Pbenjay's Blog

You’ve Heard of THE SISTERHOOD of the TRAVELING PANTS

July 25, 2010 by pbenjay

This is the saga of

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING LAPTOP

Brian, the son of Susan and Jim, friends of mine, moved from New York City to Los Angeles where he and his wife went to further pursue their acting careers. He needed a sub-let tenant for their co-op for about 6 months, not always an easy thing to do. BUT, he found an actor who needed to be in New York for about 6 months. Problem solved – actors stick together.

Soon after settling in L.A. , Brian decides to purchase a Mac laptop and offers his Dell laptop to his mother. But how to get it from Los Angeles to New York City?? Enter stage right, another actor; Sam. Sam is a longtime friend of Sharon, Brian’s wife. It seems that Sam is headed for New York where he has a role waiting for him that should last a few months and he won’t have a computer when he is there. Actors stick together-problem solved. Sam can take the Dell with him to New York and use it for the time he is there. When he is about to return to Los Angeles, Susan and Jim will pick it up on one of their trips to the City. A time line is loosely in place.

The job in New York is extended, Sam is not about to return to L.A. and the trip to Manhattan by Susan and Jim came and went. MMMmmmmm …well no big deal because Susan doesn’t need the computer imminently anyway. Nobody knows exactly how long the job has been extended and there is no immediate future trip to the City planned. However, Susan has a back-up plan; When Sam knows he is going to return to L.A. , Susan will ask Joe to help her out. Joe, our mutual friend lives in Manhattan, has an office downtown and comes to the Jersey Shore on weekends. Sam is staying farther downtown and so Joe’s office might be a convenient drop-off point. NOT. Joe walks to work and back home and it is quite a distance to carry a laptop. Problem solved-Joe lives in Midtown and if the computer makes it to his building, he will get it and bring it down to Ocean Grove. Friends stick together.

A reasonable plan all around except for the fact that Sam got very short notice that he had to hastily return to L.A. No time to get this computer uptown! Besides he would need a visa to get beyond 14th Street.

Three thousand miles away, Brian is not acting, – he’s too busy being the production manager for the laptop’s return to the East Coast. What to do, what to do? Sam is about to leave New York and the computer is way downtown. Problem solved: Brian calls one his groomsmen, Milo Bernstein, who owns a few designer consignment stores in Manhattan; INA, one of them being downtown. He (Brian) asks his friend, Milo if it would be all right for Sam to drop the Dell laptop off with him (Milo) at his downtown store. Problem solved – friends stick together. If Brian can arrange to get the laptop with Milo, then he can get it uptown so Plan C can be implemented.

Plan C: this is where Peter and I come in. Milo has the laptop AND he lives fairly close to where we live uptown. At this point, Brian reluctantly agrees to have his mother impose on us to pick up the computer and bring it down to the shore on our next trip and deliver to it to her. There weren’t any alternatives; Milo could not keep the computer indefinitely and Susan and Jim did not have a trip to NYC planned in the near future. Problem solved-friends stick together.

Next step was to have Peter arrange a pick-up time with Milo. I left this detail to Peter since I was already jammed up with trying to make appointments to show some apartments on Thursday.

Happy Ending: Peter got the computer; we picked it up at Milo’s building on our way to the Shore and delivered it personally to Susan. Brian could finally stop playing Chess Master, moving his pieces all around the board, the Queen Mother got the computer and all lived happily ever after.

Checkmate!

Posted in Friends, Ha-P 2 B in OG, New York Speaks, Only in New York | Tagged Dell laptop, Joe, Susan and Jim | 1 Comment »

“…and butterflies are free to fly away

July 25, 2010 by pbenjay

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT

When I think of those East End lights, muggy nights
The curtains drawn in the little room downstairs
Prima Donna lord you really should have been there
Sitting like a princess perched in her electric chair
And it’s one more beer and I don’t hear you anymore
We’ve all gone crazy lately
My friends out there rolling round the basement floor

And someone saved my life tonight sugar bear
You almost had your hooks in me didn’t you dear
You nearly had me roped and tied
Altar-bound, hypnotized
Sweet freedom whispered in my ear
You’re a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye

Butterflies are Free to Fly Away

I never realized the passing hours of evening showers
A slip noose hanging in my darkest dreams
I’m strangled by your haunted social scene
Just a pawn out-played by a dominating queen
It’s four o’clock in the morning
Damn it listen to me good
I’m sleeping with myself tonight
Saved in time, thank God my music’s still alive

And I would have walked head on into the deep end of the river
Clinging to your stocks and bonds
Paying your H.P. demands forever
They’re coming in the morning with a truck to take me home
Someone saved my life tonight, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved my life tonight, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved my life tonight
So save your strength and run the field you play alone

Lyrics by Elton John

Posted in Nick & Nora and Flora & Fauna | Tagged Butterfly bush, Elton John, Monarch butterfly, Someone Saved My Life Tonight | 1 Comment »

FooD for THOUGHT

July 24, 2010 by pbenjay

I saw this idea in a SITSza’s blog and thought it would be a different approach for me to take when it comes to food as a topic. I love Tasty Tidbits Tuesday and sharing some of my (and Martha’s) recipes with you.

However, let’s ponder these thoughts; What did you eat growing up that you no longer eat? Do you cook like your mother did? Did your mother teach you to cook or did you wing it as you got older and/or married? What did you call your family meal? Was it supper or dinner? Did your mom bake from scratch or were her baking best friends, Duncan and Betty? Did you all eat the table or on TV tables?

Duncan, a Woman's Best Friend in the Kitchen

Some of us emulate exactly how we ourselves were raised and others take off down another road, inventing themselves along the way.

Here’s my story: Growing up I had to eat everything on my plate. Personally I think this is a horrific way to make children eat. I had to eat things I detested, often smashing the undesirable in a slice of white bread and downing the glob that way! Wonder bread I’m sure. We weren’t allowed to leave the table till our plates were clean. I’m not making excuses for my extra pounds, no one is force feeding me that’s for sure but I do have a tendency to never leave food on my plate.

I used to eat tripe and I don’t eat that anymore, I used to eat more varieties of fish but now I am basically a salmon or white fish eater. I think what is more interesting is that I now eat many foods I hated as a kid. I eat brussel sprouts, cabbage, even eggplant. I hated the summer salad we had of fresh tomatoes and onions. Now I love it and make it all summer long (although I use Vidalia onions).

My mother died when I was very young yet I think I cook like her. I don’t cook like my stepmother as I am much more creative. However, in fairness to her; I control my own grocery budget, am married to a man who would never insult my cooking and I don’t have 5 kids to feed. One thing I learned and continued to follow as an adult is the basic make-up of the meal; We had a meat, a starch, a vegetable and salad. I have cooked that way for the most part all my adult life.

My mother did not teach me to cook. I winged it and believe me my first night home after the honeymoon, I was in a panic trying to cook dinner. I swear I did not know how to make mashed potatoes or cook chicken. I probably bought frozen peas or string beans too. I did learn a lot about cooking from my mother-in-law. She showed me how to make many of the family favorites although my former husband would always say it wasn’t as good as his mother’s. And my cookbooks and magazines – I’ve always had the ability to look at a recipe and know whether or not it would be good and I follow recipes. I wanted to teach my daughter to cook but she had no interest in learning from me. She has picked up her skills by reading as I did and probably asks some of her friends.

READ it, Make it, Eat it

Growing up we always had supper and it was always around 5:00 or 5:30 and I mean always! We sat together at the table in the kitchen. When I was married and had children we did the same in terms of eating together but certainly not at 5pm! Nowadays, my husband and I eat at tray tables and watch MSNBC or Jeopardy and it is more likely food that was ordered in than cooked-at least that’s what we do in the City. In New Jersey, I love to cook!

My mother baked from scratch and my stepmother baked with cake mixes. Of course I have no idea as to whether or not there were cake mixes in the early 50’s. When raising my own family, I did both. I made some great cakes and pies but now, well again that’s another story. I did try to explain to my daughter why her cake fell and how baking was more like a science, you can’t really guess about the measurements!!

Now it’s your turn to tell your story! Please!!

