Gaslighting: Now with Actual Gas

I finally have an answer why I have felt like garbage for weeks — the insomnia, the fog, the gut weirdness, the can’t-keep-my-eyes-open crashes — it wasn’t just the humidity, the wildfire haze, or the heat.

There was a gas leak.
On the meter.
Right outside our place.
No smell. No warning. Just a nice little biochemical sabotage session every time we shut the windows and tried to “rest.”

My nervous system has been pulling overtime without hazard pay. My fiancé’s tremors have been flaring. Even the cat’s been extra clingy. And now we know why.

They're out there fixing it now, banging away like this is just another Tuesday. Meanwhile, we’ve been living in a low-grade chemical soup, wondering why our bodies felt like they were unraveling from the inside.

So if you’ve ever felt like something was off and couldn’t prove it — believe yourself. The warning signs don’t always come with sirens.

Sometimes they come with a leak, a locked door, and a cat who won’t get off your feet.

Oranges, Cheesecake and Christmas

Sometimes one idea and implementation of such starts a whole chain of events. Such is the case with a recent creation that came out of my trailer park kitchen.

With work slow, I decided to do some baking (and no-baking) this week for Christmas. I slacked off in that department the last few years because we needed to focus on bringing in every dollar that we could, just to fall short anyway. This year, I decided to start worrying about that after Christmas. But, to use a tired, old phrase, I digress.

Part of my no-baking adventures was a blender cheesecake recipe from Rachel Ray I have been meaning to try for years. Since it's a recipe by Rachel Ray, I can't type it up exactly because that would be plagiarism (can't find a link to link to, I wrote this down by hand many years ago when I watched her cooking show).

Anyway, the original recipe called for 2 graham pie crusts, 3 packages of 3-ounce strawberry gelatin, a pint of fresh strawberries, and 12 ounces of cottage cheese.

Now, I had sour cream on hand already and we aren't fans of cottage cheese, so I used that instead with two tablespoons of creme fraiche (which I had on hand as well). I also halfed the recipe because I only wanted one cheesecake since it's only the two of  us.

Also, I wanted to make it more Christmasy. So, I used clementine oranges.

In a nutshell, here is my altered recipe:

6 ounces of sour cream plus 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
2 boxes orange gelatin
1 graham cracker pie crust
2 clementines

Put sour cream and creme fraiche in blender. Make one box of the gelatin using half a cup of hot and half a cup of cold water. At once, before it gels, add to sour cream mixture. Blend until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate until set, and place clementine slices on top.

Make the remaining box of gelatin per instructions on box. Once cooled off, but before it starts to gel, pour a little bit on top of fruit and put in refrigerator until set. Okay, this is when it gets tricky. I'm not sure if it's because I used oranges instead of strawberries, but this was messy. The original recipe says to use the one box of gelatin for both pies. So, one would reason that half of the box would top one pie. Wrong. I only could use a little bit because it started spilling over and was left with a lot of leftover gelatin.

Here is my tip: I guess you won't need the gelatin for the top (unless you use strawberries, I guess), but: If you do, place the pie inside of a frying pan and voila, you have a catch tray, just in case (see pic below). Put the whole thing into the fridge, with the frying pan lid of course, chill until set, and remove the pie when it's done.

Now, this brings me to a question that was asked once I posted pics of the cheesecake on Facebook: What do oranges have to do with Christmas? Well, I did this as an homage to my mother and childhood. Most of which I prefer not to recall, but time does heal and I start to remember the few good things that happened. One of the good memories involves the celebration of St. Nicklaus Day in Germany when kids put out shoes (or boots) and "St. Nicklaus" fills them with goodies.

Nowadays kids get electronics, clothes and whatnot for that day (how that relates to fitting in a boot, shoe or stocking is beyond me), but back then the goodies consisted of walnuts, clementines and chocolate-covered gold coins. (The latter is popular for Hanukkah and also known as Gelt.) However, using oranges as stuffers isn't just a German (or European) thing. Oranges are actually traditional stocking stuffers in the U.S.  If you want an overview of what oranges have to do with all that, check out this article that I found online. You can thank me later for this historic, cultural and culinary lesson. :-)

One last note: This will taste more like a custard or cream pie. So, if you are looking for a New York-kind of cheesecake taste, fogeddaboutit.

