Author: admin

Bread Pudding and Curly Fries

My daughter asked us to explain what “bread pudding” was the other day. In explaining it to her (I don’t serve it typically, because frankly, I don’t like it), I started to think about the origins of food and how there are certain dishes that have been around forever, but in reality, some cook, somewhere, had to make to the first version of it.

When I looked up the origin of bread pudding, it turns out that it started in the 11th or 12th century, as a frugal cook’s way to not let stale bread go to waste. It was called “poor man’s pudding” in England for centuries. I grew up in Pittsburgh, where pierogies were a popular dish. The “poor man’s pudding” reminded me of a friend who used to slap mashed potatoes in-between lasagna noodles and exclaim, “There! “Poor Man’s Pierogies!”

When I was in high school, my friend’s parents owned a restaurant and sometimes they would let us take their tickets for the local “food show.” I never turned those tickets down! It was at one of those food conventions that I experienced “curly fries” for the first time. After eating my sample, I knew that they would be a hit with me and with everyone else, for the rest of my years!

Food is such a vital part of a community’s identity. When you go to certain parts of the country you just have to eat their local specialty, i.e. Philly Cheesesteaks, Chicago Deep-dish Pizza, Texas and Carolina BBQ, San Francisco sour dough bread, etc. And then when you go back home from a fun trip, full of food breaks, you desperately try to find a local restaurant who can best duplicate the original specialty cuisine. What’s your favorite Greek restaurant, Italian restaurant, Mexican restaurant, and/or Chinese restaurant? I bet we can all answer that question.

I guess I must be hungry right now to be pondering food so much. We have been celebrating birthdays and life with a lot of caloric gusto lately, so last night I told my husband I was just wanting to feast on some salad. So we split a nice, green-y salad and then we decided we might as well split a lobster BLT with some onion straws, for good measure. (We live in a part of the country that is known for good seafood.) Oh, well, baby steps . . . . into the kitchen . . .

In the Water Closet Friday

Happy Birthday to my first baby! Its my eldest son’s birthday today. He was born on a Friday – Good Friday, in fact. My son was born on Good Friday of ’96 and my husband was born on Good Friday of ’69. I always like that cool little twist. The gift of my son, certainly adds to why I LOVE Fridays. This is one of our family’s “birthday clumps”, in case you haven’t noticed. Every family has “birthday clumps”, where you actually start to get tired of birthday cake, if that is even possible.

It is also FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY! New readers, I don’t get heavy and emotionally charged on Fridays. I typically list three things, resources, songs, etc. that I really like and I pass these on to you as a gift. Please gift me and the other readers back in the Comments section with some of your favorites and share the love. Sharing the love is so easy to do on Fridays. It just goes with the Friday vibe.

Today’s Friday Favorites are the best bathroom reads. Bathroom reads are those little resource books, or one-page quote books or books filled with pick-me up stories that are quick reads when you feel a little bored in the water closet and you already read the latest copy of People magazine in ten minutes. (on an aside, you know how they say you should read a fortune from a fortune cookie and add “in bed” to the end of the fortune? I’m going to add “in the water closet” to the end of my recommendations, for fun. Go with me, on this. It’s Friday.) Here are three of my favorite bathroom reads:

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christine Northrup – This book is for when you start panicking about your health and you can’t get to Dr. Google, just yet. The book’s author is thorough, kind, empathetic and wise. I always feel so reassured and informed any time I look up any of my “concerns” regarding my body, when using this book as a resource. . . . in the water closet.

The Ultimate Dictionary of Dream Language by Briceida Ryan – One time my friend sent our group chat questions about a weird dream that she had the previous night. The dream was about a badger and she had no idea where that came from. (She’s an Aquarius.) Anyway, I was able to go to this dictionary and sure enough, it had an explanation for badger dreams. Whether it was the correct explanation or not, is beside the point. I was able to multi-task and to help a friend out. All the way around – relief. . . . in the water closet.

The Essential Wit of the World’s Funniest People edited by Daniel Bukszpan – This book is just full of hilarious short funny, quotes. Here are just two examples from the School Daze chapter:

“My school was so tough, the school newspaper had an obituary section.” -Norm Crosby

“You how to tell if the teacher is hung over? Movie Day.” – Jay Mohr

I think laughter is great medicine in whichever way you may need it. Often people in bathrooms, need some kind of healing. Laughter is key. . . . in the water closet.

I’ll finish with a funny from Chris Rock:

“There are only three things women need in life: food, water and compliments.”

Happy Friday, my dear friends!!! Have a great weekend!! Hope not too much time is spent . . . in the water closet!

Fly Away

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! My husband turns 50 today. Yesterday, I decided to make our rather torn up (due to renovations) house look a little more festive for his birthday, than its current “war zone” look. I went to the florist/balloon section of our local grocery store. There, they keep all of the mylar balloons in bags with pictures of what they look like. I picked a “5” and a “0” and I asked the florist to fill the balloons while I did the rest of my shopping. When I came back to get the balloons, imagine my surprise that these balloons are about 3 feet tall, each, when filled with helium!!

