The new neighbors

So the apartment next to mine finally sold. The new owners are an older couple named Ron and Mariska.  I think they're empty nesters who are using it as a pied-a-terre. I had heard movers bringing in their things a few weeks back but hadn't had a chance to meet them yet. The other morning there was a knock on my door and it was Ron. He was looking for Gus our neighbor at the other end of the hall, he thought my door was his. In any event we chatted for a few minutes and then I met his wife. They seemed quite lovely. Sometimes I can hear them playing classical music which, thank God, is a blessing. I play the same thing all the time, WQXR is always on as background music when I'm home. They're a very handsome couple, I'd say late 60's/early 70's maybe. This isn't them but it's pretty close. I'm just thanking my lucky stars that it wasn't a young couple with a kid!

Re-arranging

I LOVE the look of my sofa. I wrote a whole post on how I found it, you can read it here.
There's a catch though. It's one of the most uncomfortable things you'd ever want to sit on. I didn't really discover this unfortunate circumstance until I bought it and got it home. That was 5 or 6 years ago, I've lived with beauty (and horror) of the thing ever since. But just recently I said, "enough is enough" and I put it up for sale on Craigslist, hoping that I could buy a new, more comfortable couch with the money I make. So far, no bites tho. I may have to lower the price. Until then I decided I had to re-arrange the living room so that I could watch TV for more than a half hour before my back went out. I put the sofa against the back wall in front of the large window and floated my super cushy Eames chair and ottoman in the middle of the room. Now I can relax and watch TV for hours if I want to....and no back pain! What's great is that I never have to sit on that sofa again but when you walk into the apartment it's the first thing you see and it looks great! So problem solved for now. Let's see if I get any bites on the sale, stay tuned.
Here are a couple of pictures of the new layout:

Bouquet from a friend

My old friend Liz lives in Boston. She has a daughter who lives here in Manhattan not far from my apartment. Occasionally she comes into town to visit her and we get together for a coffee or lunch. She was here this weekend and asked to see The Beautiful Wreck since she's never been here. I of course said sure. She showed up with a lovely bouquet of flowers. So sweet and thoughtful of her, and a welcome bit of Spring in this too chilly sub-zero weather we've been having right now.

Emergency

Another sad day at the building.
I had gone out this afternoon for a dentist appointment. When I was walking up to the building there were several ambulances with flashing red lights going. As I got closer I could see a firetruck on the side street also. I thought "Uh oh, someone's in trouble."

When I went up to the door it was blocked by a lot of activity in the lobby. One of the porters motioned me to enter through the side door on Sutton Place. The scene was tense. Several EMT folks were working around an elderly man on a gurney. They were doing emergency CPR, pounding on his chest. It was very disturbing to watch. Poor thing, I hope he's alright. I didn't recognize him but the building is so large there are many people I don't know.

UPDATE: I heard from one of the porters that the gentleman did not make it. Sadly, he passed away.

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

I had a disturbing morning the other day.
I was sound asleep and woke to the faint sound of someone crying for help. "Hello? HELLO?? Help! HELP! Is anybody there? Can anybody hear me?? Mr. Minihan? Mr. Minihan!! Is there anybody in this building??!!"

Not my neighbor, but the scene was exactly like this.

I stumbled out of bed, half conscience, and went into the hall. The elderly lady who lives on my floor (there are only 4 units per floor), was lying prone in her doorway. She was banging her house slipper on the doorframe and her walker was tipped over behind her. She had gone into the hallway to retrieve her newspaper and had slipped and fallen, unable to get back up. "Thank you, thank you," she said, "do you live on this floor?" Even though we've exchanged pleasantries many times in the past, I suppose the drama of the moment caused her to not recognize me. "Can you please call Mr. Minihan or one of the porters to help me?" (Mr. Minihan is the building's super). Still in my pajamas and slippers I quickly went down to the lobby and found Eli, one the young porters to come up and help get her on her feet. I hindsight I probably should have helped her myself but since she was asking for a porter I followed her request. If something was broken, a hip or a leg, best that I not make it worse too.
A couple of days later I came home to find an envelope in front of my door. It was a thank you note from her.

It read, "Dear Neighbor, Apt 5H, Thank you so much for notifying the Doormen when I tried to get the newspaper. Your help is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, _____________, Apt _____." 

I later found out from another doorman that all was fine, she had no major injuries. It was just simple fall. Whew. Very scary. Thank goodness I was home. The couple that live across the hall leave very early for work in the morning. And the apartment next to mine is empty and for sale. Oftentimes I leave for the house for two or three weeks at a time. There might have been no one to hear her for hours. The crises was averted but it could have been much worse. I'm not patting myself on the back, anyone would have done what I did. She was lucky and I'm glad I was able to help. 

The coin canister

My friend and realtor, David, who sold my last apartment and found me The Beautiful Wreck, sent me a lovely Christmas gift this year. I've steered a few possible clients his way recently and it's his way of saying 'thank you'. Totally unnecessary but appreciated nonetheless! It's a glass canister set into a wrought iron base of metal leaves. There's a hammered copper lid with metal rose hip on top. I decided it would be a great place to stash coins and it looks great on the little shelf above the dining nook.

The moose on the mantel

Most every year my mom gives me a Christmas ornament as a holiday gift. This year she gave me a little wooden statuette of a moose (or is it a reindeer?), wearing a buffalo plaid sweater. Super cute. When I got home with it I realized I didn't have many Christmas decorations in the city, so I decided it would look good on the apartment mantel alongside my little snow scene in a jar that someone gave me a while back. (Thanks Mom! xo)