As we grow and develop into hopefully fully functioning humans,
we most likely had a little help and guidance along the way.
Recently, I was thinking about people who took an interest
in me and I immediately thought of three important people that definitely made
a positive difference in my life.
When I was 14, I took tennis in gym class and started
hitting balls around. I really liked the
sport. When I was a small girl, I used
to watch my mother hit tennis balls against a wall in Leetsdale and one day
while she was doing this and I was walking along the broken fence passing the time,
I slipped and got my ankle caught in the steel that was disconnected at the bottom. That was my first stitches experience and
trip back up the hill to Sewickley Valley Hospital where I was born and it was horrible. I
still vividly recall the whole ordeal.
Anyway, fast forward 9 or 10 years and I bought a cheap used
tennis racket at the thrift store and started hitting my own balls against any flat
wall I could find.
My mother was the kind of woman who really wanted to be involved in everything that I did so we would go to my high school and hit balls pretty much every day on one of the four hard courts.
One day, an old man with no teeth wearing a thin white t-shirt, raggedy shorts and really thin flipflops came up to us on the court and told me to work on my second serve first. I didn’t even know what that was.
His name was George Koernich and that may not even be the
correct spelling of his last name, but he will forever remain in my heart.
George was the kind of man who most likely played in all
whites with the Rod Laver crew back in the long pants history of tennis. He knew what he was doing for sure. That summer he spent tireless hours with me
teaching me everything about tennis. My
mother scraped up some money to buy me a new wooden Tracy Austin tennis racket
at K-mart and I played the hell out of that racket. I probably played 5 hours every day that
summer learning everything I could and I loved it.
I remember George bringing dozens of old balls from home that
didn’t have any bounce left and we served hundreds and hundreds of balls with
those. They still had life for that!
He taught me how to slice the serve and return a slice, explained
and showed me how to deal with topspin, taught me defensive moves like how to lob,
play the net with volleys and really gave me appreciation for the game.
At the time, Chris Evert was being usurped by powerhouse
Martina Navratilova and I watched every match that I could, read every tennis
magazine the school and local Laughlin Memorial library had in its archives and
really did nothing but learn and play.
I will say that the local players were never kind nor helpful or encouraging to me, him or us but I’m guessing they watched the progress.
With George’s help I made the tennis team that first year and
he and I even ended up entering some regional tournaments playing mixed doubles
which yes he played in old flipflops.
George was one of a kind. He tapped
maple trees and brought me the water to drink and it was delicious. Every time I put a tap in I think of George!
I ended up quitting the tennis team soon after I started my first job at the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe at age 16. The coach was not understanding that I HAD to work to help my mom so I quit the team. Priorities! 😊
Enter mentor number two, Andy Amygdalos. Andy was an amazing man who passed away a few
years ago. Years later Andy told me that
when I came in and filled out the application he thought I wasn’t going to be
able to hack it. He didn’t know about my
tennis muscles!!! I could lift those 50
pound buckets of chili and haul boxes of meat no problem! It ended up being that I became his favorite
and best employee of all time or so he told me. I stayed there with Andy for 7 years.
I have blogged about that first job before but I didn’t say
much. Today I want to share tales about
a man who was more of a father to me than my own and I loved him.
Andy had come from Greece and had loaned fellow Greek, Lou Pappan, money so he could open Pappan’s restaurant, which became a very successful Beaver County chain. I know the fact that Andy worked tirelessly and hard for DECADES for can I say it, (a jerk) that he could have ROCKED his own restaurant no issue, but he didn’t. Life is about choices. Andy taught me that.
Andy taught me responsibility and trusted me to count the
daily register, showed me how to schedule employees, order supplies, serve and treat
people, make tips, cook, clean and WORK HARD.
Within a year or two, he trusted me to train all the new employees and
he knew I would do things as he expected.
I respected him.
During the first year of college I lived on campus but came
home on weekends to work and he always gave me as many hours as I could handle.
To this day my biggest regret is moving home after Freshman year. One day I will blog about my mother but not yet. Suffice it to say she was incredibly lonely without me and guilted me to come home. For three years I had to take two busses and spend three hours each day to travel back and forth but I did it and I worked the whole time as many hours as I could. During college, I didn’t go to a single football game or do the fun college stuff but again, life is about choices and honestly, those “sacrifices” made me who I am today.
Andy would let me study and do my homework when we were slow
and he was always interested in what I was studying, and included me in his family. I know he felt like I was a daughter to him
and I felt it too.
