Puppies and Babies

The best way to meet people is to either walk a puppy or push a baby stroller. It is like wearing a magnet on your back. Young and old cannot resist coming up to you and starting a conversation. Since I walk Shelby in the backyard I diminish my chances of any encounters. If I have one, that would mean that a stranger has come onto my property. Not a good thing. On the other hand, I take my grandson to the mall or the town pool, so there is a wealth of new friends waiting to happen. Before I even put the brake on the stroller, a crowd gathers. Kids ask if they can look at him.  Their parents ask how old he is. Everyone agrees that he is cute. All babies are cute, so I don't let it go to my head. We exchange stories about what our own kids did at this age and how good it is to be pushing a carriage after 30 years. All in all, you cannot go wrong with anything that is a miniature.

Good Samaritan, Great Location

Yesterday we took the long ride to New Jersey for Thanksgiving dinner. So did everyone else. The fifty mile trip took almost 2 1/2 hours. We expected the traffic, so no one cared. As we were getting off of the Triborough Bridge (I am old school and will still call it Triborough), a man driving in the next lane started to honk his horn. It was the type of honk people do when they need you to roll down your window for directions. We rolled down the window and he said that our front passenger tire was very low. The car had driven well and did not pull to the side as it normally would when a tire was low. We thanked the man and then became worried about the tire being so low that it would become flat. At this point we were in Harlem, making the turn from 125th street onto Second Avenue, in order to connect to the Harlem River Drive. We looked at each other trying to figure out what to do next, when we looked 100 feet ahead of us. There it was, a BP gas station with an air machine. What are the odds of that? We pulled in and checked the tire, which was very low on air. We filled it up until it was firm and hoped for the best. We drove to and from New Jersey and the tire never lost air. We were lucky that a good samaritan cared enough to make us aware of the problem.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is my favorite holiday. I will celebrate it with my sister's extended family. This year, I was asked to make the stuffing. I just finished it and it looks great. If people love it and ask for the recipe, I will tell them exactly how it was made. On Wednesday, I baked two homemade breads using Fleishman's self rising yeast. Early Thursday morning, I cut the homemade bread into small 3/4 inch cubes. I hand toasted the bread in a cast iron pot that I inherited from my grandmother on my father's side. I then put a chicken in a pot and slowly boiled the water so that I would have a delicate chicken broth to add to the lightly browned toasted cubes. (9 cups of water). I froze the chicken for future use. I then went in my backyard garden for carrots, mushrooms and onions that had been waiting for just the right moment to be harvested. I chopped them on a diagonal and simmered them in freshly pressed olive oil that had been made the previous week. I added golden raisins from my daughter in law's father's grapevine. I folded together all of the ingredients until they were at the peak of fluffiness. I baked the stuffing at 370 degrees for 45 minutes. OK, I really used Stove Top Stuffing, but I bet I made you smile. Happy Holiday.

Hectic Travel

The day before Thanksgiving is the heaviest travel day. This year it will be worse than others. The weather has been very erratic. I went to sleep shivering last night and woke up to 60 degrees this morning. Tomorrow it will drop into the 30's again. The storm that is disrupting the weather is also disrupting people's travel plans. Over 1200 flights were cancelled last night, just in this area. Nothing is worse than waiting in an airport and watching the board say "cancelled". At that point, things are out of your control. I had that happen once on a Jet Blue flight home from Florida. A storm in New York prevented our takeoff. I sat for five hours, thinking I would be an airport captive forever. I hope that the weather clears up and all of the weary travelers arrive at their holiday destinations.

Motivationaly Speaking

When I give my lecture on " Fears, Worries and Concerns", I start off by asking this question: When was the last time, you did something for the first time? Most people sit and think. I do not mean eating a new food. I mean having a new experience. My last first, was a few months ago when I did a staff development day at a local university. Somehow, I was hired to teach the teachers. I was booked for two hours, which is a big time slot to fill without me boring people. I researched and wrote and memorized. My goal was to speak for two hours and be interactive, without looking at a cue card. I was able to do that and I did not see any closed eyes.  Doing a new thing at any age feels good. It shows that we can still grow and strive for new experiences. 

Outstanding Job

The last loose end of my parents "migration" south was having their car delivered to them. They used a recommended auto transport company based in Florida that makes the New York to Florida trip weekly. They were promised to have their car picked up in NY last Tuesday at 1pm. Like clockwork the car was picked up. It was supposed to be delivered on Saturday so my sister could help them unpack. They received a call on Friday that the truck had mechanical problems and would be delayed until Sunday at 1pm. My sister told Anthony, the owner, that this would be a problem as she was there to lift the suitcases out of the trunk. My father is not supposed to lift heavy items due to his vein graft. Anthony said he would make a note of that. On Sunday at 1pm, the car arrived. It came sparkling clean, just out of a car wash. The two truck drivers told my parents that they would unpack the entire car for them. My parents said that the suitcases would be fine. They said that they wanted to unpack totally and bring everything into the rooms that they belonged in. They made a few trips back and forth until the car was empty and the bags were in the bedroom and living room.They did this all with a smile. My parents and sister both independently called Anthony to thank him. What this company did was above and beyond. It is nice to find people that do an outstanding job.

D.A.N.

I used to be a confident DAN. Now I am a less confident DAN. DAN is not a person, it is an acronym. It stands for Drives At Night. I used to be a great night driver, but as my eyes grow older I feel less confident. If I know the route that I am traveling, I do not have a problem. If the route is new or unfamiliar, I find it harder. This afternoon I have to pick my sister up at La Guardia Airport at 4pm. It is light out then, but it is a windy day so I hope the flight is on time. If not, I may need to drive at night. The parkway will not be a problem, but the entrance on will. I will sit and wait until there is an opening a mile long before I merge on. For some reason the nights have become darker.