I'm Sorry, It's Almost Like A Christmas Newsletter

I swore that I would never, ever write one of those obnoxious year-end recaps that people tend to send out ("Biff was promoted at work, Biff, Jr. is the President of the Debate Club, and our little Muffy is at the top of her class") but as I reread this post I realize that I've done just that.  It's just that 2011 was a big year for the Payton's and the Spurr's.  Lots of change - most of it good, some of it bad but overall it was a good year for us.  As Jack and I talked over our coffee this morning we agreed that we were very, very lucky in 2011.

For us, 2011 started off on a high note.  On December 31, 2010 we were celebrating the wedding of Heather Meszaros and Juan Aleman and the party lasted until the wee hours of January 1st.  Their wedding was such fun.  My brother-in-law and sister, Bob and Deb Meszaros, Heather, Juan and our nephew Craig Meszaros put on an awesome party.  Best New Year's Eve ever!

In April, we sold our home in one week (thanks to our wonderful realtor, Jeff Gregory at Realty Executives) which was unexpected and miraculous.  Although Jack and I had been planning our road trip adventure for several years we just didn't think that things would move so quickly and it took some quick readjusting.  We loved our little house and it was a bittersweet thing to walk away from the home where we shared so many good times with our family and friends. 

On August 20, 2011 our daughter Kathryn Spurr married Ben Loeffler and and Jack and I had two special events to celebrate that day.  What a gift that our daughter was happy and marrying such a terrific guy, and that we had all 6 of our children together under one roof.  It had been almost 10 years since the last time everyone was together.  Such a happy day!  Good food, good booze and the people you love most in the world.  Life doesn't get much better than that.

  

The happy times of 2011 helped us get through the challenging times.  Jack somehow developed a herniated disc (could it have been all of that snow shoveling????) and he suffered with back and leg pain for most of the year as he tried to avoid surgery.  Shots, pills, chiropractics, and yoga were not able to take away the pain and in September, Jack had surgery which was successful.  He is now pain free.  My Dad used to say, "As long as you have your health you have everything." and I would think to myself, "Yeah, yeah but I need a bigger house."  I think that you don't really appreciate the gift of good health (and the simple joy of being able to sit and stand pain free) until it's taken away by injury or ill health. 

In November we packed up our car and our little dog and set out to have the adventure of our dreams - visiting all of our children across the country and seeing the places we've always dreamed of seeing.  We arrived in New York City and shared a happy Thanksgiving celebration with our girls and their guys, pinching ourselves and unable to believe our good fortune.  Oh the plans I had for shopping, sightseeing, and blogging! The following week our 29 year old daughter, Emily Spurr was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and my plans

changed to doctor visits, medical tests and post surgery recovery.  We were (and are) so grateful to be here to provide moral support and to take care of our girl.  Never have I enjoyed fluffing pillows, washing dishes or cooking more!  It was a scary time for all of us but again, we feel very, very lucky.  Emily's cancer was caught early (a miracle with ovarian cancer) and was categorized low malignancy.  She is cancer free and requires no radiation or chemotherapy. 

As we close out 2011 and look toward 2012, Jack and I have a lot of uncertainty about what life will bring in the coming year but we're o.k. with that. (As much as a control-freak/planner can be) We've been reminded that each day is a gift and each day with family and friends is the best gift of all.  Everything else is just extra.  Happy New Year!

Rules of Civility Field Trip

    
Before we set off on our road trip I belonged to two book groups.  Both groups are filled with interesting, opinionated people who bring different points of view to every discussion which is always a lot of fun.  Sometimes, everyone loves a book and sometimes group members unanimously hate a book, and sometimes, one person stands alone defending a book. 

