Another chapter begins

As of may 11 I'll be out of job again. One of the hazards of working for sodexo is that if the client puts you out to bid you risk loosing that account. Which is actually what has happened. They also don't do much about getting you placed somewhere else either. I've gone on numerous interviews but have yet to hear from anyone. It can be frustrating at times not being able to predict what happens next, yet humbling. If I have learned one thing in the past 2 years it's that things always seem to work themselves out. I've got some more ideas up my sleeve, and fortunately this time I can collect unemployement which will give me some freedom to explore those options. I don't want to have to settle for something I don't like doing anymore. Working in senior services suck! All those people do is complain. I spent the past year walking through hallways littered with walkers, wheelchairs, and urine soaked sheets laying in bundles outside apartment doors waiting for housekeeping to pick them up. Each day I would arrive and tell myself it's ok, i'll get use to it. I actually did, that part of it is scary in itself . It does zap a lot of energy out of me, it's time to reassess the road and take a new direction.
Current projects on the way
1. Firefighter 1 more than half way done, graduating July
2. Book my version of the American dream
3. Line of products, r&d stage
4. Flock expansion, 4 chicks and 3 ducks almost ready to join the rest outside
5. Expanded vegetable garden
6. Green to be built out of reclaimed wood and old windows
I don't think I'll be bored :)

FarmVille Intervention please!

I knew it would only be a matter of time before I got allured into this wildly popular online game. At first I thought, how odd, a game about farming, it seemed peculiar to me. Wouldn’t one want the real thing, getting your hands in the soil, seeding, weeding, watering, and enjoying the fruits of one’s labor? I had seen the funny messages on Facebook. So and so fed your chickens, so and so fertilized your crops. I disregarded them as another foolish attempt to beguile me.

I can’t quite remember what it was or when I unexpectedly clicked on the Farmville icon. Perhaps it was during one of those dreary cold dark winter nights not to long in the past. Maybe I yearned for some comfort in a virtual garden, since I had tried spreading some homemade compost on my own beds only to be faced with a giant frozen mound that when I tried to penetrate with my shovel sent reverberations through my body.

I looked at the screen and saw 6 brown plots and a character waiting for me to make into my image, it’s amazing how much likeness there is between us. The first thing I did was hit the mute button, the accompanying tune that played over and over was driving me crazy. So I sat out to plow and plant my virtual garden. No sooner had I finished and Eimer sent me a message requesting to be my neighbor, I obliged of course, and awards starting coming in. Coins for this, ribbons for that, people sending gifts such as farm animals, trees, a chicken coop which by the way is much better designed than the real one we have. The possibilities are endless. No need to worry about watering, weather, what zone you’re in. It’s a virtual garden Utopia! Where else can you grow banana trees, cranberries, and cotton all in the same place. Or command your animals to “stay” so that you would not have to worry about them wondering off and finding themselves in the middle of the road playing Russian roulette with passing cars.

Little by little my farm grows, I discovered how to get more plowed land, giving me increased revenue as I planted and harvested various fruits and vegetables. I purchase trees, move them around with no backbreaking digging, just a click of the mouse.

Then it happened, I had planted strawberries and when I checked on them following day I stared at bunches of virtual brown dead plants. I was shocked! How did this happen? They weren’t supposed to die, I paid good money for these. It turns out that every seed variety comes with a harvesting time, wait to long and they die. From that moment , I found myself checking my farm every few hours, even dreaming about it. When I am out running errands I time my trips to make sure I am back in time to harvest. At work I nonchalantly open two internet windows one I pretend to work on, the other containing FarmVille, is minimized so I won’t be detected as I check on it periodically . I visit other farms to rack up more points so I can get to the next level, and unlock more objects to purchase. Even while writing this I checked three times to see if anything needs to be done, a cow milked, collect a pig’s truffles or goose feathers. It’s utterly insane. I am sure it’s a temporary condition. Once the weather warms, I will be back among the living, plowing and seeding real soil, raising 2 geese and perhaps some more chickens, enjoying longer days, sitting on the porch of my real farm house. But until then you will find me on FarmVille evident by the stream of FarmVille posts on my Facebook!

A new chapter?

