Let's Visit the Alamo

 

Welcome to the Alamo

Yes, there's an Alamo in New York City and you're looking at it. This is the Alamo aka the East Village Cube at Astor Place. This is one of my favorite sculptures, eighteen hundred pounds of steel that revolves. It's the work of Tony Rosenthal and was first installed in 1967 as a temporary installation. Because of community enthusiasm, it became permanent, and is still there almost 60 years later.  

This wasn't my plan for the day, but once I moved to do the errands on my list, I decided it was too nice a day -- no rain and very little humidity -- to be inside doing errands. And with a sudden pivot I found myself at Astor Place. I found the coffee kiosk and a seat under one of the umbrellas, and I settled in to enjoy an iced coffee. 

The cafe at Astor Place and source of my iced coffee today

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I'm definitely not someone who is sad about getting older. I'm delighted to be getting older. It's a privilege that many won't have and even with the aches and pains, it's the best adventure I can have. 

I promised a birthday post and I'm not quite there yet for a long post. My thoughts on turning 76 are just beginning to emerge. There is one idea that has started to emerge. I need to keep trying new things. I'm not sure what those new things are, but I've started to see how easy it is to get into the same schedule every week. I love having activities to do every week and seeing friends at those places. I love traditions that are part of every season and holiday, but I think it's time to find a new activity (or two) and a new tradition (or two). As I learned decades ago in Girl Scouts, "Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold." 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool.

  

The Spirit of '76

 

Today I'm feeling the Spirit of  '76

Today I join the Spirit of '76 Club, though I won't officially turn 76 until 10:26 P.M. It's overwhelming -- neither of my parents made it to 76 -- and lots of fun, and I am very grateful to join this club. I'm going to write a longer birthday post, but couldn't resist including this in a very quick recap of the monumental weekend. 

Tall ships on the Hudson River 

It was quite a weekend in New York City. There were tall ships, planes, fireworks, the World Cup Games and as previously discussed, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding. There was a lot of discussion about the upheaval the wedding created because several blocks were closed, but if you weren't driving it was barely a ripple in Manhattan. Streets are closed for one reason or another every day and a few times a month I find I'm riding on a bus that's detoured because of a street fair or construction. 

I got to watch the tall ships and planes from a friend's office that overlooks the Hudson River -- New Jersey is across the water. We were on the 35+ floor. We had a great view of the ships coming down the river, but a less good view of the details. No complaints from me. It was one of the 100+ degree days and I was happy to be inside and out of the sun and have a great array of snacks and a coffee machine. It was truly memorable.   

I also made two visits to the New York Public Library for several great exhibits, which also deserve their own post. The Library has gone from what was, when I moved to New York in 1975, a musty series of reading rooms to a very lively and interesting place for exhibits, lectures and a cafe. 

I spent time "curating" my collection of photographs of the American flag taken in the last decade. I put my collection on Instagram and I'm happy to share the link. This photograph of the Fearless Girl statue in Lower Manhattan is one of my favorites of the collection. 

Fearless Girl and the New York Stock Exchange

I hope all of Buttercupland had a great celebration, too. I'm going to take the next few days and simply catch up. There's email to read, bills to pay, thank you notes to write, blogs to visit and the usual household chores to do. Turning 76 doesn't change the errands and chores, but I did take a vacation from them to celebrate America's birthday and my birthday. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool. 

You Read It Here First

 

We don't often have celebrity news in Buttercupland. Not that we're (totally) uninterested, but there are a million other places where that's all they write about. But in October 2023, almost three years ago, I did a post predicting that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would one day get married. I had visited Kansas City and took an interest in Travis Kelce and the romance that was just starting to be an "item." Here's a link to my very on the money prediction. 

Sadly, although I live three miles from the venue, have a very nice dress worn to several weddings that photographs nicely and I was a very early booster of the match, I am not invited. Madison Square Garden holds approximately 20,000 people. Surely there's room for one local influencer. 

If my dress doesn't meet the dress code, I can zip to Macy's and see what I can find and I will not try to smuggle in my phone and snap pictures. I proved I can adhere to a no-photography rule at Alnwick Castle and I was very tempted. Please, Taylor.

It is tempting to take a quick subway trip, seven stops on the local line, and see what's going on at the Garden, even without an invitation. But it's 96 degrees now and tomorrow and Friday are predicted to be 99. I will rely on those professional celebrity sites to keep me up to date. 

Today was a quick zip to the grocery and the bank and an iced coffee while I was out. I'm keeping it cool.  I had several ideas for the Fourth weekend, but, alas, the weather may be keeping indoors,

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool.  

Come Along with Me to Hogwarts

 

Probably the most elegant site where I will ever eat lunch, the courtyard of Alnwick Castle

The magnificent Alnwick Castle -- the site of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter movies -- was not one of the places I expected to visit during my England stop this month. I was focused on seeing Lindisfarne/Holy Island -- a future post -- but the day trip I chose from Edinburgh included a visit to the castle. I expected it would be interesting, but as with so many of the extraordinary events in life, it came on quite unexpected, and far exceeded my expectations.  

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

The castle was begun in 1096, very quickly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was purchased by the Percy family in the fourteenth century and it is still the family home. The family are now (and for several centuries) the Dukes of Northumberland and the family of the twelfth Duke is responsible for the castle and the grounds. For centuries the castle was primarily a military fortress and it fell into disrepair. That is now history and it has been beautifully restored. 

Next to the castle is The Alnwick Garden, created by the Duchess of Northumberland in 2001. It is a modern garden with a wonderful display of sculpture, fountains and lots of places to sit and enjoy the sights. There is also an area for tea, but alas, I didn't have time for both tea and to explore the castle and garden. I opted to explore as much as I was able to. 

