Remember, almost a year ago when my friends, my kids, and their friends helped move me into an apartment that needed a lot of work? Well, it still needs a lot of work and since I’m almost over the embarrassment of living in a place that desperately needs a paint job, I figured it was time to pay back my friends Mandy and Bjorn. (Sadly, the landlord has…
I was on the phone with my sister-in-law yesterday talking about Thanksgiving and what keeps families together over the years. I think witchcraft might be involved. We were lured in like Italian Hansels and Gretels by wonderful ravioli and slow-cooked sauce on Sundays. My mom acted innocent,while enticing us to sit together with delicious meals every night, where the chuck roast or turkey was so tender it fell…
My brothers were smart, they knew not to bring girls they dated home. The few times they did, Mom would be nice, unless the girl happened to touch them. Holding hands, snuggling, or showing any kind of affection meant she was a puttana and would never do for her sons. She never remembered names, only referring to them as, “datta gal,” as in, “Tella datta gal to eatta…
I can’t believe it’s already November. To make it worse, everywhere I look the poor turkeys are being squeezed out by the holiday stuff. What the hell? It’s too bad because a holiday devoted to being thankful , and FOOD is my kind of holiday. I’ve always loved it — so much, that in college, we made Thanksgiving dinner and ate on two mattresses on the floor because…
How sad that today’s kids will never know the thrill of waiting until the sixth time their mother screams their name to actually get moving, then blame it on not being able to hear her. Cell phones have taken the excitement away. Thank God batteries still die, so there’s hope for today’s youth. But nothing can replace the way parents used to have to muscle their kids into…
Unless you’re David Copperfield or Doug Henning, you can’t make split pea soup look beautiful. I must have taken 25 shots of it in every kind of light and it still looked like split pea soup. I almost wrapped a feather boa around the bowl, to dress it up, but decided to go with honesty. Because just like with prospective mates, sometimes you have to look past appearances…
Dating can be so difficult. Does he like me, or doesn’t he? Why doesn’t he call? Should I call him? Why isn’t he emotionally available? As my mom used to say, “Who loves you comes after you.” She was right — and that’s all you need to know about relationships. Unfortunately, this means I am in love with a cookie.…
Jesus is in trouble. Ever since my father’s house sold last year, he’s been in limbo. I just found my mother’s treasured 8×10 of him in a corner of my bedroom buried under a pile of partnerless socks. When I moved the sock pile, I discovered my mom’s glow in the dark rosary beads and a St. Anthony plaque laying on top of him. I claimed them all…
Ever experience something you don’t talk about much because you know people will look at you funny? For me, it was the night my mom visited — maybe 7 or 8 years ago. If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you’ll know that’s impossible because my mom died in 1992. However, when she was alive, she always said that after she died she was coming back as…
Last weekend I made sauce for the first time in months. It even had the power to draw my daughter downstairs before 11 a.m. Still in her pajamas, sleepy-eyed, she said, “I love waking up to the smell of spaghetti sauce.” The smell is heavenly. The garlic and olive oil mingle with the sausage, tomatoes and herbs, filling your kitchen with tomatoey love. You should start cooking it…