It’s the damndest thing. Since I turned 50 6 years ago, or even a couple of years before that, I put limits on myself without really knowing it. When I thought of myself and how I looked I was fighting a battle that I wasn’t going to win.
It’s taken me well over a year on this self-acceptance journey, and I finally woke up and realized I was practically there. It’s harder than I expected to grow old gracefully. Hard af to be honest.
I blamed wearing black all the time on trying to hide my new size and body. I tried wearing color and realized that wasn’t it. I refused to wear shorts or feel comfortable going out bare-faced. I hated looking in the mirror because all I saw were wrinkles and a post-menopausal body.
I was depressed because I realized none of the miracle creams were going to help my crepey neck or the skin above my knees. This was the real reason I discovered why I wouldn’t wear shorts anymore.
Finally, without warning, my brain said, “enough of this ridiculous bullshit.” I finally accepted the inevitable; I was getting older after years of fighting it. I’ve written about how getting old is a privilege, but now I believe it.
I am wearing shorts again, including cut-off denim shorts. I bought ones already cut off with holes in them. They still look like they did on me when I was younger; however, they are slightly longer and more appropriate. They are not cut up to the crack of my ass like Daisy Duke’s shorts.
I am back to wearing playful t-shirts and bikinis. This, my friends, is a big thing for me. I don’t need to hide behind tankinis anymore; that made me feel disgusting anyway.
Our trip to Vegas last year was eye-opening in so many ways. I saw many women older, bigger, and wrinkled than me rocking their shit and owning it. Saying fuck it. They weren’t wearing teeny bopper clothing but cute, sexy, stylish, trendy clothing and bathing suits.
This spring, I had the urge to go shopping for shorts. This fall, I went black to wearing black not to hide my body, but because I like it. It is not a shroud of shame; it’s that I like black and gray, damn it. I still add a pop of color here and there when I feel like it.
What does all this mean? It means I feel younger again, not on the outside but within. I sometimes feel beautiful, cute, and sexy, and I don’t hate everything I see in the mirror or in photos.
They say age is only a number or to be young at heart. I had always believed those sayings but lost sight of them when my body changed. I am a confident person but lost a big piece of me. I no longer feel betrayed, ashamed, or disgusted by my body.
When I looked in the mirror this morning before heading out to make a delivery in East Greenbush, NY, I saw my old self and liked what I saw.
You know what? I can and will rock that shit like those women I saw in Vegas. I wish I wouldn’t have waited so long.
Happy Friday! Have a great Fourth of July weekend. My sister Jen is coming to visit on Saturday for the weekend. It will be fun, and the weather looks excellent on Sunday, our first day off in a few weeks.
On Sunday, our long production day went easy. Yesterday’s production day felt like an eternity that would never end.
I made boxes we needed to fill some of our orders; they towered over me. Ok, I am only 5’1” but you get the drift.
Making spätzle isn’t something I have ever gotten tired of doing. That’s the fun part of production. I love it! The dishes? They suck.
The dishes take me over 2 1/2 hours to do. Marty suggested he clean the big tilting kettle while I finish up the dishes. It was worth a try.
With Marty helping with the clean up as opposed to start weighing and packaging spätzle himself; this saves me 30 minutes and we both get to start packaging the product together. This is working and I am happy. Yay!
Once we started packaging the spätzle I kept look over at the towers of boxes. It became daunting. Then, whenever I looked over at the big bin of spätzle he was working on, it always looked full. It was like a bottomless bin; and there were 9 of them.
It took hours to finish but when we were done, we were pleased with our days work and closer to filling all of our wholesale orders.
Today, we finished up all the orders even though we cut production short since we have deliveries to make this afternoon and a show tonight. We kicked ass this week to get it done!
Now, I know some people who are reading this and are probably thinking, “Wow! They must be raking in the dough!” Unfortunately, trust me, this isn’t true.
We learned very quickly that farmers, cheese makers and food manufacturers make the least amount of money. You see, the distributor needs to take their cut then the retail stores need to take theirs.
