Well, kids, this w/be my last blog reporting my "Northeast Canadian/American Adventure"... I hope you have all enjoyed coming along w/me, have really enjoyed you being w/me, have immensely enjoyed your comments, emails, etc... I was hoping to extend my health insurance coverage (which expires at midnight, tonite) and travel on to D C, but I just am not feeling up to it, this flu has been a pain in the butt... I plan on doing the D C trip, hopefully not too far in the future... On Sunday, travelled over town to MoMA (Met. of Modern Art), standing in line, to get in, appr 2 hours in the pouring rain, along with hordes of tourista's... Have a feeling all of us were on the same page, to be inside on a windy, rainy day, guess that wasn't successful, huh?... Anywho, it was a wet cold wait which resulted in pretty much napping on the couch all day yesterday... Therefore, the item on my bucket list of attending, in living flesh, the ball dropping in Times Square, will have to be suspended until another year, begrudgingly, but think the decision is the best plan... I have been keeping an eye on the gathering @ T S., the temp., there, right now, is mid 20's with a lot of people already gathered, looks like everyone is having a blast!!! Since my residency is up @ 11:00 am tomorrow, I am flying out of La Guardia, tomorrow, early afternoon enroute Vancouver... I am so happy with this adventure, have met so many fabulous people, hopefully will continue the friendships that I have made in the east... I marvel, am totally in awe, of the fabulous country we live in, also the US... Everyone has been so helpful, also the New Yawkaws, ha!, I have so enjoyed my time in the big apple... So, everyone, wishing all of you a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year! Helen

Saturday, another sunny day, fairly warm, decided to travel over to Coney Island... Boy, definitely want to go back there in summer months... Gees, how many times will I need to come back here? All the shops on the boardwalk were closed for the season with the exception of Nathan's which has a few clock counting down to July 4th... On Saturday, 187 days, whatever number of hours, minutes and seconds, too cool! to the next hot dog eating contest, ya' gotta' wonder, huh? The latest numbers: 69 - a Joey Chestman; 45 - the woman's record, sorry, can't remember her name, all this in 10 minutes, if I have the info correct... I think I developed a stomach ache, just thinking about it, yuck! Headed over to Macy's to p/u a couple of souvenirs, even had dinner there, then home, sweet home... Another good day... h

to continue Friday... The High Line was referred to me by a New Yawka, so decided to try and find it... After great directions found it in the meat packing district, @ 10th & 16th... The high line was made from an abandoned above ground railroad, it reminded me of all the dykes/paths in the lower mainland... A fabulous idea, utilizing the structure already in existence... Even tho' it was a clear, cold day, many, many people out and enjoying! This will be another area that I would like to visit again... Heading uptown (I finally get it, uptown is Harlem/Bronx, downtown is The Financial District), etc... Boy, that took a while to understand, geeslouise! Also, while I'm doing some trivia, SoHo is south of Houston and NoHo is, you guessed it, north of Houston... By the way, Houston, NY is pronounced 'Howston', unlike 'Houston', Tx... Enuf said... After doing a healthy walk, went 'uptown' to W 56th to try to get into Patsy's, for dinner, made famous by Frank Sinatra... Was successful, also was over the moon! Fabulous food! aaaannnddd I got to meet 3rd and 4th generation of the family, who still owns the bldg and restaurant... I was made to feel very welcome by 'Sal' chef and also 3rd generation... He showed some recent pics of celebrities, as we shared memories of The Voice... Don't know how many of you know this but Patsy's opened up for Frank on various Thanksgivings to make sure he had a holiday meal... This happenin' is right up there with being able to attend the Letterman show... The food was excellent, service superior, an ahha moment! Quite full and satisfied, waddled off home... Footnote, bought a recipe book of the marvellous recipes of Patsy's, which included a jar of sauce that is currently in my suitcase which could be a very good idea, or a very bad one, but what the hell, I'm up for the challenge! Ha! 'til next blog... h