Andy had a bad heart and took nitro pills and once in a
while he struggled. One day he had to
sit down for hours and rest and I ran the restaurant. I LOVED that I could help him and wished he
didn’t have to work so hard.
Andy put his three kids through college and one son became a doctor. I remember his daughter Julie’s graduation party where he made me a high ball drink which just about put me under the table! He also filled me with terrific Greek food and taught me to speak conversational Greek. The little old Greek men who spent their days at the counter, smoking their cigarettes and drinking coffee with just a touch of cream also helped shape me. They sat and watched me, commented on any friends who would stop in, gave me gifts for my birthday and really became a needed family for me. I still remember them and am so grateful that they also played a part in my development.
For some reason as I write this on my 52nd birthday I think of the people who knew me between the ages of 16 and 22 and it is making me cry. I miss them. They loved me and it was so awesome!
After college, I got a job through a temp agency at Merrill
Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith in downtown Pittsburgh. This was a really male dominated place but
there were a handful of strong female brokers and I had the pleasure of working
with one such woman named Marta.
Marta still is a beautiful, smart and accomplished woman and
successful at work and in her family life.
She has a great husband and a fabulous son who keeps her busy plus adult
stepchildren and dear friends that she cultivates relationships with.
Back in 1990 when I started there, I knew absolutely nothing
about being professional. Marta and the
two leading ladies, Nancy and Karen who were the direct bosses of all us sales
assistants, really helped shape me into a working woman. They were encouraging to me and after a
couple of years when I knew what I was doing, also trusted me to train new
hires. I loved that.
Marta was an only child too but she had a great upbringing with loving parents and included me in so many fun things that I would never have had a chance to experience. And she appreciated how I helped her in her business and treated her clients and she spoiled me.
I think Marta may be the reason I have taken on the role of mentor with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I mentor a growing girl because Marta’s friendship and love meant so much to me. I appreciate what Marta did for me so much that it was and continues to be inspiring in my life.
Even after I left that job 7 years later, she and I are
still connected and she was there for me when I left my first husband and embarked
on my new life. That was a hard time for
me and I love Marta for being supportive.
She will always be someone that I respect and adore.
I really hope that I can be a great mentor for my Little. It isn’t always easy knowing if I am being a positive influence and teaching Maci how to be a full functioning person. I want to expose her to all the things I can and give her experiences so she has a fuller life than what I had as a child.
It is a journey that is two years in and we have 4 ½ years
yet to fulfil our commitment to each other.
I am looking forward to sharing the lessons we both learn from this experience in future blogs. Maybe someday she will take on a Little of her own! We shall see what life brings to us both but for now, I heartily thank the people who helped me in so many ways. They are definitely still with me!
A few times a year now as opposed to weekly like when I was
a young lass, Mitch and I venture out to sing a few songs at a local bar. We are still exploring the area around us in
Washington and other points south of Pittsburgh. We are also old now so instead of going out
at 10 pm, if I can find a karaoke bar that starts at 8 pm, I jump up and
down. Add the idea of a NONSMOKING
environment and this is the trifecta of perfect karaoke. We recently had one of those nights and it
got me thinking.
A few weeks ago, I was in line at the local post office
where I often find myself and instead of scrolling through FB or IG I am known
to engage my fellow waiters into conversation.
These are always fun chats. I
meet the most interesting humans in lines and it passes the time as well as
opens the doors to new friendships. It
also gives me a chance to try and spread the word about my personal chef
business. I literally carry my business
cards in a Seresto collar tin. It is the
perfect reuse for something that I hated throwing away. I can’t tell you how confused everyone is
when I pull that out of my purse! 😊
One such day I was chatting up the person in line behind me and passing out cards when a stout little smiling man came in and asked about a photocopy machine. He was told there was one up the hill at the Shop n Save.
I happened to glance at what he wanted to copy and saw it was a flyer about karaoke on Wednesdays 8 pm at the Bradford Lounge. I knew exactly where that was. I had toured the George Washington Hotel in the hopes to have Mitch’s upcoming 60th birthday party there but it was sadly booked. This bar was part of that cool old venue.
“Hold it,” I said. “I need a snap of that flyer.” He gladly obliged.
This place is smackdab in the middle of town across the
street from the beautiful and historic Washington County courthouse and steps
away from Bradford House for which I’m guessing it was named. Festivities for the Whiskey Rebellion are held
every summer right in this area. That is
a terrific 3-day event full if history, music, storytelling, reenactments
including a REAL tar and feathering and endless fun.