The first two ingredients in our spätzle are local milk & eggs. We feel strongly about using local ingredients and supporting the farmers near us. The eggs have tripled in price and the milk has almost doubled.
The flours we use are all non-gmo and cost more; again we feel we need to use the best ingredients for our product. The packaging supplies like our retail packages, bags and cardboard boxes have tripled as well.
I don’t have to tell you about the cost of gas when we travel to make deliveries, we are all suffering greatly from this right now. Our distributor had to raise their price to help cover the fuel for their delivery trucks.
We are hanging on and slowly but surely we are continuing to establish our brand and growing the business.
We are very blessed and grateful how far we have come in 5 short years. We couldn’t do it without our customers who are spreading the spätzle love.❤️
We are completely caught up for the moment which feels pretty good! Tomorrow and Friday we will focus on making spätzle for the farmers market on Saturday.
Now, I am going to try to take a power nap before getting dressed up, help get the delivery boxes loaded up, and on our way to a fun afternoon & evening in Schenectady.
On the road again…
I’ll let you know how the show was and if we were successful finding a good gluten-free dinner out. Fingers crossed!
Waiting for the coffee to brew, then it’s off to work!
Yesterday when the Alexa alarm went off at 4:25 am, he told us, “The early bird catches the worm.” We have a male Alexa voice because he sounds friendly and not bitchy all the time like the female one.
Yes, the early bird catches the worm proved true again today, hitting the production kitchen very early while it was still cool out. By the time we were finished with production, it was hot and steamy in the kitchen.
We must make a lot of spätzle today, tomorrow and Tuesday to fill the large orders we received last week. No day of rest for us this week, but that’s ok; we are grateful for the business. After today’s production, we are in a good place and now know we will get it all made on time. That’s a massive relief for both of us.
So, it’s going to be a busy but fun week. Tuesday, we have deliveries to make in Saratoga and Niskayuna, NY, which is very close to Schenectady. It just worked out perfectly that we are going to Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady on Tuesday night to see the show, Mean Girls, so we won’t have to make a separate trip.
We have been looking forward to seeing Mean Girls for a while and know the music well from the weekly broadway music we play in the production kitchen on Fridays. After making our deliveries, we can grab a bite to eat and then hit the show.
For the rest of the day, we will keep cool and relax. We have a couple of steaks to throw on the grill with a baked potato and salad for an easy uncomplicated dinner.
I hope you guys had a good weekend, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 😎
I’m still here! I haven’t written in days; it’s not that I haven’t wanted to, I haven’t had anything noteworthy to write about.
VT Spätzle has been busy, in fact we are already behind for next week! This is a great thing but a little overwhelming at times. Our small business consists of Marty and me and that is how we want to keep it for the time being.
All week I’ve been completely stressed out until Marty pointed out two things yesterday that made me start to think of things a little differently or try to anyway.
We would be more stressed out if we didn’t have orders coming in. ✔️
I can’t worry about the things I have no control over such as the current state of affairs and high prices. ✔️
While I try to give all my worries over one by one to God at night, these worries are deep in my subconscious. They are so deep I have been woken from a deep sleep twice this week with terrible anxiety attacks. What the fuck?
On the outside I don’t appear to be stressed out, but this is how depression and anxiety usually works. It’s true that some of the most happy and funny people are the ones suffering from depression and anxiety. Take Robin Williams for example.
Last night at dance class, I had fun without any worries or stress. I really needed to dance; when I do all of my thoughts outside of the dance studio fade away. Dance really is my therapy.
This was from last June when we had a photo shoot.
When I am dancing or teaching I am in the moment. I am not thinking about what I need to do, or things I’ve already done. I am in that one moment of time with music and the women I love to dance with.
Any of our dancers will tell you just how therapeutic dance is. We have all had a bad, rough, tiring, or just a bla day and didn’t feel like going to class. Since we are dedicated we show up anyway and always leave with a smile on our face.
Today, we are out of the production kitchen making deliveries in Saratoga & Albany. We really don’t have a production day to waste, but the orders need to be delivered.
While we are in Albany, we also have errands to run, scheduled an oil change, and supplies to pick up. Every trip counts just like every penny.
