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Happy Halloween


Pepe and I wish you a very happy Halloween. 

In a totally different direction my little boat was rocked once again yesterday. A dear friend is undergoing medical tests -- today -- and I am asking for your prayers and good wishes. Thanks, blog friends!

Counting, Counting, Counting!


I took a really good look at the blog yesterday. I read every scrap of the little sayings I've put up in the last 22 months. I remembered the first few weeks of starting to write "Buttercup..." and all the things that were heavy on my mind at the time. Some of the things that I was concerned about have come to pass and others have receded from the horizon, to be replaced by new issues.

My job continues to be a source of anxiety. I sometimes feel like a very small and flimsy boat tossed on a very rough sea. The waves have been roughed and the little boat needs some patching and and would love a few weeks in the harbor. But I am intact -- amazingly, blessedly intact. My goal continues to be the same goal I had at the start of this blog, keeping cheerful in tough times. And so I will keep my focus on the Light that guides from above and the many lights of love, strength and friendship that surround me. I will keep counting, counting, counting blessings manifold.

It's a Web...

...like a spider's web, made of silken light and shadow, spun by the moon in my room... 


Actually, it's not quite silk and it was spun by my terrific colleagues, who also stocked a half dozen pumpkins with some of my favorite chocolates. It's been a tough, tough week at work -- hence my absence from Blogworld. I did have the pleasure of emerging from my office on Monday -- following an intense morning of not leaving my computer -- to find this Halloween landscape. I overdid it with KitKats and mini-malted milk balls on Monday -- yummy! -- and learned my lesson and haven't had a drop of chocolate since. 

A big thank you to a devoted reader from Upstate New York! One of the great pleasures of blogging is realizing that I am being read and I loved hearing from one of my favorite and most devoted fellow citizens in Buttercupland, who asked me about my whereabouts. I wish I was off doing exciting Big City activities, but that's not the case. Work has been tough, but so far the challenges have been met and I am thrilled that the weekend is quickly approaching. Pedicure and a pumpkin latte are on my list of activities, and not much more.
What treats are on your weekend list? 

Once Again, My Favorite Harbor and my Favorite Lady

Last Monday I found myself in Staten Island for a meeting and had the pleasure of a return ferry ride to Manhattan while it was still light. It was chilly out on the deck taking pictures, but so well worth it.


A view of a ferry going to Staten Island

My Favorite Lady

Manhattan
New Jersey and New York 

It was a beautiful weekend in New York and a chance to relax and enjoy the autumn. Services yesterday morning, time with friends and a terrific play at Lincoln Center last night. Hope your weekend had good times, too, and wishes for a great week! 

A Few of My Favorite Things...Apples

Tonight was a sad night for Buttercup. The baseball season has ended for me until March, 2011. Hats off to the American League Champions, the Dallas Rangers, and a salute to my beloved Yankees. But in true Buttercup spirit I am going to focus on something positive, a favorite part of my favorite season, the apple.

Each year I re-discover apples and this year is no exception. I like fresh local apples and am happily rewarded with the new crop of each autumn. I am delightedly eating one macoun apple -- a little tart and very crisp -- daily and it is a treat. In keeping with the season I am planning to make apple sauce with lots of cinnamon and my other autumn favorite, pumpkin soup, on Sunday. What are your favorite autumn recipes?


Happy leaves, happy eating and a very happy Saturday!

Almost Time for Memphis


St. John New Brunswick, one of the Canadian Maritime provinces. 

Last spring I wrote about traveling to places that begin with "M." The first was Maryland and our wonderful blog friends get-together last April. After that was a great trip in May to Montana with K and a very fun and scenic visit with her son and his fiancee. Just got back from the beautiful trip to the Maritimes and New England. The fourth "M" trip is two weeks away and it's somewhat caught me by surprise. It was planned last November and seemed to be looming in the distance for a long, long time.

That long, long time is just about over and I am joining a group of buddies that began on-line and now has moved into real life, to go to Memphis. We will share a girlfriends' weekend with spa visit, a trip to Graceland and some yummy eating, as well as lots of laughter and conversation.

