The classic martini post that was just published isn’t showing the photos. Maybe the host site is wonky right now and it will correct itself. I apologize…
A classic martini…
A martini may be one of the most recognizable cocktails known worldwide and are an American cocktail. A martini is a drink that oozes class and glamour. A true Hollywood drink, we have James Bond and many other movies to thank for that.
I’ve known what a martini is since I am 7 or 8 years old. My father taught me how to make one when I was around 10. My dad was a part-time bartender for a caterer and was a good teacher.
I began mixing up martinis for my parents at their request. I made a damn good martini, even at 12. I knew the difference between martinis and how my parents like theirs. I was already their maid, so why not their butler too? 😂
The history of the martini has a few different versions but all agree on the place of origin in Martinez, CA in the mid-1800s. The martini started as a gin-based drink with vermouth, bitters, and lemon. The vodka martini debuted in the 1950s when vodka became a popular spirit.
In 1962 James Bond ordered his martini, “Shaken not stirred.” Most people know that line from the movie but aren’t exactly sure what it means beyond the obvious. More about that later.
Like everything else, martini purists will argue until the cows come home about what makes the best martini or how to make the best martini.
A martini starts with either gin or vodka. I happen to be a vodka martini girl. Next comes the dry vermouth, an aromatized fortified wine flavored with various botanicals and sometimes colored.
The amount of dry vermouth added to a martini classifies a martini as wet, dry, or extra dry. My parents liked extra-dry martinis.
The basic recipe for a classic martini starts with 3 ounces of gin or vodka. For a wet martini, 1 ounce of vermouth is added, 1/2 an ounce for a dry martini and barely wetting the ice or basically waving the bottle in the air above the glass for an extra dry one.
I used the barely wetting the ice method when I was mixing martinis for my folks. I like dry martinis myself but can drink all three, to be honest with you.
The next thing to mention is if a martini is served straight up or on the rocks. Straight up means no ice, while on the rocks means with ice. I like my martinis ice cold and straight-up, but sometimes I make one on the rocks. It all depends on what kind of mood I am in.
Now, back to whether a martini should be shaken or stirred. A martini made in a mixing glass with ice and shaken chills the drink to 5 degrees in 15 seconds. The drink is then strained into a chilled martini glass. That’s how I like mine.
Purists believe that shaking a martini is an act of blasphemy, bruising the gin or vodka. They think the drink should be made with ice in a mixing glass, stirred gently with a bar spoon, and then strained into a chilled glass. This method takes longer to chill the drink down to an acceptable temperature.
Shaken or stirred can also refer to how much or fast the ice waters down the drink. Some argue that a shaken martini may be slightly cloudy, whereas a stirred one is crystal clear. In my experience, when either is poured into a chilled glass the result is cloudy when it is first made anyway.
What else to add to a martini is another cause for discussion. Purists call for a lemon peel, while others like olives or cocktail onions. The olives can be large stuffed ones with feta or bleu cheese, garlic, or jalapeño peppers. The classic is three olives on a pick. That’s my favorite, but I like all of the others too.
Whenever I make or order a martini, I ask for a dirty vodka martini straight up with three olives. What’s a dirty martini? The “dirt” comes from adding a splash of olive brine. A double dirty martini has more olive brine added.
I explained a classic martini, but there are now literally hundreds of different kinds of martinis made by mixologists today.
Here’s the next question, what is the difference between a plain old bartender and a mixologist.
In cocktail culture, the term “mixologist” refers to someone who studies the history of mixed drinks, has a rich appreciation of the ingredients and techniques used, and regularly creates new and innovative mixed drinks.
A bartender is someone who makes standard drinks and house specialties. A bartender can work quickly and manage crowds of people, whereas a mixologist works methodically in a more intimate bar environment or craft cocktail lounge. Speakeasy bars with secret entrance ways have popped up worldwide for customers looking for a complete (and expensive) bar experience.
Different specialty martinis include bikini, chocolate, watermelon, blood orange, chocolate, lemon, raspberry, cucumber, mint…you get the idea. Bartenders make these specialty cocktails with standard flavored spirits such as different schnapps or flavored vodkas. Did you know there is whipped cream vodka? My neighbor bought it by mistake and gave it to me; it tastes like whipped cream.
