Every so often, the stars align and a moment (or three) of bliss occurs. My moment was around 10:30 Saturday morning and I'd worked my way through most of a fresh pot of coffee from early in the morning. The Husba took Boy1 and Boy2 on an extended errand while I rummaged through the refrigerator for something to eat - when I spotted it: the package of wild Alaskan salmon I impulse-purchased at Whole Foods the night before. This, I thought, is why you don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry. But thank you, oh hungry Friday night stomach(!), I shall enjoy my salmon with every possible pairing available. Red onion? Check. Lemon? Check. Dill? Check. Rye toast and capers? Check check. Even those tiny little cornichon pickles? You got it! A dab of cream cheese and I was transported back to 1988 when I sat in a cafe in Helsinki, desperately pointing to something on the menu in the hopes it wasn't gelatinous fish or pig hearts.

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." ~Lao Tzu

Nature Walk (with M&Ms)

It was a really nice afternoon when I got home from work a few weeks ago, so I suggested to Boy2 that we take a "Nature Walk". We grabbed his little pail and took a walk around the block looking for "interesting things". It was hilarious - every 30 seconds I'd hear, "Hmmm... THIS is interesting!" and another rock/stick/flower would be plucked from the sidewalk (or neighbor's flower garden - NO!!).

The pail must have weighed 5lbs by the time we got home.(I also think the little snack pack of M&Ms I stuck in his pail was a nice touch... although now he asks for "an M&M snack" each time we go on a nature walk.) haha...

I think we'll make this a regular thing.

Goodbye, Grandma

*sigh* OK, I should be happy we just saw my Grandma. And I am. I'm also sad that she died on Sunday. She led a wonderful life and was my FAVORITE PERSON EVER. That said, I will miss her terribly - we're leaving for NY tonight for her funeral.

I plan to leave her a letter - I considered sharing it, but I'm not sure right now. We'll see. She touched so many lives and she missed my Grandpa a lot - 90 is a pretty great run for anyone. Love you, Grandma.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

What do you get for someone who's turning 90? Yes, NINETY.
Answer = nothing.

And so Boy2, the Husba3000(TM) and I are getting on a plane tomorrow to fly back to NY for my Grandma's birthday. I think that's a pretty awesome present. I can't wait to see her - she just got out of the hospital yesterday where she was being treated for pneumonia, so we're pretty happy that she's doing better.

It's also my nephew's 5th birthday (wow!) and they're having a bowling party where my friends and I used to be in a league as a kid... how much fun is that? Of course, the Husba and I will be decked out in our finest bowling duds - we *do* live in Milwaukee, you know. I'm lucky enough to have acquired one of my Grandpa's bowling shirts - purely by accident - when I asked for their 1950s aluminum Christmas tree as a teenager. Sure enough, there was an old bowling shirt stuffed inside the box (go figure, right?) and when I asked if I could keep it... my Grandfather couldn't "...understand why on earth I'd want something like that...".

...'Cuz it's cool, gramps. 'Cuz it's cool.

To this day, it's one of my favorite shirts - I even ran into someone who recognized his name and the Fire Department maltese cross on the shirt when I was on a "corporate team building trip" in California. Funny. (talking to the person... not the team building exercise.)

Should be a good trip. I am, however, printing out the new DOT airline "tarmac delay" rules that went into effect today.

Just in case. :-)

Tempus Fugit

Whew! No posts since December? What's up with that?!?

Let's just say things have been a little crazy the past few months and we'll move on... our family is currently in the midst of a kitchen remodel and I spent all of last weekend (alone, mind you) busting out a truckload of spackle, wood putty and a whopping 4 coats of paint/primer on every conceivable surface in the place. Looks really nice, though... however, the contents of our entire kitchen are now in the living room - microwave, toaster oven, shelves, plants, EVERYTHING. We've been reduced to eating in the den (not good) and all the "training" I did to keep people from eating in there is unraveling as we speak.

I should rephrase the term "remodel". This is essentially a lipstick job so I can have a kitchen that functions and doesn't have cabinets falling off the wall (and so we can actually SELL the house). Our contractor is building us some custom open shelving and I'm hoping it will make the tiny kitchen feel more open. We're going for a simple white-beadboard-chunky-craftsman-bracket-shelving-1920s-look. Trust me, I'll take some before/after photos because I know that description makes little sense.

I can't wait to get my pans out from behind the sofa...

I believe I ordered the LARGE cappuccino

Today was a quarterly event - we went to Costco. In theory, I hate everything these warehouse stores stand for - I mean, who needs 144 of anything at once? Or even 12, really. I hardly have room to store a few extra rolls of toilet paper, let alone 48. This is essentially why my garage is a huge storage pit while we park our two cars in the driveway and scrape off the frost and/or snow every morning (or burn in the summertime). If I had a basement for storage, I wouldn't complain. But then, I like to complain anyway.

Going to Costco on a Saturday afternoon would be about 2,467th on my list of things I'd enjoy doing - it's like Black Friday. Shopping on the day after Thanksgiving encompasses everything I hate about shopping... times 5,000. Yet, here we were - the Husba3000(TM), Boy2 and me... filling a double-wide cart full of diapers, wipes and whole load o'dairy products. I was able to keep everyone (somewhat) in line with a shopping list, but I think invariably everyone ends up with more than they expected at Costco. Like the enormous roll of wrapping paper (justified for the dozen or so gifts I'll need to wrap). Or the 5lb. jar of "fancy" mixed nuts (not so justified - I was hungry). Maybe I'll make some brittle or toffee for gifts this year.

I hate this place.

A Milwaukee Fish Fry

I am so excited. Not only is it Friday (and a paycheck week-thankyouverymuch), but it is a balmy 6 degrees outside right now (not including wind chill)... and for us, that means a Fish Fry tonight. You may ask yourself "what's a fish fry"? And 5 years ago, I would have asked that very same question... it's big here. Really big. It happens all year 'round, but my personal opinion is that most people go when it's cold and dark - and during Lent. Nevertheless, we have a few favorite places around town but tonight it's Benno's in West Allis. Standard fare for most fish fries is battered cod or a battered/breaded lake perch or walleye pike - always served with potato pancakes or fries, applesauce & a slice of marble rye. I love Benno's because they serve a mean blackened salmon - that doesn't always make it to the "Specials" blackboard. So I'm crossing my fingers. They also offer a baked potato that's clearly on the Husba3000's (TM) radar.

Plus, Benno's has a serious beer lineup - both on tap & bottles. I like that they carry Scrimshaw Pilsner from North Coast in bottles... not sure if I'll be in a light or dark mood. I could really go for an Alaskan Amber or Bridgeport IPA these days. Too bad we can't get them around here. Wah. Double Wah.

Updates later!