The Journey of 10,000 Miles is in Sight

 

It's just beyond the 2026 horizon 

I was walking home from the grocery store this afternoon and I started thinking about my mileage for next year. My legs felt heavy, as did my grocery bag. I thought to myself, that "pushing for 1,000 miles in a year is getting to be too much. I'm getting too old for this." I thought I might aim for 750 miles for next year instead. 

I decided once I got home that I would check my total mileage for the nine years I've been attempting to walk 1,000 miles. I found that I've walked 8065 miles before this year and with the 945 miles I've walked in 2025 my total mileage is 9,010 miles. I anticipate walking another 70+ miles this year and that leaves 900+ miles to complete my goal. 2026 will be the Journey of 900+ Miles and I'm amazed and delighted to have come so close. The goal was out there pushing me on, but the journey and the places I've been blessed to walk has been amazing. 

I walked around Rockefeller Center on  Saturday. The tree hasn't been lit yet, but the crowds were still there. It was wall to wall people, lively and lots of fun. I'm definitely going to make a return trip (or two) to Rockefeller Center later this month, so I'll save those pictures for a later post. But I took a number of pictures walking from the bus over to Fifth Avenue that I thought would be fun to share. 

One of my favorite holiday displays on Sixth Avenue

I zipped past Radio City Music Hall...

This fun window...

To arrive at Rockefeller Center

In the fifty years I've lived in New York, and the many times I visited before I lived here, this sight never gets old, and I expect it never will.   

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great Tuesday. 

 

Filling Grateful

 

Yes, friends, I'm filling/feeling grateful. I make an effort every day to appreciate all the blessings in my life, but today is a special time to think about people and things about which I am so grateful. 

In no particular order:

The dishwasher repair person is (finally) scheduled for Monday

Spent a wonderful Thanksgiving day with friends I love dearly. Great food and great conversation

A visit with family in Connecticut scheduled for December and lots of fun activities planned

Really enjoyed reading "James" by Percival Everett, and the wonderful book club I discussed it with. 

You, blogger friends! I'm grateful that I've made (and kept) friends simply by writing about (my) life in New York City. I think about when I first started writing in 2009 I could not have predicted all of the good things that would come from writing a blog. But the good things wouldn't have happened without all of you. Many, many thanks! 

 Holidays can be difficult. I know that I have so many expectations, even when I try to contain them. Some times things just don't go as we've hoped and planned. When I think about it, I'm surprised that I haven't learned to contain my (sometime overexuberant) expectations at this stage in life, but I haven't. For everyone that has had disappointments and who may have disappointments, my heart goes out to you. It's a tough season, but know that you're not alone, and there's always a place for you to visit and share in Buttercupland. All that said, I hope your day was fun and happy and you shared it with people you love. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

    

It's Monkey Monday (On Tuesday)

 

On this Monkey Monday, we're going to see the Holiday Lights at the Bronx Zoo

The Holiday Lights at the Bronx Zoo have long been on my list of things to do. But like so many things I just didn't get to it. The tickets seemed pricy, it wasn't a simple bus ride and none of my friends ever suggested it. Those are actually pretty flimsy reasons and now that I've typed them out, they're really not reasons at all. But since this is the moment when I'm looking to do things I've always wanted to do I made the effort to get to see the Lights. It was well worth it. 

Loved seeing the display of trees

Loved these parrots at the South America Illuminations,

and the sloth, pictured below

 

You may ask why this post is titled "Monkey Monday?" It's Monkey Monday because I made this trip with my beloved monkey friend, Pep. Pep was dressed up for the occasion with a cozy hoodie and his Snoopy pajamas. 

Pep had a tremendously good time seeing the lights and decorations

Another view of the Holiday Lights

Though I hadn't really meant to, this officially launches holiday posting, 2026.  I'm hoping to start making visits to my favorite sights this weekend. My goal is to get to Fifth Avenue and start with Rockefeller Center. I know I'll be there with (tens of) thousands snapping pictures, but that's -- happily -- Christmas in New York.  

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.

 

One Season Following Another

 

The Last Days of Autumn in Riverside Park

This afternoon I took one of the last autumn walks I will take in 2025. I know that winter won't begin for another month, but the weather and decor of the city are rapidly turning to a winter look. We don't have snow yet, but it could be any day. For almost every year I can remember I've not looked forward to winter. I don't like cold and as the years have passed, I've grown more apprehensive about walking on slippery sidewalks. I'm looking to change my attitude for winter, 2026. 

I wouldn't say I'm upbeat about the weather ahead, but I'm looking to all things that will make winter in New York fun. Yes, fun. I'd looked at several trips to warmer weather places, but things haven't worked out as I'd hoped. That may change, but right now I'm in New York through the winter. I'm thinking of museum visits, new coffee shops and plays that I'd like to see. I also semi-splurged on a new winter hat and will look for new boots, with good traction for slippery days. My goal is to make this the best winter in the city. 

Beautiful sky as I walked south in Riverside Park

 

In other local news, the Christmas trees have arrived. It seems early to me, but people go away in December and want to get their trees early and enjoy them. I'm just happy to walk through the urban forests that are created by the tree stands.  

This stand is the closest to my building, only a couple of blocks away.

 I'll be passing it just about every day. 

More neighborhood news includes a new gelato store just a few blocks further. I haven't tried it yet, but went in yesterday to scope it out. I'm a fan of Ferrero Rocher candy and was delighted to see Ferrero Rocher gelato. Everything looks good, but I haven't indulged yet.  I'm going to plan it as a treat and really savor or it.  