Mixologists make these specialty drinks with infused vodkas and gins, sweet and savory simple syrups, and fresh herbs. Watching a mixologist prepare these drinks is a show in itself. All the care justifies the higher price, thought, and preparation each drink takes to make; mixologists are compared to chefs.
So why in fucks name did I decide to write about martinis? Here is how my brain works…I watched season 4 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and she was drinking a straight-up martini with three olives. Yup, I had to have one. I’ve been on a martini kick these days ever since and wanted to write about them. That’s why. 😜
Cheers, my friends! Tomorrow is Monday…Let’s make it a good one!
Paybacks are a bitch…
It’s hard to believe it’s already a week since we were on the train heading into Penn Station. While we were gone, the orders started pouring in; all of our biggest accounts placed orders.
Large orders always happen when we take a couple of days off, just like they did when we were in Vegas in September. Three years ago, we tried to get away for a couple of days in Connecticut but came home after only one day to catch up. Just for the record, this is a great thing, just a bit overwhelming for me, and is kicking my ass.
It’s Thursday morning; I fed the dogs while Marty prepped out in the production kitchen. After today, we will have made more spätzle than we do in two weeks. Tomorrow, we still have another big production day to prepare for the farmer’s market.
My legs have been tired after walking for miles in NYC and then standing so much in the kitchen, but I was utterly exhausted after I got home last night from almost three hours of belly dance.
By the time I got groceries lugged into the house, put away, and made dinner, my legs felt like someone from the Sopranos had put cement boots on me.
After I ate, I dragged myself upstairs and got ready for bed. Usually, I have to unwind after a long day, but last night I couldn’t have been more unwound already. I needed to go to bed, period; I couldn’t get out of my own way fast enough.
The alarm woke me from a deep sleep early this morning; I had to set it; we had a long day ahead. Production was brutal for me. BRUTAL! I felt more exhausted this morning than I did at the Amtrak Station on Friday night, which didn’t seem possible.
Somehow, I worked my way through production and cleaned up; we finished in record time because we had to hit the road to make deliveries. These were deliveries that needed to be at restaurants in time for their dinner service.
It’s 1 pm. I am in the truck with Marty; we are making deliveries to The Cooper Grouse, the restaurant in the Taconic Hotel in Manchester, VT. Tonight the new chef, Chef Dusty, is launching his new menu, and we happen to be on the menu with pork chops. ☺️
It’s always wonderful to see when local restaurants use local products from local farmers and food artisans. We live in a place that screams, “Use local,” even though most restaurants find it easier to use products from Sysco, a colossal food service company.
We are also going to HN Williams in Dorset, Southside Steakhouse in Rutland, and The Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden, where our spätzle is a popular option on their wedding reception menu. Wedding season will begin right after mud season is over.
When we got to our last stop, The Mountain Top, we were starving. We decided to grab a late lunch there before coming home. We were the only people in the bar dining room and had a table with a fabulous view. I was tired; it was fantastic that the service was fast and the place was quiet.
It’s 5:30 pm, almost 12 hours from when I started my day. Finally, this is what I have been waiting for all-day…to put on my pajamas, make an ice-cold dirty vodka martini straight-up with 3 olives, and sit on the couch with my feet up. If I end up in bed by 8 pm, then good for me, tomorrow is another big production day.
Monte’s…
Last Friday, we walked around Greenwich Village looking for two gluten-free places that were on my list of places to check out.
When we got to the intersection of Bleeker Street and MacDougal, we both looked to the right and saw it! Monte’s!
Monte’s Trattoria is where Marty and I had our first date back in January of 1985. I remember the day like it was yesterday.
Marty picked me up in his little white Alfa Romero. We parked his car at Metropark Train Station and jumped on an NJ Transit train. We pulled into Penn Station and walked around midtown. Christmas decorations were still up and it was cold out.
We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for an early lunch. We were seated next to the band Wang Chung, which was pretty cool. We walked over to Rockefeller Center and while we were watching the ice skaters below he kissed me. It really was one of those magical moments that happen once in a lifetime.
