The Treasure of a Phone Call

I used to have a phone just like this

Though I am not a teenager, I've found myself in the habit lately of texting rather than calling a friend or loved one. Sometimes I even get frustrated when I can’t text them, like my Dad, who doesn’t even have a cell phone.

It’s like I want to avoid the connection, the possibility that a short phone call could turn into something drawn out. The friend I call to see if she’s going to yoga tonight could be 10 minutes of us discussing Etsy or something one of use ate the other night. EEEE-GADS!

Catching up with a friend from back home becomes a few Facebook messages or an email instead of a half hour ear to ear. I had to stop myself and realize that it’s so silly to think my time is so precious I can’t give up the control to let a conversation happen. Especially in this day and age when so many conversations are electronic and actual talking is considered obsolete.

So I am making more phone calls. It’s always a pleasure once the conversation starts and I admit, often I am the one who can’t stop. It’s something I really have missed. Each day for the rest of the year, ears will be ringing as the phone chimes with me on the other end and you better pick up!

Who Are You Going to Call?

The Treasure of Playtime

My first snow person ... Isn't she lovely?

 For some reason as adults we forget about the importance of playtime. What we call “playtime” is usually when we are plugging into something, dropping out of something or disengaging. Playtime is what we do when we aren’t in Worktime.

Kids know that playtime is so much more than that. It’s the time when we engage in something that has no consequential outcome, no need to win all the time, and let’s us experience a simpler life.

Out playing on a snowy day

 Invite some friends over to play cards (like our parents and grandparents used to do), get out a board game and play with your kids, play catch with your loved one, build a snowman, make a sandcastle, color a picture (with crayons). Be in the moment and just play.

My favorite card game ... for now

My Favorite Playtime Activities:

1.     Nertz (it’s competitive solitaire and I’m a sure winner when I play Guy – so I am a little competitive)

2.     Skip-Bo (great card game)

3.     Uno (who doesn’t love screaming “Uno”?)

4.     Risk (taking over the world has never been so much fun)

5.     Trivial Pursuit (great for the memory)

6.     Monopoly (a classic that everyone can enjoy – I like being the Scottie dog)

7.     Yahtzee (I played this game for a whole summer when I was a kid)

8.     500 Rummy (a few hours of fun)

9.     Snow tubing (my new favorite thing to do during the winter)

10. Building snow people (something also new)

11. Coloring with crayons or markers (it helps release the artist inside)

12. 20 questions (ask me another)

What’s your favorite way to Play Time?

The Brood - 40 Days of Thankfulness

 I have 3 siblings: 2 sisters and a brother. I am very thankful to be part of this brood. Like all families we’re each very unique in our own way, but we always know we have one another to watch our backs and to be a part of something greater.

I am thankful for each of them and love those qualities that make them individuals in my family. My sister Cathi is the oldest and a force to be reckoned with. She takes care of herself and as a teacher helps children learn so they can embrace their curiosity and discover who they are. She is a great sister throwing me a bridal shower and sharing her love of horses with me. I love learning about these beasts and her passion is far reaching.

My brother David is next in the fold. He is a very spiritual man who has turned his life over to Christ. A biker at heart, David has always been a great brother counseling me when I was a teenager on how to deal with life and turning me on to all kinds of music.

Lastly is my sister Cricket who is the one closest to my age. She is a fantastic sister always helping me out babysitting the puppies or sharing cooking tips or just hanging out. She has a very bright light inside of her that she shares with everyone she meets.

Though I am now far away from them, I am so thankful God gave me such a wonderful family.

My Dad’s Keeper – 40 Days of Thankfulness

Marion, me and my Dad on the day I left Florida. 

Today is another heart-felt bit of gratitude. This time it is for my stepmother, Marion who has been such a wonderful partner, caretaker and friend to my Dad. They have been together since I was a teenager, and Marion and I didn’t always get along (making this extra special).

Recently, over the past decade, I have come to appreciate all she does for my dad in sickness and in health. It really means a lot to me to know my Dad is safe and well cared for. Since he has been sick these past few months, Marion has really stepped up as caretaker driving him to multiple doctor’s appointments each day, taking care of him at home, and making sure the family is up to date on what is going on in his life.

I am so thankful that he has someone who loves him so much to take her precious time and make it a gift to him and to us. She is an angel and I appreciate her with my whole heart. 