So as you can see, there is nothing exciting to mention or no fabulous food to share. I wanted to check in anyway and say hello so you don’t forget about me. 🙂
*** I used my phone when I wrote this on the road coming back from Albany so forgive the mistakes; its hard to post this way, but it’s the only time I will have tonight.
History was my favorite subject in school, and I still love it today. We live in historical Arlington, VT, a small town with some famous residents such as Ethan Allen one of the Green Mountain Boys.
Some others include Seth Warner, Samuel Adams, Remember Baker, Thomas Chittenden, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Norman Rockwell, and the newest famous resident Alec Baldwin.
I wrote about the history of Arlington, VT last year in a blog post titled “Puddle jumping through history.” You can read the blog post by clicking on the title if you are interested.
Last May the city of Troy, NY, where we are vendors at the Troy Farmers Market, HBO turned Troy into New York City in the 1880s. HBO was filming a new series called The Gilded Age. The transformation was incredible down to the most minor details.
I wrote about the transformation in a blog post titled “Hollywood on the Hudson.” The day I walked around the streets turned movie sets I was utterly alone except for one other person snapping photos and taking it all in like I was. It was very cool. You can read the blog post by clicking on the title.
Our vendor spot at the Troy Farmers Market is located on lower River Street. I knew there was a plaque on the building directly behind us; today I went over and read it.
It was where the poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas was first published. I love shit like this and grabbed my phone to take a picture.
I did some research on Dr. Clement C. Moore the author. The writer’s cousin sent the famous poem to The Troy Sentinel Newspaper anonymously. Dr. Moore wrote the poem in 1822, but it was published on December 23,1823.
The inspiration he got for the poem was while he was walking through the streets of NYC looking for gifts and a Christmas goose for charity. He saw a chubby round gentleman with both white hair and a beard. This is who prompted the poem.
This poem led to the story of the modern-day Santa Claus we know today. Rudolph came along later. LOL. Geez, that’s two Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer references this week from me!
Dr. Moore wrote the poem at Christmas time for his six children and had no idea it would be published, let alone become iconic. I am sure he didn’t imagine when writing the poem that would create the legend of Santa Claus.
After the poem was published, at first, Dr. Moore was embarrassed by the childish poem and felt it wasn’t something to be proud of since he was known as a highly educated man. He didn’t want people to know it was he who penned it.
However, after the publication, Dr. Clement Moore took credit for the famous poem when he saw people’s reactions and a new love for old St. Nick. The rest is history.
Troy, NY is a city rich in history, it is known as the home of Uncle Sam. A welcome sign tells you so as you drive along route 7 headed towards Vermont. It’s been there for the 33 years I’ve lived in VT.
Samuel Wilson was always cleanly shaven even though his well-known image as Uncle Sam has a beard.
I did some more research and looked up the history of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam was a real person named Samuel Wilson who is buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. Here is a link about Uncle Sam if you want to know more about him. He was a remarkable man who eventually became the face of America.
So, on this severely windy and cold day at the farmers market which is located along the Hudson River, I became curious about the history of the building standing 20 feet behind us. It was an unexpected history lesson that I loved learning about.
I found out from the Poetry Foundation the poem was originally titled “A visit from St. Nicholas.” I never gave the poem a thought about where it came from, and now I know. “Hey, and if you don’t know now, you know.” A quote from Hamilton.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her’ kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name: “Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!” As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky; So up to the housetop the coursers they flew With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too— And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack. His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Last Saturday, at the Troy Farmers Market, a vendor had the most glorious, large spinach & feta scones. Of course, they weren’t gluten-free, but I still appreciated how incredible they looked and probably tasted.
Keeping a strict gluten-free diet has improved in the twelve years we’ve needed to be GF, but we still have a long way to go.
Gluten-free bakeries are popping up everywhere, which is very nice and exciting for us GF folks; the only disappointing thing for me is they focus on too much sweet stuff.
I am a savory eater, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like chocolate chip cookies or any kind of pie; it means when it comes to a substantial snack, I want and need savory items.
