Archive | 2009

This And That

6 Oct
Sometimes You Just Need to Ramble

SissyI know it’s been less than a week but I still miss my Sissy so much.  Every time I would come home, I would see her face peering through the curtains in the living room.  You could see that she recognized me as I pulled up and suddenly she would disappear.  When I opened the door, there she would be–barking, smiling, and wagging her tail. She was always happy to see me and full of kisses and loveys.

She was such an affectionate dog.  She loved laying on me or up against me. She loved to be handled–to be rubbed, petted, kissed, and hugged. She would even hug you back.  And as she gave you all that love, she would groan and moan with joy. I guess that’s what I used to do with her when she was just a little pup and she picked it up.

I feel a little guilty, mourning so deeply the loss of a dog, especially when you think about my my stepfather passing and my co-worker losing his 19 yo daughter.  This is no comparison but yet, my sense of loss is deep to me. Sissy wasn’t just my dog. She was my companion, my friend. Forever loving, always forgiving, never judging, I could share with her all my secrets. I could cry to her when I was sad and she would snuggle up and comfort me. I could laugh and dance with her when I was happy and she would be joyously happy along with me… (more…)

My Dog Has Died

2 Oct
The last picture take of Sissy. She was sick and dying.

The last picture taken of Sissy. She was sick and dying but still my little sweetheart.

My Heart Is Broken


Dogs 002My female dalmatian, Sissy, has passed away. My daughter called me yesterday at work to tell me that she didn’t think Sissy was doing well and I should come home and take her to the vets. I raced home and got her to walk to the car and even into the vets. She moved very slowly and seemed weak and out of it.  Her temp was 103 and the Vet felt she was anemic. They took some blood and said they would run some tests. The gave her some liquids through a drip and sent me home.  I was told they would call me as soon as they had results.

When I got home she would not get out of the car. I carried her into the house and set her on the sofa.  Within ten minutes, the doctor called.  He told me she was anemic, so anemic that she was in a grave situation. He recommended a blood transfusion but I would have to go to  Philadelphia for that and it would cost a couple thousand dollars, which I could not afford. He said he understood and had some medicine that I could pick up that would help her.  I hung up and told Heather I was going back to the vets… (more…)

My Dog is Sick

30 Sep
Dogs Can Get More Than Just Lyme Disease From Ticks

Sissy, in healthier and happier times.

Sissy, in healthier and happier times.

My female dalmatian, Sissy, is very sick.  She’s been acting strangely for a while, moving slower than normal and just being less energetic.  Heather noticed that she wasn’t eating much.  She had gone 24 hours without a bowel movement and while I was walking her, she stopped and wouldn’t go any further.  She was in a weird stance, with her head down and she started to drool a little. I brought her back into the house and called the vet.

Dogs 002The vet was certain it was Lyme Disease but all of her blood tests showed nothing.  Her heart and lungs sounded healthy too.  The vet explained that ticks can spread a multitude of diseases and they only test for the most common ones. She still felt it was tick related and gave me an RX for Docycycline, an antibiotic.  If she doesn’t seem better in 4 days or gets worse, I am supposed to bring her back to the vet.

Last night when I gave her the first dosage, 3 pills, I mixed them with bacon grease in order to get them down her throat.  Shortly thereafter, she threw up twice, and 2 of the pills were thrown up.  This morning, she was still very lethargic so I decided to stay home and watch her carefully.  I walked Dave separately and then took her out on the front lawn.  She tinkled and then had a small poo! Yay! And barely made it up the stairs. After she came in, she seemed exhausted and started to wheeze.   She laid down right where she came in and did not move for a good 15 minutes. When she did move, she only went a couple of yards and then plopped down for a rest.  Eventually she made it to me and the sofa… (more…)

Reynolds Wrap Corporation – How Could Ye?

