Welcome to the 21st Century!

Well I did it. I got an iphone. And it was free, too (the power of upgrade). Pretty cool. My poor little cell phone with no data plan and limited texting has gone to cellular heaven. My beautiful new iphone will arrive tomorrow (Monday) with a nice data plan. And limited texting. Long story. Let’s just say that we’re taking it one baby step at a time. My husband does not believe in texting or data. He uses his cell phone for calls only. He still has one of those clam shell phones. I don’t like talking on a cell phone. This is why we have a house phone. I text. A lot. Apparently too much because I got a text from my phone carrier that I was at my limit until the 15^th of January. Oops. So I quickly told everyone…STOP texting me until Jan. 15. We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, with my lovely new phone I can still pick up messages via Facebook or email. Sweet.

 

OK…so this will be the first time owning a smartphone. I am fairly clueless but I’m a quick learner. I’ve already purchased the standard accessories: car charger, case, e-gloves (it’s winter in New England after all). I’ve practiced somewhat on a friend’s phone so I know how to make a call and text (yes, yes…I’ll wait ‘till Jan. 15). Now for the apps.

There is a whole issue of Wired magazine dedicated to apps. Who knew? I’m not a game player so we can eliminate those apps. My needs are pretty basic. Email, Facebook, maps, weather and news. And where to get the best coffee. I’m sure as I become more proficient at navigating my way around the iphone world I’ll want more. For now, I’ll stick to the easy stuff. I’ll want to sync my itunes to my phone. That will take me awhile I think. I also want to set up all the photo stuff.

I really feel as if I’m entering a new realm. Ellen…welcome to the 21^st century and 2013!

Happy New Year everyone. May it be a wonderful year for you and yours!

Is the Grass Always Greener?

Next week my Italian bandmates will arrive in full force. We have concerts scheduled and lots of things to do. I love having them here and they love being here. More than once I have been told by one or two that they would rather live here, in Boston, than in Trieste. But why?

They tell me that Trieste is a city of old people. They tell me that Trieste is boring. They tell me that Trieste has no music scene or nightlife. They tell me that Boston is SO much cooler than Trieste. Well, it’s time for me to set things straight.

Trieste is an old city by Boston standards. There is a lot of history that goes WAY back. Think medieval. Boston isn’t quite that old. Look at the buildings in Trieste. Disregard the streets that look like ashtrays. Walk the winding streets and hills. Trieste is a city of stairs and little mountains. Have a coffee. Go to the top of San Giusto and look out over the Adriatic sea. Take a ride along the Miramare road. Absolutely stunning.

And what of the music scene and the nightlife? Well that last time I checked (a little over a month ago) there were events happening every night of the week. Clubs with live music all over the place. I need a scorecard to decide on which band to see.

A city of old people? I don’t think so. Yes, as in every city there are people of every age. But I am amazed that for a small city there is so much going on all the time. Especially music. Rock, jazz, folk, blues, classical. And the art and theater scenes are wonderful as well. And it doesn’t cost a mortgage to attend, unlike Boston, which can cost an entire paycheck.

Triestins are a tough group to please. They are set in their ways. Most are not in love with change and those who are, are hesitant in making it happen. Italian red tape.  A lot of young people go to colleges and universities in other cities. Many move away but just as many return home.

Trieste is not in the tourist guides. I just recently discovered that there is a whole group of ex pats living in Trieste. My close friends didn’t even know this. Each time I am there I learn something new about my beloved little city.

So I say to my bandmates and other friends who are looking over the fence: Embrace your little city. It’s a diamond in the rough. And remember, Boston will always welcome you. Just let me know when you are arriving so I can change the sheets in the guestroom!

A presto e tanti baci da Boston!

Memory of a Scent

The other day I picked up my friend Cathy and when she got into the car I said, wow, you smell like high school. She was wearing “Charlie” a perfume that we all wore in high school in the 70’s. For the next ½ hour we talked about the clothes we wore, the music we listened to and the boys we went out with.

