The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

It was an amazing parade! We had front row seats right near the starting point and got to see the extravaganza up close and personal! And with that, I'm checking another item off my life list!



I took hundreds of photos, but for now I'll leave you with some of my favourite people and things: Snoopy, Woodstock, Questlove and the gang from Sesame Street.

Lenny take New York City

After we'd been in New York for two days Lenny turned to me and said, "MOM! Let's pretend we're New Yorkers! We can talk about how boring Toronto is*!"

*Don't worry, Toronto, when we got home she announced that her home felt "fresh and new to her".

My kid took to New York (or as she would say You Nork) like a fish to water.

We'd all be here all day if I got into too much detail about this trip (and if you follow me on social media you saw it all happen in real time) but I feel the need to record a few moments for posterity. It was one of the best trips I've ever taken and it served as a reminder of the joy that friendship, travel and music can bring.

Our dear friend and gracious host Céline made sure that Len's first time in the big apple was full of magic. Our first night in the city we were treated like VIPs at Birdland.  The kiddo had such a blast that first night (jazz! showtunes! personal attention! buttered noodles!) that we went back several times during our stay. Each visit was more magical than the next. Birdland is now one of her favourite places on the planet!

^^^ Lenny gets up close and personal with the best and the brightest (and nicest) in NYC at Birdland. L - R, Christine Ebersole, Billy Stritch, Jim Caruso and Kenny Ascher.  Special thanks to Gianni Valenti, owner of Birdland, for taking Lenny under his wing. Seriously, these are some of the greatest memories ever, right here.

We saw the sights, including Barnum's Bones (DINOS!!!) and Lenny did a lot of "nature sketching" in Central Park.

I'd say seeing Stevie Wonder close out his Songs in the Key of Life tour at Madison Square Garden is a great "first concert" wouldn't you?  She was out of her seat dancing and asleep by intermission. So it was kind of perfect.

By the end of the trip, Lenny was convinced that she was, in fact, Eloise. Not one to discourage this kind of thinking, we had to come home with a full Eloise costume, naturally.  A few more updates from the trip to come...

NEW YORK'S FINEST

Hugo Lindgren's post on the New York Times blog, The 6th Floor this week left me smiling.  Here he shares a list of "words we don't say" that former editor of New York Magazine, Kurt Andersen handed out to his staff.  Basically, these are words that Mr. Andersen found annoying and didn't want used in the magazine. Although some of it seems a little precious to me (maybe precious should be on the list?) I kind of love this blatant approach.  Besides, I can get behind anybody that annexes zeitgeist.

Read the full post, here.  Feel free to share the words you don't say in the comments.  Don't say "panties", nobody likes that word.