Tip: Saving Champagne or Lambrusco

There are times I would enjoy a glass of champagne or wine if only I had a friend over to make opening a bottle worth it, or when I do have a friend over to share the Champagne or wine with -- as non-guzzlers of alcohol -- we enjoy our glass of wine yet don’t finish the bottle. Half a bottle of Champagne or Lambrusco goes flat soon after opening the bottle ... like the next day. 

But wait, in addition to making sangria with leftover wine, there’s an easy, inexpensive solution!

I figured out how to keep sparkling (or regular) wine just as fresh or bubbly as the day you open it. 

Here’s how:

1) Buy a champagne stopper. Walmart sells them for $3.50. In 2018, I got the Champagne Stopper by MiTBA on Amazon. If it's out of stock, enter the stopper name in a Google search box to see where else to buy them.

2) Save an empty Champagne or Lambrusco bottle to pour leftover and/or regular wine into. This is necessary because regular (non-carbonated) wine bottles do not work with the stoppers. The mouth of a regular wine bottle will not catch.

The MiTBA Champagne Stopper (the brand I use) is a leak-proof bottle sealer featuring a built-in pressure pump designed to keep sparkling wine, prosecco, and champagne carbonated for days. Other stopper brands that look similar to it will likely work as well. Decide if you wish to take the risk.

I have enjoyed leftover Champagne, Lambrusco, and non-carbonated wines 2 -3 weeks after opening a bottle. So now I’m not reluctant to open a bottle to drink a single glass of wine with a cheese platter or a nice dinner. Because you know what? It appears I’ll never be a heavy drinker. When having a glass of wine, I like its taste, but I don’t desire it any more (meaning quantity or frequency) than I desire other treats, like a piece of chocolate, an apple, or a slice of cake. The Champagne Stopper is ideal for cheap dates just like me!

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5 Functional Mini Umbrellas

Totes Auto Open/Close Minis

When rain falls in the summer, it could be sunny and dry an hour later. Not so in the autumn and winter, when rain frequently means a damp and gloomy day or a wicked, stormy weekend.

Although often requiring compromise, I no longer carry big, bulky umbrellas to tackle rainy days. Surely I’m not alone in preferring mini umbrellas that are super light and fit into a purse or jacket pocket. Here's a roundup of 5 mini umbrellas customers like. The criteria: The umbrella should fit into a handbag or pocket, be easy to open and close, open wide enough to keep us dry, reasonably withstand the wind, and have a long enough shaft to hold comfortably: 

1) Mini Totes - The best experience I’ve had with mini umbrellas is with Totes. Of course, there are some compromises compared to using a full-sized heavy umbrella; namely, a strong wind can blow it up, but you can quickly snap it right back into place, and it is stronger than other brands I’ve tried, including Eagle Creek and Leighton. The shaft is a comfortable length. You don’t want the umbrella sitting on your head!😳 Priced at $20, Mini and Micro Mini Totes appear in the aisles at T.J. Maxx regularly, where you will pay $10, half price. I don’t like to pay more since umbrellas are easily lost despite efforts to be responsible. Although not a dealbreaker, I prefer manual to auto open/close mini umbrellas. It takes no strength to manually open a mini umbrella, and they don’t break as often as automatics.

2) Sherry Travel Mini Umbrella for Purse With Case - Overall, positive reviews from customers. One of the smallest, weighing 4.5 oz, so perhaps worthy if you desire to keep an umbrella in your purse at all times for unexpected rain. It won’t weigh down an overnight bag either. The case makes it easier to keep it in a handbag, but it’s not an umbrella's strongest selling point; still nice as long as the case is a bonus.

3) Mustarpicking Mini Travel Umbrella with Case - A bestseller that has many positive reviews. A strong wind can flip it up, yet customers say the umbrella is surprisingly sturdy. As with this mini umbrella, many brands have SPF sun protection, another feature I wouldn’t pay extra to get, since it's not the reason we carry umbrellas. Their main function is to keep us dry.

4) Lilac Travel Mini Umbrella - The canopy opens to a generous-sized umbrella. The retractable handle is a bonus, making it easy to hold. Reported to hold up well in wind, customers say it’s of average quality, reasonably priced, and works well for everyday use. I’d reluctantly pay up to $11.97 for the cheapest color, but not more.

