Talk about frost on the pumpkin....

Its been a while.....

I wish I had a good excuse for why I haven't posted over the last six weeks, but it probably just comes down to the old "don't think too big thing".  I had wanted to write a few more things about the wedding and the honeymoon and then the trip back, but I couldn't seem to get everything I wanted to have.  So instead I let it sit and then I got stuck.


But I remembered what I really enjoyed about this blog and that was just trying to write spontaneously and not thinking too much about everything being perfect.  Thats what'll be going on from here forward.

I have been around for a while and I have seen a lot of weird stuff, but I have never seen anything to match this (at least not in October)

Snow in October,  not just flurries mind you, but genuine Nor'Easter.

It it just me or when you hear the word nor'easter doesn't that guy from the old Pepperidge farm commercials come to mind.....

I left the Eastern End of Long Island on Saturday morning to heavy rain by the time I got to the Bronx it was snowing, but not sticking.  about ten miles west of home it got ugly.   Really ugly.

The wet heavy snows had landed on the all of the still leaf laden trees and knocked down tree limbs one of which ripped my electric meter right off the house.  I wasn't alone, most of the our neighborhood was without power for a while.

The damage to trees in the area was truly amazing.  The figure I heard was that one in seven trees lost at least some branches. and I dont doubt it.  Many trees were so heavily damaged they will probably have to be cut down.


 We have been without for 7 days now.  The first few days were spent in exile on Long Island, but I came back on Tuesday to survey the damage.  A foot of water in the basement from (no sump pump) and a refrigerator of rotten food.  Fortunately our neighbors did get power back so we have the basics refrigerator, hot water, some lights and of course cable and internet.  I think the house could be on fire and my children wouldn't notice until the internet went off.


We got the damage repaired to our service and now we are waiting (hopefully) for the return of full power.  The electric company promised it tonite.  but when they say that tonite runs until tomorrow morning that gets me a little worried.

Ch Ch Ch Changes......

I was hoping that after the wedding we would have some time to catch out breath and gently settle into our lives here at Exit 42A.
 
However, Krissy and I have some stuff going on.

We are slowly but surely trying to digest the enormous hoard of wedding presents that we have so generously received.  It seems like the gift train may finally be over, the UPS man stopped in front of the house yesterday and actually dropped off something at someone else's house.

I think I saw Krissy shed a tear.

On top of that, Krissy's lease runs out at her old place in Manhattan at the end of this week and we need to finish packing her up and move her out here to New Jersey.

Having said that we are going to have a little bit of work here, integrating my stuff and Krissy's.

The kids have just started school to and we are slowly trying to work them (and us) into a routine as well.

On other fronts I am in the middle of a substantial basement renovation,  I have also committed to getting both Mora and Maddie room redos.

On top of THAT,  Krissy and I have been so busy with wedding activities over the summer that a lot of day to day stuff has gone untended,  I have visited my vegetable garden all of three times this summer.  Even though I only got stuff by glomming from other gardeners, I still have to do my fall cleanup and get out in the next few weeks.  My own home garden is a mess of weeds.  Fortunately they will die, but fall cleanup is soon upon us as well.  The torrential rains we had washed off all the deer repellent and they have had a field day munching on my hostas for a last few weeks.  Branches from Hurricane Irene are still all over the yard and need to get picked up.

Plus Krissy and I have a little side project that will remain under wraps for now.

Its life, but I wish things would just settle a little bit sooner.

Leavings

It has been said by some that I am a teensy bit absent minded......

It came from Crate and Barrel......

Apparently some of you did not get the memo.

The UPS truck rolled up for like the billionth time Tuesday night.....

As the driver climbed out I just looked at him and said "Not More???"

He deadpanned back, "Now you know how I feel"

Saturday

Saturday was a day of running around doing way too many last minute errands, picking up forgotten tuxedo accessories,  writing checks.  packing for the honeymoon.  It should have all taken about 45 minutes.

Where to begin....

The last fourteen days were hectic to say the least.....

Let me just say this,  the Malones know how to party.
This was not just a wedding, this was a multi day event.

Things got kicked off of Thursday, for the bachelorette dinner/party  at Buddakan in New York.

Seriously People.......

Well me and the Mrs are back (I am still having getting trouble getting used to that). I will be regaling everyone with wild tales of before, during and after wedding activities.

People you have all been tremendously generous, not just with your kind thoughts, your presence at the wedding and your wonderful and thoughtful gifts.