Aromas. Fragrances. Good smells. Gross smells. So many are attached to a memory. Sometimes even a bad odor reminds us of a good time. So many people will tell you apple pie or freshly baked choco chip cookies bring back so many memories of childhood. My list is eclectic. Even kind of weird. But whatever. Here we go:

A few days ago I was waiting for the T (Boston’s subway system). I don’t ride the T very often, I mostly drive everywhere as long as I can find a parking space. Sitting and waiting for the train I breathed in the smells of the station. Oily and musty. Not terrible. But it brought back memories of my college days. We used to take the T always. No cars.

Hot french fries with ketchup. Reminds me of summer. Not the taste. Just the smell.

Fresh cut lemons. Always reminds me of being in Israel. I love lemon.

Fresh brewed coffee. Reminds me that coffee is the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel.

Campfire or fireplace smells remind me of late autumn, camping with my parents and of course Thanksgiving which has its own set of fabulous scents.

Grilled meats, country fair foods (peppers and sausages, fried dough) are also high on my list. Not necessarily to eat-just to breathe!

Cigarette smoke reminds me of sitting at an outdoor café in Italy. I hate cigarette smoke but it’s the culture of cafés and coffee.

Cold winter air reminds me of being in the city (New York of course, duh) with my Gram and going to the ballet.

Of course the food smells are constant. Each holiday has a special fragrance. Thanksgiving is sage. Passover is tzimmes (a big mess of yams, carrots, brisket-totally delish). Chanukah is fried latkes (potato pancakes) and hot homemade apple sauce.

Perfumes also bring memories. I don’t wear perfume anymore (my husband is allergic) but when I smell a certain fragrance it reminds me of a certain person or even me, when I used to wear perfume.

Our sense of smell is a wonderful thing. It can trigger an old memory or create a new one.

I probably won’t be posting every week. More like twice a month. Or maybe three times. We’ll see.

It’s turkey time! Wishing all of you a very, very happy Thanksgiving.

Stranded?

 Yes, I am back from the land of pizza, pasta and pane. To tell the truth, I wasn’t quite sure when I would arrive home. A little storm called “Sandy” kind of interfered in my flight itinerary.

I was all set to fly from Venice to Munich to Boston. I had taken the train the evening before from Trieste to Mestre (suburb of Venice). I was staying with friends in Favarro approx. 15 minutes or so from beautiful Venice. The next morning I was to fly fairly early. And then, the dreaded words appeared in my email: YOUR FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. I had a feeling something like that would happen. I had been following the Sandy news via Facebook and it wasn’t looking good.

Went to the airport to figure out what to do next. Me and 100’s of other people. We were told all flights to the USA were cancelled. Being that this was Italy, nothing was happening. No surprise there. So, while the line of American tourists slowly freaked out about where to stay, what to do and what to eat, the Italians in line made a fast exit and I went back to Favarro. Called the airline and secured the next flight out. Of course this flight was 5 days later. Oh my. What to do? Five more days in Italy. Such a shame.

Rainy Venice

I always say that when life hands you lemons, forget the lemonade stand and open a franchise instead. I had four more full days to plan and it was lovely. Spent a nice evening in Venice visiting with a friend. The downside to that was acqua alta. It was messy. Raining and rising waters. Even with high rubber boots I ended up soaked to the skin. But hey. Venice is beautiful even in the rain.

Padova

 I spent a wonderful day in Padova. In fact I fell in love with the old city. I could see myself hanging out there for a while. I made new acquaintances. It was a fine four days. I also ate much more than I should have. But it was OH SO GOOD!

 I was concerned with the events happening at home. Fortunately my house was spared with the exception of a few falling branches and a little water in the basement. Others were not so fortunate. Some are still without power and it’s been a week.

Pizza in Mestre

And so, on this election day, I am proud to be an American and very sad to leave Italy behind. I know I’ll be back soon. But not soon enough.

Have a good week all. And for those of you without power, hang in there. If you feel like coming to Boston, there’s a spare room and a hot shower and great coffee. Any time.

