MONA

I was going through papers in my desk today trying to get organized and I came across this song that was written for me by a good friend. A song written just for me for my birthday a number of years back.....one of the nicest things anyone could do for someone. It made me smile. He knows me pretty well and I'm sharing here on my blog.


MONA

Sung to the tune of Lola by The Kinks

I met her in the office up at BS&P
Where we don’t pay sales tax ‘cause we’re in an Empire Zone-a
An Empire Zone-a

She walked up to me in her open-toed shoes
Her shirt was un-tucked and she said “Hi, my name is Mona”
M-O-N-A Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Well she’s got a cube that’s a double wide
Filled with pictures of cats and thrift store buys
That’s our Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Well she’s not that young so I can’t understand
Why she likes Eminem and went to see her son’s band
But that’s Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Well she doesn’t drink much and eats real well
Except for Cinco de Mayo at Cozumel
Where she orders greasy food and shouts with glee
“Hey everybody, the tequila’s on me!”
Her husband is Bill and they’re a wonderful pair
Their son Jay’s at college trimming his body hair
So says Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

She runs every day
She lifts ‘til she’s sore
Does yoga on the floor
And Pilates with ease
But she still can’t find her damned car keys

Well that’s the way that we want her to stay
Complaining ‘bout the weather, but that’s okay
‘cause she’s Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Watching movies with her husband and feelin’ all right
Eatin’ burgers and fries
‘cause it’s Friday night
Good for Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

Well, her baked goods leave us beggin’ for more
And her lunch could feed a family of four
For fine Cuisine, she really has a knack
And she’s got some green beans for an afternoon snack

Well Kathy Lee Gifford was a host on TV
I bet you didn’t know she’s ten years older than me
And so is Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona
mo-mo-mo-mo Mona

adjusting her sails

"They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away....and surely it has not.....she adjusted her sails" - Elizabeth Edwards

Y buffalo?

(I delivered my second speech today. Right up front I need to apologize to my good friend Donna who never really asked me this question. I played Vanna a little, gesturing to whatever picture on my Y that corresponded to where I was in my speech.)

This is how it went more or less.

In the fall of '88, over coffee, I delivered the news to my friend, Donna, that my husband, Bill, had accepted a new position within his company and that we would be transferring from our Chicago suburb to Buffalo, NY. Why Buffalo? She asked.

I seemed to get this reaction from everyone when I shared our news.

I had no preconceived notions about Buffalo. I didn’t know then that Buffalo had such a bad reputation regarding the weather or such a lagging economy. I was sad to leave friends and family behind in Illinois but also excited for a change.
A few days before Thanksgiving Bill and I flew to Buffalo to house hunt. We left a few days later with our offer accepted on a new home.

On Jan 1st, 1989, a brand new year, we loaded up the car with our 6 year old son, Jay, our parakeet, Poindexter, our stripy yellow kitten, Ribbons perched atop the birdcage and we shuffled off to Buffalo.

So now I’ve had nearly 22 years to reflect on Donna’s question. Why Buffalo, indeed?

Well for one thing.....Buffalo has affordable housing, less traffic and easy access to the places we want to go. (I just realized that is three things, isn't it?)

In Chicago we owned a two bedroom raised ranch with vinyl siding on a single lot. Everywhere we went we had to drive…sometimes in unbearable traffic. (This part made me sad to write because I adored our house in Roselle.)
In Buffalo we were able to afford this charming two story brick Tudor in Williamsville. Not only did we now have three bedrooms instead of two, three bathrooms instead of two, we also had a family room and an office - all situated on a wooded double lot. Just a few houses down from us on the same side of the street we have a public park with a wading pool where our son spent many happy hours playing. Two more beautiful public parks are located on Main Street alongside Ellicott Creek. All the shopping you could need or want and wonderful restaurants are just blocks away within easy walking distance from our house in the village.
If I drive west I can be downtown in the city in ten to twenty minutes depending on traffic. If I drive east I can be out in the country in the same amount of time.

Something else I’ve discovered about Buffalo. Not only are the restaurants wonderful but there are lots of things to do and places to see. For its size Buffalo has an amazing amount of theaters. There is of course the elegant refurbished Sheas. I’ve had seasons tickets there for a number of years. We recently lost Studio Arena but still have Irish Classical, Musical Fare, Alleyway, The Kavinoky and Shakespeare in Delaware Park among many others.

