Whizzing By

No, not Howie whizzing...

LIFE

I am in great need of comfort food tonight 
so I whipped up this and will add some eggs,
and a cup of HOT HOT Coffee

I'm sure all of you post 50, remember sitting somewhere

with your elders and listening to their talk

of the time flying by and the poor condition 

of the youth of the times.

Maybe it was the front porch of a grandparents'

home or around the dining table as the "women folk" cleared

the table after a Holiday meal.

BUT it does fly by as we age.

but WHY?
Why does change speed up?
Are we racing to the inevitable finish line?

My summers pre teen went on forever.

There was camp, vacations and long,

 long summer days and nights of playing hide and seek

and playgrounds and tree climbing.

Graduation of DD was 18 months ago.

I started the blog right before she left right?

(6 + years ago!?)

DS just changed jobs in LA.

Didn't he just move there?

(Nearly 3 years ago!?)

Now 21 years after moving into this home

with a 3 and an 8 year old,

I am overhauling the exterior so it will be 

unrecognizable to some.

Just the removal of the big tree

has caused some to whizz on by in error.

All the vintage stuff scattered

on the front porch and around the yard

has been removed or reduced.

Thanks to pal Sue who "shopped" here yesterday

I know it found a good home.

Change is sometimes good, change is sometimes sad

change is sometimes rapid.

The only certainty IS change.

21 years ago when my husband and I bought

this home we felt that we now owned a mansion.

We walked through the newly framed structure

giddy with excitement and promise.
We had doubled our square footage for
 the same monthly payment. 

My world was certain and true and wonderful.

Those 21 years then whizzed by.

Wheelbarrows full of wonderful memories, 

buckets full of sad days,

and a gallon or two of despair,

have whizzed me right back to my front porch 

in the blink of an eye...
where I sit looking at the house as it is right now
and realizing that after Monday
it will be changed forever.

"It's just the way it changes 
like the shoreline and the sea
but let's not talk of love or chains
and things we can't untie
your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey that's no way
to say goodbye."
 Leonard Cohen

Make it a good week chickadees

Z

Empty Nest

A few years back Hannah left this for me

 to find one morning after she had 

returned to NYC.

It made me laugh.

It made me cry.

It hangs on the wall next to my desk.

Now it occasionally makes me misty.

DD is all packed and ready to leave early tomorrow.

One of her best buds is here cramming in some more 

best bud time and I can hear the chatter upstairs

 as I sit herepast midnight not wanting to sleep 

and miss a second of the sounds.

We did not get to do a lot of the things we had planned due

to the plague that descended upon my house last week.

All three of us in pj's an entire week, sick as could be.

The Beau has recovered and departed for LA, 

DD has a light cough and of course, 

I am still hacking away.

Bonding time with a twist. 

The poor Beau saw me sans makeup, 

washed hair or even clean clothes one day and vice-versa. 

We all sacked out in the family room 

amid piles of quilts, pillows, soups and Vicks.

I became "MOM" to him also.

I feel greedy wanting more time with the kids. 

I had kid company almost a full month 

and that has not happened in 5 years.

 I'm trying not to count the months till

the next visit, but it creeps into my mind.

I'm already planning a run to see

 Dearest Son and his love

ASAP. Thank Heaven he lives closer.

We managed several visits this year.

Each one more precious than the last.

The kids think if I were busier or "involved" that I would

miss them less. I know they are wrong.

Although I am thrilled for their lives far away, 

and always support their choices, 

I lived my entire adult life far from any family

 and I know it sucked. 

In a reverse way of course, missing my parents, 

but it still sucked.

I'm not the whiny "oh woe is me Mom"

 or a clingy Mom to them but 

I do miss them always, every day.

Having close, loving relationships

with your children is such a blessing,

but it also deepens the distance,

intensifies the longing for a mama 

away from her children.

I have weeks of work ahead so I will knuckle down

and tend to my chores and work on my projects

and bless Skype and telephones and emails.

Long ago when folks sailed to other countries

 or wagoned their way across this country 

and left loved ones behind,

often forever,

the sound of breaking hearts 

must have been a deafening roar.

An empty nest is a sad one.

Darling Daughter - Dearest Son

This week and 

my two favorite people 

Hannah at work on

Kensho At The Bedfellow

She is Production Designer on the film.

You can check it out at the link above.

oh, and like it on facebook if you wish.

Lots of photos there.

They are working so hard on this independent 

film and we all should support independent films.

Ben creating the signage 

for the wedding of his two friends.

According to his girlfriend,

they were the hit of the party.

He cooks, designs, writes, works in film media,

does standup, repairs broken 

everything for me.

One very lucky Mama

And they're home in a month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I giggle just saying it.