Can You Say Food???

Here I am in Trieste. My home away from home. I love it here but not because it’s Italy. My band mates and dear friends live here. If they lived in a remote wilderness I would love that too. It’s not the place. It’s the people. 

caprese

And now let’s discuss food. I mean come on. I AM in Italy after all. I have taken so many food photos that one would think I did nothing all day but eat! I only wish it were true. Mostly, I’ve eaten salads which at this point I can truly say I am tired of grazing. I do love rucola but it’s getting old. Watching my friends chow down on pizza and steaming plates of pasta makes my mouth water. But I’m strong and I will survive and the next time I’m in Trieste I will be at my goal weight. THEN I will have some pizza. But just some. I need to save room for dessert! 

tiramisu

Enjoy the weekend.

What's the Buzz?

Last January I posted a bit about my love affair with coffee. That hasn’t changed a bit. I still go for my morning/afternoon/evening buzz.

The thing is this: I really LIKE coffee. Some people just slug it down for that fast caffeine buzz. But I really like the taste of coffee. I like it strong, thick and sweet. This is why I drink espresso. Black. Yes, yes, I do like the occasional cappuccino or latte and I’m all for iced coffee as long as the temp outside is reasonably warm.

As always, when I have a passion for something, I do a little research. I have a dear friend who works in the coffee business. No, no. He’s not a barista. He is involved with importing beans from South America to Italy and testing the beans for quality. Did I say test? Oh my, my. I do mean TASTE. This is my kind of job.

A few weeks ago he and his lovely wife were in the Boston area and we met for lunch. We had a delightful lunch and they presented me with a big Ziploc bag of fresh roasted beans. Fresh as in roasted yesterday. The fragrance emanating from the bag was heaven on earth.

Anyway, I was curious to know about the coffee business and I asked a million questions. I learned that coffee has overtones, much the way wine does. Fruity, chocolaty etc. It was fascinating. A few days later Xavi asked me what I thought about the blend. I said there was a fruity overtone. He said I was right on the mark. OK…I’m intrigued. I want to know more about this business. 

For some people, coffee is a way to wake up. For me, it’s all about the taste. Yes, I’ll admit to needing my morning caffeine wake up call but I won’t settle for an inferior brew. I don’t mind paying more for a better coffee. I used to swear by Starbucks, but now I’m not so sure I like it. Compared to what I grind, Starbucks tastes bitter and dirty and leaves an unpleasant after taste. Dunks is fine for iced black. My preference when I’m at work is the bar across the hallway which serves up a great Illy espresso. And in the mornings I go for a triple. I’m totally hardcore!!

In a few days I’ll be in Italy again. Trieste. The land of Illy café. You can bet one of the first things I plan on doing is having a coffee.

Have a great week. Next post from Trieste!

And It's Only A Buck!

I have recently discovered something marvelous. The dollar store. OK, so it’s not a new concept I know, but I am thoroughly addicted.

There is a dollar store on my way to work. I stop in there about once a month. This is a REAL dollar store. EVERYTHING is $1.00. It’s amazing. I can walk in there with a twenty-dollar bill and come out with a bag full of wonderful things. 

For example:

When our son moved into his first apartment he needed some drinking glasses. I bought him 6 glasses at a buck a piece. Really nice glasses. I liked them so much that I went back and bought some for our kitchen. I also bought a new set of plates. One dollar each. REALLY nice plates.

Last week I stopped on my way to work. I needed toilet paper. 4 rolls for a buck. The soft kind. How wonderful is that? I also went down an aisle that had the cutest socks. So I bought 5 pairs. Actually, that’s wrong. Several were packaged with 2 pairs. I mean come on. You always need socks. Let’s face it. The washer and dryer have eaten their fair share.

This particular dollar store is extremely organized. I am most impressed when I go there. Not everything  is the greatest quality, but I have to say that I’ve found some really good stuff. The party supplies are outstanding.

