Category Archives: Editorial

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More is Sometimes Better

Posted on May 19, 2016 | Leave a comment

Sorry Julia Ormond, our “new” Sabrina. More is just not more for me. I did get to meet the first Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn, when she was volunteering for UNICEF. Michael Tilson Thomas created a new work at my father’s behest, that was played by the New World Orchestra, a youth group. Ms. Hepburn narrated across the US with the symphony, From The Diary of Anne Frank. I read it in 2nd grade and it shook my world.

I bought a small container called something other than it would have been called in Italy, an almost correct Caprese salad. Beautiful cherry tomatoes mixed with equal balls of fresh mozzarella.

It was bland, and this was my lunch. I added a tiny pinch of salt and pepper, tore two of my in-home grown basil leaves (it’s still too cold to plant outdoors) over the top and maybe drizzled on a quarter teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Now that’s a salad! Other than dealing with government and health insurance all day and having no help or resolutions to anything at least I got a decent salad. Cheers! Dee

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Foxes in Boxes

Posted on May 19, 2016 | Leave a comment

We will not accept faxes or foxes in boxes.

We will not accept UPS or FedEx,

We live to make your life miserable,

You got a refund we want to take back.

There are no extensions, no leniency

Even though I just ordered ink for our beast,

Yes, the printer

Do not use priority mail, it’ll cost extra and not get here soon enough.

NO EXTENSIONS!

You did not make one dollar in your state of record. Your tax professionals failed to send all your state filings and W-2’s because that’s not what they do. They will not electronically re-file today because they say they don’t have the information to do so.

I have to print everything out for you and have it there by the 24th and you will only accept USPS? What kind of government are we paying to live and spend money and not make a cent in a year, then pay as if we did make a salary here, get a refund then get audited?

They say it’s an information request, so did our tax folks. It’s an audit.

Guess what? We’ll need to eventually move to a no income-tax state. I did taxes for the IRS and four states for last year. We paid full taxes for every penny my husband made outside our state. Now they want to penalize us for it. Shame on the governor and his minions.

My mother, a CPA always told me to never take a “home office” deduction. I’m sure she was correct. Now I could tell her to never call yourself a “consultant.” You’ll be sent to the lower levels of Dante’s Inferno from reporting income and answering all questions. Not happy now, Dee

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Ten Years Old

Posted on May 18, 2016 | 1 comment

What would we give to be that age again, pre-adolescence. Think of nothing but a horse or zip line or Tory the ancient dog tottering down our driveway for a week then going back. The neighbors never asked, just knew he was being fed and taken care of.

Driving up the road to pick fresh blueberries, or down the hill to the farm stand where we’d buy a basket of fresh cherries and sit outside and chat. Even better, we were allowed to pick and eat all the fresh Concord (think Welch’s) grapes we could eat but were told that if we ever got into a grape throwing fight with the boys next door there’d be hell to pay.

I was learning that I was early, a year early in school and still smarter than people a year older. SG and I both had mothers that said their children had learned to read before kindergarten and would not be subjected to retrograde learning of phonics. So at age six I was reading The Diary of Anne Frank and Death Be Not Proud next to SG at the back of the classroom. I think he was reading comic books and sci-fi. He may have even changed his name to Spielberg…..

There was one other student that stood out and moved away when I was ten. M ended up being an architect and is now an airline pilot. We speak on the phone for a few moments every couple of years over the holidays and I ask about his daughters, one of whom is now in grad school. Our parents have common ties as do my aunts. We come from a small town where everyone knew one another. Cheers to the Conti’s!

M flew into town and will be around his 35-year stomping grounds after he left “home” at age ten. We may be able to get together for lunch tomorrow. It’s been only 47 years. My husband was excited and as he gets driven to O’Hare and back every week was only too willing to provide me with a Texas Land and Cattle restaurant to meet “halfway.” Ha ha, my mother’s family knows “halfway” means we go 3.5 hours, they drive five. Hey, it’s the middle of no-where and it had a pool!

You know I love my husband, nearly 15 years now. We’re committed for life and if a childhood friend were to get him jealous then I would not know my husband. He is a good, great man who is making a difference. J has met another gent who was a positive influence in my life. We all had lunch together in NYC. J is away on business but supports me and long-term friendship. He didn’t mind my two favorite priests, either! RIP Fr. John and Fr. Cap.

I wouldn’t have married J if I didn’t like the smart ones! I’ll have to ask Dad if at an early age I was able to place the square peg into the round hole by whittling it. I was, after all, the Concrete Chef, able to mix Portland cement, sand and water in a wheelbarrow at age eight, wheeling it first then getting water by the building site. Cheers! Dee

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The Fear of God

Posted on May 16, 2016 | 2 comments

Dad used his half bi-focal glasses to see us and drive and work, and the bottom bi-focal part to read the newspaper and work papers.

