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Archive for the ‘BY THE WAY’ Category

Chametz?! Today is one of those “first day of your life” days!

Posted in BY THE WAY, Marthaspeak, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

Burning Chametz in Ofra, Passover eve

Burning Chametz in Ofra, Passover eve (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you know what chametz is?  I’m not even sure myself – my sister-in-law, Stacey told me it is the stuff you rid your house of before Passover.  She mentioned something about food stuffs that are not part of the Passover meal or week-long celebration, are thrown out.

Well today was ONE of those days! It’s the day when you open the refrigerator and with newly-opened eyes (in my case I had on glasses) and you SEE!  I mean you really see-the crud in the grooves of the bottom shelf, the jar of mustard that is for all intents and purposes empty and you discover not one, not two but at least 3 jars of capers.  Capers, for God’s sake!!!  Delving deeper into the recesses of the Frigidaire, I found a small container of dried-up cream cheese, a jar of jam that had grown a furry winter coat (it must be really cold in there).  Out with it all!  I threw out a jar of some mysterious brown sauce, I threw out salsa before it had a birthday on Cinco de Mayo and some expired bottles of indeterminate substance!  Out with it all!!

When I had filled up my recycle bin and my trash can, I sprayed the shelves with Simple Green.  I LOVE Simple Green, it cleans everything which means it probably shouldn’t be used in a refrigerator.  Now onto the next project.  Hey this is beginning to sound like Spring Cleaning,

I put the summer slipcover on the antique stuffed chair, changed the pillow covers to colorful awning-stripes and had Peter switch the foyer rug from the dark wine-red Oriental to our seasonal beige patterned rug.  He even took down the winter drapes in our bedroom and put up very light-weight airy beige curtains.  Out with the winter dark colors and in with the spring pastels.

I think what really got me going this morning was the fact that by some inner-maniacal drive force, I completed my income taxes early today.  I was up till 2AM working on the world’s most heinous task – assembling a year’s worth of information, collating it, copying it and preparing a statement for the accountant.  I had almost finished last night, uh, rather early this morning and then got up and finished it up.  I HATE doing the taxes!  BUT, when it’s done, I feel so good!

Spring is the time of renewal and rebirth; what was gray, brown and barren bursts forth into bright green life.  Flowers re-appear out of virtually nowhere since the ground looked like just ground to me and along with new tufts of grass, I noticed the lawn was also sprouting bunches of wild onions and even a few dandelions.  AND I get the urge to clean.  My mother always did spring cleaning and so do I.  My mother changed the carpets, drapes and slipcovers to reflect the new season and so do I.  Old habits or genetic programming?  The windows will be washed inside and out-here in NYC, we hire a man to do them but at the cottage, we’ll do them.  This year the carpeting and the couches in the apartment need steam-cleaning.  OUT with it ALL; dirt, dust, grime and most of all, the Chametz!

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Easter Sunday-Fifth Avenue-New York City

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012| 3 Comments »

It takes a couple of days for the photos to get up and online.  Today, our friend, Helen, posted her photos and I have snagged a few to show my readers.  She was much better than I was at taking pictures!  And I’m happy that there is one of her in the bunch because I didn’t have one and she spent the day with us at the Parade.

More to follow…hopefully by tomorrow – those will be the ones my son took and I know he snapped some really great ones.

Easter Parade, New York city, easter hats

Each year we meet up with this lovely couple from MA. Their outfits are impeccable and authentic!

Easter bonnets, easter hats, new york city

Bigger Is Better??

easter egg, easter parade nyc 2012, violets

Which came first the egg or the violets?

Easter parade, easter hat, Helen Uffner, sunglasses

Our friend, Helen is on the far right!

Greg Moore, Easter parade, top hat and tails

Our friend, Greg in top hat and tails! He looks so debonair.

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Easter Hats on Parade

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

If I had the money, time, where-with-all, materials or money to buy one of these FABULOUS hats, you would have seen me on The Avenue yesterday parading like a peacock.  These fantastic creations are by Dee’s in Kentucky where these hats are created for the Kentucky Derby.  I realized as I was scrolling through the gallery of photos of one more terrific creation after another, how much I would love to go to her store and take one of the classes on making a real Derby hat.  Maybe I just will do that next year!!!

Easter parade, easter hat, easter bonnet, NYC

Pink and Green and Light as Spring

Easter hat, easter parade nyc 2012, easter bonnet

Classic Black and Red and White

Easter bonnet, easter parade, nyc 2012

Think Ribbon Candy, Yum Yum

Easter parade

Step out of Church and onto Fifth Avenue

Easter parade, easter hat, nyc 2012

Perfect with a Channel suit

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A Zissen Pesach! Happy Easter!

Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 3 Comments »

Passover plate with symbolic foods: maror, egg...

Passover plate with symbolic foods: maror, egg, haroset, karpas, zro'ah, dish of salt water

I haven’t taken the time to calculate how often the Jewish holiday of Passover coincides with Easter, but of course it does happen now and again.  That makes this weekend VERY HOLY and VERY  SPECIAL!

It started on Thursday for the Christians with Holy or Maundy Thursday services.  I remember them well.  This was the terrible night in the Garden of Gethsemane when, while Jesus prayed, Judas dropped the dime on him or in his case, 30 pieces of silver.  Now the term 30 pieces of silver has come to denote ultimate betrayal.  Once the deed was done, and Judas was remorseful he hung himself which only would have compounded his sins in the eyes of the Church.  But then again, there was no Church at that time!.

Next came Good Friday which ironically is one of the most somber days of religious observation for the Christians and an evening of joyous celebratory feasting for the Jews.  Although also threaded with somewhat somber overtones as the story of the Jews plight from Egypt is read at the evening’s Seder, it is also a time for families to gather together to share in this traditional meal replete with special and significant dishes.  While Jewish families are feasting on brisket, gifelte fish and matzoh ball soup, Christians are fasting between meals and eating only seafood as is their tradition on Good Friday.  Why do they call it GOOD?  I haven’t done any research prior to writing this blog and I’m ashamed to admit that 6 years in St. John’s Parochial School didn’t leave me with the answer, but if you know it, please share with us all.  My only guess is that according to my Catholic beliefs, it is characterized as good because that’s the day Jesus saved us all by sacrificing himself for our original sins – well that’s the way the story goes anyway.  Also, the word good is derived from the word pious which means holy, so perhaps we should refer to it as Holy Friday.  We always went to a long and arduous service on Good Friday;  There was the Stations of the Cross,  a long sermon and most of all I remember that at one point, the priest would call out things we would implore God to grant or guide us by responding with “Lord, Pray for us” or “Lord Hear Our Prayer”. One of my favorite memories, as I like to tell my Jewish husband,  is kneeling in church and the priest intoning something about the Jews of the world and our collective response “Lord, Hear our prayer” .

Today is Holy Saturday and as a kid, I remember it as thank God, we don’t have to go to church today, we can eat what we want and tomorrow although a going-to-Mass day would still be a celebration.  My girlfriends were allowed to gather but it was supposed to be a day of quiet play and I remember so clearly, sitting on my front steps playing ball and jacks with my two best friends.

This year Saturday is also the second night of Passover and we are on our way to Brooklyn to join in a non-religious Seder meal at my sister-in-law’s.   They will read from a Haggadah, however it will be devoid of any reference to God.  Mmmm unusual…but befitting of their own atheistic beliefs.

Tomorrow is Easter, the hat is ready, the outfit sort of picked out.  Photos to follow.

A Zissen Pesach and Happy Easter to all.

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“Balls to the Wall” “Under the Gun” – I’m DONE!

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Obscure Origins of Common and Not So Common Phrases, Only in New York, tagged , , , , on April 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

YUP, it’s DONE! 

Of course I had to go “balls to the wall” while “under the gun”.  And now to explore the origins of these motivational expressions!

Balls to the Wall

It probably doesn’t mean what you think, or do you?  Well it does mean, as in my case, to go all out, full throttle as fast as you can.  And full throttle is the key to the meaning and origin of this phrase.  It’s a military aviation term;  Many planes have a ball-top grip on the control sticks.  The throttle, the mechanism to accelerate the engines, is pushed all the way forward towards the firewall which prevents an engine fire from entering the rest of the plane.  The joystick, which if pushed forward to the firewall sends the plane into a dive, so literally putting the balls to the wall would send the plane into a maximum speed dive and figuratively going balls to the wall is doing something all-out with maximum effort.

Under the Gun

This one’s so simple, I’m sure you already know it or will figure it out in a second.  Want to get someone to do something real quick – point the gun at them!  And as in my case, you can do it to yourself although that does sound rather suicidal.

I managed to get the hat done before dinner, scrape the hot glue off my fingertips, pack up the ribbons, sweep away the scraps of leaves and wire clippings.  The end result is slightly different from I had planned – not sure how I forgot about the “mirror” effect.  I had done the whole hat before I realized my error!  However, I figured a flower here, a ribbon there, a bit more crinoline and probably  I could make it work.  I think I did, do you?

Easter Parade, New York City, purple hat, yellow lillies

Purple and Yellow - So EASTER!

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Down to the Wire – Back Up Against the Wall

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Obscure Origins of Common and Not So Common Phrases, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , on April 5, 2012| 1 Comment »

What do those two expression conjure up in your mind?  Well if you are in my age category, these phrases have  been used for years to denote a deadline that is rapidly approaching, the sense of urgency needed to complete a task.

This is a two-part blog: First of all let’s explore the origin of these expressions.

Down to the Wire

There is a wire strung above the Finish Line on race track so that a camera set above the wire can photograph the contestants as they cross.  Most often used in reference to horse racing where two horses may cross almost simultaneously.  The camera captures the image of one horse winning by a nose.  The metaphor has extended to other races such as political elections where the candidate can win by a nose, get nosed out and finish out of the money.

Back Up Against the Wall

I was surprised when I did the research about the origins of this phrase.  I stated that it had more to do with a deadline when actually it’s  more like making a last-ditch effort (before the deadline?) to win/complete because retreat is unavoidable.  It literally means when your back is up against the wall you have no choice but to persevere because you have backed up as far as you can, and are now against the wall with the enemy advancing. 

So what is part two and how are they related?  It’s now Thursday at 4:00pm and the Easter hat has yet to be made!!! YIKES!  Time is running out like a pin hole in a water bottle – NO, actually I think I am now in the pin-hole-in-a-balloon stage and it’s about to whiz right past me. 

I’ve  made several Easter bonnets over the years, sometimes re-working a previous hat into a new creation, sometimes inspired to start from scratch.  So what’s  happened to me this year? I believe these are the inside/outside forces that are counter-attacking my creative efforts;  I’ve been slightly down and out, mildly depressed for the last couple of months (don’t ask, there are so many reasons and none to be aired in the blog) and BECAUSE of that I, as has been my life-long nemesis – Eat.  It has been a sugary binge of cookies, cheesecake, and ice cream, preceded by two of my favorite food groups,  peanut butter and bread.  Ok, we should probably also throw in the pasta, cheese and nuts into the mix.  This all adds up to an extra 10 lbs so I’m not feeling like I want to dress up (probably won’t fit anyway) for the Parade and  so who needs a hat?

Additionally I’m annoyed at my daughter because she can’t find the flower ring I made for Finley last year.  I planned on re-doing it with pink roses.  Now I have to return the roses and I guess Finley won’t have an Easter bonnet.  But as my husband reminded me, what’s important to me is not necessarily important to my daughter.

Lastly, we have the inevitable holiday celebration/dilemma/debacle that hounds most non-intact (read divorced) families.  I understand that she is in the middle so to speak, so instead of Peter and I and Chiara and family strolling along the Avenue, a rather unwieldy number of participants will be converging for Brunch, Parade and supper – that’s not exactly what I want to do.  Besides, we’ve now been invited to join a fun group that takes dressing-up in period clothes very seriously for a drink at The University Club and also meet up with them at a predesignated spot where a mutual friend and superb band leader, Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra is going to perform on Fifth Avenue.   So I think we’ll go to the Parade with my son, maybe meet up with the family gang on Fifth Avenue but if not, we’ll see them all later for a light supper.  BUT of course, I MUST stop typing and go create the hat 😦

Finley Ray, Easter parade 2011, Fifth Avenue, Easter hat, easter bonnet

Finley and Gigi on the Avenue 2011

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Que Sera Sera! Happy Belated Birthday Doris Day!

Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged , , , , , , , on April 5, 2012| 1 Comment »

Doris Day

Doris Day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Can you believe it?  Doris Day is 88 years old!!! Oh my…. No one has heard from or seen Doris Day for about 40 years.  Once she gave up making movies, she became a bit of recluse in California.

She devoted her life to rescuing animals.  She gave possibly the first-ever-since-retirement interview to NPR.  I heard the interview on the radio Monday.  Yes, she still sounds like Doris Day.

She described to the interviewer how she altered her house to accommodate her ever-growing menagerie of animals.  Presently, she has 6 dogs and about 10 cats.  The cats have their own wing of the house with lots of glass including a glass ceiling so that they can see the trees, the birds and according to Ms. Day they (the cats) love the sound of rain.

TCM, which contrary to what our cable company believes IS the ONLY channel we seem to be able to get on the den’s TV.  I know that sounds peculiar but that seems to be what happens….EXCEPT for when the weather is clear, we are able to access MSNBC.  OK, I digress…

Back to TCM; The Turner Classic Movie station released a DVD collection of five of her early films to honor one of Hollywood’s biggest box-office stars and Masterworks, in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies Network released a new 2-disk CD set.  Doris, herself, curated the album.

Her movies have been featured for the last 3 nights on TCM and I’ve seen the serious side of Doris Day in movies such as Midnight Lace and Storm Warning-quite different from the smiling, singing, sweetheart who frolicked through those 50’s-60’s romantic comedies.  Actually, I’m thankful that tonight they are showing the few dramas she made because I can only stomach so much syrupy slosh.

Happy Birthday Doris!

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MIA !! Oh Mama Where Have You Been?

Posted in BY THE WAY, tagged , , , , , , , on April 3, 2012| 2 Comments »

I’ve been Missing In Action for more days than I realized-I was shocked to see the date of my last post.  So what has been going on? I can’t say it’s any one thing that has kept me away from the keyboard, just sometimes life takes over.

There’s been much turmoil in my house lately.  Health issues (not mine) played a major role in keeping me otherwise occupied.   I’ve had some work commitments out-of-state, there was a death in the family, and it seems when the season changes, there’s never enough time to do what needs to be done.  Just life taking over as I said.

I had a couple of ideas about writing a blog and somehow could not sit down and write them.  One was about being superstitious and that idea is still floating around in my head.  Oh and the political circus of Republican primaries certainly is bloggy fodder.  I’m going to attempt to create my an Easter bonnet for the Easter Parade on Sunday – maybe I’ll get some photos.

There’s more of course,  but a promise made to my husband not to  write a lot about our private lives or more specifically his, is the reason this blog is so weird tonight!  I’m not trying to tease you dear readers, I just can’t go into “the gory details”.  I hope this period of emotional stressis over because as is my most neurotic habit, I have been eating and eating and eating and eating again.  So now, I have to get my head on straight about seriously dieting – oh yuck!

easter bonnet

Easter Bonnet (Photo credit: starsantiques)

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Erin Go Braugh

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, tagged , , , , , , , on March 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

parade

It’s a grand day to be Irish for sure…however, if you live in New York City like I do, then even if you’re not Irish, it’s grand day after all.  The sun is shining, the City is full of green-clad, shamrock-adorned folks.  Kids are wearing Irish cable knit sweaters and green deely-boppers on their heads. Kilts in every tartan you can imagine, politicians sporting green carnation boutineers and tams.  The air has been filled all day with the wailing mournful sound of the bagpipes.

