At 11:32am on Wednesday, December 26th, I opened the door to apartment PHC at 420 W. 42nd Street in New York City, The Greatest City In The World, ending a wonderfully awesome Christmastime adventure down in Columbia, SC, with my family, including my darling great-granddaughter Saylor Falletta.
Yes, it felt good to be “back home” so I quickly set about to get things back to normal for Billi Pod, including unpacking, storing and then heading out to the ‘hood grocery store to restock. It was really windy and cold, 28º with the wind chill in the upper teens.
Then it really began to get nasty. It started to rain lightly and then it got heavier. That was followed by snow and sleet and this continued on for the rest of the day into the evening hours.
Yes, I know, my loyal and faithful readers and followers out there in the boondocks, hinterlands and wastelands, your favorite blogger did an awful job in keeping you up-to-date and all he can say is==>MY BAD!!
Please forgive Billi Pod so he can rekindle the process of keeping you loyal and faithful readers and followers involved ... so ... why don’t we start with a summary, kinda, of his time down in Columbia, SC ...
Monday - December 24th - it was an overcast and basically blah weather day. Luckily, The Bill and Topher had arrived, together, the day before. Most of the daytime was spent preparing for our planned festive occasion, Christmas Eve Dinner with Alex, Gina and Saylor at their home in Elgin, SC, which is just north of Columbia.
We got there around 4:00pm.
What a wonderful time was had by all. As expected, Saylor was the centerpiece. She has just begun walking a bit by herself and is a teeming bundle of energy. Everyone took turns walking around the house with her.
Dinner was just terrific. This is the menu. Yes, we had tons and tons of wonderful food, featuring Dr. John’s legendary Beef Tenderloin.
After dinner we gathered in the living room and Great-granddaddy read “T’was The Night Before Christmas” to Saylor in what was, hopefully, the beginning of a Yuletide tradition. Then we opened our presents.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THE THINGS AND STUFF.
It was around 10:00pm when we got back to Kathi and Dr. John’s beautiful apartment, which overlooks downtown Columbia.
It had been an AWESOME time, to put it mildly.
Monday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.03 miles (or, 8,814 steps)
Tuesday - December 25th - Christmas Day
As planned, Alex, Gina and Saylor, left early in the morning to head down to Florida for some holiday-time with Alex’s dad, David Falletta, who lives in Lakeland.
The Bill and Topher also headed back to Florida with The Bill driving Topher’s truck.
That left Kathi, Dr. John and moi and we just chilled and then in the mid-afternoon went to a movie ...
LES MISERABLES, starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe. This is the highly anticipated movie version of the mega-successful musical.
This was its opening day. Luckily I was able to persuade Dr. John that we should get to the venue early for the 3:15pm starting time because the house ended up being full. Because we were a bit early we were able to get great seats.
What did we think of the movie I know you are all asking your inner selves? Well, selves ... we three totally L O V E D it. Kathi cried during a good portion of the show.
Folks, this is a “must-see,” trust Billi Pod on this one==>you gotta see it!!
For the evening we again chilled and ate some of the wonderful leftovers. Nice!!
Tuesday’s Pedometer mileage==>4.18 miles (or, 9,142 steps)
Wednesday - December 26th
Dr. John dropped me off at Columbia airport around 5:45am. Then I had a first ... a full body grope at the TSA security checkpoint. Actually it was kinda nice ... NOT!!
Anyway ... my early morning flight left on schedule, 7:15am, just ahead of a terrible weather front that was moving into the Northeast. The regional jet was full.
We arrived at LGA on time. The weather had begun to get a bit nasty, windy and cold. Since the aircraft was a regional jet we didn’t actually get to the gate, rather we stopped out on the tarmac and boarded a shuttle bus. Yeah, in the elements ... yuck ...
I had packed a carryon so I didn’t have to worry about baggage claim and that was nice, but ... LGA was swarming, and I mean swarming, with people. As usual I decided to take the express bus to The Port Authority, the cost is only $13 vs. $50+ for taxi or car service.
Man, the roads leading into Manhattan were jam-packed and it took almost an hour to get to The Port Authority, but the important thing ... at 11:32am I was back in PHC.
As I wrote above, it then began to get really ugly. I had done something I usually don’t do and that is scheduling an entertainment event for the night I get back from being out-of-town.
Yes, as the snow was coming down harder and harder I mentally scolded my inner self for this decision since I really wanted to stay in the warm and cozy confines of PHC ... but ...
At the appropriate time I dressed warmly and headed out to my 7:00pm entertainment event, a Broadway show ...
THE OTHER PLACE - “A drama about a successful neurologist whose life seems to be coming unhinged. Her husband has filed for divorce, her daughter has eloped with a much older man and her own health is in jeopardy. But in this brilliantly crafted work, nothing is as it seems.” (Broadway - complimentary ticket).
Billi Pod’s report card==>B+.
Laurie Metcalf gives a dazzling performance to material that is sometimes difficult to follow and often very upsetting. It is worth seeing.
So, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, this pretty much brings you up-to-date ... so ... let’s move on to today ...
Tonight’s entertainment event is ...
8:00==>FALLING - “A family drama about how 18-year-old Josh, who has autism, affects the lives of everyone around him. Family’s not the most important thing: it’s everything.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)
This show is playing downtown in the West Village. All of my theater buddies have liked it and I am glad I am finally getting around to seeing it.
Thank God the weather is somewhat better, which will let me do some much needed/wanted walking and wandering ...
Oh, speaking of walking and wandering ... this week I hit another incredible milestone ... over 2,000,000 steps since July I, 2012==>AWESOME!!
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>3.77 miles (or, 8,254 steps)
Total mileage since 7/1/12==>946.38 miles (or 2,069,733 steps)
Mileage remaining until 4/23/13==>132.62 miles
GO GATORS!!
Billi Pod
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”
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