It's hot - it's also memorial day weekend...

Ok, I am a whinger.

I just spent all day today planting in my garden, my nails are now destroyed because i don't use gloves (who cares really about nails) - and at one point when R and I were having breakfast, I told him the weather forecast for next week - it is supposed to get up to 88 degrees next week. I just made a casual comment about how it's going to be a long - hot summer in Manhattan. We need to get away. I think I actually flailed on the courtyard to make my point. No Joke.

He agreed. Lucky I made friends with Mike and Liz who have a summer place on Fire Island. We now have an invite to escape manhattan summer - yay !!!!

What else is new - some of you know that we are very seriously thinking of buying that place on Collins Street. Still sussing it out.

There is also a place on Chaffey and 9th in Mildura that I have had my eye on for a while now - we will see how that goes - Julie is looking at that for me now.

K.

Is this too much?

Are we in NYC so paranoid?

Yesterday afternoon I was walking home down 3rd Ave, and there were about a hundred police-people and cars and yellow tape blocking off the streets between 23rd and 19th. I obviously came through at the tail end of their "investigation", so I was allowed to get into my local grocer to get my papers, I asked what was going on and jimmy told me that there was an old empty suitcase left on 21st street and 3rd ave (probably for trash collection), and someone had called 911 to report a bomb.

It's a conundrum. Should we feel safe and protected, or should we feel that our resources are being wasted (yes we pay taxes too!)

I think their time would be better spent up in Harlem looking for that missing little girl instead.

Hmmm

london...paris... new york

done it ! booked it. All done kids.
Cannot believe that I have my British Airways flight booked (thank god it's "one world").

I am so happy to see my girlys.

Andrea, come with us !!

New Kitten - Billy

So, we obviously decided to call him Billy, but as with any normal OCD parents, R & I couldn't decide between 'Billy Flynn' and Billy Joel', so we did what any normal parents would do... we hyphenated his name. (what else) So... his name is 'Billy Joel -Flynn'. Has a certain ring to it don't you think?

The cat is hilarious. Let's just say that the skinny little stray has found his position in our house. He has taken over! Love him!!

Chicks

Last night my friend L in Melbourne told me of her plans for her holiday to London, we decided that I am going to meet her in London for the last 2 days of her trip, then we will take the Chunnel to Paris for 2 days, then she is coming back with me to Manhattan for a week.

I am so used to having visitors. I think I have done that double decker tourist bus tour about 12 times. So I asked what she wanted to do while she was here and she said - "I've done New York before - No frigging museums, no tours, no central park, no 5th ave, no rockefeller centre, lets just party".

What a relief!!! This is why this chick was my bridesmaid....... twice!

Aruba...

Cousin C

I have been very slack with posting stories on this blog..... So what's new with us?

We went and saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, and I cried through the first half at least! Seriously. I love that man. R isn't a huge BJ fan but he said it was the best concert he's ever seen - that's saying something after the U2 concert!

Off to INXS at Rockefeller Center tonight, can wait to see how JD performs.

Well a lot has happened over the past few months. Aruba was great - photos later. Then Florida, and I even took a trip down to Oklahoma, (go figure).

I miss my cousin Cara terribly, and didn't get to see her just before she left for her trip to London, but luckily I am constantly reminded of her presence.. see following email from C... I hope this doesn't offend Mama C.


Good story?? Well, have just flown back from Edinburgh (awesome), and went to the races in St Andrews (home of golf apprently). Anyway, got drunk after 3 hours in the beer tent, and stumbled off and encountered some nice Scottish lads, wearing kilts. Was loving it, needless to say. So after a round of 'pints' is purchased, this one guy goes off to the toilets, where upon all of his friends lifted their kilts and, one by one 'dunked' their 'member' into his pints. There was 6 boys that did it. The friend returns, downs his pint, and a pubic hair was left on his lip. I nearly hurled, no shit.

How is THAT story for you?!!!

That is hilarious, I love "Cara Tiara" stories... more please....

"Top Gun" - Best 80's movie ever....

How many times can one person watch the movie "Top Gun" without getting bored?

R is at a basketball game with the boys tonight, and I wanted to stay home and make my filet mignon with a mustard reduction sauce (another story), so thought I would bring out a bit of Tom Cruise.

Brilliant - if it wasn't for the "love scene with Kelly McGillis" (boring), this would be the best movie of all time.

Richmond = Aruba ??

Richmond, Virginia….. Y’ALL

Over this past ‘President’s Day’ long weekend, R & I decided to take a trip way,way down South to visit our 4 great friends who live in Richmond. Well what a blast it turned out to be! These Southerners certainly know how to have fun.

We ended up at a Church charity auction (yes, me in a church... at a charity auction no less?). Sipping Chardonnay in the front pew – who knew? Consuming fabulous hor’s doevres, and watching all the Southern Belles in their finery, and coiffed hair. These people are the least churchy people we’ve ever met, that’s for sure.

Soooo….. R and I managed to bid successfully on a week vacation in Aruba in the Caribbean; a silver candelabra; antique silver knives (they’re for you Mum), and some covered antique tureen thing that R got excited about just because he wanted to wave his auction number at some point during the night….. it might grow on us later!

