Blog Under Construction

 

Doorway in Guilford, CT, taken two years and a day ago.

This is an (Amost) Wordless Wednesday post, but it's difficult for me to be wordless. My giveaway schedule was to announce the winners today, but in the interim, Buttercupland is getting a major "tweak." It may not look it, but changes are here. The content remains the same -- my life in New York, books, coffee and travel -- but the look will be totally updated by my blogger buddy, My Fairy Blog Mother, who is truly my fairy blog mother and possibly, the most patient person in the entire country. I'm not sure when it will be done, but there will be a celebration. 

What else is going on? Our mayoral race is a mess, it's 96 and possibly going to 100 and Con Edison, our electric provider has asked the neighborhood to cut down electric usage. I'm keeping the iPad charged and putting a few extra water bottles in the freezer. I've got 1.7 miles to reach my half-year 500 miles walked goal and I'm not pushing it. 498 miles will be close enough for me today. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool!

Monkey Monday: Help Pep Get a Warranty

 This is a Public Service Announcement from the Buttercupland Department of Monkey Business

This car needs a warranty!

To no one's surprise, Pep's shiny red convertible didn't come with a warranty when it was purchased last year. None was offered on whichever site I bought it on, but the price was very right and it looked in good condition and you know the rest of the story, buyer beware.

It's not even a year and there a few little dings and dents and who knows what's going on with the chassis. Pep could really use a warranty to help keep the convertible in tip-top shape, but so far has had no luck getting one. 

Pep needs your help! When you get one of these pesky car warranty calls -- how many times a day??? -- just transfer the call to Pep. He has lots of time and loves to chat about car warranties. It will just take you a minute and will make your favorite monkey very happy. His number is 1-800-PEP-STER. After a few moments on the phone with Pep, your warranty calls will be over, and Pep may just get his warranty.   

A big thanks from Pep and from me. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and keep cool!

We're Having a Pink Saturday Tea Party

 

To quote the White Rabbit: "We're (almost) late for a very important date, Pink Saturday.

First, a mea culpa for being too late for last week's Pink Saturday. I'd downloaded all of the photos -- we were going back to Breckenridge -- and got sidetracked with something I can't even remember and when I went to post, I was too late. I'm not letting that happen this week. I've chosen three teapots and one "punchy," pictured above. 

Punch was a favorite beverage in the eighteenth century, both at home and at taverns. It wasn't the sweet, sweet punch we knew growing up, but a spicy and sweet alcoholic mix. Punch pots are bigger than tea pots and the vines on this one show that wine was sometimes part of the mix. 

This eighteenth century Staffordshire teapot could have been made last week. The design reflects the fossils found in the area's limestone layers. 

I've always liked blue and white china and this is one of the loveliest sets I've seen. 

I try to include something pink in every Pink Saturday post and this 

is my choice for this week. 

I had a wonderful visit to the Metropolitan Museum last week and I enjoyed (another) visit to the British Gallery, where I found all of these treasures. For my virtual tea party I'm choosing the blue and white china. I'm going to have a white tablecloth and napkins and yellow roses. I'll serve tea, miniature croissants and miniature Danish pastries, the latter were favorites of my mother for receptions. Which teapot would you choose?

I am totally amazed that this year is just about half over and the Fourth of July is only a week away. This afternoon I was asked about my plans for the Fourth and my first thought was, "Isn't that weeks away?" I think I need to start paying more attention to the calendar.   

As ever, thanks for visiting, have a great week and please stop by our Summer Reading Giveaway. 

It's a Pop-Up Summer Reading Giveaway!

 

It's Saturday night in New York City and though things are beginning to jump again, I'm spending my Saturday night quietly at home, as I've done for the last fifty-seven out of sixty (or so) Saturday nights. I did take a nice after dinner walk, but things aren't quite jumping enough that I have plans or think to make plans for Saturday night. As the summer (and fall) progress I'm sure/hoping that I'll begin to remember that it's fun to make plans for evenings and I will get back to going out at night. 

That said, it's a good night to blog, edit photographs and do a blog giveaway. I was gifted a collection of fun mystery novels and I know I won't get to reading all of them. In the interest of perking up Saturday (Sunday and Monday) nights around the country I'm going to do not one, but two, blog giveaways for two mystery novels each. One will be here in Buttercupland, and one will be posted (later this evening) on Coffee Light and Mysteries Noir, my sadly neglected mystery novel blog. There will be one winner chosen from those who comment on each blog. Leaving a comment on both blogs increases your chances of winning. So please stop by at Coffee Light and leave that sweet blog a little mystery love. 

