(Extremely) Low Spending March (Part I)

 

Pleased to say that I avoided temptation in the checkout aisle at Trader Joe's 

I'm happy that I started 2025 with No-Spending January. I got into a good not-shopping habit early in the year and besides buying Valentines and a few Easter cards and stickers, that was my buying for February. I did buy a pair of shoes -- Clark's for $9.95 and a pair of panty hose for $1.99 -- early this month and that may be my buying for the month, food and household goods excepted.  

But I'm also taking a closer look at my food buying. I already eat most meals at home and very rarely get deliveries, but I realized I needed to look much closer at impulse food buys, like the snacks in the photo above. The foods that line the check-out aisle are often my downfall. They're not expensive, usually not more than three dollars. But I realized three dollars here and three dollars there when I'm at Trader Joe's four or five times a week is an easy twenty dollars every month and hundreds of calories.  

I'm not depriving myself of treats and snacks and an iced coffee here and there, but I'm trying to be as thoughtful with food and snacks as I am with buying "things." I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm looking at saving ten dollars/week without much effort. 

I'm not sure how we got to the second week of March, but here we are, and it's a sunny second week of March. It was sixty plus degrees today and a fabulous day to be out and walking. I started with a dental appointment -- gratefully, no issues -- picked up a prescription and spent time outside with an iced coffee and perfect spring weather. Yes, I'm thinking carefully about snacks, but this was a perfect treat on a beautiful day. Money well spent. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and hope that spring is around the corner where you live, too. 

Can Spring Be Far Behind?

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden two Sundays ago

It was above freezing two Sundays ago, though you wouldn't know it from the ice on the pond. Yesterday was somewhere in the 20's and today was only a slightly more balmy mid-thirties, but tomorrow is forecast for 53 degrees and the same for the rest of the week. We might be able to call it spring very shortly. 

But two Sundays ago I was desperate for a change of scenery and yes, a little green without going very far. Thanks to the miracle of the subway, in a little more than half an hour I was in Brooklyn for brunch and more than a little green at the Botanic Garden. 

When the weather permits the Garden is in magnificent bloom and the cherry trees are legendary, with a cherry blossom festival. But there is so much more to see, and for the first time in a number of visits, I went to the greenhouses. There were plants from different climates and I especially enjoyed the tropical and desert environments. Greenhouses are the perfect places to visit on a cold day and it was so hot that I definitely needed to take my coat off. I loved the change of scenery that was a hop, skip and a subway ride away. 

I found beautiful orchids in the tropical greenhouse

There was a greenhouse devoted to Bonsai and I almost succumbed to buying one in the giftshop. Fortunately -- for the bonsai -- I stopped myself when I remembered that I am not a skilled gardener and bonsai need a lot of attention. 

A day isn't complete without coffee

Before I arrived at the Garden I fortified myself with this lovely cappuccino and an egg sandwich. The description "egg sandwich" doesn't do justice to the brunch entree I ordered. The bread was a sweet potato brioche and the sandwich included hash browns. It was the perfect yummy breakfast/lunch for a cold winter Sunday. I will definitely return and share  another coffee creation.   

I'm not quite sure why, but I feel busy these days. I don't feel that I'm doing more than I've been doing for awhile or, it may be,  age is creeping up on me and my store of energy isn't boundless. It hasn't been for awhile, but it seems less boundless this winter. I may just need a good dose of sunshine to perk me up. Anyone else needing sunny days?

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

Kind Hearts

 

Are Healthier Hearts!

This wonderful wall mural in Bondi Beach, Australia caught my eye while I was in Australia in 2018. I thought of it after reading this fabulous post by my dear blogger buddy The Frog and PenguInn. The post was about Random Acts of Kindness Day, which was celebrated on Monday, February 17. I'm a little late to the celebration, but as our bloggy buddy wrote, "It's never too late to celebrate kindness."  

While I was thinking about writing this post the words "kind hearts" came to mind. I did a lot of poking around on line and found that literally kind deeds help our hearts. Really! There were a number of articles, but I found this one, The Science of Kindness, on the University Hospitals (Cleveland) website to have a great set of information. There is both a podcast and the transcript of the podcast and though it may seem lengthy there was great information. The summation really caught my attention. 

"The simple human act of kindness has numerous health benefits. It can help you experience fewer aches and pain and lower your blood pressure. It can protect your overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease. It’s free, widely available and has no side effects."

I'm not a physician and I'm not beginning to suggest tossing away your medications, but I am prescribing random acts of kindness. 

On a different note, it's been a cold and windy while in New York City. I didn't make plans to go away and I certainly will give it a lot more thought for next winter. But in the meantime let's take a virtual trip to Australia where it's summer. Sounds good to me. 

Even an overcast day on Bondi Beach is looking good right now. 

View of Sydney from the harbor

The iconic Sydney Opera House 

I hope these memories of Sydney have made these chilly winter days feel a little warmer. I know they have for me. Is anyone else having warm weather dreams? 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy! 

    

Hello, Young Lovers

 

It's still Valentine's Day in New York City

I'm not sure how I missed celebrating Valentine's Day in Buttercupland. I got somewhat overwhelmed by all the Instagram festivities and before I knew it, it was February 15 and then February 16. But during my walk today I realized that it was Valentine weekend in New York and there were still Valentine signs throughout the neighborhood. The picture above is the window of our local stationery store. I didn't get pictures of the Valentine cards still on display at CVS, but I did get a picture of a couple with heart balloons sitting on a bench in the median on Broadway.