Health Nut

My niece's husband was voted Tampa Bay's Healthiest Person yesterday! Congrats Ryan. He's not only one of the healthiest people in the area, he's also helping other get fit, stay healthy and keep themselves out of debt. What a good man.

Toasty

Cooking Light magazine this month has a column focused on the many uses of apricot preserves in cooking. This inspired me. Instead of apricot preserves, what about one of my favorites, my step-mother’s homemade grape jelly? This is truly as homemade and organic as you can get since my father grows and tends to the grapes, as well as harvests them and my step mother takes it from there in the kitchen adding sugar and pectin and whatever else to can some delicious jelly. It is fabulous and I look forward to getting my yearly batch.

I love cooking with jelly and jams, but this one is a favorite since the flavor is subtle unlike commercial brands and it just adds a touch of sweetness and a hint of grapeyness to anything you pair it with, even peanut butter.

This morning the inspiration led me to do have breakfast for dinner. I haven’t been to the store yet and watching the budget has let my creative juices really flow, so I went through the fridge. What did I find? Said grape jelly, leftover Challah bread I made a week ago, eggs, butter and milk. Translated, French Toast. Really I spied all the ingredients, except the jelly at first and then noticed I was out of syrup. What’s melted jelly? Syrup. Let’s dress it up a touch and add some grapes that over have a few more days until they become moldy pre-raisins.

My Toast to Toast

2 thick slices of leftover Challah bread (or any you have handy – it can be a little hard since you will be soaking it in the egg mixture)
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
½ tsp cinnamon
About ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of vanilla extract
Butter for the pan and for the toast on the plate
A large handful of seedless grapes cut in half
2 or 3 TBSP of jelly

Whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a bowl. If the bread is large or pretty thick, cut the slices in half since it will be easier to work with in the pan. Heat a pat of butter in the pan and when melted and hot add the dipped slices of toast. (make sure to really coat the toast with egg). Cook for as long as you see fit and turn to cook the other side to your liking ( I don’t have times since the doneness of French Toast is a personal preference.)

When satisfied move the toast to a plate and add another pat of butter to the pan. Add in the grapes and let them sauté in the butter for a couple minutes, stirring so they don’t stick or burn. Add the jam and turn off the heat. The residual heat in the pan will melt the jelly. Pour this over your toast and you have a fancy, just oh so easy dish.

To emphasize how special I thought this dish was, I lit a candle and ate by candlelight with the puppies and kitties at my feet. A warm cup of tea was the perfect accompaniment.

What inspired you this week?

11 Days of Christmas

Even though my family prefers to watch TV during the holiday, I am still collecting Christmas music to play during dinner. I am hoping to get most of the group outside to have a family meal, but football takes precedent.

Both Amazon and iTunes have free music this year and I am making the most of it. I just love holiday music and this year is so special to me that I want all the senses to be overjoyed with stimulation. Does that make sense or maybe I have just had too much sugar.

I would love to pipe music throughout the house, but that would interrupt with the game on the tube so I dare not. But it will be nice when Paul and I bake cookies and share some holiday romance.

I also have Christmas albums passed down from my family that I have been listening to for the past few weeks. Most are from Firestone featuring a gift motif on the cover complete with plastic holly berries. Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet and Perry Como lend their voices to the vinyl records and to me that is Christmas. It’s hard really getting into the spirit with the latest pop icons.

My favorite Christmas song is “Do They Know It’s Christmas” and Guy refers to this as the Nico Christmas Song since is really is pretty dreary. You can tell Bob Geldolf grew up in Catholic Ireland since it plays on the guilt that so many children like me have endured throughout the ages.

19 Days of Christmas

It was nice seeing my dad for the holiday. My sisters were there as was my stepbrother and we ate and ate. My dad prefers holidays with the steps so this is pretty much it for the family thing. My sisters and their kids will come over on the 24th, but my dad will spend Christmas with the other kids and that seems to work for everyone.

My contribution this year to the holiday feast was an antipasti platter of cheeses, salami, marinated mushrooms and artichokes, olives, roasted asparagus and pickled beets. Sounds like an odd combination, but I just love this kind of stuff.

We also shared crab legs, ham and tiramisu. As is the usual, I went grocery shopping in my dad’s garden and got some vine ripe tomatoes, collard greens, scallions and a variety of oranges and grapefruits. I also made off with a box of candy my dad snuck to me.