There's some good summer mystery reading here with The Terrible Tide, set in New Brunswick, Amends for Murder, a Peggy O'Neill mystery, Murder at the Masque, a Victorian mystery and The Becket Factor, the first book in a series that takes place in Canterbury Cathedral.

Entering is easy-peasy. Just leave a comment about which book sounds most interesting to you. This is a quick giveaway and there's just 72 hours to enter. Entries close at 11:59 PM on Tuesday and I'll announce both winners on Wednesday, June 30.

I hope I've made your Saturday night a little more lively and that you'll be part of the summer reading giveaway. I'll be back tomorrow with our Pink Saturday tea party. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a good evening.  

The Journey of 10,000 Miles Continues

 

That Old Black Magic takes me on my walking journey.

Despite some sloppy record keeping -- I didn't calculate all of May until a few days ago -- I wasn't sloppy in my walking. In my past years of challenging myself to walking 1,000 miles I don't remember setting a half year mark. But as I did my calculations I realized that I needed to be (very)  near to 500 miles if I wanted to reach my goal. On Wednesday night I was 17.8 miles away from my half-year goal. As of this minute, I am 11.8 miles away. Barring some totally unforeseen circumstance I'm on my way to 1,000 miles this year. 

So few things have been in my control for the last year and a half, but walking was one thing I could do in the midst of all the uncertainty swirling around. I didn't achieve my goal for the last two years, so I'm especially pleased that I'm two years older and keeping at it. During one of my neighborhood walks I passed my favorite local store for sneakers and treated myself to an actual full-price pair. The staff was great and so patient as I tried on at least a half dozen different sneakers.  

I know June was supposed to be a low spending month, but as I'm out and about more I realize I've literally worn out a number of items of clothing. Sneakers were getting thin, t-shirts look dingy and my mainstay summer skirt has a rip in the fabric. A few months ago I thought I had more than enough clothes to last for the next decade, but I keep wearing the same few outfits everywhere and they won't last forever (or even just this summer) if I don't give them a rest. I did some looking at Marshall's and nothing was quite right, so my plan is to brave Macy's 34th Street this weekend. I've got coupons, but I'm not sure that I have the wherewithal for a full shopping expedition. Wish me luck!

We're having a (virtual) tea party for Pink Saturday this week. Hope you'll stop by to join the fun. 

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

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Brooklyn

 

Fuller Place, Brooklyn

I'm reasonably sure that when people think of Brooklyn, this isn't the picture that comes to mind. But it's Brooklyn, and one of my favorite blocks in the borough. For those who saw -- decades ago -- the movie As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, parts of the film were shot on this block. Last Friday I was visiting friends who live around the corner and, of course, had to take a photograph (or two).

 I'm totally back from Colorado, both in time zones and in getting used to being home.  Life is beginning to settle into a new groove and I'm doing more in person. Spent some time at the Y on two days this week, voted in person for the New York City primary yesterday and I'm riding the subway more. The stores are busier, buses and subways are busier and traffic is much, much busier, which is all good. Whenever I may be tempted to complain about the lines I remind myself that just a year ago I hadn't been out of my neighborhood in three months. 

I've still got several Colorado posts to share and I'll be doing an update on my Journey of 1000/10,000 Miles in my next post. 

I hope our Buttercupland friends in the west are keeping as cool as they possibly can. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a terrific Thursday!

My First Father's Day

My father and I, spring 1951

 

I don't know if this was my first Father's Day, but 1951 was my father's first Father's Day, and this is definitely 1951. I've used this photograph before for Father's Day posts and I will probably use it again. It may be my all time favorite picture with my father. I'm not sure either of us looks happier in any other photo. 

We've all heard the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and this picture is worth at least a hundred thousand words to me. My father has been gone since 1981, but when I look at this picture we're back together in Hartford and a flood of good memories come back to me. 

On this Father's Day and every day, thanks, Daddy! Thanks for love, wisdom, a love of reading and travel and a heart full of happy memories. Thanks, too, for your patience when this sweet little girl was a whole lot of handful. 