Sweet items on an empty stomach make me feel sick and nauseous. I am good to go for dessert or as a bedtime snack with a glass of milk.
Back to those spinach & feta scones, I wanted one; I mean, I really wanted one. I’ve been craving one ever since. I looked in our fridge this morning and discovered a half bag of fresh spinach and feta cheese; see where this is going?
I searched the other day for gluten-free spinach & feta scone recipes. They were all meh. I am a cook by nature and bake out of necessity. I enjoyed baking before going GF but lost the wind in my sails after many fails or so-so results.
I found a recipe for spanakopita scones from Food52. It wasn’t a GF recipe, but it seemed like Bob’s 1:1 GF flour could handle it. It says on the 1:1 packaging that it can be used in recipes replacing regular flour. I know it doesn’t work well for items like bread or pizza dough, but this seemed promising.
Here is the link to the Food52 recipe I used for the spanakopita scones. I’ve tried plenty of Food52’s recipes and they are all fabulous.
I followed the recipe exactly since I wanted to see if the 1:1 flour kept its word. The only change besides the flour was making my own buttermilk with whole milk and lemon juice. I am a cheapskate when buying buttermilk for only a recipe or two.
When I say I followed the recipe exactly, I used the same preparation method and not my time-saving hacks. Guess what? The scones came out better than I imagined. Brilliant!
I played around with the lighting in the kitchen that’s why the first photo is lighter than the rest. 🤦🏻♀️
Instead of making eight scones like the recipe, I made six mimicking the ones I saw on Saturday at the market. I made a mini one for tasting purposes and was very pleased with the results!
The scones smell very much like spanakopita; that was a good start. When I tasted the scone, it had a bright lemony start, then a tiny sweetness, then a savoriness from the feta, and it finished with a hint of spice in the back of your throat from the pinch of red pepper flakes added.
Wowzers! I am so pleased to report that you can use Bob’s 1:1 GF flour as well as regular flour like this fantastic recipe calls for. Woot-woot!
Would I make them again? Heck, yeah! This recipe was true to its name 💯%.
Can you guess what we will be having at the Troy Farmers Market this Saturday? You got it; spanakopita scones! ☺️
Whenever I make baked goods for us to take to the market, I wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap and then place them into a freezer bag. I pop them into the freezer and take out individual ones as needed.
When working at the farmers market, the only chance we get to eat is before the market, so whatever we eat needs to fill us up for the next 5-6 hours.
If you are on a diet or watching your carbs, these scones probably aren’t for you. They are rich and filling with loads of flavor and taste.
For the record, I have no affiliation with Bob’s Red Mill or Food 52. They happen to be what I used this morning. My blog is not a professional food blog with sponsors, ads, or annoying pop-ups. My blog is about me and my life; what I cook, drink and do.
It’s Wednesday which means belly dance day; along with the success of those scones, it’s proving to be a spectacular day! I hope you have a great day, too, you guys! ❤️
Marty’s super-duper drink fountain. It’s all him; I never use it. LOL.
I am a dumb ass and do dumb ass things. Today, I was cleaning the windows and screens that were caked with pollen and made the mistake of also washing the walls in our back room/sunroom.
I didn’t intend to do any major projects today, but while cleaning, I wiped a section of the white walls to see if the dinginess came off. It did, and Marty said, “You can’t leave it like that; you have to blend it in.” Of course, he was right.
The job went quickly as I moved along on a kitchen stool. Then I got to the last section and leaned over to get into the tight corner, and that’s when it happened; the stool tipped over. Did you see that one coming? I didn’t. I am pretty flexible and can maneuver like a monkey, but I never used our new kitchen stools as a step ladder before.
I recreated the accident scene. 😜
If I weren’t as flexible, I probably would have hurt myself a lot worse. I fell in between the old bar fridge pantry and the wall but got up quickly. I know I yelled out a series of pretty impressive curse words. Then I started to giggle.
Giggle after a fall? All I could think of was the character Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. When Yukon goes over the side of a cliff with the Abominable Snowman, the gang thinks they are dead, but he returns with his new pal “Bumbles,” aka Abominable Snowman whom he reformed as a good guy.