He also used them, at his young age of 40+, to scare off my potential boyfriends. Dad, with piercing blue eyes, would place the newspaper in his lap and look over the top of the glasses. “Where are you going?” “The movies, sir.”

What movie? If you can show me your newspaper I can show you the movie, it’s rated PG and I’ll have her home by ten. OK. They were so scared of him. I love him so much and have every day of my life. He didn’t want me to be weighed down, wanted me to be everything I could be in life. I’m not an astronaut or president of the US but he made me feel that I could be.

Tonight I ran into staff here, a young man nearing a bar exam. I said to him that he is concerned about his finals, bar exam and career. When I say hello to him I’ve been through that and leave him concerned about whether my dog poops. That’s retirement.

We’ll, I’ve got concierge care service in eyeglasses as well, as 20 years later than Dad needed bifocals, they’re now seamless so you can drive and read with the same glasses and not have five pair of drugstore glasses around the house for different purposes. These two are in the office, this in the bedroom and these in the living room. OK, we’re set.

I went wild this time, hopefully it’ll work sometime next week. My neighbor, who I respect and enjoy her and her husband’s company, has round glasses. The idea was based on famed Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. Also Alma Mode, the fictional animated character in The Incredibles who played… costume designer as I believe to be an amalgam of Edith Head and Linda Hunt, with tea.

With my age I may be able to pull it off, beautiful frames, it’s a matter if I can get used to the bifocals. Well, we don’t have kids, only an old spayed dog, and they’re not half, but full glasses so I’ll give it a try. I don’t have any young men to frighten, or gals. Plus, I don’t have the gravitas my father or husband bring to a situation. My husband sat on a plane today to get to work and occasionally had to take the hand of a passenger suffering panic attacks. Now that’s the man I know and love. No bi-focals with him. If it weren’t for his contacts, he’d be legally blind but still brilliant!

Thanks, Dad, for meeting every one of the boys, weeding out the bad ones. Come to think of it, there weren’t any bad ones, like criminals, only ones that weren’t good for me. Thanks for approving the one I picked forever. Cheers and watch out for your kids! Dee

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To Wellness and Vision

Posted on May 16, 2016 | 1 comment

I haven’t had new glasses for nine years, prescribed, only reading glasses from the drug store around the house in various strengths, and rooms (in sleeves to keep dust off) for computer, reading, very light for walking the dog, cooking. Reading cookbooks would take more than I have in that room.

Luckily I do read cookbooks as books when I get them. Then I am more likely to recall which book it came from or have the wherewithal to pull something new up. Also I’m lucky to be a cook, not a baker. And to move across country with not a single book, for three years, and if I wanted to cook a Texas chili I’d just look up the LBJ Presidential Library and find Lady Bird’s recipe and change things up Dee-style.  Hey, I bring that chili into my grocery for my butchers, and we choose the meat and I break it down and do the Texas grind at home by myself.

Anyone can put up a trifle with cake, flavored whipped cream and berries. That’s my kind of dessert. I can also make mincemeat tarts with homemade pastry and mincemeat from a jar or vanilla ice cream (good stuff from the store) with berries. I just don’t sift through recipes for desserts.

This year I went for a glasses homage (won’t have them for at least two weeks) to style and three ladies I admire: my neighbor A, I can’t wait to show them to her; the famed Hollywood costume designer Edith Head; and the animated film “The Incredibles” designer, based on Edith Head, Edna Mode.

As for now, until I need a prescription refilled or have an issue, I’m retiring for a year from having my eyes poked and probed and fluffed five times in three weeks. I’ll try on my new glasses in a couple of weeks and if they work I may have my old ones fitted with new lenses as in-home back-up. No-one is touching my eyes for a year. Cheers and see well, also have vision. Dee

 

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Irons

Posted on May 14, 2016 | 1 comment

I’ve never been into them. Mom did Dad’s shirts, I can’t do my husband’s because they’re big with long sleeves and I can just drop them off downstairs and they’ll be done better. He told me they do it better and I can live with that, saves me 45 minutes ironing per shirt plus washing and hanging dry. My aunts went way overboard. Aunt J did her son’s t-shirts and underwear back in the day. Aunt L, when we visit, still insists on ironing my husband’s undershirts and boxer briefs.

Why? I wonder. Aunt J is no longer around to tell me but Aunt L says ironing is relaxing. I always thought cooking was relaxing, except for a crowd, entertaining. But that’s what I do.

I realized that the $10 irons I was buying were not handling all the linen skirts and dresses I was wearing back in the day. When we went to Aunt L’s one time I had to iron something. I put distilled water in, it heated up, was heavy and did everything the first time, not the third or fourth time of spray bottle and cheap iron.