He Cooks - Mama Snoozes

Ben was in town shooting the premier event for 

"Last Vegas" opening soon.

Convenient premier here in town to come see Mom

Is it a photo bomb when it is about you?

Adventurous cook always

Always loves to cook for me and others

He has a lucky girlfriend and friends 

Always delicious

Chicken with red peppers onions and lemon 

steamed in parchment

Paired with pasta made with basil,

 avocado and lemon pesto ( missed pic)

Loved this wine we tried..

then I needed a nap

He also makes a mess when he cooks 

and he always cleans it up.

Dearest son heads back home today...

60 some days till he's back for holidays,

and baby sister will be here also...

ding ding a ling

ding ding a ling

Brenda in Canada I am still trying to reach you.

Your email is corrupted somehow.

Please contact me using a different email.

Under A Rock

Under a rock

Not a bad place to be

If you're a bug

a worm

uh..dirt

or me

I haven't crawled under one, 

but my inactivity in the big world 

may seem like it to everyone else.

Things are great

small, quiet and great.

Ben and Anam 

were here for my B-day 

and it was so lovely.....such a sweet time.

Did we do big stuff? Nope

He cooked a couple fab meals

(I prepared a great chicken piccata)

Ben repaired everything broken that he could find,

what a super son,

and we watched great films.

I even convinced them to watch Creator,

which they either enjoyed, or lied to me  hehe

We visited, noshed and wined

and not a photo to show.

(I do wish I had a chain saw one - up in the tree)

I was in the moment, savoring each laugh,

 smile and raised eyebrow.

I never left the house,

they did a "little Vegas"..

I had several B-day lunches with pals, 

received some great B-day gifts. 

My pals are so kind, 

but oh girls, the chocolates! 

I saved time and just rubbed 'em into

my thighs and butt.

This weekend I spent quality catch up time

 with a pal just returning from 4 weeks in Europe.

Another yummy lunch, more chocolate,
this time brought back from Belgium...

they know me well.

Polished off 10 books last week.

Battled wasps and more broken tree limbs

 from latest monsoon storm.

Pooch Howie sleeping atop my feet

under my desk right this minute

“A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with.....but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. 
― Victoria Moran, Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty

Haven't read the book but I liked this quote

Small

Simple

Quiet

Living the good life here under my rock

Oh Happy Day!

The world is being kind to me today.

The first season of The Newsroom is on today,

great background for more purging and cleaning.

The second season begins tonight.

WoOt!

Being driven mad by promos for tonight's

 True Blood and The Newsroom!

I watch very little TV.

What I do watch is addicting.

It is five days until 

Dearest Son and his Sweetie arrive.

WoOt wOoT!

I am beyond excited.

I will turn 60 this weekend and Ben is 

driving up to fix me dinner!

How lovely is that?

My brother Scott turns 61 the day before.

Happy Birthday Bro!

Not that he ever reads my blog....

I have a new chair to use to plant my butt 

for watching the shows tonight.

I sold my floral sofa and chair to a good pal

and they are happily ensconced in her new pad.

The cute little ottoman was on clearance (34.00) at

Target.. It opens up to store this week's

 stack of library books.

The chair came via Home Goods.

 It was already a great deal and it 

was already dirty. I hate how most furniture

is dirty there thanks to unruly kids

 NOT being watched by indifferent parents.

(topic for another day)

Anyhoot I brought the dirt up

to a manager and got another deep discount.

Don't want to tell you how little I paid.

I'm known for getting kick ass deals

that make my friends go

Aw damn!

Yes, the dirt came out. 

I love it.  

The sides are some kind of paisley "pleather".

Because it is half the size of previous chair and ottoman, 

it makes the room feel larger.

Son and Sweetie are coming in five days.

Her first time here,

wonder what she'll think of Ben's homestead?

Your home does reveal a lot about you;

what does mine say... hmmm? 

His old room is now the guest room,

so very little of his youth to discover there.

I do have his Magic and Pokemon cards still

under the bed though... 

We are more likely to drink wine and 

nibble cheese than play card games I'll bet.

So purging and cleaning all day - Love It!

Great TV all day - Love It!

Great TV tonight - Love it

New Chair - Love It!

Son and sweetie will be here soon - ADORE It!

Told you it was a Happy Day!

Graduation 2013 NYC

Where to start?

So much crammed into 5 days.

Bear with me, so I can tell

local friends and bloggie friends.

Arrived on Tuesday to face humidity that

curled brillo padded my hair, and ran rivulets down my back.

Wednesday was Yankee Stadium Graduation

 for the entire university and on the walk there I met

Blake for the first time.