Washington like many such towns in the Pittsburgh and
surrounding areas have seen some hard times through the last several decades
but just in the almost three years that we have lived here, I can see sparks of
resurgence happening and I hope a continued trend upward becomes the norm.
We have enjoyed some really tasty meals at several GREAT
restaurants in town too but had yet to wet our whistle at this place. I was excited!!!
At 8:05 pm we showed up and ordered drinks. A quick look around the bar showed just 3
others in the place all crowded at the far end of the bar. Mitch told me at that point he thought this was
going to be on the boring side where we would sing a couple of songs and quickly
go home. That didn’t happen.
I informed the karaoke guy who was set up right at the front of the bar that we were there to sing and he smiled and gave me slips of paper and a pen. OLD SCHOOL is what I thought.
Back in the early days of karaoke, there were actual books, papers and pens all over and you pored over the books and wrote down your song choice titles, the artist’s name and your name and then passed it to the karaoke people and waited your turn. Usually in every karaoke place I go, people are shy or need a drink or two to sing, so I start the karaoke, but this place was different. People kept arriving and adding their songs to the lineup and list. I was 3rd in the rotation and everyone was WONDERFUL. We quickly made friends, started sharing business cards and cheering each other on. What we loved SO much was the many different kinds of songs everyone was singing. It was glorious because this group was all folks in their 50-60s I would guess and the music and talent was incredible. NOT that karaoke is about being good, but it certainly makes it more interesting when the singer can hold a tune and he or she chooses really cool music.
Who knew we would be in the company of Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Dennis DeYoung from Styx and more legends of the good old days?
The bartender who as soon as we started singing seemed to be a bit more generous on my pour, (Mitch was driving) came up and helped me sing The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. She just ran around the bar, grabbed onto the mic and started belting it out with me. I was thrilled she loved the song as much as I did. The fact I had never sung that song in public before is amazing. I keep waiting for more members of the band ( I have yet to find a Lindsey Buckingham) to show up and sing with me, but since karaoke has all the backup vocals, it was high time. What a thrill!!!
During the next three hours, I did more Stevie Nicks, some Walking
After Midnight from Patsy Cline, sang a little Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and
more Fleetwood Mac. It was an old time
karaoke night for me which I adore. Mitch
sang a great Rolling Stones tune, some Mark Cohn, Tom Petty and rocked the
whole place.
The lady sitting next to us who sang some fun songs too wanted to tell me about her teenage years going to concerts at the Meadows, a local racetrack that has entertainment. I can’t even imagine what the place was like in the 50s! She regaled me about a night when she was a teenager and saw the Platters, the Drifters and The Coasters together and seeing the Beach Boys in her youth too. I loved hearing her fun musical memories.
Everyone there shared stories of the bands that all have played
in or still play with and the great musical acts they have seen. The gigantic smiles of everyone there was a
sure sign everyone was connecting through music.
Being the only child of a single mother, I often stayed home
by myself while she worked. I played her
records over and over and learned about singing harmony from the Mamas and The
Papas, practiced my Soprano with Barbra Streisand and am still haunted by the song
Suzanne by Judy Collins.
The thousands of hours I spent listening over and over to those
records seriously created the foundation for my musical tastes today.
I could recite albums front to back, and would never tire of
listening to music. As I have mentioned in
previous blogs, music is my favorite thing and for my 40th birthday
I had help creating a double CD of my favorite songs to gift all the party guests.
One CD was For the Heart and
included love songs and the other was For the Feet and a dance compilation. I borrowed that idea from the late George
Michael.
For my 50th birthday party, I made a thumb-drive with my favorite 50 songs of all
time with MP3 files.
I wonder what technology will exist for my 60th. I am already thinking of what that musical gift will be and jotting down long forgotten tunes.
What I have learned about perspective is sometimes funny, at
least for one side of the situation. For
example, during the recent deer hunting season my husband relayed a story about
a hunter who was regaling him about how delicious suburban deer taste. The residents who live in the suburbs care
deeply for their bushes, shrubs with tender growth and flowers and lament the
destruction deer do to them. The hunters
who later kill those well-fed deer can TASTE the expensive landscaping and he/she
and their families appreciate and benefit from that. I thought that was seriously funny and a
PERFECT example of how depending which side of the fence you are on, (your
perspective), you can relate.
Professionally, for a couple of decades, I have been working
with folks who speak for a living and have matched up hundreds of corporate,
association, government and education audiences with speakers. The folks who I have booked sometimes have
gotten no speaking fee for their time and a few have been in the $25,000 (plus
expenses) PER HOUR range but most have fallen in the 5-10K area. What I have always found is that the groups
who have a really low budget for speakers are the most grateful planners and
audience. If they are a nonprofit and
have maybe $1500 for a keynote slot and a speaker who usually gets a lot more
for basically that same speech agrees to do it, those speakers are treated so
WELL. Those groups really appreciate the
time, inspiration and energy a speaker shares with them.
