Happy Inter-dependence Day

Last year I declared July 5th Inter-Dependence Day and I am plan to celebrate like crazy today.  Because inter-dependence has been very good to me this year.  Just the other day, I was in the A&P and the woman on line in front of me didn't have her bonus card with her.  I offered her mine and she was very grateful because she saved a bunch of dough.  I told her not to worry about it because Inter-Dependence Day was coming up and that she should celebrate it too.

Then it was my turn and, naturally, I used my card.  When my receipt came up, lo and behold, I had enough points to earn a 5% discount.  The woman working the check out stopped for a minute and really looked at my receipt.  Then she said, "That's pretty cool.  If you hadn't given that woman your card, you wouldn't have earned enough points and today's the last day for it." Then she told me to have a Happy Inter-Dependence Day. 

Ta Da!!!  The beautiful balance of inter-dependence.

So, what are you going to do to celebrate today.  I have a list of a few ideas for you but I'm sure you will all run with it!  Check in on the comments if you want to share how it worked out for you.

1.  Wave to that mentally disabled man who always stands on the corner.  I bet you he'll wave back and you'll both feel really good.
2.  Pick up some litter.  We are inter-dependent with nature too.
3.  Go to the dollar store and buy some cheapo umbrellas.  Leave them in the car and the next time you see someone stuck at the bus stop in the rain without one, pull over and give them one.
4.  Say hello to a stranger in the grocery store.
5.  Bake some cookies for the guys who make your coffee every morning.
6.  Make love to your partner.
7.  Give your dog a bone or your cat some tuna.
8.  Ask a little kid if they know any knock knock jokes.
9.  Learn how to say "how are you" in another language.

You get the drift.

Is it risky?  Sure it is.  People might look at you like you're a wack job.  But so what? There are a lot of wack jobs out there doing a really effective job at making our world a worse place.  Maybe it will take a few wack jobs to make it a better place.

My Old Man

My old man is funny.  He's been telling the same jokes for years and they still make me laugh.  One of his favorite things in the world is those special Daddy/Daughter moments when he sets up a joke and I drive it home.  Especially if it's a dirty joke.

My old man loves Mel Brooks and Monty Python.  I was raised on Young Frankenstein and still remember the very first time I watched "The Holy Grail."  We were sitting in our den so I must have been less than nine years old because when I turned nine, my parents turned the den into my bedroom.  It was a Sunday afternoon and Channel 13 was showing it.  My mother came in and said "John, do you really think this is an appropriate movie for her to watch?"  His reply was, "She doesn't know what a medieval whore house is but she still thinks it's funny."  My mom shrugged her shoulders and left us alone.

When we were kids, my old man would pack up a bunch of kids from our block in the station wagon (in our pajamas) and take us to either Carvel or Friendly's for ice cream.  Once, the boy down the hall and my dad hatched a plan.  Michael pretended that he had fainted and my father carried him in and laid him on the couch.  Then we revived him with ice cream.  I thought it was hilarious.

My old man can walk into an empty kitchen and come out with a delicious meal.  He's the person who taught me how to read cookbooks like novels and the true joy of an onion.  He has an adventurous palate and can talk about almost any meal he's ever had. 

My old man knows everyone.  I can't tell you how many times in how many random situations someone has said to me "You must be John Tumelty's daughter."

My old man likes all kinds of music and he likes it loud.  And I mean loud.  He used to play opera on Sunday afternoons and people would set up lawn chairs across the street from our apartment to listen.

My old man is not interested in getting presents but when you find the perfect gift for him, he cherishes it like a child.

My old man rarely swears.  But when he does, you know he means it.  He has a way of calling someone a "silly bitch" that sounds like the worst possible thing you could ever say about anyone.  Clearly, my filthy mouth is from my mitochondrial  DNA.

My old man can quiet a crying baby.  He loves babies and will hold and snuggle them for hours.

I have never seen my old man wear a t-shirt.  Or sneakers.

