HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I hope you’re all enjoying your holiday season. So far mine hasn’t been too bad as I’ve managed to stay on top of things for the most part. I think one of the secrets to maintaining sanity during this season is ‘Less is More.’ If you’re one of those people with a packed calendar, maybe say No to some of those invites or volunteer requests. In my case it’s how many things do I try to accomplish as far as baking or special projects. Not everyone can be Martha Stewart. However, if it warms your heart to step into her shoes for a month, then do it because you enjoy it, and not because you want praise heaped on you from whomever you are giving these gifts to. This is pretty much the extent of my creativity this holiday season: 

We got our holiday season off to a pretty good start when we recently attended the holiday jazz concert being presented by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra which was held at the Southern Theatre in downtown Columbus. It almost felt normal except for the fact that we had to show our Covid vaccination cards and ID, and of course, wear masks the entire time. I guess that is the new normal as long as new variants of Covid keep evolving. It didn’t mar our enjoyment of the concert, and I was quite happy to attend in person (even though we had the option of streaming it). 

I think we all enjoyed their guest soloist, Oscar winning, Vanessa Campagna. I loved her song which was a variation on “I’ll be home for Christmas” where she talked about making lots of banana bread and all the Amazon boxes stacked up in her closet. 

I also loved her story about being discovered by (the) Marvin Hamlisch (!). She was a child and was told to audition for him. Before she could finish singing the first line of her song he stopped her, so she was understandably crushed. She overheard him on the phone telling his wife to get down there right away (which took some convincing apparently as she was quite busy, so a bit reluctant). When she finally arrived he had Vanessa finish her song and both Mr. Hamlisch and his wife were noticeably moved. He told her, “You’re going to be a star some day.” Okay, I made up that last part, but as she’s won an Oscar, I think she’s doing alright for herself considering she’s not even 30 yet. 

After the concert was over we wandered across the street (on the other side of the parking garage) to the Columbus Commons which were lit in all their splendor for the holidays, including the traditional crackling fireplace being projected on one of the screens.

We did what everyone else did which was to pose for a picture inside one of the giant diamond ring decorations situated around the commons.

Thankfully a nice girl offered to take our picture, which was much more impressive than if we had tried to just do a traditional selfie. We did one for her and her friend and then later for another couple. It was absolutely freezing, but I was glad I got a chance to wear my new festive sparkly red sweater. I think visiting places with holiday lights is at the top of my list of favorite Christmas activities that never fails to cheer me up. 

Last year I wrote about holiday movie and book recommendations. This year I’d like to recommend a limited series (8 episodes) called “Dash & Lily” on Netflix. Quite honestly it’s probably aimed at more of a younger crowd (teens and perhaps young adults), but my husband and I (Gen Xers) thoroughly enjoyed it. First of all, it’s set in one of my favorite cities which is particularly gorgeous this time of year – that being NYC. It’s crazy busy packed with tourists, but if you can tolerate all that togetherness and want a truly magical experience I highly recommend a visit. 

We did our pilgrimage back in 2012 when we met up with family from Australia. We went ice skating not at Rockefeller Center, but instead at Lincoln Center I think. That should definitely be on your Christmas in NYC Bucket List. Checking out the artfully decorated window displays up and down 5^th Avenue and Macy’s, etc. should also be a ‘Must See.’

Add a cup of piping hot cocoa while engaged in either of these activities, then you have the perfect day out.  If you time it right, like we apparently did, you might observe a Santa Crawl

(and saw a couple of his elves getting reprimanded by the boys in blue in a subway station). 

If you can’t get to the Big Apple, check out what the major cities near you offer. Here in Ohio Cincinnati has a particularly spectacular Christmas array including lights, an ice rink, sheds selling Christmas crafts, food & drink, carriage rides, etc. It’s all in Fountain Square (yes, where “WKRP in Cincinnati” title shots were filmed). Columbus has a carousel in the Commons area, and used to have a rink by the Statehouse, but not sure they’ve done that lately. I believe Cleveland has something similar to Cincinnati, but as I haven’t lived there in quite a few years, not quite sure. 

Anyway, “Dash and Lily” is about a couple teens who meet via a dare written (by Lily) in a red journal placed on a shelf at The Strand Bookstore. Dash finds the journal and accepts Lily’s first dare. They take turns throughout the series without actually ever meeting.

The when and where is what kept us in suspense. I can’t really say much more without totally spoiling it, but some of the dares, or rather ‘challenges’ were quite creative and certainly gave more meaning to the holiday for both of them. I felt a little inspired by them, and would definitely watch the entire series again should it ever end up on DVD or archived for streaming again later. 

I would also like to recommend another program we recently enjoyed on PBS (by the way, if you don’t support them financially, you really should; cheaper than cable and no commercial interruptions).