Obviously I’m not shopping for clothes (socks don’t count), food or major appliances at a dollar store. But hey…for a few bucks I can cross a few things off my shopping list!

Have a great week everyone. The weather has changed and I’m loving AUTUMN!

The Falling Leaves

Ah, autumn. My absolute favorite time of year. How can you not love it? The crisp air, the beautiful colors, the smells of fireplaces and hot cider.

My favorite month is October. That’s autumn. By November the leaves have all dropped and the color starts to fade. But I also love November.  So many people love summer. I like it too. But it starts to get old. By the middle of September I’m craving soups and sweaters.

Here in the New England/Boston area, we basically have summer and winter, with a month of spring and a month of autumn thrown in for good measure. Maybe. But stick around. The weather will change in 10 minutes!

Here’s my top 10 list of autumn:

1)      Wearing big sweaters and leggings. Now that I can wear leggings I am obsessed with them!

2)      FOLIAGE!!!!

3)      Soups, stews, cider

4)      Fireplaces

5)      Crunching through piles of leaves. As long as there’s no dog poop it’s all good.

6)      Big books. Reading Follett’s Winter of the World.

7)      Down comforters at night and leaving the window open just a crack

8)      Ghosts, goblins and gobblers

9)      Turning the heat on in the car

10)   SCARVES!

There are more, but hey, it’s autumn and so I’m not writing it. I’m going to live it!

Happy October everyone. Have a great week!

Long Live Rock: The Good, The Bad and The Lyrical

Have you ever listened to rock lyrics? I mean REALLY listened to them. Yeah. Most are pretty bad. Don’t get me wrong. The music is awesome. It’s almost as if the lyrics are a second thought. Of course this is a generalization. Not ALL rock lyrics are horrendous. Just a lot of them are pointless. My opinion. And don’t get me started on some of the intensely heavy metal songs. If you can call them songs. Again, I love metal (not the growling songs) and I adore hard rock.

For years I’ve been writing and rewriting lyrics for several hard rock musicians in Italy. It’s a triple process. One musician has finally relented and lets me “create” the lyrics. Some of the others just want their “grammar” corrected.

Triple process= Italian dictionary + American rhyming dictionary + thesaurus. The difficulty lies in the translation. Italian DOES not translate the way we want it to. For that matter neither do most languages. So it comes down to reworking and re translating.

The lyrics I correct are fairly simple and not terribly sophisticated. I tweak them to make them work. Songs about love, heartache, passion blah, blah, blah. It’s rock. It’s blues. Great stuff.

The lyrics I write are not simple and very sophisticated. After finishing a song, my favorite rock musician said…ok Ellen…now you have to explain it to me! I love that. To the American ear, the song makes all the sense in the world. To the Italian ear, it needs a serious translation and analysis. It means I’ve done my job well!

Two of my favorite songwriters are Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Yes, they both have vocals that sound like sandpaper on gravel. But to me, their lyrics are pure magic. And their music is wonderful. Another amazing band is Pink Floyd. The lyrics are so weird and wonderful. But of course I love them. After all, I sing in a prog rock band!

So turn on the radio. Listen to lyrics. But don’t think too hard. Just enjoy!

Happy Monday all! ROCK ON!!!

Out of the Bedroom and Onto the Bookshelves

It’s everywhere. Books, magazines, television, internet and sometimes in the bedroom as well. We’re talkin’ porn here.

A thousand moons ago it was hidden in brown paper wrappers and slipped under the mattress. Now it’s totally out in the open.

Pornography is big business but let’s get down to brass tacks. Let’s talk about the written word. In literature it’s called “Erotica”.

Erotica has been around forever. Well before my time at least. Yours too.

Sex manuals, poetry, badly written fiction and classic literature.

Some prime examples, which by the way are all still available:

The Kama Sutra-come on…it’s the sex manual deluxe.

Anais Nin-her writings are unbelievable. An old boyfriend once gave me an edition of her diaries.

Erica Jong-ah yes…Fear of Flying, how could we forget this classic? I still have it on my bookshelf!