In October, one of the groups discussed a new book called Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles.  It was a terrific book that we liked so much, fellow book club members Cheri Johnson and Isabell Camillo and I recommended that our second book club read it.  It's a great story set in New York City in 1938 at the dawn of the Jazz Age.  The author has a website with a playlist of songs from that era and a map of locations from the book.  Check it out at www.amortowles.com

                               

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in New York so Jack and I left Coco in the apartment and set off on a Rules of Civility field trip.  Our first stop was to the Beresford which is an apartment building on Central Park West where Tinker Grey, one of the main characters lived. 

The Beresford was built in 1929 and is still beautiful today. It's about a 15 minute walk from where we are staying and about a 5 minute walk down the street from the Dakota where Yoko Ono lives.  The building faces the park.

Jack was able to take some great pictures of the detail around the front door.   

After leaving the Beresford we walked through Central Park down to 5th Avenue where the statue of Atlas was located.  It was a MADHOUSE of shoppers.  There was a rope line in front of Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch and store employees were only letting a few customers in at a time.  I was grateful that I wasn't trailing along behind a group of pre-teens carrying the coats as in years past.  Why is the music always so loud in stores like that?  There were some beautiful window displays that I couldn't see very well through the crowds so maybe I'll go back on a week day and check them out.  And maybe hit some stores.  I've never been much of a window shopper and with  

After fighting the crowds Jack and I felt like we deserved a drink and headed over to The 21 Club, a nightclub that opened in 1929 and is still going strong today.  The main characters in Rules of Civility start their evening with drinks at The 21 Club before their lives change forever.   

 

In the book, everyone drinks a lot and it made us wonder how many people have fallen up or down these stairs that Jack is sitting on after one too many drinks. 

Unfortunately, 21 wasn't open yet for business so Jack and I decided to head over to our last stop of the day, The Plaza Hotel.  Constructed in 1907, The Plaza still operates as a hotel but now has condos if you've got a couple of extra million dollars lying around.  There are shops and a food court downstairs, along with the famous Palm Court restaurant on the main floor.  

  
I wasn't able to talk Jack into having tea at the Plaza so we headed down towards our temporary home and decided to stop at the bar at the Essex House Hotel which is right next door to our building.  I had a glass of Chardonnay and Jack had a Scotch and Soda that he said was probably the best S & S he'd ever had.  When the bill came, he knew why.  His drink was alone was $43!  Yikes!

Jack and I agreed that we'd had a wonderful afternoon retracing the steps of the characters in our book and headed off to the grocery store to pick up the fixings for lentil soup.  If you've read Rules of Civility let me know what you think.  Hope that you like the pictures.

Finally, here is a photo of two of my dear book group friends, Annette Leck and Virginia Ferry.   We miss you ladies and the rest of my book group friends.  Happy reading!

Much To Be Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving to All of our Friends and Loved Ones!  We hope that your day was filled with family, food and fun and that the sun is shining wherever you are today.  

It was a beautiful day yesterday in New York City which made it perfect for viewing the 85th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  The parade route passed 1/2 block from our apartment - how lucky is that?  We didn't have to get up early and fight the crowds we just walked out the door at about 9:00 a.m and walked down to the corner.  The sidewalks were super crowded but we were able to see the parade pretty clearly, especially the giant balloons and the floats.  Jack was able to take some great pictures of the parade, especially when you consider that these shots were taken while holding the camera over his head!

Each balloon has scores of handlers to keep it under control as it travels down the street.  I'm not sure how they manage it on cold, blustery days because it looked like they were having a tough time yesterday which was relatively mild. The Buzz Lightyear balloon got hung up briefly while we were watching but the balloon handlers managed to disengage him from the tree branches and keep the parade moving.

Jack and I particularly liked watching all of the marching bands pass by.  The kids seemed so excited to be a part of the Macy's Day Parade.  You just know how much hard work and how much fundraising went into making such a trip possible.