I was too disappointed in the look of the bathroom to do much of anything except scrape paint off the door. I did some caulking, but I was very blue since it seems like such a huge task since the shower must be ready by Friday night when Paul comes over.

It’s sort of embarrassing. My house is in such disarray and Paul is completely put together. I really want to get it together to show him I am not always in a state of chaos and that only causes more stress. I’ll keep trudging on and I will do what I can, hopefully that will be good enough.

Family Picture Day

Patty was kind enough to invite the kids and I to get our picture taken at her school. Getting the kids cleaned and dressed gave me little time to look good, but I tried to pull it together with blue to match my eyes and my hair up so as to keep it out of my face (and I really need a haircut.) What I thought would be a fiasco with them jumping all over the place and the children scrambling to pet them was really very calm. They posed like perfect little pals and I smiled making sure to keep my chin out to elongate my neck. (I thought about trying to smize as Tyra directs, but that is just too much at this hour of morning.)

How To Start A Conversation

The festivities of the weekend continued with my sister, Cathi’s party Saturday night. It was a small crowd, but nice. My nephew Ross was there and it is always a pleasure seeing him. Cricket showed and so did a lot of new faces. The coolest people I met were Dan and Grace. They also live in St. Pete and are the artsy type. Our conversation started do to my baked Brie dish and continued to exchanging information and finding out so much about each other. They are New Yorkers (Villagers) and both are very into the arts. I hope this turns into a wonderful relationship since I was very attune to their way of thinking. Their optimism attracted my own and we shared thoughts about the world and I told them about my desire to have a gallery and studio space to help further the aspirations of other local artists.

*Side note: Dan once worked for Larry Flynt, and that’s pretty cool, though now I wonder since I am less than 6-degrees away from the smut mogul if I need a tetanus shot.

Want to find out how you can also make a conversation-starter Brie dish? Here’s how:

A wedge of Brie (I prefer triple cream)
Half a jar of Apricot preserves
Toasted almonds (toasted in butter and sugar)
Nut and Rice crackers

Bake the Brie at about 350 for 10 minutes, or until it starts to ooze. While it is still hot add the preserves and nuts. Serve with crackers. It really is that easy and yet so impressive.

*For the locals: I got pretty much the whole thing at Swanson’s and spent about $4 on the whole thing. They had huge wheels of Presidente Brie for $7 and I used a quarter of it, the all-natural, organic 778 apricot preserves with whole apricots in it for $2 and the crackers were $1.20. An impressive dish without breaking the bank.

What to do with all the other Brie. Share it with neighbors and friends. I may even have a special evening this week for just me accompanied by baked Brie, smoked oysters and champers.

B-I-N-G-O is such a Drag

Some yell “Bingo”, some “Yahtze” and still others “My dick is bigger than Lady Ga Ga’s” At Drag Bingo you can hear it all, and more. Georgie’s Alibi hosts Drag Bingo every Monday evening and I just happen to be there this time. It was a small crowd, but Guy, Cathi and I had the table covered with Bingo cards, winners, or so we thought.

Unlike your usual Knights of Columbus Bingo night, this game offered special “social” numbers. For instance, when 69 was called, everybody drank. This went for 66 (which they called 99), 21 (legal age to drink) 18 (legal age to have sex) and 31 (since it was the 31^st of August.)

They played the regular style rounds with rows to win, boxed in (filling the outside perimeter of the card) and an L-shape. Each round had a different call out if you had won such as “My dick is bigger than Lady Ga Ga’s”, but if you called Bingo or anything else instead you had to take a shot of the most horrible concoction of hot sauce, Jaeger, Baileys and whatever else the crowd called to fill the glass. You could pay $2 and pass this on to another and they could out bid you until one of you just sucked it up, literally. The money was collected for the AIDS Walk which is this weekend in St. Pete.

Guy was the runner up for the last round we played and got a free drink card. It was a fun experience and I am thinking it may not be a bad way to spend a Monday evening (sans all the socials).

Fini and Begin Again

My stained glass angel ornament on my pink tree - that's Christmas to me

Life is what happens when you’re trying to write a blog. So instead of writing, I was living, but now I am back and happy to have some semblance of routine and normalcy. Nothing bad kept me from this personal task, all good with holidays to boot, but it did leave me snackered. Here are the top ten things that have transpired over the past 4 weeks. (In no particular order)

O Tannebaum

My perfect pink tree. Kitsche, I know, but aren't you jealous?

