january gratitudes {january 31, 2023}

The last day of January. 1/12 of 2023 is complete. This cold, quiet month has had lots of bright spots.

❄ January 1...HAPPY 2023! I spent the day prepping our traditional New Year's Day dinner with pork, sauerkraut, beans, and greens. 

❄ My New Year's resolution: Be where your feet are. 

❄ Outside walks. Bundle up and enjoy that fresh winter air in your lungs, get your body moving and your heart pumping, and just enjoy what you see. There's a lot out there...keep your eyes open and  have a sense of wonder as you wander.

❄ Getting back to a three-times-a-week yoga practice. Good for the body, mind and spirit.

❄ University of Dayton basketball games. UD Arena is a loud, fun venue and the fans love their Flyers.

❄ I took my time to take down the Christmas decorations but did put them away on Three Kings Day. I will miss the twinkling lights, the cheery colors, and just the joy of Christmas. It was comforting to pack all the ornaments one by one into their boxes and other decorations into their bins, organized neatly and with care, and know they are ready for next Christmas.

❄ First Friday at the Front Street art galleries. There is an artist there and I love his creations. We have a large wall where one of those creations would fit perfectly. To be continued...

❄ January birthdays: my dad, my daughter, and two of my cousins who were born on the same day but different years.

❄ Little grandson turned 7 months old and he's starting to crawl! He is now closer to being one year old than he is to being a newborn.

❄ The best, jam-packed weekend in Cleveland to celebrate daughter's birthday, the family Christmas, and little grandson's baptism.

❄ Had a few guests stay at the house: my brother who lives in Tennessee was here for a few days, daughter, her fiance, and sweet old dog were here for a week. Love having extra cars in the driveway and beds filled.

❄ Took a 4-week beekeeping class. It was so informative and I learned a lot about bees and beekeeping. I'm not going to have hives in the yard but I am going to make my yard more friendly to bees and other pollinators.

monday's mulling: wisdom on a wall {january 30, 2023}

 

The Wright Brothers Institute is in this building. This location is a hub for connecting the Air Force to businesses around the nation, within a six minute drive from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. 

Just remember:

• No time for spinning your wheels.
• Stay on a constant path.
• Fly high, land safely.
• Carry your message wherever you go.
• Don’t be afraid to launch yourself out there.
• Sky’s the limit.
• This is the Day to Never give up. (I love how Dayton is incorporated into this saying!)

sunday football {january 29, 2023}

Morning coffee and Sunday football. First game: Philadelphia Eagles v. San Francisco 49ers. Second game: Cincinnati Bengals v. Kansas City Chiefs.

Guess who we're rooting for. What are your clues? (FYI...quite a few clues, some obvious, some maybe not as much)

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Clues:

1. Orange mug

2. Ohio mug

3. The Ohio mug is designed by Cincinnati artist Charley Harper

4. The Ohio mug has State of Ohio symbols: cardinal (state bird), buckeye leaf (state tree), ladybug (state insect).

Who Dey! Let's go, Bengals.

https://housedustandwanderlust.blogspot.com/2023/01/wordy-wednesdaywho-dey-january-25-2023.html

january's last saturday {january 28, 2023}

A lovely good morning sunrise that has turned into a sky filled with gray clouds.

It's garden planning time. I've been looking through the seed catalogs, dreaming big, and could fill my entire yard with all sorts of cool looking radishes and carrots, white eggplant, a variety of lettuces, beans, peppers, the list goes on and on. I know I want to plant zucchini costata Romanesco (it's meatier and has a nuttier flavor than the zucchini that fills the grocery shelves and farmers' market stands), some colorful cherry tomato plants, herbs, and a couple other things that have yet to be decided.

And I do love being in the garden, seeing the plants grow, digging in the dirt (I don't wear gloves...love to get dirt under my fingernails!), the first picking and tossing cherry tomatoes into my mouth as I walk to the kitchen, eating fresh produce, and sharing produce. Did you know that August 8 is National Sneak Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch Day? Can't wait to participate. 

"o" my! {january 27, 2023}

Big head cold, cough, not a lot of energy. Nothing like sitting in bed sipping on a cup of tea with honey and lemon, playing a few NYT games to start the day.

The NYT Mini Crossword was quick and easy...finished it 22 seconds. It caught my eye. Lots of Os and they are symmetrical. Am I obsessive about things like that? No, just observant. What is obvious to me may not be so to others. Not an ounce of thought went into this observation. It just occurred to me that all these Os opened my ocular orifices and gave me an opportunity to open my mind to write an original ode.