Sometimes the speakers have told me NO to the reduced fee
invitation. They tell me it’s about fee
integrity and worry they would be cheapening
their “brand” to full fee clients by taking the severely reduced
fee.
It is a whole different world. I won’t comment beyond saying, again, it is
about perspective. $1500 to one group is
like that $25,000 to the other but everyone has a value in their mind for their
time.
Next up is a story about a dear friend of mine. She is a retired Army veteran and had two
deployments, leaving her husband and two children, her company, family and
community to serve our country. During
her final deployment in Afghanistan, she was blogging and I believe it was her
final blog that really struck me. It was
called One Pullup and I remember being amazed at her courage and commitment. Pullups are really hard for woman. I have never been able to do one and have
thought many times when I have a particularly challenging moment in my life about
Chris and her success at setting the goal, working toward it and DOING IT. Good for her.
One pullup may not be a triumph for an elite athlete, but it indeed was
a triumph of body, mind and spirit for Chris. It’s all about perspective.
My friend Richie died a few years ago. He was in his mid-40s. That is WAY too young. Richie turned his financial life around by working
a lot and was saving and saving and saving. He had 4 mortgage free properties
and was paying for everything in cash, setting himself up for a stress-free
early retirement.
I wanted him to have a romance, a relationship and I told
him that. He told me in no uncertain
terms, “I want to retire in two years and the only thing that is going to
F*&# that up is a woman.”
One of the last times I saw Richie, he came to our house on the river and I had painted a quote that was hanging on the wall. It begins…. Love Fiercely, Cry when Worthy …..and ends with Life is NOT a rehearsal. I have a very distinct memory of Richie telling me that day, “Remember, Life Is Not A Rehearsal.”
A month or so before his retirement he was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. Richie fought the cancer bravely but succumbed. In the end, I don’t know if he regretted all that work and independence or not. All I know is every time I hear Melt With You and Drift Away, I remember karaoking with Richie and sigh about what could have been. Life is all about perspective.
My dad is a hard one for me.
He was there when I was very young but not there really much at all as I grew. He wasn’t there when I learned to drive, went to college, got my first real job, suffered my first broken heart, moved into my first apartment, got married the first or second time and I literally had to set up a ruse with a friend to see him in the mid-2000s. He made a lot of bad choices in his life and he admits this. He has been trying to make amends during the past 6 years or so but he frustrates me A LOT. When I NEEDED a dad, he wasn’t there. I was hospitalized when I was 4 years old. I had what I guess was stress induced blood filled colitis. I can only assume my condition was caused by living in an environment that was coming apart into divorce and two households. I remember those several days really clearly yet my father doesn’t recall this at all. That blows me away. Now, he needs me and I’m here for him, but it is not always easy.
Without embarrassing him and now at 77 that he is on the
internet, connected to the world and following what I do, say, cook and write,
I don’t want to say anything more except that I have been cautioned by a friend
who no longer has a father that I need to forgive all that and just accept what
he is now and what we can be together.
It is about perspective and being grateful. I am trying to see things from his side of
life and trying to be more patient and kinder.
My gramma would have wanted that.
She died when I was 6. I have only
a few memories of her and in every one she adored me. I felt it.
I’m glad I had her for even those few years. I know it is more than many get to experience
and my dad misses her every day. She
adored him too.
So yesterday, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and 7
other people died in a tragic helicopter accident. I am not a basketball fan
and probably have watched less than two minutes of professional basketball in
my entire life. However, I know who he
was and that he was widely respected, revered as an athlete, family man,
humanitarian and philanthropist. He was
also really young and had so much more to do.
I can’t even imagine what his wife and surviving daughters
are going through or the family and friends of the other people who died. It is simply horrible. I’m guessing they are thinking about what
could have been if things had been different, if they had more time, if….. so
many things.
No matter what happens, don’t waste your time on those
useless activities. In the end, I don’t
think any of that will matter.
We need to be present, appreciate every experience, good and
bad and inhale and exhale deeply every breath we take because remember, Life is
NOT a rehearsal. No one knows how long
we have here. Make every moment
count! If life is all about perspective
then try to take a step back and see your situations and relationships from the
other side. I’m going to really try to
do better at this. I want to have more
empathy, more fun, less worry and stress, more quality time with friends and
family away from my phone, sing more, publish my cookbook, volunteer more,
exercise more, learn to bake REALLY good bread and see more of the world.