26 Sep
Reynolds Discontinues the Amazing Handi-Vac Food Storage System!


Reynolds discontinued

I have one question beyond the obvious “Why?” and that is:  Where are the protesters wrapped in aluminum foil? Where are the supermarket sit ins? Where are the throngs of angry crowds in the streets tossing their freezer burned steaks at the police?  Where are the homemakers down on their knees in anguish with their arms stretched up towards the Gods crying out for icicle-free food?  And even more important, why wasn’t I alerted before my stash of handi-vac bags had been depleted? Okay, so that’s more than one question. Sue me.

handivacI had found what I believed to be the most handy and useful kitchen appliance/tool since the toaster oven:  The Reynolds Handi-Vac Vacuum Food Storage System.  The system consists of the Handi-Vac and the Handi-Vac freezer bags.  Simply place your food product into the Handi-Vac bag, seal it, and start pumping out the air.  Just like those systems that costs hundreds of dollars, this handy $9.99 tool sucked all the air out of the freezer bag, keeping our meats and veggies and just about anything else absolutely freezer burn free for months and months and months and all at a fraction of the cost.  We even used it to keep cheese and lunch meats fresher longer.  In fact, it kept my scrapple fresh for weeks longer than it would have had I put it in a conventional bag… (more…)

Iced Coffee from PomWonderful

23 Sep
But There’s No Pomegranate Juice In This Coffee

Do cool ads make a cool product? We shall see...

Do cool ads make a cool product? We shall see...

The folks over at PomWonderful are at it again and have been kind enough to send me some samples of POMx, their new iced coffee.  Since Heather, Aaron, and I are BIG coffee lovers, we were very excited to give these iced coffees a try. Adding to the excitement is that these coffees are not only good tasting but are good for you as well, chock full of antioxidants.  Reading right from the bottle’s label:

Stimulating health benefits include POMx an ultra-potent, 100% pure polyphenol antioxidant extract.  Every smooth sip is masterfully brewed from ethically sourced Rainforest Alliance Certified, premium Italian-roasted Arabica beans, then blended with reduced fat milk for a heavenly, creamy taste.

Well you just have to be impressed with a statement like that.  We love healthy, environmentally friendly products, but being a person who works in marketing, I know that pretty words do not necessarily make a pretty product.  The proof is in the pudding, or rather, in this case, the iced coffee.  The only way to know for sure is to give it a try.

We received two samples each of the Chocolate and Cafe au Lait flavors along with a letter that said they enclosed a coupon for a free Vanilla version, but alas, no coupon was enclosed.  So this taste test will be for the two flavors that we did receive… (more…)

Spending Philadelphia Restaurant Week at Amada

22 Sep
You Can Never Go Wrong With Jose Garces

logo_amada

The one thing that would certainly get me blogging again was a good meal and a good meal, to say the least, is always waiting for you at any one of Jose Garces’ restaurants.  So when Linda and I planned to eat out during Philadelphia Restaurant Week, we decided to eat at Amada.  Now we’ve eaten at five of Jose’s 6 excellent restaurants and I’ve blogged about two:  Tinto and Chifa. Although I’ve eaten at Amada before, I’ve never blogged about it. Till now that is.

Linda and I arrived a few minutes before our reservation and were told that our table was not quite ready.  We were directed to the bar to wait.  This gave me a chance to survey the restaurant.  Simply put, the noise level is high.  If you are looking for a quiet dinner for two, I suggest you look elsewhere.  BUT if you are looking for an innovative dining experience with electricity in the air, you need look no further.  The restaurant brims over with smiling faces, laughter, and high octane conversations from casually attractive people who are there for the food and the fun and not because they want to be seen.  The servers frenetically glide through this mish-mash of organized chaos yet never seem to bump into anyone.  It was exhilarating… (more…)

I’m Still Alive

8 Sep
And So Is This Blog!

This Blog Is Not Yet Dead!

This Blog Is Not Yet Dead!