5) Davek Mini - This mini is one of Condé Nast Traveller’s top-rated, so I think it's fun to compare it. It’s compact and, ohhh, so sleek! But at $65, a regular wage earner would cry if s/he lost it! Umbrellas are just so easy to leave behind, and that’s not all! Once, I went to a house party. The hosts put our extras (my cloth tote bag holding a scarf and mini umbrella) in their coat closet. When I left to go home, the party givers searched and searched but couldn’t find my items! There was either a black hole in their closet or another guest took my belongings home! I got wet getting on the bus and never got my things returned. If you inadvertently take somebody’s stuff home, you should call the hosts to tell them! I was fond of my black mini tote umbrella with colored polka-dots that I managed not to lose, and at least I only paid $10 for it at T.J. Maxx. A mystery never to be solved!

Umbrellas should keep us dry. They are an item that needs to be functional, not expensive, which is why Totes are my #1 choice. 

What brands of umbrellas do you like and where do you turn to buy them? 

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Good Frozen Pizza

Friends say I make a good pizza pie from scratch, and I've shared how I make it here. But life isn’t limited to either/or actualities, and we don’t have to spend all our time in the kitchen.

Good frozen pizza exists! Today I’ll share what I like and pay for it. I’m a fan of DiGiorno Rising Crust pizza, which I buy when it goes on sale for $6.00 and sometimes $5.50. It comes close enough to good homemade or pizza parlor slices to be worth eating. In fact, it's superior to what’s sold by many of the newer Manhattan pizza parlors that are opening and skimping on ingredients or making cardboard dry crusts. There’s nothing more disappointing than eating bad pizza in a city historically known for its great pizza! How can it be? Why open up a pizza parlor when merchants could do something else they could take pride in?!

At home, I buy the DiGiorno Rising Crust Everything variety, and if out of stock, I’ll get the Pepperoni Supreme alternative, then finish it off by adding diced bell peppers, onions, and sliced mushrooms. On a frozen pizza, I always sprinkle parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes before baking it. Perhaps it's the key to making frozen pizza taste better and even delicious.

I’ll pay up to $6.00 for a frozen pie. If it's priced higher, I’d rather go out and bring home a hot pie from a good pizza parlor, if one can be found. Frankly, it took a few bad pizza parlor pies to get me to try making my own and DiGiorno frozen pizza pies!

You may wonder why great pizza in Manhattan is harder to locate. Once upon a time, real Italians opened pizza parlors, but nowadays it could be people of any nationality. Or it could be because some of the new pizza parlors are not mom-and-pop businesses but are owned by private equity firms, public shareholders, or institutional investors. There’s less love of the product!

On a brighter note, if you look for it, there’s still great pizza in all 5 boroughs of New York City, including Manhattan, but no longer will you find a great slice on every block. Alas, reason enough for me to have a box of DiGiorno Rising Crust pizza in my freezer and, when I have 24 hours to let the dough rise, to make it myself.

What’s your favorite frozen pizza?

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Blog Extra: Other food I buy when it is on sale:

1) Sushi - Fairway offers 10 pieces of inside/out sushi rolls for $5.99 on Wednesdays. I get nori with tuna and salmon = 20 pieces. So one day a week I don’t have to think about what to cook or scrounge up for dinner.

2) Coleslaw - $1.99 for a 16 oz. bag.

3) Mushrooms - Either 2 for $4, 3 for $5, or $2.29 each for 8 oz, depending on the sale. I select the mushrooms that are sliced for me.

4) Baby carrots - $1.69 - $1.99 for a 16 oz bag. Note: Baby carrots do not exist, but what a treat that someone else has cleaned, scraped, and cut them into bite-size pieces. Ready to eat! 

5) Light mayonnaise - $4.25 - $5.00 for a 30 oz jar. The price of mayonnaise is sky-high, like the price of gasoline nowadays. Who knew we’d pay $5 for a jar on sale!