Today is my Name Day

Did you know that some countries celebrate name days? I did not know, despite growing up in Germany which is one country that has them. Today, May 22, is my name day. No, it's not for Alexandra, it's for my real given name (Rita). In addition to Germany, "Rita Day" also falls on this day in Austria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland. How do I know this? I found a website that lists name days.

Strangely enough, the American website lists Rita Day as June 10. So yes, there is a site for American name days too.

Also, what's cool is that May 22 is also one of best friend's birthday. Anyway, if you are curious if your name has a name day somewhere, go have a lookie loo.

Crossing an Item off the Bucket List

Everyone who knows me knows that one of my biggest items on my bucket list was to see Uriah Heep perform live. You know this band is a big deal to me because I adopted part of their name as part of my pen name years ago.

Now, for most people going to a rock concert is not a hard task. Alas, for me it is. I have a bunch of health problems that not so long ago had me even unable to get out of bed. Also, Uriah Heep does not come to the USA that often, and when they did in the past, it was not anywhere near me. Traveling, at one time, was not a big deal for me, but everything changed when I became ill years ago. Walking, sitting, standing, flashing lights, loud noise ... it's all bad for me. So, going to a concert is not exactly the most comfortable thing for me to do.

Anyway, Uriah Heep is in the middle of a world tour and they made it to Bolingbrook, Illinois, and I decided I was going to make it work somehow to go see them. And so Tom and I did, on Saturday. The venue and circumstances were horrible, so I did not get to see the whole show (had I not had to suffer through the bad opening band, I could have made it, but we had to go early enough to get a seat). I do feel bad a bit for Tom because I cut the experience short for us, but at least for him it was not the first time seeing them (this was his fifth time, but this is a new lineup).

Same circumstances account for us not having any good pictures or video, but I'll never forget this experience anyway. I did find a couple of videos from that show on YouTube, so if you are curious, check out the links.

The first one is "Easy Livin'" for the casual listener who has never heard of the band (probably most of you). The video is over four minutes, but the actual music portion of it is done within the first three minutes.The second link is for the die-hard fan - over 12 minutes of the Magician's Birthday.

Enjoy, no matter what your preference is.

Happy Valentine's Day from Baby Spruce

If you are one of Baby Spruce's fans, then you know that he sends out special greetings to his "friends" for every holiday. I used to use a certain social media platform for that, but am no longer active on that site. So, here is your Valentine from everyone's favorite little tree.

If you have no clue what this is about, here is a quick rewind: Baby Spruce is our Dwarf Alberta Spruce tree that we acquired in September 2013. Tom (aka Mr. Heepy) and I joke that he is our "kid." See, he brought a dog into the relationship and I brought a cat. So, Baby Spruce is a tree we both picked out, planted and have nurtured since then.

Why does Baby Spruce reside in a planter instead of the ground in our garden? So we can take him with us, should we have to move. Plus, we have little space and this allows me to use said space for flowers.

Stay warm and safe, everyone!

Year in Review

If you asked me what I remember about 2014, it's mainly the effects of the brutal winter that killed our cars and bank account. Also, a dismal year work-wise for the both of us which did not help recover said bank account. On the upside,  Baby Spruce was our star of 2014 and we are happy he survived said winter (his first one here). I also remember a good growing season for cucumbers and tomatoes, but a tiny harvest of peppers. One of my highlights was meeting Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Now, Facebook came up with its own highlights for 2014, as you most likely know. I guess they took the events and pictures that were the most popular

So, what does Facebook tell me my year was like?

For January, it shows a picture of me and Tom during one of the cold spells (I am not going to use the V word). However, it's from the day my son paid me a visit during said cold spell. Why they did not pull up the pic of my son and us, I don't understand. That certainly was a bright spot because I see my son rarely. He travels a lot, and currently is in Africa.

For February, FB pulled up pictures of Gracie watching the Fish Bowl on TV. That was very cute, so I am glad she is represented.

