Ed on our first trip together to NYC, August 2004.
This is my guy. The man of the hour. The person I spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with. The guy I LOVE. My Prince. My other half. The Birthday Boy. Today my sweet Eddie turns 41 years old! And he's as cute, and as happy, and as smiley today as he was in this photo. Happy Birthday, Baby! Here's to a fantastic year! It's already off to a banging start, isn't it? Many hugs and more smooches! You are loved.
Tonight we went for steak at the Texas Roadhouse. We've always gone to Outback because it's near the house, but we haven't loved it the last few times we've gone. There are a lot of high-end steakhouses in Tucson, but really, this fit the bill for us. And Ed is happy to eat steak any day of the week, he'd even eat steak cooked on a hubcap.
Ed's parents are visiting this week so we took them and we also took my mother. It was a pre-birthday dinner - Ed's birthday is tomorrow.
Everything was pretty tasty - the do a really decent steak - but the place was packed. It's very common here to have to wait 30-minute or more wait at any kind of restaurant. It doesn't matter what night you dine out, as it's busy everywhere. It's as if not a soul in Tucson cooks.
In addition to the wait, it was insanely noisy. I'd forgotten how bad it was. And with three people in the group over 70, I can't imagine it was pleasant for them. I'm 20 years younger and I couldn't hear a thing. The screaming child at the table on the other side of the wall didn't help. Why do they allow people with children to dine out??
All in all though, it was a nice night. We did manage to have some conversation and hear some childhood stories about Ed. He was as cute a kid as he is an adult. Who knew?
Tired of one-night-stands? You're not the only one. Recipes from La Tavola Marche. After visiting Fossombrone in Le Marche in 2010, this place is on my list for the future. No electricity? No fridge? A Johnson & Wales graduate? You can find that classically trained chef in a rural Amish community in Maine. North Dakota is actually more interesting than you may think.
Want to know which muscles are stretching during those hateful exercises? Check this out. I love granola. I love coconut. And I think I'm going to love this once I get around to making it! Still around. Still batshit crazy. Still utterly clueless.
I'm here to tell you this is true. Need an app to help keep you on the fitness track? Here are fourteen of them. Like to bake? This infographic has lots of great information. Could this be the sincerest form of flattery or is it straight-up thievery? Winter is just getting started in Banff and Canada is a huge bargain right now. I think it's time to hit the Canadian Rockies! But if you're one of those crazy people who doesn't like snow, there's this. Hunger is psychological and dieting only makes it worse. Interesting.
Today marks the 10-year anniversary of my father's death - weird, calling it an anniversary. But that's what people do, don't they? That's me with him in the photo. I was two weeks old. He was 26. I wrote about my father's Walnut Crescent Cookies a few months ago. The poem by Naomi Shihab Nye reminded me of his recipe. They were always a family favorite and my Aunt makes them to this day as part of her Christmas cookie lineup because my cousins request them.
This is the card that's been in my mother's recipe box for over 39 years, front and back.
I'm posting the recipe because so many memories of my father involve food and cooking. I mean, look at the picture - I'm two weeks old and he's feeding me - we clearly bonded early over a meal.
When I sauté garlic, make chicken cutlets, assemble a lasagna, or make a big pot of chili for Ed, I always think of my father. Sometimes I'll be driving and I'll think of something to do with my father, and before I know it, I have a memory that somehow involves food or cooking. It just happens.
So I know it's only a cookie, but it's my father's signature cookie, and it's a great way to publicly mark the day.
You should make them. They're delicate and delicious. I promise you'll love them.
Because like Julia Child said, "People who love to eat are the best people."
Today Ed went to the top of Tumamoc with Kim and a few of her friends. I sat this one out. Here's a 360 degree panorama of his view. Enlarge it to see what he saw.
He said it was steep. I would have never made it. The hill rises 750 feet in 1.5 miles. To put that in perspective for my fellow truckers, this hill would require a 9.4% grade sign. The sign below says, "Tumamoc Hill is an 860-acre conservation site that provides an outdoor, natural laboratory for education and advanced research in ecology and archaeology. Since 1903, Tumamoc Hill has been providing decades of environmental information available nowhere else. It often leads the world with innovative research projects in basic ecology, in conservation, and on plants such as saguaro and desert wildflowers. In recognition of its history and success, Tumamoc Hill has been officially designated a United States National Historic Landmark, a United States Archaeological District, and an Arizona Environmental Study Area."
He said he enjoyed the hike and hopes to do it again. Just like he's proud of my one-mile walks on flat ground, I'm proud of him tackling the horned lizard.
I heard this song on American Idol last night. I didn't know it but I love it. It's going on my playlist immediately and will accompany me on my next walk!
Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
by Clean Bandit
Oh
We're a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea
But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be
I would wait forever, exalted in the scene
As long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same, gave you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
Ooh ooh
We staked out on a mission to find our inner peace
Make it everlasting so nothing's incomplete
It's easy being with you, sacred simplicity
As long as we're together, there's no place I'd rather be
With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay
Strolling so casually
We're different and the same, gave you another name
Switch up the batteries
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be (Yeah)
Hoo
(Be)
Yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah, yeah, yeah
If you gave me a chance I would take it
It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it
Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be
When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be
This morning I cranked out another walk with Ed and my friend Kim. A good portion of the trail runs along the Cañada del Oro wash, which when it rains turns from what's generally a dry river bed all year long, into a raging river. There was no water today. The sun was shining and the air was cold. Perfect walking weather for me.
I've never been on this trail before. Shocker. Kim has walked it and Ed has biked it. Part of it is used for horses so we had to wade through a lot of deep sand - easy on horse hooves, not so great for me. It was like walking on deep beach sand and I had to empty my shoes when we got to the end of that section. I wasn't too happy about that.
Oh, and there's also a hill. It doesn't look like a hill because it's so gradual, but I felt it. If I'm going to do this hateful exercise thing, I need to start out on land that's Kansas flat. Baby steps. I think tomorrow I may try an indoor walk with Leslie Sansone and then do another outdoor thing with Kim on Saturday.
I have to get as many walks in as I can while I'm home because when we go back on the road, I'm going to have to be used to this shit.
I like simple, usually cold breakfasts - cottage cheese and fruit or yogurt and fruit. That's it. Occasionally I'll do oatmeal but I really don't like to get up in the morning and cook, and I really don't like eating a big meal in the morning.
The only exception is when someone else is cooking - and usually that means a place where I can get French toast or a Belgian waffle since those are two things I never make.
Ed, on the other hand, likes a big, hearty breakfast. And he'll eat almost anything you put in front of him - pancakes, quiche, waffles, frittata, biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, breakfast burrito, anything. He even ate pickled fish for breakfast when he was in Norway.
So while I'm scooping out yogurt and cutting up strawberries, he's whipping up cheesy omelettes with salsa and avocado, crispy bacon (he always makes two pieces for me), and a side of Dave's Killer Bread, toasted.
I crank out some pretty delicious meals from midday on, but Ed is your man if you want to start your day with something substantial and delicious.
And you can place your order by just pointing at the photo above.
We went shopping today for furniture. We started out at Bassett, which is going out of business after being in town for over 10 years, so we wanted to see what they had left. After Bassett, we hit Sam Levitz. They have so much stuff. Lots of nice things, really pretty living room groupings, dining sets, accessories. I saw a sectional couch I wanted to live in.
My mother bought a new bedroom set which gets delivered this weekend. She's beyond excited.
Our friends came to visit us this weekend and while they were here we walked the property - Ed was showing them the points the surveyor marked - and took some pictures. This is one of mine, looking at the house from the east side of the property.
Out here we have what's called "natural desert landscape". I think it's kinda hideous. Brown, brownish-green, green, greenish-gray, gray, grayish brown. Every once in a while you'll see purple, and in the spring there are flowers, but it's still essentially blah.
There are lots of companies that do beautiful landscape designs. Some use the natural desert as you see it here, just a lot neater and usually incorporating decorative rock into the layout, and others do more greenery, maybe patches of grassy areas, and colorful flowers.
At one time we had lemon, grapefruit, and pomegranate trees in our backyard, and the front yard hadn't been washed away by heavy rains like we had two years ago and then again just recently. We're considering in the next year doing some work to the yard and making it a little more appealing.
When that eventually happens, I'll be glad to have some photos to look back on.
Carbonated Water: Fizzy water, created by dissolving carbon dioxide gas under pressure into regular 'ol water.
Caramel Color: Water-soluble food coloring found in everything from bread to soft drinks, beer to barbecue sauce, potato chips to cough syrup. It's in a lot of stuff.
Aspartame: An artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar. Some people believe aspartame causes cancer. I'm not one of them.
Phosphoric Acid: A clear, colorless, odorless liquid with a syrupy consistency that gives colas their tangy flavor. It's also commonly used for rust removal. But, a consumer watchdog group found that "only a small fraction of the phosphate in the American diet comes from additives in soft drinks. Most come from meat and dairy products."
Potassium Benzoate: A food preservative found in fruit juice, sparkling drinks, pickles, salad dressings, syrups, jams, olives, etc. It's also what gives many fireworks their "whistle".
Natural Flavors: Nobody knows what the hell this really means anymore.
Citric Acid: A weak organic acid naturally found in citrus fruits - oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes - that's a natural preservative and also used to add a sour taste to foods and soft drinks.
Those seven ingredients, combined, make pure evil.
OK, really, it's just what they put in Caffeine Free Diet Coke.
The very same Diet Coke I've been drinking, even though I swore off of it a little over two weeks ago.
I have to confess - I've failed miserably in the Diet Coke department. I fell off the wagon a bit in other areas too - some sugar and my favorite General Foods International drink - but I did make some improvements.
I walked. Only three times, but about a mile each time. And I'm doing more this week.
I didn't have any Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, cheese danishes, or white rice. I said no to dessert more times than not, and ordered a few salads when dining out. Shit, dining out is a killer because I like SO MANY things!
