Grandma's Playroom

When our third child left home and we were down to only one at home I decided to turn one of the extra bedrooms into a doll room. I'm not sure where this idea came from as I was never big on playing with dolls as a young child but I thought they would be a fun thing to collect.

A very good friend of mine made this wall hanging for me when I first started the room.

None of my dolls are very expensive and I'm sure they're not collector items. Most doll collectors keep their dolls in the original box but I didn't want that. I like to have them out collecting dust and losing their value. People started buying me dolls for Christmas and my birthday so it didn't take long to fill the room.

These are the largest dolls I have. They stand about two feet tall. My mom bought them for me for Christmas.

I also like miniatures so I am always looking for things to add to the room. The blue tea set was found in Aruba, it is a dutch island and the tea set is the dutch delft pattern. It's hard to see but on the top shelf is a tiny blown glass set I found in Mexico.

Penny and Sylvia were my first two dolls. I bought them late one night while watching the shopping network. (I know I really need to get a life) Sylvia is the one in blue, my daughter Colette never liked her because she thought she looked snooty.

This is another set I bought although they are bigger than most miniatures. They were purchased from ebay just because I thought they were pretty.

This lemonade set is one of my favorites. I found it in a small antique shop in Colorado. They are not antiques but that didn't matter to me.

I used to look for dolls all the time when we were on cruises and could never find them, especially in the Caribbean. I did find this doll in Peurto Rico and she is one of my favorites and one of the most expensive. She has a really pretty face.

This Princess Diana doll was purchased at a benefit auction, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought it. I like her dress but I don't think they captured her face well at all.

One night when I was up late, again watching the shopping channel, I saw this doll advertised as one they would be selling in the next hour. I bought her at about 2 o'clock in the morning! She is a Titanic character and she has a beautiful face. By the way, I never watch the shopping channels anymore.

My daughter Kim used to make these button babies. She sold them at craft fairs but like her mother, she got tired of doing them and has moved on to other endeavors.

My only bride doll.

A few of my favorites.

I found this rocking horse in an antique shop in North Carolina. We were flying so I had to ship it home, cost me almost as much to get it home as it did to buy it. I don't know how much of an antique it is, but I like it.

Of course, you can't have a doll collection without some Barbies. Most of these are Colette's. When I realized how much more valuable they are if you leave them in their original boxes I quit taking them out.
This room tortures my poor little grandchildren because they aren't allowed to go in without grandma. We do have an occasional tea party in there.

Final NY hours

St. Paul's Chapel was where George Washington prayed the morning of his inauguration and where he worshipped the two years that the capital of the United States was in New York City.
Pictured below is his pew.
While walking to the subway we passed Fraunces Tavern. Established in 1762, the tavern became a meeting place for leaders of the revolution. George Washington became a personal friend of the owner and it was here that he gave his "farewell to the troops" address.

After a somber morning at Ground Zero we wanted to lighten our mood so we headed over to Wall Street and the NY stock exchange. Not exactly a place thats going to cheer a person up. The week we were on our cruise was the infamous "worst week" the stock market had since the depression.

This trio of unemployed financial businessmen were performing for money outside the NY Stock Exchange.

Television cameras were set up on the steps of the Federal Building to record this historic day when the Dow Jones Industrial soared to a 936-point gain. (And we were there!)

Ken follows the stock market faithfully and was patting the bull's head for a little reassurance that things would get better.

I, on the other hand, just grabbed the bull by the balls!

Now we're talking. My mood suddenly lightened when we came upon the famous Times Square Naked Cowboy. He has been singing and playing his guitar in the middle of Times Square every day, rain or shine, for the past ten years. I knew he was famous but no one around here has ever heard of him. Have any of you?

We passed by the Ed Sullivan theater where David Letterman tapes his show. Ken and I aren't real big fans of Letterman but there was a crowd forming around the corner from the theater so we decided to see what was going on.

Ken had never heard of Rupert and the Hello Deli , but I have watched Letterman enough to recognize the deli that he frequently features on his show.

I went in to get us a drink and had my picture taken with Rupert. Does anyone know who he is? This is the only semi-famous person I have ever been pictured with.

These Orange County Choppers were parked outside the side entrance to the theater and we were told that Letterman was going to tape part of his show outside. We decided to wait around and check it out. So we waited and waited and waited... for this...a quick glance at Paul Sr. and his son Mikey from OCC. I'm not a fan so it wasn't too exciting to see them, but the choppers were nice. We also saw Sarah Silverman who was a guest on the show. I had her picture on here ready to post but it disappeared. Where do they go? It was here and now it's gone. Ken didn't know who she was but I read enough tabloids that I recognized her.

That is how we spent our last couple of hours in NYC! We did have a wonderful time on this trip and I would do it all over again, even all the walking.