The Joy Of Sex and Nancy Friday’s books and of course Cosmopolitan magazine. These days even men are reading Cosmo.

And now we have 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I read all 3. Yes, I did. Why shouldn’t I? They sit less than 2 feet from my face at the cash wrap in my bookstore. Well, ONE of us had to read it. It was either that or The Hunger Games and since 4 of my colleagues read those…I decided to drink the poison and read 50 Shades.

OK…it’s not literary magic, but it’s a fun little story. OK, it’s a VERY sexually explicit story. Like half the stuff in there I never even heard of. People do THAT?? Holy crap.

I gotta give Ms. James a lot of credit for putting this stuff on paper (first it was an e-book) and selling it to the world. She has a great publicist. No, it’s not Anais Nin, but it’s a fast, fun read. I sell dozens of these a week. It’s very cute, really. Women are a bit embarrassed and then I tell them, pfft…EVERYONE is reading it. It’s true. I even saw a TSA officer reading it on the employee shuttle. A male TSA officer.

So last week I was visiting Mom in NY. There, in full view, on the coffee table was 50 Shades. After composing my thoughts I asked, who was reading it? Mom replied that she finished the first and was reading the second. I tried not to hyperventilate and I asked her if she learned anything. She said not really, She already knew all that stuff. Mamma mia.

Well, I’m not buying fur lined handcuffs anytime soon, but Christian Grey is quite a catch. He has his own helicopter and plane. That works for me!!

In the meantime, I’m back to reading better literature. If you need any recommendations, let me know!

Have a great week.

Alexander Graham Bell Part Deux

Last week my friend Cathy got a new phone. It’s a Droid and has a big screen. It’s really nice. To tell you the truth, I’m a little jealous. I want a new phone. I don’t think it’s happening anytime soon.

We’re on the family plan with the provider that starts with a V. You know that one. It’s ridiculously expensive. With this provider we have 4 cell phone lines, a land line, DSL line, wireless internet and cable. And this being said, the person who pays the bill does not want to add on any more features to our already enormous monthly bill.

NOT a qwerty keyboard!

Small, compact and 5 years old.

So where does this leave me?? With a non qwerty keyboard and a dying battery. As you can see from the photos…it’s not really old school but it’s pretty ancient. It takes lousy pics, takes forever to text and the battery has to be charged every 8 hours or so. For a phone without internet, that’s not good.

I stopped on my way home from work to the V store to see what I could do about it. I had an idea of what I wanted. A basic phone with a decent screen, qwerty keyboard, camera and a slide out keyboard because I’m not crazy about touch screen texting. I was shown the basic phone department. There were 3. Phones. Uh huh. THREE. And about half a million smart phones, droids, iphones. And 3 basic phones. The lovely young lady that was helping me said they were phasing out the basic phones. So what happens if you aren’t paying for a data plan? Oops.

All I want is a phone that takes good pics, that I can text and call from and an alarm clock. That’s all. The whole apps thing confuses the crap out of me. Yes, it would be nice to look up info when I’m not near my PC or laptop. I don’t want to read emails or go on facebook from a small hand-held device. I’m ok with coming home to do that.

So I need to choose between 3 phones. OK….I can do that. I used to get a free phone with my service upgrade. I’ve had this phone for 5 years. Not only is the new phone NOT free, it’s damn expensive and there is a service upgrade fee. What is UP with that?? Cathy got her phone for free. It’s just not fair. Pfft.

And so, it looks like I’ll be keeping my relic for a little while longer. Don’t panic if I don’t text you back right away. My battery has probably died again.

I’m in New York visiting Mom. Have a great week!

Hit the Road Jack

I love to travel. As far back as my memory takes me (which could be yesterday) I’ve always traveled.

Growing up, we traveled as a family. In my 20’s I traveled solo. Then with my husband and son. And now? Back to traveling solo again. My husband isn’t big on traveling. He’s a stay at home kind of guy. Me? I’ll travel anywhere. Even to the next state. I like the adventure of seeing and learning something new. New places. It’s like a quest.