When Rudolph told him they thought he was dead, he replied, “Didn’t I ever tell you? Bumbles bounce!” Besides the dolly, Yukon Cornelius is my favorite Ruldoph character.
I don’t know why that was the first thing I thought of besides, “Julz, you are a total dumb ass!” Anyway, instead of falling traditionally, I fell and bounced up and didn’t get wedged in.
I strained my right side from my ribcage to my hip and groin, then down my thigh. It hurt like hell when it happened, but I refused to baby myself and finished cleaning. Then I stretched it out. It still hurts but not as bad as I thought it would.
It’s a crapshoot how my right side will feel tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter anyway. I have a full day scheduled, and pain doesn’t stop or slow me down. After production, I have a date planned with Sam to run errands and go shopping together down in Bennington.
The more I keep moving, the better it is; a couple of Tylenol and I will be good to go. It will not stop me from belly dancing on Wednesday; I’ve danced in lots of excruciating pain over the years. Again, movement helps. A body that stays in motion stays in motion. Isn’t that what they say? The bigger question is who are they? Goodnight!
Klausie-boy is watching me eat my pizza. Eeewwwww! 😂
We eat dinner at home 90% of the time. I do 90% of the cooking, but lately, Marty has started grilling, making pizzas in the pizza oven, and smoking meats; this is beautiful.
I know some people eat out because they are too busy, traveling for work, or don’t like or want to be bothered to shop and cook. I know some do for special cuisines or styles of cooking. Some, like my mother did, just like to eat out—a lot.
Marty made us bacon cheeseburgers a few weeks ago that were, first of all, a surprise and, secondly, delicious. I was exhausted and extremely grateful he did this for us. The photo reminds me of how good that burger was.
Gluten-free burger buns usually suck and fall apart, but a toasted Trader Joe’s hamburger bun is the best we have found by far and not crazy expensive like other brands.
The burgers were so good because it wasn’t only the good ingredients he used but the time and care he put into those burgers.
There was also the fact that since I didn’t cook them, they tasted even better, another reason why people eat out finally registered with me.
This year Marty has taken the reins of using the smoker for meats which is fine with me; I failed at it last summer. Again, the time, effort, and care make everything taste better.
I’ve made some great food lately, but nothing to write home or blog about, but I thought I would share them as a group with you.
Maple, bacon, cheddar, chive scones, buffalo cauliflower, homemade veggie cream cheese, and strawberry shortcake waffles. All gluten-free, of course.Last week I made Caprese burgers but sometimes I top them with shaved parmesan cheese and a balsamic reduction. I also made chicken tikka masala which is more work than my usual butter chicken but worth it.
There are so many ethnic and other foods that aren’t available here or good ones. Following a strict gluten-free diet puts the kibosh on many food choices and destinations as well.
So, what else can we do but make it ourselves? There is a lot of good food an hour in any direction from where we live, but with gas prices the way they are, this is even more important for us to eat at home.
Last night’s dinner was a collaboration of both of us making dinner. I made a batch of my gluten-free pizza dough on Thursday for Friday night, but we were too tired and had frozen french fries and chicken tenders instead. I did make a buffalo bleu dipping sauce that was tasty.
Frozen food is perfect for dinner some nights and good!
We experimented and made three different kinds of individual mini pizzas; cheese, pepperoni, and margarita. We only use hand-crushed canned San Marzano tomatoes as the sauce. The flavor of the tomatoes is pure and simple, unlike any jazzed-up pizza sauces.
A simple cheese pizza and a pepperoni pie in mid-turn.
I stretched the dough and topped the pies while Marty slid the pizzas into the pizza oven for just a couple of minutes and pulled them out. The little pizza oven we have gets really hot like an authentic Neapolitan pizza oven.
In case you didn’t know, to be called authentic Neapolitan pizza you must top the dough with only hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. It has to be cooked in 90 seconds or less.
We have been working on perfecting our gluten-free pizzas for a few years and are getting closer and closer to perfection.
Last night’s pizzas had the same pull and chew as traditional pizza dough and produced actual pizza dough bubbles; my favorite part of pizza slices! We haven’t achieved that yet, so woot-woot!