Then we skip to May and July with assorted pics from our flower garden. July shows fireworks pics, and that was a cool part as well because I have rarely gotten to see fireworks on 4th of July. I can count the occasions on one hand. Once in Michigan, once in Virginia, and once now here in Chicago.

For August, I got more flower pics and one of me holding huge tomatoes from our garden. That brought a smile to my face too. Then there are some pics of super weird storm clouds, and yes, they tell the tale of a year full of severe weather.

Then we skip to December with a pic of Gracie under the Christmas tree that is in the process of being set up. No pics of the decorated tree, what is up with that? Also, a pic of the birthday card I received from Tom for my birthday. Oh, and of me with pink highlights in my hair. I started them on my birthday and by popular demand, kept them.

So, that was my year in a nutshell.

Hoping for good things for 2015, but I said that about 2014 too. Happy new year to everyone.

Vanilla Ice, Baby - the Sunflower Kind

I am well-known for my love of sunflowers. When I found out there is a Vanilla Ice variety, of course I had to try to grow it. Ever since I seeded them though, I have been chuckling at the name because of the rapper Vanilla Ice and his song Ice Ice Baby. So, I decided to adapt his lyrics somewhat to write my very own Vanilla Ice Sunflower Rap.

Vanilla Ice, baby
all right, stop
collaborate and listen
sunflowers are in with a brand new invention
Vanilla Ice grabs a hold of me tightly
and I had to sow some daily, not nightly
will it grow?
Yo, I don't know
Don't turn off the sun so the seeds can grow
to the extreme would be 7 feet tall
weather lit up up with storms, that wasn't cool.

Sprout
rush through the earth despite the gloom
don't let the heavy rains kill like a poisonous mushroom
deadly when thunder plays awful melody
anything less than success is a felony
love it, don't leave it
you better gain way
you better hit bulls eye
this mom doesn't play
If there's a problem, yo I solve it
check out the seedlings while the sun revolves it

Vanilla Ice Ice baby

Now that the party is jumping
with the winds kicked in and the rains a'pumping
quick to the point, to the point no faking
the lightning is cooking the ground like bacon
burning them if they're not quick and nimble
I go crazy when I look out the window
they're supposed to grow at least 4 feet tall
when on a roll they can go to 7
less is good too
as long as the wind doesn't blow them over

I'm on stand by
ready to say hi
don't stop
No, I'll wait
Keep on hoping they'll grow
Don't bust to the right or left
grow up straight and not slow
so continue as the weather clears
six inch blooms is what they're supposed to have
eight to ten inch spread
and seven weeks until they bloom
hugely prolific so the packet says
long-flowering helianthus annuus they're called
blooms in color from delicate cream
to soft yellow or off white
low-maintenance annual don't let me down

If there is a problem yo I solve it
check out the growth as the sun revolves it

Vanilla Ice Ice Baby
word from the mother
I love Vanilla Ice (sunflowers)
Ice Ice baby
don't be too cold to grow
that's a wrap with a w
word to your flower

Can we Get a NASCAR Jet Dryer Please?

A sump pump would do too.

Flooding

We had 5.48 inches of rain in the last 24 hours with hours and hours of constant lightning and thunder.

 Here is what the results look like.

Tom measured it: It's 4 inches of standing water.

We are lucky though, others have a lot worse to deal with.

Power Outage

We had a power outage today, which means I am behind on work. My apologies for being unable to comment or visit blogs in return today. I have a major rant about the power company and their customer service too, but lack the time to write that too.

I will resume my normal (whatever that word means) activity tomorrow, April 9. Thank goodness that some of my challenge posts have been pre-scheduled.

A Blast from the Past

Everyone I've ever talked to about writing knows that it is a fairly recent passion of mine. I know that many writers cite starting young and that they always knew they were born to do it. With me, it's always been different. All I remembered was a teacher in grade school marking an assignment of mine "lacks creativity." So, I never pursued writing, or so I thought.

See, a few months ago I talked to my brother in Germany and he informed me that he found something I had written when I still lived in Germany. Since I moved to the USA at age 18, I knew it had to be quite old. To be honest, I was afraid of what it might be as I worked hard on forgetting my life there. Not just that, but I imagined my writing style to be horrible and riddled with errors because that is how I always feel when I find stuff that I wrote just a few years ago.