I’m not big on the tour group thing. Been there. Done that. I don’t like being rushed. I’m all about history. Any kind of history. And so, visiting historical sights is a big passion. I want to see every detail. I also try to research and study about any place I’m visiting, whether it’s Tokyo or Mystic, Connecticut (yes, I DID watch Mystic Pizza. The pizza is actually pretty lousy).

I like getting involved with the locals. Even if I don’t speak the language. The first experience I had with that was in 1971. We were in San Francisco’s Chinatown. My Dad was determined NOT to eat in a touristy type place and so he found a great little dive. We were the only non Chinese customers in the place. I don’t remember what we ate, but I remember it being good. AND there were no forks on the tables. Chopsticks only.

Yes, yes of course one MUST visit the places that all the tourists go to. You HAVE to visit Piazza San Marco in Venice. It’s a must. It’s history. It’s beautiful. My first visit to Italy was filled with all the tourguide places. These days…if I need to be anywhere around Piazza San Marco, I walk quickly. I still look up to see the majesty of it all, but I don’t linger.

It’s nice to know people that live in the places you visit. You get a local point of view. I don’t mind being a tourist at all. I just prefer going to the out of way places. The little hole in the wall restaurants that have the best food.

I have this mental list (growing by the minute) of the places I want to visit. Some are very doable and some are a far reach. The downside is that travel is not cheap. Five star hotels are not an option. Actually, staying in family owned B&B’s are in fact, so much better.

Here’s my mental list. I wouldn’t call it a bucket list because the reality is that there are some places I probably will never visit. It’s a list in progress:

CLEVELAND, OHIO. Why?? You ask. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame I answer!

MONTREAL and QUEBEC, CANADA. I’ve been to Canada a few times, but I was too young to really appreciate it.

CHICAGO. I know….it’s true. I’ve never been there. I’ve been to almost every state in the USA but never to Chicago or

NEW ORLEANS. Both cities…for the jazz of course. And the food. You knew that, right?

ALASKA. The last frontier.

HAVANA, CUBA. Mainly for the music. And the food. Duh.

BRAZIL. Not during Carnival time.

SPAIN. The music. The culture. I’ve wanted to go there for as long as I can remember.

THE ORIENT EXPRESS. From Venice to Istanbul. The ultimate train adventure. I need to win the lottery for that one.

PARIS, PARIS, PARIS. Sooner than later. Maybe in a year from this October. Top of the list.

It’s a short list. For now. Yes, there are places in ITALY I would like to visit…but, since I go there a lot, it doesn’t count!

And now, I will travel to the supermarket. Not terribly far, but always an adventure!

Happy Labor Day. 

See you next week.

Information Overload (TMI)

 The more I read, the more confused I become. I’m not talking about genres like fiction, mystery, biography and history. Step into the self-help aisle.

The other day a new book came in that had food cures for almost every ailment you could name. Except of course weight loss. There are a gazillion other books for that. We’ll get to that later on. Eat this and one ailment lessens but of course it cancels out another ailment getting better. It’s insane.

It’s hard to know who or what to believe these days. It’s downright confusing and can be crazy expensive. The contradictions are endless. I’ve been having a little bit of digestive problems lately. Not a big deal really. So I searched a bit to see what I could do to make it better. Don’t eat this. Eat that. Don’t drink this. Drink that. But if I want to LOSE the weight I CAN’T eat that. It’s a big mess.

I think things were much simpler before we had so much information available to us. It makes me nervous and a bit obsessive. Online, magazines, books. Everywhere you look there is information about how to have younger skin, how to wear clothes, what and where to eat. I don’t always go looking for it, but somehow it manages to be in my face ALL the time.

OK, yes, I’ll admit I AM a product junkie although over the last few years I’ve gotten my fix at Walgreens or CVS. And Sephora. A little.

