Confessions of a Grandma

I think the a big part of cooking successfully is paying attention.  There have been times in my life when I have been really into cooking.  There have also been those times when I am just not that interested and it is easy to get distracted.  Distracted cook = failed dishes. I remember a time I was in a drug store with my first husband.  I found him looking at greeting cards.  He had one in his hand and his efforts to keep himself from guffawing loudly had his whole body in a kind of concerning tremor.  The card face: I wanted to get you something useful for your birthday. Inside the card: but you already have a smoke detector. Yeah, so amusing. I did manage to get through Thanksgiving dinner without burning anything, although the mashed potatoes were not hot enough.  The next day I set of the alarm with burnt toast.

Wishing all who celebrate this day the warmth of family and friends around the table. A toast to your good health and happiness

For all of the past summer there has been ongoing road and utility work all around my immediate neighborhood.  Needless to say, traffic has been a nightmare for months.  One stretch of road was complete between the interstate exit and the left hand turn to access a large shopping center was completed and drivers were raving about the improvement in the traffic flow. Previously, the two northbound lanes were set up so right hand turns had a designated lane while the other lane was for cars going straight as well as cars turning left.  Cars turning left have to wait for oncoming southbound traffic which means straight through traffic had to wait behind any left tuning vehicles and, as one would imagine, this often resulted in back ups.  The contractors painted the road markings to indicate that the left lane was dedicated for left turns and the right lane was for right turns and straight through.  Makes sense, right? No.  Vermont Agency of Transportation ...

I left Florida for Burlington, Vermont this past Wednesday.  I flew Delta airline which pretty much guarantees a layover in Atlanta.  The layover was quite a long one this time, which is fine with me.  I much prefer having the time I need to get from one gate to the next. When I got to Atlanta, I looked at the departure board and went to find the gate for my connecting flight.  There were only a few people sitting at that gate so I dropped my bag in one chair and settled into another.  I checked e-mails and read for a bit.  Then I plugged in my earphones and listened to a guided meditation.  I did not fall asleep, but I did slip into a nice, relaxed space in spite of the airport noise.  At the end, I opened my eyes.  The gate area had really filled right up. I looked around, people watching in my zoned out state.  I could hear lots of Southern accents.  Well, I was in Atlanta.  Most of passengers in waiting were Black and I...

The "Snow Birds" are definitely drifting back to Florida homes.  There are noticeably more people in the stores and the restaurants and the streets. I will be heading back north soon,  I considered my trip a working vacation.  I had a lot of little projects to get done, but I had a lot of fun things to do as well.  Yesterday there was an art fair downtown. The main street was closed so artisans could set up shop. Someone got tired of the family silver and decided to make clocks. There were lots of colorful offerings. Paintings and photography, of course. I just like this plant by one booth. I doubt that these mailboxes would pass muster with the HOA. The park was pretty quiet.  I sat here awhile and enjoyed the warmth and a bit of shade on a sunny day. It doesn't seem much like fall, but if you go in any of the stores they are all pretty much decked out for Christmas already. Where does the time go?

My friends and neighbors, Ken and Annamarie, are very social and hospitable types.  They enjoy going out and they enjoy throwing parties and they are fun people to be around. I am much less of a party person.  I like to not invite more people than I can comfortably seat around my table and six is pushing it.  I find it nearly painful to mingle at parties and like to find myself a nice almost out of the way spot to sit until most of the crowd has left. Perhaps their biggest party of the year is the Halloween party they throw.  I arrived on time and enjoyed myself starting around 10 when it was down to the close friends. There were superheroes, doctors, nurses, a priest and a nun, kittens, witches, skeletons, sexy French maid, hippies, and Ozzie Osborne.  I went as a snowflake. Lots of people thought it was a cute reference to my Vermont home.  One astute gentleman made the political connection.  Probably just as well.  Parties are not t...