Take a seat.

Hey, NYC! We're getting mixed signals. This was the scene last Thursday:

 

Spring appeared to be around the corner. All the snow that had been hanging around for two months had finally thawed and we had decided we could probably forget about wearing our winter gear for awhile. 

And then:

Erik took this picture this morning. Yes, that rocking chair is ever-so-lightly adorned with freshly fallen snow. Don't worry, more was on the way. Later in the day were guest appearances by snow's buddies: rain, sleet and hail. That's right...a wintry mix!
I want a word with you, Punxsutawney Phil.

Down on the upside

The stairs at the Court Street subway stop let you know on what side you can go up and on what side you can go down. Aw, that's cute....naive fools! Come rush hour, all bets are off and suddenly you're Henry Winkler going to work*. Perhaps similar stickers should be installed on all the elevators in this city. Don't even get Erik started on elevator etiquette.

* If you haven't seen "Night Shift," the 1982 classic starring Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton, run, don't walk, to your nearest video store (do they still make those?).

This doesn't really need much from us . . .

We spotted this shelf in a neighborhood bookstore recently: 

I mean,  we could write a whole little clever bit about this being a sign of the times. Or go with a snotty "dummies" book angle. But instead, we just imagine one person purchasing all of these in order over the years. Left to right or right to left, either way there's a magical little story in there for all of us . . . (Mrs. Burg really prefers the story told right to left.)*

*So sorry about the photo quality, but we had to take this on the sly with our phone.

I don't believe you, Chair.

On a recent walk, Karen and Erik spotted this:

Yes, a chair, free for the taking, claiming to be free of bedbugs. In short, we're not buying it.
While we didn't want the chair (it's not really our style and neither is picking up free furniture on the sidewalk), we couldn't help but wonder if this might be part of a larger conspiracy being perpetrated by the tiny bloodsuckers. Here's how it appears to work: They infest a comfy-looking piece of furniture, slap a sign on it to allay your fears . . . next thing you know, you're standing in your underwear, crying, heaping all of your personal belongings onto a raging bonfire.
Nice try, bedbugs. We appreciate your ingenuity and stepping up your game. It's a little more sophisticated than your scam involving all the free mattresses littering the streets.

The Dark Side of . . . Dessert

The Burgs aren't big dessert people (our favorite cake? Crab.) But sometimes Karen pulls out Erik's Darth Vader cake pan (a relic from his childhood) and decides we need to have a Vader cake. Last Friday was one of those times . . .

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside...

We got a lot more mileage than we expected out of our boots the past few months. Every time we thought they were finally going to get to retire they had to emerge again for one last big storm. We're pretty sure the worst is behind us and they really can retire now. Let's just hope they don't blow up next time they try to start the car . . .

Why so flurrious?

We're sorry for the lack of communication for most of February. To make up for it we've decided to post a "Best of Winter" selection for you. Enjoy.

Even this snowman has had enough of the cold and snow . . . look it him! He can barely crack a smile for the camera. 

It's pretty easy for for most New Yorkers to forget that there are tens of thousands of people stacked on top of each other in every sq mile in this town (30k/per sq mile in Brooklyn, 70k in Manhattan!) Well, easy to forget until they don't pick up the trash for a week . . .

As the snow melted a lot of interesting things started to emerge. Not unlike a glacier revealing fossils from millennia prior. Here are two of our favorite finds:

Yum! The one above brings a whole new meaning to "Recession Special" and the one below simply leaves us puzzled. Where did all of these bottle caps come from? How did they get buried in a 6ft high snow pile in front of a church? Why is there a straw?