Plus, I was wondering if I could even read it since I haven't spoken German in a very long time. Well, my brother told me he would get the paper to me via my son who happened to be visiting Europe at the time.

It took a while to get here, but I was in no hurry because frankly, I was afraid ... Well, today the envelope arrived from my son. Among some old family pics (of me, my daughter, and second husband), were wedged four pieces of hand-written paper and one typed page (done on a typewriter of course, we are talking 1984 or so here).

I did recognize my hand writing and upon further examination, the typed page was just a repetition of the hand written text. It's definitely the beginnings of a novel and I am surprised at my use of humor and eloquent, mature use of language. What's more, I seemed quite comfortable at writing dialog; something I never quite managed to get the hang of in English and hence never seriously pursued.

This makes me wonder what else I did when I was young that I have forgotten. Like I said, most of my memories are bad, so perhaps I just buried it all in my mind. Plus, I've been homeless twice so I really have no physical items from my past. The stuff that did survive I had to leave behind with my most recent move, but of course I regret none of it. Also, I am surprised to find out that perhaps all writers did know from early on that that is what they wanted to do because apparently I was writing when I was a teenager. But why do I not remember this?

As far as this first chapter goes, it would make one heck of a novel. Alas, I can't even complete the things I start now as life on earth demands other priorities for survival. Still, I plan on translating what I have and putting it on my blog. Stay tuned ...

Human Versus Cat

I've been playing Nascar fantasy leagues for a few years now. I like to think that I know the sport as I even won tickets to a race once for having the highest score on a local radio league for a race. However, I started out so badly this year and made the comment that my cat could have done better. That is when I came up with the crazy idea of letting Princess Gracie make picks for real.

So, I signed her up for the same league I play at the time through Nascar on Fox. After all, if a groundhog is used as a weatherman, chickens pick super bowl winners, and John Roberts' dog can make picks ... If you don't follow the sport, John R. is a Nascar analyst who actually did have his dog made some picks last year.

We wrote each driver's name on a piece of paper, balled it up, and put them in a box. What cat can resist boxes? Sure enough, Gracie investigated quickly enough and the first 5 that come out is what I used for the first fantasy picks. These were 13 (Casey Mears), 99 (Carl Edwards), 15 (Clint Boyer), 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) and 33 (Landon Cassill).

Her user name is Nascat3 and her team name is Threeeee because when we say the word threeeee it means treats. So, it's her favorite number. Why did we come up with this? Because treats are kept in our kitchen drawer number 3, so when she sits in front of it, we ask: "Do you want threeeee?" Animal lovers will get it .... All others may think we are nuts, but a little insanity makes life interesting. Also, 3 is the number of Tom's favorite driver, the late Dale Earnhardt, and you can never go wrong with that.

No, I do not drink, I came up with this while stone sober!

PS: Gracie also has a twitter account: follow her @GraciePurrs

Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200

Bank errors in your favor only happen in Monopoly.

Thursday morning, on my birthday, I had a rude awakening. A bill I had paid with an electronic check back in November had bounced into my email account, proclaiming itself unpaid. I double checked my funds, and sure enough, I did have enough. So it wasn't that I did not have enough money in the account.

Now, that would not have been a problem, if the vendor had not assessed me lien fees, late fees, and demand payment in full for this month, as specified in that same Email. All in all this totaled three times the amount of my initial payment.

I called my bank to see what was going on and after some verbal wrangling they told me I had used the wrong routing number. I told the representative that since I had been with them for 13 years and paid this same vendor previously with checks for the same account without a problem. I also reminded her that they had returned another payment for another vendor 2 weeks ago and when I called them on that, they had said nothing about a different routing number. Once I put the payment through again (with the same routing number), it did not get rejected. How could that be? Plus, I was thinking in my head how quick the bank would react had I made a mistake!

In the middle of this conversation my phone went dead. I had went over my allotted minutes for the month (no I do not have a fancy cell phone), so that was that. I spared myself the effort of calling back from another phone. As you know, modern customer service always gives you another person and you do not get a chance to talk to whoever worked on your issue.

