happy to report that I did not feel so jaded about the opera Lulu.  The staging was so imaginative, and the cast sang beautifully, in German.  Subtitles were available on a tiny screen affixed to the back of the seat directly in front of mine.  It was a thrill to hear the full orchestra's performance and to be caught up in the evening's drama.

If Lulu, designed and directed by William Kentridge, is ever due to be performed in your area, I would recommend acquiring tickets.

Fortunately, our shop was closed for Thanksgiving yesterday, although some of the mall's shops were open.


It was a mild day...no hat or gloves were required, and I decided to walk over to 72nd Street to view a bit of the annual Macy's sponsored Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I was curious to see if the crowd numbers would be affected by any safety concerns, in light of recent global events.

Crossing Columbus Avenue, I noticed that some souvenir vendors had set up their endeavors a block away from the Central Park West parade route.

It was also apparent that lots of police security was in place.

All the same, Columbus Avenue looked quiet.

As I neared 72nd Street, I saw more vendors' stands, and more police  officers and vehicles.  Huge Sanitation Department trucks were also being used to block other vehicles from entry to 72nd Street.

The parade had already been in motion for about a half hour by the time I got my first view of one of the large balloons.  I think that this one was a little engine that could.  I also realized that the bright day and back lit clouds meant that my parade photographs would be poor.

I decided to take a few pictures of the viewing crowd, and of some available souvenirs.  I also thought the clouds were lovely.  There was a pretty strong breeze keeping the clouds moving uptown, as the parade progressed downtown.

Many adults had been unable to resist purchasing one of the turkey hats.  

I do not know which character's profile is shown in the next photograph.

It seemed to me that there were fewer folks viewing the parade yesterday than in past years.  However, it was still fun to see the family groups taking photographs of each other, and young children being able to climb onto ladders or parents' shoulders for better views of the balloons. 

I think that I stayed about an hour at the parade, and then just after seeing this delightful young dinosaur pass by, I headed on home.

It was very pleasant to get home, fix myself a mug of hot chocolate, and sit down to paint some more tea cup cards.  I am very thankful for all my blessings, and I thank you all for your visits and comments.