I hope everyone has had a happy day and I also hope our friends in the west are keeping cool. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and hugs and love.

Throwback Thursday Goes (Back to Last Thursday) in Breckenridge

A view of Tenmile Range from Breckenridge

Actually all of these photos aren't from last Thursday, but they're some of my favorites from last week in Breckenridge. I'm now back in New York for almost a week and my sleep is back to where it was before I went away. I'm happily breathing at sea level (instead of the 10,000 feet above sea level of Breckenridge), and I've gone grocery shopping and started cooking again. But with getting back to my somewhat normal routine -- not what it was in 2019 -- every few hours my thoughts to turn to Colorado and beautiful Breckenridge. 

The gondola to the slopes, not open until this week.  This was as close as 

I got to the gondola and the slopes. 

I realized that I have a number of photographs I want to share and this is my first batch. It's somewhat random, but includes some of my favorite moments in Breckenridge. 

The Willoughby Cottage on Main Street

Much of the central area of Breckenridge dates from the Nineteenth Century and the early years of the town. This cottage, and it's incredibly welcoming gate, was one of my favorites. As much as I enjoyed where I stayed -- about a mile away -- if I return to Breckenridge I'd love to spend time in this cottage. It looks like a storybook setting.

Coffee, Smile, Love. Repeat! 

I was able to pursue my love of coffee and found several places that had fabulous coffee. But this store also had a fabulous window. It might be my favorite set of sayings in all of my travels with coffee. 

I would be remiss to not introduce my new cousin, Heidi. 

One of the high points of the trip was a get-together with one of my cousins who lives in Denver and two Connecticut cousins who were visiting. It wasn't planned, but what great fortune. After our lunch in Breckenridge we all came out of the restaurant to find Heidi. We affected introductions with Heidi's non-goat friend and took photos together. I titled my post on Facebook, "Four cousins and a goat." One of our cousins suggested the title should be "Five cousins." I'm officially claiming Heidi as our new cousin, and happy that Heidi is part of the extended family.    

I've got (at least) two more Breckenridge posts. One will feature my visit with Pat and Vinnie and the other will be a Pink Saturday post commemorating Juneteenth and showing another aspect of Breckenridge's early history. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.

Monkey Monday: Looking for Love

 

Love is a monkey splendored thing

One of my activities in Breckenridge was meeting Brecka, the cute monkey on the left, while I was visiting. We had a nice visit, but to my surprise Brecka introduced me to her monkey friend, Oswald, on the right of the photograph. I was surprised that Brecka had a monkey friend because she had been corresponding with Pep on Monkey.Match. 

After Nessie married E Bunny on New Year's Eve, Pep was a sad monkey. Unbeknownst to me he signed up for Monkey.Match and started chatting with monkeys all over the country. He kept his computer matches a secret and logged onto the computer late at night when the rest of the household was asleep. I'm not sure how long this monkey matching might have gone on, but when I said I was going to visit Breckenridge Pep told me about his nocturnal activities and asked me to meet the Colorado monkey who had stolen his heart. 

Alas for Pep, Oswald had also been chatting with Brecka and Oswald lived in Colorado. When the two Colorado monkeys met in person a few weeks ago, it was love at first sight. Even though I was rooting for Pep I had to admit that Brecka and Oswald were made for each other. Brecka and Oswald are two happy monkeys in love and are now chatting in person. 

Pep was disappointed, but not deterred. Now that his Monkey.Match activities are known to all we are now sharing the computer. Hope springs eternal in a monkey's heart. 

Pep is gesturing to me that my computer time for tonight is over in ten minutes, so I'll bid a fond good evening to all of my Buttercupland friends. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and love and hugs from me and Pep!  

Pink Saturday Goes to Colorado

 

Greetings, Pink Saturday friends, from beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado

Actually these greetings are coming from my desk in New York City. I arrived back last night after a totally uneventful day of travel and a fabulous week in Breckenridge. My goal for this trip was a change of scenery and it turned out to be so much more. I spent time with family -- a definite bonus -- and blog friends Pat and Vinnie, who may be the best tour guides ever. I walked a lot, swam, went for a spa treatment and spent hours enjoying the extraordinary scenery. 

