Mishmash Melange

a future dread

2012-02-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

I was forced to write a bio for something that is coming up in June that I have committed to do but that I am dreading with all my heart. Here is my bio.

Ramona is a former Illinois resident transplanted in Buffalo, NY. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Illinois State University. Ramona’s career background includes bookkeeping and accounting in the coal mining and leasing industries while living in Illinois. Here in Buffalo she was the bookkeeper for a psychologist group before her present position as a paraprofessional with BSP.
Her interests include cooking, blogging and working out. She is on the board of the Buffalo Chapter of ASWA and is a member of Toastmasters.

I wanted to say that Toastmasters has made her feel more at ease speaking with people which will prove very beneficial when she chucks it all and pursues her dream of owning a bake shop and marketing her signature cookie, but I’ll just leave it at that.

prose and poetry

2012-02-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

My life seems to be controlled by prose and poetry. Everything makes me think of a phrase or song. A person can say almost anything to me and I can burst into a song that incorporates what they said. Or think of a phrase that I read in a book. Or even a nursery rhyme.

Yesterday I was introduced to a new employee. "Mona, I would like for you to meet Veronica." I said "Hello, Veronica, it's nice to meet you". But my brain said to me "Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Let us pray".

B told me that he was going to Niagara Falls this morning. I asked what he would do there. And then I asked "Frighten a little mouse under a chair?" He said "That must be from some nursery rhyme that I don't know." Although he did admit that it could be a possibility given the building where he was going.

I ask you.....how can a person get through life without knowing or remembering Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where have you been? I've been to London to visit the queen. Pussy Cat Pussy Cat What did you there?

thoughts of the day

2012-02-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I had a dermatologist appointment. I made it a year ago. I would have forgotten about it had I not gotten a reminder call two days ago. I'm not sure why I even go. I don't need to get half naked and have a doctor look at all the various little spots and freckles on my body. I can do that myself. My doctor is a roly poly guy who reminds me of Humpty Dumpty. My doctor was a roly poly guy who reminded me of Humpty Dumpty. Today he waltzes into the examining room about half the size he used to be. Fat for years and then all of sudden thin as a rail.

On my way to work afterward, driving on the 33, I went to change lanes and before I had a chance to react I ran over a yellow animal that had already been run over by someone else. I know it was a dog or cat because of the color. It had already been smashed and was definitely dead but it made me sick all day that I ran over it again.

I did not have an excellent day at work. I was thinking....What would I miss if I didn't work besides the obvious (the money)? My answer....the clothes. Putting together outfits and being able to have a place to go to wear them. Walking down the hall today I was following a partner and two women clients that he had just met with. They were going on and on about the interior decorating in our office. They just loved everything. The partner said to them...Well, I didn't pick any of it out. I wanted so badly to say "Well, I did. I picked everything out." Because I did. But I didn't say anything. Still it was nice to know they thought it was beautiful.

And lastly, I planned to make cookies and box them up fancy to mail to people for Valentine's Day. I promised to make something homemade for the first five people to respond to a post on Facebook. I planned to make 4 kinds of cookies. I made my dark chocolate pepper ones and I made my mom's favorite sugar cookie recipe in heart shapes. But I ran out of steam and time. I haven't decorated the sugar cookies and I haven't made the other two kinds. One of these was going to be Martha Stewart's Salted Caramel Cookies except that I planned to also dip the bottoms in chocolate. Too late now. I'll probably finish the ones I have made and take them to work on Monday.

And lastly..er, I would like to find some time to mess around with Pinterest. I keep getting emails that people are following me and I've only ever pinned one or two things. I feel like I'm letting them down.

trading bodies

2012-02-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes while I'm running on the treadmill at the BAC, I look around me at all of the other ladies. I compare my body with theirs. I have to say that there are only a handful that I might be willing to trade bodies with. Sure I might have a few extra pounds but let me tell you that there are a lot of ladies, young and old, with a few extra more pounds than I have.

Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to trade bodies. All of a sudden be in someone else's and feel the aches and pains that they feel or to run like the wind with no aches and pains at all. To jump inside a body less fit than mine and work hard to whip it into shape and then give it back. Or jump inside a young body more fit than mine and see what it feels like to run a 5K in 8 minutes miles again. To see what it feels like to have my pants feel tighter in the thighs, or looser in the waist or to have boobs that fill out the bodice of a dress.

So after I pick out the two or three I might be willing to trade with, I start to think.....what if I pick this body and there is a disease or illness lurking it that would shorten my life. I might have a disease or illness lurking in my body too but at least I have a family history of longevity.

And then the treadmill stops and I go home. These are some of the silly things I think about while running on the treadmill.

understanding and validation

2012-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

On my way in to work this morning I was listening to NPR which I do most mornings. They were talking about the up coming election which is about all they ever talk about. They were discussing Newt and Mitt. Ha, what funny-sounding names! Newt and Mitt.

This is not a political post. I listen to stories about politics because I don't want to appear stupid. I get a little out of it before my mind starts to wander on to other things that interest me more. So this analyst was saying that he liked Mitt more and thought that he would make a better President. But he said that he thought that Newt understood the Republian party better. He thought that Newt was more in tune with the feelings of the Republian party. He said something that made me sit up and listen. He said that when a woman tells a man about a problem that she is having, that the man always immediately starts to offer solutions. He said Mitt is like that. But that isn't what the woman wants. She is capable of thinking up her own solutions. What she wants is understanding and validation. She wants him to say (these are my words not his, his were a little more formal) "Awh, that sucks." "I understand how you feel." Followed maybe by a little pat on the hand. I totally identified with what he was saying.

He said that Newt gets this and offers the pat on the hand first and then helps solve the problem. So I guess Newt is more like a woman.

discomfort

2012-01-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes all you gain when you step outside of your comfort zone is discomfort.

upbeat me

2012-01-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at old journals of mine. Once back in 1988 I let myself be talked into selling Mary Kay. I liked the products. I even liked demonstrating them. I didn't like contacting people and asking them to buy or have parties. This is an excerpt from 8/8/88 where I'm giving myself a pep talk.

I've decided that if I'm ever going to do anything with Mary Kay I'd better start. Maybe recording my progress in this diary will help. I'm interested in a career with Mary Kay. I just need to overcome the fear of asking people. Last night I organized my desk and put my financial matters into order. I believe I'll place an order for nail care, holiday items and some glamour and now I need to get out and call people and ask people. I really feel the products are great.

to be continued.......

a mess o running bras

2012-01-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

I only own two running bras that I like and both are ragged, the fabric torn away from the elastic. Yesterday during my outing I stopped at Walmart. I used to be able to walk through the clothing section at Walmart and find tons of things I liked. Now I can't find a single thing. But I do like their Hanes running bras. So I picked up five new ones and tossed those ragged ones.

I've been noticing the younger girls at the BAC wearing looser blousier tops recently. At the Goodwill I found this Nike top and this Champion looser fitting top with the original tag still on it.

dealing in counterfeit shoes

2012-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy that I didn't make a New Year's resolution restricting my number of visits to resale shops. I really don't go as often as I use to but I don't want to feel guilty about going at all because it is one of the great small pleasures in my life. And what is wrong with having small pleasures in life. I've found that when I do go I often end having a theme color or set of colors. One day I'll come home with a bunch of tans and browns, another day I might be attracted to bright colors. But more often than not I'm attracted to black, grey, metallic and dark red. Never bright tomato red. If you look in my closet you may think I'm a very dull person. Maybe I am. I know that I do prefer to wear dull colors. My favorite color for clothing is grey...that sweatshirt grey color.

So I stopped by Goodwill yesterday and had such fun. An hour goes faster in Goodwill than any other place I go. Certainly faster than at work or exercise class.

I picked up a silver cowl neck tunic top, a DNKY dark red sweater with full sleeves gathered at the elbow with ties, a grey with black velvet trim cami, a silvery grey mesh tank from Talbots, two Champion exercise tops (not pictured), a gold Calvin Klein belt and two pair of shoes. One pair of shoes is Ann Marino. I always like her shoes. These will replace a favorite pair of shoes of mine that lost a button. They look a lot alike and both were thrift store finds. This other pair like high-heeled boots....well, they drew me in because they said "Made in Italy" on them. They are sort of cute and will look good with some of my pants that are bit too long or kind of racy with black tights and a skirt. I Googled the brand name when I got home and couldn't come up with a hit. But I did come up with an article about counterfeit shoes that are made in China but have Made in Italy stamped on the sole above the size. Well, guess what? Upon further inspection, I believe these shoes qualify as counterfeit. Not really very well made. But I'm not a shoe snob. I like the cheap ones along with the designer ones.

BTW...if my feet were smaller I could have snagged a pair of Laura Ashley bronze metallic woven linen cloth shoes that were sooooo cute.

This was my exciting find. It's so over-the-top. Here's the little story that goes with it.

I'm poking around all the racks. I have a good eye for spotting the brand names, the fine fabrics. As I'm poking I'm keeping an eye on the two kids putting out the newly marked clothes. A young girl and a young feminine guy. Both have toothpick legs encased in skinny jeans. He has a soft giggle that erupts every time he points out a cute top or a cute pair of jeans to the young lady. Every time he selects a belt that will complete the suggested outfit. At first I think that he is one of those guys that I see in resale shops occasionally who are selecting clothing for their own consumption. Then I realize that he is working. I see see him hang this jacket on a rack that I had just perused. I wait a few minutes and then casually stroll back over. I get that high then you have found something great. It's made in China but it's cute and fit me perfectly. I might not wear it, I might wear it a few times. It's one of those things that a few people will love and most people will think you look like an idiot in. But that has never bothered me much. I go easily from classic to over-the-top.

A final aside.....my sister-in-law posted this quote of Eleanor Roosevelt's recently - Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.

I felt instantly offended by this. Discussing people is great fun and some professions are devoted entirely to this. I do have some good ideas sometimes. I can discuss ideas and events. But I have to accept that I prefer to discuss people. I find people more interesting than events. I have a small mind. Lofty Eleanor can go suck an egg.

now serving

2012-01-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a Facebook friend's picture post of her dinner out, I quickly put this meal together one night last week. Her dinner was spiral noodles, mushrooms and green peppers in a light sauce and a large erotic-looking sausage. I substituted chicken sausage cut in more delicate manageable chunks, orzo for the spirals, spinach, cherry tomatoes and olives for the green peppers and mushrooms. I cooked the sausage then removed from the pan and added orzo and chicken broth. Then the spinach and olives after the orzo was cooked. And finally for just a minute the cherry tomatoes. Served up with a sprinkle of parm on my new plates. Yum!!

alone again naturally

2012-01-20T06:13:00.001-08:00

When I was driving into work this morning my eye was caught by what appeared to be a dirty clump of snow hanging from an overhead wire. As I got closer I saw that it was a white with gray speckled feathers pigeon, all alone on the wire against a white sky and dirty speckled snow background.
I wondered why this guy was all alone as I drove on and spied overhead wires with clumps of pigeons huddled together. When I saw church roofs clotted with pigeons at the base of the spires.
Was he being ostracized for the colors of his feathers? Or maybe he is just a loner and doesn’t like to participate in group activities. Maybe he needed alone time to think his little pigeon thoughts.

briar rose

2012-01-16T17:48:00.001-08:00

I love dishes. I happened to be looking through the Macy's ad and saw these and thought maybe it was time for a change. I've always liked Mikasa. My very first dishes were Mikasa. Even B likes these.

resolutions

2012-01-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

I'm putting down my New year's resolutions. I quickly jotted them down in pencil on New Year's Day and just happened upon them again. Making them a little more permanent by putting them on my blog.

Complain less
Eat healthier..used to have no problem with this but my habits have slipped a little
Continue to exercise as usual
Be nicer to people...not that I'm not but I always want to try even harder
Read more....this a big one. I really want to do this
Organize a drawer or closet or shelf every week
Start sewing again
Send birthday cards on time
Limit my wine drinking to weekends

There it is.

depressing and gross talk

2012-01-11T09:51:00.001-08:00

While Jay was home over Christmas break, we were sitting in the kitchen when an ad came on TV for depression medication. A voice asked “Do you have thoughts of suicide?” I replied “Who doesn’t?” This received a big laugh in my family. I mean seriously….who has never had thoughts of suicide? I’ve planned mine several times. Living near Niagara Falls I’ve come to the conclusion that jumping off would be my best option. Much better than driving off a bridge, closing my garage door with the car running or taking a bunch of pills. Not much danger of surviving that.
Of course, I would never do it. Too chicken and actually I don’t want to die. I love living.
Once when I worked at Gould in Schaumburg I went downstairs in the elevator with a group of co-workers. When the door opened and we stepped out into the lobby I remarked that the lobby smelled like earwax. Everyone acted so shocked that I would know what earwax smelled like. EWW…that’s so gross. Haven’t they ever poked their finger in their ear and smelled it? Are they so unaware of their body that they truly don’t know what earwax smells like? Or toenail jam?
These must be the people that don’t glance back before they flush the toilet and never have thoughts of suicide.
Ewww….enough gross talk. My next posts will be about happy, lovely things

1/5/97

2012-01-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

A post from 1997

My Ribby is dead. When I look at a picture of him, smiling at me through half closed eyes, I see contentment and love. My kitty loved me completely. I was his whole world. And I loved him. He was my comfort. Ribbons trusted me completely. Even Friday afternoon when I whisked him from the warm dark corner of my armoire to swiftly carry him downstairs to his cat carrier. He entered without protest and drove to the doctor's office in silence. I think he knew what a sick kitty he was even when I did not. I began to suspect when he didn't want to explore the doctors examining room. Instead he curled back up in the carrier. He made himself difficult to remove from the carrier.
Dr. Crafts lifted him out. Dr. Crafts thought Ribbons looked pale and felt a mass in his tummy which was giving Ribbons discomfort when the doctor touched it. Dr. Crafts said something was definitely not right and kept Ribs in the hospital for X-rays and blood work.
This was 2:30 pm Jan 3 1997.