Now, I drive a small convertible. There was no way all of the groceries and the balloons were going to fit into my car with the top up. So, I had to put the top down. I had to weigh down the balloons with my purse and some heavy groceries and I had to drive home at the sludgy speed of a turtle. Drivers in my area of the country, are a bit aggressive and obtuse, so I literally had someone right behind me, tailing me, when they could have driven around me. I’m wondering if they did it to annoy me. It was the most stressful 10 minute drive home, I’ve ever had!

Still, the balloons made it home without flying away and they definitely add to the festivity. The things we do for love. I’m glad that I didn’t get pulled over, although a police escort might have eased the tension of the drive. It’s times like this that you wish you could have an out-of-body experience and look at yourself, and the crazy things that you do in life. It would be very easy to be self-amused, in my case.

No Grandchildren

“God has no grandchildren.” – Proverb

I read the above proverb yesterday in one of my meditations. I love it. I find it comforting. Currently the oldest person alive is a man in Germany who is 113 years old. Probably, as I sit here writing, there is at least one baby being born somewhere. So the Universe’s earth family has children in the age range of just being born to 113 years old. It would make for a beautiful family portrait.

I have four children who I love deeply with all of my heart. My oldest has eight years more experience in this world than my youngest child, but I am their Mom. Nothing has changed about me. I am not a different “Mom.” They are my children and I love them infinitely.

That’s how it goes with God/Creation/All-Loving Presence. Some of His/Her children are clergy. Some of His/Her children are outlaws. Some of the children of Earth are still learning to walk, and some are using walkers. The same God loves us all, infinitely. You cannot divide infinite love to see who is loved more. It is not possible. We are all God’s children and we are all loved infinitely.

The Same God loves us all. Clergy do not get a different, wiser, stronger God than the desperate, homeless, addict roaming the streets. The connection is there to all of us. The love is freely given in pure grace. We are all God’s children and we are all loved infinitely.

Sacredness in Tears

I don’t have words today. Everything that I write seems trivial and wrong and ridiculous. You see, one of my good friends, a friend who has been so supportive of my writing and of my blog, is going through one of the worst pains imaginable for a parent. She lost her child. And nothing I say or write or do, can take that pain away. My heart is breaking for her. She is bearing her own pain, plus the pain of her husband and her other children. All that I can do for her, right now, is to pray for comfort and peace, for both she and her family. I ask you for your prayers for my friend and for her family as they travel that treacherous, long, rocky road called Grief. I love you, friend. I’m here for you.

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love. ” – Washington Irving

April Fool’s – No Horse Pucky

Rabbit. Rabbit. Rabbit. Happy April Fool’s Day! Here’s another no horse-pucky story for the archives (please check out my other “no horse-pucky stories from previous posts, for a giggle or two):

When I was a freshman in college, my suite-mates had all gone home for the weekend before April Fool’s Day, but I had not. I was bored that weekend. It must have been a relatively quiet weekend at school or perhaps I had studied too hard, but I got a wild hair to pull off a great April Fool’s prank. I typed up an official looking note and taped it up on the door to our suite. It said something like this:

We regret to inform you that our pest control officers have found this Hall to be infested with indigenous pellet worms. In order to treat the area, you will need to move all of your furniture to the center of your rooms, wash all of your bedding, throw away all open food containers and remove any wall hangings. We are very sorry for this inconvenience and we appreciate your compliance.

I wish this had been during the day and age of smart phones. The looks of pure horror and disgust on my suite-mates’ faces, were priceless and would have made for a wonderful You-Tube video. I was actually astonished with how fast they got to work moving their furniture (one of the girls donned rubber gloves). I started feeling kind of guilty and I was having a hard time stifling my giggles, so when the food started getting thrown out, I had to come clean. As I recall, there were definitely some paybacks, but the prank was worth it. Albeit cheesy, I felt like I had pulled off the heist of the century.

By the way, I made up the term “indigenous pellet worm.” It sounded really gross and scientific, but there really is no such thing. No horse- pucky.

Is Anything Private?

“The only thing someone spying on me would learn is how many of my meals I eat in bed.” – someecards

I read an article the other day talking about how people are now doing a new form of cyber-stalking by watching people’s Venmo transactions. What?!? Apparently, unless you change the setting, all Venmo transactions that you have made, sending money to various people for various reasons, are public, for all the world to see. As a mother who does scan the transactions in my college son’s bank account, I am acutely aware of how much information you can glean from just looking at bank statements. Late night and early morning uber charges, are very telling.

I have a friend who can always give me “the skinny” on all of our kids’ mutual friends. I asked her once how she knows all of this stuff and how she can keep up with it all. She told me that she has insomnia and that teenagers are very public and open about their lives, on-line.

I’m still guilty of the “what I don’t know, can’t hurt me” mentality. I like living in my own fantasy land, believing that the world is a prettier, neater, kinder, place than it often is, sometimes. There is a lot out there that I really just prefer not to know, even with The Truth (if it is the truth?!?) being available to me with just a couple of Google searches and a click of the mouse. I guess I would have made a terrible detective.

