Phew! Nearly caught up now I have actually spoken into my phone for all of these blogs since I began about my Liverpool trip, 

My telephone refuses to listen to any other language but Spanish, so beneath it just keeps on saying escuchando, for listening. I am speaking English by the way! Smiling.. 

Sometimes it even thinks I'm speaking German! 

Probably because of the Duolingo I do!

These few photographs are from the Billy Joel exhibition upstairs above the Everybody Loves Raymond exhibition which is travelling around the country, so we were lucky to catch it! 

Over the weekend we went to the Bayside Clam Bar & Grill... One of my favorite places...

I realized when we were there this time why... It's home to me, it is like back home, the atmosphere, the music, it's upbeat.. it's back home on a weekend, from there I feel I could drive home back to my little house in Alhaurín.. 

Although by the beach here are deer and wild Turkeys! Not the wild boar of the Costa del Sol! 

Monday morning we headed upstate to visit with cousins.. another beautiful day with family..

Few hours at home with cousins, then we met up with more at an Italian restaurant.. Good food, and so much! Phew!! 

It took two hours to get there, we passed by my favorite uncles place .. my only uncle! Many many happy times spent there over the years...

Also passed by Mount Vernon where I got my first tattoo at Bih Jo's tattoo empire ... And Mount Disco, where mom the boys and I stayed for a few nights.. And here is me in the driver's seat!! 

And an hour back to my aunt's.. very good day ... I am grateful as always to everybody who does so much when I visit... So so much... 

I guess I have found the chip on my shoulder.. Do we all have one? Something we carry that's been a 'thing' all our lives? 

Well folks! Found mine! It's the why was I taken away from my family, why couldn't I have grown up nearer them, knowing them from being a kid... It's the lost years... 

We can't get them back, but it is why I keep coming back here,.back home.. Can't make up for time missed... But by all there is I hope I can always make it back here, my homeland, my birth land.. my family.. 

I guess it will get more difficult one day ... That'll be a sad day .. but I know I'll not know it's been the last visit... Because we never do...

And of course, I wouldn't have missed how my life has been either .. I am very very lucky, with my beautiful family and my wonderful best forever friends I could never ask for more.. they're the best.

Added here today, as of posting.. I actually thought this had been posted.. I have been bad again! Severely lacking in Blogger standards! 

M.

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

Joseph Campbell - 1904-1987 - Philosopher

Well yes I'm home.. it's Good Friday, been home eleven days.. 

Just always feel so bereft when I leave my family.. Like I'm sort of exiled from them.

Above a can of soup I had.. picked it up in a store when we went food shopping.. have to admit, although very nice it was nothing like and no where near as nice as freshly made and eaten out of a giant bread roll on a pier in San Francisco!

I also picked up a microwave meal and when I heated it up the lid melted!! So therefore, not all microwavable! 

Going through some wonderful old photographs suddenly I saw my mom's handwriting!! A card to my aunt Rita and family.. from us! 

That was strange seeing her handwriting out of context as it were..

We went to a wonderful 'old' place.. old for the US of A.. Raynham Hall Museum, Oyster Bay out on Long Island..

This is my new pad, out over the other side of the lake.. mmm juts kidding, my cabin by the lake could be built here though, never quite known where I'd like it situated.. this could be it!

Here is the Museum.. a beautiful old building, wonderful history, just us three and a random man in the tour, well worth visiting, learnt a lot about this area and the men who lived here..

Raynham Hall Museum..

At my cousin's I used the Google search thingy to identify their cat, I'd seen one before at a client's when working in England, and placed a 3D by his side!

At work on my break, surrounded by crates.. 

Thinking of the sun outside.. and happy thoughts of things.

M.

It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.

Queen Elizabeth II - 1926-2022 - Queen of the United Kingdom

Castle Gould

March 8th, we visited here, Castle Gould, and Hempstead House, at the Sands Point Preserve, on Long Island..

Just Googled for more info, mentions paranormal investigation!

Didn't feel anything paranormal there!

Did learn a lot about rockets! Guggenheim family who helped with aeronautical sciences and links with NASA.