I took a photo of Klaus and Otto watching me eat, and Marty took a picture of them from behind.😜
I think the long, slow, and cold rise in the refrigerator for over 48 hours produced the chew, pull, proper texture, and bubbles. The pizza was delicious but still not perfect.
Can you see why it took me seven years to develop our spätzle recipe? When I have something exact in my mind, I’ll keep going until it’s right and what I want.
That’s it from here. It’s Sunday, and I am relaxing on my day off. I made a batch of meatloaf meatballs on Thursday when I had a ton of energy. Holy shit, I am so happy I did.
I was expecting a gloomy, rainy day (not that I am complaining), so I planned on mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus to go with the meatloaf meatballs.
I already told Sam what was on the menu, so there is no changing it to something lighter now. He looks forward to food as much as I do, so I won’t disappoint him since he is working a 12-hour overnight shift in the ER tonight.
Have a great rest of your Sunday, guys! The weather looks like it’s going to be warmer again next week in the mid-80s, which we don’t mind. Cannonball! 🙂
My skirt and hip shawl I wore to practice in after teaching last night.
I love teaching *ATS® belly dance every week, but last night’s class was even more fun and inspiring. Nothing springs everyone back into performance mode as a real gig on the calendar for late August. We haven’t performed in public since October 2019.
Our dance troupe could keep dancing during the pandemic with the help of videos I made and Kathleen and Emily holding zoom classes.
We all came back to dancing in person last April. It was interesting that everyone improved over the pandemic despite not having classes the traditional way. I took 6 months off from dancing and didn’t even listen to belly dance music. I came back fresh and stronger than ever like everyone else.
Since the beginning of this year, classes have been energized with the addition of our three new students. Classes went back to beginners fundamentals and basics. We were all amazed at how fast the three picked it up. I love watching them get better and better each week and having fun, something vital to me.
After we received our invitation via email for a performance opportunity last week, it got me in full-on drill sergeant mode. While everyone was has been at classes and dancing every week there was a lot to do to get ready for a real public gig.
Maria and Trish have minimal performance experience but are super excited and were the first to say they were in. Callie, who has performance experience, and I will round out our quad for the gig. As soon as everything is finalized I will post more about the gig if anyone local would like to attend. It’s always nice having familiar faces and encouragement in the audience.
Last night, we reviewed what we needed to work on and my expectations. Everyone in the class, not just the ones doing the gig, got as excited as I did and were happy to drill their asses off.
They want to correct their technique and go over what moves they aren’t comfortable with. They also want to practice leading starting and stopping songs. I encouraged Trish and Maria to practice zilling at home, so it’s one less thing to worry about at class and the gig.
Right now, I am concentrating on everyone’s arms and posture. No more sloppy or limp arms; I am preaching about how proper posture is even more essential to help all the moves look better.
This was a great place to start. Over the next few weeks, we will also be working on stage presence and group dynamics. We are an ATS® group improv belly dance group that is only as good as the energy the dancers put out to the audience.
So what exactly is stage presence? It is not being dressed up in costuming and makeup looking good. It’s the way you hold your head, have a smile, or at least a pleasant look on your face.
Dancers should act professionally at a gig since you are “on” at an event, even if you aren’t on stage. Showing up on time and ready to go is a must and reduces stress before the gig. It sucks when it doesn’t happen and is hard to let go of before going on stage. This may be my biggest pet peeve of all when performing.
The most significant part of stage presence is being confident. Walking on stage or at a gig with a confident air about you automatically makes people think you know what you are doing. It’s “fake it til you make it” in the beginning, and that’s ok. Hell, I did it for the first year. It’s doing everything with a purpose, even if you fuck up. “I meant to do that”kind of attitude goes a long way.
Group dynamics is when a group of dancers is having fun dancing together. It’s getting into each other’s energy zone and feeling what they will do next. It’s encouraging each other with smiles, little “yips” and zaghareets when they do something extraordinary. Ramping up the energy gets the audience excited that something fun is happening.
