My folks lived in a wonderful retirement community that offered dirt-cheap living with tons of activities, clubs, swimming pools, congenial neighbors and free bus service to almost anywhere one could possibly need to get to. Although they are both long gone, I still have kept and maintained their condo. I am not exactly sure why I have been reluctant to part with it except that it represents a happy and affordable place I could go to in my worst possible case scenario.
One benefit of this little place is that it is close to the The Famous, a huge Jewish grocery/deli (owned and run by Pakistanis) that titillates my senses and quickly transports me back to my youth and a ton of happy memories, all associated with Food. The food of our ethnic heritage - no matter what that heritage is - is like the cement (pun intended) that binds us (pun intended) to our past, our traditions, our inheritance and our legacy.
The Famous boasts every variety of lox, pickles, matzo balls, chopped liver, knishes, kreplach, smoked fish, rye bread, rum balls, challah, rugaleh, cabbage soup, potato pancakes, corned beef, cucumbers-in-vinegar and every other yummy treat I could imagine. I guess even if my worst case scenario comes to pass (poo-poo-poo) I won't have it too, too bad!
;-)
Hurricane Isaac is pummeling New Orleans ("Nawlins") as I write this.
New Orleans is my favorite city, aside from my two hometowns of course. I adore all things Nawlins, from the French Quarter to the Cafe du Monde (beignets!). I have Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana cookbook and have tried to recreate those great Cajun dishes.
My second favorite movie is "The Big Easy" with Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. My favorite dress (now over 25 years old) is still the fabulous black shirtwaist with the wide belt I just-had-to-buy when I last visited New Orleans. I still get compliments whenever I wear it.
This photograph - taken in the rain when I was up but the French Quarter was still asleep - hangs in the bedroom where it can quickly transport me back in time. And of course, I visit Popeye's whenever I feel the urge (often).
I've visited New Orleans three times and have seen Mardi Gras live twice. I hope and pray this incredible corner of the world will be safe from this storm and still there for me to visit and enjoy again and again.
I'm surfing the net, a fabulous time waster. Here are my "finds" for this morning.
"BIC For Her" pens. Ha ha. How silly. Imagine these technical specs: "designed to fit comfortably in a woman's hand" with an "attractive barrel design available in pink and purple". This borders on sacrilegious for me - I have a soft spot for the original BIC pens with the clear crystal barrels that got me through college at a cost of $.19 each. Not to mention being slightly sexist...
Anti-Semitic Attack at Michigan State. Oh, excuse me, the ALLEGED Anti-Semitic Hate Crime.
Butterball Turkeys Abused. I love my Butterball turkey which is my only choice at Thanksgiving. I even name them (before I stuff them and cook them and eat them).
Urban Outfitters T-shirts glorify alcohol drinking. What parent will buy these for their teen? It's enough to drive a parent to drink.
Maybe I need a drink. Time for coffee. End of surfing (for today).
;-)
I've been retired exactly 6 months and I can honestly say I am happy not to have to set the alarm clock or cram tons of errands and chores into a day that is already filled with ten hours of work. I liked that when we got a hurricane warning I didn't face hours at the Emergency Operations Center. I love being able to do whatever I want anytime I want and to include volunteering at the shul and shopping at the thrift store and laying by the pool in my day. And I like wearing my tank tops and blue jeans and flip flops every day.
But I miss my staff. I worry about Donald and his health problems and I wonder how his grandson is doing since Donald's daughter, his mom, died. I want to hear about Alessandro's new house and his four kids and his wife (who I adore). I miss Leonid's wacky sense of humor and his advice on the latest techie gadgets (we owe the slingbox to his advice - he uses one to get Russian TV for his grandparents and parents here in Florida). I miss Angie, even though we meet for lunch frequently. I miss Denis whose little boy Mateo has been in a nursing facility since he was born a year ago. I miss Sheila and Maria and Willie and Cathy and Bill and Ricardo and all the other propeller-heads in IT.
They invited me to their pot-luck lunch on Thursday! Yay! I can't wait!