We were both head over heels and knew that we were meant to be together. Can you fall in love that quickly?
I decided right then and there that I needed to be my authentic self with him; I was tired of trying to act a certain way so guys would like me. Our personalities and upbringings were completely opposite, so if this was going to work, I had to be me.
Before things got too far and I let myself get hurt, I told him, “Look, I drink, I smoke, and I curse, so if you don’t like it, that’s too fucking bad.” He immediately shot back, “What are you doing tomorrow night?” 😂
We made our way downtown to walk around the “Village.” We both loved the village, and both had our favorite spots. We stopped for drinks at a few different places and ended up at Monte’s. I wasn’t familiar with it, then he led me down the stairs to the restaurant.
Monte’s is a small Italian restaurant that opened in 1918. It was and still is the real fucking deal. We sat at a table for two. There was a man sitting directly behind me, alone at a two-top as well. I looked at him before I sat down. He looked businesslike and scholarly.
He was dressed well, although I couldn’t imagine why he was sitting with a winter trench coat on since it was hot in the restaurant. He wore glasses and seemed well-groomed.
As we were sipping our drinks and enjoying each course coming out of the kitchen the man was having a conversation. A loud and angry conversation at times. The Maître d’ went over several times pleading, “Senor, please, quiet down and stop cursing there are people right behind you.”
The man obviously didn’t give a shit who was around him; he had an argument to win. He must be a big-time lawyer or an NYU professor, I thought. While we were having our desserts the man got up and left. The maître d’ apologized again for the man’s rudeness.
I said to Marty, “That man must be rich to spend that much money on so many cell phone minutes.” I thought he had to be loaded to afford a cellphone back in 1985; they had only been on the market for two years.
Marty started cracking up and could barely breathe, let alone tell me what was so funny. “He wasn’t on the phone; he was talking to himself.” I was shocked, “You mean he was fucking nuts?” Marty replied, “Yes.” Sad, but very funny at the same time.
Dinner at Monte’s was one of the best dinners and nights of my life. I remember the food and desserts were excellent. Everything was made in-house; it was old-world cooking on an upscale level.
That was the last time we were in Monte’s until Friday. We were both so excited when we saw it. Marty grabbed my hand and he led me down the stairs to the restaurant.
We walked in, and the place looked just as it had 37 years ago. It wasn’t dated after all that time; it was simple elegance. The bathroom had been recently renovated, probably during the pandemic shut down.
As I recall, Monte’s bathroom could have used a renovation. It is a one-person restroom that is now gorgeous with shiny white subway tiles, a new sink, toilet, lighting, and a huge mirror. I have a thing about checking out bathrooms in places I am in; I have done it since I was a little girl. I would report back at the table what the bathroom was like. LOL!
A few diners were having a late lunch. Two guys were sitting at the corner of the small bar, and a bartender was dressed like high-end, old-school bartenders do.
We sat at the bar and told the bartender that this was where we had our first date in ’85. He asked why we waited so long to come back. Lol! The two guys at the bar laughed at that one as well. We knew we were going to like this guy.
We ordered a couple of cocktails and sat talking to everyone at the bar. We are bar people and always feel more comfortable sitting at a bar instead of a table. We have met many interesting people at bars over the years.
We felt welcomed and at home there; that’s the vibe the place gave us back then and now. We didn’t eat because it was midday since we were still stuffed from the curry wurst and fries.
The chef, Chef Mosconi, came out of the kitchen to say hello. He spoke in English but spoke Italian back and forth to a patron leaving and the guys at the bar. When he heard we were from Vermont, he told us his wife went to college at St. Joseph’s in Rutland, VT. She was a teacher. Marty told him he had worked in Rutland for years.
We also found out he was the chef when we were last there. He started “in the business” in ’83. He was very friendly and looked like what you would imagine an Italian chef to look like. His parents ran the restaurant beforehand; a black and white photo of them standing behind the bar is hanging up.
Chef Mosconi cooks food true to his Italian roots with love; he is passionate about making different kinds of stuffed pasta.