A favorite meme of mine sorry it’s blurry.
So what in the hell is a zaghareet anyway? Here is an excellent description I found on the website Kesavah Bellydance.
“A Zaghareet (also known as an ululation) is a loud trilling that sounds something like “loo loo loo loo loo….” and often ends with an “eeeeeeeee” sound. It’s a combination of a high pitched, quite loud, “shriek” for want of a better word, as well as the “loo loo loo loo” trilling of the tongue layered on top.
The sound is made in celebration at weddings, births, and other auspicious events. Women usually cover their mouths while zaghareeting – some say this prevents evil spirits from entering; others say it’s to be polite and hide your open mouth.
It isan expression of joy, excitement, encouragement in the arab culture. It’s totally welcome to do when another dancer is on stage, also in a Zaffa (wedding parade in front of the bride and groom). It lends an air of excitement and charges the room/dance with a lively electric current.“
This is why we cover our mouths when zaghareeting, no one wants to see your tongue flapping around. 😂
So last night was like someone lit a match under everyone’s ass. The class had fun and is genuinely excited to work hard on their technique and get better by “dancing” together, not just stringing together a series of dance moves and calling it dancing. There is a vast difference.
One of the most complex parts of ATS® group improv dancing is there isn’t any choreography to follow, so everyone is dancing in the moment. We can dance to the same song ten times in a row, and it will never be the same. It’s truly organic and beautiful. People can’t believe it isn’t choreographed; we have heard that by hundreds of people over the last 18 years.
How ATS® group improv dance works, each dancer takes turns leading the group with small cues or gestures. Everyone hears and feels music differently, making it fun and ever-changing. Since things are changing all the time you have to pay attention.
One of the hardest parts about learning to lead is getting out of your head and letting the dance moves come from within and not overthink them. This is when things go wrong and look forced. That smile or pleasant look on their faces goes away, and they look like they are concentrating too hard.
Dancing from within takes a long time; it took me a couple of years not dreading taking the lead at gigs and enjoying it, plus feeling confident about it.
Selfie in the parking lot of the dance space. I just did a cut and color to my hair and was raring to go!
Kathleen and I laughed yesterday during our practice time about how whenever we step into the lead, neither of us knows what we will do ourselves until it happens. We are as surprised by what moves come out as much as the other dancers.
A blurry meme, but it’s my favorite!
To get people to feel comfortable and not afraid of taking the lead, we start our new students right away by learning how to step in and out of the lead position. Once they feel comfortable with that, they can lead a move or two.
The new dancers are always amazed that everyone knows what they are trying to do and can follow along. I don’t push anyone past their comfort zone because, after all, dance is supposed to be fun and not stressful. Everyone moves at their own pace.
I haven’t been this excited about dance in a very long time. I have an upbeat and enthusiastic teaching style, but now it’s on complete overdrive.
Driving home at 8 pm on Wednesday nights after three hours of teaching classes and practicing with Kathleen, I am exhausted but always have a massive smile on my face because I am so proud of how my students danced, how far they have come, and how much fun we had.
I haven’t written about belly dance for some time, but I think I will be much more in the future! Yip! 😉
Is there a difference between summer and outdoor kitchens? The answer is yes.
Summer kitchens originated in our country back in the early 1800s. Wealthy plantation owners built summer kitchens away from the main house on their property. The structures were usually made of timber, rocks, and bricks.
Its purpose was to keep slaves and servants away from the main house while having a place to cook and prepare large meals for everyone on the plantation.
Another practical reason for the owners to have summer kitchens was to keep smoke, and strong cooking smells out of their homes and keep the homes cooler in the hot months.
For the similar practical reasons, summer kitchens became popular in New England and New York. Outdoor kitchens weren’t just for wealthy plantation owners anymore; regular working-class people built summer kitchens on their properties.
Settlers that headed west brought the idea of summer kitchens along with them. They became prevalent in the midwest.
Summer kitchens were practical, especially when it came to harvest time. They were cooler and roomier to fit more people than the small kitchens in their homes.
The proverbial phrase many hands make light work made it possible for groups of women to work together processing and to can food for the winter months ahead.
