Winter Sucks

Is the sun ever going to shine again in this part of the world? I am such a sun-driven person and all of this cloudiness and gloom is making me crankier than ever. Yeah, OK, it was warmer, but who cares? I would much rather have snow cover than have to look at all of Guinness' poop that has surfaced (bless Artie's house, he cleaned up about 5 pounds of it) and our Christmas lights that need to come down. Now they are screaming for me to remove them. Yesterday I found a newspaper from December 8th that had been buried under the snow mound in front next to our driveway. I got a kick out of that for some reason. It is snowing lightly right now, which is fine with me. I detest the brown smashed grass that we have to look at for months, choosing to live in the Midwest. Being cooped up in the winter is not good for me. Being retired and cooped up is even worse! I have tooooo much time to look around and see things that I want to do. I get soooo bored with things in the winter. My "To Do" list is growing daily. I have already "redone" the guest bath somewhat, and yesterday we moved Artie's home office into the living room. Luckily we had our pack mules, Danny and John, to do the moving of heavy furniture. Now we await the installation of French doors for the new office space. His old office will now be another much-needed guest room now that our boomerang boy came back to live at home. This is great because it gives me TWO new canvases to work on! If only I had an unlimited amount of cash...

What's in a Name?

Many of you who follow my blog, or have read bits and pieces of it, know that one of my pet peeves is when words are mispronounced or misspelled (you can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher). While I was perusing one of my favorite blogs today, Ciao Italia, I found an older post by the author of it, Mary Ann Esposito, whose image graces this post, and it just tickled my fancy. This mispronunciation of Italian foods drives my mom crazy too...OK, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Read Mary Ann's post and enjoy it as much as I did - and the next time you order any of these foods pronounce them CORRECTLY and then wait for the server to correct YOU! I always re-correct them. I just have to.

What's In A Name
I wish I had a nickel for every time a wait staff person lets me know that one of the specials of the day is ”brushetta.” I just bite my lower lip and then politely say: “You mean bruschetta?” Bruschetta (pronounced brew-SKEH-tah, not brew-SHEH-tah) is simply fried, grilled or toasted bread that has a number of possible toppings from chicken livers to chopped tomatoes.

You can find recipes for the classic ones, like Bruschetta with Fried Peppers, at www.ciaoitalia.com/recipes.aspx

Farro (Fah-Row) is another classic example of bad pronunciation in restaurants claiming to be Italian. Farro is a nutritious wheat berry making a gourmet comeback and is a grain used in soups, stews and salads. But please don’t pronounce it like PHARAOH. You can find recipes using this grain on the web site as well.

In the pasta realm, gnocchi (gnaw-key) is a tough one for many not familiar with this delicious dumpling usually made from potatoes. It is often referred to as "no-key" or "knock-key".

And then of course there is espresso, known here as "ex-presso".

Fortunately everyone seems to know how to pronounce "Ciao" (chow).

Catholics Come Home?

This may insult some of you who are reading this, so accept my apology right off the bat. Is anyone else bothered by the new "Catholics Come Home" commercials? I certainly am. As a fallen Catholic myself I find nothing in those ads that makes me want to "come home". In fact it is the subliminal and typical Catholic guilt that surfaces for me when I watch them - one of the many reasons I have become a stray. The reason many people have left the church, as I see it, is it has repeatedly failed to move forward with the times. The church has seen many scandals involving priests which has added to the exodus. Are these sappy commercials supposed to put a bandaid over the many shortcomings of the Catholic church? Is seeing a girl shooting up and then having an epiphany supposed to make me want to race into my local church and beg to be let in? Is seeing a domestic abuser watching his past unfold before him, as tears drip from his eyes, make me want to be forgiven for all my (and his) sins? I don't think so. I think it's pitiful and even a little shameful that the Catholic church feels the need to advertise faith. Isn't that a bit sinful?

Napping at the Hemmens

Yesterday we went to the Hemmens Auditorium in Elgin to see guest conductor Tania Miller lead performances featuring the symphonies of Ravel, Brahms & Shostakovich. Some friends had free tickets and asked us to join them, which we happily agreed to do. Artie and I were subscribers a couple years ago and enjoyed the performances by this amazing local symphony very much. Except for one thing...I always fall asleep during the performances! Each and every time we have been at the Hemmens to watch the ESO perform I fall asleep. Yesterday's performance held even more embarrassment for me because I actually commented to Artie as we took our seats that we were among the youngest people in the auditorium. When I looked around I thought we had accidentally gone to Del Webb's Edgewater clubhouse. There were so many elderly, white-haired folks in that auditorium that it tickled me a bit to feel so youthful...

Ha ha ha!? The laugh was on me! As I struggled to stay awake during the third "set" of Brahms, it occurred to me that none of the old folks around me looked like they were battling to stay awake. Not even the most geriatric ones in the house. They were all bright-eyed and busy-tailed compared to my war with my drooping eyelids!! Now, I have rationalized to myself that the reason I fall asleep is that orchestral symphonies are so beautiful, peaceful, and serene that it comforts me and lulls me to relaxation. What else could it be?? Staying up until after midnight on Saturday night? The "stress" of being retired? Huh? I was doing the head-bob thing and tried so hard not to let our friends see me doing so. Fortunately their seats were across the aisle from ours and their view was obscured by another couple. I also didn't want Artie to notice since he always teases me when I fall asleep during the symphony.

I think it's awesome the way life seems to humble me every time I get too smug...

New Year, Old Stories

As I age it seems that New Years Eve becomes less of a big date night and more of a stay-at-home night with friends and/or family. This year we had my mom and Artie's sister and her husband over for dinner. Artie grilled steaks out in the crazy cold and we had all the fixins'. It was a great meal and a nice, calm, low-key evening. Just what we wanted. I recall with much displeasure New Years Eves of the past, none of which I regret doing anything stupid during the course of the evening. I do recall a certain husband having way toooo much to drink one year, on a BITTER cold Dec. 31st a long time ago. He was not exactly a "nice drunk" that particular night. In fact, he was downright ornery! He wasn't driving thankfully, and fell sound asleep in the back seat of the car. When we arrived at our destination - Jo Jo's Restaurant in Bloomingdale (this after having spent buckets of money at some swanky place for a New Years Eve gala event that didn't serve enough food for ANY of the men, hence the trip to Jo Jo's) this husband refused to rouse and was a bit "cranky". So, I did what any sweet loving wife would do on a bitter cold New Years Eve - I left him in the car! There were two cars full of us who sauntered into the restaurant while the husband slept it off in the car. Naturally I worried about him freezing to death, but apparently not enough to go check on him, which I didn't do. When this group of friends gathers now we still laugh about that evening, but for some reason, my laughter is the shortest and quietest.

I used to love shopping for a special New Years Eve outfit and going somewhere to celebrate - dancing, drinking, eating, laughing, and wearing horrible high heel shoes. I love the place I am at right now - wearing sweatshirts, pajama pants, and slippers, hanging out with people who don't care how I am dressed and who don't need to get drunk to have fun. I remember one year - the year I knew I was done with fancy New Years celebrations. I looked around at people making such fools of themselves and that was when I knew I had become a full-fledged adult. Don't get me wrong. I still like to have a few cocktails and have fun like most people do. I just don't need to buy a new outfit, pay ridiculous prices for horrible food, and wear shoes that I regret for days after the celebrations are long gone. Now I am content to toast with friends and give my husband a special Happy New Year kiss.

Happy 2010 everyone. Let's make it a good one.