There is a lot of talent and many musical venues in Buffalo. My own son formed a metal band called Bullet vs Eye when he was in high school and played at some of these venues. He abandoned the band when he went to college and they reorganized and renamed themselves It Dies Today. They went on to record a number of CDs on the Trustkill label and toured worldwide. Some of my favorite musical talents that became successes are (well, of course the Buffalo Philharmonic),the Goo Goo Dolls and Ani DiFranco. Ani purchased and restored the church at the corner of Delaware and Tupper thus saving a landmark and creating another musical venue.

We have incredible architecture designed by some of the most famous architects in the history of the United States including Louis Sullivan, HH Richardson and Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright, himself, called the Darwin Martin House his opus. The Buffalo parks system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. I think City Hall designed and built by the John W Cowper Company is one of the most impressive building I’ve ever seen.

We have a major league football team, the Bills, a major league hockey team, the Sabres, and a minor league baseball team, the Bisons. Granted the Bills aren’t doing so well this season but I’ve experienced the high of having our Buffalo Bills go to the Superbowl four times since I’ve lived here.

We also have one of the seven wonders of the world, Niagara Falls, just minutes away from us and a whole other country right across the border that we can visit, eh?


And now a word about the weather. You can't talk about Buffalo without talking about the weather.

It’s true we have had snow up to the rooftops and I once had to spend a night sleeping under my desk at work because I couldn't make it home in a snowstorm. The surprise October ice storm had to be the worst weather I’ve ever experienced. But the coldest winter and the hottest summer I’ve ever lived through were not here in Buffalo. They were in Chicago. I can recall waiting outside for a bus to take me to the train station in 15 to 25 degrees below zero, the wind howling and snow piled up nearly as deep as in Buffalo. I can also recall a summer of suffering through several weeks of temps well above 100 degrees and high humidity when Jay was a baby. We spent a lot of time at the public pool that summer. I think our lovely summers make up for any cold, snowy weather we experience here in Buffalo during the winter. As I have said I didn't know what to expect when we moved to Buffalo.
So Buffalo…..In the words of Ani DiFranco, one of your hometown girls,
I've got
no illusions about you
and guess what?
I never did
when I said I'll take it
I meant as is
I’ve enjoyed Buffalo…as is. Now when anyone asks me Why Buffalo?

I think of all that Buffalo has to offer, why Buffalo is meritorious(I added that line on the fly because the word of the day was meritorious and I wanted to work in into my speech)

I reply Y Not (big arm gesture to my Y prop)



These props I set out as I came to that part of the speech



they were my cheat sheets but never actually had to use them

So this speech went rather well and I don't even want to think about about the next one for a bit. I was not very productive in the morning because I was worried about speaking and not very productive in the afternoon because I had a hard time unwinding and coming down from my high. I also gave a little ASWA recruitment speech at our staff meeting earlier in the day and then offered to repeat the joke that was told in our staff meeting at our Toastmasters meeting when the humorist failed to show. After work I had a ASWA board meeting where I shared my ideas. When I came home I had to do a lot of blogging and Facebooking to unwind.

on a sunday please

our Welcome to the NCCC employee recognition dinner

My crazy busy November continues on. Monday was the only night I cooked dinner this past week. I think I made chicken and pieroges with caramelized onions, mushrooms and Gruyere. I just remember it was good and Bill complimented me on it.


all my favorite chocolates and cookies, a book, a Christmas tree pin for my collection, a little sewing machine box and pretty boxes filled with good-smelling soaps

Tuesday and Thursday nights were spent at the BAC. Wednesday I had the monthly ASWA meeting at Tantulus in East Aurora. East Aurora is one of my favorite Western New York towns. It's home to the Roycroft Campus. When I got home that evening there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me. A birthday box from my baby sister, Melissa, who also goes out of her way preparing a little treasure trove.


really cute Old Navy navy sweater and two necklaces that I really love....I've always had a thing for bugs and beads

I was off Friday and had a lovely day at home as I always do but it slipped away too quickly. I met Bill at the college for the annual employee recognition dinner. I had a nice time at this dinner. We sat with two of the ladies who work in his department and I got to know them better. One of these ladies was alone because her husband was out deer hunting. Another was planning to hop on a plane the next day to fly out to Vegas for Thanksgiving. Her daughter is a musician in Vegas and plays violin at a lot of the shows. I also got to talk to several other of his employees who I hadn't seen for awhile. One of the ladies who was receiving an award was complaining that the dinner always falls on opening day of hunting season because she is a hunter also. The culinary department always does an outstanding job with every meal they prepare. Always beautiful to the eye and pleasing to the palate and this meal was no exception.


the favors at the dinners....wooden pencil boxes filled with Smarties. On the side the boxes say "The smart place to start".