Perhaps many factors are at play at this time. The vitamin D, I apparently was deficient in seems to now be returning to normal levels thanks to the weekly 50,000 units I am taking. This has given me a definite boost of energy.Combined with the epiphany I had tonight that my job sucks, they are idiots and I am wasting my time and talent. At what point does having a job, insurance, paid vacation etc not become enough for me. That time seems to have arrived. I should be content yet I am not. I feel as if I am settling for less when I can be capable of doing so much more. I'm not one of those drones programmed to follow a mindless set of actions day in day out. Listening to absolute jibberish and serving hideous food. YUK! someone rescue me please :)

The previous paragraph was written about 2 weeks ago,since that time I have been trying to figure out what I can do to change my situation. Contentment seems to be a hard thing for me. I am always looking for something, nothing wrong with that. I have come to the realization that if anything is going to change it is going to be me doing the changing. I realized this on New Years Eve, when I found out that the somewhat planned gathering of great minds to discuss a possible plan for the future fell apart. ( no offense to the parties in question, it arrived at the perfect moment).
Even though I continue to look for a better job, I am beginning to wonder does it even exist. That reminded me as to why we moved here, on a piece of property with so much potential. Food is my passion, yet at this time it is not furfilling my needs at the job I'm at, and so I've set out to find out what other passsion possess. It dawned on me yesterday while gazing at my hellebores seedlings, by golly that's it! Plants.....I get such a joy each morning as I look at the progress of their growth, searching for new seedlings emmerging from the soil. In addition I started thinking about all those snowdrops I planted and am looking forward to their awakening this Spring.
I've decided to cultivate this passion, see if I can multiply and specialize in just these 2 plants, in the hopes of perhaps creating a new career. So there it is, and for all those wondering what that comment I posted on FB meant.......this should explain it. I am reinvigored with energy and hope for the future!

Thanksgiving 09

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. To me there is no better way to start the Holiday season than to gather with friends and cook copious amounts of great food. After moving to Reno it seemed our Thanksgiving spirit diminished year after year to the point that we didn’t even bother anymore.  We were left with distant memories of how we use to celebrate with our friends in Miami.
However this year the spirit returned to us, perhaps because we had returned somewhat to our roots. Bon Appétit magazine had arrived and I leafed through it with great anticipation. This year I went with the Farm to Table menu, it could not be more perfect considering our surroundings. Knowing we would have friends staying and joining us for dinner brought all those wonderful memories of past Thanksgiving dinners back to me. Surely all was not lost, and we would once again create great moments! I was confident we got our groove back. The setting could not be more perfect, a large kitchen table in an old farmhouse, fires blazing!

Tom, Karen and the kids were here for the week, great helpers! While Tom took the kids out for the day, Karen and I settled in the kitchen Wednesday, to prep. Space is limited, and only one oven made planning imperative. I had picked up our bird from Bolton Farms, which was quite the scene, the store was completely reconfigured to allow for all us lemmings to enter, be handed our bird and exit after paying, into the parking lot which had a Mormon family selling baked goods. Sugary cinnamon cakes could not be ignored, especially when having a nine year old  in tow!

I put Karen in charge of chopping and dicing, while i attended to making stock for gravy, making stuffing and blanching veggies. Our intention was to make as much of the dinner as possible, so we would have a relaxing day of it, and only have to cook the bird and make gravy. We would make use of the open fire to heat up our sides. Gina and Mike were bringing pumpkin gnocchi and a chocolate pumpkin pie. Hannah would help me make a four layer pumpkin cake with orange icing.








That night exhausted from all the work, we all piled into the car to get pizza at the local joint in Frenchtown. Followed by a quick stop at the Frenchtown Inn to get dessert!

Thursday morning Karen and Tom went for their usual morning walk. I suggested they follow the trail behind our house which would take them into the woods up a nice hill and loop back down. Hannah and I finished the cake with her making the icing and decorating the cake. That girl will make a great baker some day! 20 minutes later Karen and Tom returned with Karen visibly shaking and upset. Apparently lots of gunshots were going off (I forgot hunting season had started) and she was convinced she would be mistaken for a deer and be gunned down. After calming Karen down with the help of a mimosa it was time to cover the turkey with a butter and white wine soaked cheesecloth (a Martha Stewart trick) and start the roasting process.

David was frantically running around the house getting it in order and putting his final detailed touches on it to make the place look "magazine cover" perfect. All of a sudden he stopped in his tracks, much like a Keane Reeves moment in the movie Matrix, he seemed suspended in mid air...... "This peninsula of shoes must be removed and stored elsewhere!" He yelled! I could not help but laugh hysterically (inside of course).