I called the local vendor and he told me he could do nothing about the extra charges, but he gave me the phone number for the manager. I called him, and after some explanations he said he would fix the over charges, but he could not do that until I came up with the amount for both months. He gave me until around Christmas to come up with it. I can only hope he will follow through.

There is no reason for doubt really, but you know how people can say one thing and mean another and forget about you within a couple of weeks. If he does follow through, it was a nice birthday present and I will write up a letter to send to his supervisor because he was willing to fix a problem that originated with my bank.

In the meantime, I hesitate to now use my checking account for payments. Alas, it's the only one I got. Oh, and they also started assessing a new monthly fee recently. More fees, less service - that seems to sum up today's corporate world. Did I mention I used to work for these clowns and saved them over 100 Million Dollars over the course of seven years?

It's A Wonderful Life

Yesterday, when I walked to the store, I had bought my monthly iron supplement. Alas, when I came back, I found that Santa had sent me some in the mail early. So I called the store up to see if I could return them, since they were unopened. The answer was yes.

So today I grabbed my grocery bag (I use a tote instead of getting plastic or paper bags) and returned them to get my cash back. I picked up a few things and made my way to the checkout. As the store clerk was bagging my items, he exclaimed "Jingle Cash!"

I said "huh?" (although excuse me would have been much more polite, but he caught me off guard).

"You have $5.00 in Jingle Cash here in the bag."

That is when I figured out I must have gotten some kind of coupon yesterday and just stuck it in the bag. Well, he fished it out and rang it up. Combined with the money I got back for the supplements I was able to buy a box of Christmas cards and stamps to mail them, and still have one dollar left in my pocket.

You know how excited George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" (incidentally number one on my favorite Christmas movie list) felt when he still had two dollars left after paying every customer when the banks crashed? Yup, that is how I felt. Almost daily I walk past stuff I can't buy and every hour I see crap on TV they tell me I need to buy or my family and friends won't love me, but ... not only do they still talk to me, they GIVE to me instead ... and who knew I could feel so much Christmas spirit during a time that others may see as the worst.

Technical Difficulties

I am in the process of changing computers, starting out blank. I won't be able to return comments, visit blogs, play games, etc until I am caught up. I am not ignoring anyone. Or, as my friend Diane says, I am off mountain-climbing. See you all on the other side.

This is How It's Done

A few days ago, I shared some of my personal experiences with United Way and the Salvation Army. However, I am never one to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Today, on Facebook, I found a wonderful post by a friend of mine where he shared his wife's accomplishment in raising money for a worthwhile cause. I believe in balance, so read Mary's blog to see what she did.

Never a Dull Moment (When You Have a Cat)

As I was typing away doing some research for work, I noticed Princess Gracie going wild on my bed. She had climbed under the sheet somehow (which is tucked under the mattress on two sides), happily chasing ... I don't know what, there should not even be lint under there. At first it was kind of cute to see a bump move across the bed, albeit a bit annoying to listen to claws grapple away on the mattress.

Well, cats will be cats so I continued working, until I heard a metallic "plunk."

It only took me a split second to realize this must have been my cell phone hitting something. But, why would it make that noise like metal hitting metal if it just hit the floor? That is when started panicking, thinking the phone must have slipped inside the box spring, which would leave it inaccessible to me because I certainly can’t pick up a mattress. In my old days perhaps, but not now. I rushed over to the bed, throwing all the covers off, shaking them out – nothing. I checked the floor around the bed, but did not find it.

The logical step of course would be to call the cell phone (with my hotel landline) and follow the ringing noise. The problem is, I have changed phones and numbers so many times in the past I can not remember my number. Eureka, I did remember my old (disconnected) cell phone however and knew I had put my current phone number in that address book (anticipating incidents like this, no doubt).

I retrieved my number, used the hotel phone in my room to call my cell number, and there it was, face down in proximity to the bed. Why the clinking sound as it hit? Well, it had landed on a belt I had left on the floor.

'Tis the Season

Unless you live at the South Pole, you can’t miss it. The commercials started around Halloween and charities are redoubling their efforts playing on your guilty conscience. 