I just love my Christmas tree. It is pink with white lights and stands only about 6 feet tall (on a crate.) I have all kinds of ornaments on it even one that was crafted with my own wee hands when I was 3. I got the tree last year for $30 and the guy at the store said, “You’re goin’ to be the only person in Pinellas County with a pink tree.” My response, “I hope so,” even though I knew that there would be many folks in the gayborhood that would adore some pink plastic perfection. Even Guy was jealous. I wrap the bottom and its pedestal wine crate in a Santa-inspired, red and white faux fur skirt and even sans gifts it is a sight to behold. I hate the thought of taking it down and packing it away for another full year.

All the little children

Leilani having a blast at her recital. Her enthusiam was contagious!

It wouldn’t be a holiday without a children’s recital. I was invited to Leilani’s class’ Christmas program and had the honor of listening to three-year-olds massacre the old Christmas standards. It’s sort of like watching the auditions for American Idol, but not sad at all with kids forgetting their lines and waving to mommy in the front row, or those standing fear-struck as dad coerces them to look at the video camera. I just loved it. And of course Leilani stayed on cue and didn’t pick her nose nor lift her dress even once to the relief of her mother.

Noah, not to be outdone, does his famous rolling eyes routine. He's such a comedian.

I’ll be home for ChristmasA quick shot of my family during the gift exchange.

Since my family has developed into quite an extended posse, we try to make it for at least one day a year to be together, including spouses, mates, in-laws and kids. This year my niece Amanda hosted at her posh house. The food was divine with deep-fried turkey, pole beans cooked with bacon, Greek salad, butternut squash casserole and apple cobbler (my addition.) Plus it was great seeing the clan. My nieces and nephews are all grown with the youngest in his second year of college. Brian brought the girlies (his two divine daughters Madison and Sailor) and they are what really make the season bright. Even Laura, the actress, made it home all the way from LA and her Orange County-lifestyle. I miss the lot of them, but we just don’t seem to be able to hook-up much. Plus it is a nice time to catch up and do a simple gift exchange. This year was pretty weak though since my niece Erin left early and no one stole from anyone else, except me to try to get the ball rolling. Plus for me it’s all about giving so I was so pleased to see that Holley, Brian’s wife, got the afghan I made. She is so sweet and really appreciates things like that. My brother never makes it to these things since he lives in Michigan or something and I guess it is better to be there than with us.

Madison and Sailor Grace having a blast on Christmas Eve. They really make the holiday for me.

Sailor helping her mom with her new afghan. It was my first big project and turned out so sweet.

Feliz Navidad

You can't have black beans and rice without red wine vinegar!

And to balance out all the stress from driving to the family Christmas, I spent Christmas Day at Michelle’s and enjoyed my favorite meal of all time – Cuban roast pork, black beans and rice and baked ziti. Last year, she went to Ohio to visit family (why else would someone go to Ohio) and this left me beanless for the first Christmas in more than 10 years. It was painful. But I made up for it this year with double plates of food and a very sick belly that evening. Her family had done the Christmas Eve too so it was just us, Vivi, Ronn and her mom lounging around watching the Food Network and drinking wine. Mich and I recycle presents (meaning we usually take something we have and give that as a gift instead of buying something impersonal – except wine, that is good for all occasions.) This year I gave Vivi a Mary Poppins Barbie I had gotten about 12 years ago from an ex-boyfriend. It was still in the box with most of the accessories. I also shared with her half of my Hello Kitty collection (the other half goes to Leilani with her brother Noah gets my X-Men comic collection.) There was only a touch of drama, but it wouldn’t be a holiday without someone drinking too much and being all passive aggressive. (Vivi took the picture of her mom to the left, not too bad I thought. )
Vivi has already learned-leave the gun, take the cannoli!






Cause I’m a loser baby
Weight Watchers is a godsend. I am doing pretty well though I have fallen off the wagon a couple times. It’s the holidays and I let myself falter from time to time, but try to keep up with the exercising. I know that this is my time, and 2009 is all about me. I no longer want to think about my weight or convince myself that one day I will be thin. I am working towards my goal and I plan to be the hottest beatch at next year’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Now, I just need a hot guy to show me off. So far I have found a bunch of new recipes, including a vegetarian chili that so rocks, I just love a cup of it in the afternoon when I get ready to work out. I feel more alive than before and even when I am naughty (which I love being naughty) I can still be on track, a touch. I have vowed to not buy any new clothes until I get to the halfway point (which I am shooting for the end of April) and will be treating myself to exercise toys, accessories for my bike and cookbooks instead. I just love deciphering recipes, deconstructing them and making them more healthy. And that is what this is all about – it’s not a diet, it’s a healthy way to live.

