Hiding Behind My Keyboard

It’s been way too hot to take Izzy eating. We learned that when we went to review Sarasota’s #1 pizza. Today’s not too bad except for the off-and-on drizzle. It’s not a good day to take my favorite canine out, though, since loud noises scare her so much and you never know where the fireworks are on the Fourth of July.

The pizza review never saw the light of day. It was a good pizza, don’t get me wrong. I’d eaten at the restaurant before when I used to work in the neighborhood. The food is terrific. The parking lot leaves a bit to be desired. The one table where Izzy might have eaten in the 90+ degree heat had an umbrella but was on a little corner of concrete jutting out at the end of the parking lot. Poor girl stayed inside the locked and running van while our pizza was cooked. We raced home to eat it. Izzy got more than I wanted to give up.

Giving up was not what we wanted to do with “Eating With Izzy.” Right now the plan is to resurrect the column when the weather cools off. We could feature a recipe eaten with Izzy once a month as a preview of an upcoming cookbook but that might compromise copyright with a publisher. I could take myself out for a meal and actually give the doggy bag to the dog and write restaurant reviews that way. I could beg off for most of the rest of hurricane season. Begging off doesn’t feel right.

I have been writing, though, and writing every day. Just this morning I finished an essay that, like most of my recent writing, won’t make me any money. Though I always caution new writers never to write for free, most of those cautions are posted on a volunteer message board. Go figure. The essay contest I just entered is taking me far from attempting to make a local name as a foodie. An international foodie name fits just fine.

Decisions, Decisions!

Izzy got invited to a pizza place the other day. (See, she’s getting famous already!) We thought about going Saturday. There was one little problem. We had already planned to go to the grill we had reviewed last month to watch the World Cup. Izzy dragged her soccer ball squeaky toy from under a chair and I cleaned it up. We were ready. Then came the thought of pizza!

We really should just stay home in the heat and try to assemble our new charcoal grill. That would be the practical thing to do. Since when is a dog ever practical? (I’m a triple Virgo so I don’t count.) That grill, however, has made the list of procrastination projects. It will be quite an extensive list if given any thought. Right now it consists of mowing the lawn and putting together the grill.

But back to our Saturday conundrum. When I ask Izzy if she wants to go see Annie, her eyes get big and loving and she gets a big smile on her face. When I ask if she wants pizza, she licks her lips. It looks as if the decision will be mine and mine alone. We may be in trouble. I have such a horrid time making decisions!

The original plan was for Izzy to go out to lunch with me once a month. Now approaching the third week, one week before out next scheduled outing, we’re considering revisiting that plan. Even though we can’t really afford it, we may have to do our lunches twice a month. (Still trying to find work so we can go once a week with an occasional splurge meal just for me.)

Any self-respecting triple Virgo would have this problem solved. She’d make a schedule of lunch outings and post it on a calendar. Random choices would work. Choices made according to a pattern (any pattern) might work even better. She could map out lunches for an entire year in a short time. Maybe I should look for where I hid my self-respect and get to it. It’s always good to have a plan. The hard part comes when you try to make one. Will planning “Eating With Izzy” get a schedule for the year or will it end up on the list of procrastination projects? We should know before the soccer game.

I’ve been making a lot of lists lately. While procrastination projects pile up, I’m thinking of making a list of them. Maybe tomorrow . . . .

Eating With Izzy For Real

Our first column appeared on LocalSarasota.com. I pulled it up this morning and immediately posted it to my Facebook page. That was five hours ago and so far no comments have been made. It’s lunch time now and restaurant people are very busy. Writers without day jobs are probably so busy writing they have no idea what time it is. Those who go off to work each day are probably so happy to be away from the desk and computer I’m the last thing on their minds.

I don’t feel slighted. I’m not the most important thing in the universe, sometimes not even to Izzy. My major fear is that my link will get swallowed up on the page. Only three people in the whole world would be tempted to click “Older Posts” three or four times until they see it.

Relatively new to posting links on Facebook, I just realized anyone can find the article in my “Links” area. It’s highly unlikely that my activities will cover that up for at least another month.

Izzy was such a lady when we went out. She wants to do it again – and soon. It would be nice if we could go out once a week instead of once a month. As it was the trip to the farmer’s market and lunch ate up my entire food budget for the week. Good thing I have food in the freezer! I didn’t really need that cake from the market but it sure was good! It’s doubtful I’ll be able to eat all the arugula before it wilts into oblivion. Maybe my neighbor can help eat it. Their lettuce has all gone to seed so they might welcome it. Izzy decided she likes the little yellow tomatoes so they won’t be a problem. And the purple pepper was so good that it’s gone!