After a sardine packed train 

where I had stranger's body parts

 pressed against mine for 40 minutes, 

we arrived at the stadium 

and I met up with parents of roommates

 to sit in nose bleed seats and weep in unison.

The graduates don't walk, they stand as a group

 according to their schools and we all go crazy.

What happens when there are 40,000 students

 in a university, and 1/4th of them are graduating.

You meet in Yankee Stadium.

How cute is this?

This was their first date...at...

Yankee Stadium

Some Tisch friends

The large group split up after the ceremony and 

Blake and Hannah decided they

wanted not to go fancy, but to go to their favorite

Pies N Thighs for lunch.

While there, Ben checked in, he had flown in the day before,

and he and Anam were also in Williamsburg, 

they had just eaten at Pies N Thighs, so we met them.

So other, significant other, was met.

Darling Daughter and Dearest Son with their

significant others.

I think my children chose wisely and well. 

Thursday Hannah and I spent the day 

having makeovers at Sephora, 

shopping like fools and making memories.

We were caught in a horrible thunderstorm, soaked to the bone, and loved every minute.

Friday was the Tisch salute at Radio City music hall,

for just Tisch graduates, and still they did not walk,

 but stood in groups as their concentrations were called.

The keynote speaker Glenn Mazzara was fabulous.

Glenn Mazzara

worth listening to..great advice

Bono and Denzel Washington were at the end of my row,

and to those of you who will understand all too well...

I successfully avoided those family folks I did not wish to see.

Ben sat with me and shared the moments with me.

Perfect

NYC

I went up and down a thousand subway steps,

and covered a zillion uneven miserable concrete blocks,

 I swear.

I took to carrying small foldable slippers in my purse and

swapped shoes frequently.

Frequently the young folk were 1/2 block ahead with one or

the other turning back and stopping.."are you Ok?"

I was either soaking wet in rainstorms or soaking wet with sweat,

my photo ops are awful...but I don't care.

We ate at favorite haunts, shopped at neighborhood stores and

I really got the sense of her life in Brooklyn.

We saw Ben and Anam here and there,

they had friends to see and catch up with also, 

and we had the worst Italian

something? cocktail in a very pretty spot... my bad choice

Ben you were right....

Late my last night there Blake, Hannah 

and I headed far into Brooklyn to go to Target 

and get apt stuff ( mama's treat)

and passed an exterior craft show closing up and 

we picked up fried Oreos and a funnel cake.

From sweating bullets to 40 degrees and freezing that night. CRAZY.

We had pizza and beer in her tiny apt and dined 

around Brooklyn and Manhatten on quiches, 

great burgers, chopped salads, chinese takeout,

gelatos and good coffees.

I was up at 3:45 a.m. Sunday to get an express bus 

to the airport and Hannah insisted on going

 as far as the Port Authority with me.

Such a sweetie that girl.

It was wonderful.

It was everything I hoped it would be.

My children are prosperous,

hard working, healthy, happy, 

and in love.

Mama is bursting with joy.

All is right with my very small world. 

Winner Winner

Carole you won!

email me for details:

Thanks to all who entered,

I wish you each could win,

 and maybe

I can convince Shabby Apple to do another one someday?

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1 

Max: 47 

 Result:

27

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Bragfest

Dearest Son has been successfully

 doing stand up for several weeks now.
I don't know how he finds the time
 to accomplish all that he does.
I do know he has a wicked sense of humor.
His significant other is also trying stand up,
and they both are being asked back at clubs! WoOt!

All their efforts, hard work and bravery

will eventually lead them to their dreams.

I know it.

Darling Daughter now has an IMDb page

and the poster for her short film

Elsewhere

 is on it as of today!

She and her significant other are 

filming another short this weekend.

Last Round

You can read about it on indiegogo here

Dreamers also on their way.

Bragfest complete

Sleeping Babies

I have been either watching tv or stalking blogs

 and tumbler for six phlegm filled days now.

Many blogs have gorgeous images of babies sleeping.

Posie gets Cozy is a favorite.

Then I remembered that over Christmas I 

had captured my babies sleeping.

Is there anything more warming to

a Mama's heart?

My 324 and 264 month old babies.

Home, safe and asleep.

****

Switching from teas

to coffee...

The worst is over,

fingers crossed...

Merry Merry To You

The gifts are unwrapped,

the paper and ribbons gathered 

up and put away.

The standing rib roast is just about

 to hit the oven

and my thoughts drift toward 

the Yorkshire Pudding to come.

Breakfast was omelets with a little 

Pride and Prejudice viewing post eating.

That scene of him walking 

across the moors...

gets me every time...

The kids and I have spent each late night

 watching Season 1 of Homeland, that 

I purchased just for that purpose.

