Day 50! There's a number that looms large

Wow!  50 days and counting.  Makes me think of another Big 50.  Yikes!

It was gorgeous in Manhattan today.  I traded in my winter coat for a long cardigan and set out for a few hour to go nowhere in particular.  I ended up just trolling around what's become "my neighborhood".  Got some groceries, picked up some tofu cheesecake to go and stopped to say hello to some of the now familiar neighborhood characters.  As I headed down 7th Ave I ran into Tommy Guiry.

Tommy is best known for his role in Mystic River and he's been in several episodes of Law and Order (which is why his face was so familiar to me when we first met - L&O is one of my favs).  I stopped into a local pub a couple of weeks ago to see what they had for entertainment and the bartender Tracy convinced me to stay for a glass of mid-afternoon wine.  That's where I met Tommy.  You really never know who's going to be sitting next to you at dinner or at the bar around here.  He was just coming from an audition then and that's what he had been doing again today.  Good luck Tommy!

By now I know that when I get a tofu cheesecake craving I head to the Chelsea Market.  On my way west I caught a glimpse of the sun shining on the Hudson River.  I haven't been to the river yet since it's been so cold.  Today was the perfect day to check it out.  I was walking down the north side of the market when I came across a guy sitting on the ledge outside the fish store talking on his cell phone.  He actually stopped talking, waved to me (from all of 3 feet away) and said hello.  That's just the kind of sun-shiny day it was here today.  Everyone was happy.  Not only did the stores and restaurants have their doors open wide,  everyone on the street was opening up for spring too.

I did a quick walk along the river (still pretty cold in the wind so I made it fast) and then back to the market.

It was so alive today in a very peaceful kind of way. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite hang out spots.

There was a 3 piece jazz band gently wafting out sweet sounds as the crowd casually moved through the building from store to store.  Some listened while they enjoyed a laid-back brunch at one of the small, coolish cafe's there.  It was a nice change of pace compared to the usual hustle of the busy weekday rush.

NOTE:  Don't go to the CM on a sunny Sunday afternoon if you are in a hurry. Come back on Monday so you don't spoil the mood.  LOL