Oddities to offer an ounce of occasional fun!

v8 {january 26, 2023}

William Gilbert Peacock was a passionate entrepreneur, bringing delicious affordable vegetable nutrition to market during the food crisis of The Great Depression. In 1933, he and his son sought to make sure that everyone was able to have the benefits of vegetables in their diet and that nutrition was accessible to all.

Through trial and error and a basement full of veggies they juiced and blended, all by hand, many different varieties until they found the perfect mixture of tomato and seven other vegetables. Just like that V8 was born: delicious juice blends and accessible nutrition.

I like to keep a few small cans of V8 in my pantry and typically find them on the shelves at the grocery store. The other day V8 cans were on my list, I was ready to grab a few, and they weren't there. Nothing! In their place were V8 Energy Drinks that took up lots of shelf space. 

V8 Energy is described as a delicious, refreshing juice beverage that is powered by natural tea, provides one combined serving of vegetables and fruit, and is made with real juice. It's a far cry from the original V8. I don't care for other energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster. Those make my teeth hurt. Wonder if V8 Energy is similar? I'm not curious enough to try one.

wordy wednesday...who dey! {january 25, 2023}

“Who Dey?! Who Dey!? Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals?! Nooooo-body!”

With the upcoming game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, the cheer resonates all over Ohio and wherever else the Who Dey Nation resides.

So how did this cheer begin? There is no definitive answer but one popular theory involves a local brewery. 

Hudepohl Brewing has been in Cincinnati since 1885. Hudepohl is a city staple, the company regularly sold beers at the old Riverfront Stadium – where the Bengals began playing in 1970, two years after its first season – and at bars near the stadium. When vendors and bartenders would shout out the beers, they would say "Hudy" or "HuDey" which sounds exactly like "Who Dey." Thus, the saying was born.

The cheer gained popularity by fans during the 1981 season, when team won its first playoff game in franchise history and made its first Super Bowl. Hudepohl Brewery put the cheer on one of their beer cans that same season. 

The cheer rose to national prominence when the Bengals made Super Bowl XXIII in 1988 and has been synonymous with the fan base since.

Our best local grocery store, Dorothy Lane Market, sells an over-the-top brownie, the Killer Brownie, and it has been named the official Brownie of the Cincinnati Bengals. Bengal-mania comes in all forms!

Who Dey! 

winter walk {january 24, 2023}

Today is the calm before the winter storm. Sunny, in the low 40s, feels like an early spring day. Snow is predicted to start around 2:00 a.m., mix with some rain and go through Thursday.

Around 3:00 I took an hour long walk around the neighborhood in a fairly light coat, no hat and no gloves, and it felt good to be out in the sunshine. It was a quiet time of day so I challenged myself to listen for ten different sounds. 

1. Birds chirping in the honeysuckle along the fence by NCR Golf Course.

2. A pileated woodpecker hammering away on a tree. I didn't see him but knew he was there from the loud hammerlike pecking.

3. Leaf blower. The ground is snow covered. I don't know why someone is using a leaf blower but they have a reason to be. Maybe cleaning out the garage?

4. An industrial vacuum sound...maybe sucking out a sewer?

5. Melting snow trickling into the sewer.

6. A school bus taking children to their bus stops.

7. Car tires on a wet road.

8. A dog barking as I passed his yard. 

9. A mom and her kids talking as they walked home from school.

10. A squirrel or some other small critter rustling around in some underbrush.

monday's mulling: family {january 23, 2023}

My kids are grown and living in different cities. When they were unattached, they always made it home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Four years ago, that changed when one got married...the beginning of shared holidays. One year everyone is home for Thanksgiving, the next year everyone is home for Christmas. On the off-Christmas years we all get together whether it's at home or elsewhere. This year's Christmas was elsewhere, an Airbnb in Lakewood, Ohio. 

And boy did we celebrate.

Friday night: Sara's birthday dinner at Luca West. 10 of us at a corner table in a bump out just off the main dining room. Perfect for having the little grandson with us as well as having four bottles of wine.

Saturday: Sara's birthday started with mimosas and a giant donut cake from Bill's Donuts. 

After the birthday celebration, the next order of business was the family Christmas. The presents were wrapped in Christmas paper and the stockings were laid out on a window bench with care. I made a Christmas stocking for each one of my kids after he or she was born. That was back in the day when counted cross stitch was the popular craft to master. I now make Christmas stockings for each new member of the family but not entirely with counted cross stitch. All that detail work is getting hard on the eyes. I got to make a new Christmas stocking this year for my new son-in-law.

I have two more to make for Christmas 2023, one for little grandson and one for another son-in-law (wedding is in September).