With the introduction of modern ovens and air conditioning, summer kitchens were no longer desired and petered out; however, many people in the mid-west still have and use theirs.
A modern summer kitchen.
As far as real estate is concerned, the remains of old and historic rock or brick summer kitchens are a valuable asset to properties. They are sometimes made into sheds, workshops, or yoga studios.
After summer kitchens became a thing of the past and after World War 2 ended, the company Weber introduced their first home grill in the early 1950s. The grill was promoted as “Backyard fun” for the family. Beer, drink, food and snack manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon with this promotional idea to be part of the backyard fun.
Images courtesy of Weber.
Most families had grilling and picnic areas in their backyards but not nothing compared to an outdoor or summer kitchen. We know the “man of the house” did the grilling while the woman did everything else for a cookout. Why did they think someone who had no experience or knowledge of cooking regularly like the woman of the house did was in charge of grilling the main part of the meal?
See how the woman is doing everything else? 😜
To back this up, most of the cookouts I went to as a kid had black hotdogs, burgers as dry as hockey pucks, and chicken either burned beyond recognition or raw in the middle. I rest my case!
For the same reason, I will never understand why the man of the house carved the Thanksgiving turkey? Was it done out of honor? Was it too dangerous for a woman to use a carving knife? Was she too intimated or ladylike? 🤔
Back to the topic on hand, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The Food Network is what sparked America’s love of home cooking and grilling in the mid 1980s. It all started with Emeril Lagasse’s show How to Boil Water. Viewers were mesmerized by watching celebrity chefs cooking and grilling outdoors; of course, they wanted to do the same thing.
This type of cooking was making real food for real people and educating them simultaneously. Viewers didn’t feel intimated like they did by French cooking programs on television and could prepare the dishes they learned any night of the week. I believe it was the birth of the modern outdoor kitchen craze. The rest is history.
Ok, so what is an outdoor kitchen? A place to serve drinks & cocktails, make pizzas, grill, and entertain friends and family when the weather is nice.
Modern outdoor kitchens have sinks and sometimes dishwashers. Most of them have high-end grills and small appliances such as refrigerators, kegerators, and wine fridges. Many have authentic pizza ovens brought over from Italy.
These gorgeous, fully covered outdoor kitchens can also have fireplaces, large flat-screen TVs, and various sectional seating areas. It is truly a living and entertaining extension of someone’s home.
We had a lot to consider when we were in the planning and designing stages of our outdoor kitchen back in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
While I love those incredible outdoor kitchens, we knew that wasn’t us or suitable for our property. The cost was another issue.
We knew we wanted an outdoor kitchen for cooking, grilling, frying, smoking meats, and making pizzas with a large prep area.
It turns out our once referred to as our “outdoor kitchen” is more of a summer kitchen. It is set up for functionality and cookery, not for entertainment or show. This was not a priority for us since we rarely entertain or have company.
We use our summer kitchen as often as possible. We have pretty shitty weather here in VT a lot of the time, so we love spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Our summer kitchen is an uncovered, open-air kitchen with all commercial equipment. It is practical for me to cook, fry, and grill outdoors to keep the heat, smoke, and strong smells out of the house, just like back in the old days.
Marty was able to find all of our outdoor commercial equipment and work tables on Facebook Marketplace for ridiculously low prices.
There is a two-burner stove, a flat top grill, and an infrared grill. We have a small commercial fryer and a small, portable pizza oven we use often. We made sure to have lots of prep space so more than one person could be working in the kitchen at the same time.
We still use the summer kitchen for grilling in the winter months even though the other equipment is covered up. I have grilled in torrential downpours and snow storms wearing snow boots since the snow was up to my knees.
Chorizo and Portuguese Garlic Shrimp.
Last night, I used the summer kitchen to make a meal I usually cook indoors in cast iron pans. It made total sense to use the grill as a stove and cook dinner outside on a beautiful evening.
Our summer kitchen isn’t fancy-schmancy like outdoor kitchens, but it’s a well-designed, hip, and functional space to make some kick-ass food in the great outdoors.