So far the worst holiday commercial award goes to Target and that horrible screaming lady with the blonde hair. I am not a violent person, but she makes me want to tie her up in Christmas lights (not holiday lights, seasonal lights, Xmas lights, or X-mas lights) and strangle her with her winter scarf. (just kidding)

I would say I would not stoop that low to make money, but can’t. The other day, with work terribly slow for the holidays, I found myself writing an article for an assignment I would have never touched before. While I am not hesitant to bare all here (metaphorically speaking), even I won’t say what it was about.

Annoying commercials and money woes aside, I thought this was the perfect time to share some of my insights and personal experiences on charity. After all, this is supposed to be the season of giving, even though commercials are trying to tell you it’s more about buying and absolving guilt. This was actually initially inspired by my friend Conny and her article.

When I was still gainfully employed, my family did its best to support charities. We never really questioned anything, we just wanted to be good people and pay it forward.

Well, during the last couple of years I found myself turning to sources I previously supported, looking for emergency assistance. It took me a long time to get to this point. No, I do not think anyone owes me anything and I also hesitated because I thought: “There is always someone worse off.” But, friends suggested some avenues so I tried them, among them the Salvation Army, and was told only pregnant women and those with children under 18 would qualify for aid.

I also have talked to others who have had similar issues with different organizations they have supported in the past. Once they needed services, they were turned away. The reason given was not lack of money (which would be understandable), but “that they did not qualify.”

 

This is all good and fine, but there seems to be a disconnect between administration and the actual people who provide the help. Every time I have contacted administrative staff and relayed my issues, they have been very sympathetic and helpful and given me the numbers to call.

It seems, however, they do not even know what their own organizations do. Either that or they are not allowed to tell you when you are not qualified. Either way, there is something not right about that. Besides, why not list the guidelines then on the websites and be upfront about it?

The same goes for United Way. I supported them before as well, but now that I have called on them for help found out that one of their main functions is to be a referral service and their staff often sends you to places you don’t qualify for. All they do is employ people who search the Internet for you, something anyone who can still go online can do.

Where does the money go? Google “obtain help from the United Way” or something like that and you’ll see. Donations that you send them simply get re-distributed to charities of THEIR choice after a lengthy bureaucratic process. That’s all very good, as without money those charities could not operate either, but all these years I thought something else, which is my fault really: I should have done my research, but I was moved by the ads that showed people suffering.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to share this website (Charity Watch) that evaluates charities to make sure the money goes where it is supposed to. However, I have become skeptical about anything that involves a highly organized effort and the website has to be run by someone and someone has to back it with money. In turn, that money has to come from somewhere, and everyone has a personal interest behind something. (Yes, this includes me with my blogs, it’s biased, but I try to create awareness by using experiences as examples and I make no money off it.)

Anyway, on this site the Salvation Army rates A- and so does United Way. I still say that the commercials they are showing (and their campaigns in general) are misleading because they show different aged adults and men, when the reality I experienced was that here they will turn you away when you are not pregnant and do not have children under 18. I am still trying to find out if that was just a local problem, but … it is the truth and in my opinion, the ads do not show the full truth. To add insult to injury, the Salvation Army actually asked me for donations via email a couple of weeks after I asked them for help.

Still, I see the concept of charity as a positive thing, but like all things, when it gets sidetracked by idiosyncrasies, in my opinion it becomes not such a good thing. All I can say—do your research before opening your wallet and besides, with the way the things are, you won’t have to look far to find someone needy, so perhaps give directly instead.

The bottom line is: If you give to an organization THEY decide where YOUR money goes, often making priorities that you as an individual would not and often working against those who still try to help themselves while trying to retain some dignity.

I realize this blog post may sound negative, but it’s the reality I have experienced. I can only hope that it’s a regional issue and that things are different elsewhere. On the other hand, they may be worse. For example, the TV show “60 Minutes” did a documentary the other night about families with children in Florida living in their cars. If children are helped first, why did these ones live in cars? Also, while I know dozens of, perhaps even more than a hundred, people who have donated I have yet to know of one who has been helped by a major organization.

I also wanted to end on a good note and include some charities I have found that do amazing work (even though it is geared towards specific groups), but you’ll have to stay tuned for that as this blog turned out too long as is.