And now to the weight loss. As you all know, I have been on a strict program since Jan. 2, 2012. It’s working for me and I’m looking forward to reaching my goal so I can add the foods I love back into my life. I’ve learned how to eat, what to avoid and all that. I was curious to learn what the new food pyramid looks like. I spent over an hour trying to find it online. Each one I looked at said something different. Too much information. All I wanted to know was how many starchy carbs, how much protein, fruit, vegetables. When I eventually have to go out on my own without a net, I need facts. Don’t tell me to calculate my BMI and then divide it 1000 times by my weight blah, blah, blah. Just give me concrete facts. One slice of pizza? Or is two ok? I used to be able to eat a whole pie (Italy not USA) and I probably still could, but there would be hell to pay in the morning.

I guess my best line of defense would be to stop reading and just listen to what my body tells me. A headache? Take a Tylenol, drink lots of water and skip the heavy metal concert. If I went by the books I’d be having a brain scan.

And now dear friends, I will go offline and watch a movie. Chick flick. Easy and painless.

Have a great week!

The Piano in the Parlor

 In my living room, in the tower part of the room (Queen Anne Victorian) sits my parlor grand. It’s far from being a new piano. I think it’s well over a hundred years old. It even has ivory keys. Yup, it’s old.

This was my Gram’s piano. It used to live in The Bronx. They bought it used. It was at least 50 years old. My grandparents had a spacious apartment and the piano sat at the end of the living room.

Not quite ready for lessons

Whenever we went to visit, I always gravitated towards that end of the room. When I was 7 or maybe 8 (who can remember?) my grandmother told my mother it was time for me to have lessons. And so it began.

My parents bought a spinet piano and I started lessons. While the other kids in the neighborhood were outside playing, I was inside practicing. At first it was torture. Then it was status. Then it became my life. And the rest is history…

Now back to Gram’s piano.

In her will, Gram left me the piano. It was a given. Gram decided to give me her piano after we bought our house. She figured I’d make better use of it and rather than sitting in her living room collecting dust (actually, Gram never had dust) it would have a happy home near the sea. And Gram would have a lot more living room space.

Blueberry is fast asleep!

So she sent that piano up to Boston. They had a hell of a time getting it into the house but there it was. Gram’s piano in my tower room. It fit perfectly. Like it was meant to be. She even sent along the ruby vase that always sat on the piano. Today, the ruby vase is NOT on the piano because there are two loveable felines that like to lounge on top of the piano (don’t worry, they sleep on throws and pillows…no scratching the varnish).

Sammy

The piano is old. The sound is ok but not great. When Sammy (my keyboard player) comes to visit from Trieste, he always gravitates towards that part of the living room just as I did in The Bronx. I can’t imagine my home without Gram’s piano.

Our son Spencer called the other day. He’s coming home for a visit. His one request? No, not food. Well, yes, just a few grocery items. He requested the piano be tuned. What can I say? The kid has perfect pitch.

Thanks Mom, for making me practice all those years. There is such joy in being able to sit down and tickle those ivories. Especially REAL ivories. Gram’s piano.

Have a great week!

A Weighty Matter

Well I did it. I finally broke down and bought a new scale. It’s so pretty. It’s glass. Kind of a smokey gray. Goes well with the bathroom floor where it will live. For now.

I haven’t been jumping on and off the scale a lot lately. The horrendous summer humidity has been so awful that I feel like a beached whale. Still down 4 sizes since Jan. 2, so I know I’m doing ok.

So here’s this new scale waiting for me. I climb on. It’s telling me I’m down 10 more lbs. than my OLD scale. This is kind of sketchy. So I take two 4 lb. dumbbells and put them on the scale. It’s right on. 8 lbs. Um. Ok. So I get on the scale again. If I stand dead center with my feet together it reads one thing. If I stand with feet slightly apart it tells me something else. And if I breathe it tells me yet something else. I need a PhD to figure out how and where to stand on the scale. This is a nightmare.

On the other hand, if it’s really true that my OLD scale was 10 lbs. off, I’m quite thrilled. Not so much at what the numbers say now, but the knowledge that I have less weight to lose to reach my goal. That works for me. Skinny jeans here I come!