I kissed Ribbons on his soft little head, told him that I loved him and that I would see him later. At that time I suspected I might not see him him later, but saying I would gave me hope that it would come true. About 3:45 Dr. Crafts called me at home. Should I have stayed with Ribbons? Ribbon's X-rays showed a tumor. Dr. Crafts suggested exploratory surgery. I agreed. He said that he would know right away in surgery if it was an isolated tumor that could be removed easily or something more. I went to the grocery store and when I returned at 5:15 there was a message to call Dr. Crafts as soon as possible. I should not have shopped. I should have sat at home and waited for the call that I hoped would not come.
Ribbons had a tumor the size of an egg in his intestines and tumors in both kidneys. He had lymphoma---a devastating cancer. I gave my consent to administer the drug to put my baby to sleep. I never saw him again. I requested a group burial. Should I has requested a private burial since Ribbons was a private kitty? I think it matters little what happens to his sweet stripey yellow furry body. I didn't want to see him dead. I want to remember him alive. I look at his picture and can feel his little arm which he would retract as I ran my finger down it. I know the length of his back, how long it takes to run my hand down the length of it. His tail - how I would pet it to the end, then hold on while he flicked it out of my hand. The sweet way he would put his paws on my thigh with some unspoken request. The softest fur in the world behind his always clean pink see-through ears. His chirp in the morning. "Are you getting up now?"
My Ribby - I have nine years of memories of you. They may fade some over the years but they can never be taken from me completely.
Ribbons...I hope I think of you often. I miss you so now. I hope you enjoyed your life. I know you enriched mine and filled it with your love.

I write today...
Ribbons was a special little cat. Now I have another special little cat, Smudge, who will be celebrating his 15th birthday on February 18th. All cats, of course, are alike in many ways. After all, they are cats. But each is unique and special with their own little personality.

1/10/10

2012-01-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

I wrote...
An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Sometimes I feel sad and overwhelmed...pulled in too many directions. I start to feel like an empty shell...like a walnut that when cracked open reveals nut meats that have dried to a papery thinness. I am, however, a person who strongly believes that you make your own happiness. So today I am rehydrating my dehydrated nut meats by doing something that makes me happy....cooking.

I write today....
I am seeing a theme. I like to cook.

1/5/2010

2012-01-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

1/5/2010 two years ago I wrote in my journal...

1/5/2010 5:30 am
I have been awake laying in bed since 4:25 (should that have been ...I have been lying awake in bed?). I designed a purse and two blouses in my head. Then I took a tour of my great Grandma Morris' house in Middletown remembering the layout of every room and the placement of the furniture. I used to feel guilty about stealing the "Don't Forget Your Mother" paperweight from them but now I'm happy I did it. It is one of the very few things I have to remember her by.

This is followed by drawings of a black suede purse with little black flowers placed randomly and an off white top with lace band and small pink roses and a black knit top cut from knit dress with wide gold organza chiffon satin? with embroidery.

observations and reflections

2011-12-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

Last night was the NCCC Foundation Board Holiday dinner. I usually meet Bill at the college and we drive to the country club together. But there is no easy way to drive from my work to the college. It always takes me over an hour and creeping crawling traffic on Niagara Falls Blvd. So this time I drove straight to the country club and met him there. It was a straight shot up the 190 across Grand Island. It only took me 40 minutes in rush hour traffic. There was a time that I would not have done this. I would not have wanted to drive there alone. I would not have been comfortable walking in alone. I went in alone and procured myself a glass of Cab. Then I spotted B. He got his wine and we stopped to talk to A. A is a tall beautiful woman with coffee-colored skin. We have had several nice conversations in the past and A always gives me a hug when I see her. We were joined by M. M is a young woman, newly married, fairly new to her job. I've had a few conversations with her at other functions. I like her. We talked about Christmas plans. We talked about her job working with grants. She said that B has probably described her to me as someone who doesn't know what she is doing. I told her that No B has described her to me as a very enthusiastic young woman.

I had spotted another woman I wanted to talk with. I had talked at length with this woman last year. I remembered that she was a caregiver. When one older person passes away she finds a new one to care for. I remembered that last year she was wearing black palazzo pants and we had a discussion trying to think of what they were called and could only come up with pajamas style pants and gauchos. I remembered that she was engaged but not married. I spotted her face but could not remember her name. I left my little group to seek her out. In my search I encountered G who is on the board. G and I had gotten to know one another last year at this function. I joined G and the man she was talking to. She said that they were discussing pain killers. I had just heard a story about children and pain killers and how parents are reluctant to give children pain killers when they are in pain because they are afraid that the children will become addicted. I fell easily into this conversation. Then I sought out the care giver lady because we were about to sit down for dinner. I had forgotten her name but it turned out to be Y. Y had gotten married 18 days ago. Y wore a wedding dress for her wedding but her maid of honor wore palazzo pants. Y's lady had passed away and Y was in the interview process for the next person that she will be caring for.

At dinner I talked easily to my table mates. I lightly reprimanded H for sipping his champagne before the big toast and flattered him by saying I couldn't believe that he had graduated from high school in 1989 because he looked so young. The lady next to me was a retired nurse and had been in the reserves. She had interesting stories to tell. Her husband is one of those people who remembers every detail of his life and can easily relate them. He did most of the talking at the table. The other B sat back and looked a little bored like he would be happy when it was all over but he was sociable. My B, I know, would rather have been home but he was very sociable and talkative also. We also had the student member of the board at our table. A tall skinny sweet young girl getting an early start in the politics of being a board member. She was joined by her boyfriend also a college student at a rival college. He was very interested in turning his fork back and forth on the tablecloth and in his cell phone.

Why I'm going on and on with all of this? Because sometimes I am amazed at this person I have become. I'm not saying that I'm a fine person, just a different person. In the past I would have dreaded going to a function like this. I would have clung to B's side. Leaving his side to seek and find someone to talk to would never have occurred to me. If I would have done this, it would have been out of obligation. And I would have stood there wondering what this person thought of me. I would have stood nervous and tongue-tied.

When B and I would come home from such a function as this in the past, we would ask one another....Did I do or say anything embarrassing tonight? If the answer was yes or maybe, it would have consumed me for weeks. Now I don't care. I don't really care if I do or say something stupid. I actually enjoy talking to these people. I like these people. I like people. I'm finding the more you don't care what people think of you, the more they like you. Or maybe don't like you. I don't know. I don't care. You can't be liked by everybody. I can sit back and observe people. I can slip into conversation because I simply don't care anymore. I was told once when my company took a personality test that people's personalities don't change. Only maybe if they have had a life-changing event. I'm not sure I agree with that. I don't think I fit into the category that I was pigeoned-holed into . I think if I took that test today I would get a different result from that of ten years ago. But then I did have a little crisis in my life so maybe that qualifies as a life changing event.

Anyway, enough about me. So let's talk about you. What do you think of me? LOL

my mistake

2011-12-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

I needn't have stayed up late putting this together last night. The meeting is next week. There are so many things to attend that I got mixed up. Tonight is just a committee meeting but I'm not going. Today is Toastmasters. Tomorrow is our holiday potluck and gift exchange at work. Tomorrow night is the NCCC board meeting and holiday dinner at Nia Falls Country Club. Friday is a happy hour after work. Saturday night is my neighbor's annual Christmas party. Sunday night is The Adams Family at Shea's. Next Thursday is the dinner I thought was tonight. And then there are always exercise nights. I need a month to hibernate.

visions of sugar plums

2011-12-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the ASWA annual Christmas Fundraiser. I'm excited about it this year. It's being held at the Millennium Hotel by Walden Galleria Mall in the atrium. There is going to be an hour long open bar and hot hors d'ouvres. The menu choices all sounded so good that I had a hard time choosing. I wanted to try them all. Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, Chicken Stuffed with Lobster, or Shrimp and Scallop Scampi. I finally decided on the chicken. The soup is French Onion with Sherry. The dessert is Chocolate Tuxedo Cake.

This year I put together a candy basket for my donation. I'm calling it Visions of Sugar Plums Basket. Smudge is doing the Vanna White thing here.

This is the back of the basket. It features Harry and David's Moose Munch, a chocolate orange, Ghiardhelli Chocolates, Turtles and Marzipan Fruits among lots of other things.

twin living rooms

2011-12-05T18:45:00.001-08:00

This a picture of our living room. When we decorated it 23 years ago I adored it. I continued to adore it for another 15 years. Then I sickened of it and wanted to redecorate. I wanted to paint the walls goldenrod or terra cotta or french toast. I wanted that loud obnoxious wallpaper out of there. But B loves that wallpaper and doesn't want to get rid of it. So we fought for several years and then I stopped caring and then.....miraculously I started to kind of like it again.

See the afghan on the back of the sofa. My sister, Debbie, made that for me to go with the wallpaper. See the oil painting above the sofa. B and I bought that at a starving artist sale for $50. It was painted by X Rabous. I go on-line now and find very similar paintings by X that sell for around $1500 now.

The sofa is a Flexsteel and looks as new now as the day we bought it.

So I told B I could live with this room if we would buy decorative curtain rods and do something about the window treatments. I still think the picture over the fireplace is hung a little too high and now looking at the photo I think the X painting might make a better statement over the fireplace than over the sofa.

This weekend we went to the Lewiston Christmas House Walk. Historic homes owned by wealthy people offering them up for the weekend for plebians to tromp through. When I entered the living of one home, I could not believe my eyes.

There was our wallpaper in the exact same shades albeit slightly muted and a larger pattern. There was the same fabric on the sofa and the same dark walnut Ethan Allen furniture. The same color rug on the same color hardwood floor.

We don't own a baby grand or a grandfather clock

Their window treatments are much nicer than ours but their picture over the credenza doesn't hold a candle to X's oil painting. And we got some great ideas for window treatments from another house that we toured. Our dining room is open to the living room and is painted a color that is similar to coffee with lots and lots of cream in it. It has the same green crown molding around the ceiling. B is going to let me paint the dining room a shade of gold that can be found in the wallpaper. We will keep the sheers, buy decorative rods and I'm going to sew panels for just the ends of the windows out of the fabric that I bought 23 years ago to make draperies for these rooms and that has been in a huge roll under our bed ever since. We are combining our ideas and I think we are going to come up with something we both like.

the sixth sense

2011-12-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

do you ever wonder if maybe you are dead and you just know it yet?
no comments on the blog
no comment on the facebook posts
no comments
no comments
no comments
no comments

birthday baking

2011-12-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

We have a birthday club at work. I was the last birthday so I was supposed to bake for S whose birthday was on Thanksgiving Day. There was hardly anyone in our office the week before Thanksgiving so it was decided that I would bring in the cake on the Monday following. I thought this was a great idea because it would give me all weekend to bake.

Well, I was laying in bed Sunday night at midnight about to nod off when I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to have a freshly baked cake in my kitchen waiting to be taken into work the following morning. I got out of bed and starting perusing cookbooks for a recipe that contained ingredients I had on hand. I could have stopped at Wegman's in the morning but I'm known throughout the office for my baked goods and didn't want to disappoint.

I found this recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate Bundt cake. Plenty of butter, sugar, eggs, coffee crystals and bittersweet chocolate. I mixed the thing up alternating the chocolate/coffee mixture with the flour mixture into the butter and eggs. Baked it and for the first time ever....when I loosened the edges and turned the thing out....about a half inch of cake remained in the bottom. No prob....cover it up with bittersweet chocolate fudge glaze. At three o'clock in the morning I slipped back into bed. Thank goodness for my sister and my cousin and Words with Friends... kept me busy during baking time and cooling time.

fancy sheets

2011-11-30T15:14:00.001-08:00

About twenty years ago I went to a garage sale that was a like a dream come true to me. I bought a 16 place setting of Rogers silverware, lots of rhinestone pins and a gift box containing this top sheet and two pillow cases. Hand crocheted and gifted to someone who never took them out of the box. I thought how sad to not use something so beautiful...hide it away so no one ever sees it. I brought them home and put the box in the back of my linen closet. It's a full sheet for a double bed and regular size cases. We have a king bed and king cases.

In the past couple years now that Jay has moved away from home I have found myself sleeping in his room, the guest bedroom, my bedroom. I like to sleep with night lights, shades up. I like to fall asleep reading and I like to stay up late. B likes to sleep in pitch black rooms. He falls asleep instantly. Goes to bed early. Now I find that I sleep in my bedroom every night. I was putting sheets away in the linen closet and I saw this box tucked away. A perfect opportunity to use and enjoy my fancy sheets. It is a pleasure climbing into bed every night with these sheets. I feel like a princess. The cases are the same as the sheets. This is a reminder to all not to die with beautiful things tucked away waiting for that special occasion.

failure to communicate

2011-11-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

I won tickets to a Sabre hockey game tonight. B came home from a bike ride. Went to shower. I am waiting and working at the computer. We are going to dinner first. Leaving at 5. waiting waiting waiting....then I look out the kitchen window and there he is in the car. Has been there awhile. I said why didn't you tell me you were going out to the car. He said why couldn't you look out the window and see I was out there. More words were spoken then quiet.

just sayin'

2011-11-25T15:57:00.001-08:00

Almost everyone has a nicer kitchen than me

i don't know what to think

2011-11-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

So I don't know what to think about this. Today I'm cooking away. I made Chocolate Chipotle cookies because I discovered a recipe for them involving a chocolate cake mix. I was looking for a recipe for cookies that I could use these little micro marshmallows in. I bought these marshmallows about a year ago and while cleaning the pantry I saw them and wanted to use them up. I'm making both cookies today.