Small Business Saturday (Nov. 26)

I suppose that since everybody and their brother was out yesteray, during Black Friday being mauled at the mall, it’s perhaps a bad day to have Small Business Saturday scheduled on the day after. Perhaps not a good time to post this either. Alas, I am an underdog-type of person (even though I prefer cats), and this ties in perfectly with an experience I had a few weeks back.

Remember my post from November 10 about the restaurant I went to that has very little business, but is absolutely superb? I was going to write a review on it, and I did. The waiter at the time gave me the owner’s email address and suggested to send him the link when it was up. Well, I did and here is what happened: The owner read it and replied with the following email (ad verbatim, I did not edit it to leave the personality and tone intact, and yes, I have permission to share):

Dear Alexandra,

the surprise I was stunned with receiving your email earlier, changed the whole and entire pattern of my stressful and rough day!!! You can't imagine the comfort and the feeling that your words drowned me in, reading your overwhelming description of The Phoenician. I wish I could come up with better words than THANK YOU! Thank you for dinning at my humble establishment, and thank you for your support. It has been a very hard year and a half for us, since the plunging economy has taken over almost everything we've build and worked hard for, to the point where I have contemplated quite a few times the idea of shutting down the business, and the only thing that held me off was the emotional attachment to what I have build with my heart and hands. I am very gratefully for everything you've said and done hoping such an article might encourage people to visit us, hoping to bring back the flourishing business we once enjoyed at The Phoenician.

My staff and I are always at your service

Sincerely

Naji kadi

What’s my point? I have read countless posts on Facebook about the mayhem out there of people in Walmarts and other big stores because of Black Friday, some of the same people who probably lamented all year they have no money to spend all on the heels of dire economic news. Why not take some of the money they are spending and take it to the small, common business man (or woman) trying to stay afloat? Yes, big stores hire seasonal workers to handle the influx of extra customers, but it's only temporary and without benefits and often at minimum wage. I am simply wishing for balance, spread the money around.

While this year, unless money falls from the sky, I am not going to do any Christmas shopping, I have done so of course in the previous years. Yes, some of it went to big stores, but most of it I spent online from places like Etsy, Amazon and eBay. Yes, I am aware big stores hang out on the latter two sites, but I chose smaller ones. I even made some gifts myself (beaded jewelry) which went over really well, especially with my teenage daughter.

Also, another thing I thought of when I received the email in response to my review: Often, we get caught up on the negative customer service, which of course is quite common since a lot of people are going without raises while working more hours and unfortunately seem to show their disdain of their situations by taking it out on the customer. I say move over, get rid of the dissatisfied, replace them with the willing unemployed, and take some of the money big stores use for those horrible ads on TV that just make everyone tune out and spend it on their employees, but that is another blog.

Anyway, why not make the effort to let someone (and his or her boss) know when they did a good job? Who knows, it may save a good employee from being replaced with a not-so-good one.

(PS: If you want to read the restaurant review I wrote, it’s here).

Traditional or Eclectic?

A quick shoutout on Facebook and some of my other friends and family revealed that while many people do the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, not everyone has somewhere to go or something to do. Some, like myself, will just stay at home and do dinner as usual. Others will have Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, to be followed by pizza on Thanksgiving Thursday. Hey, pizza is the new vegetable after all according to our government.

Some combine the traditional, but find new ways to make it: turn turkey into paninis and potatoes into grilled potato cakes, for example. Chicken seems to be the most popular turkey substitution. For dessert, anything goes from jello cake to doughnuts and cookies. 

The most eclectic dinner I prepared was in 2009 because my youngest does not like any of the traditional stuff. It turned out to be our last Thanksgiving together, so I indulged her. The menu had chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce, and brownies.

The best thing was the cranberry sauce because I made it myself with fresh cranberries, cooked in organic apple juice with a splash of organic apple cider vinegar, sweetened with real maple sugar, and agar agar flakes to thicken it. Healthy and delicious!

Before that, we went mostly traditional but have had sides like sauerkraut and desserts like different cakes, pecan pie, and mincemeat pie. One year we also had Cornish game hen instead of the turkey.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the picture, that is apple crisp, another dessert I like to make. No turkeys here.