The day after I finished chemotherapy, we threw some stuff in a bag, dropped the cats at the vet, and jumped onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Our destination? The Omni Bedford Springs Resort, where we spent our 35th wedding anniversary. This year is our 38th, so we decided to celebrate the end of chemo and our anniversary with a big old splurge. So we went back to Bedford Springs. Our room was in the historic wing,... Read more →
Well, it's been quite a week. Here are ten things about it. My great good friend Judy arrived on Sunday. She was delivering the keynote address and conducting a workshop in nearby Conshohocken, so she came in a couple days early for a visit. Judy treated us to a live taping of the Lovett or Leave It podcast at the Merriam Theater in Center City - it was fabulous! Before the show, though, we had... Read more →
Remember I wrote about our trip to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival and our purchase of the fabulous maple syrup from Berkshire Sweet Gold? Well, we've been using the syrup quite regularly, mostly on pancakes and waffles. But I've been casually looking around for other ways to use it, and boy oh boy, I found a real winner today. It's the recipe for Maple Pudding Cake from Smitten Kitchen. It looked really easy and delicious, so... Read more →
Today was holiday grocery day. Check it; it's on all the calendars. Even though there's a Giant and an Aldi closer to us, we go to Wegman's. It's worth it. The Giant is right across the street from the mega-retirement community, so it's crawling - and I do mean crawling - with those folks. The Aldi is just weird, with its rental carts and odd assortment of goods and pack-your-own-damn-groceries policy. So Wegman's it is!... Read more →
Today's Holidailies random prompt is: Write about an experience you've had with a holiday tradition outside your own. (For example, if you celebrate Hanukkah, what experience do you have with Kwanzaa? If you celebrate Christmas, share a memory of Hanukkah.) My first roommate in college was Jewish; I was on the downslope of being a practicing Catholic. Sue (for that was her name) was going to light the candles on her menorah during Hanukkah and... Read more →
So, John Sherck of Where's My Plan? wrote a great Holidailies post about coffee! When I read it, I thought, "What a great subject! I shall steal also write about it!" I, personally, have a great relationship with coffee. I come by it honestly - my parents were both coffee drinkers, especially my Pop. When he wasn't drinking bourbon or vodka, he was drinking coffee. Of course, he drank coffee at breakfast time, but he... Read more →
It occurs to me that I have not written very much about our trip to Ireland last September. Well, that is not acceptable! So let's get to the important stuff first: the pubs. The first pub we went to was the Palace Bar, which was two doors down from our hotel. Established in 1823, it was the second home to a lot of famous Irish writers and newsmen. We enjoyed it a lot! The kitchen... Read more →
The weekend saga continues! We got up fairly early on Sunday -- mostly because none of us slept all that well -- and had breakfast in the hotel "bistro". The bistro was pretty much a souped up Starbucks stand, but the coffee and scones were good and the server was friendly. After breakfast, we checked out and headed back to Hershey to visit Chocolate World, the semi-free chocolate store in between Giant Center and HersheyPark.... Read more →
Yes, today I am 64! One year from Medicare! Two years from full retirement (like that'll happen)! Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, for having your holiday on my birthday so I didn't have to take a vacation day. It was just a lovely day, even though the Arctic Blast came through yesterday. Joe surprised me with a nice gift (two lovely tops) and spoiled me all day. I had Cap'n Crunch for breakfast! I... Read more →
How about another Random Prompt? Okay! Holidailies recipe swap: post a great holiday recipe (and tell us why you like it so much) I've talked an awful lot about the Best Pumpkin Pie in the Whole Entire World, so I won't beat that dead horse anymore. Instead, I'll tell you about another holiday delicacy that my Gramma used to make: stuffed dates. Sounds kinda weird, doesn't it? Well, the recipe is insanely easy. It only... Read more →