Catskills - Sullivan County - Ulster County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

Our annual pre-Christmas pilgrimage to the high life in NYC went off without a hitch.  Major snow storm blanketing the city made it all the more fun.  Upstate where I live we got 13", which is a lot of snow, period.  Those storms don't come around all that often and are fun when they hit.  Can't wait to see it.

So pull Lucas out of school early on Friday and we hit the Le Parker Meridian on 56th, right off 5th Ave and just a stone's throw from FOA Schwartz.

Lucas and I strode into NYC Friday and left lots of breathless ladies all over Town.

"Ooh I, I love the night life
I got to boogie

on the disco 'round,

oh yeah

Oh, I love the night life
I got to boogie on the disco 'round,

oh yeah

Please don't talk about love tonight
Your sweet talking won't make it right
Love and lies just bring me down
When you've got women all over town"

You'll note a spiderman theme throughout this post.

Selfie across from the Plaza.

730am to Macy's - first in line.  Early bird catches the warm and also doesn't' have to wait in lines.

We role played before so he wouldn't freeze like last year.  I told him to butter Santa up by starting with 'thank you for the presents last year...'

Macy's upper floors are cool, with the wood escalators and bathrooms from the original build.

Then up to Holiday Train Show in the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, where all the historic and landmark buildings of NYC from today and yesteryear are redrafted from all organic matter like moss, twigs, stone, flowers, etc…  The snow was cool.

Then off on the Metro North south to Grand Central to meet up with his Mom who took the train in from Port Jervis to join us for the (spoiler alert) Lion King.  She road in with an increasingly crowded train with lots of santas, elfs, and other assorted soon to be drunkards and revelers.

Grabbed some lunch at the busy dining concourse - fun to spend a few hours in grand central seeing all the travelers.

To the Lion King.

Sunday to an old Church on 5th Ave for a Children's Christmas Pageant.

Then to the Children's Museum and Science Center on 83rd on the Upper West Side.

They have this playground/tunnel intestines route, ending with this.  Of course, this humor really works for me and Lucas.

And the real grinch paid us a visit while we were there.

And the Parker Meridian, which I enjoyed (though just trying to step on the black squares got old).

He got a new belt (his first one), and a new pair of mittens that fold down so his fingers stick out - he slept in both, next to his Lion King Simba stuffed animal.

The teddy bears name is Cookie.

At Normas.

And the old school barber shop in the lobby.  Lucas wasn't tempted to join his dad in a haircut and trim.

The gloves are still on.

And what I would look like if I was from the Ukraine and was really smart.

Cow joke for Jaime and Jason over at the Barn IX rising in Olivebridge.

The throne.

Toys we are keeping.

Toys we are giving away.

An odd toy that was a real 'on the fence' for Lucas for some reason.

Goodbye Dino Train.

Above, toys that need batteries that we left die because the noise they made was horrid - but it's like $70 of batteries to get them all working again.

Below, protecting his stuffed animals from the giveaway pile.

Cool new play space.

His first type writer for his collection.

Stuffed animal, cross specie,  love.

In Rhinebeck, personally spreading hay over a future building site so the ground doesn't freeze as we navigate the land purchase, the septic approval and the building dept.  Some old farmer dropped off 15 bales for me and Dave B and I spread them out in a pretty significant snow storm.  I am working with a major publication to collaboratively build a house, and have it ready for May 1.

One word - Yikes.

Rhinebeck, East of the River, is a cool town, founded in 1660 or so.

And a Christmas tree Lucas and I decorated from the girls in Narrowsburg, Anie and Julliette.

The River Gallery in Narrowsburg is always a great place to shop this time of year for great gifts from local talented artists.  To some comfort to me that all small business people are confronted with weird and disconcerting issues all the time, I noticed when searching for the link, the River Gallery's main url has been highjacked by an Adidas reseller.

721 sq ft of mini-glory on 2.5 acres.  

Ok, Ok - I get it - I haven't posted any Lucas pics lately.  Jeeezzz.  How about giving a busy guy a break?

Lucas and his Amish friend boy in Lancaster PA.

Gap Kids pose.

I've been dying since last winter till the time came to break out this winter's cap.

Eating some bread and saltines after some projectile vomiting.  Thing is, this meal is what he always eats, it's not some special 'upset stomach' meal.  I always say if he ever goes to prison he won't have a big dietary adjustment - he loves his plain bread and water.  Phoenixville PA.

It's a big milestone when these kids start dressing themselves.  it's so unexpected, and then like most growing up milestones, soon forgotten as it is taken for granted.

Lancaster PA - one of the finest places around, and where I was born and bred (and where I starred on the football and baseball field, which were surrounded by farms, breying cows, and the stink of manure).

Nephew at the restaurant in Bloomsburg PA watching the Auburn Alabama game.

So Thursday morning Lancaster, Thursday night Phoenixville, Saturday Bloomsburg, Sunday Eldred, then Monday up to Saugerties to move my upstate satellite apt from the cool town of Saugerties to the Cool town of New Paltz.

Goodbye Saugerties Apartment.

Hello New Paltz apt.

New wood stove at my home in Eldred NY.

The excavators getting ready to hit it hard this morning after we laid out Barn 9, in Olivebridge NY.

And our favorite cow next door.

And an update money shot of Barn 7.