 

After the parade, Jack and I grabbed our contribution to this year's Thanksgiving feast which was wine and a quinoa and butternut squash stuffing.  Jack and I feel so blessed to have celebrated Thanksgiving with some of our children.  We headed off to our daughter Emily and Grant's house to spend the day with them and our daughter Kate and her husband Ben. Jack and I, along with Kate and Ben had a completely vegetarian Thanksgiving and we didn't miss the turkey at all. Emily and Grant had pork chops and they seemed pretty pleased with the feast as well.  My highlight of the meal was the roasted brussels sprouts made by Emily and the homemade apple pie made by Kate. We finished off the evening by watching a family favorite movie, A Hard Day's Night.  

This morning I'm feeling a little twitchy to get out and take advantage of all of the Black Friday deals but I'm holding off.  I can only imagine how crazy the stores are here.  Instead, we took Coco for a walk in Central Park (it's another beautiful day here) and we're heading back to Brooklyn to eat leftovers, set up the Christmas tree and hopefully catch The Muppet Movie.  Sounds like a perfect day - hope that your day is wonderful, too!  

3 Doormen, A Laundress, and a Grand Piano

I wish that I were the kind of person that could make up a funny joke or amusing anecdote involving the doormen, the laundress and the grand piano but I don't have that kind of creative gift.  I had you thinking for a minute there, though, didn't I? 

Today, I'd like to tell you about the place we're staying and show you some pictures of the building.  It is a wonderful location with a Whole Foods and a wine store just 2 blocks away, the Apple store is 2 blocks in the other direction, and Central Park is directly across the street.  I think that Times Square is about 8 blocks away.  When I stand on the corner I can see all of the lighted signs but we haven't walked down there yet. 

Our building is a pre-war building with lots of nice decorative touches.  When you enter the building there are 3 doormen on duty at all times.  One turns the revolving door for you (step into the opening and then he pushes it), one doorman sits at the front desk watching security cameras and one is there to spring into action if a person needs help carrying anything, etc. 



As you enter the lobby you walk down three steps and there is a beautiful grand piano and a fireplace with a seating area.  The other night we came out of the elevator and there was a man sitting at the piano playing and singing.  At first, I thought, "Is there entertainment in the lobby?" but then I realized that there was no tip jar and the singer must be a resident. 



After you pass through the lobby you go through a lovely hallway to the elevators.  I've seen elaborate decorations in hotels but it's hard to believe that some people live like this.  All the time.  The hallway is mirrored and has beautiful Asian screens.  My pictures don't really do it justice - I'll have to ask Santa for an upgrade on my camera. 



We are staying on the 7th floor in a small one bedroom apartment.  It's like a hotel room in many ways.  There is a small kitchen with a two-burner stove, a mini-fridge and a breakfast space.  The kitchen is nicely laid out and there is plenty of room.  The living room is very spare.  There are two black couches that fold out into beds and a desk.  That's it.  There is a newly refinished hardwood floor and a wall of mirrors - almost like a dance studio.  Great for yoga!  The apartment does have a small bedroom with a big closet but no dressers.  There are built in shelves in the closet for all of our clothes and it works perfectly.  It's just different from what we're used to in the Midwest. 



The building also has a gym and a laundry room.  That's where the laundress comes in.  While you can certainly do your own laundry (like I did this morning) a resident can drop off their laundry in the laundry room that is attached to the gym and it will be done by Samantha who is the laundress for the building.  Because I'm me and I'm from the Midwest, I know that Samantha has lived in Queens for 20 years and takes the subway into Manhattan every day. 

Some of you may be wondering how we ever lucked into such a great place to rent.  Jack and I spent a lot of time searching the various internet sites for affordable vacation rentals and were totally overwhelmed.  A couple of blocks the wrong way could make a big difference in terms of safety, much less convenience.  As my girls have told me often, "You don't get to walk, you have to walk" when you live in a city.  Luckily, our daughter Emily and her boyfriend Grant remembered that the parents of one of their friends own a place in New York City that was currently vacant.  The owners live in Switzerland and this is one of their vacation homes.  We're so lucky that they were willing to rent us their apartment for a few months.  Hopefully, we'll get to meet them when they're here in New York for the holidays.  They're staying in a hotel so that we don't have to move out and move back in after they're gone.  Very nice.  