Hello everyone! It seems I am getting very lax at blogging, probably because I am not feeling very well, can't seem to shake this flu, don't have any energy, very annoying... Enuf said, again... On Christmas day, had a lazy day, was clear and cold, so in afternoon bundled up and took the Mtrain over Times Square, just because I could... Surprisingly enuf, it was just wall to wall people... Guess I am of the old school thinking a lot of people w/be with family/friends, obviously not... It was pretty cold so came home to start making my holiday meal, since I celebrated US Thanksgiving with chicken, decided to enjoy some ham/scalloped potatoes with carrots/broccoli, mmm good! A very different celebration but very enjoyable... Boxing Day did low key, I believe that is when I last blogged... Friday, wanted to re-visit The Freedom Tower... I did not realize registering online was necessary, so was unable to join the multitudes to visit the site... I had seen the site onboard the on/off bus as well as viewing it on CBS, This Morning, a mulitude of times, therefore decided to save that visit 'til the next time I in NYC, also the tower w/be open then, as well... to be continued...

On Monday, a very rainy day, headed off on the 7train, this apartment is sssoooo handy to get around, boy!! Decided to go to the Rangers game tonite, just in case I will not make it to a NJDevils game in Newark, p/u a ticket at Madison Square Gardens for the 7:00 pm game, then went over to Times Square for a late lunch... I had tickets for the 4:00 pm show @ Radio City Music Hall, was sssoooo excited, great seat, fabulous show!! I was way too emotional, sitting in the dark of the theatre, happy tears falling, thinking of how Aunt Jessie, mom, Aunt Myrtle and all those guys would have loved to see the Rockettes, et al... Sitting there enjoying so much, kind of feeling they were all with me, was just so thankful for having all those wonderful people in my life and how blessed I was that all of them provided me with such a great example to follow, here's hoping I have lived up to their expections... This is way too heavy, huh? Back to the show, just a fabulous show, fabulous! Then on to Madison Square Gardens, Toronto was in town... It was a really good game, Rangers winning by 1, after o/t, with a shoot out, final score Rangers 2, Toronto 1... That rink does not sell 50/50, found that interesting... It sure was a packed house, what with all the touristas in town... Then back to the apt... tomorrow Christmas eve, wow! A special Happy Holidays to all my followers, hope everyone has a great Christmas and a very Happy Boxing Day! 'til next time... h

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! Everyone is back working today, as you know Boxing Day is not a stat (or celebrated) here... Going back to Sunday, was really lazy - am getting quite good at it, too! Decided to plan a trip over to the Brooklyn Bridge to walk across it... It was a great day to do that, overcast and very warm... I think the high was 71°, beat previous record for the warmest day, first day of winter, wow! Really enjoyed the walk, bridge very crowded, obviously many other people had the same idea... After, took the MTA to the area where The Freedom Tower was, but the line up was too long for my timeframe so carried on to have an early dinner before the theatre... The site is still on my do list... Went to the 7:00 pm show of The Book of Mormon, hilarious! but the language, wow! It is very well done, packed houses, time after time, all ages... Hard to believe it is the story of two young missionaries sent to Africa to convert new people to The Book Of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, very well done... I am very happy with my two choices of Broadway Theatre... All the actors, in both shows were new to me, would really recommend both Kinky Boots and this production, just be ready for interesting language in The Book of Mormon... Then home to my little apt... Great day! h

Gotta' tell you, the natives, I'm sure, have buggered off, leaving us touristas here... The crowds are unbelievable, most of the accents are European, Russian, and anything else, love the New Yawk/Jersey accents... All the shows are now on hiatus, definitely out of town!!! By the way, if any of you are planning on being in New York or L A, a site to obtain the free tickets is 1iota.com, just for the record... Also, for the record for you SNL watchers, when us touristas were on our tour, SNL people were rehearsing on the 8th floor, that would be Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, and all those fabulously talented people... After watching their Christmas episode last night, turns out Madona, one of the Gibbs, as well as the outgoing mayor, Michael Bloomberg were also in the show... It was good... I didn't mention why I didn't enjoy the NBC Studio tour, well, we pretty much just went into news rooms that were idle (Brian Williams', being one of them), just didn't feel it was worth the money spent - all a person saw was an unoccupied news room... Further thoughts - requested tickets for Katie Couric and Raechael Ray, wasn't successful on either one,I didn't try for The View or Kelly and Michael, not interested in either one anymore... Gotta' tell you, I do not have as much as even a little poinsettia, for Christmas, it's liberating! 'til next time... Merry Christmas...

