A Few of My Favorite Things: Hot Cocoa Time

I wish you all could be here with me tonight. We'd have a big mug of cocoa, made with cocoa and milk and sugar, with just a little vanilla. Maybe a cookie -- or two -- or a brownie or a lemon bar. We had brownies topped with red and green M&M's today at work, thanks to my colleague Donna. Yummy!

I'm a lot calmer today. I've got a pile of wrapped gifts at the office and have made a little headway on my cards. Still a long way to go, but I think my friends will understand if they don't get their cards until Monday. I know I will enjoy any that arrive next week.

I know it's not all about cards and gifts and errands. So not about errands. With all the difficulties at work that weigh heavy I'm nonetheless delighted to be here to savor the small pleasures and moments of the heart. I'm wearing my cozy slippers and sharing a cup of cocoa with some wonderful friends. Here's to you dear and precious blog friends, may your days and the year to come hold many moments of sharing and affection, bound by a chain of friendship that goes all around the world.

A Few of My Favorite Things...Fruit Labels

I think I bought my first fruit label during college. It's from an orange crate and it is a sweet dog named Fido. It wasn't the typical dorm decoration, but I had a liking for American decorative arts even then. I didn't think about fruit labels for another 10 years and then I couldn't get enough. I have fruit labels in the kitchen, where I have my tartan collection and Fido. They are in the bedroom -- big city and New York labels -- and a mixed group on one wall of the bathroom. I like the bright colors and even brighter imagination displayed in them. Is anyone else a fruit label fan?

Update on Tim McGraw...Mary and I are going to see Tim McGraw on Monday night. It's a live webcast at 8:00 P.M. We'll be at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the Letterman Show is taped. I got no instructions about what to wear and you can be assured that I will have my camera for whatever time I can take photos. I wish I could bring all of my blog friends!

Wishes for a wonderful Thursday!

A Few of My Favorite Things...Coffee

I love coffee! I love it with lots of milk, no sugar and I'm happy with it hot or iced, but iced -- and sitting at a cafe in Paris -- is my favorite. My best coffee memories are actually in Italy. One is the best iced coffee service I've ever had at a hotel in Rome in 1982. The ice was served in a silver bowl. The coffee was great and the setting was so elegant. Another memory is any cappuccino service in Rome. From classics hotels to the corner cafe, the coffee was great. Always served in a china cup, with a big swirl of steamed milk. I tear up just thinking about it.

My favorite mug

I bought it just seven years ago on a wonderful October trip to Italy. The mug came from a ceramic factory in Ravello, a lovely town on the Amalfi coast. This was the trip of the fabulous cappuccino and endless gelato. It was a beautiful and delicious trip.

And what prompted this string of memories of coffee? Tonight I was a winner in the Starbucks Via Challenge. I successfully guessed which cup was Starbucks brewed and which cup was Starbucks new Via instant. I pass a Starbucks about four times in various places on my way home and at the last one succumbed to pop in and try their new instant. It was good, but a little pricey for everyday consumption. That's my thought on Starbucks generally. Also one of the resolutions I made on that 2002 trip to Italy was to drink cappuccino only in china cups, and with a few exceptions your coffee-loving Buttercup has kept that resolution.

Wishes for for many happy memories to come!

A Few of My Favorite Things --Healthy Laughs

I spent this afternoon at my friend, Carol's for a "Healthy Laughs" House Party. It's always a treat to be invited to Carol's. The company is interesting and the conversation is good and Carol is a food stylist and the best cook I know. She is gracious and hospitable and fun, and I am so blessed that she is my friend.

Carol found this idea on the web and invited a group of friends to lunch and to discuss cancers that affect women. Sounds dire, but it was upbeat, informative and there were lots of healthy laughs, and of course yummy and healthy food, including a great crustless quiche and lots of veggies.

You may ask why this entry is part of "A Few of my Favorite Things." Spending time with my friends is just about at the top of my list of favorite things to do, tied with spending time with family. But as a single woman, my close friends have become my family. I get especially nostalgic at holiday time, and the Jewish New Year starts on Friday night. I've begun to reflect on the year past. It's been a year of challenges, but also of good times and deep and rich friendship. I don't think I would have been able to traverse this year without my friends, as support and company and for lots of healthy laughter. Thank you friends from around the world -- friends from childhood, college, work, bible study, bloggy friends and all the strange and wonderful ways we meet the people who make our life good and meaningful. Blessings to you all!

A Few of My Favorite Things...Snow Globes

I'm introducing a new theme, sharing some of my favorite things with my bloggy friends. I have a few collections, some like postcards go back many years. Others, like snow globes are relatively recent. I started collecting right after September 11th with a snow globe of the Twin Towers and it just grew from there. Most of my collection is in the office and I've bought some, but a number have been gifts from colleagues. I have had two mishaps getting them back to New York. The snow globe from the Cayman Islands broke in the suitcase and the snow globe from the Clinton Library in Little Rock was confiscated by airport security for having more than three ounces of liquid.

A close-up of three of my favorites, Park City, Utah -- where I took a hot air balloon ride -- Memphis and Sitka, Alaska.

I keep a few at home, too. Here is one from the Edison home in Fort Myers, one brought as a gift from Barbados and my favorite, a snow globe based on a cartoon in "The New Yorker." The poor soul in the globe is standing with a snow shovel contemplating the endless amount of snow he has to shovel. He stands right by my computer and I never tire of watching him.

Anyone else a snow globe collector? What are your favorite things?

Take good care and hope everyone is having a relaxing and happy weekend.