The holiday is over. Tomorrow Adam and I leave at five thirty to catch a ferry. I’ll be driving him back to Vermont. Brian needs to catch a six o’clock train from Speonk to meet his schoolmates in NYC. They are driving from Manhattan to Potsdam. I just hate the thought of someone else driving.

My in-laws were here for diner tonight and to say good-bye to their grandsons. It’s a tradition now for the family to gather here the night before they leave. At least tonight was early and I’ll get a good night sleep before my trip to Vermont and back. It was fun having them home and having the whole family together.

Today’s image is from the dock around the corner. Oyster pots. Photographed with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR.

 

The cold, the wind and the rain.

What a cold and rainy day. I’m glad yesterday was better. We had Thanksgiving at my sister-in-laws yesterday. They made a fire in the outdoor stove; it was a beautiful day.

Today’s photo I made yesterday morning when I ran out to get a couple of things. I used the Canon G10 and processed it with ACR.

 

52 and Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am most grateful that my family is home and safe. This morning or local newspaper has an article about a young man from SUNY Potsdam, Brian’s school, who was killed when coming home for Thanksgiving break. The car he was in flipped over. All three students in the car were from Long Island.

I can’t image the pain that family is feeling today. I try to teach my boys to be independent and to try and find their own way home. I feel blessed that Brian got a ride and made it back safely.

My prayers go out to the Spencer family.

Windows in Babylon

Last night I had some time to kill as I waited for my oldest son’s train to arrive. So I walked around the village of Babylon for the hour. There’s not much happening at ten o’clock except for the taverns.

This barber poll lit up the sidewalk and most of the interior of the small shop. All the stores had this magical feel to them. Possibly the cold air or the anticipated excitement of everyone being home for Thanksgiving, but everything had a magical feel to it.

It’s such a simple thing to be thankful for, I’m thankful we’re all home and we’re all safe.

 

The World Down-Under

Ever since my first trip into Manhattan I’ve had a fascination with subways and the underground world of Penn Station. Sometimes it hard to believe how much activity is happening below Madison Square Garden. Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and the subway all converge beneath the asphalt and brick of the city. Hundreds, no thousands of people hailing cabs, catching busses or just on the go and below that thousands more on each level below. The crowds are unreal, scary at times.

Today’s post is a grayscale conversion made in the Penn Station terminal of the Long Island Railroad. Made with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR. 

A commercial break

I tried to post the text to this post last night, but something went wrong. Half the text never showed yup on the post, and the other half was a link to no where. The link thing has happened to me before.

I'm a sucker for Christmas. The smell of a burning fireplace, cookies baking and the fresh cut tree that graces out living room. For me,  the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the start of the whole thing. Yea, I know many people consider Macy's just another big box store. And I know that there's a lot of big box stores that do altruistic things. I know the Parade is really a big advertisement for Macy's. But, they don't have to do it. When times are tough in the retail world, they could of pulled the plug. They could have made room for another retail giant to step up to the plate and foot the bill for the parade.

They always hung in there, even when battling bankruptcy.

I have childhood memories of sitting in front of the TV waiting for the end of the parade just to see the real Santa. I know he's the real Santa, I've seen Miracle on 34th Street enough to know Macy's has the real Santa.

So, call me what you may, this is my soft spot. Shopping at Macy's Herald Square the week between Christmas and New Years has become a tradition for the family. We love riding the wooden  escalators and getting snacks in The Cellar. If the boys get any cash of Christmas, the look at the after holiday mark downs to find bargains. Cel and I always look for half off Christmas cards and wrapping paper of the following year.

Maybe we'll be lucky enough  to get snow again for the train ride home.

Picking up Adam

We just returned from New York City to pick up Adam from the Amtrak station. We got in a little early, so we walked around Macy's, Herald Square. More about that tomorrow. It's great to have Adam home. We went for some New York Pizza, something Adam misses up in Vermont, before taking the train home. The city is all decorated for Christmas, and preparations were well underway for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Today's image is from the last Sunday's walk outside our church. I originally was focusing on the water drops, but then I saw that focus looked better on the grass blades. The one aspect of the Canon G10, or any rangefinder type camera for that matter, I'm not happy with, is not being able to watch focus change through the lens.

Other than that, it's still very convenient. This was processed with ACR.