Since I haven't been out and about the last few days, well yesterday, on my 1st day out in a while, more than made up for it, making arrangements for the next few, yahoo!!! Have I told you all how much I love being here? I have, geeslouise! 'Tis the truth! Getting back to arrangements, bought tickets for a studio tour of NBC studios @ Rockefeller Centre plus a separate ticket for Top of the Rock, for Saturday... On Sunday, plan on walking on the Brooklyn Bridge plus the High Line (no tickets required, just momentum), then have tickets to The Book of Mormen... On Monday, got tickets to the 4:00 pm show of Radio City Music Hall, (have been before, this is ssooo for me)! So far, that's it... Am hoping to go to the hockey game on Monday night, believe Toronto is on town, at Madison Square, but we'll see... As I am writing this on Saturday night, have done the NBC tour... Here's the thing... the studio tour, not really worth it, only my opinion, but seriously? What I really did enjoy? a fabulous building! my imagination going wild! Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Johnny Carson, SNL, and so many others, I mean really!!! They were all there!! They all walked the halls, such a fabulous building, so '30's, fabulous! Observation deck of The Rock, another thing... First of all, after being in a cold, snowy, yucky time weatherwise (good time to be sick, huh?), today was the last day of fall and it was 17 Celsius/63° (tomorrow, weather is scheduled to be even milder, suggested 66°, or better)... It was great to be at the top of the rock as dusk appr'd... Somehow, looking over at the Empire State Bldg. brought an unexplained feeling of peace... It was a very comforting feeling, seriously enjoyed being up there, definitely would rerecommend... to be con'd...

I am addicted to Times Square!!! Now you know, I am out of the closet!!! I don't know how many hours I have spent just looking... Everything is advertised there, according to one of the tour guides, if I remember the info correctly, anyone advertising costs $250,000. per 15 seconds any time within 24 hours of each day over 265/266 days per year and the customer does not say when it is shown... Now, you and I know money talks and it's not what you know, it's who you know... But you know what? I don't care about the politics, I just love being there, says this kid born in the late 40's in small town Saskabush, am in total awe!!! I have not been blogging this past week, have been down with bronchitis, coughing my brains out, seriously not caring about anything other than being quiet so as not to cough... Lost 5 days of new york time, enuf said... And another thing... New York is a beautiful city, it's just these clear bags of trash and the black garbage bags of trash that are curbside all the time on pretty much all streets... Have tried to reason out p/u days just from this neighbourhood, can't make any kind of schedule out, really gives a bad image, seriously don't want to imagine the place all this is taken to, yikes! to be continued...

Part II As the band came out, they were introduced, then Paul, everyone was really excited, then the big guy came out, we all went nuts!! He took a couple of questions from the audience, boy I wanted to ask one but thought better of it... Then the names of the guests were announced... Regis Philbin, really? seriously? My fav. late night and morning guy, seriously? I seriously don't know how I survived! I am still stoked! It was a great show, am so blessed of the opportunity! It will be broadcast this evening, guess who will be watching? ha! By the way, have been meaning to mention this, eastern north america is the land of revolving doors, they are everywhere! Gotta' run, laundry to do! I am only half way thro' my NYC time but am absolutely positive yesterday w/be the hilite!!! ABSOLUTELY!!! 'til next time...