I spent a lot of last week preparing for Tropical Storm Isaac, stocking up on gas and food, following the NOAA hurricane map, pulling the shutters at the beach, that kind of thing. After almost 17 years in Florida, it's become rather routine and like the other seasoned residents here, it doesn't really cause me a lot of anguish. The folks in the Keys have this down to a science and they were "barely stirred from their famed nonchalance".
But waiting out hurricane or tropical storm day is rough. It is a day out of time, away from my normal routine, and it seems to stretch out endlessly. It is gloomy and spooky, and there's this weird calm even as rain and wind are out in full force. I wander from room to room and watch TV as the storm pummels wherever it has decided to make its presence felt. Even though I have productive things I might be doing, I don't feel like doing any of them. I can hardly wait to stop languishing around and get back to "normal" and once again feel a rush of energy. They've lifted the warnings and watches as I write this, but the rain is still heavy and I am still in my funk.
Isaac could have been far worse and for that I am grateful. And I still adore living in Paradise!
OK I admit it, I think the cable news channels and all their screwball pundits are more interesting than those horrid reality and game shows. It is especially fun to watch two or more talking heads with opposing views go at each other like it's the heavyweight boxing championship.
So when speculation abounded about Romney's "short list" for Veep, I of course had an opinion. I said he should pick Paul Ryan. Not that he would pick Paul Ryan but that he should. My reasoning? Mitt Romney is dull as dishwater, has a (well deserved) reputation as a flip-flopper and although being tall, handsome and Presidential looking, he has the personal magnetism of vanilla pudding. Paul Ryan, whatever one thinks of his convictions (I am personally waaay to the left of his social policies) at least HAS convictions. Also energy, personality and a reputation as a straight shooter who is not afraid to tell-it-like-it-is. Exactly what Romney lacks. Romney's choice also elevated his standing as a risk taker and not just someone who does the politically advantaged thing.
I think if I hadn't had a great career in IT I would have liked to have been a back-office political strategist, run campaigns, crunch numbers, that kind of thing. But now I'm content to watch the drama from my comfy reclining sofa.
;-)
Hubby is 65 today. OMG he even has a Medicare card! What happened to that tall, skinny, 18-year-old?
His hair is still rusty brown, although strands of silver run through it. His eyes are still green but now I see them through his Transitions progressive bifocals. He's no longer skinny but hey, he still thinks I'm smart and pretty and funny and - to complete his delusion - a good cook.
Happy Birthday Hubby. And many, many, many more!
These usually refer to surprise babies but in my case "late life surprises" are those things that entered my life in the last few years, like reconnecting with old friends (some whose names I had forgotten) and learning to play poker.
I never thought I could learn play poker although I have always harbored a secret desire to play. Once you know the basics, it's just a matter of playing a zillion games and honing your instincts and skill. This could only have been accomplished (by me) by playing free poker online (thanks Zynga!) otherwise I would be broke by now.
I strive to break even and maybe inch ahead in my virtual chip stash. I've even met virtual poker "buddies" (not to be confused with virtual friends-of-friends whom I also have never met) that I look forward to playing with.
Poker seems to be a universal language that the whole world knows. It is not unusual to find a Mohammad or Abdul playing with an Avi or Yitzak in a virtual poker room. It's kind of cool to have joined this happy multinational consortium who come to the table and bring their chips.
;-)
I have a free subscription to Entertainment Weekly, compliments of the points I earn for recycling. I may even pay for it after the free subscription ends because it's given me so many great tips on books, movies and TV shows.
The best one was a tip that Hulu has been showing Prisoners of War, the series that inspired Homeland, one of my top 3 or 4 favorite TV shows. Prisoners of War is an Israeli series so I need to play close attention to the English subtitles - no mopping the floor or grabbing a snack while I watch TV from the corner of my eye.
I enjoy it so much I've put other Israeli movies on my Netflix list - Out of Sight, Time of Favor and Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story. If I watch enough perhaps I may come to understand a bit of Hebrew?!? In any case, I'll enjoy a good (hopefully) movie.
;-)