I want to ride my bicycle
I just love, love, love my bike. I really do. I like to ride to the beach on Saturday morning, ride my bike to my friends’ homes, ride to the store and the library, and ride around just for fun. The weather has been great here and that only inspires me to get out and ride even more. My morning rides are the hardest to convince myself of, but when I do get peddling, the music in my ears and a fresh cup of juice or a smoothie when I get back really bring it all together. I feel so much better about myself when I ride. Since I can’t walk much, it is one of the only ways I can get mobile. My boss even gave me a harnessed pouch for Finnegan to ride in when I go out riding. I’ve thought about riding up to Georgie’s in the evening for cocktails since I will have to stick to one and not feel too guilty about the calories. We’ll see about that later. Future adventures include: the Saturday Morning Market downtown, visiting Michelle and Renee (both are just a few miles more) and maybe one day go all the way to Guy’s.
Santa baby

Made this when I was three - aren't you impressed???

Christmas was simple this year. I wasn’t able to give very much, if anything since money is pretty tight, but I was blessed with several treats. Ronn gave me a bottle of vodka accompanied by a bottle of deliciously spiced olives. That was my Christmas morning treat – a spicy martini to go with the healthy egg white omelet and tomatoes. Michelle shared with me a set of espresso cups and saucers from her grandmother and homemade marinara and cranberry sauce that she canned. Guy made it a Warholiday with a money tray in Andy style and a pink martini ornament for my pink Christmas tree. Heidi shared her generosity with my kids by getting the kitties some cat nip balls and Finnegan a squeaky toy. I just love how she always thinks of the pets during the holidays. Patty gave me a flask, though it only holds six ounces (HA) because she knows me so well. I know that will definitely get a lot of use. I always feel blessed when people share gifts with me, even if it is stuff that I never considered, I still am grateful since no one really has to do it. Plus, my friends are the same way since they appreciate anything that is given to them and they teach their kids this too, since just being kin is a gift.

Finnegan Begin Again
I waited 35 years to get a puppy for Christmas and it finally happened. Finn is still with his mommy and grandma since he isn’t weaned. It will be about 4 more weeks until he comes home to me. I have been visiting him at least once a week and even held him all night on New Year’s Eve. It was a quiet end to the year. Ronn joined me over at Patty and Jim’s where we sat out back, drank champagne and held puppies – what could be more magical? My first kiss of the new year was Finn with his sour puppy breath and newly opened eyes to see how much I love him. I am so excited to be a new mommy.

Kids in America

Dancing to "They Don't Know About Us" by Tracey Ullman

I ended the year dancing with my dear friends Patty and Tuttie to old 80s tunes and began 2009 dancing with Renee and Malika to reggae/hip hop favorites. I just love to dance, but don’t get the chance much. Being a goth kid in high school and college limited my dance moves though I have always loved dancing around the house. That is where it ended since I felt clumsy with my weight and lost with all the choreography. But that is all changing. Malika was showing me how to belly dance and Renee shared some of her Jamaican moves getting me up and running and I didn’t care how I looked, as long as I was having fun. So that is one of my new year’s goals – to dance more just for fun. Plus it is great exercise. Dexy's Dancing!!

Hot Hot Hot
For my new adventure in 2009 I got a new haircut. It isn’t too different from before and is even a recollection of a few years ago with short curls framing my face. I love it an am so excited with my new look. 2009 has so much possibility! Plus I have the perfect accessory for my new look - FINN!

And one sad note. On December 20, Jerry Taylor was murdered. Jerry and I worked together for several years. Though not close, we shared many laughs in boring meetings. As circumstances would have it, I spotted him a few months ago at my new place of business and found it a touch comforting to see someone from the old stomping grounds. He was an innocent victim of a deranged psychopath who also murdered Beth Evans, his ex-wife and a friend of Jerry’s. We weren’t close, but it still keeps me struck with sadness to think how this vibrant man and loving father will not longer be there to bring light into his daughter’s eyes.