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Just an update, after a few brilliant thunderstorms last night, nothing flooded and it has stopped raining. Yay!

During the storms, we sat on the front porch since we both love thunderstorms. Neither of the dogs are afraid of them like poor Otto was.

I was sipping a cocktail when our friend Martin walked over to join us. It was beautiful out with a sunset that was a gorgeous shade of orange pink.

From a distance we could hear thunder and see lightening in the dark sky. The air was cool and refreshing after a swelteringly hot day.

Right now, we are enjoying coffee and tea on the front porch in the sunshine for a bit before we start production, banking and deliveries. Klaus and Nelly are loving it as much as we are.

Thanks for your positive thought and prayers. I rarely ask for such a thing but felt I needed to yesterday.

I am writing this on my phone so I apologize for any grammar mistakes. Happy Friday and seize the day! ☀️

I haven’t had a panic attack for months but when Marty said he needed to make a delivery over Bromley Mountain to a restaurant called Johnny Seesaws over with early. I could feel my anxiety building.

Arlington got very lucky with the last devastating rainfall that destroyed towns 25 minutes away leaving them underwater.

During the storm a few days ago, everyone held their breaths hoping this was not going to be another “Irene,” a storm from a few years ago devastating our area.

I looked at the forecast for the next 24 hours and it’s looks very scary again since water in rivers and streams are already very high.

I just got over the panic attack and while writing this short post.

Please say a little prayer for Vermont today who has been in national news earlier this week regarding the devastation that occurred.

Thanks.

I was convinced to become the Arlington School District’s food service director back in 2005.

I say convinced because others thought I’d be good at it. I never had such a position before it even applied for the job. Boom, it happened in a flash.

I said yes because I saw the position as an opportunity to make a difference in our schools and town. I became excited and very nervous.

I wanted to change the school lunch program in a few different ways. I wanted to offer three choices of food to anyone getting lunch; whether they were categorized as free, reduced and full price.

I took away all ala carte items that only kids with money could purchase leaving the free and reduced kids to only have one choice and everyone knew they were poor. Not on my watch.

I also took away desserts every day and saved them for special occasions like it was back in the old days.

I watched too many kids before I took over get the lunch just for the dessert and dumped the rest of the tray.

I wanted to offer a hot lunch, a sandwich, wrap, or panini, and a salad. I made sure that there was something for all kinds of eaters; even the picky ones.

I also wanted to introduce the kids to new and unfamiliar foods to them. I gave them small try-me cups to taste what I was serving, even to the brown baggers who seemed to like that.

Long before farm-to-school lunch in the Northeast, I worked with a local farmer and purchased rejected fruits and vegetables which couldn’t be sold due to their looks.

We turned those ugly ducklings into delicious food and baked goods. Yes, it was more work, but most of my employees were high school students and loved working with me.

I taught the kids what seasonal eating was. When they begged for watermelon in January I told them it was citrus season and offered them many varieties which I could afford through a fresh fruit and veggie grant.

Lastly, I wanted the teachers and staff to order lunch from us. I held events that invited parents and grandparents to the elementary school to eat with their children.

Parents would tell me on Parents Night at a school how they loved hearing about what their child tried for lunch.

Many parents told me they had no idea themselves what a “Three cheese focaccia melt with pesto and tomatoes”’ was but their kid loved it! This made me very happy!

One of the most popular salads was the Waldorf Chicken Salad on greens and a breadstick. Not something you would expect from elementary, middle, and high school students. Teachers adored it too.

When the little ones would ask me what a Waldorf salad was I would explain it like this.

“A long time ago there was a very fancy hotel in New York City called the Waldorf Astoria.”

“Back in 1893, a man named Oscar came up with a new salad for their fancy schmancy restaurant.”

Their eyes got big when I told them theatrically, “The salad you are having tomorrow is the same one that was served to the fancy people eating in the fancy restaurant who were staying at the fancy hotel.”

One boy asked if it was the same salad and if it would be ok to eat, meaning it was from 1893. I told him the one I make is exactly the same but freshly made. He looked relieved.

Next, I told the kids what was in the salad. The salad had chunks of apples and grapes, which I already know they loved.

I couldn’t add walnuts to the salad due to the no nuts policy. I omitted telling them about the celery, it only takes one little thing to make a child turn their nose up to something.

The salad also had chicken for the needed protein and a special dressing. They nodded their heads and said they would sign up for it the next day. Yay!

Whenever I make Waldorf salad with or without chicken, I think of how lucky I was to feed those kids new and exciting food.

Now those kids are adults and parents. Whenever I see them they tell me how they missed my cooking. ☺️

What an awesome thing to be able to open their eyes to trying new things they never wouldn’t have as an opportunity to.

I wonder if they are doing that with their own kids?

I was convinced to become the Arlington School District’s food service director back in 2005.

I say convinced because others thought I’d be good at it. I never had such a position before, I never even applied for the job. Boom, it happened in a flash.

I said yes because I saw the position as an opportunity to make a difference in our schools and town. I became excited and very nervous.

I wanted to change the school lunch program in a few different ways. I wanted to offer three choices of food to anyone getting lunch; whether they were categorized as free, reduced and full price.

I took away all ala carte items that only kids with money could purchase leaving the free and reduced kids to only have one choice and everyone knew they were poor. Not on my watch.

I also took away desserts every day and saved them for special occasions like it was back in the old days.

I watched too many kids before I took over get the lunch just for the dessert and dumped the rest of the tray.

I wanted to offer a hot lunch, a sandwich, wrap, or panini, and a salad. I made sure that there was something for all kinds of eaters; even the picky ones.

