Well, here it is Tuesday and I'm just now writing my shopping list for the big feast. I did already procure the Brussel's Sprouts and shallots. Luckily I live in a city where year round fresh markets are available. Thus I was able to find some lovely locally grown B. Sprouts, as well as locally roasted cashews ( for one of the desserts) . Oh and most importantly I purchased the wines today. Instead of my aforementioned Pinot gris and Pinot Noir, I opted for a semi dry gewurtztraminer, and a Chilean Cameniere. I think they will be lovely with the menu, which now includes vegetarian stuffing, cranberry port sauce, and maple chocolate cashew pies.

I will be spending tomorrow cleaning my cottage and gearing up for the arrival of Monk and Gams.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. May you reap the blessings of the seasons and the enjoy the bounty of friendship and love.

Well, Thanksgiving is a mere week away.  Do you know what you're making?  Are you doing the traditional Turkey, stuffing, potato, meal?  Or do you have something more adventurous in mind?  Here in the O'Neill house, we'll be doing something a little different.  Firstly, Tday will be the first time our Mater meets the Todd's mom.  Secondly, we are not doing the Turkey thing.   Roasted Salmon, sautéed Brussel Sprouts with crispy shallots, stuffing, escalloped potatoes, these are the things you will find on our table this year.   Wines are yet to be decided, but I'm leaning toward an Alsatian Pinot Gris and possibly an Oregon Pinot Noir.  

We've never been a very traditional Thanksgiving family, and honestly my favorite ones were not spent at home.  The best one ever was in Durango, Colorado.  But this one should prove to be fun.  We all love Todd,  and his mom is lovely.  Monk, is of course,  thrilled that we will all be together.  It is very difficult for her to divide her time between us and Todd and his family.  So the easiest solution is to all be together for holidays.  Fine with me!  The more the merrier!  

This will the first major holiday we have spent without Bear.  I have no idea what he is doing that day.  He hasn't been too communicative about his plans.  But I'm sure he'll be fine.  

I'm very excited to be hosting this year, and wish you all the best!

french vanilla and magic

So today I had an interview for an office position.  This is only the second interview I've been on in over 10 years, and man have things changed!   The whole event started in a fairly standard way; I showed up a few minutes ahead of my scheduled time, filled out an application and sat down to wait.  That's when it got a bit odd.  

After waiting for about 10 minutes,  the secretary brought me another application.  This one was 3 pages long and included not just  the basic information questions (which I had already answered via my resume, and the first application), but also two pages of very unique questions.  Things like "out of these 36 options, which thing best represents how you see yourself?"  I got to choose among such interesting items as an electric generator, a trapped moth, a plunging waterfall and a bird in flight.  There were lots more.  And I had 90 seconds to make a choice.  They also wanted to know if I like myself, do I have self confidence, am I average (in my opinion) and do I believe in magic.   

Do I believe in magic????  So of course immediately the old '70s song by that name pops into my head and I've been humming it all day.  Thanks! Thanks alot!   How do you answer a question like that?  And what possible bearing could the answer have on my ability to answer a phone and file forms?  Do they want me to twitch my nose and tidy up the office a la Tabitha on Bewitched?   

But here is the really funny question....in the middle of asking me a bunch of relevant questions, the interviewer suddenly asks "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"  What?????  So I immediately give my answer---French Vanilla.  Maybe it was a way to see how fast I can think and change direction.  

Maybe I just need to stop looking for a job and win the lottery.

Wow, I must be the worst blogger on the planet. It's been forever since I've written anything!  Ironically though I haven't been writing, a million things have happened.  Maybe I only find time to write when I'm calm and leaning toward boredom.  

To speedily update the world on my life.....

The economy kicked my personal chef business right to the curb this past year.  Seems that folks really can live without their beloved PC when the going gets rough enough.  Ahh, I had a good run of it though.  Now it will be a chance to have some new adventures.  

On that note,  I am now in the ranks of the ever growing number of single moms.  My husband and I had to make the hard decision to part company.  Ten years is a long time.  Some of it was good, some not so much.  But I have a beautiful child and will forever be grateful for her.   I'm excited, nervous and scared all at once about this new chapter in my life.  But I'm also pretty confident that we won't starve, she'll grow up to be a good person and that I won't be alone forever.   But, hey if nothing else, I can get a bunch of cats and dress them up for dinner parties.  

Last but not least, for today anyway....I once again did the Baltimore Half Marathon.  This time I had my sister Monica and our friend Tina with me.  We started together, but I finished ahead of them by about 30 minutes.  They did great...it was the first time for both of them and I couldn't be prouder of those two.    

So there are a few snippets for the ether.  I'll keep the world updated more frequently now.  Or at least I'll try.

baltimore half marathon

13.1 miles doesn't sound like a very long way to walk. Especially not on a breezy spring day when you are filling out the online registration forms for a half marathon. Well let me assure you that 13.1 miles is indeed a VERY LOOOOOONG walk! Especially when the first 7 miles are just about all uphill. But the cool part is, when you finish it you feel fantastic!



I walked/jogged/sprinted the Baltimore Half Marathon last Saturday, along with 5044 other nuts. On mile 2 I met two gals who were going about my pace. Patty and Diane were a hoot to walk with, even when we were being yelled at by the grouchy lady who thought we 3 were taking up too much space. Thanks for walking with me ladies!



My finishing time was faster than I had expected...I gave myself 4 hours to do it, but finished in 3:31:05. Not bad for an almost 40 year old who did no prior training except one long walk to break in my new shoes. The coolest part is that you get a medal just for finishing....love that! Oh and you get two free beers, and an under armour shirt. Yum and yay respectively.



Bruce, Lani and Mom hung in there all day waiting to see me come across the finish line and were right on the barricades as I came through. Thanks guys!

And thanks to everyone who came out and cheered us all on. The people of Baltimore rock, and I really appreciated all the clapping and yelling, drumming, candy, chips and liquids along the way. Can't wait for next year!

The Simple things

Since Summer is in full swing, we are awash in picnics and cookouts. Afterall no sane person wants to stand over a hot stove in the kitchen when we can stand over a blazing grill in the backyard!

I'm not sure why but everything tastes better when it's cooked on the grill----the worst cuts of meat, marinated and grilled become delicious; vegetables are more flavorful; fish becomes almost exotic when tinged with woodsmoke. Heck we even grill pizzas!

But not everything can be grilled and you do usually need some sort of side dish on the menu. Last week I was called upon to provide a side dish for a group cookout, and thought I'd bring something most of the attendees probably hadn't had before (always a risk!). So I showed up with a heaping bowl of Tuscan Bread Salad. It's the easiest thing on the planet to make, but you should have heard the mmmmms and ahhhhs. So to spread the joy I'm sharing the "recipe" .

For enough for 8 people start with the following and adjust to your taste:

1 loaf of crusty peasant bread ---- I like Ciabatta
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 jar of pitted Kalamata Olives
a small bunch of fresh Basil
Parmesan or Romano (or whatever cheese you like)

Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and throw in a big bowl.
Slice the tomatoes in half and toss in the bread.
Tear basil into small pieces and add to the bowl.
Toss in olives.
Smash the garlic and add to the mix.
Grate about 1/4 c over the whole thing and toss to mix.
Now pour the oil and vinegar (I start with about 1/4 cup of oil and half that amount of vinegar) over the whole thing and mix well.
Here's the hard part: Let it sit for a few hours! It gets better as it sits, but if you can't stand the wait dig in!

That's it, couldn't be simpler but it's delicious and always a crowd pleaser.
Cheers!