I have a very big, ugly birthday coming up at the end of July. This is serious people. After this birthday, I may officially be classified as”old,” although the damned AARP has been trying to tell me I’m old for at least a decade. I know old is better than dead, but it is hard to swallow, unless you go in like a hellion and do all the…
Ever since I first heard about lemon ricotta pancakes, I’ve wanted to try them. They sound like the perfect Father’s Day breakfast. I especially wanted to make them because my daughter went to Claire’s on Cedros in Solana Beach, California, and told me she ate the best pancakes of her life there. How could stinking Claire make the best pancakes of her life when mine, her baker/cook mom’s,…
There wasn’t a lot of excitement at New Brighton Junior High, except when Carolyn Riley arrived breathless after some catastrophe. Usually one of her horses got loose and she had to run, her long thin legs slipping and sliding, to retrieve it. Or the snow-plow had blocked off their driveway with snow, so they had to shovel themselves out, or Margie and Nancy, their lambs (and eventual dinner)…
Italian women bound into a flurry of baking activity before big holidays like Easter and Christmas. Then they rush their baked goods to friends and family, as though the holiday will not happen unless every last baked good is delivered.…
Ok, enough serious posts for a while. You’ll be pleased to know that I’m over my November Zucchini Funk. It lasted all the way into February, which is why I visited the therapist three weeks ago. Nothing makes a person feel better than going in and whining for an hour non-stop to someone who listens, tells you your feelings are valid and hands you tissues. Poor thing, she…
Today is the 23rd anniversary of my mom’s passing. She was a force of nature; making you crazy one minute, making you laugh the next. This story is proof. “Franzes!” I heard my mother’s irritated scream echoing along the metal hallways of the Queen Mary. My father and I exchanged knowing glances and knew our tour of the engine room was over. My dad loved seeing the ship’s quarters…
Craig Ferguson has no idea his silliness saved me and my kids from complete insanity. After my 2010 divorce, my two kids, my two hygienically challenged dogs and I, moved in with my elderly dad in western Pennsylvania for a few months until we could buy a house. We all appreciated my dad letting us move in, but it was a hard time for us. The cute Tudor…
I am not a couple with plans to mate today. There are no flowers, no candy and, unless I get very imaginative; no sex. So I wasn’t expecting much. I started the morning with a beautiful handmade valentine from my nephew Nate, who is five. Then I spent 2 hours on the phone with one of my best friends from college, who acted as therapist as I detailed…
I know, I know. I went on and on about how the lemon ricotta cookies were “the ones,” but I’ve found a new love; Toasted Panko. I feel bad being fickle, but the Panko toasted up so nicely and gave my broccoli such a nice crunch, I was helpless. This happened to my mother too. She went through many phases where she loved one thing and started using…
I don’t know what comes over me. I had a million things to do today, half of which I got done, but something told me that since I’d fixed Jesus, it was now time to deal with St. Joseph. I don’t even go to church, why do I feel compelled to do these things? It must be a combo of residual Catholic guilt and missing my dad. I’ve…