The Secret of Life is enjoying the passage of time. That is the first line of a song by James
Taylor. I love his music and this song,
but I think the secret of life is really PEOPLE.
While we can all count so many examples of humans being
really awful to each other, animals, the earth, property, whatever, there are people
doing good things too.
At holiday times we hear all the news reports about good
things humans do to be kind and I think we should all make a concerted effort
to do more of that all year long.
In a previous blog I mention the two ladies who live down the street from us. There was a brother and his two older sisters and they lived all together in this little block house which is prone to flooding as it sits in a valley. I always worried about them. Gary, the baby of the family, was always putzing in his garage where he had a really nice Corvette, a cool old truck and lots of “toys.” When I would walk the pups down the dirt and gravel road to their house, we would often meet up and have a nice little chat then I would head back up the hill. I gave them eggs and lollipops every time I made a fresh batch. When I was tackling the landscaping around the house, I pulled out a ton of bulbs and they planted them all around their house.
On the visits I learned about their parents, the apple trees they used to have and we talked about the farm and what we were growing. They love fresh veggies and gave me a huge bag of green bean seeds to plant. I grew beans and passed them along.
Two years ago in the fall, Tractor Supply advertised that
they scheduled a farmer day where farmers would set up their wares in the
parking lots and I asked for a spot. TSC
management was THRILLED I wanted to participate in their event. I told the neighbors I would be there.
It turns out I was THE ONLY farmer to sign up so I chose a
good spot outside by the entrance, set up my table and tent and waited.
Nobody else that I told came, but the neighbors did. They bought a few things, I gave them some things
and it was just so nice that they CAME.
That was the last time I saw Gary. He died of a massive heart attack a couple of
weeks later at the age of 60 and on my next trip to see them I learned the
news. I was shocked. I asked why they didn’t call me. I
asked if they were alright. I asked if
they needed anything and asked what were they doing for Thanksgiving. Betty said, “We aren’t having Thanksgiving.”
I said, you must come and spend the holiday with us.
From then on in earnest I check on the girls. Neither one ever learned to drive nor marry. I’m
not even sure if they worked outside the home.
They were now alone. Gary was their EVERYTHING.
I learned they do have a nephew nearby but I have never seen anyone over there so I make it a point to check in and bring them soups and stews and whatnot when I cook and make sure they are ok. They sold all of Gary’s vehicles and arranged for a service to take them shopping and to doctor appointments.
The girls spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays with us. They came for my dad’s birthday dinner this year too. Dad is in charge of bringing “his girlfriends” to the house and depositing them back home safely. I know he gets a kick out of it. I was really glad they came to the Fall Festival and it is a pure delight for me to see them smiling and having fun.
At Thanksgiving we were talking about the oil lamps that I collect
and one of the gals said they have a bunch of them.
A few days later I stopped in with eggs and they presented
me with 15 antique oil lamps and I swear none of them have ever been lit.
I have them filled with red and clear lamp oil and have been
enjoying the warm glow and that delightful smell lamp oil brings to the air
when it burns. They are so beautiful. I just LOVE them. I can’t
WAIT for Christmas day to show the girls.
They have little in property but
had something they weren’t using that I would appreciate and they gave. They GAVE.
This makes me weepy every time I think about it.
I asked my friends and family for examples of kindness they have experienced or given and I was overjoyed to read some amazing tales from a total stranger being present when my cousin lost her first husband and father of her children to a car accident and was crying in a parking lot. A man seeing her distress took her hand and said we both needed each other today. She still remembers that meaningful act of kindness 7 years later. Others spoke of the kindnesses their family has shown them and the support they get and some mentioned the little things I like to do and give that they have received from me. It is heartwarming.
Recently, I was at CVS and there was an older gentleman with a cane and he had these hearing aids he was trying to get to work. He was asking the clerk for help but she was busy. I took them and yelled in his ear that my husband uses hearing aids and I would try to help.
I found the batteries that would fit and assembled them. He asked me to put them in his ear. He told me his friend gave them to him. I was skeptical that they would work as hearing aids are personal and built to fit YOUR ear and your particular hearing needs, but I put them in his ears as best I could. Can you hear me better? He looked at me and smiled and said it was ok and went on his way. The clerk thanked me for helping and it felt good to help.
People, we all need each other. There are animals that need adopted and my
husband and I talk about how we could never volunteer at a shelter as we would
bring them all home, but we can do more and we SHOULD. We can brighten someone’s life, help people
load groceries into their car, be patient, consider what may be happening to
people and give folks a break once in a while.