So I know it’s been a while since my last post, but this is not totally unexpected.  My play, Village Playbox’s production of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, opened this weekend and I had rehearsals from Sunday through Thursday, then shows on Friday and Saturday. Whew, it was crazy. I was so worried about not only learning my learns but that the rest of the cast would have their lines learned in time as well.  My fears were for not because we managed to pull it off!

And then there were none...I'm front right.
And then there were none…I’m front right.

We did have a little snafu with the lighting, but other than that, the show went pretty well.  Our biggest audience was Friday night with Saturday’s attendances being slightly sparse.  That was also to be expected as that was labor day weekend.  A lot of people in this area head down to the jersey shore.  Even the local bars were empty… and I mean EMPTY, as in cricket city… (more…)

Painted Cottage Cafe – Best Brunch in South Jersey

30 Aug
The Best Brunch in the Tri-State Area is Located in Collingswood, NJ

Leisurely brunching at the Painted Cottage Cafe. Picture courtesy of Painted Cottage.

Leisurely brunching at the Painted Cottage Cafe. Picture courtesy of Painted Cottage.

The Painted Cottage Cafe, in Collingswood, NJ, has the best brunch in the area, hands down.  I’ve blogged about it before (read about it here) and it’s still just as good.

My mother’s birthday is today. She’s 72.  It’s been 3 1/2 weeks since my stepfather, Al, had passed away.  This was her first big outing and we wanted it to be special. We’ve bragged about the Painted Cottage before to her and she was ready to go brunching for her birthday.  We picked up two bottles of Spumante so we could enjoy Mimosas with our brunch.

(From L-R) Aaron, Heather, My Mom, and Cheri wrapping up brunch

(From L-R) Aaron, Heather, My Mom, and Cheri wrapping up brunch

We got there just about 11 am and the place was about 2/3rds full.  Servers were strolling around the floors and a nice soft buzz of conversation filled the air.  A few tables were open outside on the porch.  Since it was a beautiful day, we asked to sit outside… (more…)

And Then There Were None

24 Aug
Village Playbox’s Production of Agathy Christie Hit Opens Sept 4th

In case you have been wondering what has been causing me to ignore my blog, I’ve been busy rehearsing almost every night!  It’s a lot of fun but it is a lot of work, too, and I am afraid that old “blue skies” has been suffering because of it.  But do not fear, my millions of minions. I promise to attempt to squeeze in a post every now and then.  So, since this is an easy and quick way to slap together a post for your enjoyment, here are the “studio shots” for the play I am currently in:

The Entrie Cast

The Entrie Cast

Most of the cast in the dark. Ooooo! Scary, eh? (I'm front right)

Most of the cast in the dark. Ooooo! Scary, eh? (I'm front right)

There’s plenty more. Come check them out… (more…)

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

21 Aug
You Never Know What’s Inside Until You’ve Squished Them
chocolates

Okay, Life is like a box of "cheap" chocolates. The good stuff always comes with a chart.

I know that yesterday’s post was kind of a downer, but I was feeling down and that’s the way it goes sometimes.  With everything else going on, I had an appointment with my counselor yesterday at 5:00.  Yes, I am seeing a counselor.  It’s no biggie. I’ve gone to them in the past when I felt it was needed:  when I first broke up with Janine and when Heather moved in with Chip and Me. (All three of us went.)

My counselor was concerned because we were discussing some very nasty things that happened to me as a child. (Things I will never discuss on this blog.) He was worried that I could get upset or react destructively. I was confident that I would not allow myself to do either.  After we finished, I think we were both kind of right.

hole_in_my_head_poster-p228545496660251823trma_400As I drove home afterwords, all these ugly old images and thoughts were racing through my head.  I hate to admit it, but I was a little shaken.  Maybe shaken is too strong a word—but I can’t seem to find the right word to fit the situation.  When I got home, I could sense those old feelings of self-loathing sneaking up on me. I decided I wasn’t going to let them beat me. After I walked, the dogs, I plopped my butt in front of the computer to check my emails even as the old demons stalked me from inside my head… (more…)

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