The walls in Monte’s are full of celebrities that have dined at Monte’s over the years. There are photos of currently famous people and all the biggies like Sinatra who frequented the place.
Monte’s is a neighborhood institution. It is on a food and history walking tour of Greenwich village. A tour group came into the restaurant while we were there. Ironically, I am going on a similar walking tour with my sister Jennifer in a couple of weeks. This had been planned long before Marty and I even knew would be in the city for Hamilton. I spoke with the tour guide, who may be my tour guide.
We finished our drinks and paid the tab. We thanked everyone and said our goodbyes. The bartender told us not to wait so long to come back. We all laughed.
I told him the one thing I learned during the pandemic is you don’t get time back and don’t know how long you have. You have to do things and live life. You can’t keep on waiting as we did. I snapped a few photos and whispered to the restaurant, “We will be back soon.”
Besides Hamilton, this was the highlight of the trip for me. I still felt like a young girl with this funny and handsome guy. I never imagined that night we would be back 37 years later. That’s Amore! 😍
What a trip!
I’ve been figuring out the best way to tackle our two-day trip to NYC. We packed in so much in under 48 hours it wasn’t funny. Getting back to the city was well overdue; now that we went, we will be going back again soon.
Rather than write about our trip chronologically, I will write about subjects. This will keep me from flitting from one thing to another, making the piece hard to understand.
Travel & accommodations
We started the night before our trip by going to our favorite Chinese place, Ala Shanghai, and spent the night in Albany since we had an early train to catch. Again, the weather forecast was not a pretty one with ice and mixed precipitation.
Our whole Amtrak experience was an excellent one! The ride was pleasant, comfortable, and quick. The trip into the city is less than 2 1/2 hours and went very fast. The train was sold out, picking up passengers along the way.
We stayed at the OYO Hotel, 800 ft from Times Square and a 5-minute walk to the Richard Rodgers Theater. It was a great location!
It was a small boutique hotel with only nine floors. The building was old but updated. Our room was on the 6th floor, small but modern, clean, and comfortable. It was perfect. The mattress was incredibly comfortable, and the two pillows seemed customized for me.
The only drawback was that the elevator was extremely slow, so we walked down the stairs to save time. We walked down, not up, since our legs and feet were so tired from all our walking.
Like the rest of the city, the hotel is under construction, which you did not see. It seemed like most of the city’s buildings had scaffolding around them, but this is good when it is raining like it was our first day. Scaffolding = staying dry.
We bought a Metrocard and took the subway everywhere for the rest of the trip. We were a little rusty at first, but we both got back into our NY groove and found the system as second nature as it had been years ago. The subway is the best way to get around the city quickly and affordably.
Ghost town
To say we were shocked and dumbfounded is an understatement. Times Square was empty. There were virtually no people. There is no traffic like it used to have since it is a pedestrian zone, but the were no people!
The usual touristy places like where the late show is filmed and NBS Studios were empty. I took photos to show just how quiet the streets were. It was a little creepy and scary; I can’t imagine how it was a year ago.
Many people are working from home so that accounts for some of the lack of people along with March not being a touristy time of the year.
The streets filled up more in the evening with theatergoers and other visitors, which was good to see. New York is struggling for its economy to come back; it felt good to support it.
Hamilton
We’ve been listening to the soundtrack to Hamilton for years. I’ve heard it hundreds of times and know most of the words to the songs. We lost track of how many times we watched the show on Disney + with the original cast.
Just seeing the Richard Rodgers Theater was exciting! We almost bought tickets right before the pandemic, but they were too expensive for us at the time. This was a major regret of mine during the shutdown of our country. It was sad that the lights went out on Broadway for over a year for the first time.
Sam chose good seats for us in the orchestra section, on the end, in case I need to “go potty.” 😂 Our seats were good; we could even see the expressions on the actor’s faces and close enough to hear their shoes squeak when they did turns.
I may be the only person to notice spin squeaks, but I did because the same thing happens when we do spins in belly dance when the floor is tacky from humidity. It was raining out, so maybe this was the case at the show.