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My Temu Haul

I ordered a few things from Temu, the Chinese bargain online retailer of household goods, personal care tools, and odds and ends that might be fun to share. A Temu haul is gratifying when you buy useful things you can’t easily find elsewhere without overspending. Where have all the Odd-Job-Odd-Lot Trading retailers gone? Although a legitimate business, it’s best to stick to inexpensive items, as returns are a hassle. 

My senior mom is staying with me, and I ordered articles for her comfort and benefit:

1) Air Conditioner Air Deflector - 👆Top image. - Before she came, I didn’t need one, but she sleeps close to my Through-the-Wall AC, where it gets cold. In the daytime, the AC is 18 inches away, behind my click-clack couch, and the deflector will push the air up to the ceiling, where it will be more comfortable and disperse better throughout the room. I have a makeshift deflector that keeps falling to the floor. A $10 purchase should stop this annoyance!

2) Nail brushes - Although I started life in my mother’s womb, I’m against sharing certain personal care items with her, such as a toothbrush, hairbrush, nail clippers, nail brushes, and nail files. Sorry, Mom, but for sanitary reasons, I think each family member should have their own grooming tools, including mothers and daughters! The brushes are to clean her fingernails since I won’t share my nail brush with her! Yuck!💅

3) The cable protectors are dirt cheap and useful. Computer charging cables often wear out and expose wires, so they won’t go to waste.

4) Toothpaste Manual Dispenser - I ordered this so we stop doing battle with our toothpaste tube. After we roll down the tube, we can’t get it to hold. It unwinds itself after we leave the bathroom! I hope this makes it easier to dispense the toothpaste after it is half or 3/4 empty. With 8 pieces under $2, we’ll have one for every bathroom and then some, won’t we?!

5) Persimmon Soap - This soap is to prevent seniors from smelling like old people. In fairness, my mother doesn’t have an odor -- bad, murky, musky, or otherwise -- still, I want to try the soap on her skin since she is old, out of curiosity! Perhaps she’ll smell even better. If we like it, we’ll keep buying it.

6) Leather Ultra Thin Card Holder - The genuine leather is thin, but it holds 6 cards and has a center pocket, convenient for her insurance and ID cards when I take her to the doctor. Costing under $3 bucks, she’ll get the value for what we paid for it.

7) Multi-Layer Movable Slim Gap Storage Cabinet Drawer Organizer - I’m a sucker for space-saving narrow organizers, and I’m taking a risk by ordering the 3-drawer version. Perfect for all my mom’s personal care items, including the ones I just ordered for her. Frankly, I prefer the 5-drawer option, but must settle for the lower height of 3 drawers to ensure it fits under the bathroom sink or beside it. By ordering the cabinet, I broke 2 of my cardinal rules: (a) ordering an item from Temu that is more than a few dollars (the cabinet was $21.99), and (b) paying for shipping ($2.99)! 😳😳😳 Why did I do it? The organizer is narrow, has wheels, and is made of durable plastic that withstands the dampness of a bathroom. Easy to clean, too. However, it’s a $25 loss if it doesn't fit in the intended space, so my fingers are crossed!𝑋𝑋𝑋

A peek at the stash behind my couch,
hidden if you’re in front of the couch. 

Caution: Orders of a few dollars each add up, so even at Temu's bargain prices, Savvy Shoppers should shop mindfully, constantly asking whether or not we really need it, regardless of how cheap and appealing it is. We never want to clutter up our homes with cheap, useless junk! If it serves no purpose, it morphs into junk!!

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I Learned About Scented Geraniums

Photo by Jenny Dettrick/Getty Images on Real Simple here

I have one plant in my apartment, a golden pothos, and it almost takes care of itself. All I have to do is water it every Sunday, but if I forget, it continues to live. It can live anywhere in a home, in or out of the sunlight. Still, it thrives when placed by a window to get partial sun.

My Golden Pothos

As potted plants have died over the years, I’ve lost interest in having them, although I still think they’re pretty.

Today I learned of the existence of Scented Geraniums. Here’s the article. Three characteristics make them appealing: (1) They don’t require a lot of care, (2) they smell like roses, pine, chocolate, apples, or strawberries, and (3) they keep pests away!