As we’re fans of “The Great British Bake-off” we saw an ad for a program hosted by our favorite  Bake-off alumnus, Mary Berry called “Mary Berry’s Country House at Christmas.” (originally aired on the BBC in 2018) https://www.pbs.org/show/mary-berrys-country-house-christmas/

According to the BBC advert, “When it comes to Christmas food and entertaining, Britain's country houses have always put on a show. In this sumptuous and heartwarming programme, Mary Berry visits Harewood House in Yorkshire to meet its army of skilled staff and dedicated volunteers as they prepare the house for Christmas. With its Robert Adam interiors, Chippendale furniture and Capability Brown gardens, Harewood is one of the nation's most beautiful stately homes. Mary discovers how houses like Harewood celebrate Christmas on a grand scale and shows us how to make delicious modern recipes inspired by forgotten festive dishes of the past.

image from: https://www.art.com/products/p36991786235-sa-i9630539/harewood-house

Harewood's volunteers are the life and soul of the house. Mary discovers their stories as she helps them bake gingerbread and decorate the tree. Delving into the archives, she finds out about the inspiring story of Princess Mary, sixth Countess of Harewood and the current Queen's aunt, who helped provide Christmas gifts for serving soldiers during the First World War. Then she heads out into Harewood's spectacular grounds, gathering vegetables from a historical walled garden and meeting the estate's animal inhabitants.

Mary's visit culminates in a glittering party for staff and volunteers, who gather together to preview the house's spectacular Christmas decorations and celebrate another magical Christmas at Harewood.”

I would also like to recommend some new Christmas songs I heard this year – one is “Christmas Sweater” by Michael Buble. I like everything he does, so not surprised his Christmas song should also impress me. Here’s a link to the video (which is super cute!) on You Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LfuBZqXa-4

I am also quite keen on Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas songs and just purchased her album “When Christmas comes Around.” “Santa Can’t You Hear Me?” (with Ariana Grande) is probably my favorite.

I also want to give a shout-out to Brad Paisley’s “Santa looked a lot like Daddy.” My dad still swears to this day it wasn’t him playing Santa in this photo:

but I don’t know. The resemblance is uncanny. These days with natural beard and belly, he’s definitely on his way. :  )

Probably the most meaningful encounter that makes this Christmas stand out so far, is when our neighbor’s mom popped over with a card and gift for us. We had only just gotten home from CVS (having just received our Covid boosters) when the doorbell rang.  I said to Andrew that I hoped it was our neighbor from across the street bearing goodies (don’t worry Liz, not trying to put you on the spot :  )  I heard Andrew comment that it was some strange lady with a bag. I sort of recognized her and definitely did when she greeted us with her foreign accent.

This past summer the neighbors that lived diagonally from us (a divorced woman with 2 daughters) moved, and in their place the Hanna family moved in. Pilar is a PHD student studying Anatomy at nearby OSU and resides with her parents. When I met her this summer she told me they moved from Southern California mainly because of the affordability of property and lower cost of living here as compared to there. Though I’ve only been to Southern Cal once, if it’s anything like the northern half of the state where my uncle lives, I can imagine she’s right. Judging from their accents, I would say they’re probably not American-born, but haven’t yet asked where they’re from. 

Anyway, Pilar’s mom handed us a scroll and card and told us they were flying to California the next day to spend the holiday back in California with family there. As Pilar is done with her classes until January, they thought it was the perfect time to get together with family. I teased her about missing an Ohio winter, but thought maybe the snow will wait until their return. Living in Southern Cal they probably haven’t seen snow very often (though I don’t know how much snow they might get wherever they’re from). Andrew and I were really touched by the thought and gesture, and I felt a little bad that I hadn’t yet gotten around to writing a card to them, though I had thought about it. We hope to frame the scroll (see below) and write them a Thank You note to be delivered after they’re back in the new year.

Here's a couple pre-holiday photos:

HAPPY CRIMBO EVERYONE!

 

 

Starry Night and Midnight Madness

November has definitely been an action-packed month as we’ve had outings most weekends (minus the weekend of 11/20-11/21 which was all about household and yard chores). 

The afternoon of the first Sunday of the month was spent in the Polaris region of Columbus at the Van Gogh Immersive Experience. Since it was supposed to be the hottest thing since “Phantom,” we were advised to get tickets well in advance, so I think we did that back in the spring. We opted for the $70 Premium tickets. The reason I tell you this is because I believe our satisfaction with things can often be affected by what we pay for the experience. That price provided us each with a cushion on loan and a souvenir poster each, as well as a 2-hour leeway as to when we showed up (you can stay as long as you like once you go in). 