I don't want to forget to mention that Jack and I have had 2 celebrity sightings so far.  We saw John Oliver from the Daily Show standing on the street on Sunday and yesterday, we saw Tony Bennett on our block.  He was wearing one of those jogging suits like Rodney Dangerfield wore in Caddyshack.

Tomorrow we're going to try and watch at least some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Hopefully, it won't rain and my camera will be up to the challenge!
 

Pinch Me - I Live in New York

We made it to New York City yesterday. Driving here, Jack and I found out that we are good travel partners (although there was some completely understandable bickering when we couldn't find Dunkin Donuts for our morning coffee.) I've been to New York before but this city always takes my breath away. We're so grateful that our kids are here to help us figure it all out.  

 I did actually pinch myself when we were walking our dog Coco in the park before bed last night.  It's hard to believe that we're actually off on our adventure and that we're living across the street from Central Park.  For the next couple of months we'll be staying in the building with the pointed green roof that kind of looks like a castle on top.  The apartment doesn't face the park but the location is pretty terrific.  We took this picture from the office where our daughter Kate works, which is just a couple of blocks away. 

Unloading and unpacking was surprisingly easy since the building has a door man. Part of the doorman's job is to spin the revolving door for you as you leave and enter the building and I've had several Chip and Dale-type encounters with them, "After you" "No, I insist, after you."  It's all about timing, I guess.  Before we got here I was worried about how everything would work unloading the Joadmobile at such a swanky place but it all went smoothly.  It's kind of like staying in a snazzy extended stay hotel. The staff are there to help you and they know what to do.  I'll make sure to post pictures of the inside of the building soon.

The weather here was great yesterday and today so we spent some time walking in Central Park. Even though we looked like the dorky tourists we are, Jack and I took pictures in some of the places in the park that we've seen in movies and on television.  There were gymnasts performing, buskers singing, and an Occupy Wall Street protest going on.  Despite all of the hustle and bustle you can find lots of peaceful spots to sit and enjoy the open space.

We learned that the park is 2 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile across with 50 miles of trails criss crossing through it.  We must have walked miles in the park before Kate and Ben took us on a walking tour of the Upper West Side and then over to the Upper East Side where Amanda and Scott live.  Clearly, we're going to have to build up our stamina because we were exhausted.  What an amazing city! 

Coco was quite a hit in the park, which is full of dogs.  One Asian tourist with a video camera filmed Coco for about 3 minutes and never made eye contact with either one of us.  We didn't mind, it just seemed so odd to us.  Of course, being from the Midwest, I talk to everyone. 

One of my goals is to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and walk in the park every day.  More about our visit soon.

I'm Nosey

I'm nosey.  Not Gladys Kravitz nosey (if you were born after 1965 check out Bewitched on TV Land) but nosey in a good way.  At least I like to think so.  I'm nosey in the way of being interested in the back story of a person, place or thing.  That's probably why I switched my major in college from education to social work. 

One of my (our) goals on this road trip is to learn more about the places we stay than just the things you can pick up on a quick visit.  Since I like books and music I plan on reading books written in or about the area we're visiting and learning about the music, too. 

Today we're in Ohio, staying just outside of Cleveland in a little hotel off of the highway.  At check-in we were informed that tomorrow is yogurt day at the continental breakfast buffet.  Good to know.               

I had no idea that Ohio was so wooded with rolling terrain.  It's pretty here and the terrain makes me think of the early settlers clearing trees and setting up their homesteads.  We won't really be exploring Ohio this time around, just passing through.  Someday, I'd like to stop and see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but that will have to be another trip.   



I've downloaded a book about the area called Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson.  It's a series of connected short stories that chronicles small-town life in the Midwest.  It sounds like Olive Kittredge, which I suggested for book club last year.  Everyone in the group but me HATED the book but I really enjoyed it. 