When we got to our seats, I can’t describe how exciting it was to see the stage and be “in the room where it happened.” From our seats, I could see where the actors waited in the stage’s wings to come out and what props they had for the next scene.
I realize most people wouldn’t think to watch the wings of the stage, but I knew the show so well it was cool to watch what was about to unfold in person.
I was concerned I would be disappointed seeing the show live since the original cast is no longer in the show. I was wrong. The actors that night played their roles amazingly close to the original cast with the same passion, emotions, and expertise. Their voices sounded so similar, and their mannerisms on point.
The only character I was disappointed in was Angelica. The actress is excellent, I’ve seen her in other shows, but she seemed to be on stage just performing, not in character. The original Angelica played by Renee Elise Goldsberry made me cry every time she sang “Satisfied” and started the song “It’s quiet uptown.”
When Renee Elise Goldsberry played Angelica, she was Angelica. She was filled with emotion, and you could feel how heartbroken she was. When she was interviewed after Hamilton aired on Disney +, it was the first time any of the original cast saw the show for themselves; she said watching the show, she was a puddle of tears and felt the heartache all over again. She exhibited anguish and sorrow at every performance. The actress we saw had no emotion even though she had a lovely voice.
After the opening number, Alexander Hamilton, while the cast stood at the edge of the stage singing, I was so overwhelmed that I cried. Nothing can ever replace live theater and experience it.
Gluten-free food tour
After being disappointed with the lack of gluten-free food in Vegas, I did my research. I read blogs and followed dedicated gluten-free bakeries and restaurants on social media. I watched YouTube videos of gluten-free restaurant reviews. NYC didn’t disappoint; according to Hamilton, it is the “greatest city in the world.”
We started at Friedman’s, a Jewish deli where the phrase “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” was coined. We asked our server about gluten-free choices; he told us everything on the menu was or could be gluten-free except for the matzo ball soup.
We were in a New York Jewish deli, so we ordered a pastrami sandwich with herb-tossed french fries. We also had an order of potato latkes; again, in a Jewish deli, you get the latkes.
The food was delicious! It felt good to feel normal and order whatever we wanted off the menu without worry. We shared our meals so we could save room for more items to try.
Later that day, we headed up to the upper east side and went to a dedicated gluten-free Parisian bakery called Noglu NY. They have two locations, one in Paris, the other in NY. If I can’t go to a bakery in Paris, I figured I had to go to this one.
The bakery was how I imagined it. The website is in French, so I was relieved the staff spoke English. We had the most sexy-ass quiche I had ever seen or tasted! The crust was brioche-like; the wilted spinach filling was as light and fluffy as a cloud.
Marty and I split the quiche and one of their pastries filled with a caramel-like cream, topped with thinly sliced almonds. Holy shit, you guys, it was just like being in Paris. I was so happy we went.
The next day, we headed back uptown and went to a dedicated gluten-free bakery called Modern Bread and Bagel. I’ve read on social media their bagels are authentic NY bagels, and you can’t tell the difference. Could this be true I wondered?
First of all, unless you have had the real deal, an authentic NY bagel, you haven’t had one. Modern Bread and Bagel’s bagels were exactly as explained. We couldn’t believe we were eating real NY bagels! I almost cried with joy; it was that good.
The staff were friendly and explained the various cream cheeses and other “schmears” to us and their pasties. It was hard to make a choice, but we will be going back there again for sure; it took some of the pressure off.
Marty had his favorite sesame bagel with veggie cream cheese. I had a plain bagel; I wanted to try a plain one to taste the bagel and not the toppings with olive cream cheese. There were whole kalamata olives in the cream cheese!
We also found an everything bagel with housemade lox, cream cheese, arugula, and tomato in our bag by mistake. They told us to keep it and enjoy it. It was my first time trying lox; the sandwich reminded me of a BLT. The lox tasted like the kosher answer to bacon.
Next, we headed downtown to Chelsea Market, which we had never been to before. It is a foodie’s dream place with various food vendors and artisan shops. We stopped at Berlin Currywurst. We had to see if their currywurst was as good as those in Berlin, and yes, it was. It tasted just like my food memory. Everything at Berlin Currywurst was gluten-free except for the buns.