We walked around the garden and two of us went down to the beach.. totally ignoring, as others ahead of us.. the Do Not Enter The Beach signs!!

Was beautiful down there, windy though! And we looked for treasure.. as we did so my cousin and I found a coin! I thought it might be a doubloon!

But no, it was a gambling chip!! Treasure nonetheless!

Okay I have a huge amount of time to catch up on!

So there could be errors aplenty trying to type out on my phone..

So early March! New York, family, parties for my aunt's 92nd birthday.. well, 23 leap year birthdays..

The Covid19 virus was beginning.. badly, already in Europe and the UK and New York.

Leaving from JFK I saw many people wearing masks and gloves.. I carried my hand sanitizer, using it all the time!

JFK

My flight to Gatwick went okay.. tiring: sitting at the gate most of the time, I ate, I bought drinks for the flight, paying with a whole load of coins.. then bought a coffee and got change!! 

Everyone already keeping distance from eachother, it was a strange feeling and god forbid an innocent cough!

Once on the plane I just closed my eyes, no movies, nothing, I woke up, drank my drinks, used the toilet.. slept some more, shorter flight of course flying in this direction.. 

Landed at Gatwick feeling shattered.

I'd just had an hour's time change in New York with the clocks going forward an hour, then UK four hours back... 

Landed in good time, used the international security control and back into departures, again.. ate drank ate.. toilets!!  Hand sanitizer!!!

Then boarded again! Saw my case come through in a small trolly with another couple of bags.. from the international section!

Then on landing back home, I at least knew this time to go to a separate isolated baggage collection area.. my case already there.

It was 4pm, I'd been up since 6:30 the previous day, five hour time difference now.. 

Shattered! Friend picked me up and home.. to drop my bags and go to the supermarket.

Only a few days at home then I was back to the UK.. another time change, and now another as the clocks have sprung forward here also!

TTFN

Marian

More tomorrow!! 

Old Westbury Gardens

Just photographs today, tired from having to get up in the night, and a disturbed break, when I was actually having a catch-up nap... Give up, only five full days left now... six sleeps... if I can sleep.

June 4th 2018 Astoria Park NY

If I post these photographs from Astoria Park a million more times before I stop posting at all... then expect it.. this evening is lodged in my memory as an all time special!

Old Westbury Gardens

These last few days have been very much up or very much down! I was sent a photograph of Pippa which completely floored me... and feels like I have swallowed a lead weight... I have become quite good at blocking out things which hurt my head, but not everything is so easily blocked...

Atlantic City

Feel some words of wisdom should be written here... lol

I have so many happy things to think about, I do, and I know where I am is making it worse, I haven't been able to speak to people I normally speak to, on the phone or face to face, people who are important to me, seven weeks is four or five weeks too long!

Planting Fields Arboretum, Coe Hall, Oyster Bay

We went here Friday, a beautiful day with family, nice drive and lovely place to walk around, beautiful house and grounds

When we were leaving we met a couple of ladies sitting on a seat beneath the entranceway, we sat there also, in the shade to rest a while...

And my cousin asked if they wanted a photo taken of them together, they did, and we started chatting with them..

It turned out the younger, the daughter, was the lady who designed the map! At the entrance here to show and tell visitors what was where!

Amy, she is the lady who does all their advertising and they asked her to do the map! And there she was sat opposite it on the very day we were there and when we stopped at the seats!!

Add to the fact that her mom sat with her, lives near my cousin who spoke to her, and that's no where near here!!

Old Westbury Gardens

Photographs as promised, from Saturday at Old Westbury Gardens...

My aunt, one of her daughter's and two granddaughters and me...

Beautiful day...

We had a lovely sunny day, even a little chipmunk was about, I thought he was a carved woodland creature on a post, until he started nibbling on something in his 'hands' 'paws'?

Yesterday family came down to see us, from all around which was so wonderful of every one of them... I feel like a right pain, when I visit everyone always tries to make it to where I am staying, and I am so thankful... always...

The Road Home

So tomatoes! That's all I give you! Sorry, not taken my phone out very much for photos!

But, tomatoes it is, and they're wrapped in their own little shrugs of their own, never seen the like of them before...