Now cut it out already.

The Cutting Room Floor.......

Krissy and I are on honeymoon this week.  These were written beforehand.....

There were a few things I was considering including in this wedding, which I subsequently said feh too.

And then they got married

Assuming that neither Krissy or I , got cold feet, fell into a threshing machine or had a piano dropped on our heads,  we got married about ten minutes ago.

I didnt actually just post this; I scheduled it to post a few days beforehand.

I will be out of pocket for a few days honeymooning.  In my absence I have left a few posts which hopefully will be publishing themselves automatically over the next few days.

Just One Day......

Frank, Gene and Jules did, Can they?

Note My Friend Eric is coming with his Daughter Elizabeth from Texas and asked for a list of things that they could see in  just one day.  Well since I am sitting here going nuts waiting for this wedding, this is the perfect thing to waste an hour on.

Do you think they can do it in just one day?

Busman's Wedding.....

 

The Malones established base camp at the Millenium Hilton and based on the amount of their provisions, they are planning an extended siege of lower Manhattan.

The basement

This will the first in what will probably be a long series of posts

I had a house once. And the basement was dry. And I was happy.

Finally Irene Damage Photos

Park Road

I have to confess that I felt a little guilty that I didn't have ANY Irene pics to post.  I mean there had to be some carnage somewhere.  This was blocking Park Road on my way to work this morning.

Goodnight Irene...

So for the second time in a week, there was the threat of natural disaster.

And for the second time, it was el busto.

Come on Irene.....

I'm kind of thinking that this Hurricane needs a theme song. 


Can Dexi's midnight runners really be doing anything??







(Caution Big Hair Ahead)

Quick Pic

Not much of a story here,  my friend Kim came over last night to help fit Mora's bridesmaid dress and I thought she looked very pretty standing there.

Dude, can you move the train?

Taurus v. Train (My car is the one with the cool car carrier)

What do you do when you get double parked by a train?

I was faced by this dilemma last night when walking to my car in Harrison.  The tracks are like a billion years old and I didn't even think they used them anymore. Turns out I was wrong.....

So how you do you move a train?  Just ask.  The engineer slid the sucker down twenty feet or so and I was good to go.

He even honked the horn for me.

License to Wed....

Well as you can see by the ol' timer in the upper left, the big day is drawing nigh rather rapidly.  Krissy and I took some time this morning and went over to the clerks office on Worth Street  to get our wedding license.

Shake Rattle and Roll.....

So where were you..........

I was at my office in downtown NYC.  I had skipped lunch so when the first vibrations hit, I thought "man I am getting lightheaded."  Then the shaking continued and you could feel the floor rolling, thats the best way I can think of to describe it.  My guess is that the building is designed that way to sort of distribute the energy
.

7 WTC from SE of the Pit

Now I work in 7 World Trade Center which is the only building so far to be rebuilt after 9-11,  so we tend to take these sort of things very seriously.  Everyone did their best "feets dont fail me now" impression and headed downward (fast)  the whole building was empty in like five minutes it seemed.

Sweeping the Nation......

This is a video that my daughter and her friend Eva made over the summer.  They really did a great job, although I am a little bit annoyed that the recycling guy didnt pick up all the wedding shower boxes from the end of the driveway:)

In a Pig's Eye

Sorry for being so slow in posting,  between work, wedding plans and some pesky computer issues, I have had problems posting over the last few days....

Someone who was reading this blog was slightly curious as to the stuff that Krissy and I have been receiving for wedding presents gifts.  As I said some of these, at least to my mind are slightly......redundant.

So I figured that I would show a few of these items  and let the people decide for themselves.

Today's item is this.......

The Salt Pig

Boy Christmas

I'm in a board game club.  (I know pretty geeky)

Actually I run  a board game club (worse still)

Still its a lot of fun,  It gives me the chance to get out of the house every now and then be with a bunch of smart people who really are fun to be around.  Our regular meeting was last Monday, but Krissy demurred, she was sick but had to go into work.  She got home, ate dinner and crashed.

She missed it, because there was a wedding present and this waiting for us.....

Note that this also a welcome back cake for one of our members who was away for the summer.  Hey how much cake can someone make?

Last Day (Finally)

Mora Looking out the window at the light

I never did get my camera back, but I noticed that Maddie posted most of the pictures on Facebook the other day.  Plus I had Krissy's pics as well.

Our last day was probably the most pleasant days of week.  The weather finally moderated a little bit and we ventured down to Hatteras to see the lighthouse.