Now, to Dave... For those of you that know me well, he's my late night guy! He is, the last guy I see, every week night, before going to sleep, ha! Excited, you know it! I didn't have to be at The Ed Sullivan Theatre 'til 3:30, so had a leisurely morning, going to the Olive Garden, on Broadway, for lunch late (had been told we would not be finished 'til 7:30ish)... I still can't believe I have been in the Ed Sullivan Theatre, watched that show religiously every Sunday night, gees that's where we saw EVERYONE starting out, huh? Lining up for the taping, spent a lot of time visiting with a couple from Pa., and also a couple from just outside of Seattle, cool, eh? None of us had been to the show before so as the excitement mounted we were all enjoying visiting... Then the big moment was upon us, I was hovering off the sidewalk by this point! After some young people "warmed" us up, getting everyone ready to be ready to laugh, clap with enthusiasm, etc., we were ushered into the theatre... It is totally AWESOME!!! I sat in the orchestra area, so from the stage, was in the right section, 4 rows from the stage, just one seat in from the aisle... Perfect seat!!! I sat with the people I had just met so it was so cool! to be con'd in part II...

After a quiet day on Tuesday, was @ Salon SCK for 9:00 a m on Wednesday to meet Clint (used to style at Zinc in Van.)... Very cool experience, I really like what he did, colour, style, very nice! Thank you, Noelle, for the reference... Over to the theatre district, a quick bite to eat, then into the Hirschfeld Theatre to see Kinky Boots... Thought of my cat a couple of times (for those of you that remember so many years ago, Kinky was my cat's name)... What a fabulous show!!! I cannot think of words that qualify for how absolutely wonderful the show was... If any of you have the opportunity, please do yourself a favour, see it! Wow, wow, wow!!! I had already made a reservation for dinner @ Sardi's... Decided to start by sitting at the bar, mostly men in attendance, doesn't intimidate me anymore, just plopped myself down and enjoyed a scotche... I met some very nice fellows, one in particular giving me some great suggestions for exploring the city... No, guys, did not 'meet' anyone... Dinner was great, so many charactures, sp? would loved to walk around checking them all out, interestingly enuf, there is a book recording all the names on the walls and Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis are not included, funny, huh? Anywho, what an excellent day! Another tour of Times Square and home I trod, to dream, dream, dream!!! tomorrow, Dave, wow! h

Off to Staten Island on a very cold day with the white stuff in the forecast... I am getting pretty good at this subway planning, because before you know it, was in the waiting room for the next ferry... It is about a 20 - 25 minute crossing, was really cool to see the financial district of NYC from the water, as we sailed off... The Freedom Tower does just that, towers over all those sky scrapers... Once on Staten Island, went for a walk along the water, finally getting on the train, taking me all the way to Totterville... By the time we arr'd, the 1st snowfall of the season was well under way... With all the holiday lights in various yards, very festive! With accumulating snow, did not get off the train, would love to go back, perhaps this trip, or another time, definitely would like to see more of the island... As I stayed on the train, was back at the station in no time, a nighttime view of NYC as we sailed back... On Monday, decided to try Macy's again, gotta' get gussied up for the theatre on Wednesday and Dave, Thursday... Also had emailed my hair stylist, Noelle, for a reference for a hair stylist, she was able to give me one so just needed a killer outfit, ha! Well, was successful, feeling good about everything, waddled home... 'til next time... h

Good morning on a frosty morning... Way back on Saturday, went over to the Ed Sullivan theatre, applied for and got a ticket for the Late Night Show with David Letterman!! How exciting, just to be in the theatre where Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, Rod the bod and sssooo many more people debuted, Streisand, Carol Burnett, Wow! I feel sorry for people around me at times like that, just can't control myself! Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!!! After, walked to West 57th between 11th and 12th to see the marquis, CBS News, where my favourite news show is done... No, I didn't meet Charlie Rose, ha! Actually it was pretty quiet... Because it was such a fabulous day, cold, bbrrr, but was dressed for it, went over to Macy's for a bite of lunch, wrong move on a Saturday!!! Zoo city, sardines, that's what we were! Called it an early day, having a quiet night! Staten Island tomorrow... h

Guess what? I have tickets for the Letterman show, this Thursday, the second taping for the day, therefore it will be shown the next day! Yahoo!! a slightly excited h!!!!!