My old man checks all the sale fliers every week and then calls me to tell me where Diet Coke has the best price.

The first time my old man met Brian he said "Hello Kevin, it's nice to meet you."  The two of them will sit and talk for hours and it makes my heart warm.  When Brian went back to work this week, my old man called him at lunch time on his first day to see how it was going.

My old man has a nomad's spirit.  He loves to just get in the car and go.  Which made for some adventurous vacations in my life.  Except the time that we went to Suwanee Florida.  He told us he had seen it in National Geographic but he failed to mention that the article was about the huge bugs that walk around the town.

My old man will come get me anywhere anytime.  He drove me to concerts, he picked me up at school and he didn't complain the third time my alternator crapped out and he had to come drive me home.

When I was in college, my old man used to randomly drive out on Mondays (his day off) and take me to the Lobster Inn for dinner.

My old man is still desperately in love with my mother.  He dances with her at weddings and parties and still can't keep his hands to himself.  (There's a family story about the time my mother said he had "roaming hands" and I thought she said "Roman Ants" but that's for another time.)

I can still borrow $20 from my old man.  He acts like he is doing it begrudgingly but I know he likes it.

I like to think that I am like my my old man but really, if I was half the person he is, I would be satisfied.

 

Catch Up

I'm not going to whine about being ridiculously busy lately.  I swear!  I'm not.  I'll save that for another post. 

This morning I am determined to get caught up on a few things and one of those is cleaning out the camera.  Of course, there are a load of photos that were meant to go on blog posts that I haven't gotten to yet so let's just do a little photo album today, shall we?

This is why it's always a good idea to bring your knitting with you.  Yeah dammit, the alternator crapped out on me three times.  Three times!!!!!  It's been working for a few months now but I'm still cautious.

This is the kind of winter we had.  Forsythia blooming in the dead of winter.  Amazingly, they recovered and were positively gorgeous this spring. It was pretty amazing flower-wise on our block this spring and all the flowers lasted for a long time which was pretty cool.  The past few years they've had a pretty small window.  The roses in the neighborhood are blooming now and it looks like they plan to keep the trend going.

I have very spicy neighbors.  They brought this back for us from their travels.  Rockin!

It's fun to play with dry ice.  'Nuff said.

The first robin of spring.  Also, 'nuff said.

I'm in charge of lining up the St. Patrick's Day parade here in the Y.O.  so naturally, I wear the obligatory green carnation (with baby's breath, thankyouverymuch).  For some reason, it ends up in my purse every year and a few weeks later I find this.  I usually find it because I'm bleeding from getting stuck by the pin that I forgot was there.

Gift yarn!  Gorgeous!

Gift yarn!  Also, gorgeous!

I finally went and got an eye exam and some new contacts.  This totally cracked me up.  You see, I wear the same lens in both eyes.  So I only need to buy one box of lenses at a time.  Which is awesome.  They had to order them for me so the eye doctor gave me a set of lenses to use until mine arrived.  Please note that not only are they the same lens, they are still attached to each other.  And he still wrote R and L on the labels as if it made a difference.

I love it when I get flowers.  Just love it.  I positively swoon.  These came at the end of a really, really lousy day.  When my sweetie picked me up at work I was met with these along with a tupperware full of chardonnay.  He knows me so well.

I Miss You Robin

My sister believes that the world can be broken--very simply--into two groups of people.  Those who like The BeeGees and those who like The Carpenters.  You know what?  That's the kind of religion I can get behind.  No one ever strapped a bomb to their chest and blew up a school bus because someone else didn't know all the words to Superstar.  

Oh and by the way, whether you're a BeeGee or a Carpenter fan, I will call you a liar if you say you don't know all the words to Superstar.

God speed Robin Gibb.  You seemed like a nice guy.

Again

I haven't had time to write--again!

The camera is missing--again!

The cat is in heat--again!

I have a Baby Surprise Sweater on the needles--again!