Then on Sunday night the six of us went to a fabulous area called Carytown for dinner at a French restaurant called ‘Can Can’. Link below:
http://www.richmond.com/dining/output.aspx?Article_ID=4026631&Vertical_ID=26&tier=2&position=7

On the way home to New York this morning, we stopped at George Washington’s estate/plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia, which was just great.

We just arrived home late tonight, so of course I’m on the Aruba websites doing reconnaissance.

Woo Hoo – Aruba – March 25 – April 1. Anyone want to join us?? It seems super-deluxe.

Best I get back on that diet, treadmill, and the tanning salon!

My Dad's Logie

Polished this little baby for the first time in years - thought the photo was 'blog-worthy'... comes up a treat, definitely deserves to be in the pool-room. 

Philly

Went to Philadelphia, just an hour train ride away, and loved it.

Benjamin Frankin was the main hero from there - inventor, one of the founding fathers of the USA... I actually thought from my research he seemed like a bit of a chauvanist pig. Perhaps it was just the 1700's? 

Vogue

For Christmas my Mum gave me a subscription to "Vogue Entertaining & Travel - Australia".

I Just recieved the first issue last week, and imagine my surprise when I turned to page 102 of the latest issue (Feb/March 2006) to find, in the Las Vegas holiday section, almost the exact same photo of my 'bikini bull riding' picture I posted on this blog from our trip last year - - good karma!

"Law & Order"

Not sure how these photos will turn out this morning - yesterday NBC channel were warning us that we needed to move cars off our block , the filmy people most politely said that they needed to film "Law & Order - SVU" in our street.

If one did not move their car, then it would be towed. Yes .... I was ok with that. I might have been cross if we actually had a car.

So this was filmed at about 11pm - R & I went out to watch.

PS: Everyone watch the show because our apartment is going to be in it (just in the background) we think...

'Chicago' on B'Way

Good morning kids - Tonight - yes we get to see the great 'Chicago'... http://www.chicagothemusical.com/indexl.html
I shall never be bored with this musical although have seen it quite a few times! (Maybe eight times now). There's always a new Billy Flynn, my favourite was Wayne Brady - but sure we will love Mr. Huey Lewis tonight!

New Kitten

he looks like a 'Billy' don't you think?

New York State of Mind...

"Some folks like to get away, take a holiday, from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood....
I’m taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line....
I’m in a New York state of mind"......

Well as you can see, Santa obviously thought I was a good girl this year - I'm finally seeing Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden!! Apparently the last concert before he 'retires'.

There were teary eyes when I opened that pressie!

That - and I am lucky to be "Mom" to a new little boy kitten who we adopted, and arrives tomorrow - he was rescued from the Korean Market - poor little bugger.

He is yet to be named (suggestions appreciated).

Had a wonderful Christmas morning in the apartment with my cousin Cara & R.

R gave presenty tickets to Cara and I to see 'Chicago' on Broadway in January - Huey Lewis (think "Back-to-the-Future movie soundtrack)happens to be playing my favourite character "Billy Flynn" during that time which will be great.

(There's an idea for kitten name - Billy Joel/Billy Flynn) !?

After presents and brekky this morning we then went to our friends in Upstate NY, lots of yummy food made by Beth & Rob. In fact we just arrived back home to Manhattan on the train. (These country trains were never on strike!)

Merry Christmas to all, hope yours was as wonderful as mine.

K.

Filming in our street...

There are so many movies filmed on our street, yet I am still not acting cool about it. I am such a dork.

It makes me so excited to live in a street in New York that the moviemakers deem important film making locations!!

I don't ever think I'll ever be as unimpressed with actors as that girl who was in my Julia Roberts blog entry!!

Here's last night's filming photos...

I'll have you know that we looked like the biggest tourists taking these photos last night .. for your benefit!

Fun - you should see the photos I didn't post!!!
K.

New York Marathon

Our friends W&A visited last weekend, and W had a great shot at the 'elusive' New York Marathon - he was one of 37 thousand who were picked out of 80,000 entrants - (lottery system).


Last photo is the finish line - he did pretty well!!!

We were proud, and boy, did we have a great time on the Sunday night after the marathon!

Possibly the best photo... ever...

I know I posted this photo before, but look closely at the sign under the Frontier:

“Bikini Bull Riding”
“Dirty Girls”
“Cold Beer”
“Mud wrestling”
“$10.95 steak & lobster dinner”

Honestly, what more could you want in Vegas!!!!

Nicknames

For as long as I can remember, my nick-name has been 'Katie-Pops', for short, it was always 'Pops'.

I don't know where it came from, maybe it was Soph, Rae, Amber or Andrea, but it has always stuck.

I still get 'Katie' all the time, but hardly ever "Pops" (unless I am talking to them or Sniff).

Today I was walking down 3rd, and I heard someone yell.... "Pops" well I turned around so quickly that I nearly got whiplash! It amused me so, to find a young boy yelling at his Grandfather!!