It’s hard to believe that it’s been a month since we visited New York City. I still have not blogged about our trip to The Cloisters in Washington Heights! Bad bad bad! Isn’t the picture pretty? The Cloisters is lovely, a reconstructed French abbey from the 13th century. I just haven’t had any time to write about our trip. I’ve been inundated with big bills (and thus I must work a lot to pay them off). After 1 1/2 years, I’m still paying the kitchen renovation bills. Maybe that’s not a lot for some folks, but to me and my little income it’s a lot of work. Oh well, I’m grateful for the kitchen and glad I did it, no matter how much I have to work to pay it off. Of course, I miss those days of “disposable income” when I could go out and get a cool new gadget or eers when I wanted. *sigh*

I hope to catch up with my blogging SOME DAY. Right now, no end in sight!

To the George Washington Bridge. We zipped past it while on the M4 bus to The Cloisters. I have always wondered how you get on the bridge. I knew there was SOME way, but imagined it a bit like our Upstate arterials where you have to snake around and around all these ramps (with incoming traffic coming right at you!). This ramp seemed quite easy peasy, as easy as climbing those medical step stools, eh?

I like the GW bridge. When I see it brighten the skyline, it means I will be in NYC any moment. It means noise, traffic, activity, excitement. It means I’m here!!!

Oh the photo is teeny tiny… can you see it?

It’s my son’s bass guitar and amplifier. LOL, he took a photo of it! He created a nice new blog, MarshallBrickster.blogspot.com. He calls it “Marshall Arts” after his amp. LOL, very creative. He’s young, but he’s a very good writer, a surprisingly good writer. Makes me wonder what may develop from it…. Maybe if I get him an apogee duet he’ll create another blog?!

He, like the other kids (and me, lately) have not had much time for creative outlets. We’ve been very busy with school and house cleaning and, now that spring approaches, yard work and such. I also see that I have to get some projects done around the house, too. *sigh*

How is your time going? Do you have any spring plans?

Isn’t this a pretty room? It’s from a lovely bed and breakfast we visited in Geneva, NY. The decor was stunning there. It inspired me to take a good hard look around my house and see how my house needs attention. After we hurriedly moved back into the house after gutting the downstairs, I never got back on my feet. The house has been one continuous pile of clutter and disarray since we moved back in. *sigh* It used to be so orderly. But with my full-time hours and home-schooling the kids, cleaning out the house is an impossible task right now. It’s rather frustrating.

But I am starting to plan on cleaning it all up. That’s a start. I’m also very inspired by the wonderful decor accessories and lovely bedroom furniture at CSN Stores. I purchased several items from them last month, and we have been delighted with the experience. They are my new favorite online store!

CSN Stores has a tremendously large inventory, and many of the their items are free shipping. I have ordered (so far!) a spice shelf, a foot rest, headphones, several stacking shelf units, a hand vacuum cleaner (my favorite appliance!!) and more. The inventory is VERY impressive. Definitely check them out if you need anything.

They also have scads of decor stuff for the home. I think CSN Stores will be getting a LOT of my business this year….

The iPhone also has a camera and webcam. The webcam is OK. The camera is poor. Oh, it’s very convenient, just like everything else is on the iPhone. But the images are meh. Here are two photos I took. The first photo has the HDR high-definition setting off, with no flash.

The second one is on the HDR, the high-def setting. No flash.

The color is deeper, but the clarity is not much of an improvement. The HDR setting also has a longer processing time, taking a few seconds to process and store.

Anyway, I like my iPhone. But for taking nice pictures, I see that I should reach for my camera.