This may be one of my winter treats. I'm an ice cream/gelato fan in any season. 

That's life in the neighborhood in these last days of autumn. I've got my mammogram scheduled for tomorrow, a trip to the gym and I hope to do another blog post, too. Pep and I had an adventure last week and I'm planning to post it for Monkey Monday. What's on your agenda?

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cozy!

The Last Leaves of Autumn

 

Autumn in the Neighborhood

One of the things I've been remiss about is posting about (my) everyday life in New York. When I first started blogging (January 2009) most of my posts were about daily life. Over the years I've blogged less and focused more on events and special times. But most of my life/our lives is the day to day, and I've decided it's time to get back to more of the day to day. There will be special events, posts from travel and milestones, especially in the weeks to come. But come January -- not very far away -- it's back to New York City. 

Today really slipped away from autumn to almost winter. It was cold, sunless and the ground is covered with leaves. But last Saturday I took a walk in the neighborhood and captured a few moments of what may be one of the last days before the leaves are completely on the ground. 

West Side Community Garden at the end of the season

My walk to Trader Joe's passed our local community garden. From March to early  November there are flowers cultivated by my neighbors. It's  one of my favorite places to sit and read or simply drink a cup of coffee. It's beautiful in every season -- even the bleak beauty now -- but I love it best in the spring, when the tulips are in bloom. 

Tulip Festival, 2025

My local independent stationery store

My last stop on the way home was my neighborhood stationery store. We do have the big box stores, but I like helping to keep our neighborhood stores in business. This is my stop for a ream of paper, Sharpies and my calendar for each year. It's also the place I treat myself to some of the most fun pens I've ever found. 

Thanks for the good wishes about my leak. I've gotten the estimate -- about what I figured -- and the search is on for the parts. I have a very garden variety Whirlpool, so I'm optimistic that the parts are easy to get. The estimate is two to three days and then, I hope, all be well again in my kitchen. I know I won't ever take a working dishwasher -- or any major appliance -- for granted. Ever. I know it could have been a lot worse and I'm grateful that I wasn't away when it started to leak. As my mother always said, "If that's the worst thing that happens this year, you're very lucky." Agreed!

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.      

It's Beginning

The Farley Post Office at West 34th Street

In the sixteen years that I've been blogging I've had a semi-rule/tradition that I don't begin "Christmas in New York" photographs until after Thanksgiving. I also don't bring out my snowperson collection and don't start writing my holiday cards. I want to savor pumpkin time and then I want to savor Thanksgiving. There is time enough for Chanukah and Christmas in December.

But I happened to walk by the main post office yesterday and was delighted with the holiday decorations. I'm nearly positive that I've walked by/in this branch of the post office between Thanksgiving and Christmas many times and I don't remember the steps being decorated. Either I didn't notice this in the past -- unlikely -- or it's something new -- much more likely -- but I wanted to share this now. It looked so festive, I didn't want to wait.  I also organized my address list, which isn't a big project, but I need to put aside an undisturbed hour to get it done. I even wrote and addressed two cards, which I will wait to mail in December. I'm not rushing the season that much. 

When do you start your organizing, and when do you start decorating? I have friends who put their Christmas trees up right after Halloween and others who will wait until Christmas week. Which group are you part of?     

This was a long-planned weekend away, but a flood in my kitchen changed my plans. I may have been overly cautious staying home, but leaks in old buildings (or new buildings) can lead to disaster and I'd hate to come home to water and mess everywhere. I'm waiting for parts for my dishwasher and I hope, hope, hope, they're readily available.  

It's been a busy week. Medical appointment, haircut, Pilates class, time at the gym, Weight Watchers and a wonderful theater afternoon at Lincoln Center. I saw an extraordinary  production of Ragtime, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, and highly recommend it to anyone who may be in New York in the next six months. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and enjoy these sweet days of autumn. 

November 10, 1980

 

A much younger Buttercup and Sir Laurence Olivier

Exactly 45 years ago I began one of the great adventures of my life. It was my day one as the Deputy Scheduling Director for Mayor Ed Koch. I don't remember what I wore or how I felt -- though I'm sure I was scared to pieces -- but it was the first day of a twenty five year career in city and state government. When I look back at my forty years of full-time work, I couldn't have begun to imagine that this single day would lead on to the next thirty-three years of working. 

I'd never had the thought of a government career, but the job opened up, I had scheduling experience and things fell into place. And what a world I entered. The Mayor set the pace. His schedule started with meetings sometimes as early as 7:00 am and went well into the evening. There were a lot of meetings, events, photo opportunities and phone calls to schedule. Our office had six people working there and was also the waiting area for people who had meetings with the Mayor. Privacy was unknown, but mostly I loved the whirl of people and events.  

I stayed in City Hall for three and a half years, working through three campaigns, thousands of meetings and events. These included a welcome dinner and parade celebrating the return of the American hostages from Iran, receptions for President Reagan and Anwar Sadat, the Brooklyn Bridge Centennial, and visits from Mother Theresa, Jerry Lewis, Big Bird, and many others. I had the privilege of working with some of the most intelligent and hard working people I could imagine and learned so much about New York City and the complex coordination needed to keep it running.  

One of my great regrets is my lack of photographs. But in 1980 and the years that followed there were, as we know, no cellphones. Alas, I have no photos of me and Jerry Lewis or Big Bird, but I do have the memories. And I am so very grateful for all them.

As ever, thanks for visiting and thanks for being part of my Buttercup journey.