NYC - World Trade Center Site

When we woke up on our final day in New York our legs and feet told us that they had done just about as much walking as they were going to do. I don't think I have ever had such aching legs. We wanted to try the subway anyway so we found the nearest station and in a matter of minutes we were in Lower Manhattan. Our first stop was at Ground Zero. There isn't a lot to see there as they are beginning the construction of new buildings on the site. We headed across the street to St. Paul's chapel which was used as a rest station for the rescue workers in the days and weeks following the attacks. The church received absolutely no damage, not even a broken window during the terrorist attacks. That is amazing when you remember that not only the World Trade Center buidlings were destroyed, but many other buildings in the area were also destroyed or severely damaged.



In the days following the attack, relatives and friends of those unaccounted for distributed flyers with their loved ones pictures on the streets around hospitals and rescue centers. Volunteers at the church began collecting them and posting them on a small altar at the church. In the weeks and months after the tragedy funeral notices and mass cards were added to the altar. The altar was eventually returned to service at the church, but this replica was built to hold the momentos honoring the victims. Looking at the pictures and reading the notices was extremely sad.

The site of the WTC taken from the church grounds.

St. Paul's Chapel is an Episcopalian church built in 1766 and is the church where George Washington worshipped. It is the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan.

The only thing that was destroyed was this old sycamore tree that stood in the corner of the church lot. A sculptor worked with tree experts to preserve this stump as a monument. Notice the piece of pipe imbedded in the trunk.

One of the most moving displays for me was this flag with the names of those killed on Sept. 11. Click on the picture to see the names written on each stripe.

"Healing Hearts and Minds" is what the name of this tribute. Fire and police departments from across the country sent their uniform patches in tribute to the rescue workers.

We had a busy day and I will post the rest of our day tomorrow. I thought this posting about Ground Zero should be separate.

New York - Day 1

We were scheduled to leave the ship at 10:30 on Sunday morning, the last group to disembark. Because we only had 2 days here we decided to carry our own luggage and be off the ship by 8 a.m. It was a hassle with our four suitcases, but we did it. We had our luggage stored at the hotel and were on our way to Central Park before 9 a.m.




The park really is an oasis within the city. It was a beautiful fall day and the park was full of joggers, walkers, tourists and bicycles. Within an hour it became very crowded in the more popular areas, but there were still places where you felt like you were the only people around. It was just beautiful.

There were musicians and artists all along the area called "The Mall".

Being a child of the sixties I had to make the pilgrimage to Strawberry Fields and see the tribute to John Lennon. The apartment building where he was shot is across the street from this area.

Occasional views like this are the only reminder that you are still in the nations largest city.

This is Cartier's, the famous Jewelry store and no we didn't go in.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Jackie Onassis's funeral was held.

I loved all the old churches we saw on this trip. Nothing being built now compares to the architecture and craftsmanship you see on these old buildings.

After leaving Central Park we walked down Fifth Avenue where we saw huge crowds of people forming along the sidewalk. There were cops everywhere and barricades set up, I asked what was going on and was told that the Columbus Day Parade was starting soon. We thought how cool, we'd watch for awhile. While waiting we saw people holding Mexican flags and other flags from Latin American countries which I thought was strange. Where were all the Italians? Come to find out about 1/2 hour into the parade that they were celebrating Hispanic Culture. Time to move on and see more of the city.

While in New York I thought we should try some of the food you associate with NYC, like bagels, deli sandwiches, cheesecake, NY style pizza, etc. Carnegie Deli was across the street from our hotel and I had heard of the place so we decided to give it a try. I about turned around and left when I saw these sandwiches sitting on the counter. There was a disgusting pile of meat between very thin slices of bread, now my idea of a sandwich is a small amount of meat and lots of veggies between two thick crusty slices of bread. Ken wasn't about to leave when he saw the size of the sandwiches so we stayed. Click on the picture to enlarge and see how really big these sandwiches were.

We ordered this open faced Rueben sandwich to share, it was huge! It cost $23 and another $3 to share. I am glad we stayed to eat here though, it was a true NY experience.

After a much needed nap at our hotel we decided to walk to the Empire State Building to see the view at night. I had bought tickets online in hopes of avoiding long lines, which worked somewhat but we were still in line for over an hour. It was really crowded when we got to the top and our camera didn't take the greatest pictures. It was a beautiful clear night and we really could see for miles.

We had walked through Times Square earlier in the day, but I was in awe when I saw it at night. It was crowded, noisy and exciting. I loved seeing all the theaters and wish we would have had time for a show. Maybe next time.

Lukas J

Our newest grandchild was born on October 27 and weighed in at a whopping 9 lb. 1 oz. and was 21 inches long.
His name is Lukas J, but will be called Luke.

Big sister thought he was pretty nice too. I stayed for a couple of days to help, but had to get back to work because we were short-handed at the office. Work sure gets in the way of what I really want to be doing, makes me even more anxious for retirement. Mom and baby are doing great.