Another Chapter ... Same Book.

Recently, I was reminded of this blog in an indirect way. I googled it. Then giggled. The site was not saved in my Favorites folder. Yeah. Fuh-nay.

 

Rereading old posts (back from 2009!) brought back so many memories - good and bad - and how cathartic it was for me to have this blog during those years.

 

These days, I have left the blogging to the ones more dedicated to the art.

But, I still love the idea of keeping this one alive.

 

My twins are now three. Almost four, if you must know! 

I blinked a few times and each have crossed joyous, scary, memorable and touching milestones each time.

Here is a recent pic of my cuties! Summer 2015.

 {Let's quickly catch up!}

 

We live in Central Florida now. A big move from the Northeast from all that we've ever known. Florida is home to a few things I probably should have known prior to coming down...

1. Bugs. Lots of them. And they are B.I.G. And they are many. And they are not my friends.
2. Lightening. Did you know that Florida is the lightening capital of the world? Ok, just the U.S. Apparently, Africa is the lightening capital of the world. At least that's what Google told me. 
3. Rain. The summer months here (June, July and August) are considered the rainy ones in Florida. Not sure why I didn't think of that. Rain leads to flooding. And bugs and slimy critters trying to share our inside space. Trust me. I know. We just had our own Battle of the Bulge here [of the red ant variety].  Did I mention bugs are not my friends?

Not everything in Florida is bad.

     For one, from September to May, the weather is supremely more glorious.

        And we can technically go swimming year round in the heated pool.

           Disney is but just a short drive away.

              Not to mention the plethora of other theme parks.

                 And there is no ice to chip off my windshield and snow to shovel 

                 during the winters up north that seem to be stretching longer and longer each year.

 

So to backtrack (or to come full circle for the glass half full folks), I created this blog as a sort of ... therapy ... and to keep personal questions at bay. They were too painful to talk about then. Sometimes still now. But not nearly as much. Actually, these days, I feel warmth when I think or speak of Nari and Matthew (the first).

 

Time wrote so many unwritten pages from our earlier life chapters to the one we're living now.

 

I'm resurrecting this blog to write about this chapter and ones to come.

Full of life, follies, futures, frills and food. Okay. You got me! Mostly about food.

 

     I love to buy it, find it, cook it, taste it, look at it and dream about it!

 

My husband (who puts up with all of my crazy) has been after me to start a food blog.

I think I'm grossly underqualified to do so but don't mind doing it for my own sake and for fun.

 

So here we go again!

 

Hamilton Rain - When It Rains It Pours!

(Oh! Just realized that the original title made a poor pun. You know 'cuz we're in Florida now?  [blank stares and crickets, huh?]  Oh, never mind!)

 

You're still reading the same book with the same characters but an entirely new chapter ... with lots of food references, kitchen gadgets, menus, recipes, reviews and who knows what else! AND hopefully the two or three people that read this will post their food ideas too with pictures and their thoughts on gadgets they've used. Stay tuned, folks!

 

Vene, Vidi, Edi!

My bounty from a successful local farmer's market run (seems few and far between around here!).

 

Gocco Wedding - Part Deux

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here ... Let's catch up.

Ken's left ring finger was mangled in a car door on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Rush to the ER.

Many hours, three stitches, a broken finger and high as a kite, he was allowed to go home. He didn't feel much pain thanks to the Percocets but there was the constant changing of the dressings. Gruesome.

The next few days after that were a blur as he caught a severe cold on top of it. Two more ER visits in the days to follow uncovered an ear infection and a stomach/flu virus.

I had my own surgery the week after "the event" above.

And lately, I've been in training for work then working before and after training was over. It has not been a good New Year for any of us here quite yet.

On a lighter note, both of us have loved our food changes. Since Food, Inc., we're both much more conscious of our food. Ken is taking it a little more extreme than I am but that's ok. It's all part of the fun. He is a lot more involved in cooking so we end up spending more quality time together. Overall a win-win situation.

More recently, we've bought and made grass fed beef burgers, free-range & antibiotic/hormone free roasted chicken, homemade peanut butter, potato chips and a lot of organic eggs :) Also throw into that a fancy mandolin and requests for a Kitchen-Aid mixer, food processor and a bread maker (Ken's requests!!! Boy, our registry will have a few of these gadgets).

Neither of us are fanatics about this but we just have a heightened awareness.

I am getting back to planning our formal reception and renewal ceremony later this fall. Small steps make this process easier but a lot of help also doesn't hurt! I have on hand MANY helpful hands, hearts and minds as well as a TALENTED event planner extraordinaire (who also happens to be a very good friend of mine) who has signed on to sort out my jumbled ideas.

First part consists of DIY projects. I only have one word that inspires me to undertake such things.

GOCCO.

All will be revealed as I will chronicle it all here as I fumble, fail, try again and hopefully succeed!

Food, Inc.

For those of you who haven't yet seen this, give it a look-see. The things you see may startle and surprise you. There is a lot going on in the food industry that we know very little about. Considering food is a universal importance, it should strike horror into all eyes watching.

Since we've watched this, we've been making more of a conscious effort to know where our meat is coming from and how it is getting into our hands. This doesn't mean we've taken up farming and butchering the meat ourselves but it is about awareness and taking a wholehearted interest in the details in our lives.

All this heightened sense of consciousness has also bled into other aspects of our lives that doesn't necessarily show obvious relevance.

We take a little more time soaking in the mundane minutiae of our daily lives and taking pleasure in it. It was almost as if we had been living in Plato's cave and we had been released to see the true images of the gray shadows we thought to be true. And now in hindsight, we're returning to the cave to see if others will also entertain giving the truth a chance.

Where am I going with this?

The past few months have been utter shock, awe and horror muddled into an emotional volcano that sputters searing pain from within out to the fallout experienced by others close by. And yet, we're tied to this volitile collapse and for now, we only see the devastation. Over time, we'll see if our ashes will create fertile ground or hardened rock.

At the moment, my plumbing is undergoing serious scrutiny. We are trying to be patient. We are trying to avoid negativity and are shunning ignorance altogether. We've used this space to express great joy, unspeakable pain and many moments in between. We'll continue to do so regardless of how many people do or do not read it. Thank you for those of you who are out there and have gone through a similar experience.

There is none so other than a kindred spirit connected through tragedy to aid the healing.

Who said "Feeling is healing?" That is so true.

Thanksgiving Peace

Thanksgiving was a very calm affair this year. So calm, in fact, that I plum forgot to take any pictures of our cooking frenzy. Even though I didn't plan to cook much this year because of my scheduled surgery the day before Thanksgiving (yes, it was very bad timing), it turned out that I just couldn't stay out of my kitchen!

Have I shown you my kitchen?

This is newly renovated as of last Thanksgiving and it's by far my most favorite place in our house!

I custom ordered the butcher block top and my handy husband made the island from scratch.

Notice my pot filler above the stove?

This one thing alone made the months of take-out worthwhile!

We finished off the floor with bamboo hardwood, purchased all new stainless steel appliances and installed granite countertops (shown below).

On the wall, right of the breakfast bar, is where I used chalkboard paint and an open frame to good use ...

And what is the question on every woman's mind while cooking?

Amid these surroundings, our feast came together. Even though we didn't have our usual crowd this year, it was a blessing in disguise because what we needed most this time around was peace.

I wish I had taken pictures of the table settings, food prep and finished dishes but the most notable differences this year was our decision to deep fry our turkey, homemade cranberry sauce (instead of the Ocean Spray canned) and the "Turkey Derrick" (courtesy of The Food Network) Ken rigged to lower the turkey into the fryer.

Knowing that this may very well be our last Thanksgiving at this house before we officially move up north, we're making each moment here count.

We're picking up our tree a week late because we had already moved our decorations to the other house so once we pick those back up, we'll be picking out a tree at the lot to decorate.

Christmas is almost here and we're already running behind!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Watch out for Christmas decorations and crafts - It really is the most wonderful time of year!