Saturday I was hardly home at all. I went to the BAC in the morning to work out. One of my Facebook friends had posted "The extra mile is never crowded". I thought of this while I was on the treadmill running and I actually went the extra mile. On to Wegmans for grocery shopping and out for a little more shopping to finish up B's birthday gift. I had already bought the new iPod Nano and so I picked up accessories for it...headphones, armband and an iTunes gift card. Also a Dri-Fit running shirt to go along with the theme. When I got home he asked me to go out again to drop off his car for some work. When I got back the second time I only had time to shower before we went out to see a matinee of "Red" with cute Bruce Willis. Afterwards we came home and had a glass of wine before going out to dinner at Prosit, a German restaurant here on Main Street. Dinner was great at Prosit. German food is a little bit different than any other kind and always good and interesting. We even had another glass of wine at the restaurant and shared a delectable chocolate mousse. I think B really liked his gift from me this year. He seemed pleased with his birthday celebration. When we came home we watched another movie...City Island.

Today I get to relax a bit and think about and plan for all the rest of the craziness coming up. Thanksgiving, Christmas and my next speech. This day will pass too quickly I know. Tomorrow night I will again meet B after work on his real birthday. He has a reception to attend at Freedom Run winery regarding their marriage with the college in the new culinary institute getting underway. Then B will meet me for dinner at one of our favorite Greek restaurants before we attend our first Ramsi Tick concert series concert of the season. Tuesday BAC again and Wednesday my baby boy comes home to spend Thanksgiving with us. Looking very forward to four days off with no specific plans.

lunch at jojos

On the Friday following my birthday Tim took me to lunch as he does every year. We went to Jojos. It is next door to Black and Blue. They have the same owners but Jojos is the more casual of the two. Here is Jojos menu. Kind of Frenchy. They used to print their menu on a paper bag. I had the tomato, brie and avocado sandwich. Tim had the Croque Madame.



I ordered this pretty drink called flowers and roses. It was gin, St Germain, rosewater and rose petals. I'd order this again in a minute. I loved it. I did wonder aloud about the name. I said I wonder why they call it flowers and roses because flowers are roses. Tim said "No, roses are flowers" and offered to explain math subsets to me.



Here is Tim



and here is the grilled romaine salad that we shared

Although our sandwiches were delicious they were not really that photogenic.
Tim gave me a cute pink and green tote bag made out of recycled materials, a pink and green umbrella and chocolate candy from his favorite chocolate shop. We each had a candy that was caramel and marshmallow covered in dark chocolate, then white chocolate and then coconut.

I enjoyed my lunch, candy, gifts and your company. Thanks Tim.

if the shoe fits

Debbie gave me this cute little coin purse as part of my birthday gift. I took her advice.



At Macy's doorbuster sale this weekend the tan clog and the purple flat fit. At BonTon the yellow pump fit. So I bought them.

be your best

Tomorrow I am supposed to be the humorist at our Toastmasters. This morning in the shower I was thinking and preparing when I remembered that I have a doctor appointment that I made a year ago conflicting with Toastmasters. You can't be in the two places at the same time. I went ahead and sent my little prepared speech to the toastmaster and told her that she could deliver it for me if she wanted. I told her she could say that I prepared it while showering cause that is kind of funny too.
What I wrote......

The topic “Be Your Best” does not conjure up humorous stories in my head. If you try your best and succeed, it does not make for a funny story. If you try your best and fail, it may make for a funny story, but I don’t want to talk about failure.

I want to share a poem with you from one of my favorite poets….leunig.

It’s humorous in that it refers to our selves as a tiny boat in which we travel. But the message is a powerful one.

The Tiny Boat

God bless this tiny little boat
And me who travels in it
It stays afloat for years and years
And sinks within a minute.

And so the soul in which we sail
Unknown by years of thinking
Is deeply felt and understood
The minute that it’s sinking.

So don’t let this happen to you. Be your best every day. Feel and understand every day of your life and not just the minute that your boat is sinking.

That's the end of what I wrote.