Sunday: A winter storm began around 9:00 a.m. A heavy snow fell, blanketing the earth with a fast three inches. A quiet, gentle peace started the day segued into little grandson's baptism at St. Ladislas. I am not a regular church goer but attending a celebration like this is a reminder that hope and goodness are always present. The after baptism party had a house filled with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. Little grandson is lucky to have a great-grandma on his mom's side.

  “When you love what you have, you have everything you need.”

blessings to owen {january 22, 2023}

Little grandson was baptized today. This is one of my wishes for him. I will do my best to walk with him along this path.

✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙

happy birthday! {january 21, 2023}

36 years ago on a bitterly cold January 21, this baby girl came into the world, warmed my heart, and spiced up my life!

When you were born, I had no idea all the wonder (and wanderings) you would bring to my life. My smart and strong big city girl. There's only one of you and you are SPECTACULAR! Much love and happiest of birthdays to you, Sari!

monster cookies {january 20, 2023}

Little grandson will be baptized on Sunday and his parents requested that I bring monster cookies to the after baptism party.

I have been making monster cookies for a long time, since 1986 when I bought my local grocery store's cookbook and found the recipe in there.

The monster cookie name is appropriate in so many ways. First the ingredients come in monstrous proportions: 1 pound of brown sugar, 24 ounces of peanut butter, 9 cups of oatmeal. The mixer bowl is filled to the brim. The recipe calls for 6 cookies on the cookie sheet. BIG cookies...monster-sized cookies. I make smaller cookies, get 12 on the cookie sheet, and end up with a monstrous amount of cookies. 9 dozen give or take a few!

The new jar of peanut butter for today's batch of cookies. The untouched, undisturbed PB landscape. It's the kitchen equivalent of stabbing a flag into the moon and claiming it as your own.

The almost overflowing mixer bowl of monster cookie batter. Baking this many cookies takes close to 1 1/2 hours.

When my son was little and asked for a cookie, he would look for the biggest cookie. He delighted in finding a double cookie, which he considered one cookie. There's a triple cookie in the lower right corner. He would feel like he won the lottery on that one!

The well-loved, well-used monster cookie recipe

yoga {january 19, 2023}

I'm getting back to a regular yoga practice and I didn't realize how much I missed it until returning to it. 

Why do I like yoga so much? The list is very long but here it is in a nutshell:

    

✦ Yoga improves strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga isn’t just about stretching and bending, it also requires a surprising amount of strength to hold poses.

✦ Yoga helps with back pain relief. I have a hereditary low back pain. My grandpa had, my mom had it, and now I'm dealing with it. The slow gentle stretches ease pain, improve mobility, and strengthen those lower back muscles. 

✦ Yoga helps you to breathe better. The emphasis on breathing in yoga is something people often struggle with, but over time moving with the breath becomes second nature. The ability to breathe more fully and deeply has a very profound impact on overall health. Which leads to...

✦ Yoga helps you to focus. In class the instructor guides you to be present in the moment. This hour of practice belongs to you. Your mind will be quieter and clutter-free; you direct the energy to where you want it to go. Which then leads to...

✦ Yoga helps you to be more mindful. Mindfulness is a buzz word at the moment and – with all the apps, downloads, classes and CDs – has become a billion dollar business. However, mindfulness doesn’t necessarily mean meditating for long periods of time, and it doesn’t have to be something profound that’s difficult to keep up. Being mindful allows you to be more present, aware and alive in each moment. It's better to be mindful than mind-full…

✦ Yoga helps you to stand up taller. Much of the population, spends some part of the day hunched over a desk, screen phone or steering wheel. This slouched posture emphasizes the curve of the thoracic spine, which in turn collapses the chest, puts pressure on the lungs, heart and lower back, and is a sure way to bring on a bad mood. The chest opening poses have positive effects on mood and overall well-being.

Finally...

✦ Yoga helps you to express gratitude. Many practices begin with Surya Namaskar, (sun salutations) as a way to greet the new day and pay homage to the sun, the giver of warmth, light and life. 

Namaste.

wordy wednesday...stolpersteine {january 18, 2023}

Last weekend my brother and sister-in-law came over to the house for dinner and we reminisced about our trip we took France, Germany, and Austria in 2019. 

Before leaving for Europe, I found an article about Gunter Demnig, an artist who initiated the Stolpersteine project in 1992. He began laying 4 x 4 brass cubes to commemorate the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. These brass plaques are laid in the pavement in front of the victims' last address of choice. Stolpersteine are all over Europe, wherever the Nazis persecuted the Jews.

Gunter Demnig cites the Talmud saying that "a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten. The Stolpersteine in front of the buildings bring back to memory the people who once lived there. Almost every stone begins with HERE LIVED...One "stone." One name. One person.