We went to the parade early today and took Finley with us.  She enjoyed hanging onto the barricade at curbside and watched as bagpipers, horn-blowers and drummers marched by.  The flags were flying, the bands marching, majorettes twirling and thousands of people walking up Fifth Avenue following the famous green center line.

It was the perfect day for a parade, not too hot, not too cold and not raining  as it has in some past years.  However, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would hear the familiar “I have to pee”.  If you’ve been to a parade with a child, you know it’s inevitable and if you’re on Fifth Avenue in the middle of Manhattan, you know it’s impossible!

I gathered her up and we pushed our way through the crowds to get to a side street.  We were in the East mid-60’s so I figured if we got to Madison, perhaps I would find a restaurant or store where she could use the rest room.  As we were rushing past stores and shops, I was telling Finley, “no, not this one, no we can’t go in there, no bathroom”.   With that inimitable wisdom of a three and a half year old, Finley said, “Why not, every place has a bathroom”. As they say, out of the mouths of babes!  After a two block hike with little Finny repeating her needs to me in a plaintive voice, I spied Bar Italia and walked in and said to the hostess at the door that I needed to take her (Finley) to the bathroom.  She looked at me and smiled and said, “I’m sorry, the rest rooms are only for our customers”.  I was furious!  I looked at her and said in a loud voice, “That’s ridiculous and it’s illegal” and swept past her carrying Finley and walked right through the entire restaurant to the back, asked a bus boy where the ladies room was and carried Finny in.   I noticed someone had left a Dior compact on the vanity so on my way out, for a final coup de grace,  I slapped the compact down on the counter in front of her and muttered, “someone left this in your ladies room” and stormed out.

Boy did that feel good!  By the way, I don’t know whether it’s legal or not to restrict the use of a bathroom in a public restaurant and I certainly understand that  restaurants don’t want derelicts or homeless people coming in to use the facilities;  However, I’m a woman of a certain age carrying a toddler, really what horrible things  might we have done in that bathroom?

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“Make New Friends. Keep The Old…

Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, New York Speaks, Only in New York, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 15, 2012| 7 Comments »

One is Silver and the other is Gold.”

Two nights ago the Empire State Building was lit totally in green to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America!  Some things you just never forget and I always remember that Girl Scout saying about silver and gold friends.

Tonight I had dinner with a Gold friend, Janet.  We worked together when we both lived in Connecticut and we played together when we were both divorced moms with young pre-teen girls!  Tonight was a night of reliving fond memories, catching up on spouses, kids and grandkids.  There’s song that New Found Glory recorded; Right Where We Left Off and dinner tonight with my old friend was just like that!

This blog is a virtual hug for you, Janet and also a big Thank You to Murray, Pbenjay’s staff photographer.  Now what does one have to do with other?  Tonight Janet asked me, “Who is Murray?” After I explained our relationship grown out of a life-long friendship between Murray and my husband, Janet exclaimed and extolled the merits of Murray’s photos!  Well you don’t have to convince me, that’s for sure.  She mentioned that through his beautiful, artistic, striking and personal photos of New York City, she feels like she lives here (which is about 3,000 miles away from where she resides).

So this one’s for you Janet through the lens of Murray’s camera.

Girl Scouts, 100th anniversary, Manhattan, NYC

Celebrating Girl Scouts of America 100th Anniversary

Central Park, March 2012

Pink Blossoms-Manhattan in March

Central Park, New York city, volley ball
Central Park, stone bridge, two ducks, mallard, New York City

Strolling Ducks in the Park

Red tractor trailer truck,

This is Manhattan in March

Red tail hawk

Yes, A Hawk in Manhattan

AAll photos courtesy of Murray Head

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