Upon rereading this poem, I'm not really sure I get it. He may be saying that we never will get it until our boat is sinking no matter how much thinking and doing our best we do. What do you think?

gifted

Sisters are forever friends. They certainly are. Every year my sister, Debbie, sends me a treasure trove for my birthday. This year the color scheme seemed to be pink and gray.....two of my favorite colors. This zippered bag had lots of small treasures inside including this coin purse and Christmas slippers.



lovely leaf earrings that she made herself in earthy tones



hand sewn treasures....a trash bag for my car and a cupcake that will last forever



vintage embroidered hand towels that I collect, a cute picture frame, a book that I can't wait to sink my teeth into

a box of thread every color of the rainbow to get me started on some sewing projects....I love this

and vintage leather gloves



I can't get my hands in the gloves but they are just the thing to go with these shoes that I can't get my feet into either



An array of exquisite clothing items....cute flapper style nightie, an ice pink sequined top, mauve ruffled shawl and fancy dancy socks. My niece, Mandy, who takes a lot of photos of her cats said that even when she tries to take a picture without them in it, they always seem to get in the picture somehow.



the nightie closer up....I love this too

Thank you so much, Debbie. I love everything and you and I had so much fun opening it all.

freedom run

After a few hours of shopping Barb and I made our way to our favorite winery on the Niagara Wine Trail.....Freedom Run. The name pays homage to the route slaves took along the escarpment to get to the narrowest part of the Niagara River, where they swam to their freedom in Canada. It's a family business owned by three brothers. One of them is a potter and glass blower who studied under Dale Chihuly. They recently had a wine rated 90 in Wine Spectator magazine. The Niagara excarpment is supposed to be the hot new area for wines. This summer was hot and dry, perfect weather for growing grapes. The vinter told us that we were 28 days ahead of California this year. Cornell University records the temperature every minute. The winery is working with NCCC to teach the students winemaking. Freedom Run gave the students their own vineyard that they care for themselves.



Because it was my birthday he offered to take photos. He had me pose with this bottle of Meritage. It was really full of wine and very heavy. I couldn't stop laughing.



Barb bought me this charming charm



And the vinter gave me a kiss



two tipsy friends

the gift shop

At another little shop beside the barn they had a mix of old and new. I bought this new necklace and these pearl vintage earrings both at ridiculously low prices so I didn't feel so bad about indulging myself.

tea time

On my birthday I had to go to Lockport (named for the locks on the Erie Canal) to visit a client for an hour. They knew it was my birthday and they had these pretty flowers waiting for me along with a couple cakes. I too brought cupcakes and cookies so we all sat down at nine o'clock in the morning and indulged in sweets. The rooster vase I bought later in the day at an antique barn.



This is Alex, the bookkeeper's son. He woke up with pink eye that morning so came to work with his mother. He kept me very entertained. He is a third grader.

At ten I met my best friend, Barb, at the Kenan Center. It is a mansion in Lockport that has been restored and used for community functions. We toured the house and appreciated the watercolor art displays throughout. I thought that I had left my camera at the restaurant on Saturday evening so I fretted about that for awhile and didn't take any photos.



Barb and I went to The White Linen Tearoom for lunch. There I fished around in the bottom of my purse and found my camera. Yay!!



timing our tea....I had monkey-picked. I was going to buy some afterwards until I found out it was $11 for enough to make about two cups.



This is our tea tray minus the scones that were on top because they were already on our plates when I took the pic.



Warm scones....sugar and cinnamon plum




We didn't touch our desserts....too full. So we took them home along with a little gift of three tea bags.



The tearoom was located beside an antique barn where we spent a couple hours happily browsing. This was the prettiest thing I saw. Pink and green depression glass.



This reminded me of my little blue "Burble" I had when I was a child.



one of the booths



unusual pale orange Depression glass
That's the tearoom you can see out the window



and unusual dark orange Depression glass with green stems



I bought the rooster vase and the urn shaped lusterware vase. I had been using the other lusterware piece as a toothbrush holder for years but it doesn't hold the new fat handled brushes so I thought this piece would work and compliment the other.



