It's the Second Monday in October

 

And it's Thanksgiving in Canada

 Buttercupland wishes all of our friends in Canada a very happy Thanksgiving.  

Thanksgiving in the United States won't  happen for another six weeks, but every day is a day for thanks. I try to keep gratitude in mind throughout the day and it seems that some days I do better than other days. Yesterday was cold and rainy and my focus more than not, was how wet my sneakers and socks were while walking outside after the theater. I loved the play, The Hope Theory, a thoughtful and totally enjoyable one person show combining magic and memoir, had a great visit with a friend and ended the afternoon with coffee and an English muffin. But for too much of the time my focus was wet socks. 

Between today's bright sunshine and thinking about thanksgiving, I've been able to refocus. Will  I stay refocused? Not all the time, that I know. My thoughts will too often drift to wet socks and not thankfulness for theater, friends and a cup of coffee on a rainy afternoon. But I'm a work in progress and the last 24 hours has, thankfully, been a moment of progress. 

My view today, Astor Place and Cooper Square in the East Village 

I went out of the neighborhood this afternoon and enjoyed coffee and errands in a different part of Manhattan. Between grocery shopping and coffee I sat down in this square to tie my shoe. Just a few minutes to tie my shoe. But the temperature was idyllic (really!), there were plenty of places to sit and it was a great place to people watch. I stayed a lot longer than a few minutes enjoying the sun, the air and the ambience. I need to keep this perfect afternoon in mind when I have wet socks or forget my gloves. 

Here's to sunny autumn afternoons, dry socks and coffee with friends.  What things are you grateful for today?

As ever, thanks for visiting and cheers for autumn. 

Let's Have a Cup of Coffee

Memories of a beautiful summer day in Maine, 

made even better with my favorite, iced coffee

As many long time citizens of Buttercupland know, I am a coffee fan. Just about every day starts with a cup of hot coffee and during the day I usually add another cup of coffee -- or two -- to my beverage schedule. Even on the gloomiest of days, coffee is a bright spot. 

It gives me great pleasure to give a cheer for coffee on its yearly holiday. There's also an International Coffee Day on October 1 and you know I'll be back to celebrate a few favorite coffee adventures around the world. 

You may ask where I've been this while and the answer is home and decluttering, lots of decluttering. I've gone through closets, drawers, bookshelves and kitchen cabinets. I'm not sure that the world would see the difference, but I can see empty spaces, especially on book shelves. 

I've been donating things, consigning things and selling things. My goal was to sell twenty-five things this month and I was on a roll. But things have come to a stall and, unless the next few days are big sales days, I will end September with nineteen sales. If anyone would like to join me on Vinted -- it's genuinely easy and so far the shipping fees are modest --  please send me a message. 

Another coffee travel memory, 

this one from the cafe at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha

Now it's back to a little more decluttering for the evening. What's your evening look like?

As ever, thank for visiting and happy autumn. 

 

Shana Tova

 

 With thanks to my Instagram friend, sketchpad_on_tour

Shana Tova is a traditional greeting for the Jewish New Year which begins in a few hours at sundown. It means "good year," and within those two words is a world of good wishes, for good health, happiness, meaning and peace for all the world. I'm delighted to share this beautiful drawing by my very talented Instagram friend. It's simple, heartfelt and lovely. Thanks, Victoria. 

As I've written in the past the services at my synagogue are long, almost always over three hours. As much as I try to focus on the liturgy, there will come a time (and time again) when my mind wanders. I've found over the decades that having a prayer list helps me to concentrate. Ahead of the holiday I write down a list of items that I want to include and then I ask my friends -- virtual and in person for their requests. It is an honor to pray for other people and I am grateful for the opportunity. If you have prayer requests, please leave a comment or feel free to send me a message. 

As we prepare to enter 5787 it is my joy to wish all of Buttercupland a happy, healthy and meaningful year ahead. My added prayers for a year, especially, of peace. Shana Tova!   

Twenty Five Minutes, Twenty Five Days, Twenty Five Years, A Lifetime

 

Every year I think it will get easier and every year brings a new tide of fresh grief. Perhaps someone in this world has found the elusive closure, but it's not me, and I doubt if it ever will be me. 

Beginning in the fall of 1999 my office moved to 2 Broadway and the World Trade Center became a major part of my life. I shopped on the concourse level after work, had a quick supper sometimes and often took the subway uptown from there. In the December after my office moved I bought discount holiday cards at the Borders Bookstore there. In the way of so many things in life I appreciated that the Trade Center was there and yet, took it so for granted. 

Since 2009 when I began this blog, I've been writing my observation about September 11. As in the past, I link to a previous post and this year I chose the one that I wrote for 2011, "Can Anyone Define Closure?" One day,  far into the future I hope, I won't be here to write my reflection, and one day, no one who experienced the day in Lower Manhattan, will be here to tell their story. Like so many other events that have happened, September 11 will pass into the history books. Our reflections and stories will form that history and the memories of those who died on that beautiful September morning will live on in our remembrances. 