The day progressed nicely, basting the turkey every 30 minutes, Gina, Mike and kids arriving with their goodies. Of course thanksgiving can’t be complete without its normal hiccups. No sooner had I turned on 2 burners and the heat detection alarm went off on the hood. Beeping rapidly in a high pitch range piercing through my brain as I tried to finish making dinner, not the ideal relaxing comforting feeling I had in mind. The only way to remedy this was by getting a fan and directing it at the hood to disperse the hot air. So there i was holding the fan in one hand at an angle while stirring with the other hand, and trying desperately to live in the moment and not letting that awful beeping sound get to me. Luckily it only lasted for about 10 minutes and normalcy returned to the kitchen'.

Dinner was served, we all gathered at the table and devoured what took 2 days to prepare in less than an hour. At least I had made enough to make creative left over dishes for days. by the time dessert came around we were all pretty well relaxed with the help of red wine, so it didn’t take us long to trash Gina's dessert, that unfortunately was a little burned, and we referred to as the astray tart. She's such a good sport; we all got great mileage out of it for days! Hannah's cake was scrumptious!

A nice walk after dinner with glasses of wine in hand, dogs and kids in tow, was a perfect ending to a perfect day! Yes I think it is safe to say that we definetly got our groove back, and look forward to many more Thanksgiving dinners!

For Narnia!

It’s always so refreshing and enjoyable for me to witness how a nine year old views the world through his imagination. Karen, the kids and I were walking along the towpath when all of a sudden Dylan who I had assumed was killing phantom demons with a branch he was waving around, shouted "for Narnia" as he leapt into the air. Cooper one of our labradoodles joined him and made it his objective to get that branch out of Dylan’s hand and run with it. Even though the branch measured about 4 feet across this did not discourage his quest to conquer it. In fairness Dylan caught on to him and threw the stick for Cooper to fetch. Only to be taunted by Cooper running from him each time he tried to grab it back. It became a game of cat and mouse but not for long. A war was to be fought, being the ever so resourceful nine year old, other sticks became swords and "for Narnia" would echo numerous times along the way. Cooper would follow in tow in hopes one of those sticks would be dropped and he could help fight the war. Near the end of our walk Dylan managed to hoist a sizable log over his head and scream one more time for Narnia, before the log dropped from his hands and bounced of the ground with a resounding thug.


Being that branches are in abundance on our property, Dylan discovered a new use for them.

While staying with us, each morning soon after he woke up he would go to our chicken coop to check for eggs. A few days into this he decided that the chickens weren't laying fast enough, and David caught him inside the coop with a branch poking the chickens trying to coach them into there egg laying box to do their job! Dolly the rooster was not impressed, one does not mess with his girls, and he was pretty vocal about it.

A few days later while we left David, Tom and Dylan to hang Christmas Lights on our house, we returned to find Dylan with branch in hand resuming the duties of his imagination. Hitting bushes, and running around holding the branch high up in the air. At dinner that night his mom asked him who he imagined himself to be. He explained with great determination that first he was a ninja going into great detail as to what he was wearing, this was followed by switching to interrogator and then police officer.

I had forgotten until writing this that I too role-played at that age, except mine where more of the fair maiden kind during the Middle Ages. I wanted to be rescued by a handsome prince and ride off into the sunset with him on a horse. I remember making necklaces out of flowers and wearing them to enhance the role I was playing. Is it any wonder I am what I am ;)

Daddy and his Android!

"Navigate to Philadelphia" The command escaped from Ted’s mouth into his new Verizon Droid phone with Google application. We had all piled into the rental car at our house in Erwinna, me with the kids in the back, Billy 9years old and his older sister Sarah, 13. Their mom Kate sat in the front next to the "navigator". The car turned right on headquarters road and then the ever so pleasant female voice instructed us to turn left in 1 quarter mile. I thought it strange but then maybe I misheard the command. "Turn left now" the phone instructed. Ted took a sharp left almost missing the turn, but avoiding the car from ending up in the ditch. We were now on Tinicum Creek Road headed towards River Road. “We are going the wrong way” I exclaimed, only to be interrupted by Ted, stating the droid is NEVER wrong and to TRUST the droid. It became instantly clear to me not to get between a man and his new toy! I also realized that we were heading southeast when we should have been heading southwest. I only knew that, because I was frantically texting David giving him updates, and asking him where the hell we were heading. I am completely void of any sense of direction, perhaps Droid would not be a bad thing for me. We eventually traversed our way onto I 95 and headed South towards the city. I felt a sense of relief knowing we were on a major freeway and droid or no droid we would end up in Philadelphia. I must admit, that we did get to the city in about the same time it would have taken had we driven the way I would have. And the drive seemed more pleasant. So I gave kudos to the droid.