I also wanted to introduce the kids to new and unfamiliar foods to them. I gave them small try-me cups to taste what I was serving, even to the brown baggers who seemed to like that.

Long before farm-to-school lunch in the Northeast, I worked with a local farmer and purchased rejected fruits and vegetables which couldn’t be sold due to their looks.

We turned those ugly ducklings into delicious food and baked goods. Yes, it was more work, but most of my employees were high school students and loved working with me.

I taught the kids what seasonal eating was. When they begged for watermelon in January I told them it was citrus season and offered them many varieties which I could afford through a fresh fruit and veggie grant.

Lastly, I wanted the teachers and staff to order lunch from us. I held events that invited parents and grandparents to the elementary school to eat with their children.

Parents would tell me on Parents Night at a school how they loved hearing about what their child tried for lunch.

Many parents told me they had no idea themselves what a “Three cheese focaccia melt with pesto and tomatoes”’ was but their kid loved it! This made me very happy!

One of the most popular salads was the Waldorf Chicken Salad on greens and a breadstick. Not something you would expect from elementary, middle, and high school students. Teachers adored it too.

When the little ones would ask me what a Waldorf salad was I would explain it like this.

“A long time ago there was a very fancy hotel in New York City called the Waldorf Astoria.”

“Back in 1893, a man named Oscar came up with a new salad for their fancy schmancy restaurant.”

Their eyes got big when I told them theatrically, “The salad you are having tomorrow is the same one that was served to the fancy people eating in the fancy restaurant who were staying at the fancy hotel.”

One boy asked if it was the same salad and if it would be ok to eat, meaning it was from 1893. I told him the one I make is exactly the same but freshly made. He looked relieved.

Next, I told the kids what was in the salad. The salad had chunks of apples and grapes, which I already know they loved.

I couldn’t add walnuts to the salad due to the no nuts policy. I omitted telling them about the celery, it only takes one little thing to make a child turn their nose up to something.

The salad also had chicken for the needed protein and a special dressing. They nodded their heads and said they would sign up for it the next day. Yay!

Whenever I make Waldorf salad with or without chicken, I think of how lucky I was to feed those kids new and exciting food.

Now those kids are adults and parents. Whenever I see them they tell me how they missed my cooking. ☺️

What an awesome thing to be able to open their eyes to trying new things they never wouldn’t have as an opportunity to.

I wonder if they are doing that with their own kids?

I was a social butterfly since last Friday night along with my sister Jennifer visiting. We had people over and went to people’s places.

Jen and I spent some wonderful sister time together, floating around the pool, cooking together, and watching girl tv.

Yesterday, Jen left early to head back to NJ to beat the traffic and did. We were done with production before noon which was fabulous.

After production, I felt exhausted, I had a great time with lots of fun, but I was beat. The heat didn’t help either.

I rested in our air-conditioned bedroom with Nelly until it was time to start getting ready for our library gig.

Unlike the parade gig, this time I was wearing my new white lace choli and polka-dot coin bra I made in early June.

The costuming I chose was simple; black, white, and purple. I did my hair in a flamenco style with only 2 flowers. My make-up was more subdued than the Pride Parade.

This was the look I envisioned when I made my polka-dot bra. Getting ready went smoothly and quickly. I was happy with how everything came out.

When I got to our dance space where we were meeting before the gig, I realized I was very mellow. I wasn’t in a talkative mood since I talked my fucking head off for days. Lol.

I felt the same way while driving over to the North Bennington Library and when I got there.

I knew it was part of my job as the dancer’s teacher to be “Julz.” I had to slip into my fun, energetic, and confident self. Julz the performer, the professional, and the leader.

While everyone was outside hanging out waiting to dance, I told Kathleen I needed to go inside and put on my “jewels.” She knew what I meant.

I went back inside the library and grounded myself. I closed my eyes and visualized myself putting on my “jewels” which is pulling my shit together, getting rid of any tired or negative energy.

I opened my eyes and popped into Julz, the belly dancer. I walked outside and announced to the dancers, “Ok guys, let’s get ready to have a fun show, that’s what we are here for. Let’s do it!”

I could see everyone smile and their eyes told me they were relieved to have their upbeat Julz back. I think Kathleen winked at me.

Next thing I knew, I started the music, we all locked into each others energy while I lead a gratitude dance facing each other in a circle.

We performed the best we could on a lawn with a slope and a hole in the ground. The most important thing was we had a ton of fun.

Kathleen and I performed our first public duet in front of an audience since June 2018. Thanks, covid.

Our duet was special and meant a lot to the both of us. We danced with the love we have for one and other as dance sisters. After all, we’ve been dancing together for 20 years.

After our two sets, we did a mini-lesson and invited the audience members to come up and dance with us. I put on music and started calling out what we were doing while everyone followed.

Quite a few people, men and women got up to give it a try, including my friend David. There was no pressure to do anything right except having fun.

We were all hot and sweaty since it was still in the 80s. We had that awesome post-gig buzz on again. I asked my friend and student Maria if she had fun and she said she did.

Last year, Maria was terrified of dancing, but has gotten over it. I said to Kathleen, “Get over here and give me a big, hot, and sweaty hug.” She threw herself at me and we cracked up.

The ride home was beautiful with the sun now gentle after a burning hot, sunny day. I drove with the air on and my window open.

I felt so good. I thanked to my body for allowing myself to still be able to dance after a rocky and sick period this winter.

I thanked the heavens that I get to teach and dance with a wonderful group of women, my dance sisters. ❤️