I made it on time for the Brooklyn tour, boy, it really makes a good tour/bad tour on the strength of the guide, well, he was not so hot!! I enjoyed what he did tell us, which was just about the bldgs we saw... Enroute, there was a police incident, someone jumping off a bldg in finc'l district, lots of police activity, also in the harbour, scary! After roaring thro' Brooklyn, got back to starting point only to be shuttled to the Uptown tour which is Harlem, incl. museum row, which I hope to investigate perhaps next week... Enjoyed the tour, a lot about celebrities who once lived there or currently live there... Another beautiful, crisp, sunny day, great to be touring, especially in an open vehicle... Went downtown for something to eat, then back to where I was to catch the nighttime tour... Yes, I did 3 tours that day, by the time of the 3rd one, was a bit of a grump! Too much waiting around, mainly traffic related - a gridlock in Manhattan, lots of honking, that's for sure! Finally, home, yahoo!! On Wednesday, the day to move down one floor to the one bdrm I signed up for... Because of that, hung around 'til the landlord arr'd saying since I was all packed etc., they would move my stuff down, not holding me up, knowing I was going over for the tree lighting.too Off I trotted, getting pretty good at this subway thing... I wanted to get tickets for the matinee of Kinky Boots on Wed., Dec 11th and also made a reservation for after @ Sardi's, cheeky, eh? Can hardly wait... Want to go to Radio City Music Hall, also and perhaps another show, as well, we'll see! Wanted to have something to eat before the tree lighting, did that, then walked over for the tree lighting I never got to see the last time I was here... Started standing in the same spot 3:00ish, programming began at 7:00, tree was lit at 8:50... A long time to be standing, am rethinking New Years Eve, but, again, we'll see... Back to the tree lighting, all the while was standing with a mother and daughter over from the U K, on holidays, on my right were a couple from N. Carolina... I asked them if they knew Charlie Rose, they denied knowing him, ha! All of us had a great time laughing and talking... Can I say the time went fast, well, no, but it was so enjoyable, don't even know their names... Thank heavens, it was a dry day and very mild, we were very lucky... 45,000 lights later, it was done and totally awesome!!! Glad I hung in there, but boy, was it good to get back here... Yesterday, I took the day off, doing laundry and getting organised in my new digs, wish I could take this apt with me, sssooo cool! Went over to the grocery store, got the makings for a big pot of chili, mm good, now have some frozen for the days when hitting it hard holidaying... It has been raining all day, so have taken this day off, as well, that's why I have sent these blogs, getting up to date... So know you are all up to date and I have to go and have some dinner... stay well and happy! h

On Sunday, took the subway over to Times Square, I just love standing there and looking at all the glitz, fabulous!! Enroute, p/u tickets for the on/off bus, 3 days beginning tomorrow... I also walked over to the Ed Sullivan theatre, peeking in the windows of the doors... The show is on hiatus, most of the shows are... They are back taping week of Dec 9th, will be going around to them all, Letterman, Fallon, SNL, and any other shows I can think of, surely I will get in one, maybe two, am really hoping for Letterman! I also went over to Rockefeller Centre, plan on being @ the tree lighting on Wednesday, just so I know where I'm going... Back home I went, to get ready for my tours for tomorrow... Monday morning went on the downtown tour, Wall Street, Freedom Tower and all that... Really enjoyed it, can't think of any trivia to report, other than Freedom of Tower s/b open for business before year end... It was a cold, crisp sunny day, so fabulous for touring... Wanted to do the Brooklyn tour, as well, but was unaware it only had one tour @ 10:00 am... Spent the rest of the afternoon doing some window shopping, got something to eat, then walked over to Madison Sq. to p/u a schedule for the Rangers, want to see a game, perhaps 2, the Devils, Islanders, don't even know where they are played... After, finally had the opportunity of going up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building... Awesome @ nighttime!!! Again, really enjoyed the day, home for an early night, up early tomorrow for the Brooklyn tour to start my tours for the day... 'til next time... h