Holocaust memorials focus on the scale and political culpability of of this time in history; the Stolpersteine focus on its individual tragedies. Today there are over 70,000 of these memorial blocks placed in cities and towns across Europe and Russia.

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Birkenfeld, Germany

Otto Pick lived in Birkenfeld. He was part of a union resistance and escaped to a monastery in Kilchzimmer, Switzerland. This stolperstein is in the town where I was born.

"pasta-bilities" {january 17, 2023}

New Year's Eve was supposed to be a noisy celebration. Friends were coming over to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the couples was bringing a sandwich tray from their daughter's newly opened sub shop, the other was bringing her world famous meatballs and another nibble, I was making a pasta salad and roasted veggies.

Well, the night fell apart and didn't happen. Two of the three couples were sick and Ohio State didn't win.

But with the other couple and T and me, we had a charcuterie tray, pasta salad, and roasted veggies.

I looked at lots of recipes and looked in my pantry and fridge, realizing that there were lots of remnants that needed to be used. I could make one of my "junk salads" with minimal grocery shopping. The dressing would be the new recipe. The Italian herb blend is a staple in my spice cabinet and while shopping I found an herb blend that I hadn't used before, herbes de Provence. The ingredient list is tasty: thyme, basil, fennel, savory, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram, and lavender. That touch of lavender added a distinctly French taste. And now I have a full jar of herbes de Provence that will lead me to explore new recipes for its use!

Dressing

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or dried Italian seasoning)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¾ teaspoon sea salt

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, and salt. (Note: the dressing will have a strong flavor, it’ll mellow once it coats all of the pasta salad ingredients).

monday's mulling: zabar's grocery bag {january 16, 2023}

“Did you take a wrong turn?” 

An elderly man wearing a mask whose twinkling blue eyes peeked over the black fabric broke me out of scrutinizing the cracker shelves for keto pita chips. I mumbled some lame answer like, “My brother is in town and he doesn’t eat bread so I’m trying to find something that he can eat.”

The man laughed and said, “No, I’m talking about the Zabar’s bag you’re carrying. Zabar’s is in New York and you’re in Dayton, Ohio.”

He proceeded to tell me that he is Jewish and every year before Yom Kippur his neighbor gets on an airplane to New York City, goes to Zabar’s to get lox, bagels, and other traditional Jewish foods to bring back for the break-the-fast meal. He has been invited to these meals for a few years.

I told him that I had read about Zabar’s in a food magazine. On my last trip to NYC, I strolled through the grocery store, bought a Zabar’s reusable bag, ordered a bagel with a schmear, lox, tomatoes, red onion, and capers from the deli, and then walked over to Central Park to enjoy lunch on a park bench.

How fun that a reusable grocery bag brought a short but delightful conversation to a couple strangers passing in a grocery store aisle. 

https://www.saveur.com/food/jason-diamond-ode-to-zabars/

mid-january {january 15, 2023}

It's January 15. The first month of 2023 is half over. That's one thing to celebrate!

Did you know January 15 has other celebrations associated with it?

❅  National Hat Day. This makes sense because it's winter and hats keep our heads warm.

❅  National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day. Again, because it's gray winter in Ohio I think of fresh squeezed orange juice. The smell of citrus and the bright orange color transports me to a beach in Key West. 

❅  National Strawberry Ice Cream Day. Bright pink and fresh strawberries are reminders of summertime fun.

❅  National Bagel Day. National Bagel Day was celebrated on February 9th, which happened to be the same day as National Pizza Day. But thanks to an initiative started by Thomas’ Breads in 2014, bagels now have a day of their very own on January 15th. 

❅  National Wikipedia Day. Stay inside and warm on January 15 and learn something new.

❅  World Snow Day. This holiday began in 2011 and its goal is to show children and their families the health benefits of snow sports and physical activity.

❅  World Religion Day. Observed in over 80 countries, the aim of World Religion Day is to foster interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasizing the common elements underlying all religions.

sunshine and blue skies...not! {january 14, 2023}

Sigh. 

One of the weather forecasters threw out the fact that since December 1, 2022, Dayton has seen THREE days of sunshine. 

I'm not complaining. It's winter in Ohio. So I looked through photos and found lots of sunshine and blue skies. It will do until the next sunny day shows up.

 

eggs {january 13, 2023}

The price of eggs is the hot conversation topic right now. The eggsorbitant prices are a result of the avian flu which began in early 2022 and supply chain challenges from the coronavirus pandemic. People are eggsasperated with this eggcessive 60% increase over the last year.