Daffodils in Bryant Park

Elizabeth Street abloom

Magnolias in in City Hall Park

Tulips in City Hall Park

Tulips under the Cherry Tree

Simply divine, each day brings new blossoms to the streets and the parks.

And finally, we have snow! Technically the first snow was in October but since I was in San Francisco this is my first snow.

The light dusting left trees and rooftops glistening. Big puffy snowflakes leisurely fell from the sky, swirling around as they made their way to the ground.

Dieter sat on the windowsill fascinated and mesmerized. Occasionally he reached to the window to try and touch it.

By afternoon most of what remained was slush and this morning what remained was ice.

Like life, with snow, it must be savored in the moment.

42 days after moving here the occupiers moved into Zuccotti Park, wreaking havoc on lower Manhattan.

Overnight hundreds of NYPD were stationed on our block and every morning for 2 months scenes like these were part of every day life in the neighborhood.

Today, 4 months later, the barricades are still up and it is not possible to walk down the street without being diverted.

The new normal.

Thank you Occupiers.

…. Yesterday the barricades that had been surrounding Isamu Noguchi’s Red Cube at 140 Broadway came down! Slowly the neighborhood is reclaiming itself.

Thank you city for clearing the occupiers out of Zuccotti Park.

The tail end of fall in Central Park. A perfect day – cool and crisp. The scent of fallen leaves permeating the air. I’m smitten.

It’s a good thing that this was the weekend we went apple picking. Not only is it the end of the apple season, it is also a week or so after the peak of the foliage.

Nevertheless, it was a perfect fall day – bright blue sky, sunny and crisp. And despite being the end of the season neither the apples nor the foliage disappointed.

Upon arrival we paid for our bushel and peck (so fun that I can actually say I bought a peck of apples) and headed into the orchards, map in hand, to start picking.

One thing of note when we parked the car there was a sign warning about shoplifting… really? In a Hudson Valley orchard… who are these people stealing more than the bushel or peck that they paid for in advance? I am disillusioned that such a warning sign exists but apparently there is a shoplifting problem in idyllic orchardland…

At first glance it was a challenge finding trees that still had apples on them, I instantly thought we had been duped, and then, we found the last few standing… and there were really just a few… like 4 or 5 trees left with apples on the branches.

After picking and eating along the way I ended up with a peck of Cameo and Winesap apples, the Golden Delicious just weren’t for me.

As we drove away I was scheming about the tart tatins, apple pies, apple sauce and apple chutneys that were in my future.

Lesson learned – walking and talking on the phone is a recipe for being mugged. It happens in a flash. They hit you from behind. Before you know it the phone is flying out of your hand, landing on the sidewalk and someone is picking it up and running away with it into the subway…. or around the corner…

Apparently this type of thievery happens frequently in NYC. There are rings of bandits who steal iPhones, insert new sim cards and sell them on the black market.

Perhaps if more NYPD were patrolling the neighborhoods and subway entrances than picking up on women and picking their noses “protecting” Wall Street from the occupiers my mugging could have been avoided.

Current NYC relationship = hate

Advice to all = Don’t Be a Target… Be careful, stay alert, be aware of your surroundings at all times so this doesn’t happen to you.

But how to pick up from the coffee cake. Almost every single day for the past 86 days that I’ve lived here something has happened to make me think “I need to write about this”.

There has been an earthquake, a hurricane, the 10 year anniversary of 9-11, and the occupiers have taken up residence in a park blocks from my apartment. I’ve had to re-learn how to do all of the things that I took for granted on the west coast – grocery shopping, finding a good cup of coffee, finding a good baguette, figuring out the best way to get off this asphalt island in a rental car – the list goes on.

I’ve learned that it’s true what they say about New York being a completely different place to live than it is to visit. It is also true when they say that this is the easiest place to live at the same time the most difficult. New York is also, quite decidedly, the most and least convenient. These unique-to-New-York lifestyle contradictions result in the cliché love hate relationship with the big apple which is turning out to be a big bite to chew for this west coaster – good thing it’s apple season!

So getting back to how I found my way back. It happened last week. I stepped on it. For weeks I had been walking up a wooden ramp that merged street with sidewalk. It was simply a piece of ply-wood connecting the two, nothing to think twice about… until last week. Someone had written “Become Your Dream” on the ply-wood. It made me smile, I was inspired. And in that moment I realized I had found my way back.

Being in Manhattan and living close to Ground Zero sparked a range of emotions for the 10 year rememberance of 9-11.

It was impossible to keep a dry eye while walking around on this somber day. People had traveled from near and far to pay respects for loved ones or those they didn’t know at all.

At Saint Paul’s Chapel the week prior to 9-11 white ribbons were handed out for people to write their sentimets on and hang on the fence. This public work of art was up for a week for any and all to participate in.

Walking by I was voyeuristically drawn into readnig what people had to write. So raw and heartwreching were the emotions.

A city changed forever, an city stronger than ever. The love, loss, comaraderie and emotion on that day made us all feel like one.

This coffee cake has become a staple at brunch tailgate parties during football season. My friend, Marci Levine brings it and it’s always one of the first dishes in the spread to go – you have to be quick to get a piece!

We’ve been eating it for years and after each tailgater my Dad always says, Lynda, “what would it take for you to make this for your old man?” My response, “get the recipe.” This year he took action.

Rather than just making the coffee cake and giving it to my Dad, I decided it needed a proper premier at an event similar to a tailgate party.

The Lollipop Run in Golden Gate Park was that event. My niece would be running her first 5K and we would all be there cheering as she crossed the finish line.

As the coffee cake was being served, a woman standing next to me sniffed it out. She said she was a connoisseur of coffee cake and this looked like one of the best she’d seen. I asked if she’d like a piece, she said “no, but I would like the recipe.”

Turns out, Liz Hale was that woman, her husband started Backroads, an active travel company that I’ve been a big fan of for several years. Having first hand experience of a couple their trips I know that they have delicious breakfasts!

I can’t help but wonder if Marci’s Coffee Cake will make it onto a Backroads breakfast menu?

Marci’s Coffee Cake

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tbs salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Topping:
2 tbsp flour
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped (I use walnuts too)

Preheat over the 325°F and grease a 9”x13” glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter until creamy then add eggs and vanilla. Gradually add half of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk and then add the remaining flour and buttermilk. Mix together until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine the topping until crumbly – I do this with my hands or a fork.

Pour batter in the baking dish and evenly sprinkle the topping over the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown.