Just Chillin' Here in Michigan

Have you looked lately at a "chill" map of the United States?

 I am consoled by the fact that even if I were in Florida now, the weather would still be a little chilly.

This morning, one city in northern Michigan dropped to -39 degrees! The North Pole was at -44 degrees at that same time. Not a big difference! I think we registered -13 locally.

If global warming ever actually happens and warms us all up a bit, I will never believe how cold it has been here this year, so I hereby document this awful weather that Michigan--as well as much of the country--is enduring.

It is exactly 4 weeks until Spring today. I will believe it when I actually see some early tulips popping up. I am glad that we have snow cover during this arctic weather. Many plants popular in my zone are not hardy below -10 degrees.

March 2012

I shiver at the very words used for the weather: a surge of arctic air, an arctic plunge, a push of arctic air, a bitter blast, bone-chilling, record-challenging cold temps. And of course, the f words: frigid, freezing, frosty.

We are managing quite well in our toasty house--the new windows help a bit, I think, to keep the drafts away. Both cars start faithfully and have great heaters.

But I think twice before venturing out!

This week I had a Ladies Night Out and a Girls Night Out. The first was a church event with hot soups and a gift exchange.

The other event was another beer tasting--not at church! I documented the new February flights in the January post: Discovery Tour 2015.

You might say I dealt with the drafts with a few drafts! Makes me thirsty now!

Tonight we traveled into the country to enjoy a lasagna dinner with friends. I brought a green salad, a re-imagined version of a Caprese Salad. I envisioned individual Boston lettuce cups, but had to improvise a little for 6, especially since the store only had two small heads of the lettuce I needed.

O. brought her newly minted recipe for Charlotte Russe, very tasty and elegant! It has an angel food/sponge-like cake bottom which lines and edges a spring form pan, topped with an airy raspberry and cream filling in a gorgeous medium pink.

Life can be good. Even in the middle of a frigid Michigan winter.

Two for Teak

I have been spending more time (as little as possible) in the basement recently, trying to find spots for more stuff that I have recently been gifted with in THE MOVE. I noticed this hunk of teak wood collecting dust (either driftwood, a burned tree or purposely distressed), which features 5 blackened elephants carefully carved out. I decided to bring it upstairs to see the light of day.

The wood was dry and lifeless. After dusting it a bit, I took a small paint brush and a bowl of olive oil and began slathering oil into all the cracks and crannies while it was resting on my teak dining table--which could also use some oil in this long dry winter. As expected, it sprung (sprang is still more correct for simple past, I know, but it sounds funny to my Midwest ears) to life.

I still don't have a suitable wall on which to hang this heavy piece, so for now I set it on the coffee table in the sun room.

When we were in Thailand in 2006 we scoured the night market bazaar in Chiang Mai for anything teak--and this is about all we could find, since teak harvesting and exporting is now carefully controlled. I believe this to be quite a unique piece.

As you can see, not every thing in my basement is total junk! There are some surprising treasures which can be plucked from the rubble!

The MOVE also resulted in the re-discovery of an article, torn from a Metropolitan Home magazine, featuring *my mid-century dining room table, originally purchased in Oak Park, Illinois in 1966.

Here is a photo of the photo in the magazine:

Identical to my table -  featured in the September 2007 Metropolitan Home 

*I purchased the table along with 6 chairs and a buffet in 1976 (advertised for $600 in Oak Leaves and said to have been $1200 new) for $575 (with permission by phone from the husband)--still a chunk of change for us at that time! So much for the provenance of this old table! Neither of us has any memory of how we got it to our house at that time.

The Truth about Tiramisu

14 ounces of heaven

I think I have finally figured out why Tiramisu does not wow me. I have ordered it from time to time, always hoping that this tiramisu from this Italian restaurant will surely be great. Now I have decided that maybe it's not the tiramisu---it's me!

The above serving was from a fine Italian dinner two years ago. It was good, but I would rather have had a warm apple pie ala mode or a brownie sundae.

Recently, however, I have discovered that there are ice cream versions of tiramisu! First I tried a gelato from my nearest grocery by Breyers. It looks a little crazy when you lift the lid on the carton, its ridges all dusted with cocoa powder. It was not crazy good, however, maybe a 5 out of 10 or maybe only a 2 when compared with other premium ice cream brands/flavors.

Ideally, every ingredient should taste great solo, whether you cook or bake or merely assemble food. Even the vanilla should smell good, as you are not likely to sample a teaspoon of it. You probably wouldn't drink pure fish sauce, either. These may be exceptions to my rule. But why cook with a wine, for example, that you wouldn't drink! If it is just too sweet to drink you can save it for a summer sangria, but if it tastes nasty to you, you shouldn't use it in a recipe, either.

 Anyway, my point is that I think I don't love all the parts of an authentic tiramisu.

But for now, I have found my ultimate alternative!

Haagen-Dazs Gelato, tiramisu flavor, is the bomb. Look no further if you have a hankering for tiramisu. Until I get to Italy, where I will indulge myself in a few more trials of even more authentic instantiations of this popular dessert, I will not order tiramisu any more. I will buy this 14 ounce carton of Haagen-Dazs ... if I get a hankering. It has a creamy coffee-dominated base, (a bit like Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream, which I also adore--only a bit sweeter and richer and well--more mocha, but with not a hint of bitterness, which is even found in that shake I used to like at Arby's, the Jamocha.