Yes, the go-carts are provided and there were definitely used. 

One of my favorite fountains of the garden. Fortunately I was there before the heat wave. 

There were several other features of the castle and garden I didn't have time for, besides tea. There is a "poison garden," with poisonous plants, and broomstick lessons to pay homage to the filming of Harry Potter. The Quidditch and flying scenes were filmed in the Outer Bailey, a grassy open courtyard.

Ready for a Quidditch match?

History, magic, film and more history. My visit to Alnwick was an opportunity to go back in time, but with modern plumbing and good coffee. I'm a devotee of time travel books -- Outlander! -- and I'm intrigued by the idea of time travel. I like the idea of visiting past times, but don't like the thought of leaving modern conveniences (and hygiene) behind. 

Any other time travel fans in Buttercupland?

Jet lag seems mostly gone and I'm scheduling ahead for the Fourth of July weekend. I'm going to try and avoid the big crowds -- no fireworks for me -- but still have some interesting things planned. What is on the schedule, friends?

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool!

 

(Some of) The Sights I Saw

The best view in Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle

I've been home from one of the best trips ever to England, Ireland and Scotland for four days. I'm finally able to stay awake beyond 8:00 PM (actually 1 am in Edinburgh. Jet lag has been rough coming home from this trip, but the days away were well worth it.  

Incredible  Alnwick Castle, in Northumberland, England

Friends have asked what were the high points of the trip. So many! Two especial adventures were meeting friends that I'd been in touch with via Instagram, enjoying York and Edinburgh, seeing the beauty of Connemara on Ireland's Atlantic Coast and Holy Island, a beautiful tidal island in England. 

Loved the thatched cottages that I saw in Ireland...

...And the scones that I enjoyed.  

I enjoyed this delicious scone during my visit to Connemara. 

These are just a few of the high points. I'm hoping/planning to do posts on a few of the places I've written about. I'm getting back on track with all the home errands and feel reasonably caught up. I realized that the jet lag would be difficult and I kept this week very lightly scheduled.  

Keep cool, friends in Europe, and prayers for our friends in Venezuela, dealing with a devastating earthquake.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. 

 

The Journey of 904 Miles

 

One of my favorite places to walk is in my neighborhood

Welcome to June, the month where we go from spring to summer and it's time for the joys of long evenings. I'll be spending most of June in England/Ireland and Scotland and I will experience, not quite white nights, but a lot more light. I looked up the Isle of Mull in Scotland, one of the ports that I'll be visiting and sunset tonight is a blissful 10:03 PM and sunrise is at 4:39 am. 

Before I start walking in places new to me, it's time for an update on this year's walking journey. My goal for 2026 is (a somewhat odd) 904 miles, which is the number that will add up to 10,000 miles in ten years. Happily, despite the cold and snowy winter and my ankle issue, I'm right on track. My total for 2026 is 406 miles in five months. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the remaining 498 miles is doable. 

I'm not packed -- I wait until the day I'm leaving to actually put things in the suitcase -- but I feel organized. I know the last minute I will think of a dozen things that need to get done, but for now it seems under control. I've scheduled very little and that's helped a lot. In the next two days I'll go over my lists and make sure that I'm getting all my pre-trip errands done. Today was laundry day and download books day, two travel essentials.  

Before I sign off here are a few more pictures from my trip to Salem.

The view from the House of the Seven Gables

One evening visited with friends in Marblehead, MA and this was our view.

There will be lots of views of sea and sky in June and I will be sharing them with you while I am away. There will also be cities, villages and scones, lots of scones and jam. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.  

Matinee Day

 

My most recent theater afternoon, Fallen Angels, with Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne

My love of the theater started early. We didn't go often. We lived in Connecticut and tickets were pricy, when it was possible my mother and I would go to local plays. I remember seeing Oklahoma in a local "summer stock" production when I was nine or ten and from then on, my dream was to see a show on Broadway. That didn't happen for years, but our family vacation was a week in New York City in 1965. 

Once I was in college I was making my way on the New Haven Railroad to see theater. Tickets were three and four dollars -- approximately a few hours of my wages at my college job -- and I saw as much as possible. Getting tickets ahead of time was cumbersome. There was no internet with seating charts and credit cards. I had to mail a check and hope for good seats. Two plays from that era stand out. One was a revival of Our Town with Henry Fonda and the other a revival of Harvey with Helen Hayes and Jimmy Stewart. They were both so worth the effort and still stand out as some of the best theater I've seen.   

Once I moved to New York theater has been one of my favorite activities. Some plays have been as memorable as Harvey and some much less so. Ticket prices have gone from a treat or a splurge to at times, astronomical. I've become a very smart ticket buyer, using discount websites and when there's no discount, choosing carefully. I've learned that I'd rather see one thing I really want than several things I don't particularly care about. 

My latest theater event was seeing a revival of Noel Cowards, Fallen Angels. The play was described as not one of Coward's best -- which I agree with -- but I wanted to see Kelli O'Hara, one of my favorite actors. The play itself was okay, but Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne were delights. I remember seeing Rose Byrne in Bridesmaids and she was fabulously funny on stage with terrific comic timing. These two performances are now part of my theater memories.  

Is anyone else in Buttercupland a theater fan? What are some of your favorite plays?

It's a beautiful day in New York City, sunny and no humidity. I've got a synagogue volunteer event tonight and a haircut scheduled for tomorrow. And on Sunday I'm going to a very off-Broadway theater event with friends.  

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