My husband and I, though we both enjoyed ourselves, definitely did not feel it was worth the price. We thought there would be “more to it” than what it was. Basically his paintings and other art/photos are projected onto the floor and ceiling set to appropriate music (like songs by Parisian, Edith Piaf, and others). It is beautiful and relaxing, but if you know anything about Van Gogh, there’s a certain amount of melancholy due to his tragically short life (and the depression he suffered from). 

I should also add that we did a similar “experience” last summer in NYC in a building near the High Line. At that experience we were treated to a really awesome kaleidoscope of fractals and other disjointed shapes that was really cool and amazing – also set to music, and we were also loaned cushions to sit on. I think the loop of projections was about 45 minutes compared to the 35 minute set at the Van Gogh experience. Also, even though it was NYC (where everything is like $$$), it only cost a modest $25 or so.  

My advice if you’re considering getting tickets (to the Van Gogh IE) is to choose a non-peak time and just get a basic ticket, then go to your local art museum and see the real paintings up close. If you’re a "Doctor Who" fan there’s an episode in series 5 called “Vincent and the Doctor.” Not surprisingly it’s a little sad (happy sad though). I was definitely teary-eyed at the end, but also thoroughly enjoyed it in spite of seeing it before.

The evening of Veteran’s Day I had the rare treat of being on a British radio show. It was the Midnight Mastermind segment of BBC Radio 2 hosted by OJ Borg. The reason I was on the segment is because sometime in October I had responded to a challenge to come up with a pun combining a celebrity name with something to do with cruises. I came up with ‘Courtney Love Boat.’ I’m not aware that they read it on the air, but OJ’s assistant, ‘Handsome Dan,’ sent me this email:

Thanks for the message!

Have you heard us do Midnight Mastermind before?

We do it every night, and basically you ask three questions to OJ on your own specialist subject.

Would you be up for having a go one day?

Thanks!

Dan

I thought about it for a couple weeks, came up with a possible topic and some questions, so I emailed him back saying I was definitely interested. I told him what subject I had come up with, which was “Gilmore Girls” (the popular WB TV series that debuted in 2000 starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel). Dan emailed me back asking if I could send him 5-6 questions and he would choose the three I could ask OJ, so I did a little more thinking and came up with a few more. Then he emailed me the date and a few other logistical details and the rest is history.

Do you know the answers to any of these?

What was Rory’s real name?

What comedienne got her start playing chef, Sookie St. James at The Independence Inn and later at The Dragonfly Inn?

What 80s girl band did Lorelai take Rory and her friends to see in NYC?

(all answers are at the end of this blog)

It was quite honestly more than a little nerve wracking while I waited on hold (felt like I was about to go on a job interview), and I always hate the sound of my voice on the radio. I figured since I didn’t tell that many people (my uncle, my sister, my former boss who is a GG fan, and my husband), it’s not like my humiliation would be worldwide.

I ended up enjoying myself and I hope I was charming (my former boss texted me, “That was awesome!”). OJ seemed impressed by my knowledge of British culture (which I explained by telling him I’m married to a Brit and used to live in the UK). I should also add that the reason why “Gilmore Girls” is my specialist subject is because I first heard about the program from my neighbor who is a retired nurse and the father of 3 girls. He said they all used to sit down together to watch it and found it very relaxing and soothing. They even named their dog after Rory (which, I explained, is the first time I ever heard Rory as a girl’s name since the only Rory I knew was Amy’s boyfriend on “Doctor Who” (which OJ confessed to never having watched “Dr Who”!)

Would I do it again? Definitely, though I need more time to come up with another specialist subject (maybe “The Brady Bunch”?)

If you’re interested in taking part, here’s more info:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/lVtqqptS3l850m1dFxfYNv/take-part-in-the-show

The following Sunday we braved the wintery conditions (had our first snowfall of the season) to make a rare foray out to the cinema to see “The French Dispatch.” I say, rare foray because it’s only the second time this year we’ve gone to an actual cinema. [You may recall that the last time was back in the spring when we went to see “Quiet Place 2.”]

Anyway, we both thought it was a good movie, but only good, and not great. I really liked the sets and the plot which was somewhat about a defunct Sunday newspaper insert called, “Picnic,” and what the magazine evolved into. The reason for the nostalgic and celebratory look at the publication was due to the death of its owner (played by Bill Murray). I read this summary of it on the internet, “A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch."

Here’s what Entertainment Weekly had to say about it, “The movie is undeniably clever and intoxicating to look at, and his actors seem to thrill at the chance to chase the chemtrails of his (Wes Anderson) esoteric story lines. But he also appears to have lost (or simply lost interest in) the human emotions and coherent plots that tethered earlier gems like Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums to something more like real recognizable life. Dispatch is a trip, quite literally: a journey of remarkable, impenetrable design, with no clear destination in site.”