I've also always been enchanted by chestnuts. I buy them every year and let them mold and throw them away. A few years ago I roasted them and found I like them. I have a recipe for Cream of Chestnut Soup in my wooden recipe box that B's sister, Mary, gave me years ago. The box, not the recipe. So today I made it. I've always wanted to make one of those desserts with chestnut creme filling also. Someday I will.

But to get back to this. I announced that I love to cook. It is one of the things that makes me happiest. B replied that that is something new. I haven't always liked to cook he said. I said I've always loved to cook. Why do you think I don't like it. He said...you don't like to cook because you never know what to make. I said....sometimes I think you don't know me at all. He said something like....F'ing A.... with a big sigh. I said....I do better when I just don't talk at all.

box of fun

2011-11-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Open me on Sunday...Dress Barn sparkly red top with frog closure and sparkly red rhinestone earrings and Avon's little black dress colgne

On Friday I stopped at an Amvets that I don't get to very often. It's very large and always has a few wonderful items waiting for me to discover. This time I kept coming across nice Alfred Dunner tops...the kind my mom likes. I came home with seven tops for her. After laundering them I started to put them away to include in her Christmas present. But then I thought....she gets so much for Christmas. Maybe I should send them now. Her best friend and her best friend's husband are quite ill now. I thought maybe this would help cheer my mom up and give her something to look forward to each day. I sometimes send her make-up and cologne that I've bought and then never use. She has always enjoyed getting those things too and tells me that she always uses them up. So this is what I did. I went through my cologne and found seven bottles that I don't use. And then my earrings to find seven pairs I could part with. I plan to wrap a top, a bottle of cologne and a pair of earrings to make seven gifts that I'll label....Open me on Monday....Open me on Tuesday etc.

Open me on Monday....Vicki Wayne's white quilty top with fake diamond solitaire earrings and White Shoulders ( I had two bottles)

Open me on Tuesday....Alfred Dunner red, white and blue sweater top with little red earrings and Clinque Aromatics Elixir (I'll have to keep that word in mind for Words with Friends)

Open me on Wednesday....Alfred Dunner striped zipper front top with tiny pink and silver earrings and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely

Open me on Thursday....Alfred Dunner yellow, navy and white top with gold earrings and some Avon cologne I don't know the name of. Can't think of the name for that zigzag pattern either. Aargh!

Open me on Friday...Northerrn Reflections tan sweater top with embroidered pink roses, pink flower dangle earings and Avon's Extrodinary (I had a little trouble parting with these earrings but they looked so much like the roses that I had to let them go.

Talbots intarsia sweater with purple and silver Jody Coyote earrings and Givenchy Organza

I'm throwing in a bag of my make-up. Just what every one would want. LOL Happy opening Mom! Have fun!!

ten years younger

2011-11-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Friday evening I drove to NCCC to meet up with B for the annual Employee Recogntion Dinner. B was presenting an award to a woman in his department. We were assigned table 19 with the other V-Ps but B had promised his staff (all women) that he would sit with them. I believe he has a staff of about 30 (all women) and 7 were attending. I had only met one or two of them before and it was obvious to me that they like my husband and were happy with his decision to sit at their table. They asked me lots of questions....like where did B get that cloth bag that he takes his lunch to work in every day.

This was the menu...

Butler passed shrimp & antipasto
Spring greens with poached pear, dried cranberries, and blue cheeese crumbles
Roasted turkey with cranberry glaze
Pepper crusted beef tenderloin
Linguine with julienne of squash, zucchini and mushrooms with garlic olive oil
Eggplant roulades
Oven roasted red potatoes
Whipped butternut squash

It was incredible as usual. It was prepared by the culinary department as usual. The school is getting ready to open a new culinary school and restaurant in Niagara Falls.

So anyway we were standing in line and one of his ladies said to me "So how much younger are you than your husband anyway? You look at least ten years younger."
I replied " Two weeks. Older. Two weeks older."

I do not think that B overheard this little exchange and I did not tell him. But I secretly rolled it around in my head the rest of the evening.

happy birthday

2011-11-08T20:25:00.001-08:00

happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
happy birthday dear mona
happy birthday to me

dinner at the butler mansion

2011-11-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Firm dinner at the Butler Mansion on Delaware and what I plan to wear.

Fushia Coldwater Creek dress with silver sparkly Enzo flats, vintage crystal necklace, crystal earrings, beaded purse and sheer pink ruffly shawl

Thought about black velvet pumps and black velvet shawl but everyone wears black including me most of the time. Decided to go crystal and rosy tonight.

pumpkin mousse

2011-11-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Whip a half cup of whipping cream. Fold in half a jar of pumpkin butter and a squirt of maple syrup. You can spice it up with cinnamon or nutmeg or both.

free fridays

2011-11-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

I don't work on Fridays and I think it is one of the wisest decisions I've ever made. I will start working Fridays and even Saturdays again during tax season. But in the meantime I have to say that money is nice, but I really don't spend much of it. Time thrills me more. Time to clean my house and pursue fun activities. One of which is thrifting. Goodwill finds can thrill me as much as a new Jaguar may thrill other people.

Today I'm buckling down and getting some housework done, but last Friday I went to Goodwill and came home satisfied. I found a nice pair of St John's Bay brown corduroy jeans and a pair of Loft black corduroy jeans among another things. Two of my favorite finds were a vintage dress from the 20s or 30s and a beaded blouse. I saw a lady look at the blouse and put it in her cart. I actually waited around and pretended to look through things until she came out of the dressing and hung it back on the rack. That's when I grabbed it and headed to the check-out.
So here is my vintage dress

I know it looks kind of like a baggy sack. It actually looks pretty cute on due to the smocking on the shoulders and the gatherings in the back below the waist.

the tag....I Googled and I believe it is pretty old

shoulder smocking

black velvet bow

back waist gathering

beaded blouse....wore it Wednesday and got a compliment

toastmasters

2011-11-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Today was our open house and I had volunteered to be humorist. I volunteered for this position because I often have humorous things happen in my life that I can relate. This week the only humor I encountered was inappropriate for a Toastmasters meeting. With nothing funny going on to talk about and time running out, I sat down this and penned this little poem that talks about my first Toastmaster's meeting and the events that proceeded.

Reluctant to attend
I sat there, stomach churning
When asked why I was there
I felt my face start burning

I replied that I was terrified
When faced with public speaking
Those words set my teeth a-chattering
And my eyes a-leaking

I sat there feeling cynical
Amidst that smiling crowd
Thinking that I would never fit in
With this group that spoke so proud

Then the speeches started
I got lost in emotions
Drawn into their lives
As if I’d been given potions

I like these smiling faces
I like all this support
And so I joined Toastmasters
And I’m happy to report…

That I have spoken four times
And filled every single role
Although it still is sometimes hard
I’m working towards a goal

Reluctant to attend
I sat there feeling cynical
But my feelings started to bend
And I hope to reach a pinnacle

halloween event

2011-10-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I ran into Wegman's yesterday to pick up a prescription after my work-out at the BAC.
It should have been a quick in and out trip but Weggie's was having a Halloween event. Outside they were selling flower bouquets made in pumpkins, huge caramel apples dipped in various candies, hot cider and doughnut holes. I made it past this but the first thing I encountered was a stand giving out samples of pumpkin soda. She also gave me a card with the events that were happening so I made the rounds. I bought two creature cupcakes for B and I to have for dessert Sunday or Monday. On to the produce department where I tried Caramel Apple Dip. This was cream cheese covered with caramel dip and crushed Heath bars with apple slices to dip. In the meat department I had prosciutto on a stick. In dairy I had Mexican Layer dip. I was too early to taste the seasonal beer. It wasn't noon yet. But my favorite by far was the Cheese Fondue. It was Danny Wegman's wife's cheese fondue recipe. She is from Switzerland so it is very authentic and by far the best cheese fondue I've ever had.

Here is the recipe...

1 clove peeled garlic
8 oz shredded Emmental Savoie
8 oz shredded Imported Le Gruyere
4 oz shredded Surchoix Appenzeller
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp corn starch
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 T Kirsch
Fresh crusty bread chunks
1. Bring all ingredients to room temp.
2. Rub garlic clove along inside of a large saucepan. Place pan on stove top on Med heat. Add cheese and white wine. Cook stirring constantly in a figure 8 about 15 min until smooth.
3. Whisk corn starch and Kirsch in small bowl until smooth. Add to pan. Cook stirring constantly about 10 min until bubbles. Add pepper. Transfer to fondue pot.

I think it is the addition of the Kirsch that makes this so special. All the employees were dressed in costumes and the store was full of young families with children trick or treating. It is always such a treat going to Wegman's.

trip home-day four

2011-10-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Marilyn showing her fancy house panties

After breakfast at the Corner Bakery we checked out of the Wyndham and stashed our suitcases in Carla's car and set out walking. We walked past Marilyn. She stands now where the American Gothic couple used to stand. Everyone was clamoring to have their picture taken under Marilyn. We even saw wedding pictures being taken here.

Marilyn Monroe in her famous pose

Our plan was to see Millennium Park, the Willis Tower and buy tickets for the play Red at Goodman theater that evening. We wanted to see Willis Tower early because we knew it would be busy but it was across town from the theater that would be opening in an hour for ticket purchase. So we hung around near the theater and walked through Millennium Park. Some fashion magazine had a big tent set up and you could go in and have facials, pedicures etc. I don't know what these guys were supposed to be but they were walking around and people were posing with them for pictures. So I took one also.

Barb and I reflected in The Bean

a view of the city from the park

a view of the city from our room

After purchasing our tickets for the play we went to Willis Tower. The line was long for tickets and then again to get up to the top. Carla needed to get back home so we bought our tickets to use later and went back to the car. Carla drove us to Hotel 71....very posh and modern hotel on the river. She dropped us off. We checked in and stood in awe of our view for about hour.

Donna and Barb in our room at Hotel 71

Trump Tower across the river

It was lunchtime by now so we stopped in Macy's which will always be Marchall Field's to me and ate lunch in the famous Walnut Room. Donna and I had salads and Barb partook of the famous Chicken Pot pie. We had Orange Blossoms to drink. On our way out of the store we stopped at the Lush department in the cosmetics section and all bought some of the handmade shower bombs. I bought one called Sex in the Shower that smelled like Ylang ylang.

Finally we made it up into Willis Tower. This is the three of us standing over Jackson Street in one of the bump-outs. It was a beautiful clear day and we could see far.

the bump-out across from us complete with bird droppings

We went back to our room and changed for the play. It was a drama and quite good. Afterwards we stopped at the Purple Pig for champagne and a tapas dinner that included shredded Brussels spouts salad, roasted bone marrow, calamari salad and fried Manchengo cheese.

our night time view from our hotel

We stayed up very late that night talking and having more wine and building our friendships.

On Sunday morning Donna's husband, Bruce, came to pick her up and drive us to the airport. A very, very memorable trip.

what goes around comes around

2011-10-27T14:40:00.001-07:00

As I was getting ready for work this morning I had a Deja Vu feeling that I'd worn this very same outfit many years ago. In junior high. 7th or 8th grade.

I had a corduroy print hip hugger skirt made by my sweet sister, Deb, who sewed many of my clothes. A wide hip hugger belt. I wore this skirt with either a navy ribbed cotton short sleeved top or a gold ribbed short sleeve sweater. Mary Janes like the present ones except the cross strap was straight across instead of on an angle.

Even my hair cut was the same but now it is a little longer with softer sideswept bangs instead of more straight blunt cut bangs. Everything is a little softer now including my body. But hey, for a few minutes as I was getting dressed I felt 13 or 14 again with all the possibilities in front of me that a 13 or 14 year old has. Styles come and go but still there are basic styles that are timeless. If I had actually been wearing the very outfit that I wore in junior high, I would not have looked out of place. Only fat like a stuffed sausage.

what's goin' on

2011-10-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here's what's goin' on. Over the weekend I bought wine to replenish my wine rack. I'm really liking Spanish wines right now. Hooked on Tempranilla. This is a good one.

I also cleaned out my lazy susan and found several jars of peanut butter that have remained untouched for while. I made a batch of chunky pb cookies and a batch of chocolate pb cookies. Took them to work today. 7 dozen and only 8 cookies remained at the end of day. I've been cooking and baking more lately.

Wonder what happened with me teaching that Boot Camp class? Well, Sandy already had a teacher for the class that I was willing to teach.. She said she would use me as a substitute. I'm not really sure teaching is for me. I'm just not a rah rah kind of a person. And it's really really hard to instruct and call out before you actually make the move. I tried it and I don't think I liked it. I'd rather have someone teach me.

Toastmasters is going okay. I gave another speech recently without any notes and no ums or ahs. This I kind of enjoy even though it causes me great anxiety a few days before. I won table topics two sessions in a row which is an accomplishment for the tongue-tied person I used to be.

ASWA....we are hosting the Northeast Conference this year....a huge endeavor. I offered up suggestions of getting Colleen Wegman as a speaker and also Toastmasters. I offered to write to Colleen and tell her that I'm Wegman's biggest fan but I failed to attend the last board meeting and someone else is contacting her now. However, I was approached to put together a Toastmasters session. I am going to speak at this along with Caroline and hopefully Kevin. B told me to let him know when this was coming up and he would move out of the house the week before. He has experienced my anxiety before.

