And so it is hailing outside

Friday, 4:07 pm

By Cyn

Apr

16

2010

Wish the weather button on here said freaking cold, hail, snow in the forecast, miserable, rotten, typical NE weather!! Anyone want to know how I really feel?  Nah, didn’t think so!!  The tan I have is going to quickly become the tan I HAD. 

Been thinking (always dangerous)--if there were to be a theme song associated with Sarah Palin, what would you choose?  I think - right this minute, anyway - my choice would be “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” No offense to the real reason behind the song, but she cannot get away from her gun comments and so somehow, I think this might be a good one.  What would be your thoughts?

Found an article on bizarre foods this morning which I pasted on my facebook page.  So far have had some interesting food choices from my friends........interesting in that, with the exception of grits, were different and yes, perhaps bizarre.  I commented that I love ‘sweetbreads’ cooked my own way which is an organ meat most people would never eat, my mom used to make baked stuffed beef heart (I grew up amongst farmers and farms) which was incredible, along with tongue which made the most fantastic sandwiches if you used horseradish (also homemade) and mustard.  None of these would qualify as bizarre - at least not to me, but they definitely would not fall into a classification of normal, either.

My dad used to make a drink called Switchel which Wikipedia describes as made with water, vinegar, ginger and sugar and found great popularity in the hayfields of New York in the 1930s.  Well, my dad used molasses not sugar or perhaps both and it was used exclusively during the haying season.  He made gallons and gallons of it for the men who were working along side of him in the fields.  Once I was old enough to drive (13? 14?) my job was to drive one of the wagons as the men (and cute boys my dad hired for the haying season) walked along beside the wagon and tossed the bales to someone standing on the wagon stacking them.  If you think it was easy, think again.  Their jobs were hard, the guy standing on the wagon stacking had a really tough one (especially since it was often his daughter driving the tractor!!) and it was hot and miserable work.  But my dad swore by the switchel and everyone drank it.  I used to try it every day and it was truly disgusting.  But there must have been something to it cause no one ever got sick or passed out from the heat or dehydration.

And since I am rambling about haying season and my driving the tractor - much to my mother’s dismay cause she always wanted me to be the perfect little girl - I will share this story.  My grandfather was never happy about me driving and helping, used to mutter things about “GIRLS” under his breath.  But he was from another era and girls did not work along with the men in the fields.  I only did it cause of the (see above) cute boys my dad used to hire!! ;) But coming back to the barn, you had to go down a rather steep hill onto a rickety (or so it seemed to me) bridge over the river.  I would promise my dad each time I could do it and then get about halfway down the hill and panic.  I always was afraid I would go too fast and the wagon would somehow run over me (hey I was a GIRL) and wagon, hay, tractor, me and whoever else was riding on the wagon would go crashing into the river.  SO, everything would come to a screeching halt, I would be in a state of panic.  My dad would have to ease up behind me, and slowly take over.  Then my grandfather - who would NEVER ride on the wagon when I was driving, would really mutter about the uselessness of females on a farm.

Ahh well, it makes me chuckle thinking about it.  Hope you all had a good laugh at my expense as well!!

And now I must say goodbye as I am meeting some of my friends for dinner tonight and time to think about getting ready. 

Ciao’

Bits and pieces

Wednesday, 8:50 am

By Cyn

Apr

14

2010

Good Morning!

Coffee anyone?  Freshly ground Kona coffee, smells wonderful, tastes even better!!  Anyone use Dunkin’ coffee?  I break down every once in a while and buy the beans, but it never lives up to the taste in the stores......my husband says it is the proximity to the grease in the doughnuts that makes it better there than at home!  Maybe!  Speaking of doughnuts, do you spell it donuts or as I do, doughnuts? 

How many of you are heading to the city today (Boston) to hear the queen of the tea party speak? Somehow I doubt many visitors to Kate’s blog will be making the trek into the city.  Dropped my husband off at the train this morning and it was the usual group no extras - maybe on the later train there might be more, but I doubt it.  Nothing would please me more than to see substantially less than the 10,000 they are predicting.  Of course, it will probably be many more.....depending on how many people have nothing else to do.  I listen to the same radio station every morning until 10 cause it is usually pretty funny--this morning one of the guys that works on the station was going on and on about Sarah Palin, the tea party movement and as much as they tried to talk him down and pound some sense into him, he drank the kool-aid and I can tell you, he was having none of it.  His misinformation was scary and that is what is wrong with all of this.  They have picked out some lies, some big ones and keep expounding on it and people believe it.  Makes me crazy.

