Boomer Girl Review: Ultimate Oriole Feeder

I've still got a way to go before I'm feeding pigeons on the steps of St. Paul's (which I never thought was a bad thing to do in your old age, especially if Mary Poppins was your friend.) Nevertheless, my life is slowly but surely going to the birds. This year, I've decided to become one with the orioles which is a different game than the cardinals and hummingbirds. Orioles like oranges and grape jelly and nectar that's not as sweet as hummingbird nectar. (I assume, because they need to wash down the sugar in that sticky grape jelly.)  They also like the color orange, which makes sense since they themselves are orange in color. And, you know what they say about birds of a feather. Or, something like that. I was assured by the old man at the feed and seed store that the "orioles are going crazy" this year so I invested 20 bucks in a bright orange feeder, guaranteed to bring 'em in from all over.

Now, when you put "Ultimate" in your brand name, you create high exceptions. But, this baby delivered on the morning of Day 2 in my backyard!

My first visitor!!

Hey. When you're a work-at-home freelancer, you get pretty excited when anyone drops by: human, canine or avian.

Brooklyn. baby.

This is the first of three trips I will make to Brooklyn/NYC this year. My first grandchild is pending delivery in May and what better reason to visit the Big Apple?  I couldn't miss my once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend a baby shower on a New York City rooftop. So, I arrived prematurely, which is permissible for grandmothers-to-be if they're invited, which I was.

Tye-dyeing burp cloths on a roof in the Flatiron District.

My daughter and I flew non-stop on Southwest into LaGuardia uneventfully UNTIL we hit the taxi queue which looks a lot like Disneyland on any given Saturday due to construction at LGA's Terminal B. Note to self: Try Delta next time.

Happy to finally arrive at our hotel, The Henry Norman.

We stayed at our go-to hotel in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint, The Henry Norman - on the intersection of, you guessed it, Henry and Norman.

We love, love, love this place, as do an eclectic collection of guests including the stars of TV shows shooting on sound stages in the neighborhood. In the lobby the next morning, my daughter and I chatted up an actor from a certain Netflix series that shall remain nameless because he swore us to secrecy. 

Then, it was off to Eataly in the Flatiron District, Mario Batali's Italian superstore and multi-level food court. This is Birreria on the roof, kind of a casual apres-ski cafe in the Italian Alps concept. Phenomenal polenta bar.

Unwrapping gifts inside the recording studio. 

The shower was in a cool recording studio in the Gramercy Park Media Arts Building, an indoor/outdoor setting that took full advantage of the perfect "Springtime in New York" day.  Afterward, it was back to Greenpoint for the aunt to-be's first tattoo...

Because, when in Brooklyn....

Boomer Girl Review: The Original Sleep Sound Machine

The unassuming little device, in black, in its bedroom nook. 

While the college kids in town were away on spring break last week, the wildlife in our yard was getting down with a raucous ritual of their own. That's right, gentle readers. It's mating season in BoomerGirl's wild kingdom, a noisy affair that goes on night after night, week after week until - voila! - adorable babies arrive in May.

In March, it's the owls. Barred owls, to be specific, which sound something like this when they're, as the kids in Cancun say, hooking up:

Kind of charming and natural, in a way, right? In the daylight, yes. But, not if you have sleep issues. Because these owls go at it all. Night. Looooong!

I'm beginning to understand how important sleep is to one's longevity, not to mention sanity. So, I took the advice of a formerly sleep-deprived friend and purchased myself a device that wouldn't keep me up at night (unlike my iPhone and iPad, but that's another issue. One problem at a time.)  It's called the Original Sleep Sound machine and it is truly a game changer.

Elegantly simple, the machine has just two speeds, low and high, and allows you to adjust the sound at each level slightly by a dial on the top. The white noise it emits is soothing and full, yet somehow subtle even at the higher volume. Those owls can party all night long and I'm blissfully unaware.
Ahhhhhh.