Got my hair cut and colored and it is laying pretty now. I like it.

Bought a book called One-Yard Wonders. It has lots of cute projects and I would like to find some time to work on a couple. Maybe make something for our Christmas fundraiser.

Running and exercise is going well. Work is....well.... work is work. What can I say?

My kitty loves me and the lilies I bought this weekend are opening and emitting a lovely fragrance. Every day I try to find at least one thing good about the day. Pollyanna calls it playing the glad game. I used to be very good at it. I faltered for awhile but I'm making the effort again.

I love Spotify. I can listen to any song I want when I want.

The leaves are changing color and looking very pretty.

And that's what's goin' on.

trip home-day four

2011-10-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Rose Champagne Cocktails at Pops for Champagne

Friday morn Barb and I got up and made breakfast for all of us. We kissed my mama goodbye and headed North to Chicago. My friend, Donna, came to the airport to pick us up from the car rental place. Donna and I have been friends since our sons were less than a year old. We met at the swimming pool during swim lessons. I can still see those two little babies in their Speedos.

Donna drove us to Roselle, the suburb where we both lived and where Donna still lives. I asked her to drive me past my sweet old house. Then I asked if we could stop at the Lynfred Winery. We decided to do the wine tasting. Most wine tastings don't take long but this wine tasting included 8 or 9 wines and our hostess poured us half glasses of each. We were smashed by the time we got back to Donna's house. We enjoyed her delish Caeser salad and quiche and grapes but decided to fore go the bottle of wine she had planned to open.

So then a trip downtown on the train I used to ride every day to and from work and a long walk pulling our suitcases behind us to a hotel just off the Magnificent Mile. Here we met up with Donna's sister Carla who was staying the night also. We settled in and chatted then met up with Carla's friend, Lori, at Quartino for dinner. Quartino is like a tapas bar only Italian. Everything was good especially the mushroom risotto. The place was loud, crowded and packed. The manager bumped into Lori's chair so many times that finally he apologized and brought us another free bottle of the wine we were drinking.

Afterwards we felt it was a little too early to go back so we went to Pops for Champagne and had the above cocktails. We had a great table right in the window.

Back to the hotel where we may have shared another glass of wine or not. I can't remember. We were all tired and looking forward to the next day of sightseeing.

trip home-day three

2011-10-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

Barb at New Salem

I awoke very early on day three. It was still dark outside. Everyone else was asleep and I decided to go out for a walk on the NHM blacktop. I knew I would probably be back before anyone else got up. When I returned Mom and Barb were just waking. Mom still wasn't feeling well and didn't want to participate in our day's outing. Barb and I decided to go to Mason City for breakfast. When we got to MC we found the restaurant we had intended to eat at was completely gutted and no longer in business. But MC has another restaurant...a Mexican restaurant. When we walked in the door, everyone in the busy restaurant stopped talking and eating and looked up at us wondering who these two strangers were in a little town where everyone knows everyone else. I felt on display and actually gave a little wave to the crowd. We had wonderful omelets here and great coffee served up by a friendly waitress. I drove Barb by the swimming pool where I had spent many happy hours splashing and playing while my dad sat and read a book all day outside of the fence. I had intended to drive to Greenview, then Petersburg from here, but remembered that I had forgotten to cash a check at the bank in Mtown before we left. So we drove back to Mtown, I cashed my check and we went out to the Irish Grove Cemetery so Barb could see where my dad and all my relatives on my mom's side are buried. While we we walking around in the cemetery, I got a call from my sister in Arizona letting me know that my mom had called the doctor for an appointment and he had sent her to the emergency room to be checked out. The message that was relayed to me from mom was that Barb and I should go ahead with our plans. My mom's friends were with her and there wasn't much we could do. So we did go ahead with our plans with a little bit of worry all day. You may wonder why my mother called my sister in Arizona instead of calling me. I think maybe she wanted Deb to know and she didn't want to spoil my vacation plans.

So Barb and I drove on to Greenview and then to Petersburg where we shopped at some of the gift shops on the square. Our next stop was New Salem State Park. We walked through the village and looked in all the houses and shops. It was an absolutely perfect weather day. Upon leaving NS we drove back to Petersburg and stopped at the grocery store. Here we bought salads, crackers and grapes which we took with us to have with a bottle of wine at Hill Prairie Winery. A cold front blew in and the weather became very windy and cold. We had planned to eat our lunch on the deck at the winery but had to eat inside. It began to spit rain. Wouldn't you know that after we left the winery the weather began to clear up again? The only bad weather all day was at the precise time that we had wanted to sit outside on the deck.

Now I had been calling mom's phone and Bert's phone all afternoon trying to get an update. No answer. I knew they had my cell phone # but I had received no calls. So Barb and I drove to Lincoln to the hospital. There I found out that she had been treated and released. I told Barb that I was certain that we could find them at Walmart. We walked into Walmart and there they were. Mom rode home with Bert and Ken because she had been with them all day. Mom had been at the hospital all day and was very hungry when she was released. Barb and I had planned to cook dinner at home for the three of us but since mom had just eaten I fixed sandwiches for Barb and I. I think this was the evening that we all sat in the living room and went through the recipe box. Maybe it was the night before. I wrote down a recipe for Eclair Cake that I'm anxious to try. I think I'll make it for the person I have to bake for in our birthday club at work. When I went to bed this evening I tried to read a bit but fell asleep instantly and this night I slept soundly. The next morning we had plans to drive back up to Chicago for the part II of our trip.

music

2011-10-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Music...that great healer

there is nothing wrong in this world that music can not heal

plans

2011-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

At my last ASWA meeting we had a speaker who was a holistic financial planner. She was a CFP with a financial firm , but was letting that expire to start her own practice working in conjunction with your financial planner whether it be yourself or someone else. She works with people to identify what is important to you and then how much money you might need to pursue that life. I enjoyed her presentation but as these things usually involve examining your life, I have a problem with this. You have to look at your hopes and dreams. Where you want to be 5, 10, 15 , 20 years from now. I never know. Where do I want to be? Goal setting stuff.

Well, I've been in my house for nearly 23 years and my goal was to have all the rooms redecorated. My kitchen has needed remodeling and updating for these 23 years. Every year when I made out a Christmas list I used to put....remodel kitchen on it. There have been heated discussions. Then a few years ago I stopped mentioning this. I accepted. Just recently I said to B....I know we are never going to remodel the kitchen, or change the wallpaper in the living room. I've accepted that. But could we just change the curtain rods to decorative ones because the old white ones are just ugly and old fashioned. He kept saying....no,no,no we are going to remodel the kitchen while I was speaking. But I know we aren't.

I don't know where I'll be any of those years from now or what I'll be doing. Aren't there a couple sayings?

the best laid plans of mice and men
life is what happens while you're busy making other plans

I don't plan anymore
I don't dream

carol of the bells

2011-10-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

I've been a real social butterfly as of late. On Saturday evening B and I attended one of the two annual events that give me an opportunity to get dressed up each year. I always enjoy the NCCC College Scholarship Fundraiser. This year it seems that there was not a lot of competition in the silent auction. We put down our number for six items and no one else bid on them at all, so we got all six. For some reason I was attracted to this collection of bells from various countries. I was thinking I could keep the ones I like or give them as gifts and sell the rest on EBay. They are still sitting on the table waiting for me to do something with them. They each have a unique ring to them.

B and I both liked this oil painting of a bleak, wintry cityscape.

I bid on this watercolor of blueberries for my dining room wall that features other pictures of fruit.

B won a little water fountain in the shape of a castle for his desk and a wooden jewelry box/charger for his dresser. You put your phone, iPod, etc on it and the cord goes through an open space in the back.

But the nicest thing we won was a night's stay in the posh Barton Hill Hotel and Spa in historic downtown Lewiston along with two tickets for the Christmas House Walk.

The culinary department did a bang job with the food again this year. The desserts were outstanding also. Bill and I shared an awesome flourless chocolate cake and a pumpkin mousse bar. But my favorite dessert are always these sugar cookies. They are among the best I've ever eaten. Darned if I didn't eat the acorn which was the cutest one before I thought to take a picture. I brought these two leaves home with me to have with coffee the following day.

pumpkin latte

2011-10-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try this in my coffee tomorrow morning.

farm fresh eggs

2011-10-19T19:52:00.001-07:00

If life gives you eggs, make omelets.

We have a new admin assistant at work. She lives on a beef cattle farm but also has five chickens. They produce more eggs than her family needs so she sent an email out letting us know that if we brought in an empty egg carton that she would fill it for us. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and perfection. You wouldn't even have to color these at Easter. They would be perfect set out as is.

Saturday morning I made an omelet for B. He wanted cheddar cheese, peppers, onions and tomato in his omelet. Over the years I've become a pro at waffles and pancakes but I'm still getting my sea legs when it comes to omelets.

This is the finished product and it could be a little less brown but he liked it that way.

I had a maitake mushroom omelet.

trip home-day two

2011-10-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Auntie M, Mom and Barb

On Wednesday we had a light breakfast at home and then Barb (my mom), Barb (my friend), and I headed to Lincoln via New Holland where I pointed out my old high school and houses of school classmates. In Lincoln I drove us around some pointing out the square,the courthouse, the library and parks. We shopped at Abe's where curiously enough the only thing that I bought was a knife that cuts wavy cukes and carrot slices. When I got home again and was putting this away in my cutlery drawer I discovered the very same knife with the very same gold handle that I had probably purchased the year before at Abe's. I must really like it.

Then Mission Mart, one of my favorite thrift stores. I usually walk away from Mission Mart with a dozen pairs of shoes but this year could not find a single pair that I liked. I did come away with a Bohemian-looking black print halter dress that my mom thought I was crazy for buying and an oatmeal St John's Bay zip-front sweater. Also a cute brown zip-front sweatshirt. On to the impressive new Goodwill. Here I bought a super soft feminine purple stretchy boiled wool jacket, a Calvin Klein pink corduroy jacket, a cream and gold brocade jeans-cut jacket, a black tweed Chicos cardigan and a green khaki Banana Republic skirt. All cute, cute, cute. Barb and I had packed for warmer weather and I ended up wearing most of these jackets on our trip because the weather was a little nippy.

After shopping we drove to Elkhart to eat lunch at The Wild Hare. Barb and I had Stuffed Green Pepper Soup and Asparagus Quiche. Mom had a different soup and a sandwich. Mom wanted me to find something she could buy me for my birthday and it wasn't hard finding it here. I won't say what it was because it's put away and I have to forget about it until my birthday.

After lunch we drove towards Mt. Pulaski just to experience the beauty of Elkhart Hill and then we turned around continued towards Springfield.

Barb and I with the Lincolns

The day flies by so much more quickly than you expect. We had hoped to visit the new Abraham Lincoln Library Museum, his home and his tomb, but only had time for the museum. We did have time to explore it thoroughly and see both of the shows. Mom wasn't feeling very well so instead of having dinner in Springfield, we went home.

After relaxing at home a bit, Barb and I wanted to go check out the new bar, Slackers, in New Holland. We dropped mom off at her friend, Bert's house. I always wonder when I go home for a visit if I will see anyone I know. Lo and behold, when we walked in there was an old high school friend sitting at the bar with his dad. A little while later two more Middletown guys that I know came in. The guys bought us drinks and we reciprocated by buying shots. Barb and I had intended to drive to Lincoln for dinner but ended up staying at the bar and having pizza and enjoying a pleasant evening of conversation.

We picked up mom from Bert's house and went in for a visit with Bert and Ken. It was
another fairly early evening to bed for us. I seem to not adjust well to even a hour time change. The night before I laid in bed for hours before I could fall asleep and I awoke very early in the morning. This night was no exception.

trip home-day one

2011-10-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

Barb and I have been good friends for nearly twenty years. We met when we worked together at a psychologist office. She was receptionist and I was bookkeeper. I have met and visited with her lovely mother several times. For years Barb has said that she wanted to to met my mother and see where I grew up. So finally we planned a trip back to Illinois. We had such a wonderful time that I want to remember it here.

On a Tuesday morning a couple weeks ago, Barb drove from Rochester to my house in Buffalo. We took a cab to the airport. Always wanting to allow ourselves plenty of time we arrived nearly two hours early to encounter no lines whatsoever. Also our plane was nearly an hour late taking off. We had plenty of time to enjoy a breakfast sandwich and a Bloody Mary in the airport bar.

We arrived at O'Hare and took the shuttle to the rental car place. Here we had one the most comical conservations I have ever had with our Russian car rental agent. Yes, it is expensive but you made a reservation. I can do nothing. I can offer you a coupon for the next time. We have no economy cars at the moment so we will upgrade you to a mini-van. What if we just came in off the street and asked for a car? Would it be less expensive? Would you like for me to see? Yes, please. It would be over $100 less expensive. Even less with an economy car. Let's do that then. Would you like me to delete all this and start over. Yes, please. (She's all put out. The line is growing behind us) Oh, we have no economy cars. We'll have to upgrade you to a mini-van. This went on and on with her speaking with a heavy Russian accent.

Finally we left the airport with Barb displaying her excellent driving skills and me performing less stellarly as the navigator. On the drive downstate we stopped at the Illinois River Winery. I had been there several times before and enjoyed the excellent wines. We did a wine tasting and purchased a couple bottles to take with us. We were planning to eat lunch at nearby Starved Rock State Park Lodge but by the time we got there it was almost dinnertime. So we walked the grounds a bit and shopped in the gift shop until the restaurant opened for dinner. This huge fireplace was decorated spectacularly.

