LAST SUNSET 2017/HAPPY NEW YEAR

The sun was hardly out all day until sunset time. And it's freezing. Seriously, in the single digits. At sunset time the sky turned blue and it got lighter. There is more light in the sky now at 4:30 than we had a month ago.

DUSK SHOTS 

The camera 'sees' differently.

Laurie came over all dressed up as she headed to the New Year's eve party downstairs. I decided to skip the party while having my chicken soup, salmon and organic sweet potato. Laurie was not gone very long. She came back + reported the party was not very good so we hung out together while watching Carl Reiner being interviewed on the Jewish Broadcasting Network. We got some good laughs....a good way to ring in the new year !

ROBY'S YAHRTZEIT - TEVET 11

As the old year winds down, we remember Roby who I think about all the time. Interesting he passed away on Shabbat, a sign of a 'righteous person' according to a rabbi I spoke with and this year's yahrtzeit is the day before Shabbat. I just spoke to Ken and got an email from Bernice. Both were concerned about the 7 degree temps we are having here with no end in sight. Boston is freezing; historically low frigid temps. The Arctic Circle was warmer than us yesterday when it was 0 and into the minus numbers.

I woke up at 7:00 am just before sunrise. That doesn't usually happen. However I was just in time to get sunrise/dawn shots.

WHITE CHRISTMAS DAY

HAPPY XMAS

My friend Laurie found this image among her father's things. He passed away some months ago. Ynot  -

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Ken, Ellen and Robert and Julian and family and Amber and family.

SPECTACULAR CHRISTMAS EVE SUNSET

TREE ICICLES

This is what happens when you get freezing rain and snow showers aka "a wintry mix".....

3:07 PM

4:41 PM

4:42 PM

WINTER SOLSTICE SUNSET

Apparently, the Winter Solstice occurred December 21st at 11:27ish am. Here is a sunset shot from 12.21st.

5:23 PM

 

6:05 PM

Still a lot of light in the sky. 

Laurie came over after services at TBZ last night. We watched two shows on the Jewish Broadcasting Network, two different shows featuring two comedians. They were hysterical and we laughed till we cried and our stomachs hurt.

WINTER SOLSTICE

The shortest day of the year with new moon.

Over the past few days I've been in touch with a lot of my california friends. Yesterday I had a nice phone visit with Joan, I got an email from Ron who celebrated Chanukah in Willits with Pam, and I got that lovely email from Tony.

Happy holidays to everyone in the Sandler family and beyond...

TONY DUBOVSKY SENDS CHANUKAH GREETINGS

Wow, a Chanukah gift, an email with an artfully composed selfie taken by my graduate advisor at UC Berkeley, Tony Dubovsky. It arrived with the subject line "Ynot sends Chanukah greetings"  lol...Professor Tony (Avram) Dubovsky is the co-Chair of the Visual Studies department which is housed in the College of Environmental Design where the Architecture school is located.

We had a Chanukah party on the 8th floor last night. Bette and I brought out our menorahs and lit the candles on the last night. Bette took the above photo which I emailed to Tony. He emailed right back with "very nice ! You look like you !" We like that :)

CHRISTMAS AT FENWAY + CHANUKAH + ROBY

Today is Christmas at Fenway. Fittingly, tomorrow is Roby's English yahrtzeit, December 17th. Thousands of fans showed up at 10:00 am when the temperature was 28 degrees and really feels like 19 ! Red Sox tickets go on sale today. Somehow thinking about that makes me feel warmer. Our new manager, Alex Cora is on NESN. So far, he is our only recent acquisition and winter meetings are OVER. Fans are not happy. Where is our big bat ? Instead Giancarlo Stanton went to the Yankees ! Curses ! Carlos Santana went to the Phillies ! Curses again ! No one understands why Dave Dombrowski has not acquired a big bat to replace David Ortiz...However the Yankees have forged full steam ahead - now they have Stanton and Boone, formidable and more powerful than the Sox.

CHANUKAH PARTY AT 1550

The fourth night of Chanukah. The room was packed with 1550 residents for latkes with applesauce and sour cream. Rabbi Jim brought his guitar and we all sang Chanukah songs and played the dreidel game. I hadn't gone to any events around here. Some residents expressed affection towards me - they hadn't seen me in awhile and said I should come to more things. How nice. Unexpected. Bette and I went together; eventually Clarice, Laurie, Nina and Miriam showed up.

HAPPY CHANUKAH

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. Thinking of Roby and the Arch of Titus.

HAPPY CHANUKAH

HAPPY CHANUKAH. Design: Carol Miller. Coated paper + post - it. 2017.

Visitors can go to Rome and see the Arch of Titus commemorating the Destruction of the Temple of the Solomon by the Romans in 70 AD. Word is that Italian Jews refused to walk under the Arch until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The Italian Jewish community is among the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Jews lived there during the time when the Temple of Solomon was standing.

CHANUKAH SECOND NIGHT

David came over with latkes from the Butcherie ! We lit the candles and ate latkes.

CHANUKAH THIRD NIGHT

I went to my friend Bette's apartment for candle lighting. Miriam was there and we lit the candles and sang Chanukah songs. And we watched a video of the Yeshiva Boys Choir singing their big hit, over 2,000,000 hits on YouTube, Those Were the Nights of Chanukah. Click here. Laurie came over around 9:00. We lit the candles in my house, sang songs and told Yiddish jokes.

FIRST SNOWSTORM

3:18 PM

After a very warm and lengthy fall with higher than normal temps, we finally got our first snowstorm on Saturday.

5:34 PM

DECEMBER SUNSET

5:57 PM

Interesting December sunset clouds from last night, Dec. 7th.
Night falls on Beacon St.
Experimenting with black + white.
Short days. The sun starts setting around 3:15ish...

5:01 PM

5:19 PM

4:59 PM