All I really need at the grocery store this week is fruit juice and that’s on sale (on a BOGO, no less!). Let’s see if I can get into the store and out again with just four bottles of juice.

I cooked chicken breasts for the weekend. They were big! It took two days to finish one. Tonight I’ll see how much of the Cajun spiced one I can eat. That and a simple salad of arugula and baby yellow pear tomatoes sounds like a good meal for the first of June.

As I was bemoaning the fact that nobody had commented on my link one of my friends did just that. She said she wishes she could try the restaurant. Too bad she lives in Knoxville.

In a little more than three weeks Izzy and I have to decide where to eat next. Knowing me, it will take every day of those three weeks. Knowing Izzy, she’ll be happy to go wherever I take her. She’ll be a lady again and maybe she can have a little taste from my plate (again).

Memorial Day, 2010

Happy Memorial Day, we say to friends. Are you cooking out? Going to the beach? You’re driving to Great Aunt Elsie’s? Have a safe trip.

Maybe we fly a flag. We click on videos posted by our friends and share them with others, videos of funeral processions or Arlington National Cemetery, a country song of patriotism playing over it all. We plug in a DVD and watch an “old” movie: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now.

Memorial Day is meant to be a memorial, a day to thank the soldiers, sailors, and marines who gave their lives for their country – for our country. We cannot thank those who have died to defend our freedoms. We can pray for them if that is a thing we do. Memorial Day seems to be a Veteran’s Day with flowers.

Did we go to a parade with marching bands and the local VFW post? Did we stay home because parking was too far from the parade route? Was the parade at an inconvenient time? Talk about inconvenient with a man on a stretcher bleeding from where his leg used to be. If he lived long enough to get a prosthetic leg, he would be happy to walk a mile or more to honor those with whom he served, no matter what war at what time in which country.

We may not pray for the dead or put flowers on their graves. We may not agree with the war in which they died. Remember, though, that they did not start the war. A government did, most likely our government, the same government that began returning the dead to their homeland only since Viet Nam.

Remember the poem “In Flanders Fields?” That wasn’t Flanders, New Jersey. It was in the Netherlands, written during World War I. That was before World Wars got numbers. It was called the Great War, the War to End All War. So far we’ve gotten to number two. I don’t want to see three. But we’ll see fighting throughout the world every day, probably until the end of time.

We bring them home now, the wounded, the dead, and the nearly dead. Medical advances have almost kept up with military advances. Some of the wounded are lucky enough to heal with only physical scars. Others carry emotional scars that will follow them for life. Some have engineered parts fitted to their bodies, mostly arms and legs. I shudder to think of others. It would be interesting to know the number of “survivors” there would be using WWII or Korean “War” medical knowledge.

There are 508,152 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as patients in the VA system. Thousands more are waiting as much as a year for VA treatment for serious ailments including traumatic brain injury. Of those, 243,685 (48 percent) are mental health patients and 142,530 (28 percent) are being treated for PTSD. (It’s interesting that post-traumatic stress syndrome patients are separated from mental health patients.)

Perhaps instead of going to the beach or Aunt Elsie’s we should visit a VA hospital and thank a vet that would have died with medical knowledge from 50 or 60 years ago. Tell him (or her) how grateful you are for your freedoms he or she defended with such selflessness. Maybe you can make a new friend.

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Eating With Izzy

The air is charged at my house these days with both excitement and anticipation. Izzy will be my dining partner somewhere besides our own dining room. We’re going to a restaurant! Together!

We’ve been discussing this outing for about a month. Izzy wanted to go but I kept telling her I couldn’t afford it. There was only one restaurant where she was specifically invited within my usual travel range. I’ve eaten there before and love their food. Izzy agreed that this was where she would make her public dining debut. The menu is affordable so how could I let down my best friend?

Then something fortuitous happened. I was looking for an organic farm not too far away from the house. As often happens with my Web searches, I got sidetracked. Instead of searching local farms, I ended up searching local dog-friendly restaurants. Landed on a page that looked new since it had no photos, requested from viewers, and no reviews, again viewer supplied. Izzy and I considered checking out the restaurants on their site and I made a list.

Another random epiphany grabbed us as we discussed future dining plans. Izzy and I would write restaurant reviews together. We would place them on a public forum with an international audience. People all ‘round the world could feel more comfortable about talking with their dogs instead of to them. They might find a special place to take them out to dinner when in Sarasota, Florida. Most important, though, was getting Izzy out of the house and into the public eye. She would write from the dog’s-eye view while I discussed the food and the service.