We should be in New York City on Saturday, November 19th so look for some NYC pictures early next week.  We can't wait to see our New York City gals and guys and do some "quality family bonding".  In between sightseeing we'll have to find a Bears bar to keep up with our team!

Shotgun!

Road Trip!  Shotgun! 

For most Americans, the words road trip conjure up visions of the open road, the wind in your hair, and the radio speakers cranked up to "11".  Before the era of IPODs and playlists, the person riding shotgun (front seat passenger side for those of you who might not be familiar with this expression) was responsible for finding the right music to fit the trip. 

As part of the prep for our upcoming cross country adventure I've been working on a playlist of road songs and it's been a lot of fun.  Between Google and my Facebook friends I've come up with what I think is a pretty great list.  Here are a few of my top picks in no particular order.  I've tried to get videos for most of them so kick back and feel the wind in your hair.  Singing along is STRONGLY encouraged. 

                      Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf  (why doesn't anyone ever ask me to sing this song at parties?  I know all of the words and I'm AWESOME at it.  It's a great song to sing really loud - perfect for a road trip. )

           Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf  (check out Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in this trailer from the movie Easy Rider. Wind in the hair, literally.)

                     

                       I Can't Drive 55 - Sammy Hagar (Do you remember the yellow

                           jumpsuit?  What a cutie Sammy Hagar was!)

Runnin' Down A Dream  - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Best road trip lyrics ever.  "It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, I had the radio on, I was drivin'. "

             

                Life is A Highway - Rascal Flatts

                               

                                                        

                      Detroit Rock City - Kiss  (I know it's about drugs and death but it's

                                                                           so much fun!)

                                                                   

                Drive My Car - Beatles

Wait! What about Born to Run, Highway to Hell, and Roam?  I've got lots more songs ready to go - so many more songs that the ride should go by pretty quickly.  Jack and I have loaded up the Joadmobile (no rocking chair tied to the top of the car with fraying ropes but pretty close) and we're heading out tomorrow.  New stop New York City.  Here's hoping for clear skies and clearer roads!

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

I've always loved airports despite my fear of flying.  When we were young my parents would take my sister and me to spend the afternoon watching airplanes take off and land and walking around the airport people watching.  My first career goal was to be a flight attendant, back when they were still called "stewardesses".  Little girls of my generation typically had traditional career goals like nurse, teacher, Mommy, and maybe nun if they were the product of Catholic school like I was.  A flight attendant seemed like such a glamorous occupation - those snazzy uniforms! 

Somehow, along the way of life, I made the traditional choices.  While I took the safer path, spending the last 15 years in a house 1 block from the house where I was born, I never gave up my dream of being an adventurer.  (My one television addiction is House Hunters Internationa.  How do those people have the guts to chuck it all and start a B&B in South America?).  I married a great guy and we successfully blended a family of 6 terrific kids.  When they grew up and spread their wings it seemed as if everyone was having an adventure but me.  I wanted my own adventure but couldn't see how to make it happen. 

During many long walks and over MANY glasses of wine a spark of possibility grew.  Maybe we could really make it happen.  But how? We didn't want to just vacation in a place for a couple of days, we wanted to get to know it in the way that locals do.  But that takes money.  And what about jobs? The only way to make it happen would be to sell our home.  But, sell our home?  Leave our friends? My sister and her family? Not an easy thing to do. 

We talked about our dream for years (over still more glasses of wine) and called it"The Plan".  We saved and we scrimped and we shared one car when our Volkswagen Jetta died an untimely death.  We put our house up for sale in a depressed real estate market and it sold in a week.  It seemed as if the Universe was saying, "Go!" 

And now the time is here. Time to make it happen and not just talk about it.  A road trip into the unknown.  We have a few destination spots in mind (kids, are you ready?) but for the most part we're committed to being modern day hoboes, letting the road take us where we need to go.  Look for us on the road. We'll be the ones in the silver car with the little dog and the stereo cranked way up.