We were admiring it and the waitress offered to take our photo in front of it. I can't remember exactly what our sandwiches were but we each ordered a different one and split them. They were served with homemade potato chips and both were so yummy that I couldn't decide which one I liked more.

Then the rest of the drive to Middletown. Mom was asleep in her chair and didn't even hear me until I approached her. We spent the rest of the evening talking and having a little of the wine we bought earlier in the day. Barb and mom seemed to get on well. A comfortable evening and early to bed. We were pooped.

corn risotto

2011-10-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Once when I was visiting Deb in Scottsdale she took me to lunch at a restaurant where I ordered corn risotto for lunch. This turned out to be one of those memorable meals that I've never forgotton. Last month I bought fresh sweet corn and Googled a recipe. The recipe called for more risotto than corn. I wanted to use up the corn so I used twice the amount of corn called for. Besides I remembered the risotto that I had years ago being more corn than risotto. Anyway it turned out thicker than I wanted but still delicious. I topped it with a dash of cream and cilantro.

jeweled beet salad accompanied my meal

words

2011-10-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words......they really hurt me

the good teacher

2011-09-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Faculty vs students basketball game

Yesterday Jay came home to celebrate his birthday with us. He wanted to eat dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. And so we did. They have a new Skinnylicious menu with lighter fare. He and I both ordered Margaritas off it. B had Riesling. I ordered the White Chicken Chili. I've made this myself a few times but I've never had it so tasty before as this is. It was off the skinny menu too even though it had a bit of cream of it. Jay had a burrito and B ordered meat loaf. One thing about The Cheesecake Factory is that even though the menu is huge and offers so many choices, the food is always excellent.

practising his presentation for his Masters Degree

He spoke of his students while we ate. Jay is starting his fourth year of teaching high school business. He received an A+ on his Masters thesis which was bestowed on him this spring. I like to listen to his talk of teaching. Although there are always a few unruly students who become major discipline problems every year, for the most part I think he enjoys teaching and I think he is pretty good at it.

Last year he told his class a joke every day. He said they always groaned but secretly they liked.

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger; then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the butcher who backed into his meat slicer and got a little behind in his work?

On Halloween he brought them candy and the doll from the movie Saw. He made them talk to the doll as if it were him and answered them through the doll. It sort of freaked them but they loved it.

He told us this year that he informed his Accounting class of celebrities who started out as Accounting majors...among them Janet Jackson, Kenny G and JP Morgan. He said that a background in Accounting probably helped Janet figure out how much money she was making and if she was profitable but probably didn't help her any with her wardrobe malfunction at the Superbowl. His class didn't know who Kenny G was so he played them a Kenny G song on his phone while they were working through an Accounting problem. On Friday, his birthday, he told his class that gasoline was so much cheaper when he was in high school. Someone asked how old he was. He responded "Uh, 29". They asked when is his birthday. He made them guess. Someone guessed September. Yup. What day? Someone guessed the 20th. Nope. The 18th. Nope. The 16th. Yup. There was a long pause and then someone said "Hey, wait, that's today." Jay said Yup...don't make a big deal out of it. Jay told me he made it through the day without any of the faculty knowing that it was his birthday. He thanked me for not posting on his Facebook wall. I don't know why he never wants to make a big deal out of it.

He is an assistant Lacrosse coach at R-H. The team did very well last year.

He likes to cuddle with his two kitties...Brody and Tess

He is a health nut and I knew he wouldn't want a cake for his birthday so I made this healthy one containing no sugar. It does contain carrots, banana, wheat flour, wheat germ, egg, olive oil, vanilla, flax seeds, chia seeds and black walnuts. I did frost it with a little cream cream frosting. He ate some and even took some home. It really is very tasty regardless of how it might sound as a birthday cake.

So we had a pleasant bday visit with Jay. He spent the night and we had a Greek breakfast before he headed home again. I think he had a good birthday. I hope he did.
I'm looking forward to hearing more stories of his classes and students throughout the year.

september song

2011-09-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

I love September. Just love this month. Every year I bask in the richness and ripeness of this month. The weather becomes a little bit drier, a little bit cooler, crisper. I get a melancholy feeling that it's not going to last much longer and the dreaded cold weather will be on it's way soon. So I need to love it, drink it in now.

Squirrels start to fatten up, a few crispy leaves start to fall from trees, spiders spin intricate webs, fuzzy caterpillers precariously make their way across country roads, school children are excited about their new supplies and enthusiatic to start classes...the drudgery of attending those classes yet to set in.

Everything that grows is at it's peak of maturity. Seed pods burst open and seeds float through the air on delicate feathery parachutes. Crops are harvested. On this day 29 years ago, I was at my peak of maturity also. I was harvested and produced a healthy 7 lb 10 oz boy baby that we named Jay. Happy Birthday Jay! Just another reason to love September.

s-a day 14

2011-09-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

not giving yourself too much importance, nor taking yourself too seriously.
Your true importance will increase proportionately to how little of it you claim for yourself.

Easier said than done.

by the light of the harvest moon

2011-09-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

I was blogging my recipe for pumpkin coffee cake last night. While listing the ingredients I came to pumpkin. How much pumpkin did I use? I used approximately half a can. But how many ounces were in that can? Well, it was garbage night and that can was out in the recycle bin alongside the street. I dashed down the stairs past B working at the kitchen table and out the door to retrieve that can. I didn't even tell him where I was going and I didn't return until at least twenty minutes had passed by.

As I reached the end of my driveway, my path crossed with a lady walking her two Springer Spaniels. They looked exactly alike except one was half the size of the other. I stopped to pet them and inquire about them. She told me that they were from the same litter but the girl, Eleanor, stopped growing at six months while the boy, Rigby, kept on going. I told her that she looked familiar and she said we were in Girl Scouts together. I told her that couldn't be it because I only had a boy. I asked her name. She told me it is Julia. She remembered that I had an exotic name like Helena. I laughed and told her it was Ramona. We figured out that we were in PTA together when our kids were in grade school. I told her why I had come outside. She told me that she loved to cook and was a retired nurse who now worked in the prepared foods section at Wegmans. I told her that I dreamed about working at Wegmans. She told me it wasn't all that great. You work hard and it is intense. I told her my sisters were nurses. We talked about how we still live in the same houses. She lives on the street behind me. I told her that we have talked about moving to Arizona. She told me that she and her husband bought a house in Green Valley AZ a couple years ago. I told her I had nieces in Tucson and a sister in Scottsdale. She told me that her husband left her last year after 32 years of marriage so she doesn't have the house in Green Valley anymore. He has it. She lives alone. Her daughter moved to Ireland and her son lives near Hertel Avenue. I told her my son lives in Rochester and teaches at Rush-Henrietta. She told me that is a good school district. She told me that she is from Rochester. I told her that my best friend moved away to Rochester and that we should get together sometime and do something fun. She told me that she would love to because her husband had never liked having fun.

Then my neighbor, Karen, crossed the street and came over. She petted the dogs and we talked some more and looked at the harvest moon. Then Karen's husband, Bob, came out to find Karen and he came over and we talked and looked at the moon.

It was nice and friendly and a warm fuzzy feeling under the orange glow of the harvest moon.

sour cream pumpkin cardamom coffee cake

2011-09-12T16:32:00.001-07:00

I was going to make Carla's cookies but they called for more pumpkin than I had. So I started perusing cookbooks. I came across something called Sour Cream Cardamom Bars. I love cardamom. It's a flavor that I thought would go good with pumpkin. So I adapted the recipe. Because I was adding pumpkin I left out one of the three eggs. Also with more liquid ingredients I needed to add more flour. What I came up with turned out more like coffee cake than bars. But the important thing is that it turned out good.

here is my adapted recipe....

2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cardamom
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 c pumpkin
2/3 c sour cream
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground cardamom.
Beat the butter until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin. Fold in the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the sour cream.

Spoon the batter into a 9 x 13 prepared pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove from oven, let cool and dust with confectioners' sugar.

baking day

2011-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday I was in a baking mood. I had two things I wanted to use up. One was a jar of Concord Grape pie filling that I had purchased at the Farmers Market and opened up a few weeks ago only to use a tablespoon on my pancakes. The other was the remaining canned pumpkin from the souffle I made.

I got out my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, the one with the red and white plaid cover. The pages are old and yellowed now just like my mom's cookbook that I used to use when I was young. I had mastered the pie crust recipe in this cookbook years ago. Although I haven't baked a pie in years the crust to this grape tart I made turned out light and flaky.

And there was a little dough leftover to make pie crust sprinkled with cinnamon sugar just like my mom used to make for me with the leftover dough. B had this for dessert. I brought the pie to work today. I had a tiny piece and it was delicious but so far the Sour Cream Pumpkin Coffee Cake that I also made yesterday with the leftover pumpkin was the bigger hit.

I had a little piece of both.

pineapple-teriyaki chicken

2011-09-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

pineapple-teriyaki chicken in the pan

pineapple-teriyaki chicken on my plate with brown rice and carrots/snow peas

Ingredients
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can pineapple rings, plus 1/3 cup juice from the can (I used fresh)
4 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Directions
1.Whisk sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, and the 1/3 cup pineapple juice in a large bowl. Add pineapple rings and chicken and gently stir to coat. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. I refrigerated for several hours.
2.Remove the chicken and pineapple from the marinade and pat dry; reserve the marinade. Here the directions call for you to grill the chicken but I put it in a glass pan and broiled it in the oven until it was cooked through.
3.Whisk the reserved marinade and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until reduced and thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in butter. Serve the chicken and pineapple drizzled with the sauce.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

note to self

2011-09-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

I downloaded a new app to my phone called Note to Self. You can record messages to
yourself and email them. So I'm trying it out and I recorded a lengthy message to myself reminding myself not to forget to love yourself. When I looked to see the message it recorded, all it recorded was the word "doc". So I tried again with a briefer message. I recorded simply" Don't forget to love yourself". When I looked to see what it had picked up I saw these words..."Don't forget to wipe yourself". I suppose that is an equally important message.

pumpkin souffle

2011-09-10T17:38:00.001-07:00

ready for the oven

Although today was not too fall-like, fall is coming. I love the foods and flavors associated with fall. I bought some canned pumpkin yesterday and while I was walking I was thinking of what to make with it. I'm going to try cousin Carla's pumpkin cookies. But I also thought a souffle might be good. I Googled pumpkin souffles and found an easy recipe that I made for dinner tonight.

fresh out of the oven

Pumpkin Souffle

4 eggs
3/4 c pumpkin
3 T maple syrup
a dash of salt
a dash of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375.
Mix the egg yolks, pumpkin, syrup salt and pepper. Beat the egg whites til soft peaks form. Mix a dollop of the whites vigorously into the pumpkin mixture and then gently fold the rest of the whites into pumpkin mixture. Place 4 6-oz ramekins on a rimmed cookie sheet and fill the ramekins with the mixture. Place in oven and immediately turn it down to 350. Bake 25-30 minutes.

my yet to be tossed salad

I served with one of my favorite salads....greens, chopped apple, chopped celery, chopped onions, cheese cubes(I used Colby-jack this time, chopped pecans and poppy seed dressing.

asparagus with Bearnaise sauce and cod

My cod was just a tiny bit disappointing. I had haddock at Cracker Barrel that was outstanding. It had been dredged in cornmeal and flour and grilled. This cod I dipped in a mixture of beer, egg and milk and dredged in cornmeal and flour. I thought I'd save calories by baking but I should have just lightly fried it to a golden crispy crust. It wasn't bad though and the souffle and asparagus made up for it.

dahlias

2011-09-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

My dahlias are doing fine. They are the only flower that the deer don't seem to enjoy eating.

swamp walk

2011-09-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful sunny low humidity mid-seventies day. I'm afraid we won't have too many more of these. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy. So I walked through Great Baehre Swamp to Margaret Louise Park today....about an 8 or 9 mile trip.

a really swampy part of the swamp

Some highlights along the way were goldenrod

a Catalpa tree heavy with beans

a brand new shiny white Peterbuilt truck hauling three more brand new shiny white Peterbuilt trucks

an industrious spider's web

a kid's zucchini stand

and the two zucchini that I bought for a dollar

I'll buy that for a dollar!

s-a day 10

2011-09-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

The secret of self acceptance is.... not expecting too much of others, for only thereby do we learn not to expect too much of ourselves. I don't think I do expect too much of others. But what is wrong with expecting too much of ourselves? Doesn't that help us strive to be a better person? I have relaxed some in this area but I don't want to relax entirely. I don't want self-acceptance to give me license to not try.

s-a day 9

2011-09-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is...

forgiving others; for as we forgive, so are we ourselves forgiven by them, and by Life itself. By forgiving others, we acquire also the wisdom to forgive ourselves.

After reading my potato peeling story you may think that I hold a grudge against my mother-in-law and that I have never forgiven her. I did hold a grudge for a lot of years. Although I have never forgotten what she said that day and other things she said to me after that, I have forgiven her. It no longer matters to me that I disappointed them by being a small town girl whose father was not a doctor or a lawyer or a bakery owner like Betsy's father. It no longer bothers me that every time my father-in-law saw me, he would ask me "How are things in Middleton?" to which I always responded with a sneer "It's MiddleTOWN". I can even smile when I recall these things.