Now, I’ve a Rowenta iron and distilled water and my Aunt L’s linen hand towels are perfectly pressed. I must confess two things. Ironing is not relaxing to me, I’d rather be in the kitchen. Also, I do not iron my husband’s underwear. OK, it’s said. It’s out there.

Now it’s all about ink. Ink for the beast of a printer, and for my little old-fashioned pen. Hey, he’s home so we need to do stuff like send him to a tailor and me to a grocery. Insurance, car registration. It’s the weekend, that’s our fun! Cheers, Dee

ps I am not a monetized site, Rowenta does not pay me anything and has never asked for me to endorse them in any way. Aunt L didn’t ask either. I just was amazed, just as I was with toasters years ago. Live and learn from the best, Dee

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Healed

Posted on May 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

I went to the eye specialist yesterday for a follow-up from surgery and she said two wonderful words. Healed, and that the growth was benign, not cancerous. She did say that something could grow back and that in 20 years I may need cataract surgery. I may or may not be around for that.

She also said I don’t need to see her again unless I’ve a problem, and that it’s now OK to get new glasses.

To celebrate I’d already ordered very early birthday gifts for me and a friend. We’re the same age but I’m Scorpio and she’s Sag so I’m older. Headbands with a bow. We’ll open them this weekend together and clink them together as if it was champagne and our birthday. Thank you, Nordstrom! It’s the most comfortable headband I’ve ever worn.

I opened all the shades so my husband could see the lake and views yesterday then got up at 4 a.m. to close all the shades so he can sleep in. He just arrived late last night and leaves Monday dawn, again.

We’ll see what we can do about this. I may be able to go see him one weekend a month that would save him time and flights, if I can have someone stay with Zoe the old dog. In the meantime I’ve a rough woven sweater with a loop hanging out. He, the physicist and software engineer, went out and bought a crochet hook and fixed it once. Not enough but the crochet hook is in the sewing kit. But who’s husband knows how to buy or use a crochet hook. Very few. I don’t want to know.

One who’s mother sews quilts and stitches me linen hand towels with my favorite herbs (when she was on bed rest after leg surgery, she’s OK), that I even iron. I like to use them as napkins for guests at dinner but guests think they’re too pretty to use so I’ve found another way to display MIL’s and my Aunt’s hand towels and must make it happen.

I failed my sewing badge in Girl Scouts, age seven. The “leader” called everyone around and they all laughed at my work at her suggestion. I remember her to this day. I stuck it out selling cookies, found that not as delightful as I’d planned (back in the day when we had to go door-to-door) then quit. She was a horrible leader, sitting there, with sweat stains down to her waist and never moving from her chair and yelling at us. I didn’t need to volunteer to do that after school. Back to violin, piano, choir, ballet.

I’m getting older, may get cataracts in time but no more treatment needed. New glasses may afford me a better perspective on life, as was going to my barber the day after eye surgery and asking him to cut off 8″ of hair. He did, and I’m better for it. You’ve heard about winning a battle but not the war? I’ve not won a battle and never will win the war, with my hair. It does what it wants, when it wants. “Smoothing Serum” only makes it look stringy and dirty. C’est la vie.

Let’s let things go. No more smoothing serum, play with your hair. Give with heart and soul. Love your spouse, your pets. Cook with abandon. Have guests for dinner. Make them good food.

Get rid of dog undercoat on carpet who is really shedding now. Bath first thing today, dog not me. Launder dog towels. 24 hours from bath (she hates hair dryers so I bathe her at home and let her air dry like Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire) then comb her out. This time she needs a pre-comb-out. Too much undercoat.

That’s how my life goes. It’s about priorities. I once had a boss that said we needed a meeting about “priorities” and I had to bring her every file on my desk. She went over who knows, I’ll guess 99 files and said they were all of equal priority and all had to be done asap. Write the annual report, keep everyone happy and I’ll be fine. She was looking to fire me. I quit, instead…. and went to cooking school! Cheers, Dee

 

 

 

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Posts

Posted on May 12, 2016 | Leave a comment

I care dearly about my readers, especially those who read me often and have kept with me through the years.

My vow was to stop at 1,000 posts. I’m now short of 3,000 because of you, I don’t care that I get anywhere else on the charts, I just hope that once or twice I gave you a recipe or a story that worked for you and your family to enjoy.

I’ll go for the 3K posts. This blog has been 99% of the real me but I’ve protected others, including my family, friends and those I’ve written about by protecting their identities.

Dishonor? I think not. I’ve done well by all for many years.Not all on a blog. That would do a disservice to those I’ve helped. Human, canine, feline. A catastrophic issue happened to our family and I fix things. I can’t fix this thing but can make it better. That’s what I do.

I’ll stop at 3,000, a few to go. There are more works than you will ever know. In memory of all lost in war, or illness. Dee

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Hello, is this Earth?

Posted on May 12, 2016 | 1 comment

So sorry, I thought I grew up here with family and friends and people who cared about each other.