It’s enough to make a suburban homeowner want to buy scented geraniums to grow both inside and outside their house!🪴🪴🪴

Photo: soniabonet/Getty Images in R S 

Here in Manhattan, the city of concrete, our municipal government controls pests with pesticide sprays. I have the luxury of not needing plants for pest control. I think of Central Park, Carl Schurz Park, or Riverside Park as my backyard. Next time I go to the park, I’ll look to see if any scented geraniums have been planted by paid park gardeners or volunteers. Scented geraniums are lovely and fascinating! I want to smell them.🪴

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Temu's Storage Temptations

I bought this and had to put it on one side under my kitchen sink, away from the pipe, because my pipe was installed too far to the left. Also, one of the 4 metal poles didn’t go into one of the holes, and I had to force the pole into the hole as best it would go. Not for super heavy items, but strong enough for many cleaning agents like washing detergent. Using vertical space for $10 rocks, yet I won’t pay more for a plastic shelf.

In February 2023, I featured Temu, the bargain Chinese website of practical household and garden tools, beauty and personal care items, bedding, apparal and odds and ends for cheap. You can read that blog here. Temu isn’t a scam, but a legitimate Chinese e-commerce company with an office and warehouse in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve ordered some inexpensive merchandise that, once upon a time, US customers might have found at Woolworths, Odd-Job Trading, Big Lots, or large five-and-dime stores.

Although Temu lets customers return things, personally I’d only order low-priced articles that you can afford to eat the cost of if they didn’t work out. Returns are a hassle. I selected low-risk items I'm happy with, like a silicone baking mat, a silicone adult bib for my senior mom, mini jewelry boxes, a long steel shoehorn, cable ties with snaps, and flexible rubber spiral wrap cord protectors.

Frequently, I ogle the organizing and storage commodities for tight spaces since I like everything in my home organized and to have a place of its own. I’ve come to believe that my superpower is misplacing things in my own home. Frankly, I could lose anything at any time after I touch it! If I don’t create a spot for my things and train myself to put them back, I spend endless time circling my apartment to find where I left objects like my house keys, a cell phone, a remote control, or a pen and paper. It's ridiculous! To spare myself endless frustrations and wasted time, I’m forced to be organized!

Moreover, lead me not into Temu’s storage temptations! The e-retailer has tons of organizers and storage choices for every room and purpose. I’ve picked out 5 to feature today. 

It costs less to manufacture goods in China because of lower wages. Trade between nations is good for both countries. Customers can expect low prices and reasonable shipping times. Still, always order mindfully!

Click this link to see this slim storage cabinet (here in 2 sizes) slide.

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Lambrusco Is A Refreshing Summer Wine

A guilty pleasure of mine is having a glass of red wine with a cheese-and-cracker platter for dinner on many Sunday nights during the summer. I could eat cheese until it comes out of my ears ... but don’t. Portion control in the interest of a healthy weight!

When I mentioned to a friend I had never tasted Lambrusco, my friend bought me a bottle of it: Caprari Cuvée Bollino Rosso Lambrusco Reggiano! Thank providence for friends; they expand your horizons.

Lambrusco is a lightly sparkling (frizzante) red wine primarily from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy regions, made from a family of ancient grape varieties. The bottle my friend gave me is dark red, balanced, fruity, and slightly sweet (yet dry, not a sweet wine).

Tonight I’m drinking a glass of Italian Lambrusco with New York Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, Ohio Mozzarella and Swiss cheese, served on American whole-grain saltine crackers. Some fruit too. Delish!

A perfect Sunday night summer dinner is one that pleases the palate!🍷

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Dekton For My Fantacy Countertops

Photo of Dekton countertop on Instagram here

In Manhattan, whether you are single or a family of 4, regular people learn to live in smaller spaces. Sure, I’d love to have an extra room or more square feet in my apartment. Who wouldn't? Still, I’ve chosen to live in a Manhattan high-rise over a bigger stand-alone house in the suburbs. Manhattan is culturally diverse, relatively tolerant, and unbelievably convenient, and I’d never ever trade living here for a maison outside of Manhattan. Living in New York City has made me more mindful, more minimalist, and less impressed by opulence and materialism.