We can pay a kindness forward and connect with people, give them some
time, LISTEN to them. Sometimes it just
takes a minute, a gesture, a touch on the shoulder to make a difference. It is a finite time we have on this earth. Let’s make the best of it.
I am teaching my Little Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters
to pick up a piece of trash when you see it, place things back on the shelf
that have dropped, do something to HELP others and the planet! I think by showing up and being a positive person
we can inspire ourselves and others. Let’s
do it!
Since the beginning of the world and life on our planet, we eat to live. We eat because we are bored, we eat for comfort, we eat as members of our communities at fairs and festivals. Many times throughout the year for all sorts of occasions, we gather with family and friends and EAT. We eat special foods or fast for religious reasons. Food is a huge part of our lives. Do you attend meetings for work or groups that you belong to? Inevitably, food will be available.
We are in the throes of holiday merriment now and
overindulgence is the rule, not the exception.
As I write this blog, I am also working on the list of ingredients I
need to purchase and prepare for a event I am catering next week. Food is on my mind pretty much all the
time!!!!
So, what kinds of food should we be ingesting? Do you find the bombardment of commercials,
news reports, documentaries, books, the news, magazine articles, food and
travel networks and cooking shows espousing their ideas contradictory and
confusing? I sure do.
Food is very important to me. I plan my gardens and crops carefully, tenderly tend to each plant hoping it reaches a delicious and nutritious end, and feel sad when things go wrong. After the plants are done producing, I save seeds to help propagate the next crop. I am always seeking new plants to grow and I rely on our bees to pollinate pretty much everything. As a cook I care deeply about what I prepare for myself, loved ones and clients alike and am always interested in what the newest science might be saying about the type of diet to which we humans should be subscribing.
I have read many books that discuss what we eat and why we
should avoid certain foods. For me it
started with Wheat Belly by William Davis MD and that book pretty
much convinced me that the wheat we consume now is not the same wheat with
which our grandmothers baked bread. The
wheat that most of our commercially produced food is made from has been
genetically changed. While in some cases,
there is a good argument for GMO foods, in this case the truth seems to be that
wheat as we know it, is a fast producing, disease resistant dwarf wheat which
has led to all these celiac issues.
So, after reading that, I started looking for sources of ancient grains and for the most part avoided traditional wheat products. I had stopped eating cereal years before.
Then my friend Amy gave me a book called Omnivore’s
Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan and I was
entranced. Read that book too. Both
books really delve into what we eat, how foods are produced and explores ideas
of what we should consider is food.
We all know that if you want to be a healthy person, you
should eat less (or no) processed foods, we know it. Yet, 75% of the grocery stores are filled
with packaged crap and new “foods” are being invented every day to keep up with
the demand we have for JUNK. Don’t get
me wrong. I have eaten A LOT of that
crap in my life. I still walk by Kraft Macaroni and cheese or Poptarts
(Cherry or brown sugar and cinnamon were my favs) and remember EXACTLY how they
taste. I enjoyed the heck out of those
things but now I care more about what that stuff does to my body that I just
can’t eat them anymore and I will encourage you to avoid such items as well.
About 18 months ago we watched a show on Netflix called The
Magic Pill. At the end of that
program we decided to make some big changes to what we ate. The gist of that show boils down to a few
simple things. Mainly, that SUGAR IS
EVIL. If we took only one thing from
that show, it was that cancer cells need sugar to reproduce. You eliminate sugar from your diet, you WILL
be healthier. Of course all the sugar
consumption in our country has resulted in an epidemic of public health problems,
diabetes being the main one.
Basically, they were touting the Ketogenic diet which recommends
70-80% of your daily calories come from animal or plant FAT, eating an adequate
portion of protein (fist size) and the rest of your foods should be plant
material. They were of the opinion that
we should concentrate on low carb veggies and limit fruits and with this diet,
we could heal our bodies and reduce symptoms of autism, cancer and more. It was REALLY convincing. Basically, you are training your body to burn
FAT for energy instead of the mass quantities of sugar Americans consume which creates
insulin resistance. Stop consuming the carbs
(sugar) and you will train your body to burn Fat for Fuel, a book
by Dr. Mercola. I read that book and his
cookbook and several others on the keto diet.
It is truly fascinating.
So, on our farm we harvest honey from our bees and tap maple
trees. That is ALL SUGAR. They are natural forms of sugar but sucrose
none the less.