I need to go back I guess, to bring you up-to-date I mean! So,, to Málaga airport, dropped the car off, went to the Delta desk, lots of security, good to see... Lots of questions etc, took about an hour to work my way through, then through security and into departures... I had a ten Euro ticket to pick up some lunch courtesy of Delta as our flight was two hours late; I got a call in the morning at home!

I had a wander about after my Burger! I know I know! But it was Francos favourite place so I was drawn there, and the check came to exactly ten Euros! Cool!

The rest was as per norm... And once boarded I got comfy in my seat, sharing the three seats in the centre with no one else! Once in flight I stretched out! I listened to a couple of movies, they helped me sleep, a little.. Had dinner first, then ice cream, then an hour and half before landing we had sandwiches!

Landed and then the real fun began!?! Long lines for immigration, machines where you had place your passport, have your photograph taken, finger prints... Then through to an immigration officer, then bag collection, mine appeared as I got to the conveyor... Then line up to bring your bag through and past another officer, then out! Into a cab, who got lost, and a twenty minute ride took an hour or more, and twice the cost!! And here I am in Queens New York.

Anyway! I arrived!! That was Friday!
And Saturday we went to a cousins graduation party, lots of family, lots of people I hadn't met, and jet lag kicking in!! Blah!!

We, my aunt Rita and I, spent a night at one of her daughter's, who was baby sitting two of her grandchildren, one little'un of each daughters... Not sure if we helped or hindered! Especially the next day before we were picked up!

Today we went to a centre near here while my aunt played cards and helped with the drinks and snacks, I chatted and read my book, finished my book, The Keeper of Lost Things... Great book I'll definitely read again. Every movie I see or book I read these days, they all seem so relevant to me.

Before we went out we pulled some weeds out front, I came out in a nice rash! Put on some of the bite cream I bought out with me, it helped, it was gone anyway by the time we were home again.

I am keeping my mind busy, we're talking and watching TV, keeping busy is keeping my thoughts at bay... If only for a few moments... Because as soon as I am left alone in my head it all falls down around me... Aunt Rita came down too early the other morning and caught me in tears, Franco is but a heartbeat away, always with me, although I'm not talking out loud to him while I'm in company, they'll have me locked up! But technology means Franco is here on my phone as soon as I touch it, our messages, our photographs, our life.

Someone put the song from Dirty Dancing on Facebook, I reposted and added my thoughts, my hope... That Franco knew that "I had the time of my life... and I owe it all to you" Franco... I hope he knew.

I had a strange occurrence the other night, as I was about to close my eyes I thought I could see faces, one was Francos face, I saw heads and shoulders of people just floating really, up near the ceiling appearing to be talking to each other, I didn't hear them! Lol I know crazy looney bird!

I'll try and take photographs tomorrow, I'll try and remember.

Fire Island

Back from the states now... Clothes washed dried and put away... cases cleared...

Link to a short story in pictures... https://plus.google.com/108650660073393704923/stories/78cb1f52-6348-37fd-9d39-8744d8d93232146bff9c524/1?authkey

Hope this works!

Some beautiful flowers on this tree above at a cousins home out on Long Island...

Great wall plaque on their home too! Could do with one of these here...

Yes, looks like I stalked their home...

Fire Island, and its lighthouse, was a good walk along from the car park to the lighthouse, looks small here... considering the real height of it though!!!  And everywhere I went Cardinal birds were with me, word on the street was that to see a Cardinal means someone who has passed over is nearby... Hmmm just checked this out on the net, there are so many meanings, I guess all it really means is... I saw lots of Cardinals!

Just a tree near the lighthouse... I liked it, its here!

A view from the top of the lighthouse, up there was a man, I said 'hello' and inquired about the place some more, turned out he had been to Neath! He was someone best man back in the 1970's... small world then!

What a view from here... Also from here you can see the city...

The beach was quite empty up until nearer the car park when it really got packed out, lots of people sunbathing, lots in thongs! Men only seemed!! OMG!! NO!!!! Really????

We were the most dressed people there! Me and cousin walked with our feet in the warm ocean... beautiful day, beautiful ocean... Just Beautiful...

TTFN
Marian