On the road again

Just before Sabbath started on Friday evening, we sat down to watch the final match in the Jeopardy “Battle of the Decades Tournament.” The final winner was the one with the highest total score in the two final games, which pitted three amazingly talented players against each other:

Ken Jennings, top number of games won (74)

Brad Rutter, top total lifetime cash winnings ($3,355,102)

Roger Craig, top single daily cash winning ($77,000)

Mr. Rutter has now added another $1,000,000 to his lifetime total winnings. Mr. Jennings earned $100,000 for second place, and Mr. Craig $50,000. Tomorrow evening, we look forward to the return of Julia.

We had a lovely Sabbath, spending much of the afternoon with friends who recently sold their home a few miles north of here and moved to a beautiful apartment not far from our house in the heart of Riverdale.

Early this morning we drove to a nearby Target store before it opened, and I spent a few minutes driving “my” new car around the large, empty parking lot. Without so much as another car in sight, it went pretty well; I guess that driving a car, like riding a bicycle, is one of those things you never forget how to do. However, such controlled circumstances are a far cry from driving on busy streets, and I know I will likely never be ready for that. Still, I had a song in my head as I was behind that wheel.

A couple of weeks ago, we visited the New York Botanical Garden for the first time this season. Many of the flowering trees were in bloom, and I took some pictures.

Today was a beautiful day, so after my practice drive and running a few local errands, we headed for the NYBG. This weekend marked the opening of a new special exhibit, “Great American Gardens of the Early 20th Century and the Extraordinary Women Who Designed Them.” In addition to walking around some of the specially designed spaces, and taking the pictures shown here among countless others, we went to a presentation called “From Ragtime to Jazz: The Roots of Pop.” A variety of styles including ragtime, jazz, and Broadway show tunes featuring the works of Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, Irving Berlin, and Tin Pan Alley composers such as George Gershwin, George M. Cohan, and Dorothy Fields was performed by a trio of artists. Many of the songs were familiar and it was quite enjoyable.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Rebecca