My mother visited me last night. Well, maybe not physically, but she was definitely here, because I went back to being a 9-year-old tasting her homemade cannoli at Christmas time in our flour covered kitchen. But this time it was me making the cannoli. I am a very novice cannoli maker and was spurred into a cannoli frenzy because I promised my friend Debra I’d bring them to…
On this day back in 1974, my college friends and I decided we were sick of seeing lucky girls getting roses delivered to them willy-nilly, while we got nothing. So we held a Valentine’s Day Sleep-A-Thon. My friend and resident artist, Dawn created fabulous posters for our doors that said anyone could participate, in the VD Sleep-a- Thon. All you had to do was sleep through the day…
Groundhog Day is near and dear to my heart. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Pennsylvania where Punxatawney Phil was a pretty big deal. There’s another reason, which embarrasses my brothers when I talk about it, so you’ll just have to read my Groundhog Day blog post from two years ago where I explain it all. Be forewarned — it involves sex. Since there is no official…
Being responsible is no fun at all. No wonder people drink. I’m sorry I’ve been away so long, but I’ve had taxes to prepare for, outside writing projects, exercising, cleaning and ironing to keep up on, and more. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so friggin’ ambitious. But the ambition comes partly because: a. I have no spouse to handle my domestic chores. b. I’m fairly certain I won’t…
“Good King Wenceslas looked out On the Feast of Stephen When the snow lay ’round about Deep and crisp and even” This is my favorite Christmas song, but I could never listen to it without getting teary eyed. “Brightly shone the moon that night Though the frost was cruel When a poor man came in sight Gath’ring winter fuel” The story always touches me no matter how many…
Each winter my mother and I sported a light coat of flour from December first to the 25th. My mom flew into a baking frenzy and I was recruited to grease pans, sprinkle sugar on hot fried twists of lemony dough, and run up and down between our upstairs and downstairs kitchens like lightning for whatever mom needed because she always said, “Honey, you gatta da fresh a…
I always worry that I’m not experimental enough in the kitchen. I find a good recipe and then stick with it for the rest of my life. This worry was spurred by a friend once comparing me to another friend who cooks. She said, “You’re a great home cook, but ______, well he’s a chef.” My pride was wounded, but I understood. The friend who she was talking…
On my morning walk with Topper I was thinking how thankful I am for you, my faithful blog readers. Maybe I overshare sometimes, but when I write, I think of each of you, whether you’re family, friends, co-workers, audiobook and voiceover friends, former PTA partners, or readers I’ve never met. I just have a feeling you can all identify. Sometimes it’s nice to know you’re not alone in…
Remember how sad I was when I thought I was going to be an empty nester? Then how I instantly adjusted due to the cleanliness factor? Well, things change pretty quickly around here. Now it’s my son, who is here temporarily while he finds the right place to live. Since this is southern California, where homes are totally out of reach for anyone making less than 200,000 a…
Right out of college, I got a job as a Retail Sales Representative for the Warner Lambert Company. I sold Listerine, Listermint, Efferdent, Effergrip, Schick Razor Blades and Sinutabs. The products weren’t glamorous, but it was considered a very good job. There was about a 10,000 dollar difference between the package I would have gotten as a teacher, and this job, so I went with the better salary,…