Nearly two years ago (March 5, 2024 to be exact) our older son and daughter-in-law had to leave their home due to a fire. We are all thankful no one in the co-op, including Brandon and Lia’s cats, were injured, but it was much worse than we knew at first. There is a video (that even shows our son at the start) about the fire. (They live on the 6th floor, and the fire start in the place right below them.)

I flew to New York to visit shortly after the fire happened. I was pretty horrified!

WHAT a mess, right?

They are still not back in their home.

Even getting start on the repair work took, if I’m remembering correctly, over a year. Or at least close to that.

While the whole family was here in January (celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary!), I mentioned to Brandon that I’d be willing to help paint when things were ready. And, lo and behold, we flew there on the 11th to get going on that.

The flight was uneventful and we were greeting at EWR by colder weather and a bit of snow. Then we took a car to our hotel. Our hotel with a tiny room and no place to hang anything up. But hey, it was less expensive than others, and after a 15 minute walk would be a direct train to Brandon and Lia’s.

Before starting our painting adventure we were able to celebrate my “Brooklyn brother’s” birthday (to differentiate between him and my “Germany brother”). We met up first a jazz club, much to his surprise. (It was fun to see his face when he saw us there!).

We then dined at a lovely restaurant. With Timothy and Margaret. FUN FUN FUN!

The next morning we (somewhat leisurely) headed over to Brandon and Lia’s to see what we were in for. First it was cleaning up and prep day. I neglected to take any photos I guess (Funny that I thought I had!) and Dan got only a few. But we vacuumed. Dan did a ton of masking. Brandon and Lia worked on getting the floors (which are beautiful!) covered, along with more and more cleaning. Sorry you only get these three pictures, though.

From there we headed to our hotel, catching a bite at the noisiest restaurant ever. We even texted each other at one point!

The following day Brandon and Lia both had work so we decided to enjoy a lunch at Red Rooster, being fans of Marcus Samuelsson. We had a delicious meal. Dan spent some Dick Tracy time talking to his watch. And yes, yours truly even took a photo of the floor in the bathroom. Because. Of course when I saw Bernstein I had to take a photo!

From there we wandered, with our final destination being the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

We had learned that Jameson and Meghan were going to be at the Cathedral that evening to hear the Gesualdo Six sing. The concert, however, was sold out. BUT … we get to the Cathedral and hear singing. How ‘bout that? They were rehearsing. So we got to enjoy them as we wandered the building.

Toward the back there was a quilt exhibit. You can read about it as well.

More wandering …

And more quilts …

… and wandering …

From there we took a train down to meet up with Brandon and, when she was done working, Lia.

We had some drinks and dinner and then headed back to get some sleep.

On Saturday morning it was work time! I only took a few photos … I guess I was too busy edging and rolling and all that …

For the evening the four of us went to celebrate our hard work and Valentine’s day at an Albanian restaurant in the Bronx called Çka ka Qëllu.

VERY yummy and such a nice way to relax after a day of work.

Our Harlem hotel room looks out here:

Back to work … and look at that beautiful tile in the bathroom!

The above is the kitchen. That’s right, no cabinets, no appliances … nothing. Yet. But soon ….

For dinner we (finally!) got to meet up with Jameson and Meghan as well. Fun times!

Our breakfasts are enjoyed downstairs at our hotel. For me it’s just coffee. (I had a pastry the first morning and was reminded that eating before doing a physical activity gives me the shakes!).

Back to the subway we went for yet another ride up to Pelham Parkway North!

This was our final day of painting. We managed to get a lot done.

The kitchen floor is lovely. (So is Lia!)

The happy painters … and Brandon being Brandon. 😉

Sadly, we had to head back home on Tuesday. But so it goes. We had the first row of Premium Economy … HUGE leg room! Gotta love that.

And hello Bay Area!

So here we are. Back in what is now a rainy San Jose.

Do you wonder what we’ll do next? It won’t involve painting, just so you know. (Although I’d go back and help more in a heartbeat if we had the time and money to do so.