Little Island, a free public Park pier within the larger Hudson River Park, opened to the public on May 21, 2021, providing New Yorkers and visitors from around the world with a unique green space unlike any other in New York City.  Components of the pier, nestled among more than 350 species of flowers, trees and shrubs, include a 687-seat amphitheater and an intimate stage and lawn space, along with dazzling views of other portions of Hudson River Park, New York City and the Hudson River.  The plantings are varied to provide an environment that changes with the seasons, with flowering trees and shrubs, fall foliage and evergreens.  More than 66,000 bulbs and 114 trees have been planted, some of which will grow to 60 feet tall.  Designed by Heatherwick Studio, Little Island’s distinct exterior is supported by concrete piles.  On top of the piles, 132 concrete “tulips” make up the structure of the park.  Each tulip’s shape is unique and has a different weight load capacity to hold the soil, lawns, overlooks and trees.  The original Pier 54 piles remain to provide habitat for aquatic life.  https://hudsonriverpark.org/locations/pier-55-little-island/   

Lecsó is a Hungarian staple made with sweet Hungarian peppers, onions, tomatoes, and paprika, which are all stewed together in a bit of smoked bacon fat (or oil).  It’s at its best when made from the kind of perfect tomatoes and peppers that you find in late summer /early autumn.  Lecsó is also such a beloved part of the Hungarian culinary canon that you might hear it used as a verb in Hungarian.  When preparing lecsó, the vegetables mostly simmer in their own juices, until they are soft, sweet, and a bit smoky.  It’s a simple dish which is more of a ratio than a recipe, with the preferred ratio of peppers tomatoes typically being 2:1 (by weight).  With such few ingredients, lecsó really benefits from using the highest quality peppers, tomatoes, and lard/bacon that you can find.  Use the pale green Hungarian sweet banana peppers—which are typical in Hungary—if you can find them.  Carolyn Bánfalvi  Find recipe at https://tastehungary.com/journal/lecso-a-recipe-for-the-last-summer-days/   

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae.  The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world.  Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.  The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees.  A tea made from hibiscus flowers is known by many names around the world and is served both hot and cold.  The beverage is known for its red colour, tart flavour, and vitamin C content.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus   

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly is essential is invisible to the eye.   

Knowledge, ideas, thoughts.  Imagination.  All invisible.  All lived in libraries.”

That thick layer of snow . . . in the spring it melts . . . farmers call it liquid gold . . . 

The creature wasn’t the monster--it was Doctor Frankenstein.  “As a diversion, few things were as effective as chocolate cake.”  The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny   

There are two ways to pronounce the noun conch—which refers to a variety of sea mollusks and their large shells—and how you pronounce it determines its plural. The more common pronunciation is with a hard k sound at the end, so that the word rhymes with honk. For this pronunciation, the plural is conchs. The other pronunciation is with a ch sound at the end, so that it rhymes with launch (in U.S. pronunciation, at least). The plural for this pronunciation is conches.  https://grammarist.com/usage/conches-conchs/   

Valencia, Spain, is the No. 1 city for expats to live and work abroad in 2022, according to a survey of more than 12,000 respondents from InterNations, an online expat community with more than 4.5 million global members.  The third biggest city in Spain, Valencia was also named the World Design Capital of the year for its sweeping architectural marvels spanning Unesco World Heritage sites to13th century Gothic cathedrals to the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences complex.  It’s the birthplace of paella, close to a number of sandy beaches and boasts a number of bars, cafes and clubs for a thriving nightlife scene.  Among expats, Valencia earns the top spot for being “a safe place with an excellent climate, a vibrant nightlife and culture, a pleasant urban environment and great travel opportunities” while still being “fairly affordable,” says InterNations founder Malte Zeeck.  A low cost of living make it an especially attractive place for retirees to settle abroad, Zeeck says.  And for those still in the workforce, it’s pretty easy for remote workers from other European Union countries to move to Spain without applying for a visa or work permit.  Jennifer Liu  https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/01/this-spanish-city-is-the-no-1-place-to-live-and-work-abroad.html   

baby duck syndrome (uncountable)  noun  From the tendency of newly hatched ducks or other birds to imprint on the first thing they see.  (computing, humorous)  The tendency of computer users to think the system (software or usage paradigm) they originally started using is better than others.  quotations ▼  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/baby_duck_syndrome#English   

December 2 is World Computer Literacy Day, which was launched by Indian company NIIT to encourage the development of computing skills, especially among women and children in India.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2599  December 2, 2022