Bird's Nest

 Noticed this bird's nest in a tree in the back yard. Its huge! Haven't seen the bird it belongs to yet though.

Spiderman

Went to NYC yesterday and happened on to the set of the new Spiderman movie! They were filming a scene where Spiderman is riding on the top of a big truck. Got a few pics with my phone. At first they were near a park doing something with him on the roof of the truck, then he got down and got a drink and stood around. We walked out of the park and up the street a bit to see it when the truck was moving and when it was time, they made all of us people on the street, stand inside the lobby of a building (luckily it had glass doors) while the filming of the truck was going on. Once we all got off the street the extras got into place and the filming began. As soon as it was over, they let us back out. As we continued walking up the street it was now easy to pick out all the extras, because of their clothing and because most were reading between takes. Anyways, it was pretty exciting.  

Community Day

Yesterday was community day. It had been postponed from last weekend. Food, games and music were advertised. Food from a restaurant in town, an ice cream truck, popcorn, kids games,face painting, a dunk tank, giant slide and a blues band were all in the park. Unfortunately, it was not all free, as we thought (as it was last year!). The kids games, pop corn and band were free, But we had to pay for the food and drinks. 

Temari

Had a meeting of the Japanese group where we learned to make a temari ball. Food was a most excellent potluck, which included these exotic fruits that I cannot remember the names of.

Birthday

Our little one turned nine years old yesterday. Here are some photos from his party and gift opening frenzy.

1st snake

Saw my first snake of the year in the back yard. Nearly stepped on it, then it slithered away under the bushes. Yuck!

Thomas Edison State Park

Took the family on an outing to the Thomas Edison State Park. It was a gorgeous day. We toured the factory building, the chemistry lab and the movie studio before moving on to tour his house and grounds a little farther up the road. We spotted the groundhog in the garden.

MUSHROOMS!!!

This must be my lucky day! I took the car in to get a recall item fixed. Afterwards, I took my car to the state inspection facility across the road and they told me I didn't need inspected until NEXT June! On the way home I stopped at a grocery/specialty store and what did I find in the mushroom section?? Morels!! There weren't many left and they were dried up, but I bought a handful. After soaking for a while, they were almost good as new. I fried them up and ate them all. Yum! Yum!

Luncheon

My reign as vice president has come to an end. Yippee! Today was my last and final event of the year, the spring luncheon. Next year I'll be a lowly secretary and happy as a lark not to have to plan every coffee morning and both luncheons!

cicadas

Have you got the 17 yr. cicadas in your area? We do.

They finally arrived out of their holes last week, where they have apparently been dormant for the past 17 yrs. When I first heard their noise I thought it was some sort of siren in town. Then when it didn't stop, I thought that perhaps an alien spaceship was hovering in the woods nearby. The sound is a high pitched, motory sort of sound that never ceases. On top of that, we have the regular cicadas that make that sort of whirring sound, a little lower in pitch. I took Gil to a nearby park for a walk today. The sound was super loud there. I believe there is a large concentration of the 17 year cicadas there. Here is some photographic evidence.

Grad

He did it! 7 schools, 3 countries and 2 states later, the boy has graduated!! They had a nice indoor graduation ceremony with outdoor reception. It was all done very nicely.

Condo

Its finally official! We bought a condo. We're going to rent it to the girl and a roommate until they finish with school. And who knows? Maybe will move in ourselves one day.....

Central Park Tour

Yesterday we took the train in to the city where we went on a Movie & TV tour of Central Park.We walked from the station to Central park, used the bathroom at FAO Shwartz, then got ripped off at a hotdog cart. Finally it was time for the tour to start. We had a nice tour guide who showed us all the sites on the lower end of Central Park and told us a bit of its history as well. The last pic is a mosaic that used to be in front of the building where John Lennon was shot, but people were blocking up the side walk to see it & photograph it, so it was moved into Central Park. We had a great day out.