After parking the car, bathroom break and a quick snack for the kids at Burger King it was off to the Liberty Bell with the help of Droid, even though it was only 3 blocks away! Our next destination involved finding one of the Gastro Pubs I had read about in Bon Appétit. After checking distances from our location on all three listings with Droid we decided on the closest one. "Navigate to South Philadelphia Tap room”, I heard Ted say. It’s only 2 miles from here, a 30 minute walk. Off we went, I figured since this gadget got us to the city, this should be a breeze. As we strolled through the streets, the droid was passed onto Hannah who after a few blocks, got frustrated with it, since it seemed to tell us to go a certain direction we somehow did not want to go. She handed it to me, to which I had a similar reaction, since it kept telling me to make a u turn every few blocks. Captain Ted reassumed the position at the helm of the ship, and every now and then I would hear him repeat the command “navigate to South Philadelphia Tap Room”. “Only a few more blocks” he would declare. I began to fear for our lives as the neighborhood became less desirable to be in. One block would be dotted with cute old homes with colorful shutters and the next block was peppered with adult clothing stores, then nothing, just cheap housing and suspect characters roaming the streets. At this point we had walked well over an hour, but Ted stuck to his guns and according to his calculations we were only 2 blocks away. It wasn’t until 15 minutes later we discovered he had turned the Droid off, which sent me into a silent nervous breakdown. Beads of sweat were forming and rolling down my back, we were all going to die, I believed! I was convinced of this, since we were nearing the neighborhood of row houses that I had driven through months ago, and realized after noticing burnt out houses, drug dealers and prostitutes I did not belong there! The city skyline, was a mere mirage as I looked back for an escape route, in case knives and guns were drawn. The food better be worth it, I thought to myself as I clung to Billy's hand, who I could always pawn if needed to in an emergency. Another 30 minutes had passed, when we finally crossed 611 and I noticed that the city skyline was once again within reach. What had just happened? How did we walk so far out of the way, when we could have gone in a straight line and cut the journey in half? Turns out Droid needed some human intervention, when navigating with Droid one must specify driving or walking! We were walking the driving directions, with all the one way streets one would have navigated in a car, we just walked a giant circle to get to our destination. Ah well no harm done, we got to see many aspects of the city, and burned calories we were soon to digest at the Gastro Pub!



Oh yeah, I changed Tom, Karen, Dylan and Hannah’s names to protect their identity!








http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/07/philadelphia

Halloween Weekend with Friends

I had been a little anxious all week, awaiting our friends’ arrival for Halloween weekend. They were scheduled to arrive on Friday night from New York, and knowing all that could go wrong I prayed extra hard to get them here. Thankfully it all worked out, even the car rental. Kent, Mike the dog, Jen and Ted all managed to coordinate their schedules and pile in the rental car to make the quick trip (once out of the Holland Tunnel) to our abode in Bucks County.

A few phone calls reassuring them that yes, they were still on the right road and at around 8 pm they pulled into our driveway. I guided them in with a flashlight at the edge of our driveway, since it gets pretty dark out here in the country! Kent jumped out of the car ran around to let Mike out. Apparently Mike farted the entire journey, making it pretty intolerable to say the least.



After everyone settled in and Mike was introduced to our pack of dogs, it was time for cocktails. Both fires were going and steaks were marinating to be grilled later on the big open fire in our kitchen. I made a reduction of pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar brown sugar, beef stock, juniper berries, sage, rosemary, onion, garlic, and marjoram to accompany the beef. Along with some pasta tossed with kale that David had prepared. My first attempt at making this sauce resulted in a kitchen filled with smoke. Note to self: don’t take a shower while reducing sauces! Going by reactions around the table it was safe to say the sauce was a hit. There was even talk of bottling and selling it. Dean and Deluca here I come!



The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, having great conversation sipping wine and cocktails.



Saturday we all rose early, David had to work so Jen Ted and I hit the road to peruse local antique stores and also pick up my wooden drying rack I scored at a thrift store for 12 dollars. Kent and Mike stayed at the house and held down the fort. The drive took us up scenic Geigel Hill road into Ottsville. We were a bit ahead of schedule so I just drove them around and wound our way down River Road along the Delaware River. We stopped at Milford to stock up on wine and vodka. At that time stores were open so we headed back up River Road and stopped at the first antique store. I forewarned my friends that the guy here likes to talk and usually doesn’t make much sense. Jen quickly found this out, when he tried to strike up a conversation about a stray cat and his wife being out of it. No clue what the hell he was talking about. I did find a great painting, but he wanted too much money for it, so I took a picture of it instead.