We walked off the currywurst while heading to the Union Square Green Market. It is a farmers market that is open 5 or 6 days a week. We knew a few vendors there and said hello to them. After hearing about this market for so long, it was fantastic to see it.
We also went to Washington Square Park to rest our legs and watch some street performers. It was sunny and warm; the magnolias and daffodils were in full bloom. Spring had sprung in NYC, which felt great.
We kept walking and stopped to check out two more dedicated gluten-free places. Senza Gluten and Posh Pot Bakehouse. Senza was closed for dinner until 5 pm, but we got to go in and see it anyway.
Posh Pop Bakehouse is a sweets eater heaven with over-the-top cakes and other sweets. The whole place is very girlie and all pink, which I loved. The staff was so friendly and passionate about their bakery. They were happy and proud to have such a purpose in the gluten-free community. If you love sweets, you have to go there.
Our last gluten-free food stop was a Thai place called Kati Shop. It was like a Thai version of Chiptoles where you pick your rice, protein, sauce, and toppings. Everything in the shop was gluten-free and delicious. The owner was very friendly and gave us samples of all their curries and explained the dishes in detail. We got so much food for under $25 and walked out of there stuffed and tired.
During the trip we also had drinks and other gluten-free bites in bars so we could sit down and use their bathrooms. Bathrooms are hard to come by since they are for patrons only or in fancy hotels or department stores. Marty found the “best place to take a dump” at the Moxy Hotel. 😂
We packed in so much in two days! We were exhausted while waiting for our train in the comfortable Amtrak waiting area. The train ride home went quickly and was restful. The hour-long car ride also went simple, hitting no traffic.
Tomorrow, I will be writing about how Marty and I went back to a place in Greenwich Village where we had our first date back in 1985. This post is long enough, so I figured I would do it justice and write about it tomorrow, giving us all a break. Lol.
Yesterday and today, I am relaxing because we are back to work tomorrow with so many orders that came in during our time off, which we are thankful for.
What a great trip we had! ☺️
Check✔️
Hey guys! Just checking in; its been a busy week so far, the good news is besides a few deliveries to make, we are ready to go away!
Today, I am belly dancing with Kathleen from 3-4 then teaching from 5:45-7:15. I usually don’t leave until after 8, but tonight Marty is picking me up early.
I am happy we decided to spend the night in Albany, we have a winter weather advisory until tomorrow. I would be a hot mess worrying about traveling at 5 am in an ice storm.
That’s it from me, I’ll take lots of photos and report back. Enjoy the rest of your week! ❤️
A welcome change in plans…
Yesterday, when I woke up, I expected a rainy day in the 50s. After some coffee and yogurt, I got dressed and headed out to the production kitchen for our usual Friday production and deliveries.
As I walked outside, there were blue skies in the distance, and it was warm. It was so much better than the forecast Alexa just told me. Marty was almost giddy about the weather when I got inside the production kitchen.
We decided to power through production and make the most of the day outside. Yes, I had half a dozen things that needed to be done inside the house, but I thought the hell with it, this day is a gift, and I am not going to blow it.
Fridays are always “Broadway Tunes Friday” in the production kitchen. We put on Hamilton in preparation for seeing the show in NYC next week. We also know that whenever we listen to Hamilton, we work our asses off and get shit done quickly. We did in record time!
We’ve been squirreling away lumber, decking, and screws over the winter for a small deck we will be building for the pool we put up back in September. We tried using the ladder that came with the pool, but it wasn’t fun, safe, or enjoyable.
Marty put in footers for the deck in the fall, saving us from waiting for the ground to thaw in the springtime; plus, it saved time when it came to deck building.
We decided to start to build the frame and see how far we would get. We had to stop in the middle of working to both make deliveries in Bennington & Manchester. We each got home as fast as possible and got back to work.
We finished the frame and decided it was a good stopping place. I could have gone inside and gotten the stuff done I put aside, but instead, I suggested taking the dogs for a walk.
After we got back, again, I could have gone inside but made another suggestion of having our first Friday night happy hour on the front porch. Without hesitation, Marty said, “good idea.”