Photo: Noel Y. Calingasan

But don’t get me wrong, I want a modern, comfortable apartment with all the necessities of a large house, and I think we Manhattanites do a fairly good job of having it. For example, our washers and dryers are usually in a communal laundry room in our buildings rather than located in our apartments. The same goes for our recycling and garbage bins for sanitation pickup. They’re communal. Frankly, less of a burden to an individual shareholder! The multimillionaires in Manhattan live in larger co-ops and duplex condominiums where they set their recyclables and trash out their back doors, and their maintenance crew swings by several times a day to collect it, but sheesh, I don’t mind dropping off trash myself into communal bins. I don’t need our maintenance men to come around to me, individually, to feel well-to-do important!

However, just like homeowners everywhere, I entertain if-money-were-no-object fantasies about what I’d do to upgrade my home.

Today I’ll share one of them. My fantasy kitchen would have Dekton countertops. A Dekton countertop is an ultra-compact, high-performance surface (a blend of 20 natural minerals and materials used to make glass, porcelain, and quartz). It’s not cheap, costing $80 to $160 per square foot depending on surface thickness. I think it's smart to have at least 20 mm thick. Dekton is completely non-porous, resistant to starches, extreme heat, UV rays, and never requires sealing!

The Opening of Late Night with Seth Meyers

Hot pots and pans will not scorch Dekton. Sunlight won’t fade it, and food spills won't stain it. Since the surface is non-porous, you don’t have to seal (or ever re-seal) it, and it’s easy to clean. Be still my heart!♥

Sounds indestructible, right? But it’s not. The surface is brittle, so stuff you shouldn’t be doing -- abuse such as hitting the surface with heavy objects -- will chip a Dekton countertop along its corners. Moreover, installing Dekton isn’t an amateur's job, as special tools are required, and Dekton is more expensive than quartz or granite.

The builder of my Manhattan high-rise installed laminate countertops, and they serve me well enough. I use silicone mats to protect them from hot pots. There’s nothing wrong with laminate countertops, but high-performance, smooth, sleek Dekton is my fantasy surface and what I’d install if I desired to bear the expense.🙂

IMHO, it might be wiser to upgrade to a new abode before you put more than a set sum into upgrading your present home, but perhaps I’m still thinking like la classe moyenne. We, regular wage earners, are always weighing when and what to spend money on ... as are some of the wealthy, who can also be careful and value-oriented.

That said, what’s your if-money-were-no-object home improvement?

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Professional Cleaning Hacks

Photo: Storyblock - Royalty Free

Daily, I clean my kitchen countertops with white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, which I mostly also use to mop my floors. For heavy-duty cleaning, I keep another spray bottle of bleach and water, which I use periodically on countertops and floors. What I love about the white vinegar is you never have to worry about a wayward drop of it discoloring your rugs and fabrics; you can skip rinsing; and it dries fast!

To clean bathroom fixtures like the bathtub, sink, and toilet, I mostly use 3% hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. Sometimes I might use a paste of white vinegar and baking soda, or infrequently, a sprinkle of Ajax in the bathtub, if soap residue remains. Occasionally I put a few drops of pine oil in the toilet bowl only, never the tank, for good measure.

Still, we never get too old or experienced to pick up a few expert tips on how to clean better, easier, or cheaper. Recently I stumbled upon 2 professional cleaning tips to share with you. We can all return here to remember them:

 

Jeeves NY Laundry Booster

2 parts washing soda - buy or make it (baking soda spread on a baking sheet, baked in a 400 degree F oven for 1 hour, stirred every 20 minutes)

1 part Borax (sodium tetraborate)

1 part Oxi-Clean (sodium percarbonate)

Extra hack: For the “grossest" stains only, Zach Pozniah (co-owner of Jeeves NY) uses ammonia.

Add one of these boosters with laundry detergent to wash clothes.

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The Big Sweep Method For Restoring Countertops

Making kitchen countertops look new again is a 3-step process: 

1) Fill a spray bottle with equal parts of white vinegar and water. Spray on every countertop material except granite. Let it sit for 5 minutes and wipe. Repeat until a soft cloth comes up clean.

2) Next, fill a spray bottle with warm water and a drop of liquid dishwashing detergent. Use it to spray on your countertops and rinse with clean water.