I hold no grudges. I hope my father-in-law forgave me my insolent response to his question. I have forgiven everyone who ever hurt me intentionally or not. I am certainly no angel so I ask forgiveness from all whom I have hurt intentionally or not. I ask forgiveness from myself and from Life itself.

on peeling potatoes

2011-09-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today is Labor Day and I guess you could say we celebrated it by not laboring. But it was the weather that kept us from it. If it had been a nice day instead of gray and overcast, B would have been working in the yard. Since it is gray and overcast he suggested we go see The Help. I had asked earlier this weekend if he would like to go see it as I had just finished the book. The movie was good but as always the book was better. I left the movie feeling a bit disappointed knowing I probably would have liked it more if I had not read the book. But I'd rather read the book. I did like the Celia character in the movie. She actually seemed a bit more real than Celia in the book.

If I had stayed home I would have started cleaning and organizing my sewing room....a job I have been wanting to tackle but have been putting off. It's one of the last things to do now. I've tackled all the ironing that has piled up, gone through all the stacks of papers on both desks, sewn buttons back on and hemmed skirts. Once I get the sewing room cleaned I can start sewing and it scares me a little. It's something I think I want to do but it's been a long time. What if I find I've lost the desire or the creative spark?

I've cooked and baked some this weekend. I've found that I haven't lost my creative spark and desire in that department too much. I made those Blue Moon cupcakes. I made fresh corn cakes. I made Wheat Germ French toast, grilled pork tenderloin and Chiavetta's chicken. Tonight I'm making Swiss steak. I bought a sirloin from Wegman's from a local farm, Angus Hill Farm. I pounded flour, dry mustard and salt into it. Browned it in olive oil. Put it in the oven with canned tomatoes, green pepper and fresh garlic. I had four potatoes that were a tiny bit past their prime. They had grown a few eyes. Normally I don't peel potatoes but since these were past their prime but not bad enough to throw away, I thought I'd use them up and placed them in with the meat while it roasted.

As soon as I started peeling, the thought that always comes into my head when I'm peeling potatoes came into my head. It was 1974. B and I had been dating since the beginning of our sophomore year. He had an internship with one of the Big Eight accounting firms and was living at home and working in downtown Chicago while I was still at Illinois State. I took the train from Bloomington to Joliet to stay with him and his family for a few days. He was at work and I offered to help his mother cook dinner. She gave me the task of peeling the potatoes. I wanted to please so very badly. I didn't want to peel too deeply and take too much potato with the skin or gouge the eyes out too deeply and leave big holes. So I erred on the other side. Trace pieces of potato skin remained. She looked at the potatoes and scoffed "My family would never eat potatoes with skin still on them". Maybe she didn't scoff. But she did say it and scoff is how I heard it. It's how I hear it yet to this day when I peel a potato.

s-a day 8

2011-09-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

serving others ever more consciously as an instrument of a Higher Power.

I'm not sure what this means. Community service, running for office, recruiting for my faith, doing a good job at work, making dinner with a smile on my face? All of the above?

s-a day 7

2011-09-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

loving others and not waiting for them first to love you.

If I waited for that I could be waiting forever. Nope, no problem with this one. Most people seem so sweet and vulnerable and worthy and needy, don't you think?

once in a Blue Moon

2011-09-04T08:30:00.001-07:00

Once in a Blue Moon a cupcake comes 'round that I'd like to try. I'm a cookie person as a rule and cupcakes don't excite me too much. When I heard about Blue Moon cupcakes I wanted to try them because although I'm a wine person as a rule and don't like the bitter taste of beer, I do like the flavor it emparts in food. Beer bread, cheddar beer soup and meat cooked in beer for example.

I Googled Blue Moon Cupcakes and a number of recipes came up. One even called for Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa. I love chocolate but I think it would totally overpower the taste of beer. So this is the recipe I came up with...

Blue Moon Cupcakes

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
3/4 c brownulated sugar
2 1/2 c flour (I used White Lily Flour just because the bag is so cute that I wanted to try it out)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 t cinnamon
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest ( I reconstituted Penzey's dehydrated orange peel)
1 c Blue Moon beer
1/4 c milk

Frothy Beer Head Frosting [recipe follows]
small orange slices, for garnish

Directions:
1. Line 24 cupcake trays with liners. I used some white and some blue.In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking power, cinnamon and salt.
2. In a large bowl beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar a little bit at a time, beating well.
3. Add eggs, beating after each.
4. Add vanilla and orange zest and beat.
5. Mix beer and milk in a measuring cup. Alternatively add beer/milk mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture in the large bowl, beating after each. End on the flour mixture.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes at 375 degrees F until cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Once cool, frost each cupcake with a generous amount of frosting. Just before serving, garnish each with a small orange slice.

Frothy Beer Head Frosting

2 egg whites, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange juice
1 c sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 c Blue Moon beer
Directions:
1. In a saucepan, mix sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla and orange juice until soft peaks form. Slowly add hot sugar mixture, beating continuously. Beat for 7 minutes until stiff peaks form.

the beautiful creamy cake batter

ready for the oven

fresh out of the oven...the aroma is yeasty and heavenly

a beer tray from 1959 that we found in our basement bar when we moved in

cupcakes served on the tray

I choose this one. Do they look better just white or with blue sugar sprinkles?

s-a day 6

2011-09-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

mixing with those who, in their own expansiveness,offer support to others. Shun the company of those who are cynical or insecure.

Now this one I have to beg to differ with. Yes, it's good to mix with those who offer support and who are always upbeat. I truly believe that they help us believe in ourselves, expand our thinking and make us feel good about ourselves. But if we don't mix with the cynical and insecure, who will help them expand their thinking and make them feel good about themselves. Besides a little cynicism can be fun at times as long as it's not disrespectful. Insecurity is no picnic and these people need all the support they can get.

s-a day 5

2011-09-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

respecting everyone; for as we are so do we imagine others to be: and as we view them, so do we ourselves become even more.

I think I do this. I hope I do this. The times I feel that I fell short of doing this have made me feel bad. Even when opinions differ greatly and personalities clash, others are always deserving of our respect.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes; one I strive to live by. Be extra nice to people, you never know what they're going through.

s-a day 4

2011-08-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is.....

not resenting anyone; for by resentment we only belittle ourselves.

Resentment is defined as a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury.

Although I admit to envy I believe I can say that I don't harbour ill will. I don't believe that I feel resentment towards anyone. I must be on my way to self-acceptance.

heart works

2011-08-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

www.heart-works.org.

I remember when Charlie was born in May of 2008. His grandfather, a partner in the accounting office where I work, was very concerned about him. As was everyone in the office. Charlie is 3 years old now and doing well. This charity was inspired by Charlie who was born with a heart defect. His mother makes these heart necklaces and sells them to benefit Heart Works, a charity founded to improve and extend the lives of babies born with heart defects.

It was hard to decide which ones to buy as they came in all colors with varied glass hearts but these are the two I chose.

s-a day 3

2011-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

not envying others their talents and accomplishments. It is better even to fail in one's own soul-appointed duty than to succeed in someone else's. Once you succeed in being wholly yourself, you will have achieved the most glorious success possible for any human being.

This is one I have a little trouble with. I don't want to envy others talents and successes but sometimes I find I do. I'm happy for them but sometimes envious. It goes back to the soul-appointed duty thing I guess. It's not that I want to succeed in their talents, it's that I would like to succeed in my own. But what is my soul-appointed duty and how do you find that out before it's too late.

s-a day 2

2011-08-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

The secret of self-acceptance is....

accepting others, first, as they are.
Only then will you be able to accept yourself as you are.

I really don't think I have a problem with accepting others.

self-acceptance

2011-08-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Going through a huge stack of unread books today, I came across this tiny volume entitled Self-Acceptance.

The first page says Day One - The secret of self-acceptance is....realizing your uniqueness in the entire universe. No one will ever have your song to sing. Through all eternity it will be yours alone. Your primary task in life is to learn to sing that song to perfection.

Well, I think I realized my uniqueness at an early age much to my chagrin having often felt that I didn't fit in well. Now my job is to learn to sing my song, but first I have to figure out what that song is. What if my song is a long drawn-out boring ballad or maybe a ditsy little ditty? Do I want to learn to sing that song to perfection?

inspiration and admiration

2011-08-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have been exercising for a lifetime. It's a habit and not one that I want to break. But sometimes it feels so hard, so time consuming and so BORING. I've had people tell me that they can't run. They have actually said to me "It's easy for you". Well, it's not easy. Every time is a chore. Sometimes easier than others but it's never easy. It requires discipline and dedication. I often get down on myself and consider myself to be a lazy person lacking in discipline and dedication. And I really am in some areas of my life. But this is an area where I have some control. Exercise and running are such a part of my life that I forget that these qualities are somewhere within me. And yet it would be so easy to stop....relax on the patio every evening with a good book and a glass of wine instead of going to the gym.

So I was feeling this way a little bit. My favorite exercise instructor for my Total Body Sculpt class is expecting a baby September 1. She stopping teaching a couple weeks ago. I've been floundering around trying out other classes....Boot Camp and Pilates. Even skipping a few nights. Last night I went to my Total Body Sculpt class that is being taught by a substitute, A, until Alex returns in November.

A is a short,heavy girl...dare I say one could call her obese. But I was there so I took the class. To my surprise, A could exercise rings around me. I was amazed and exhausted at the end of the class. But not too exhausted to get my 5K in afterward.

As we were lying on our backs doing our cool down, A related the story of how she became an exercise instructor. Why she does what she does. A few years back A was falling down a lot. Her doctor told her that the muscles around her knees were too weak to support her weight and that she would have to walk with a walker. A is a grade school teacher and she couldn't fathom the picture of herself walking around the classroom with a walker. She went to the BAC to a personal trainer to build the muscles in her knees. Not only did she do that but eventually they hired her as an instructor. After hearing her story I felt such admiration for this lady....such a source of inspiration.

national thrift shop day

2011-08-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

black suede Franco Barbieri pumps, red leather Nine West flats, pink suede Naturalizers, gray suede Naturalizer loafers, Eric Michael beige leather flats, Acorn orange slides, Fitflops black sandals, unlabeled but really cute sandals and BCBGirls cowgirl leather mules

On Wednesday I went to my Toastsmaster's Meeting where the theme of the meeting was August Holidays. This is how I found out that August 17th, the day of the meeting, was National Thrift Shop Day. August 15th is National Relaxation Day. The month of August is National Watermelon Month.

The meeting went well. I evaluated a speech for the first time. I was a bit nervous but thought it went well all in all. I was called up to the front of the room and put on the spot during the Table Topics section of our meeting. My question was: You went on Match.com and chatted back and forth with someone. You were getting along just great and asked for a photo. When the photo was posted this person had a big tattoo with a misspelled word across it. What do you do? But to make your answer even more interesting, you had to draw a card that told you something about the way you had to answer the question. My card said that i had to speak in a foreign accent. I know a little story regarding Match.com so I told it in an accent that was a blend of German, English and Slavic. I completely fooled two people who didn't know me well and thought I really talked that way. I won the Table Topics ribbon.

beaded necklaces

But back to the holidays. I couldn't celebrate these holidays until Friday when
I was off work. I happened to be in Rochester with Jay on Friday. When our plan for the day was cancelled I brought up National Thrift Store Day. I used to thrift store shop a lot but not so much anymore. He accompanied me to the Salvation Army where I bought a couple skirts, a brown top and a book thus celebrating National Thrift Store Day. When we got home we both took a two hour nap thus celebrating National Relaxation Day.

Mexican silver earrings

The following day I met Barb for breakfast. We discussed an upcoming trip we are
going to take to Illinois in September. Then Barb asked if I'd like to check out the brand new Savers that had only opened last week. What a goldmine! I found six pairs of shoes, three tops and jewelry. Barb bought a top, necklace and five pairs of shoes. After I left Barb because she had to go to work, I stopped at Goodwill before heading back to Buffalo. Another three pairs of shoes, two skirts, a top and a stack of books.

I'm all celebrated out.

endeavor

2011-08-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

created in Seattle Washington 2004

by Lino Tagliapietra (b 1934)

We need a strong spiritual base, a philosophy for the future. Otherwise we operate only in technology. We need something to keep out spirit more human, more connected to natural life. - Lino Tagliapietra

boot camp?

2011-08-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have often thought how fun it would be to work a different job each day of the week doing things I love to do. For instance on Monday I would have a bookkeeping job where I just reconciled bank accounts and cleaned up general ledgers on Quickbooks because those are my favorite accounting things to do. On Tuesday I'd cook a beautiful meal in a restaurant or make fancy cookies in a bakery. On Wednesday maybe create my own art and sell it. Thursday I'd be a docent at the Darwin Martin house. Friday I'd babysit a sweet baby. Saturday I'd teach an exercise class. Sunday work at a greenhouse. And on and on.

Recently I was looking through the Buffalo News Sunday job section. What a joke! But I saw an ad in there that stated "Get your exercise and get paid for it". Sandy of Bodyshaping by Sandy was looking for exercise instructors. I used to take classes from Sandy before I joined the BAC. I completely wore out two of her Pilates CDS. The ad said to show up at her studio on a Saturday at noon and audition. So that's what I did. Sandy told me that I have a strong body and good form and she thought I'd be good at teaching either Pilates or any of the body sculpt/boot camp classes. So I went to training class and attended a few boot camp classes. Tomorrow is my last training class. I thought Pilates would be best for me to teach because it is slower paced and more serious. But I love the body sculpt class that I have been taking for several years at the BAC. But again you have to be real upbeat, energetic and be able to call out moves before you do them without losing your breath.