Posted in Everyday Food, Marthaspeak | Tagged Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, Wonder bread | Leave a Comment »

Fab Foto Friday – RED IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

July 23, 2010 by pbenjay

It’s been so bloody hot here I thought today’s art work should reflect the mood. Art is Where You Find It and RED too!

Carriage Horses with Red Plumes

Only in LIttle Italy

This is as good as any place to sit for now

Red is where you find the man who find the cans

A Cartier Crown

All photos courtesy of Murray Head.

Murray is a native New Yorker (Brooklyn born), a professional photographer who seemingly effortlessly captures the essence of THE CITY. It is of course, with great effort,talent and patience that Murray is able to take his photos.

RED IS WHERE YOU FIND IT is a series of snippets of red here and there in and around New York City or wherever Murray and his camera happen to be.

Posted in Fab Fotos | Tagged Cartier, Little Italy, Murray Head | 4 Comments »

Thursday’s Ten Tips Using WD-40

July 21, 2010 by pbenjay

Here’s TEN more reasons why you should keep a can of WD-40 on hand! Last week a SITza wrote a comment and I asked her if I could “borrow” it!

WD-40 Is Like Duct Tape in a Can

Removes ink from blue jeans
Cleans the bottom of pots and pans
Removes tomato stains from clothes
Shines shower doors
Removes gum from concrete floors
Removes oxidation from aluminum storms and screens
Spray on balcony to keep pigeons away
Removes rust from steam irons
Prevents rust on outside air conditioners
Cleans and protects cowboy boots
Like Duct Tape in a Can

Posted in BY THE WAY, Marthaspeak, Thursday's Top Ten | Tagged cowboy boots, tomato stains | 5 Comments »

Conspiracy Theory Wednesday-WHITEWASH

July 21, 2010 by pbenjay

It just gets better each week! This conspiracy theory is unfolding like the layers of an onion. Week 8 – if you haven’t read the previous chapters, you can look them up under Conspiracy Theory Wednesday in my categories.

THE WARREN COMMISSION REPORT

THE WARREN COMMISSION

On November 29, 1963, Chief Justice Earl Warren tearfully accepted chairmanship of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. At the Commission’s first meeting, ex-CIA Director Allen Dulles set the tone for their investigation handing out copies of a book claiming presidential assassinations are always loners. Ha leads, the Commission took depositions from 552 witnesses, consistently highlighting testimony that supported the lone assassin theory. While important evidence such as Kennedy’s autopsy X-rays, were not included in the report, dental X-rays of Jack Ruby’s mother’s teeth were. In September 1964, the Commission concluded that both Oswald and Ruby were lone assassins.

This fixation with squelching rumors of conspiracy resulted in the Commission’s endearing Magic Bullet Theory. Knowing that Oswald could not have fired four times in the allotted time span, and having to account for Kennedy’s head wound as well as a bystander’s injuries, the Commission contradicted its own ballistic experts by concluding that Exhibit 399, a bullet found on a stretcher at Parkland Hospital in near pristine condition, had entered Kennedy’s upper back, exited his neck, and gone on to break Governor John Connally’s rib, shatter his wrist bone and lodge in his thigh.

Ironically, the Warren Commission’s insistence on lone assassins led to periodic re-examinations of evidence withheld from and suppressed by the Commission, and gave rise to a legion of “conspiracy theories” involving various shadowy figures presumed to have masterminded Kennedy’s murder.

The Warren Commission Report

Posted in Conspiracy Theory Wednesday | Tagged Allen Dulles, Chief Justice Earl Warren, The Warren Commission Report | 1 Comment »

Tasty Tipples Tuesday!

July 20, 2010 by pbenjay

NO, it’s not a misspelled word! Summer is here and it has been hot hot hot where I am- SO HOT who wants to eat? But drinking, well never too hot for that. Whether it’s a tall cool drink on the porch or a tall cold one in the backyard, summer is a great time to experience fruity delicious cocktails.

SUMMER COCKTAILS

CREAMSICLE

Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of a glass. Pour in a melted creamsicle (Good Humor) that you have whirled in a blender (I would just use a whip and use a small bowl). Add sparkling water.