I am a major purchaser of sugar. You may not know this but I am the Sugar
Fairy and I make all kinds of lollipops and confections. I don’t consume hardly any personally, but I
am a pusher for sure. I wondered if I
could still make all these sugary treats for others when I wholeheartedly believed
we shouldn’t be eating sugar.
By eliminating most things that contained or broke down in the
body into sugar, I learned a new way of cooking. I experimented with cheeses and almond flour and
learned to make a really convincing pizza crust. We did try the cauliflower recipes too but NO
ONE was fooled into thinking that was PIZZA.
My husband’s acid reflux disappeared with keto and as men will do, he
dropped 30 pounds like INSTANTLY. I
stopped drinking wine which is sadly all sugar.
I learned about Stevia, erythritol and xylitol and could use those to
sweeten items so we never felt we were missing out on treats. I can even make a grain-free cookie that will
knock your socks off.
As with anything, 21 days of doing something makes it a
habit so now when we are being strict, I just avoid most carbs and never feel
deprived. If eating out, there are tons
of low carb and keto-friendly options and if I am given bread, I take it home
for the dogs or chickens. My weight is
really good and I feel healthy. We eat a
lot of vegetables and in my opinion, we have a healthy diet. I control the food in the house and we eat
REAL food. I am proud of this.
Recently though, several of our friends from different camps
started talking about another Netflix show called Gamechangers. I knew it was about a vegan diet and
purposefully didn’t want to even see it as I could see no reason to not consume
meat, dairy and eggs. I mean, pretty much
the whole reason I wanted a farm is because I wanted chickens. I LOVE my girls and their eggs which are
amazing tasting.
Last fall we bought a half a grass fed cow from farming friends
in Erie and have LOVED the meat. We are almost out of that. The freezer is almost empty!
Right now, it is hunting season in PA and Mitch has been
hunting deer on our property for almost a week now. I’m reading a book on raising Dairy Goats and
had dreamed of making my own cheeses. I mean, we are pretty entrenched in
animal products around here!
But we watched it.
While we aren’t elite athletes which this show featured, the
report was compelling. The scientists,
researchers and doctors all had extremely good arguments for why we should not
eat animal products. Besides the
environmental issues which are real, it seems like our bodies would be
healthier if we gave up meat and dairy. Maybe
we should consider this.
We talked about how it COULD work. We are taking a trip to Europe for the new
year and I fully intend to imbibe in Portuguese foods which will include wine,
cheese, seafood and more, but we are
thinking when we get back that we will start with dairy. Slowly we can eliminate the cream, cheese,
cheese and did I say CHEESE? This is
going to be a hard one for me. With
keto, my snacks are nut butters and cheese with almond crackers. I currently have at least 7 kinds of cheese
in my fridge.
On the plus side, maybe we can have oatmeal again but use almond
milk in it. Hmmmm…. Maybe or would we just keep with the no
grains and eliminate dairy too? That
sounds so restrictive and would that be sustainable?
I personally don’t HAVE to eat meat. While I enjoy a few gyros a year, I could
stop eating meat. I did it once for
almost a whole year and it was a Primanti’s sandwich that brought me back. Corned beef egg and cheese….. fries on the side please!
Anyway, so Mitch has agreed we will start with the dairy and
finish off the beef in the freezer and then stop the meat. I think this will be
hard for him.
I am ordering The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100. I saw this featured all week on the Today Show. This National Geographic researcher went to different parts of the world where people have excellent health and longevity and learned what they ate. I am pretty sure it is mostly a plant based set of recipes so I will approach with a good attitude and report my findings.
I believe the plant based eating thing will indeed become A
THING and you will be seeing this everywhere.
If any of you try it, please drop me a line and tell me your experiences.
I am attending the school of life which is continuous learning. I’m up for any new knowledge on all things
food.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I like to sing, in
fact I LOVE TO SING.
One magical day during my sophomore year at Pitt, there
appeared in the middle of the Student Union a big booth. Within minutes kids started gathering around this
big booth and soon it was discovered you could go into the booth and sing a
song which could be heard all around the union.
From that moment, I don’t think anyone passing through attended classes
that day, instead waited their turn to sing A SONG. I remember an Egyptian girl singing a country
version of Amazing Grace and an Indian friend of mine singing some
Beatles. It was very cool and fun.
A few years later in early 1992, my piece of crap car, with
the check engine light on, was stolen from my unlocked unattached garage outside
my 3rd floor walkup apartment in Bellevue. I was so BUMMED. It was a 1981 Buick Skylark (my first car
ever) and I didn’t carry anything other than collision insurance. At the time, I was making $14,400 a year as a
sales assistant and didn’t even know how to take out a loan to get a
replacement car.