And I found this lovely brand new vintage long Formfit Rogers nightgown that fits me perfectly. It's so well constructed.

r is for ramona and that is who i are
r is for ramona and that is who i are
r is for ramona and that is who i are
cause ramona ramona ramona starts with r

to be sung to the tune of c is for cookie as sung by cookie monster

thanks barb

dinner at moda

Our annual firm dinner is tonight at the Mansion on Delaware Ave. I have a number of dresses I could have worn but I ran into Macy's yesterday and quickly found this dress on sale. The rosy color of the fabric under the lace top goes perfectly with the pink ruffly shawl that my sister, Debbie, gave me for my birthday. Birthday earrings from B, black satin flats, a rhinestone bracelet and a cute beaded purse that was a gift from my mom complete the outfit.

busy busy november

From the looks of my calendar November may be my busiest month this year. I don't even want to think about December and the C word. There are four family birthdays in November including mine and Bs. Our birthdays are two weeks apart exactly and I'm the one who robbed the cradle. This past Friday instead of our usual burgers(fake for me) and fries and a movie, we went to the ballet. All the dances were pau de deux. There were trois of these each about cinq minutes long and then a twenty minute intermission and then trois more and then another twenty minutes of intermission and then again trois short dances. I liked the dances but the evening was two thirds intermission.



Saturday we left at 10:30 for Rochester for the St John Fisher football game at noon. Because we had to leave so early I skipped my normal Saturday morning exercise class and run. (There is another reason I skipped class. I had to shampoo the carpet in my car because a few days earlier a gallon jug of milk had tipped over and leaked in the back of my car. I thought I had taken care of the spill but way more had spilled than I thought and I had been driving to work gagging over sour milk smell for a couple days. It ended disastrously with the purchase of new carpeting. What can I say.) I always enjoyed watching Fisher play football but my focus had always been on Jay and nerves had always been involved. Now that he is just helping to coach and I don't know these boys out on the field, I can focus more on paying attention to the game. This was an exciting high scoring game 49 to 55 with Fisher losing. :( Fisher kept us on the edge of our seats up to the very last second of the game when they threw a Hail Mary Surprise with the ball exchanging hands about six times.



After the game we went back to Jay's house to see the new patio we gave him for his birthday. He plans to landscape and build a shed come spring. We said hello to the kitties Tess and Brody and then drove downtown to a French restaurant called 2Vine. We had eaten here three years ago while attending the Rochester International Jazz Festival and I had been very impressed with the food and the ambiance.



We were having an early dinner so it's not very crowded in the pic but by the time we left the place was packed. We sat at the bar for a few minutes and ordered drinks and snacked on yummy dry roasted garbanzo beans and fava beans while our table was being prepared. Gazing at the drink menu I noticed that three or four of the drinks featured the Green Fairy - absinthe. I had actually thought this was a banned substance. The bartender showed me the eerie green liquor in a bottle that looked like it could have been purchased from Anthropolgie.



We placed our order. I was interested in the eggs du jour. A thin omelet with tomato concasse and parm. B said he would get up and walk out if I ordered eggs so I ordered the same thing I had ordered three years ago. Then I watched the sun set and dozens of crows swoop back and forth the across the skyline.



B and I both ordered the soup du jour. A creamy pumpkin soup with sage and bits of toasted walnut with sage creme fraiche. Yummy yummy but I burnt my esophagus it was so hot.



B and I both ordered the same roasted beet salad. Greens with a couple roasted beets, grapes, mango, and Maytag blue.



I had the mussels in a light fennel broth



served with pomme frites



Jay had the burger with pomme frites and would not allow me to photograph it. B had a duck dish.



Then I opened these beautiful green amethyst and diamond earrings and pretended that I had no idea what was in the package. We had bid on them and won them last month at the NCCC Scholarship Gala Fundraiser.





And a hoodie and Nike Vapor headphones from Jay. Finally a pair of headphones that don't fall out of your ears....secure, weightless, great sound!! I don't even notice I'm wearing headphones. I used them at work today and running this evening and pronounce them good.



And then it got darker and busier



And we asked our pretty little dark haired waitress to take a family photo of us to commemorate my birthday.

On Sunday I cleaned house most of the day. We had smoked turkey drumsticks, collards cooked in chicken broth with pancetta, olive oil and maple sugar meat rub seasoning and oven roasted fingerling potatoes seasoned with Penzey's Chicago steak seasoning. Then we watched Avatar again in Blu-ray on our big screen TV with surround sound. Who needs to go to the theater. That brings us to Monday....my birthday. But it is now way past my bedtime. We are going to an Emmy Lou Harris concert tomorrow night on UB Amherst campus. Rachel's (our favorite Greek restaurant) has a satellite restaurant on campus) I think we will meet there for dinner and then the concert. After maybe another late night will get me up to speed on my blogging.