Dear blog friends, I am hoping that one of you lives close to Memphis and we could meet. I know there are folks in Mississippi, but I'm not sure if anyone is close to Memphis. The trip dates are November 4-8, and it would add even more to the weekend to include a blog get together.  

There's another "M" trip coming up early next year, but that's a post for another time...

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Bright Lights, Big City

Alas, I can't review the concert. I was just standing on the next block, waiting for the bus. 

Autumn in New York

This week has brought the first of real autumn weather, sunny, crisp and there's a slight chill in the air in the morning. Instead of being a Saturday slug-a-bed I got myself up, out and going after eight and enjoyed a beautiful morning in midtown. Lots of errands accomplished and a great walk up Fifth Avenue. Fabulous day to be in New York!

One of my favorite places, the New York Public Library

Flowers in front of the Library


Rockefeller Center...

...across the street, St. Patrick's Cathedral

For "Today" fans, this is the sight you see every morning, but filled with people.

Hope you enjoyed our Saturday outing and hope you're having an equally fun day!



33 Reasons for Joy and Thanksgiving

Blessings to the miners in Chile and their families. Miracles manifold. 


From the Harbor to the Open Sea

Leaving the Harbor at Portland, ME 

The sun is beginning to set...

This lighthouse guided us out of the harbor...

...and this lighthouse guided us down the coast,

...to the open sea and to Boston and then home. 

With praise and thanksgiving for the lights that guide us to the open sea and home. 

Even in the Darkness...

...there burns a flame of hope. 

As we sailed out of Portland on our way to Boston

Day Five...Portland, Maine


Actually, day five was spent in Freeport, Maine. For the last several months I'd planned to visit the L.L. Bean outlet in Portland and do some fall/winter clothes shopping. I'd been looking at the catalogues and studying the various types of turtlenecks available. When we arrived in Portland I discovered that the outlet I'd been planning to visit had closed two days before. Not to be deterred in my plans my travel buddy, Lynda, and I took a taxi to the pretty town of Freeport, home of L.L. Bean, and I was not disappointed. 

Inn at the center of Freeport
L.L. Bean

We didn't get to COWS in Nova Scotia, but we did get yummy Maine ice cream.

We were blessed with supremely beautiful weather, good shopping and yummy ice cream. Couldn't ask for more!


On to Halifax...

and the beautiful village of Peggy's Cove.





We had a beautiful sunny day in Nova Scotia and I loved Peggy's Cove and its lighthouse. My only regret of the visit was we didn't get to COWS, one of the best ice cream stores anywhere. I discovered COWS during a vacation in Prince Edward Island three summers ago and hoped for an encore cone. Obviously I have to get back to the Maritimes soon!

The return to work week has been its usual hectic self and I'm enjoying a quiet Saturday morning very much. I have my bible study group this afternoon -- Samuel 2 -- and have plans for long walks, grocery shopping and cooking, maybe a movie, and definitely blog visiting. Wishes for a lovely, relaxed Saturday!

My Favorite Harbor

 Sailing out of New York harbor on a beautiful, clear September afternoon...

I may sail the seven seas -- and I fervently hope I do -- but home is here, my favorite harbor, and I love the lady who guards our shores. 

 A favorite moment, sailing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which links Brooklyn to Staten Island.
Leaving New York harbor and Canada awaits us...

Sailing Home

It's been a lovely week. Halifax, St. John, Portland and Boston. Some cloudy skies, but some glorious sun... I'm more relaxed than I was and still have today to simply enjoy. I bought a lot of my winter wardrobe -- a separate post -- and visited with my cousin while I was in Boston. I have lots of pictures to share, but  I am still having problems with my laptop connection, so the photos will have to wait until I am at home.

I am back in New York City tomorrow morning and then am scooting up to Westchester for a bridal shower for one of my favorite people. Work on Sunday, with some time for grocery shopping, laundry and blogging. Can't wait to catch up with my blog buddies!