Trying to cheer me, my mom picked me up and took me to this
bar called Gary’s II to show me something she discovered the week before. It was karaoke.
I saw booklets all covered in spilled beer, little sheets of paper and pencils strewn about the tables and bar. I picked one of the booklets up and looked through it. Oh WOW, all kinds of songs that I knew were listed and there were microphones and a machine that this older couple were operating and no one was singing. I put in a song from the soundtrack of Top Gun by Berlin, Take My Breath Away and KILLED IT.
The karaoke guy was like, “YOU ARE SO GOOD. Put in another song and we will put you right
at the top of the line.” Thus started my karaoke singing career.
A day or two later my car was discovered a couple of miles away from my apartment. It had a new quart of oil sitting on the front seat (they saw the check engine light too) but my Entertainment Book was gone. Remember those? Oh well. I was thrilled to find the car and I promptly stole it back then spent fifty bucks on THE CLUB so that wouldn’t happen again.
A week or two later it was Valentine’s Day and I had taken a
chance on something.
I had spied a very handsome and tall man getting his coffee and
getting off at the law firm a couple of floors below my office. We
always smiled at each other and I found out his name was Michael.
Being Valentine’s Day and all I decided to get a bunch of
flowers, leave a note on them and drop them off at his office. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I waited all day for some phone call or a visit or something
and when 5 o’clock came and went I went down to the office to see what happened
to my flowers. It was reported to me
that HIS GIRLFRIEND HAD PICKED THEM UP.
Well, here I was bummed again.
So, single as could be, I got my friend Heather and we went
back to Gary’s II to drown our dateless sorrows and sing a few songs. It was that night that I found my singing
partner, Scott, and we have been dueting now for 27 years. Scott is my best male friend and about the
best singer I know!!!!
That night Heather sang her first karaoke song holding my
hand and sitting on the stage. She sang The Rose and I will never
forget that. That night started hundreds
of karaoke nights for us and we still get together to belt out a few classics and
try new songs as often as we can.
Since then, I have sung thousands of songs and every town I
visit I seek out a karaoke bar. I have
waited 4 hours to sing one song at Cat’s Meow in New Orleans. What is cool about this place is there are
HUGE crowds there and everyone is INTO the karaoke. It is nice when people actually listen to the
singing.
I have sung 99 Red Balloons in Germany and was surprised
that no one cared. The song is by a
German artist so I thought it would be cool.
Apparently, I was the only one! 😊
I have won contests and lost more, I have seen shy as can be
wallflowers grab onto the microphone with clenched fists and leave the stage
confident and exhilarated. I tell you
EVERYONE wants to be a rock star. Even you, yup you!
Back in the early days when we would sing at Mad Anthony’s
in my hometown, I remember the Fox’s Pizza Den delivery guy popped in and sang Lady,
by Kenny Rogers and it was AMAZING. I
remember it decades later because he was SO GOOD.
We recently had probably our 15th private karaoke
gig. I am older now and have some resources. Instead of going to smoky bars and waiting 30
minutes between songs, for special occasions or if we just really feel like
having a party, we hire our own professional karaoke DJ. I can tell you if there is karaoke at one of
my parties, I don’t even talk to anyone
at the party. I work on the food and just sing and encourage others to
sing. I’m apologizing now to everyone
who has ever attended any of my parties and I didn’t talk much to you! Sorry, not sorry… see line one of this
blog. I LOVE TO SING!!!
This last party that we had was very special. It was the first time we ever had a karaoke
bash at someone else’s house and many people had never sung karaoke before so I
knew this was going to be FUN.
In attendance were captains of international banking, lawyers,
a chief grievance officer for the US Postal Service Pittsburgh Metro area, a titan of Pittsburgh retail, a transportation
specialist, and folks who work in all kinds of areas. Within an hour or so, everyone was singing and
dancing and having a SUPER time. Yes,
many people need some or a lot of liquid courage to get on up there, but many
are just raring to go and seeing stars in their eyes. It is a terrific way to let loose.
I’m seeing my favorite high school pal this coming Wednesday,
the day before Thanksgiving for some karaoke and I can’t wait for her visit back
home and to sing with her!! It is the
busiest party night of the year so I hear.
This holiday season I encourage any and all karaoke virgins to get your sing on and hit me up for some karaoke. I’ll be happy to show you the ropes!!!! Sing it loud peeps and sing it proud! #karaokerocks #pghsinger
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