Catching Up

It's been a busy Christmas season, to say the least. Before we get into the heart of celebrations and family matters, here are some noteworthy tidbits from the last few weeks.

Let's start with weird birds. A couple of weeks ago Norah and I went out to the Central Park Zoo, meeting up with Heidi and Parker Collet. It was a small playgroup, but fun nonetheless.

That's a polar bear in the background. And a plastic bird to prevent real birds from hitting the plexiglass. I would much rather see a real bird with a plastic polar bear on the plexiglass to prevent... Really I'd just like to see polar bears hitting the plexiglass.

You may have heard that alpacas sometimes spit as a defense mechanism, but in this picture the alpacas are keeping their distance from Norah's spit. Well, drool.

Meanwhile, Norah has found her toes.

Here are 17 dogs. No big deal. We often see this guy out walking all these dogs. I would like to see where they live, how well they eat, etc. This is the Upper East Side, after all.

This is a picture of where I teach, Hunter College. I really enjoy this shot, particularly because it includes such things as the Chrysler Building (faint in the distance), a construction worker, the distinctive Hunter walkways over the street, a woman with her hands up in the air for some reason, and the Hampton Jitney. You can click on this photo to take it all in on a larger scale.


Here we have the local Canadian guy who provides Christmas trees around the clock (it was very important for me to include the camper that he sleeps in).

And to finish, here's a nose made of rhinestones.* Simply awesome. I need to go back to see how much it costs. That is, unless someone has already snatched it up. We all know that despite the recent economic downturn, the demand for rhinestone noses remains fierce.

*There's a great story about me, noses, and rhinestones that you should know if you don't. Ask about it sometime. For those of you who are already in the nose (ahh terrible pun, but I can't resist), this photo is truly (resistance is futile!) a gem.