My boss is a Republican and she and I manage to get along quite well - I talk she listens, she talks I listen, but yesterday she went off on the healthcare plan and how it was going to cost her big - how, I have no idea as she is a SMALL business owner and has her insurance through her husband.  She does not provide me with insurance as I have my own so not sure where she is coming from.  But she went on and on and on and I wanted to scream.  But decided sometimes it is just better to shut up and tune out.  So I did!!

I am getting back into the political arena locally as a woman I know and admire is running for a state position.  Met her years ago on the Robert Reich campaign and we have more or less stayed in touch since then.  She has asked me to help her on her campaign and I agreed (sometimes I need a reality check!).  I told her I would give her as much time as I could so we will see.

My boss has asked me to work full time - I have worked part time for her for about 7 years now.  Her business is picking up. she has just picked up a new. huge line to add to her companies she represents and anticipates needing more help.  She is a manufacturer’s rep for furniture lines, one fabric line and one glass line - commercial, not residential.  Anyone need anything, let me know!!  I am her inside sales support person.  Anyway, I work part time so that I have time to do volunteer work which I love and work on political campaigns etc. as they come along.  I convinced her (I think) to hire someone else for the days I am not there as I absolutely do not want to spend more time in the office, particularly this time of year--assuming we have a real spring and summer this year!!

Planning our trip back to Oahu this summer now--will go in August for about 3 weeks again. Plane fares are outrageous though, I could go right now or next month for about half of what we will end up paying in August.  Oh well.....I have LOTS of miles on my capital one card so will use them.  We did not make it there last year cause of a few things out of our control, so am really looking forward to it.  I would move there in a heartbeat if we could afford it.  We do go around with a realtor-friend each time in the hopes we will see something we can afford but what I want and what we can afford are very different! Joe has convinced me there is no reason why, in a year or two, we can just rent something near the beach for 3-4 months each year which makes much more sense than owning something.

Got to go, work beckons......if you go to B-town, I want to hear all about it.   

Are Republicans losing their nerve on repeal?

Tuesday, 10:28 pm

By Cyn

Apr

13

2010

Almost immediately after Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress, Republicans began promising to fight for its repeal. Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Steve King of Iowa introduced repeal legislation in the House and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and 15 co-sponsors followed suit with similar legislation in the Senate. 

Outcrazying The Crazy

Tuesday, 10:22 pm

By Cyn

Apr

13

2010

Meet Jason Levin: possibly the craziest man in the tea party universe An Oregon technology consultant, Levin is the leader of Crash The Tea Party, a plan to take down the tea party from the inside. Levin says he’s got a growing cadre of supporters across the country, and conservatives from the message boards to the set of the Sean Hannity’s show are getting nervous.

Personally I find it hard to believe anyone could outcrazy some of the crackpots in the tea party movement.  I mean, really, do they come any nuttier than Sarah?  Probably not shrewder either.  For a hillbilly from Wasilla, she is doing alright for herself.  So tomorrow and Thursday might be interesting to watch.

New Orleans

Monday, 6:24 pm

By Cyn

Apr

12

2010

I have just a few minutes but wanted to say hello and thanks to those of you who have been commenting on my weak contributions to Kate’s blog!!

I thought I would offer just a few observations about our trip to New Orleans..........

1.  I wish I had gone 20 or 30 years ago when it was absolutely normal to sleep til noon, drink all day (and night) and party til dawn.  I really do.  While I tried to keep up, I have to admit that by 1AM I was dragging.....except for a couple times when the machine I was playing in the casino was being nice to me, then I never wanted to leave. 

2.  Hurricanes from Pat O’Briens are mmm, mmm, good!!  And not so bad a few other places as well.

3.  Limoncello Mojitos - see number two above!!

4.  I have always loved traveling in the south because overall the people are so friendly and outgoing; I did not find that to be the case in NO though.  Some were, don’t get me wrong, but a majority were worse than most Bostonians which surprised me.  Many people we encountered were just plain rude.  Not all.........  Maybe they were just pissy cause the Republicans were coming to town and as one vendor told us, “they are the stingiest people we ever have to deal with.”