3) Using a soft cloth, rub a drop of mineral oil on laminate to put a shine on your countertops. With granite or marble, use isopropyl alcohol and water. Quartz doesn’t need polishing.

According to The Big Sweep, we can use step 2 for daily cleaning, step 1 for weekly cleaning, and step 3 for monthly cleaning.

To disinfect countertops, use 70% isopropyl alcohol safely on all surfaces. It dries quickly.

Certainly, these hacks are easy, cheap, and the 2 expert sources cited say they are better than anything else we can buy on the market. That is good enough for me!

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EDX Metal Utility Cart Storage

How cute and useful are these carts?

I can’t praise this EDX 4-tier metal utility rolling cart enough! At a fraction of the cost, it’s a superior upgrade from an expensive utility cart I bought at The Container Store after a wheel broke off. The Container Store cart was flimsy compared to this sturdy Walmart mobile cart that also has 360-degree rotating wheels. The new cart is heavy-duty mobile storage of greater capacity with locking coasters. I use it in my kitchen, but it could go in any room, closet, or basement where you need vertical and/or mobile storage and organization.

The metal utility cart is adorable in pink or green, but I selected gray to match my refrigerator and stove. Well-constructed and well-painted, I easily move the cart out of the way to open my utility closet or oven.

It arrives in a compact box with tools for assembly. Although it is easy to assemble, I had to text my cousin to ask whether to put the round head nuts on the inside or outside of the cart. He replied that generally they go on the inside.

I need the cart to store the heavy glass lids of my 12-inch chef skillet and wok pan. It is a hassle storing them in my cupboard, since I must remove them to retrieve my other pots and pans. I prefer to simply reach for lids, pots, and pans without having to rearrange them with each use. Call me lazy, but that’s annoying! 

A personal quirk: I dislike filling every bit of storage space to the brink, but love having empty tiers to temporarily put various things until either I put them away or promptly use them.

The EDX Utility Cart comes in either 3 or 4 tiers. I love my 4-tiers! Why waste vertical space?

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A Homemade High Protein Drink

I buy my senior Mom Walmart’s Equate (30 grams with 1 gram of sugar) protein drink to supplement her diet because she doesn’t eat lunch. On Thursday I tried to re-order two 12-packs, but couldn’t have it shipped! It’s because Walmart put it on sale and removed the shipping option. We have no Walmart brick-and-mortar stores in Manhattan for pickup. Rats! So no Equate protein drinks until the shipping option returns.

Meanwhile, I’m making her a homemade high-protein drink alternative:

Homemade High Protein Drink

Ingredients:

1.5 cups (12 oz) milk - 12 grams of protein

1/2 cup (4 oz) Greek Yogurt - 12 grams of protein

1 tablespoon peanut butter - 4 grams of protein

banana, small, or 1/2 large - 1 gram of protein

3 whole walnut kernels - 3 grams of protein

= 32 grams of protein

Directions:

Toss into a blender or food processor. Pour into a glass. Add a straw.

Optional: Tossing in strawberries, cherries, blueberries, or a tablespoon of cocoa powder gives the recipe different flavors and adds nutrients. To further vary the drink, feel free to occasionally add 1/4 cup of chia seeds or oatmeal flakes. Both have protein and fiber.

Many high-protein drinks call for whey protein, but if you have to buy whey protein, you might as well buy the Equate or Ensure already-made drinks. Equate (Walmart’s brand) costs $1.67 each.

Every day I give my Mom 5,000 ius of vitamin D and a multi-vitamin, both drugstore brands.

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New York City At Night

Manhattan is especially beautiful at night. My friend Carolyn C. attended a Knicks’ NBA Championship watch party and sent me these photographs. She gave me permission to post them.

The hostess of the watch party lives in a high-rise in Chelsea with a grand balcony that has a great view of Midtown. You’re looking up 7th Avenue in the direction of Times Square. Did you know the tricolors representing New York City are blue, white, and orange? The colors of the city’s flag.

You can see the Manhattan skyline in this video. Thank you for sharing these splendid views with us, Carolyn! They make me love New York City all the more. Come for a visit, readers, whenever you can. Congratulations, Champion New York Knicks! If you want to read more about New York, enter “New York" into the search box, upper right.↖

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