We have thoroughly enjoyed it, 

and now I have to find a way to see Season 2.

Spending each evening with them 

in pj's on the couch, 

noshing on a variety of snacks

 has been...well exquisite....

We hit all our favorite stores last week, 

and their Father treated them to many fabulous 

meals about town, while I was at work.

Tonight they attend the annual 

Christmas Day movie with him.

Dearest Son leaves for LA tomorrow

 and Darling Daughter 

heads back to NYC, weather permitting,

on Thursday.

It will take me several days to adjust

and not be sad...even knowing they 

return to good friends and significant 

others who love them.

A few more days of holiday work and 

then it's on to 2013 and job searches 

and house redecorating/purging plans 

and a return to my list of all those

 things left undone in 2012,

and moved over to the New Year.

I have been so blessed.

I wish peace, love and joy

to all of you this day....

and I pray each day

that soon this world will

end the hatred, greed,

dishonesty and cruelty 

that makes this 

gift of life so difficult 

for so many.

I love finding you here

each day, each week.

You make my days brighter,

and fill my heart with laughter.

Thank you for your love, 

your support and exceptional kindness.

Merry Merry to you all.

Z

Blessings

A heavy NYC winter coat hanging from the hook

 A jumbled mess of her favorite throws
 and smooshed pillows on the couch. 

I saw this first thing as I rounded the corner
 into the den this morning. 
Darling daughter is still asleep after working 

until 3 am (6 am her time) on the computer last night.

I cannot explain why seeing these two sights made me well

up with tears, except to say...

She's Home

She's Home

Dearest Son arrives in one week.

His shoes, his jackets will be strewn everywhere.

He's Home

He's Home

I have a lovely roof overhead

Nourishing food in the pantry

Generous and loving friends

Glorious children

A holiday job I adore

Life is so good

..and the tears fall gently again

merry merry everyone

I pray you are as blessed

Z

Ben's Stuffing and Life and Trees

The Famous Ben Stuffing

Very labor intensive, but most of the chopping can be done the 

day before, but Ben said he likes the idea of the work 

"on the day".

We enjoyed mimosas while HE worked.

The pooches were at his feet all morning

hoping for an errant nibble.

In the center pic you can even see Justice standing

by while he texted.

*******

1 3/4 pounds sweet Italian sausages, casings removed

5 to 6 TB butter

2 1/2 fennel bulbs, chopped

1 1/4 pounds onions, chopped

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 1/4 pounds firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 large red bell peppers, chopped

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
1 loaf sourdough bread cubed

3/4 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread bread on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Bake until just golden, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to very large bowl. Set aside.

Cook Italian sausage in large pot over medium-high heat until browned, breaking up pieces with back of fork, about 12 minutes. 

Using slotted spoon, transfer to small bowl. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in same large pot over medium-high heat. 

Add chopped fennel, onions and fennel seeds. Sauté until fennel and onions are tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. 

Reduce heat to medium. Add pears, bell peppers and herbs. Sauté until pears and peppers are just tender, about 10 minutes. 

Add wine and boil until most liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. 

Add sausage and fennel mixture to bread cubes. Season stuffing to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish. Add enough broth to stuffing to moisten (about 3/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups.) Transfer stuffing to prepared dish and dot stuffing with 2 tablespoons butter before baking. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down; bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes longer. Top with fennel fronds, if desired, and serve.

( I took the fennel tops and stuffed them inside my bird)

My brother Scott and his wife Crystal have

 a wonderful mini tree farm.

It is located on the lot next to their home in 

New Castle PA.

Each year Scott tends and trims these trees to perfection.

Look at these beautifully shaped trees.

Only Blue Spruce for them,

and only $20.00!

Those are not lala land prices!

Offspring of the folks 

who bought 20 years ago are now coming to

buy these beautiful Blue Spruce trees,

family traditions established and nurtured.

Nurtured in the nursery

for future generations..

Absolutely worth the drive if you are

 anywhere within the Pittsburgh area.

Please remember to tell them I sent ya...

and give em a big hug for me.

If you wish to call and check ahead, email me.

Also please check out Maynard Greenhouse

here and here if you haven't already.

If you are passing through, or live within

a nice long drive,

Maynard Greenhouse is a Must 

stop for Carole's Christmas shop and 

their Christmas trees have arrived also.

Give George and Carole my love and pet Petey

and the kitties.

Filled with love and gratitude today.

My son is still here visiting, he is asleep upstairs.

The joy I feel when the kids are under my roof,

asleep and happy and safe at home.

I am blessed with a great family 

and friends here and in blog land.

sigh...

Do you ever have those days 

where you just want to hug yourself with joy?

Life is good.

Difficult at times, but good.

Z