On Wednesday, December 12th, I took a vacation day from work, so I could spend the afternoon with my friend Sheila from NJ. We met up at Grand Central Station around 11:30am and had a quick lunch at the food court. Last time we hung out together was back in August and the visit to Princeton University. [We’re planning another visit to Princeton this May.] Every December we like to get together for lunch, catch up on news and then check out the holiday art & craft shows. After lunch we strolled through the booths in Vanderbilt Hall and made some holiday gift purchases. Many wonderful goodies to choose from, though some of the prices were abit steep. From there we strolled along 42nd Street and stopped at a Starbucks for some hot, delicious liquid refreshment. Their hot Caramel Apple Cider is so good. Then we headed across the street into Bryant Park to see those holiday booths and watch the skaters on the ice rink. So happy I finished all my holiday shopping with those holiday craft/gift shows. We strolled west and stopped briefly at my office, so that I could pick up a parcel. It’s the “Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix” DVD and will watch it later on that evening at home. From my office we headed towards Port Authority, so that Sheila could catch her 5pm bus home to NJ. Overall a most enjoyable day and capped off with viewing a good movie.
Saturday evening, December 15th, was the annual NYDoP holiday party. This year it was held at a board members [Marianne] home on upper Westside of Manhattan. Way up on the northern Westside in the neighborhood of Inwood. Party started at 5:30pm and I got stuck with a car service driver who was terrible, plus clueless. It took two hours to get up to Inwood via car service. Two friggin hours! I was really pissed at the driver and didn’t give him a tip. [Reason I didn’t take subways was due to my carrying dessert goodies, secret Santa gift, DoP materials and a banner. Felt and looked like a bag lady.] Party was in full swing when I arrived just before 7pm. Table in living room and in the kitchen were laden down with lots of yummy goodies. Everyone brought something to the gathering, as well as gifts for the “secret Santa”.
[Several NYDoP Members Celebrating the Holiday Season]
Great seeing everyone and I jumped right into party mode, which was helped with some hot spiced rum cider from Marianne. Kevin and Irene brought there two adorable daughters [ie: Evie & Julia]. Had such a fun time from 7pm to 10pm, plus many laughs were shared during the “secret Santa” segment. The gift I brought was a biography on Gandhi and I received a lovely spiritually inspired 2008 calendar. I left with a few NYDoP members [ie: Howard & Eileen] at 10pm for the long subway ride home. From Inwood to where I live in northern Brooklyn, it takes three subways and almost 1 ½ hours. I was so tired by the time I got home and immediately into bed.
The next morning, December 16th, it was back to the upper Westside in Manhattan via car service. This time I had a good driver. Several members [ie: Chris, Adriana & Carol] of NYDoP attended an event at Symphony Space that had Marianne Williamson as guest speaker. We also tabled at the event to get the word out on the Dept of Peace Campaign. Apparently every Sunday, around 11am, there is a non-denomination service by the group “Unity Church of New York”. Doesn’t feel churchy at all, lots of music and was actually quite enjoyable. There affirmation is………….
God is the Mind with which I think;
God is the Love in which we forgive;
God is the Strength in which I trust;
There is nothing to fear.
Marianne, as always, gave a terrific talk [“Meaning of this Moment”] that lasted about 25 minutes. Activity at our DoP table was pretty good and got to speak with folk on a number of issues. Carol lives not far from Symphony Space and I brought some of the DoP materials and banner to her apartment. We hung out for abit and talked about politics. Left around 2pm as I was starting to feel very tired and abit drained. Headed home to take it easy for the rest of the day and work on recovering my energies.
Wednesday evening, December 19th, was the annual E&Y FSO Holiday party held at Tavern on the Green in Manhattan. Several of us from the Insurance Tax dept headed to the event via the subway. Weather was abit chilly and wet. I stayed for 1 ½ hours to partake of the assorted delicious goodies, chat with co-workers and view the holiday décor of Tavern on the Green.
Friday, December 21st, did volunteer work for City Harvest at the Union Square farmers market. This is the last one of the season and we’ll resume at Union Square sometime in March 2008. The following is a message from Daniel with City Harvest regarding Union Square volunteer team … “Happy holidays! I hope you are all enjoying the season and that you see the attached holiday card as a small show of appreciation from all of us in volunteer services. The greenmarkets rescues have come to a close for the season and that means we can reveal the total amount rescued for the year and the winner of our holiday trivia contest! Last year, City Harvest rescued 186,714 pounds of food from the Union Square Greenmarket. This year, we rescued almost twice that amount for a total of…drum roll… 338,000 pounds of food! This is a remarkable number and is a testament to the hard work that our volunteers put in on a daily basis. Great job everyone! The volunteer with the closest guess is special events volunteer, Adrienne Prassas, with a guess of 325,000! Second place goes to administrative and special events volunteer, Elaine Bivetto. Thanks for all your hard work in 2007 and we look forward to working with you in 2008!”
Saturday through Tuesday, December 22nd/25th, headed upstate NY to spend Xmas holiday with my family. I had a nice, relaxing, leisurely weekend with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. Got to catch up on Cable TV viewing, plus Mom and I watched a “Harry Potter” movie on DVD. Mom and I went out a few times for lunch and shopping. I visited my favorite bead & craft shop in Cambridge; chat with the owners [Sarah & Heather] and purchase supplies for my numerous projects.
[Duchess Gazing at My Brothers Tree on Xmas Eve]
My parents and I spent an enjoyable Xmas Eve and Xmas morning with my brother and sister-in-law near Albany. The bus ride back to NYC was pretty decent, as there was hardly any traffic on the thruways. I had more gifts, from friends, waiting for me under my Xmas tree at home, as well as more holiday cards in the mailbox. Overall it was a good weekend.
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