There will be several more posts about my travels in Colorado, but this post is a special Pink Saturday post. From my first day in Breckenridge I started to notice the color pink around me and decided I'd do an all pink post starting with the glimmers of pink in the sky. 

These bright beauties greeted me on my walk down Main Street.

I did very little shopping on this trip, except for window shopping. There were lots of cute things calling out to me, but in the interest of Sensible Spending June, I kept my shopping to window shopping and window photography. 

The pink bench called out to me and I think the pillow may have been custom made. I did contemplate buying the pillow -- I've never seen a Buttercup pillow before -- but while I was contemplating the pillow went home with another Buttercup. Happily I have the photograph to keep as a sweet memory.

I feel as though I followed my bliss into the mountains and

 left a piece of my heart in Colorado.  

I spent a fabulous afternoon at the South Park City Museum in Fairplay, Colorado with Pat and Vinnie. There are forty authentic buildings from the days of the Colorado gold rush mining camps. I found it fascinating and the Museum will get an entire post, but this pink room (from an original saloon of the era) deserves to be featured on Pink Saturday. For anyone who watched "Gunsmoke" back in the fifties, you'll appreciate that I fully expected to see Miss Kitty and Marshall Dillon walk in any minute.  

I've got one more "pink" picture, but it will be featured in a Monkey Monday post. There was a little drama with Pep's love life which I'll be sharing tomorrow. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great week!

 

Greetings from Breckenridge

 

Just a block from my hotel

I’m doing this post on my iPad and it’s a lot more difficult than my computer, so please excuse any issue with format. My iPad aside it’s been a great few days in Colorado. Easy flight — as though it hasn’t been forever since I’ve been in an airport — and an easy transfer to Breckinridge.

The scenery is even more stunning than I remembered from past visits to Colorado and it’s the perfect place for a change of scenery. The town is very walkable and restaurants, grocery, cute stores are an easy walk from my hotel. 

This was my breakfast view yesterday. I had eggs and a biscuit at The Blue Moose right across the street from my hotel. Today I’m going with yogurt, because I’ve got lunch ahead with a blog buddy, and yes, I’m so looking forward to our get together later today. Tomorrow I’m scheduled for lunch with my Colorado cousin. So happy to see friends, family and scenery.

Now it’s time for coffee and the gorgeous views anywhere in this town. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take care! 

Pink Saturday Celebrates National Doughnut Day

 

Today Dunkin Doughnuts is giving a free doughnut (with beverage purchase) 

to celebrate National Doughnut Day. 

I am an enormous doughnut fan and National Doughnut Day presents a great temptation. Actually every day doughnuts are a temptation, especially since this Dunkin is a block from home and I pass it almost every day. "My" Dunkin is at my closest bus stop and as I got off the bus this afternoon the pink and orange pennants were calling me, loudly. But I was on the way home from a Weight Watchers meeting and fortunately I was still inspired enough to say no thank you to a fluffy sweet doughnut. 

I did succumb to a doughnut protein bar, which isn't quite a doughnut, but still very tasty.  

My own kind of Doughnut Day treat and perfect for Pink Saturday

National Doughnut Day began in 1938 by the Salvation Army to honor the Salvation Army "lassies" who volunteered at canteens for American soldiers in France in 1917. The yummy day is traditionally observed on the first Friday of June. 

Tomorrow morning I leave for Colorado. I'm mostly packed, mostly organized and both excited and nervous. I hope to post here at least a few times, but will also be posting on Instagram daily. If you're also on Instagram, please join along in the fun. 

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

When You Can't Get to Japan...

...It's a treat to find a little bit of Japan just down the street. 

I generally have ideas for three or four blog topics. Sometimes it's something I've done or seen or a holiday. But yesterday I was thinking about possible topics for the next few days and nothing seemed quite right. While I was pondering I stopped at It's Sugar to pick up another Marilyn Monroe Pez Dispenser. While I was paying I noticed the array of candy at the register and saw the bag of Kit Kats in the midst of Pop Rocks of all varieties. 

I hadn't had Kit Kats in decades until my trip to Japan in 2015. I discovered the world of Japanese Kit Kat flavors and it was instant love. As odd as it sounds I found Wasabi Kit Kats and ate them throughout the trip. The combination of spice and white chocolate -- imagine a take on the Mexican mole -- was perfect. 