Ted did manage to have conversation with him, much to Jen and mine’s delight. We sat in the car and giggled at the site, 2 flakes engrossed in conversation! This was also the start of our new game of the day, wait for Ted! Our next stop was an old mill turned into a consignment antique store. 3 floors of stuff, Jen bought some old glass insulators, and there we were again, waiting for Ted!

Next it was time to pick up my rack, we browsed a little and yes you guessed it, we waited for Ted (although this time he was buying some cute hats for our dogs to keep their hair back). So the waiting was worth it……



It was lunchtime and we were hungry. Ted had a hankering for beef jerky and pastries (I don’t know) I suggested we should drive to New Hope to C’est La Vie bakery, but instead we settled on driving back to Milford to the Ship’s Inn for some good old English Pub grub, shepherd’s pie and fish and chips. Along with some of their homemade brew! Ted had a hot toddy, very fitting indeed :) after lunch Ted went to the bathroom for what seemed an excessive amount of time, and Jen commented that he took more time then girls. Upon his return, he said “that wall is really interesting” Jen and I cracked up, in his defense he was referring to the history of the place displayed on a wall on the way to the bathroom. A quick jaunt into another antique store, then some dessert buying at Lovin Oven, and we returned back to the house.



Once back I noticed the back door and kitchen window wide open. Kent had attempted to relight the fire but had some trouble with it. There was lighter fluid involved, a house filled with smoke, and freaked out dogs hiding upstairs. Toby had the crap scared out of him, literally! I went into Jen’s room and found some dog doo doo on the white shag carpet of course! Kent claimed that the wood was wet and that was why he couldn’t get it going. Yeah ok city boy! Anyway, some soapy water got it all cleaned up and some newspaper got the fire going.

Our afternoon was spent eating coffee cake drinking chardonnay and napping. We had a big night ahead of us, Halloween! After David got home from work it was time to get ready, make up, lights, camera and ACTION. The pictures speak for themselves!

David Ted (who was not in costume :)) and I left for lambertville, while Jen and Kent stayed at home. I left specific instructions as to how to keep the fire going, and hid the lighter fluid. Lambertville goes all out for Halloween; it’s a small intimate town in New Jersey just across the Delaware River from New Hope, Pa. People decorate their homes and are generous in opening them up to trick or treaters. We stopped at Craig and Kevin’s house and walked to the Boat House bar, with Lisa and Billy owners of Boxwood Flowers. On our way there David got a lot of attention with his outfit. He played the part so well, every now and then this moan would escape from his mouth followed by the statement, “Im a lady!” Walking down the ally towards the bar we passed a restaurant, where David stopped in front of one the windows pretending to fix his hair, much to the dining guests’ delight!

After spending some time at the bar we met up with Craig and Kevin in their costumes and headed to Diana’s restaurant, a popular gathering place on Halloween night. Again David was a huge hit, with people wanting their picture taken with him. I ran into another red riding hood, I think she looked better than me. Someone asked Ted if he was Indiana Jones, it must have been the sunglasses…….

Our last stop for the night was the Nevermore, gay nightclub. What a scary scene, 40 something year olds in muscle t-shirts, drag queens coked up doing catwalks and spinning around on the floor, and sucky music like “party in the USA” Ted noted that their was no dj to be found, suggesting they just had an iPod playing random songs. I did manage to dance a little 



We got home around 1.30 am, the house still standing. Jen had gone to bed, Kent was nursing a cocktail, filled us in on the night. Apparently as soon as we left Milton showed his true colors and became mean towards Mike. He has a personal space issue and lets you know when you get to close. Oh and there was a frog that leaped into the kitchen from the back door and almost jumped into the fire.



Ted fell a sleep on the sofa with hat on, the rest of us slowly nodded off one by one.

Sunday was brunch day!. I made a frittata and Kent made his famous honey pepper bacon. This was not without its usual stress for Kent. The oven wasn’t hot enough, grease everywhere, the sheet pan wasn’t right, I was in the way, I’m messy blah blab blah, I think he burned himself a few times due to excessive shaking. We concluded this would make great TV for bravo! With mimosas in hand we devoured our culinary delights.

This was followed by a walk down the tow path to Stover Farm House, where we gathered black walnuts and nettles for soup. I just love moments like that, it was a perfect time in space, walking with dear friends, enjoying the fall colors and gathering what nature gives us. It can’t get any better than that.

Soon after our return it was time to say goodbye, a good weekend was had by all, I was sad to see them go, but take comfort knowing they’re not to far away and we will see each other soon again!