Around seven this evening I heard a beeper that I thought was a neighbor’s phone with a busy signal. Then it went off. On again. I’ve seen both my neighbors this evening delivering them a package. This sound was loud and from our other building. I didn’t know how to find it so told staff about it.

All I was thinking was that it was an elderly person somewhere I never knew or met and they fell or had a heart attack and no-one would do anything. I took the dog out and asked immediately and staff had word out. Soon after the signal ended.

If a piercing sound was on for a long period of time with one of my neighbors I’d get in touch right away to be sure they’re OK. Here it sounded like my neighbors’ phone was left on the hook and I heard a mild beep.

That’s not what I do. I hope the person across the way is at the hospital and doing well. We lived out in the mountains and our neighbors were great. There were eight of us throughout the summer, fall, ski season and mud season and we had pot lucks every two months, host made the main course and others made sides and dessert. When an ambulance was called we were there and my tall husband helped a neighbor down the stairs to the ambulance.

Here most people are not so nice. I always grew up with the principle of being nice to everyone until they show they deserve otherwise, then ignore. Ignoring is worse than fighting back as they know they’re spineless turds and have no recourse. Bullies, a bete noire.

Here if you stay a millisecond at a traffic light you’ll have horns blaring behind you. No-one stops at a crosswalk even though it is state law. No-one picks up dog poop (I do). Forget about driving a car. Speed limit 50, everyone’s going 75.

In nine years I’ve driven my 2003 SUV 28K miles and that’s going across country twice. When I’ve heavy stuff to tote I drive to the grocery. Also because our feuding governments do not ever fix roads or sidewalks after harsh winters and road erosion.

Perhaps being out of jobs and not having paved streets and breaking car axles is part of the problem of people beeping at and being angry with people who just want to walk their old dog a few times per day, and clean up after her. Cheers! Dee

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OK, I am Gibbs

Posted on May 11, 2016 | Leave a comment

I’ve nearly 90,000 viewers. I wanted to give up at 1,000 posts but didn’t. For years I’ve been asking myself why. I had a career, a large volunteer coalition with projects I was passionate about. I was always afraid of writing, that no-one would like what I wrote. I was told by one parent I could be an astronaut or president, and the other that I would always be a failure. Yeah, they divorced. I like writing stories from life, recipes, thoughts, and apparently you like reading them.

Here goes, first version of Dee’s Rules:

1.Live, love, laugh.

2. Cook with abandon for family and friends. Be generous in spirit.

3. Get a pet. It’ll make even a nerd a human being capable of thought and care. Even a betta or goldfish will do if you know their rules.

4. If you can’t handle a pet, get a plant. If you can’t do that get an air plant and place in on a suction cup on your window. It only needs minimal moisture.

5. Find the right spouse. Took me over 20 years. He asked about kids. Not yet, see rule #3. We’ve had our dog over 12 years, no kids. He spoils her rotten and I’m the disciplinarian and food wench.

6. Before #5 meet the parents, all of them, no matter how far across the country or world they are. Grandparents, too. Survive the interviews then cook for them. Yes!!!

7. Take a break in life and go to a good cooking school. It’ll teach you Rule #8.

8. Shop the outer aisles of the grocery, produce, fish, meat, dairy and only go in the center for bottled water, condiments, rice, pasta, tomatoes for sauce. And tea, of course.

9. Yes, space is a big dark thing out there few folks can speak about in person. It is also a small kitchen space used for very few things. I keep mine to a minimum. If you eat rice five times per day, by all means have a rice cooker. Espresso with foam? Ditto. I’ve a 5 quart stand mixer, food processor, blender, toaster and hot water kettle. I can explain the kettle, we were living at 6,500 feet above sea level where water boiled at about 140 degrees instead of 212. On the stove, water for tea would never boil.

10. Trust your heart and your brain. If they’re fighting, resolve it.

11. Love your family and always welcome them with open arms.

12. Always say thank you.

13. When you go to any foreign country, always learn good morning, afternoon, evening, and good night; also please, thank you, excuse me and where is the nearest bathroom. Also can you point me to my hotel.

14.When planning to go to a foreign country make certain your passport and visas are in order. Research! Know what to see, what you can eat (raw fruit or veg) or drink (water) and about the culture and how to dress. In Greece we went to an historic Orthodox church and all the gals were in shorts and tee-shirts. We had to walk by a priest who OK’d us. Luckily I’d stocked up on local scarves so some were used as skirts, others as shawls. Of course I was dressed appropriately to begin with. Who else had to walk around the house at age six with the OED on her head keeping posture erect?

I think that’s wiped me out enough for now. I may venture on a walk on broken sidewalks and dreams towards the grocery store to gain dinner. My rules will be simpler, but needed stories to go with, for now. Dee

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