AMANDA'S BASKETS: TOUR CONTINUED

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

TOUR CONTINUED - DUMBO

When I left off my little tour I was on my way to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). So here's what it looks like walking under the Manhattan Bridge looking back towards the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan.

And looking straight across under the Manhattan Bridge...

Still walking along the water in the park, looking directly east over the East River and next to a pier...

And this picture is looking northward on the East River, you can see the Williamsburg Bridge in the distance. The park area on the other side of the little water inlet is the beginning of the Main Street Park at Pebble Beach.

Continuing on the walk I found a lot more greenery and beautiful flowers...

To give you an idea of the size of the foundation for the bridges, take a look at this...

The streets in DUMBO are mostly cobblestone so care is needed when walking...

The shops are mostly small...

There are cute places to sit and relax. By the way the blue bikes are part of the city's rent a bike movement. This little park was where I found the Paparazzi Dogs...

The Mini Library movement has made it to DUMBO...

And splashes of color abound...

There are lots of little cafe's around this area and some very excellent large delis, as well as little shops like "The Shops at 145". There is also movement in this area to turn the warehouses into large open office spaces especially suited for tech companies.

It's an interesting place to spend a day walking around, enjoying the water and the park, watching the water traffic and maybe take a ride on the East River Ferry.

Tomorrow, I'll finish up the tour with some pictures around Borough Hall. Just to let you know, it wasn't a long walk, only five miles from my apartment and back again.

Thanks for visiting...

Talk to you later...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?