The front porch sectional cushions were still packed away in trunks stored in the barn. I didn’t want to waste the gorgeous weather and sunshine getting them out. Marty convinced me it would take ten minutes. He grabbed the cushions and staged them for me to carry to the porch. Within ten minutes, the cushions were in place, and I made us two of my favorite cocktails, rum & tonic with lemon.
Klaus and Otto were first so happy to go on a walk, but being back out on the front porch was heaven for them. The front porch is their favorite place to sit, lay down and play Stalker McGee.
I texted Martin if he was around to stop over for a quick pop. A few minutes later, he walked across the street, and we were toasting our first outdoor “Happy Friday” of the year. 🍹
Spring cleaning begins…
I love to spring clean! Nothing beats getting rid of the winter dirt and dust; ok, maybe that’s pushing it a bit. You know what I mean.
I can’t tell you the last time I washed the windows in our house. We tackled many projects around the house during covid, but cleaning windows wasn’t one of them.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the new replacement windows we got for our mudroom. We are still waiting on the sixth one to arrive. It broke in transit. If Marty didn’t call to have it tracked, I am unsure if FedEx would have said anything.
The window company, American Craftsman, wasn’t aware of the broken window either and apologized. Even though it’s not their fault after the windows leave their plant, they apologized anyway and sent the new window out right away. I like this company in a world where it’s hard to get anyone to call you back, answer an email or give you a straight answer.
We keep noticing how sparkling clean the new windows are, making all the rest of the windows look terrible. I’ve cleaned the insides over the last three years, but not the outsides, and boy, do they need it.
After production and lunch, I decided to start with the dining room. I used a sponge with vinegar water to get the dirt off, then used Windex to clean and shine. They say never wash windows on a sunny day, well that wasn’t a problem today for sure.
I got the dining room and kitchen done in a short amount of time. What a difference! Holy shit! I should have done it a lot sooner. They aren’t hazy anymore and seem to be letting in more light.
Better late than never. Now I just have the rest of the house to do.
Doesn’t hurt to ask…
This post is a day late, but I ran out of time yesterday to write. We renovated our backroom/sunroom/mudroom/new pantry back in 2008. I remember because a huge chunk of ice slid off the upper room and came through the mudroom roof. Since we had to renovate anyway, we decided we would make it a 4 season room.
We took out inefficient windows and put in new sliders. Then about 5 years ago, the first set of windows got cloudy. A seal must have broken. Then the same thing happened to the second set, then the third. It sucked that we couldn’t see out the windows well anymore, and it didn’t matter if I cleaned them or not; they always looked like shit.
We decided to see if we could order new windows, not the frames, just the windows. We got the company’s phone number from Home Depot to call ourselves. It was so long ago we weren’t in their system.
Marty called American Glider and got the sweetest mid-western woman on the phone. He explained our situation thinking the windows were out of warranty. She said they weren’t they stand behind their product. We would be receiving 3 new sets of windows for free! We are never lucky like this. Yay!
We got 5 of the 6 windows and installed them right away. Of course, the 6th window is lost; FedEx is trying to track it down. We have to wait on the 3rd window now and keep our fingers crossed the window is found and delivered in one piece.
I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask, something I now believe.
Quick post since I just home from belly dance…Marty took me and picked me up due to the snowstorm. I am so glad I went because all 3 of my new students came even in the snow!
Growing old is a privilege…
I haven’t written a raw and honest post about myself for months. This post is entirely contradictory while working through the self-realization this week.
Whenever I thought about getting old, I never thought your age mattered. I’ve heard and seen people 10 years younger than me call themselves old men or women.
How you feel mentally and physically makes you feel old or young. I know people 10-20 years older than me that are very young for their age.
So why is that? Your physical health plays a significant role. A body in motion stays in motion, they say. If you are in poor health or horrible physical shape, it can also affect your mental shape.
My biological mother is beautiful and in fantastic shape. She easily looks and acts 20 years younger than she is. It shows on her face and attitude. I think she is gorgeous, and I hope I inherited those genes.