“I’m not a stalker. I’m just curious and oh and, by the way, you are out of milk.” – someecards

Fried-day

Last night, I ordered the fried seafood extravaganza at a local little restaurant my husband and I love to frequent. With a side of fries. It arrived, a giant, overflowing pile of various shapes, in crispy brown. Yes, it tasted great, but now my mouth is still coated in grease, my stomach is churning and burning, and my mind is trying to come up with a formula for the number of cucumbers and kale leaves I must eat today, to counteract the damage done. I’m going to have to cut this short today, friends. (Friend is a much better word than fried, it’s amazing what one little letter can do . . . ) Virginia Woolf said it best:


“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

Nor can one write well. Well, maybe Virginia Woolf could, but she was Virginia Woolf.

Kanye Loves Kanye

“Tuesday would be a lot cuter if it were Friday.” – Anonymous

“I love Fridays like Kanye loves Kanye.” – Anonymous

Happy Friday!!! Happy Favorite Things Friday!!! New readers, I let my serious side go on Fridays, and I keep it light and airy. I describe three things, songs, websites, food sources, etc. that I just delight in. Please check out previous Fridays for more delicious ideas for how to spice up your life. And please share your own recommendations in my comments section! My “favorite things pile” is depleting fast, especially as I try to simplify and pare down my clutter and just my life in general.

Here we go, Friday, here we go:

Double Doggie – Most of us who love pets, see animals like we see potato chips or cookies – you can’t just have one. As my regular readers and friends know, we have two big dogs. Ralphie, is our energy-filled 82-pound labrador retriever and Josie, is our sweet and nosy, 60-some pound collie. I purchased the Double Doggie at an animal charity event years ago and I am so happy that I did. You see, I have gotten a concussion walking Ralphie as he walked me right off of my feet and Josie is a herding dog. My next concussion is probably going to come from Josie tripping me. The Double Doggie is a swivel handle that holds both dogs’ leashes and allows the dogs to be walked together, even as Ralphie’s nose takes him into 500 different directions and as Josie tries to herd Ralphie, me, and all of the toads on our sidewalks, all at once, as we are walking. Worth every penny!

Fanola No Yellow Shampoo – If your hair has the tendency to get brassy like my hair does, and you don’t feel like going to your hair salon every two weeks for a tone-down job, this shampoo does the trick! It is very, very purple shampoo that keeps the brass, by-passed. Just be careful, because although it doesn’t stain, the deep dark purple color of the shampoo has a tendency to land all over the bathroom for some reason and it looks alarming, like it will stain. Overall, cheap and magnifique!

Hookless Brand Shower Curtains – We are having a couple of our bathrooms renovated and I just bought one of these shower curtains for my daughter’s bathroom. This is one of those “no duh” inventions that you can’t imagine why it wasn’t thought of earlier than in the last few years. How many times did I mismatch the holes in the liner with the holes in my shower curtain and then have to do and re-do the fancy little hooks (praying I didn’t lose one, or that one of the hooks would break or rust) when I didn’t have Hookless shower curtains?? Countless times! Hanging my shower curtain before my Hookless shower curtain, seemed to take years, and it was a huge lesson in patience and frustration. I hung the new Hookless shower curtain in three minutes, tops. The liner just snaps on the back of it, making the liner easy to remove and to clean. There are so many pretty patterns to choose from. Love it!!

周末愉快 – According to Quora, this is Happy Friday in Chinese! Happy Friday, my dear friends and readers! Have yourself a fabulous weekend . . . if you want to!

A Lonely Little Bee

“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.”
– Paul Tillich

I was reading a blog yesterday in which the writer was saying that she always could sense in herself when she wasn’t getting enough solitude. She felt edgy, snappy, frustrated and a little bit of almost crawling out of her skin. I love when I read something that I completely relate to, because I need solitude in the same way that the writer does and I have not been getting much of it lately, with the renovations going on in our home. I am trying to be my own little quiet island in the middle of a beehive, and it isn’t working so well. I wonder if a lot of writers crave solitude?

I have another friend who doesn’t seem to like being alone at all. Her life is the beehive and she is the Queen Bee. This friend seems to be always wanting to expand her beehive in all directions. I love having friends like her because when my self-imposed solitude turns to loneliness, I know that I always have someone to go out with, or to chat with. She is the busy bee in my life who knows all about the fun, public, social happenings going on and she’s usually in the center of it all.

I suppose the key is sensing in yourself when you are in a state of delicious, tranquil, meditative solitude versus despairing, paranoiac, angst-filled loneliness. The cure to my anxiety, when I am overstimulated and distracted, is to get to a place where I can bathe in my secluded, peaceful, solitude and the cure to my loneliness is the nearby buzzing of the beehive which seems always open for more energy and more expression.

“In loneliness I have no one but myself. In solitude I have God.” – anonymous