It's still heart time on Broadway

I had a fun Valentine's Day, with actual cards, email cards and text messages. So there are definitely no complaints about my celebration. But seeing all the flowers and balloons around got me to thinking of my younger years and romantic Valentine days. Alas, they are past and I had a few moments of nostalgic for those days/years of romance past. The words to George Gershwin's "But Not for Me," came to mind: "They're writing songs of love, but not for me." 

I had a little -- very little -- sniffle and then these words came to me. These lyrics are from one of my favorite musicals, "The King and I," and the song is "Hello, Young Lovers." Anna sings to her late husband and remembers her life in England. "Hello, young lovers, whoever you are. I hope your troubles are few. All my good wishes go with you tonight. I've had a love like you." If Anna could find romance in Siam/Thailand when least expected I realized that there's hope for Buttercup in New York City. I remembered my perfect word for 2025, dream, and saw that romance might be just about the future. What do you think, friends? Is romance around the corner for those of us in the senior set? 

What's on your schedule for the week ahead? I've got book club tomorrow. I loved our book this month, The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman. It's part of a four book series about a group of amateur detectives at a retirement community in Southern England. I've read them all and enjoyed them very much. Eagerly waiting for book number five.   

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

The Twilight of the Penny

The Penny, aka the Lincoln Penny

When I was growing up we celebrated Lincoln's birthday and Washington's birthday, February 12 and February 22. Presidents Day was, like so many things we have come to know, not a part of our lives. But the penny, the Lincoln Penny was very much part of our lives. One of the treats of my growing up years was buying penny candy for one or two cents a piece. 

The years have gone by and I think I may be one of the few people I know who still bends down to pick up a penny on the sidewalk. Of course, whenever I do that I recite the same jingle, "Find a penny, pick it up. All the day you'll have good luck." Does anyone else have this same old-fashioned habit?

It seems that this may be the twilight of the penny, as there are calls for the United States to stop minting it. I take no sides on this issue. It may well be time to bid farewell to our old friend, first minted in 1909. The number of people using cash has declined and nothing seems to cost a penny anymore. Penny candy hasn't been a penny in decades. America isn't the only country that changes its currency system. Britain gave up the shilling in 1971 and went to a decimal based system. 

What I will miss is seeing a picture of one of the finest Americans that ever lived, Abraham Lincoln every time I see a penny. It's been a steady reminder of a President who gave us words that still inspire and challenge almost 160 years after he spoke them in March 1865.

From Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address:

   With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.

Happy birthday, President Lincoln. Your memory is a blessing. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

Once Again, All You Need is Love and KC Football

 

As I have mentioned before I'm not an especial football fan. I know that's a somewhat controversial statement to make while the Super Bowl is literally playing, but it's the truth. I liked high school and college football games, at least when the weather wasn't too cold. In those days I was watching in New England and the end of the season could be really cold. But my football enjoyment didn't translate to professional football.    

I understand that the rest of the country doesn't agree with me, especially not my friends who are Kansas City Chiefs fans. They are fervent fans. So in their honor Buttercupland is officially rooting for the Chiefs and hoping that the  team gets a third Super Bowl win in three tries. 

I do like the commercials, especially the Clydesdales and reading about all of the different snacks that are being served around the country tonight. My snacks are routine. I went wild and bought a bottle of Diet Pepsi and I'm going to make popcorn, which is one of my regular snacks. I also went wild with a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner and may cap off the evening with a hot cocoa later. Are you having special snacks for Super Bowl?

On a different, but related topic, in 2023 I predicted that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were a real thing romance. I also predicted that they were going to get married and I still stand by this prediction. No bets on when, but, friends, it's going to happen. I'm kind of thinking before the fall 2025 football season begins. 

It's been a busy weekend. It was the start of my synagogue's 200th anniversary celebration and it was a great experience. I'm planning to do post about it later in the week with some of my photographs. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and Go, Chiefs!  

Welcome to Gatot

 

Please Meet Gatot

I'm delighted to introduce the newest member of the Buttercupland family, Gatot. We adopted Gatot at the end of 2024 and no surprise, he fits right in. Gatot, like our previous adopted orangutan, Joyce, was adopted via the wonderful organization, International Animal Rescue. Gatot is living in a rescue center in Borneo and happily, he is flourishing. 

I just received a first report on Gatot and it's the perfect report for a young and growing orangutan. 

Gatot continues to make great progress with his rehabilitation and he now weighs 20.6kg. His foraging skills have improved greatly within the last few months and he is still incredibly close with his best friend, Paijo! The two often travel together around the forest, exploring and often stopping to hug one another. These displays of affection between the two orangutans are very endearing!

Gatot's daily routine involves a lot of foraging, which he has now become very skilled at. His diet varies according to the numerous different fruits available to him. He also likes to eat food given to him by the keepers, such as sweet potatoes.

I am very hopeful that Gatot will continue to do well and he, too, will be able to reside outside of the rehab center and be part of the group of orangutans. 

No-Spending January is over and though I was tempted many times -- clothes and jewelry really called out to me -- I only spent $4.98 on "things." I bought two pairs of socks and a box of Valentines. The cards were not a very thought out purchase. They were very cute and only $3.99, but they're cards for elementary school and have no envelopes. I'll use them as enclosures with the cards I bought today. I'm not doing No-Spending in February, but I'm going to really think about purchases and not let myself be swayed by things that catch my eye. Is anyone else an impulse buyer?

We've had some glorious weather -- for February -- and I've been able to be out and enjoy walking. I finished January with 87.9 miles and this week is looking good, too. I got to the gym today and made a trip to the Metropolitan Museum yesterday.

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy!