Young Frankenstein (Fronk-en-schteen)

My Christmas present from Sue was tickets to see the new Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein. I hadn't been to a Broadway show in decades (four?). And, for all of us who have laughed at the movie, the musical version promised to be just as much fun. It was! All the good jokes and punch lines were there, the sets were great, the lighting and pyrotechnic effects were amazing, and the music was terrific. My favorites were "He Vas My Boyfriend," "Deep Love," and "Puttin' On the Ritz". Thank you, Sue!

The Max&Mommy Forest

Thanks to Auntie Vu, Max is the proud owner of some classic wood blocks. This evening, while Brian worked on a music compilation, we joined creative forces to create the Max&Mommy Forest. Max was very meticulous about choosing the correct spots for blocks and quickly caught on to some effective balancing strategies. After I documented our masterpiece, Max took great pride in destroying the structure.

Our First Tree!

Happy Holidays! The Bronx Bowles Brigade has a new first in our first home. Our first Christmas tree. We went out on Saturday and picked the best pre-cut, wrapped, bundled, and netted tree that we could find at the vendors under the elevated subway. Going to get a tree in the city is nothing like taking a trip to a tree farm and looking for the best one to cut down and hauling it home. Regardless of the process, we chose a beautiful tree (if I do say so myself). We trimmed it Saturday night with help from our friend Xanthea who was visiting for the weekend. Mom made us a beautiful tree skirt. The pictures don't come close to doing it justice. The colors and the pattern and of course the craftsmanship are above comparison. Thanks Mom! Happy Holidays to all.

Holiday Plans?

Hello, Bowlesians. I wanted to check in to see how your holiday plans were shaping up. Karl, Noah, Caleb, and I will be driving up to Brattleboro on Christmas afternoon and staying through about lunchtime on the 27th. Lisa and Ian are flying in on the 22nd, also departing on the 27th. How about you? Any chance for a holiday get together this year?

Christmas '07

Coming soon to a mailbox near you....

Well pump

And, while Davey was dealing with removing filthy carpet in his new place, Sue and I were dealing with a dead pump in our well.

We woke up to no water on Monday morning (in the middle of a snowstorm). I did some layman checking and was pretty sure I could rule out every option except the pump. Sadly, that turned out to be the culprit.

Now, $1,400 later, we have that new pump--hope this one lasts 19 years like the old one did. (Actually, in 19 years, it's pretty likely that neither Sue or I will care too much about water pumps.)

It's an interesting process to see 365' of tubing being pulled out of a hole in your yard. The best line of the day, though, came from one of my golfing buddies (who was pretty flabbergasted to learn that our pump is that far underground). He said, "Damn, that's a good 9 iron!" Indeed.

The End of a time

I am now an official member the Park Vanderbilt Cooperative. I spent the past 72 hours ripping out the filthiest carpet I have ever seen, pulling out staples, and mopping the floor. Sadly I still think I will need get the floors sanded before I can really settle in. But all and all I am very excited to be in the new place and out of 5th ave.

Quilt for Lisa and Ian

Here are pictures of the quilt I made for my niece and her husband to celebrate their wedding. The pattern is "Lover's Knot" and comes from a book of vintage quilt designs titled Celebrate Great Quilts - circa 1825 to 1940. Lisa chose soft, muted colors--I think the effect is perfect!