Friday I decided the time had come to substantially close down the deck and patio for the upcoming winter.  Part of the problem involved the level of plans that reduced expected opportunities to use the space much over the next several weeks.  Call it crowded calendar syndrome; not a bad thing; indeed we enjoyed early plans last night (More on that later.).  I put the "his and her" chaise lounges and outside fan into the shed; seat cushions and pillows followed, except for the chair I might use.

  I left the office setup on the table intact.

My original plan was to still set up outside and partake in Gotham's weekly Happy Hour while there but my timing required an inside call.  Folks questioned my attire; I explained the need to suit up for a ceremony at my Knight of Pythias FDR Lodge 613 that evening.  That led to questions about the rituals (must remain secret) and the order,  which I shared was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter in 1864 under an act of the Congress of the United States "after careful investigation by then-President Abraham Lincoln."  I shared that besides the social and fraternal aspect, Pythians raise and donate to various charitable causes, including $100,000 for COVID relief this year!  There were questions about swords and shields.  I shared we used swords in rituals and that my lodge gives shields to our grand chancellor each year, and that a photo including some of the shields can be viewed as part of a photo array on the home page (See below.).

And then we discussed my Monday radio interview for one of my clients.  I enjoyed appearing on the program Westchester Eye on the Radio on WVOX-AM 1460.  Thank you hosts Peter Moses, Ardina Seward and Dr. Nitin Gupta.

So to bring it all home, sort of, we left early for Manhattan to view a wonderful exhibit you still have time (through January 9, 2022) to check out.  Shelly and I enjoyed two hours plus at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition (See pic to the title left.) at 100 Sixth Avenue.  I planned things well.  Parking two blocks away and dining afterward at a wonderful restaurant in Soho, aptly named Bice Cucina Soho.  Certainly worth the dining visit. Shelly took a wonderful pic of the dining room that filled up while we dined (We dined at the table in the lower left of this pic.). You exit the exhibition, cross Thompson Street, turn the corner and you reach the Bice Cucina entrance.

And for the ride home, in a nod to the Renaissance era sculptor (as Michaelangelo preferred to be known), listened to the band of that name featuring the wonderful voice of Annie Haslam, including Carpet of the Sun, Ocean Gypsy and Running Hard.