Some observations, a little late, on eastern Canada... Of all the hiways travelled, at times could have been on the Coquihalla (sp?), the hiway between Nanaimo/Parksville, Sea to Sky and on a transit bus in Fredericton I could have been on a street in S'toon, found comfort in them all... When the gorgeous coloured leaves had all fallen, there remained the Tamarac, whose needles had turned golden, about to drop... They really took up the slack for coloured roadsides... Tamarac trees are very abundant! On the other side of the coin are all the pampus grass that grow along the roads everywhere, so abundantly! I asked Nicole the name of them, she replied she thought they were weeds... Whether or not I have the name correct, will give you an idea what I am referring to... In the summer it must look fabulous everywhere with all those plumes, now not so much, looks like all of them were dipped in mud, not a good look, but seriously they are everywhere! The red brick and stone facings are everywhere in the east - love them! Really enjoy the low Apothic R/wine prices, yahoo! Really noticed a lack of RBC abm's, especially in Quebec, lots of Desjardines, that's for sure... For those of you that know me and my smaller and smaller living spaces, have really enjoyed seeing all those smaller houses, esp. in Quebec, bet they are really cute inside! All throughout the east noticed houses that did not have garages had metal forms with heavy grade plastic over the forms for cars... Nicole told me that they are allowed to be put up mid November, but better be taken down by mid April or the home owner would be ticketed... All in Quebec, the stairs to 2nd floors, and up, even in houses, were outside the bldg to save on space inside... That practice is no longer in effect but very interesting to see, saw a lot in old town Montreal... A lot of Ultramar and Irving gas stations, not too many of the ones we are familiar with... In New Brunswick saw lots and lots of Christmas trees bagged ready for delivery to the eastern USA... While in the bus or train, way over in the distance, saw crimson fields every so often, telling me a lot of low bush, wild blueberries and cranberries grew there, leaves had turned colour... Was really cool to finally see the St. Lawrence River, really big, awesome... A lot of the highway, we were skirting the US border, reminded me of Sumas prairie... I think that is all I can think of for Canada, I remain a very proud Canadian, we sure live in a beautiful country!!!

Happy Sunday from NYC... On a sunny, crisp morning... Macy's parade was great! All were concerned with the forecast of the winds, etc., but the 25th turned out to be cold, crisp, sunny and not too windy, therefore the parade happened... There must have been over a million people watching, amazing! For those of you that watched, did you see me waving? ha! The balloons were on a very tight tether, looked like the balloon characters were looking for coins on the street, ha! With all those people on the sidewalks, etc., when the parade was over, they were all gone in a flash, amazing! Probably because everyone was as cold as I was, couldn't wait to get going... When I was here in 2007, after the parade, there were hardly any restaurants/bars open, was surprised as to how that has changed, everything appeared open and full! Since I was so close, checked out the hotel I stayed in, at that time, it is still in operation, and Sharon, Becco and Don't Tell Momma are still there, and open, as well... After walking around enjoying, decided to go back to the apt., getting my dinner under way... It was mmm, mmm good... Yes, am enjoying my cooking again... Black Friday, did not go shopping, just stayed around the apt., going over and doing a load of laundry, chicken warmups and in general just laid low... Have been doing a lot of exploring so nice to get off the world for a few hours... Friday night on PBS was a concert performed in Brooklyn, probably in Sept/Oct., by Barbara Streisand, maybe some of you watched it, if it has not been broadcast yet there, is worth watching... Since I finished reading Dino (Dean Martin), the other day p/u Hello Gorgeous, early years of Streisand, which I am really enjoying... Yesterday, took the subway to downtown Brooklyn, cool opportunity to see where it all began... Am sure only seeing part of it, hopefully will investigate another area again before leaving... In Brooklyn found my r/wine - Apothic, and a bargoon, to beat, yeah! Oh, on Thanksgiving when investigating midtown, found my fav scotche - Glenmorangie @ 35.00, in Canada, double that price, geeslouise! After successfully getting back, decided to walk along the East River enjoying the view of midtown across the water... It was cold and crisp, having been sunny during the day... The Empire State Bldg was lit up in blue/white for Hannukuh, is that the correct sp? When returning, put on the TV expecting to find at least one hockey game, but no, lots of football... Today is another great day to be outside, so will head off to see what kind of trouble I can get into... Want to investigate what kind of tours available as well as the hop on/hop off bus... Had enough of resting, time to go out and see this city... 'til next time, stay safe h