As of this posting I’m down 65 lbs. (29kg) I think.

Have  great week!

Extra, Extra

Ah, the newspaper. Breathe it, hold it. Get that smudgy newsprint all over your fingers.

I have to admit, I’m not the biggest newspaper fan. I mean I look at the headlines..but…I’d prefer hearing my news via radio, TV, reading it online or listening to people talk about and debate it.

Growing up in New York we had THE NEW YORK TIMES, which to my father was the bible of all newspapers. He read it religiously front page to back page every single day. On Sundays we kids got to share in the glory with the funny pages. Daddy also got the local paper, Newsday, which was a small, easy to digest edition (and had better funny pages). Even when we traveled my father read the local papers and searched (and usually found) a NY Times. I never understood the attraction of the NY Times. OK, the book review is great, the travel section is great and the arts section is great. Of course, all that is included in Sunday’s edition. Oh, and the crossword puzzle. Books, travel, arts, crosswords…you can see where this is going. News? What news?

I see the NY Times every day. I see it. I don’t read it. We carry it in my bookstore in Boston’s Logan International Airport. Along with The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. The Globe and Herald are big sellers. NY Times somewhat, WSJ is a big one with the weekday business travelers. I have one colleague (who shall remain anonymous) who insists we stock 20+ copies of the Times every day. A bit much. After all, we ARE a bookstore and there are 6 newsstands in the terminal. Of course, at the end of the day we have 15 NY Times left over to schlep out of the store. On Sundays it’s a nightmare. To this anonymous colleague, the Times is like the Bible. To this anonymous colleague I’d like to…well, you get the idea. 

I remember several years ago, hearing a rumor that newspapers would be obsolete by the year 2000. Obviously, that’s not the case. Most newspapers are available in hard copy and online. Even the small local papers. I like that. I can pick and choose the stories I want to peruse without getting my fingers smudgy. In the old days there were little white cotton gloves to wear while you read the papers. Cool concept. I’d like those gloves now when I have to schlep 15 NY Times out of my store.

 I think that writing a column for a local newspaper would be an awesome job. I’d do it in a nano second. Anyone hiring??

Be informed. Read the news. Even when there’s nothing worth reading there’s always the funny pages.

Sizing Things Up

A few days ago I received a clothing catalog in the mail (real mail, not email).

This catalog was a plus size clothing catalog. Sizes 10-28. Are you kidding me?

Since when did size 10 become a plus size? At the moment I wear a plus size 14/16. I would like to get down to a size 8 or 10 but come on. It’s extremely discouraging to learn that size 10 now joins the world of plus sizes. In the August issue of  People Style Watch they say that the average American woman wears a size 8. Really?? Someone needs to re-adjust their thinking cap.

Many designers are getting on the bandwagon and creating clothes for us larger women. This is a good thing. Not so long ago Rubenesque ladies had no choice but to wear tent like structures. Remember Mama Cass Elliot?  Today, we have a choice of designers and ready to wear, off the rack options. Clothes that actually fit the curves.

On the flip side…what used to be a size 10 is no longer really a size 10. More like a 6 or 8. When I was in my 20’s, there was no such thing as size 0. Or 00. What’s up with that??

There were misses, juniors and petites. Plus sizes did not exist. If you needed a really large size you went to a specialty store that charged you a fortune and embarrassed the crap out of you when you walked in the door.

These days the plus department is big business. After all, if McDonald’s can plus size their portions then clothing can go along with it. For me, getting out of the plus department is an exciting event. Unfortunately if 10 is a new plus size, I may stay in this department for a long time. I need to do more research on this. After all it’s just one catalog.

The number on the tag shouldn’t matter as much as how the clothes fit. But sometimes it’s hard to know which direction to go in. Larger or smaller?

In the meantime, I’ll stick with the clothes I have. For now. In a few months I’ll be ready to hit the racks.

Oh, as of this posting I’m down 64 pounds (29 kg.).

Have a great week. See you next Monday!