It has small chunks of cocoa lady fingers here and there that do not dominate.  With no strong burned coffee or espresso taste, no sharp overpowering liqueur flavor, no over-soaked or stale ladyfingers, and no bitter chocolate (cocoa or shavings) sprinkled on top, this gelato is sweet in every sense of the word--and perfect for my palate!

The Move to New York - February 4, 2015

I have never been a fan of the big old houses. My dream would be for a contemporary rambling ranch with huge closets. But the house above was spacious and gracious. with wood floors, high ceilings, fresh paint, newer windows and great outdoor spaces. More importantly, the house was home to our daughter and son-in-law--and only a few blocks distant.

What happens when you finally acquire a large house and garage? You begin to accumulate!

And then what happens when you decide to move to New York City and all you can afford is a one bedroom apartment???

Yesterday the movers parked in the street on the upper east side of Manhattan, automatically received a ticket from the city, and proceeded to carry in all their earthly possessions (except for a few boxes at my house). I called it downsize shock when they messaged me a photo of the chaos.

Three favorite possessions which were packed by the movers were broken--a small glass-top table, a great new lamp and the foot of the credenza purchased the day before the moving van came! Hopefully insurance will help to replace or fix these items.

I have received things in bits and dribbles, starting with a round teak table, gifted to us long ago by some Chicago area friends, and returned when the Christmas tree was set up.

And then the last few days, I began to haul and receive small torrents of stuff--even bags of trash, which they really couldn't leave for the new owners. City bags are no longer readily available.

And lastly, they left their car, which will be my car now--a Subaru Forester.

Moving is always chaotic, but they got it done. I helped out here and there, but I let them struggle with the bulk of the downsizing. They had last lunch and dinner dates booked up solid that last week and I was the one who was stressing about getting everything packed.

Moving has always been stressful for me. I never had any help, often working around small children's needs. So I projected some of that stress on them from time to time. But I was also helpful!

The day before the move, we packed both our hatchbacks with seats down, transporting a three-piece set to a warehouse on the northwest side where it would be prepared for a consignment sale. I took a photo of the largest piece on its way to the third floor on an elevator:

Before we left the warehouse, M had purchased a replacement, NYC-apartment-sized credenza.

I will not say too much about the emotional impact of the move, but I will catalogue a few more of the material things that were incorporated back into our household.

Some things were easy. Oh yes--the stockpot--easy enough to stack with the pans. My hand-held blender--I didn't even miss it! A pillow or two.  A borrowed Woolrich blanket. A lamp which we immediately put to use on a re-purposed TV stand by the husband's big recliner. I now have a real wooden rolling pin.

The cans of beans and tomatoes can always be donated if we don't eat them. The beer and bourbon will be drunk over time, to be sure. The laundry products, including April Fresh Downy and OxiClean, were welcome, as I am excessive in the laundry area of my basement and life.

A juicer that I don't know how to use, previously gifted to them.

A beautiful wreath gifted to them. Plenty of room yet (somewhere!) in the basement.

Wine glasses saved for R. A globe for E. A vacuum?

Their golf clubs and shoes. Golf here next summer?

An allen wrench set. So that's where it was!

3 lovely martini glasses. For me and my two drinking buddies!

An over-sized beach towel.

The beautiful guitar I bought for the husband which he no longer plays.

Lots of art experiments, and some Marushkas (w/umlaut u) which we both collected for awhile.

By mistake, a bag of trash was brought into the house--with 30 single socks! What happened to all those mates??

The list is long...

The last thing I did before mopping my way out of the kitchen and turning off the lights was to take a new flashlight from my purse and shine it under a radiator. I found the nail I had dropped there a few days before, hiding there among all the dust bunnies. I ignored the dust. (We needed to leave a few places for the eager new homeowners to clean!)

 I put the tiny nail back in its hole, a small effort that somehow made me me feel better. It had pulled out when I removed the art from the wall above.

 I had room for one piece of M's art on my first floor--a simple painting created in her early years--which apparently are now history, along with the donated easel--also gifted. Certainly there is no room for an art studio in a one-bedroom!

 She begged for this vanity, but in the end didn't take it...the teak tray was also returned...

An old family quote goes something like this: There is always a little piece in the corner.

A tiny nail, a bit of dust--or a small corner of sadness...

They are off on a new adventure. I wish them well. The chaos will subside and life will return to a comfortable rhythm, with new experiences and friends to fill the not-so-tiny holes left in our hearts.

We finished in time to eat a traditional dinner together. I had a Butterball turkey breast in the crock pot, boiled new potatoes, a green bean casserole, broccoli with cheese, rich gravy and French bread.

And then I shared with them my exciting new tiramisu discovery (see next post) and even tasted a newly brewed tiramisu stout which M and I mixed with coffee ice cream for a quite delicious drink!

The borrowed tulip mirror behind the beer is also back in place!