Sandy sent out a list of the fall schedule classes that were still in need of a teacher. I was a little hesitant because I've never taught before. But there is a boot camp class held only one night a week (Tuesdays) at a church near my house. I emailed her that I thought I'd like to teach that class. I think I can do it. It's not a sure thing yet. Here so many of my friends who are teachers are retiring and me who has never taught anyone anything is thinking about becoming a teacher.

things i've read

2011-08-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

One thing I like so much about reading is finding out that you are so not alone in the world regarding your thoughts and feelings. I have been reading along in a book too many times to ever count and come across a line that makes me think....omg I thought I was only person that ever felt that way, or had that thought or did that. It is a comfort and connection to the rest of the human race to find out that others have shared your thoughts and feelings.

Another thing that I love is when I come across a phrase or some wording that remains in my head the rest of my life. These often are not upbeat phrases and sentences because I am, whether I like it or not, a person who is draw to the oddity, the mysterious, the quirky, to sadness and unhappiness and unsettled endings. But I am not really a sad and unhappy person. I won't share some of my favorite lines here for fear of revealing too much of my dark side. Too much of myself.

Recently I read this line in a book and I thought...how true. "They had time on their hands nowadays, but they did and they didn't. They had more time and they got less done, that was the truth of the matter. And they weren't idle, either".

My weekends are usually fairly open. I could get so much done. And I used to. But now although I feel like I'm busy most of the time, I never seem to get much done and never get around to doing pleasurable things (things I used to find pleasurable and hope to find pleasurable someday again).

I've looked at life from both sides now. From win and lose and still somehow, it's life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life at all.

blu spa

2011-08-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I attended an ASWA board meeting at Blu Spa. We usually just meet in a meeting room at someone's office but this time we decided to treat ourselves to spa services throughout the meeting. This spa is in West Seneca and is very modern and large. There is literally a maze of hallways that take to you to various meeting rooms, party rooms, massage rooms, hair styling, pedicure and manicure rooms.

this is a hair services room

and from another angle

one of the many little beverage service areas

our president in the middle and two board members in our party area.

We had several kinds of subs, two salads and key lime pie and cookies.

a couple board members receiving pedicures

this little baby doll joined us near the end of the meeting

my pedicure....Suzi Loves Cowboys

2011-08-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last night I left the BAC, hopped into my car, turned the key and instantly set off a loud whirring, whistling noise. I let it run a minute and the noise continued. Then I smelled or imagined I smelled burning rubber. I am always terrified that my car is going to burst into flames whenever something doesn't seem right with it. I started it up again and drove it a ways through the parking lot. Worried that I shouldn't be driving it in it's condition, whatever that may be, I shut it off again and called B. He told me to drive it home and so I did. B took a quick look at it and couldn't tell what was wrong. He told me to take it to the dealership in the morning. I'm off on Fridays so that is what I did.

After two hours of coffee, two Timbit donut holes and two stories in the book that I'm reading, she came out to tell me I needed a new alternator and they wouldn't be able to get one or do the work until Monday. They offered to give me a ride home but I elected to walk so I could spend a little time in Goodwill near the dealership and treat myself to some lunch at Chili's.

At Goodwill I found this cute basket and a Patty Griffin CD

two blouses in shades of cream and black

a white tank top, embroidered black skirt and tunic sweater

Then I had house salad, enchilada soup, chips and salsa and a Margarita at Chili's. After the three mile walk home in the hot sun carrying my purse and bag of goodies, I felt a little sick for awhile. Feeling a little better now. Time to get up and attem. Laundry and cleaning wait for no man.

through the looking glass

2011-08-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

Besides a collection of 1000 paperweights that I loved but didn't photograph here are some final things that caught my eye....I know you must be bored to death by now of glass objects.

a forest of trees made with drinking glasses sitting on glass shelves....there were even a few glasses with birds on them

glass dress

glass flower

modern sculptures

another modern aculpture

glass tire

glass curtain

no...it's not the lighting dept at Home Depot

stained glass window

cut glass baseball bat

glass beaded boxes

through a glass darkly

2011-08-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

bowl made from fusing thin glass rods

grass bowl made the same way

cube made from thin sheets of glass

hanging knives

exploded torso

cityscape bowl

Roman Catholics vs the Jews chess set

octopus chandelier

no room at the inn

2011-08-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up the Finger Lakes trip

Donna Carla Barb and me at the George Eastman Mansion

Donna Carla and I checked out of our hotel on Saturday morning and went to Barb's beautiful house in Webster. Stepping into Barb's house is like stepping into the pages of House Beautiful magazine. The lady has a knack for decorating. Barb offered to drive us around to give me a break from driving and because she knows Rochester better than I do so I took her up on it.

First we toured the George Eastman Mansion. I've toured a number of mansions and I have to say that this is one of the most impressive. George, you know, invented the Kodak camera so everyone (not just professionals) could take photographs. He was an extremely wealthy and generous man. There was also a Norman Rockwell exhibit at the mansion. It was fascinating to see how Norman took tons of photographs of his neighbors and friends and then used bits and pieces (a face here, a hand there) to paint and illustrate his pictures.

sisters Donna and Carla at lunch

We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe.

my grilled shrimp salad

Then we toured the Susan B Anthony house. Susan was quite a lady and I really appreciate all the hard work she did to ensure equal rights for everyone. One of the interesting things about this tour was the passion displayed by our tour guide. She could go on and on about Susan and she did. But it was all interesting and at the end of the tour when she told us about Susan's death, she got all choked up and her eyes teared.

Then Barb drove us up to Lake Ontario and we got out and walked onto the pier. We watched about a dozen swans swimming and listened to the calm lap of the waves.
We drove back to Barb's house after. Thank you Barb for driving. It was such a fun day.

Next I drove Donna and Carla to my son Jay's house. We took a little tour of the house and were entertained by the antics of Tess, his girl cat. Brody, his boy cat, did not make an appearance. We all went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner.

Then Donna, Carla and I drove back to Buffalo. I had made reservations at a Quality Inn by the airport. It was late when we checked in....around 10:30. These rooms were small and not so very nice. Carla called Donna and I into her room and asked us to check out the shower nozzle. It didn't have a spray thing on it. She went to the desk to inquire about getting it fixed or to change rooms. While she was gone Donna picked up the remote to turn on our TV. It didn't come on. Soon some young kid came in to fix the shower and brought us a new remote. It didn't work either. He set to work on the shower while we sat around waiting. We were tired and wanted to go to bed. Finally he was finished. Carla went into her bathroom and heard a loud noise. The whole shower head had popped about a foot out of the wall.

We marched to the desk and said we didn't want to stay there so convincingly that they didn't charge us for the rooms and we walked out.

Now to get a room. Three hotels by the airport were completely booked due to flights being cancelled due to bad weather in the Midwest. They told us that we probably wouldn't find anything in the area. So we went into my village to find that two hotels there were full also. I drove over to the group of hotels by UB.
Donna ran in to check on rooms. I saw her smile at the desk clerk. Success!! The desk clerk was taking a room cancellation over the phone while Donna was waiting to be waited on. The desk clerk told her it was her lucky day and she should buy a lottery ticket.

This room was spacious and nice. I was going to go home to sleep but after a bottle of wine the girls convinced me to stay the night.

Sunday we had breakfast at Milos by my house and drove around the village a bit. Then I drove the girls to the airport. I had a wonderful time with all my friends....Donna, Carla and Barb.

finger lakes day 3

2011-07-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ventosa

Back in the Finger Lakes again....

We awoke and went to breakfast in our hotel. We heard on the TV in the lobby about the shootings and bombings in Norway. I hadn't been paying attention to the news the past couple days so that news was a bit of a shocker.

The first thing we did was tour Rose Hill Mansion. B and I had toured this mansion years ago when restoration was starting. I was very impressed with the progress made here. Every room was nicely appointed and our tour guide was very informed about the family who had lived there and their history.

Next we stopped at Ventosa Winery. It is a very beautiful new winery overlooking vineyards and Seneca Lake. It would be a lovely setting for a wedding.

The we stopped at Three Brothers....three wineries grouped together that reflect the personalities of the three brothers. There is that word again.....personality. I guess they each had one and each was unique. One winery was upscale and snooty, one fun loving and the third was downright raunchy. They also had a brewery. I didn't really care for any of the wines here that much. Most were too sweet for me and the upscale winery ones were raw and unfinished. So the wines were not my favorites but the wineries themselves were fun.

We headed to Canandaigua next. Here we had lunch at another cute bar and grille on another cute downtown main street. I had the portobello mushroom sandwich here. Then we toured Sonnenberg Gardens...another large summer home mansion built by the New York banker who started Citibank. The gardens were incredible. Breathtaking!

We checked into our hotel in Rochester and drove downtown to meet my good good friend Barb for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, 2 Vine. I had a bucket of mussels here as I so often do. And a pretty lavender martini.

After dinner Barb came back to our room and we chatted and had a bottle of wine and planned our Day 4.

he who lives in a glass house

2011-07-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

gigantic bowl of fruit

glass fan

inlaid glass armoire

Tree of Life window from the Darwin D Martin house....I wish they would return it

cut glass replica of the Liberty Bell complete with crack

green chandelier

free standing chandelier

baptismal font

Dale Chihuly pink cupid chandelier

do you have a personality

2011-07-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Once when I was visiting my younger sister, her daughter, my niece Katie, who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old, went around the room checking to see if we all had a personality. She would hold some toy of hers above our heads and ask "Do you have a personality?" to see if we had one. Everyone in the room had a personality until she came to me. She held the toy above my head, then looked at it and declared "Nope. No personality." And at the time, I believed that I agreed.

green salad

2011-07-27T19:27:00.001-07:00

one day i made a green salad....completely green

cucumber

kiwi

celery

broccoli

the dressing was dijon mustard, honey, lime juice, olive oil and rice vinegar

a glass menagerie

2011-07-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

a glass half full

2011-07-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

multi-facets

2011-07-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

As I was out walking at lunchtime, I was trying to analyze myself; something I have done many times with inconclusive results. I am like this. No, I am like this. This is the way I am. I’m not really that way at all. I got to thinking that I’m multi-faceted. And most people are but some more than others I think. I started to liken personalities to gems.
Some people know what they want starting at a very young age. They know what they want to be and where their interests lie. These people are probably an Emerald cut. A very large flat surface with varying levels of other interests on either side. They are never wavering.
Some people are Marquise. They have a couple of different interests and are pulled between the two. Marquise is my least favorite cut though. It looks sharp and caustic to me. I know someone who was cut by someone’s Marquise diamond and had to be taken to the ER for stitches.
Oval cut people are probably very balanced. They have quite a few interests and facets to their personalities that revolve around a centrally located interest….probably family.
Hearts are probably hopeless romantics. They love someone or something especially but are still balanced.
Pears…..I don’t know. These people are a little more complicated.
Princess, Radiant and Trillion….again fairly balanced with a major purpose or goal.
I think I fall into Glyptic and Fantasy Cuts….a jack of all trades sort of a person. No clear cut goals. Interests all over the board…..morphing and changing. I often think I’d like a different line of work for every day. I like change. And then again I like things to be the same. But all in all I think I like change.
Sometimes I like to be alone. Sometimes I like to be surrounded by people. Sometimes I think I don’t want to go to some function and then I’m the last to leave. Sometimes I think I have multiple personalities. I’m making too much of this. We probably all feel the same way. Well, not all of us, I’m sure. But some of us, I’m sure.

glass and wine

2011-07-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dale Chihuly's Fern Green Tower

On Thursday we awoke to Day 2 in the Finger Lakes. This was our grandiose plan....Drive down to Corning at the bottom of the lake (even a way beyond the lake......Corning is not on the lake). In Corning we had plans to visit The Corning Museum of Glass and the Western Art Museum in the historic district. I was excited. I knew my friends would like this. I've been there before some years back. Then we were going to slowly make our way back up the west side of the lake stopping first in Watkins Glen at the tip of Seneca Lake to hike the gorge. The gorge is two miles long, 300 feet deep featuring many waterfalls and stone steps. After we hiked we were going to drive back to Geneva stopping at wineries along the way to taste and buy.

We arrived at the museum at about 10:00 am. We took a guided tour first and learned all about how Corning Glass Works made the 200 inch, 40,000 lb disc to be used as a lens in the Hale telescope at the Palomar Observatory in Pasadena, CA. How it took years to complete with operations halted for World War II, how it took a year to cool, 16 days to transport by train to Pasadena CA and became a major news event. It is still being used today. The first attempt cracked and is displayed in the museum. Then we walked through the museum. I love this place. I am going to give you a tour of what I saw right here on my blog next post.

After the museum tour it was about 1 pm. We were hungry so we took the trolley to the historic downtown Gaffer's Row district, decided to nix the art museum and had a tasty lunch. We ate at a cute bar and grille. Our booth was old, wooden and completely enclosed like a private room. I had a barbecued chicken salad and an ice cold Margarita for lunch. I have to pause here a second. You can carry on while I fondly remember. UMMM!!!

Okay, it was 100 degrees, none of us had brought appropriate footwear out of the seven pairs each of sandals and flip flops we had packed for vacation. If we hiked, the wineries would close before we got to them. Nix the hike. I drove slowly past the gorge so we could peer into it and imagine what a lovely time we would have had on the hike.

First we stopped at Cascata Winery. We almost didn't stop here because it was a pink slightly rundown-looking farmhouse. In retrospect we are happy we did stop because it turned out to have some of the best wine. A baby German Shepard greeted us at the door. So happy to see us with his baby face and big awkward paws. So we tasted and purchased and moved on to Fox Run. Here we only purchased. We already knew this wine was good. Glenora was our next winery. It looked out over the lake. All the wines were great here as well. I especially enjoyed the Sparkling White.