I bought too much yarn--again!

I lost my debit/credit card--again!

At least I'm predictable.

Too Long

I've been gone too long and I missed my silly little blog and all six of my readers (okay, maybe seven--at least you are loyal).

So let's just go with today.

It's Titanic Day.  Not sure where to go with that but I would like to think that I am the reincarnation of the first guy who yelled ICEBURG.  I do try very hard to be a problem solver but, I've discovered that noticing the problem (or shall we way iceburg) does not always mean that you can stop the boat from slamming into it.

Onward.

There will be photos of two really cute baby sweaters.  For twins!!!  Twins!!  I love twins.

Remember this yarn from China

Well it knits up some kind of gorgeous and a little roll in a front load washing machine gave it just enough fullness to make me swoon.  It's drying in the bedroom right now and waiting for buttons so pictures will have to come another day.  There will be pearls and little bunnies.  Too cute.

In other news, we have had a lovely weekend which has climaxed with a really yummy dinner.

Are you ready?

This is one of those recipes where you really, really have to trust yourself.  It's a little spicy but not crazy hot and I think you'll like it.

First, cut up four russet potatoes into 1 inch (ish) chunks.  Toss them on a sheet pan with lots of salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil, toss them around and pop them in a 425 oven for about an hour.  Halfway through, flip them over as best you can.

I came up with the rest when I was standing in Foodtown staring at the meat case trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  I ran into a guy I went to grade school with (he was buying bananas) and he said "Just stand there until something comes to you."

He was right.

So here we go (I really should have taken pictures because this is a sort of vague recipe).

4 links sweet Italian sausage
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (if the store doesn't have them get your lazy ass off the couch and bone and skin them yourself) cut into chunks
2 cubanelle peppers
a bunch of cloves of garlic
1/2 a jar of sliced hot cherry peppers
some chicken broth
some white wine

Drizzle a little olive oil in your big skillet, poke the sausages with a fork and let them get some color on them.  Take them out of the pan as soon as they are starting to get brown (they will still be raw).  Slice the cubanelles long ways (take out the seeds) and toss them in the pan.  If you need more oil, feel free to add more oil.  Run as much garlic as you like through the garlic press and add it to the pan.

While this is cooking away, slice the somewhat raw sausage into coins and cut your chicken in cubes.

When it feels right, put the sausage in the pan.  As soon as it starts to brown, add the chicken.   Keep the heat sort of low at this point.

Now, I know it seems like you are wasting wine but it is worth it.  Once around the pan with a bottle of dry white wine and then once around the pan (maybe twice) with some chicken broth).  Bring it to a boil and let it simmer until the chicken is just about done.

Use a fork to add half the cherry peppers to the pan, then pour in some of the hot brine that they came in.  Let it simmer until everything is done and the potatoes are ridiculously crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside.

It's a party for your mouth and a perfect meal to listen to American Roots with.

P.S.  It's Joey Ramone day.  Can't belief it was that long ago.


  

If I Win The Lottery

I realized tonight that if  I win the lottery tomorrow night (which I am sure will happen) my federal government and my state government will make a lot of un-budgeted tax income.  The jackpot is based on how many people play the lottery so there's no way any government agency could budget for it.

That means that, basically, the tax income to the state and federal government is free money.  And, if I win, I would really love to have a say in where those taxes go. 

So here's what I want.  I want my tax money from my lottery windfall to pay for a fund that provides supplemental income to the working poor to bring their wages up to a living wage.  Right now, in Westchester County, the living wage is $11.45 per hour.  Anyone who makes less than that could apply for a weekly supplement.  I would have some requirements about the business (for example, you would have to work for a business that couldn't afford to pay a living wage) so that this would be both a benefit to the employee and to businesses.

I know that this isn't completely thought out but, off the top of my head, it seems like an interesting idea.

If you win the lottery, what do you want to have happen with the tax money that you pay?