I feel like your age shouldn’t have any effect (within reason, of course) on the way you dress, wear your hair, what kind of activities or music you listen to, or how old your friends are.
Last year, I painfully admitted on my blog how I had been hiding behind my black only wardrobe for more than 10 years. I was ashamed of my post-menopausal body; I hated it.
Whenever I looked in a mirror or saw myself in a photo, all I would see was my thick waist. It made me sick, and I wanted to cry. I body shamed myself every minute of every day.
Last year’s blog posts took me through 6 months of dieting and working out 6 days a week. I figured if I didn’t try my hardest to get my figure back then, I never would. All that work, and I didn’t lose one fucking ounce or inch.
That’s when I finally decided that “this is me. This was who I am meant to be; this is me.” This is a line from one of the songs from one of my favorite movies, The Greatest Showman.
After that, I said fuck it and went out and bought some new clothes. I added colorful pieces to my black wardrobe. People noticed right away; they said color looked good on me.
Ok, so I just wrote age shouldn’t affect how you feel. I also said I needed to accept myself for who I am. But, I was still holding on to more shame.
For the last 7 or so years, I was disgusted by the crepey skin on my neck. I started noticing age spots on my body and hands. It put me into panic mode, and I went in search of creams and moisturizers promising to have younger-looking skin in as little as two weeks. Bullshit! I wasted a lot of money.
I have always taken good care of my skin, so I felt betrayed by my body. Every time I looked in the mirror or a photo, just like seeing my thick waist, all I saw were wrinkles. It was mortifying!
That was until this past week. I watched a tv show where hair designer and grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness was working with a 58-year-old woman.
I saw myself in the way this woman saw herself. She was afraid to look old and went to great lengths to hide it. She was petrified by it, as was I.
Jonathan told her that getting old is a privilege that many don’t get. He talked about the importance of acceptance and how gorgeous she was inside and out.
His client was pretty and in great shape, teaching dance and working on her farm with horses. She had a gorgeous figure with nice boobs and great legs. Sadly, she didn’t see that when she looked in the mirror.
What she did see was thinning hair and wrinkles. She dressed too young and trashy and wore a wig that she denied throughout the show. She wore lots of makeup, trying to look younger, making her appear older. She was ashamed and was afraid to trust Jonathan.
She didn’t entirely trust him by the end of the show, but he left with advice and the tools she needed, including a hair club type of cap to help regrow her hair, making it thicker again.
The show went back and checked on her a year later. They usually check back sooner but couldn’t because covid hit and stopped everyone dead in their tracks, including their show Queer Eye.
They found a younger-looking woman wearing cute clothing accentuating her knock-out figure with her natural hair. Jonathan told her how brave she was to step out from under the wig and trust him. Her hair looked beautiful, and she looked 100 times better.
I cried when I watched the end of the show. I was so happy for Terri. I didn’t expect how my feelings about myself started to change. All it took was a Facebook selfie the next day that appeared in my memories from 10 years ago.
I looked at the photo and thought, well, shit, I pretty much look the same. I showed it to Marty, and he told me I did look the same. He pulls no punches with me, so I believed him.
I had those same wrinkles back when I felt good about myself. Maybe I didn’t look as old as I thought. Perhaps people focused on my smile, personality, deep voice, or hair?
So that’s it. That’s what it took. I have worked my way to think that I look and feel young for my age. Maybe people aren’t blowing smoke up my ass when they say I look like I am in my 40s and not 56.
As you read this post, some of you may think, “that will never happen to me.” This post may resonate with some of you that feel the same as me, whether it’s wrinkles, excess weight, or hair loss. Some may think it’s ridiculous to be worried about appearances in the first place, or “who is she kidding; she does look old.”
Whatever the case, I wanted to share another step on my journey with you. Another tough post for me to write like the “This is me” one from last year. If you would like to read it, click on the underlined link.
I wrote today while we are on the road making deliveries and picking up some Trex decking boards at a bargain barn surplus place for a small deck we will be building to get in and out of the pool easier.
Thanks for being on this journey with me. ❤️
***Marty pointed out I spelled waist as waste. I fixed it. Thanks auto correct for that little gem!