I did very well eating breakfast - which isn't hard because it's the easiest meal for me to tackle- did pretty decent with portion sizes, and I didn't post one kale recipe.
My friends came to visit and I made some really delicious meals. Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Black Olives, Brown Rice, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts (which were amaaaazing!). Another night I made Flounder stuff with Crabmeat and Shrimp, a Quinoa and Five Grain blend, and Roasted Green Beans. And the last night, spaghetti (for Marlaina), but also what I thought was a kick-ass Spinach Lasagna. Although I did go a little overboard on the Artisan breads from Sprouts.
On the upside, since September 30, I have lost 16 pounds. You'd never know it by looking, but that's what the scale told me. And I had my friend Marlaina calibrate it while she was here. She knows her weight to the ounce and confirmed its accuracy. On her, a 16-pound loss would turn her into a waif, on me, the difference is as visible as a waif-er. But it's still gone.
So, that's really it. Just wanted to check in, tell you I'm still working on it, thank you for the support and encouragement via emails and comments, and to let you know I'm still continuing on.
I'm not completely convinced it's going to get easier, but I suspect it will.
Those are not specks on your screen. Those nine black dots that you're currently trying to scrape off your screen with a fingernail, are skydivers.
Yes, skydivers. People who jump out of planes. On purpose and supposedly for fun.
We picked up our friends Marlaina and MacG at the T/A in Eloy today. They're spending the weekend with us. Our first stop was lunch and since it's Eloy - which is basically consists of dirt, cotton, and correction centers - our choices were limited.
When we arrived we saw planes circling and skydivers falling from the sky. Lots of them - at one point, we counted 20 divers in the sky.
We all ordered the Bent Prop burger - not bad, served with a giant slice of green chile - and scarfed down our meals since all four of us were on the edge of starving.
There were only a few customers in the bar area, more in the main dining area, and several sitting outside dining and watching skydivers hit the dirt.
The quiet of the building interior belied the crowd just outside the doors. People sitting on the back patio of the salon, wandering the grounds, and in their own lawn chairs just in front of the landing area.
It was definitely a good call since lunch came with a show. After watching a few jumps - and one guy fall to the earth without a parachute (we were told he was okay) - we headed back to the house.
I've never seen skydivers this closely. The divers seemed pretty young (and fit!) and seemed experienced, if their landings were any indication. I only saw one guy come in and land on his ass.
There were also quite a few guys in camo since they also do military jump training at this location.
Skydive Arizona bills itself as the "world's largest skydiving center" since they average 135,000 dives per year.
There's a chance of death involved - a guy just died in a jump a few days ago, and another one on New Year's Eve - so it's not anything I would ever do, but all in all, it was an interesting find.
Vejigantes Taino - Puerto Rico collage by Galina Victoria (2013)
My mother recently went to see the new apartment of one of her lady friends. While there, she dispensed with decorating ideas. My mother has what one might call an artist's eye, which can mean two things - she sees shades of colors that the untrained eye doesn't and has a keen sense of what looks good together, or everything in the place is so colorful it looks like a Puerto Rican decorated. The day after her visit, she was so achy she couldn't move. She did too much. And she and her friend fell while moving a rug. She's 73 years old and doesn't need to be moving furniture.
Which brings me to the conversation we had a few months ago about her desire to purchase a gun so she could defend herself.
When she recently brought it up again - because she heard some news story that involved self-defense - I had to, pardon the pun, shoot her down.
"See? That's why I need a gun." she said, "In case that happens to me."
"Mom, please. First, it's unlikely anything like that is going to happen to you. And second, you can't even move an area rug without falling over. What makes you think you can wield a gun??"
So if you see a chubby little Italian lady in a super-bright, colorful muumuu coming at you...
Run - because she might be packing - or distract her by asking for help to move your furniture.
Ed and I are always watching HGTV, looking for houses, and talking about home design. OK, maybe that last one is just me, but we do indulge in the other two as a couple.
I have several websites and blogs I like to browse for ideas. These are my current five favorites.
Houzz - This one pretty much covers everything and it's my top site.
Wayfair - if you haven't seen their commercials, you probably live in a cave with no TV.
Dear Lillie - This is a new one I found and I love it.
We had javelinas outside the door again. We heard them banging on the window, where the bird-feeders are. They were eating the old bread we put out and sucking up the wild bird seed. There were three of them - the same ones that always come around - Papa, Mama, Baby. Not that I recognize them, but they're always together and they range in size from small, medium, large. I cracked the door to take pictures and was wondering why they kept moving closer to me. They never do that, they're usually afraid. The smallest one kept yawning, showing teeth that looked ready to shred.
I was getting a little nervous with them getting closer because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hold the camera steady and hold the door if they charged me and tried to get at me. Or get in.
I still didn't know why they were creeping closer. Until something moved at my feet.
It was the cat! She was inching out the door, curious. Holy crap! She had no idea the imminent danger.
Peccaries - known in these parts as javelinas - are omnivores.
And they eat small animals.
I didn't see Maezy baring any of her teeth during this face-off.