We stopped at Belhurst Castle to make a dinner reservation. Belhurst really is a castle. Besides the original rooms in the castle they have built a new more modern addition with another restaurant, a spa and a store with a tasting room. Next stop was Geneva on the Lake. This hotel is geared towards romance and couples. We plopped down in Adirondack chairs on the edge of a cliff and rested awhile.

gardens leading to the Roman pool at Geneva on the Lake

looking back to the hotel

the pool....isn't it romantic?

our view from the Adirondack chairs

outdoor chapel

Carla and Donna relaxing in the shade on this 100 degree day

my view looking straight out

my view looking straight down

After dinner in the castle...salmon this time....off the $24.95 fixed price menu. It included Caesar salad, cup of mushroom soup, bread, veggie and chocolate mousse.

Back in our rooms we shared a bottle of wine and watched Limitless thus ending Day 2 of our little Finger Lakes trip.

took a little trip

2011-07-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Take a little trip. Take a little trip. Take a little trip and see. Take a little trip. Take a little trip. Take a little trip with me ...

My friends, Donna and Carla, flew from Chicago on Wednesday to take a little trip with me to the Finger Lakes. Our destination....Geneva NY at the top of Seneca Lake. At forty miles long, Seneca Lake is the largest of the Finger Lakes. We planned to sightsee and visit the wineries that surround the lakes.

They got to Buffalo at noon. I picked them up and we headed directly to Wegmans. Donna has visited me before and got to see the glorious Wegmans. Carla had not visited Buffalo and was anxious to see Wegmans. She was duly impressed.

We bought several kinds of salads and brought them back to my house for lunch on the patio. Then we loaded up the car and headed for Geneva via Route 20...the scenic route. Unfortunately there were two detours on the scenic route which added an extra half hour to our trip. We arrived around 5:00 in Geneva, checked into our Hampton Inn and walked across the street to the Ramada Inn where we had a cocktail on the patio on Seneca Lake.

Then dinner at Nonna's Trattoria. I had beans, greens and homemade gnocchi. It was delicious. We split a bottle of Fox Run Chardonnay.

After dinner we walked the historic downtown area but it was dead on a Wednesday eve. So we took a drive along the lake to check out some of the wineries we wanted to visit. It was dark and we could hardly see anything but we did locate a couple of places. The desk clerk had told us that all the wineries closed at 5:00 pm. We had wanted to buy a bottle to drink in the room that night. We took her at her word. We subsequently found the next day that this wasn't so. Some of them closed later and we could have bought a bottle that evening. We stopped in at Wegmans again...this time to buy some fancy chocolate bars. Then we went back to our hotel and went to bed bringing our Day 1 to a close.

you had me at "natural"

2011-07-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

natural, all natural, organic, unbleached, biodegradable, earth friendly, European

Why is it that I have trouble resisting these words and fill my cart with all the new "natural" products? But I must say that these sponges with loofah on one side are the best I've found for cleaning the bathtub. Love 'em.

and these are tasty little morsels

There is also a cracked pepper and salt flavor. I don't know which of the three I like best. But it may be the curry and mango ones.

jazz on the pond

2011-07-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some posts require a little more work than others. Narrowing down what pictures to post out of a gazillion, researching the facts, writing it up, remembering it all. Last year I went on an awesome trip to Savannah GA with friends. I wanted to post all about it, but it was a lot of work, and time passed and I never posted.

B and I went to this awesome event on Saturday July 9th. Time is passing again and my post is again delayed but I don't want to not post about it simply out of laziness. I had such fun and it was an interesting and admirable event and I wanted to take time to do it justice. Justice aside....here is a bit of our experience.

Jay texted B one day that he had a friend who was attending this event. Jay thought it might be something that B and I would enjoy since it involves jazz in Rochester and B and I have attended the Rochester International Jazz Festival several times.

I was sitting on the patio when B came out and told me about the text. He asked if I would be interested in going because he knows that jazz is not really my favorite form of music. Not pure jazz anyway. I've found that there are many types of jazz I do appreciate since attending the jazz festivals. Nordic jazz is quite ethereal and unique for instance. Funny....I've read that jazz and metal are music genres appreciated by very intelligent people because they are so intricate and based on math. I guess I'm a dummy. So anyway he told me a little about it and I said I would be interested. So he went in to look at the website and find out about tickets prices etc.

He returned a few minutes later and said that tickets were $150 each so he guessed that ruled out going. I responded that we never go anywhere on vacation and you could easily spend $100 on a nice dinner and this included dinner and sounded like an experience on top of it.....and it was for a very good cause....something dear to his heart.

So this is what it is all about. Five years ago David Belasco, an entrepreneurship professor at USC Marshall School of Business and former resident of Rochester, NY, purchased a piece of property along Cranberry Pond, an inlet of Lake Ontario in Rochester. He built a lovely beach house on this property for himself and his four siblings to use. He hung a picture of his mother, Doris, in the entryway. She had loved music of all kinds especially jazz. To honor her and her love of music he thought it would be a dream to have a party at this property for family and friends and invite some of the best musicians in the US to play on his back porch. The first year this is exactly what happened. But then the siblings thought maybe they should turn this into a fundraiser for a cause. What better cause than the Eastman School of Music in Rochester? The second year they invited the public. This year, the fifth, they presented the school with $50,000 for scholarships for Eastman students.

We checked in at the front of the house and received our bands for our wrists. Only 400 tickets were sold as this was all they could accommodate on the lawn. We found out at this point that there had been $100 tickets available. Our extra $50 got us closer seats, an area to sit down while we we eating and unlimited champagne that was not available in the bars in the the other areas.

I quickly took advantage of the champagne. What can I say? I love the stuff. At this point we had an interesting chat with a woman and her college aged son who bought her a ticket for her birthday. He was working an internship with Constellation Brands premium wines, beers and spirits.

The stage and sound system were impressive.

I feel bad that I can't remember this kid's name. I believe he just finished his freshman year at the school and had already won some national award.

The first set of music was jazz musicians from the Eastman School. We had seats close to the stage...the first row behind those reserved for family and friends. Here's me enjoying the music On Cranberry Pond.

the audience behind us

I wanted to see inside this house so much. I could see that it was beautiful inside when I peeked in the windows. It was off limits to the general public.

one of several open bars set up around the house

All the wine and champagne was donated by Three Brothers Winery. All the beer and water and food was donated by Wegmans. The tents and chairs were also donated.

After the first set of music we broke for dinner. This is the food line.

My delish Wegmans dinner....Frenched chicken, pesto pasta with grape tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, Spanish rice with black beans and green olives and Caesar salad.

The second set of music featured Everette Harp, a smooth jazz sounding saxophonist.

This is David Belasco on the right and what do you think?......maybe a son or nephew on the left.

After the second set of music, cake and cookies were served. The cake was decorated like the house on the pond. I think I got a little of the grass or seaweed on my piece. Then thank yous to all the musicians and businesses that had donated. David talked about how he wished they had Wegmans in California. How everyone he meets anywhere....if they were originally from the WNY area.....misses Wegmans. One of the musicians said he had written a song about it and performed Waiting, Waiting on Wegmans to Expand to the tune of Waiting, Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer. It drew much applause.

And then the last set of music. Philip Bailey....the lead singer for Earth Wind and Fire. He performed eight or ten of their hits accompanied by his very own son, Everette Harp and the Eastman students. They sounded exactly like Earth Wind and Fire. Philip seemed a little surprised and very impressed by the quality of the musicians. He remarked that he had the A Team playing with him. Some of my favorites they performed were September, Shining Star, The Twelveth of Never, After the Love Has Gone. Got to Get You Into My Life, Boogie Wonderland and Nature Boy.

After his performance the scholarship check was presented and fireworks filled the air. I left happy and fulfilled. I had had an experience and been a tiny part of making a difference.

downloading monday

2011-07-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

My eyes opened this morning and the dream I had been dreaming faded into oblivion despite my best efforts to recapture it. The house was quiet. Smudgie was stretched out on the bed alongside but not touching my right leg. My phone told me that it was 8:45. I had slept in, something that I did not know I was even capable of doing.

I walked out the door into a perfectly beautiful Buffalo summer morning. I thought that Buffalo might actually have some of the best summer weather in the nation. Too bad we are infamous for our winter weather. It is 73 degrees now with 43% humidity and a high of 80 degrees today. The skies are blue. I sat on my patio surrounded by lush greenery and brilliant blooms. The birds were singing the melody.....the cicadas the harmony.

Before me was a plate with two cheese blintzes covered with plump dark cherries. A few chunks of reddish-pink watermelon sprinkled with cracked pepper, extra virgin olive oil and brine-soaked feta.

I planned my day. I planned pleasures to bring me joy and tasks to give me a feeling of accomplishment.

I am as far away in my weekend from my cares and burdens as I can be. I am on the far left side of the bar. If I was downloading Monday, I am at 5% completion.

their story

2011-07-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love the poems of Emily Dickinson. I found this book of her poems at a garage sale a couple summers ago. Today I picked it up to reread a few of my favorites.

But even more intriguing than her poems is this inscription written on the front cover of the book. I should like to know their story.

Peg,

The miles are nothing. Memories will keep us together, may we be separated by counties or states or even countries. I am now confident that our friendship will never die - regardless of time or space.

Merry Christmas, 1987
Kurt

i would like to visit falun

2011-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

I like to try to find little moments of happiness in my day especially on days when I'm not feeling especially happy. I always think of Pollyanna playing the glad game. I found a number of those little pleasurable moments today.

You must know I like shoes. I especially love metallic shoes. My new ruffly silver slippers made me smile every time I looked down at my feet today.

We had a fundraiser bake sale today. I was not in a happy way last night and almost didn't bake for it. But I had this delightful Bundt pan and a white cake mix. I found a recipe that added eggs, milk and cream cheese to the cake mix. It came out perfect and golden from the pan. I glazed it with a glaze made from champagne and powdered sugar and lightly sprinkled it with pale pink sanding sugar. A sign on the table pompously named it Cream Cheese Bundt Cake with Champagne Glaze. It was elegant in it's simplicity and I heard it was a big hit and sold out quickly.

B knew that I was not feeling very happy and suggested using a Chili's gift card for dinner tonight. He even went to pick it up. I had a grilled shrimp Caribbean salad with extra cilantro. While he was gone I made myself a Margarita in my favorite happy glass.

I started this book of short stories by Julian Barnes. Sometimes I read a book or story that I love so much that I have to keep the book forever so I can go back and read certain phrases or lines. The Madness of a Seduced Woman is one of these books. Attachments by Judith Rossner is another. Little Altars Everywhere another still. The Glass Castle. Now I can add The Story of Mats Israelson to these.

She said, "I would like to visit Falun."

the 4th

2011-07-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention what a pleasant day the 4th was. B and I tried a restaurant called Zoe for breakfast. I'd heard good things about this little unassuming establishment and wanted to try it out. I was pleasantly surprised. It was decorated so cute in olive green and black. Lots of wrought iron swirly decorations including hand-painted scrolls on the walls. Nice and clean with a very Greek menu. I had saganaki scrambled eggs with peppers. B had a gyros omelet.
When we got home this guy was asleep on our family room couch. What a pleasant surprise!! Then B went out for a bike ride and Jay and I took a nice long walk and had a very pleasant chat.

When we got home I got busy cooking. I marinated veggies for kabobs and baked wholewheat sugar cookie stars. I mixed up ice cream, poured it in the freezer container, clipped the container in the tub, added water, ice, salt and flipped the switch. Nothing happened. I ended up throwing out the ice cream freezer and settling for putting the container in the freezer and getting it out periodically to give it a good stir.
Kabobs are ready....red pepper, purple onion, zucchini, purple potatoes, mushrooms, swordfish, chicken, scallops and salmon.

After dinner we sat outside for a bit. The weather was spectacular. I suddenly remembered some fireworks that I bought on a trip to Illinois years ago. B helped me locate them. They had always scared me before. I thought they were bottle rockets. I found out that they were really all smoke bombs. I lit the first one. I love that firework sulfur smell.

There were some little pop guns that shot out streamers.

B lit off the thing that I had thought was a bottle rocket

Just a green smoke bomb

Jay came out to see what all the commotion was about

and decided to join in the fun

woo hoo!!!

then things got funky

my intense vanilla ice cream....I halved all the ingredients in the recipe but forgot to half the vanilla

served with honey lemon fruit and stars

cookies that I boxed up to send with Jay to give to his friend who is girl

aldi's

2011-07-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

A Facebook friend posted that she found out that Aldi's and Trader Joe's are owned by the same company. I didn't know that either but I can kind of see it. We don't have Trader Joe's here but I love to go there when I visit Arizona. We do have Aldi's but I rarely go. I went yesterday because I needed a few items and it was close to Home Depot and Jo-Ann. They have some pretty neat items there like these tortilla strips and cornbread croutons both of which would be great in a salad. I only spent $19 and came away with those and three hearts of romaine lettuce, a jar of mayo, dark chocolate, fake Mentos, a good-sized jar of dry roasted peanuts, a bag of whole cashews, another of sweet and salty nut mix and several more little bags of nuts.

The little bags of nuts are the perfect size for adding to this bag of rainbow mix. Add apples or pineapple tidbits and a homemade dressing of mayo, sugar and rice vinegar for a yummy salad.

they're such pansies

2011-07-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

they're so sweet

but can't take the heat

the impatients get impatient with them

man up you pansies they say

so I cut them cut at the knees and replaced them with hardy dahlias

we will see how they fare

I hope like these

black-eyed susan wanted to come home with me today