I linked up with LocalSarasota.com on Facebook and think we’re up for our first article next week. We’ll be eating out once a month if Izzy likes her first encounter. If not, guess I’ll have to write her part.

Dinner for Breakfast & Vice Versa

I’m really trying to get through this summer with no air conditioning. Not sure I’ll make it, though. It’s still May and temperatures are around 90 every day. Writing can be hot work but cooking is even hotter.

I really should clean out my old office that’s used as storage now so I can write under a ceiling fan instead of at the fringes of a breeze from the fan over the dog’s bed. The phone’s right there and the television’s farther away. Sounds like a much more efficient place to work.

One day last week I made Chicken Toes (like chicken fingers but shorter) in the morning. They were oven-fried and cooking in the morning meant it barely got warm in the kitchen. It was a good plan. The only problem was I ate all but two before dinner time. Izzy, my German Shepherd, and I had a discussion as we shared the last Chicken Toe and decided it was a good idea to make dinner for breakfast but we should probably eat it for breakfast as well.

This morning over hamburgers and green beans, Izzy suggested honey oat cereal for dinner. She took credit for the idea because every good idea is her idea. She thinks she’s a very smart dog. She’s right. Don’t know how right she’ll be about dinner. I was thinking hard-boiled eggs and salsa. We’ll see who wins.
I’d cook on the gas grill on the back patio but I never got used to using it. Besides, it hasn’t been the same since the neighbor’s tree fell on it. It’s falling apart and held together by only one screw. Checking around for charcoal grills nearly every time I go out shopping. Some day soon, I’ll bring one home. And I won’t forget the charcoal.

I remember my old Weber kettle and how I’d clean off the snow in the winter and grill meat for a week. Chicken breasts, little steaks, lamb chops, maybe pork chops would land on the grill each Sunday night. I’d feast all week and only needed to add a salad and a cup of my favorite vegetable. When I get the new grill, I’ll do the old tricks. I’m dying to grill veggies this time. And I won’t forget the marshmallows!

I win tonight for dinner. Izzy already ate. Hard-boiled eggs, here I come!

Plans for a Long, Hot Summer

It's really still just spring but it feels like summer here in Florida. With temperatures rising to near 90 degrees daily, I'm happy to be close to two miles from the Gulf of Mexico since the sea breeze lowers daytime temps by nearly five degrees. Next month brings hurricane season, though, and what's happening with the weather lately may make it frightening. A see breeze may feel good, but not when it's a 135-mile-an-hour wind accompanied by pelting rain.

Part of my plan for keeping cool this summer, apart from being grateful for ceiling fans, is to take advantage of OPA/C whenever possible. What's OPA/C you might well ask. It's other people's air conditioning, of course. The lack of sounds in the air tells me most of my neighbors are spending long, hot, frugal days as well. The silence of A/C compressors around here tells me we're all living under ceiling fans. No wonder my friend next door talks to me on facebook! It's cooler than over the backyard fence!

So where do I find OPA/C? I go shopping! Have you ever heard the phrase when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping? Well, it's true! Shopping can be expensive, though, so I give myself a budget (a very frugal budget) and window shop from the inside of the windows a lot. This weekend I added the library to my itinerary. Next time I'll bring my library card!

Remember when I announced earlier this month that I volunteered to work a fundraising dinner? Well, it was a success. About 200 people found the little restaurant where it was held and $2,000 in donations and raffle ticket sales were donated to Our Mother's House. (Wonder what Francesco spent on the food.)

The food smelled fantastic! Idiot girl here didn't wear a hat - or long sleeves - and wore out my SPF #80 in the first hour or two. Consequently, when the food came out, I was too sick from the sun to eat any. I'll have to drop by Etrusco next time I'm in the neighborhood and try Francesco's lasagna. (That's what I eat the first time at any Italian restaurant.)

I decided before the event to volunteer my time and knowledge to Our Mother's House. Still working on the plan for that. I'm sure it will involve a new printer for my laptop. I'll need to contact the volunteer coordinator, check out their facilities, and write up a proposal. I could be very happy teaching young moms and their children how to cook inexpensive, nutritious meals. With any luck, they'll be happy learning.

Found out one of my bargain buys from a few years ago, a 35-cent hat worth at least ten bucks, was a sun-protective hat! Read the label in time for my second farmer's market trip. By the time season rolls around again, I'll be famous as the lady in the lavender hat. Maybe I'll also be famous as the old lady who teaches kids how to cook.