May the memories of all those who went to work or ran an errand and never came home be for a blessing, now and always.  

 

We're Celebrating

 It's National Teddy Bear Day

We're celebrating one of our favorite days of the year, National Teddy Bear Day. It's right up there with Thanksgiving, the first  day of spring and National Coffee Day, to name a few other favorites. Unfortunately we're celebrating with the photo we used last year. There's some glitch in Blogger and the nice new picture I took this evening won't load. It's a cute one and includes Sam, the latest member of our Buttercupland Crew that joined us last summer. I am so hoping that it's one of the pesky Blogger issues that comes up out of nowhere and resolves itself just as quickly. 

I'm enjoying the gentle transition into autumn, though I, as in every year, I'm surprised that the days are getting shorter. We're not into sweater weather yet, but I know that one day I'll go out without a jacket and realize I needed a jacket and maybe, gloves, too.

 I've been cleaning out my closet and dresser and am pleased to find space in drawers that seemed too full for one more thing. They were too full and I'm actually putting aside clothes that I didn't wear this summer. Next stop are shoes that I haven't worn in awhile, and don't anticipate wearing. I've still  got ankle issues -- may always have ankle issues -- and I'm sticking with the sneakers that my doctor recommended. It's not the most attractive look (not attractive at all), but I'm walking with less pain and there's definite improvement. I know there's spring cleaning, but does anyone else do autumn cleaning/decluttering?

As ever, thanks for visiting and enjoy the almost first days of autumn. 

See the USA: Iowa and Nebraska

 

Check: States forty seven and  forty eight

Somehow it's September and I'm back in New York after a wonderful and whirlwind visit to Nebraska and Iowa. My thought when I booked the trip was to visit two states I had yet to visit. Iowa and Nebraska would put me very close to visiting every state in United States. Of course, the trip wasn't just about setting foot in both states. I looked up the sights in Omaha and there was definitely more than enough to see for the three days that I would be there. And there certainly was more than enough to see. 

The Old Market Area

I stayed in the Old Market area, which had once been the wholesale area of Omaha. The old brick buildings have been repurposed and it was a great area to stay in, with coffee shops, restaurants and stores. It was also convenient to the sites I wanted to visit and though there was a lot of construction in downtown Omaha -- a light rail system is being built -- I was able to figure out how to walk to my destinations. 

The banks of the Missouri River and the Riverfront area, a great place to walk

I thought I'd done my research well, but one of the great surprises was the National Park Visitor Center about the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail. This area had been an important part of the Trail and it was an unexpected pleasure to learn more about this important part of American history.  

In three days I was able to enjoy the Old Market, walk the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge to Iowa, visit the Kiewit Luminarium (science museum), the fabulous Joslyn art museum, 

the National Park Center, the Riverfront and eat some of the best ice cream I've ever had at the iconic Ted and Wally's. Through no planning on my part, it just happened that Ted and Wally's was across the street from my hotel. I'm still dreaming of the maple walnut ice cream. 

  

The ice cream of dreams

Now it's time for the "Ber" months, which I know will fly by. Rosh Hashanah is next week and I noticed Halloween and Thanksgiving cards at the store today. I'm going to enjoy these last few weeks of summer before I jump into the round of autumn activities and holidays. 

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

Oh, Hey Boo!

 

I am so not ready for Halloween

Hey, Boos! I know I've been away way too long and no real reason. Though I did have a keyboard issue last week, which after a few days of time spent with Google, is now in the past. I'm glad it's resolved, but computer issues do put me in a tizzy. I don't miss much about working, but I definitely miss the IT staff we had and how helpful they were. 

It's still summer in New York, and these last few weeks have been lovely. There's been some  rain, but nothing I've wanted to do has been rained out. I've managed a great day in Brooklyn looking at one of my favorite views of Manhattan and a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I haven't been to either of the latter in the last few decades and it was way overdue. 

 I didn't spend much time at the Museum, though there's a lot to see. My visit was to take a hard-hat tour through the restoration work being done on abandoned the hospital section, which had been closed to the public for the last 60 years. We had a wonderful guide from the Save Ellis Island Foundation and it was a fascinating visit to the past. Most of my family came to the United States via Ellis Island and I spent some time in the document section where I found the manifest of the ship my grandparents arrived on in April, 1914.

The view of the Statue of Liberty from a window in the Isolation Ward of the Hospital. 

This was the section for patients with tuberculosis. 

I leave on Wednesday for Omaha. It's a quick visit, but another stop on my quest to see all fifty states. I've got a sight-seeing itinerary and a list of fun restaurants, including two "must visit" ice cream shops. One is only a five minute walk from my hotel, so I know that will be one of my first stops in Omaha. 

If you  enjoy my New York photographs, please stop by my Facebook page. I've been posting regularly there and I'd love to have you visit. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and enjoy the waning days of summer.