LEMON DROPS on the ROCKS

3 cups vodka

2 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup plus 3 TBS superfine sugar

thin lemon slices halved for garnish

Combine vodka, lemon juice and sugar stirring occasionally. Transfer to ice-filled pitcher and add lemon slices

MILLIONAIRE’S MOJITO

3 TBS rum

1 TBS simple syrup

2 TBS fresh lime juice

8-10 mint leaves

splash of champagne

Place simple syrup and mint leaves-gently muddle. Fill glass with cracked ice. Add rum,lime juice. Stir gently and top off with champagne.

PINEAPPLE RUM COCKTAIL

1 can pineapple juice

2 cups spiced rum

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (6-8 limes)

Refrigerate till chilled. Serve over ice and garnish with lime slices.

THE GOODNIGHT KISS

Muddle 3 strawberries

3/4 oz lime juice

1 oz St. Germain liquor (has a lychee-like flavor

1 1/2 oz Cabana Cachaca (if you have to use white rum)

Shake and strain into a low ball glass. Add ice and garnish with a strawberry lime flag.

Say Good-bye to Summer

Drink Responsibly

Posted in BY THE WAY, Everyday Food, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday | Tagged cocktails, drinks, food, recipe | 1 Comment »

What’s Brunch Without a Lot of Butter?

July 20, 2010 by pbenjay

"If you're afraid of butter, use cream"

I Love Me Some Butter

Finny and Julia Child know what the French know about butter.

Posted in Finley Ray | 5 Comments »

Six Word Memoir Monday-Your Life in Six Words

July 19, 2010 by pbenjay

I bet you thought I was going to give this up since so few of you sent in a response? NOT – going to keep on plugging away at this and see if I can lure in some more talent.

I did get a submission from one of my friends and followers affectionately known to those who know as Weez: Thanks much!

Should have attended a better college

Recently as you may have read I had a day in the sunshine in the blogosphere because one of my posts was featured on the SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce) site. If you are interested in learning more about SITS there is a button on my page which you can click thru to. AND as a result of that day of the 259 hits, I received an entry to our Monday Six Word Memoir exercise. It was sent in by Anna of Goannatree (http://goannatree.blogspot.com/). Anna is in her own words; Reader. Thinker. Writer. Traveler. Dreamer. Scholar. I’m honored that she stopped by my blog and took the time to send in a Six Word Memoir and her’s is: Dancing around the world and back. If you visit her blog you’ll understand the memoir.

And for this week as I sum up my life in six words:

Two husbands, two children, two lives

Merry Monday to everybody!

Posted in BY THE WAY, Six Word Memoirs, Smooth or Crunchy | Tagged Weez | 7 Comments »

95 Degrees – Nautica Triatholon TODAY

July 18, 2010 by pbenjay

As I sat on the beach today with only a 30 block smeared on, trying to get a season’s tan in one day (AND YES I am very aware of how bad that is for me!). BUT it was 95 degrees today; the cottage was hot, I was sweating doing nothing so I decided to brave it out and put on a bathing suit and head to the beach. It was about time since I haven’t been there once this year. Oh but I digress, slightly anyways (and yes I know there is no s on anyway but I like it that way).

So it is brutally brilliantly HOT and SUNNY – BUT there is a breeze at the shore and lots and lots of cold water to cool you down while you are baking yourself. However, in New York City it’s a whole other story especially if you are participating in a Triathlon!!

First of all in my opinion you have to be more than a little nuts to be a triathlete which is my way of saying “I could never be disciplined enough to train for it” and that’s okay because I don’t want to do it anyways.

First the athletes jumped into the Hudson River and right off the bat, I wouldn’t do that. Now I know the Hudson is one of New York’s cleanest rivers BUT I do believe that’s when they test the water up around the Catskills! So they swam 1500 meters and got out of the water at the 79th Street Boat Basin. Then onto the bike race – just a mere 40 kilometers; up the Henry Hudson Highway and down the Mosholu Parkway and then south on the Henry Hudson highway to 57th St and back north again to 79th Street. I am already exhausted from writing it. Not done yet. time to run – a 10 kilometer race that ends in Central Park. See I told you they were nuts.

The athletes come in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages- here are a few of the faces of triathletes and their biceps!