Memories of Japan, 2015

When I got home I looked to order them, but the cost of shipping -- not many were part of Amazon Prime -- and my goal to eat healthier made Kit Kats another travel memory, until yesterday. 

The international Kit Kat collection:

Japanese Kit Kats on the left -- strawberry, matcha and dark green tea

American Kit Kats on the right -- white chocolate and dark chocolate

I did find one limited edition American Kit Kat, Key Lime Pie. As tempting as it was -- and it was tempting -- to this fan of key lime pie, I was able to leave it in the store. I'm not sure I will always be able to walk past the store and not drop in, but I'm optimistic that when I do, it will be a one time treat. I will, of course, do a blog post on any Kit Kat sampling that I may do.  

Now that you know my guilty secret candy, what's your favorite guilty secret candy? 

Besides researching Kit Kats it's been a busy few days, with gym class, Weight Watchers, bank, groceries and picking up my new sneakers. I've been doing well with walking, but heavy rain today kept me mostly indoors. I'm hoping for better weather in Colorado and lots of walking. Fingers crossed!

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

 

Welcome to Low Spending June

 

I cannot tell a lie about No Spending May. I bought three Marilyn Monroe Pez 

Dispensers for a dollar each in May. It was my only unnecessary purchase. 

No Spending May is officially over and with the exception of the "Collector" Pez dispensers I bought nothing tangible except food. Even when I passed through Target on the way to the grocery section nothing crept into my cart. My only slip was the impulse buy of the Pez dispensers, which I bought to resell on eBay. So far there are no bids, but if they don't sell, I figure I can eat the Pez candies.  

In the spirit of being thoughtful about money -- especially as new temptations arise daily -- I'm now beginning Low Spending June. I found that in the past I've designated February, September and November as low spending months, and for topsy-turvy 2021 I'm adding June. In June past there were a lot of events and travel scheduled which led to gifts and extra spending, but so far this one is relatively unscheduled. I'm hoping that a Low Spending month will help rein in impulsive purchases while I'm in Colorado. 

I did order new sneakers today, which are a definite necessity. I realized I'd worn out just about all the padding in the ones I've been wearing and if I didn't replace them soon, I'd be walking around with holes in my shoes. I also need to get sunscreen, but that's practically a medical purchase and not frivolous. 

I think/hope I've put away my winter jacket for good. The temperature here was in the seventies and sunny today and beautiful. I walked three miles and did several errands I'd been putting off, including the visit to the sneaker store to actually be fitted properly. Tomorrow is my active older adults strength training class in the morning. In the afternoon I'll begin to put together things for the trip. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful June. 

Happy Retiraversary, Pep (and Me)

 

Pep Le Monkee, all dressed up for our retirement party in 2013 

I very much doubt that anyone will find "retiraversary" in any dictionary, but neither can one find "blogaversary" in the dictionary and it's long been in use in Buttercupland. May 31 is both Monkey Monday and the eighth anniversary of Pep and my retirement. During my most recent phase of decluttering I found this handsome photograph of Pep in his retirement tuxedo and knew it was the perfect retiraversary/Monkey Monday picture. 

Being retired for eight years is like being seventy, almost impossible to fathom. Consciously I know the years have passed, but the last eight years have been the fastest of my life. With a blip for 2020 and the winter of 2021, each month seems to end just as it's begun. That certainly wasn't the case for my working years when meetings seemed to go on for a month and vacation seemed a decade away. 

I worried a lot when I retired. I worried that my financial decisions might not have been wise. I worried that I wouldn't find meaningful things to do and I worried that I would be lonely. The last issue especially troubled me. The office was hectic and pressure-filled, but it was never lonely and I made some of the best friends I've ever had at my job. It was difficult to imagine my new life where I wouldn't be turning every corner and seeing someone I knew and liked. 

Eight years later I worry a lot less about those issues. Keeping a budget and planning has helped with money management. I've found meaningful things to keep me busy and I've been able to maintain friendships and make new friends to continue to enjoy life with.  

As for Pep, it's been a great retirement, too. He's gotten to travel, meet new friends and have the best monkey retirement ever. Neither of us can ask for more. 

  Here's to our ninth year of retirement and many more! 

The sun finally came out in New York City today and what a pleasure it was. After my full round of socializing yesterday, today was a quieter day. I took a walk, read and caught up on the Sunday newspaper I barely touched yesterday. 

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.