Girl Christmas

Maddie did not help set up these tables

Things are slowly but surely heating up for the upcoming nuptials.  We were over at Krissy's Mom's on LI over the weekend for the bridal shower as well as to pick out the wedding bands.

As always everything was beautifully done by Krissy's Mother.  Alex and I did most of the heavy lifting setting up.

Serious answers only

Heres the thing, 

I'm a smart aleck.  whenever I get a chance I  go for the cheap laugh. 

Today is no exception......

"Runyon" on Empty

I was going to post the final dispatch from the outer banks today, but Maddie absconded with my camera for a trip to Hershey Park with her mother.

The first concourse at Yankee Stadium

When we returned from the Outer Banks both Krissy and I were dog tired.  we basically went to bed the moment we came in the door.  However back when the date was still far far away, Krissy had signed us for a 5K through Yankee Stadium for the day after we got back.  I was part of the walking contingent and Krissy was running.

Sit right back and you'll hear a tale........

  It was a pretty nice trip that we took to the Outer Banks.  But it wasn't perfect.

The Rodanthe Pier

On the way down my sister Laura and my BIL got pulled over for speeding.

We had absolutely no luck fishing off the pier.

The kids and my sister got eaten ALIVE by bugs while playing mini-golf.......

Sorry Krissy......

This is what happens to your new last name....

Tastes like chicken......

It aint a family vacation (at least not in my family) without a fishing trip.  My father is really the big fisherman in the family,  for me its more of an excuse to hang around outside with my family and eat potato chips, but I still find it immensely enjoyable.

Flipping Out

We finally made it to our destination on Saturday at about 5PM.  My parents who took the direct root down the Delmarva Peninsula beat us by about an hour.  We had to wait about an extra hour while the cleaning people finished tidying up the place.

Up on the roof

True to my word,  last week, I went on vacation and I tried to stay off the internet as much as possible.  But I am back now and for all five of you Exit 42A fans I have a few dispatches to put together.  First up, the trip down. 

Enormous Pink Houses for You and Me.....

with apologies to John Cougar (sorry, I'm not buying into that whole Mellencamp thing)

Funny as a Tux

I told Krissy I wanted to wear this for the wedding.  She did not seem to be fazed in the slightest.  The woman knows me a little too well.

Nittany Lines

We took a visit to this place over the weekend.  The primary purpose was to pick up Maddie from a week at band camp,  it was also a chance to finally get Alex started at looking at colleges.

Helter Shelter

In July, Krissy and I spent a weekend with her family on Shelter Island on the Eastern End of Long Island.

Aside from the whole dog dying thing, it was  a pretty nice weekend...........

Man Eyes

Sung to the tune of Betty Davis eyes.....

You know there used to be a time where if I couldn't find something, I would just go oh well, head to the store, and buy another and then when I found it I would have two.

Now I just hear Krissy silently singing "Man Eyes" under her breath.

Sometimes not so silently.

Black Walnuts

Black Walnuts have defined much of my gardening efforts over the last few years.

Farewell Noblest Dog in All of France

Just a few weeks ago, I did a short post on one of the most important people in my life.

This gal here.





Genny is short for Genevieve,  the dog from the Madeline books.  My daughter is Madeleine...

You get the picture.

Pic of the Day (Now Relly...)

Seen on a walk around the lake last night.

I guess they "relesed" the "A"

Garden Groupie

I picked these up at the garden this morning.

There are a bunch of peppers, cucumbers and a big honking zuchini....

Hew a few yew?....... or would you eschew?

The Yew is a funny plant.

Its rapid growth makes it excellent for formal hedges and topiaries and it is also popular as a fast growing shrub for putting into landscapes.

It is also a serious pain in the butt.

The reason is simple,  Most landscapes treat a yew like a shrub.  it is in fact a tree.

Here's an example.

The Bee Joke

Before we begin here is the bee joke.....

Morris and a woman are standing side by side waiting for a bus when they get to talking.

Mora tries everyflavor beans

Krissy recently went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida and returned with Bertie Botts everyflavor beans.  Mora decided to try some of the more unusual ones.

Why kids arent like model airplanes

 

Maddie has been a bit of a challenge for me.

For those of you who don't know Maddie she is my middle daughter.  She is 14 going on 40.  She is sweet and smart and loving but she is also strong willed and a pain in the neck particularly when she  doesn't get what she wants.

And she wants a lot.