5.  The Trolley systems were terrific.  We took all three of them our first day there so got a really good overview of the city and then were better able to plan out our days and nights.  Bought a 3-day pass and they got us where we wanted to go every time.........not as quickly as one might hope, but eventually.  Frustrating system though for those who use them to commute.  They can be pokey and the operators have NO patience with the people who do not have the exact change to get on.  We saw lots of tourists, alone, couples and families turned away without a smile or a suggestion.

6.  Cafe du Monde - only the original one, not the one INSIDE the Riverwalk is awesome.  A must do......and perhaps a must do every afternoon around 5!!  I think we went there at least 4 times.  Amazing how good that late afternoon coffee tasted, particularly when accompanied by a biegnet or two or three.....

7.  We stayed at the Hilton Riverside, I highly recommend it even though they will let just ANYONE stay there (see #4 above).  Our room was on the river and I loved watching the ships and tugboats and barges coming in and out.  It truly is the mighty Mississippi--there it was easy to see how Katrina could disrupt the entire country because of the river.

8.  Food was great.  Tried crawfish, boiled crawfish...they cannot hold a candle to lobster.  A lot more work for a lot less results!!  Had them for lunch one day--I asked how many in an order and the waiter said 1 1/2 lbs.  I was like, for real?  He said yes.  Well, I really wanted to try them so I said OK.  My husband was in awe that I would eat that much........until they came and he saw the teeney pieces in each one.  MAYBE there was a quarter pound of fish once I was done.......maybe.  Had char-broiled oysters.  Different, but good.  Generally I do not like oysters at all, but these, well, I would eat them again.  I like jambalaya better than gumbo, but I knew that going.  Can’t remember what else.

9.  Smoking, we are so spoiled here on the east coast - it is a shock to go somewhere where practically everyone is smoking, practically everywhere.  The casino was thick with it.  By Thursday when THOSE PEOPLE were there, it burned your throat and your eyes.  Maybe because many of THOSE MEN were smoking HUGE cigars.  I usually am not bothered by it, but I had to leave even tho my machine was paying off.  I could not stand it anymore.  Apparently casino workers are now protesting and asking that the casino be non-smoking.  I guess they are just a little behind the rest of the world.

10.  I would not go back to Brennan’s for breakfast again!! 

11.  Preservation Jazz Club is this tiny little hole in the wall and the night we went, there probably were over a hundred people in line to get in. 

12.  From what I understand it is virtually impossible to get tickets to the Jazz Fest the end of this month and even if you do, everything is ultra expensive.  This past weekend was the French Quarter Jazz Festival and it was great.  All the events were free and it was a 3-day festival.

13. I will finish on this note........we got there Easter Sunday afternoon, had missed all the Easter parades except one.  We were in the right place at the right time to see the Gay Easter Parade which was a hoot.  Loved it, cannot imagine any of the others were as much fun.  Ended up with pounds of beads around my neck.  It was great.

Ciao’

Bonjour Monsieur Alligator

Monday, 6:11 pm

By Cyn

Apr

12

2010

We took a ‘swamp tour’ while in New Orleans and Our Cajun tour guide was terrific.  I found this article about him online and wanted to share.  HE is the kind of person the Southern Republican Leadership Council should have been spending their time with.  Hell, he is the kind of person ALL of those people who think they know best should spend some time with.  He was a commercial fisherman until two years ago when the economy went south and this is what he does now.  But his insights and comments were right on.  HE knows what is needed, what more can and should be done. 

We also took a Cemetery Tour and lucked out there as well.  Our tour guide was Ernie, a native of N’awlins and so he not only rattled off the stuff you get from anyone, but had his own perspective on what can and should be done.  He is a history major so he had some bits and pieces that another guide might not have had. 

Both these men though, while completely different from each other, were real, authentic and had a lot to say.  One can only wish that someday Washington politicians on both sides of the aisle would really take the time to talk to people like this--they might come away with a whole different understanding of the world we AND they live in.