mixed bag today

I can't believe it's nice enuf out that I can have some windows open, finally getting some fresh air into the house!  My back yard is back, most of the compacted snow/ice has melted, and the world didn't end, in spite of the dire warnings put out by the town's emergency panic system the last couple of days.  We were supposed to flood due to melting snow combined with rain, then we were going to have thunderstorms and tornadoes.  Far as I can tell, we had one rumble of thunder and some rain.  Most of the snow melted and didn't overwhelm the system (we have a system???  news to me!), it pretty much seeps into the ground and joins its brethren in the ocean and/or river or otherwise helps out the water table.

Thanks again to my intrepid roofer, whose work has apparently prevented any of the snow melt from (a) leaking into the house, or (b) caving in the roof.  More stuff we got warnings about.

AND the DPW guys fixed the beach stairs across from my house, so we can now get onto the beach without breaking a leg or neck or other body part.  It's a great beach day, nice clean breeze and lots of sun and almost what you could call warm - tho you still need a jacket, a hat isn't a bad idea, and Pablo appreciated having his sweater on.  

We considered going to Sandy Hook, but as it's high tide on the bay side this afternoon, decided to stay in town.  It is now (finally) possible to walk on the splash pad without climbing over mounds of frozen gook, and as I mentioned, the beach is lovely.

Off leash training is going ok, too, in spite of the long hiatus between sessions.  Pablo is now waiting for me when I tell him to wait, and not running too far ahead.

 

 

Bluer than blue...some of my favorite shades.

Thursday evening I went out for dinner with a client, on the Upper West Side (aka the UWS).  I thought this street scene was very atmospheric:

 

I was playing with my new phone, which has almost as many pixels as my camera.  The textures of the cobblestone sidewalk and melty snow piles grabbed my attention.  I might like the new phone (Samsung Galaxy S4), if I can ever figure out how it works.  I'd be even happier if I could get the phone to work and play nicely with the car.  May have to start from scratch on that, erase the link and re-initiate it.  It's being a PITA.

The best thing about the new phone is it can go all day and not run out of battery!  What a novel idea!  And that's with me actually using it once in a while.  The old one would run down to dead just after lunch if I dared to use it for anything. It made me wonder why they ever called those things "mobile," since you had to have it plugged in most of the time.  Kind of like the early "portable" tvs - which required three strong men to move.

I hear it's going to be kind of cold again next week.  I don't mind cold, it's the incessant shoveling I could do better without.  And the invisible ice.  Glad nobody had a video camera on me the other morning when I did some kind of figure-skating thing (double axle half sowkow or something like that) while trying to get in my car.  Just about wound up under the car, rather than inside it.  Gonna file a complaint with the snow shoveling dept....whoops, that's me.  Oh well.

But right now it feels like spring.  Preview of coming attractions.