Our favorite Wes Anderson films are “Moonrise Kingdom,” which we’ve seen more than once, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” and “The Darjeeling Limited.” All are colorful, quirky, and have an all-star cast, not to mention an interesting plot to hold it all together.

Answers to quiz above: Lorelai (she was named after her grandma and mom), Melissa McCarthy, the Bangles.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

                                                     (a very creative neighbor made this)

 

 

 

HAPPY PUMPKIN DAY!

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the month than with a family wedding. My brother got married in a lovely ceremony on the first Sunday of the month. What they may have lacked with brevity they more than made up for in sentiment as everyone could see how much in love they are by the way they looked into each other’s eyes and heart.

The ceremony was held in a romantically lit wine cellar in the winery next door to where I grew up. I once had dinner down there with my parents and didn’t think anything could top that until I saw how they could decorate it for such a lovely purpose. I definitely would have considered that venue had that been an option back when my husband and I got married. Well, wishing you a world of happiness Jim and Wendy, and welcome to the family (and your daughters too). 

One of my favorite things about October is all things pumpkin. Being pre-diabetic I have had to give many of them a miss as most are absolute sugar-bombs. However, I do allow myself the occasional treat like the scoop of Jeni’s Pumpkin Roll ice cream

I enjoyed on a recent date night. A few nights later my husband (mix master Andrew) helped prepare Pumpkin martinis. He had to improvise since I hadn’t purchased vodka, so he just doubled up on the rum. Truthfully, I think I much prefer a pumpkin latte. I ended up using the rest of the can of pumpkin in a couple mugs of overnight oats and a batch of pumpkin muffins. 

I just finished reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It’s perhaps not as appropriate a choice as anything by Stephen King, but I don’t read or watch much horror (though am curious about the latest installment of “Candy Man” movies). This peaked my curiosity as it explores the question, what if your life took a different turn? Like what if you made a different decision somewhere down the road and didn’t end up becoming a lawyer or a mother, or got on a different flight or train, or whatever? 

It kind of reminded me of an episode of “Star Trek NG (Next Generation)” which was about the concept of various alternate realities. In one scene we saw lots of versions of the (starship) Enterprise pop up to illustrate that point. Of course oftentimes the alternate realities aren’t better versions, because what would be the fun in that? 

My husband and I are currently streaming and loving “Only Murders in the Building” on Hulu (thanks for letting us share your subscription Karen :  ) It stars Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez. The three of them decide to create their own podcast about the research they’re doing into the murder of one of their neighbors in the building. It’s Short’s character (I think) who decides they should limit their investigations to ‘only murders in the building.’ 

The dynamic between the pair of baby boomers who are a little new to the whole world of podcasts, twitter, Instagram, etc. and millennial (?) Mabel (Gomez) is always amusing. Plus, for those of us who are New Yorker wannabes getting to spend 35 minutes of each episode in the best city in the world (at least one of them anyway) is certainly an enjoyable way to spend time. There’s 10 episodes in the series and I only hope there’s a season 2 (you never know, maybe someone else in the building will get murdered; it is NYC after all :  ) 

Other seasonally appropriate programs we’ve streamed lately are an episode of “Poirot” in which he’s tasked with investigating the mysterious deaths of a team of researchers who died after opening the tomb of an Egyptian God. Although the program, based on the book by Agatha Christie is a complete work of fiction, it is inspired by the real life legend about the death of those who were on the team who opened and explored King Tut’s tomb. 

According to the History channel’s website, “In early 1923, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his financier friend George Herbert, Lord Carnarvon,* ceremoniously opened the long-obscured burial chamber of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Two months later, Carnarvon was dead, killed by blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite on his cheek. Newspapers speculated that he was the victim of the “mummy’s curse” or “curse of the Pharaohs,” which supposedly promised death to anyone who disturbed the rest of the kings and queens buried in the valley.”  https://www.history.com/news/is-the-curse-of-king-tut-real  Of course medical science can disprove this. I also came across this explanation, “A study showed that of the 58 people who were present when the tomb and sarcophagus were opened, only eight died within a dozen years. All the others were still alive, including Howard Carter, who died of lymphoma in 1939 at the age of 64.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_pharaohs 

* real life owner of the Downton Abbey mansion

We also watched an episode of “Shakespeare and Hathaway” about a magician who invites an audience member up on stage to help demonstrate his “Iron Maiden” trick.

Something goes horribly wrong with the chamber and the volunteer ends up dying, thus prompting an investigation by detectives Shakespeare and Hathaway. This show is a little cheesy and hokey at times, but sometimes we are genuinely surprised by whodunit at the end, and this was one of those episodes (though of course Andrew figured it out a few minutes before I did). I like it because it’s a bit more light-hearted and comedic than most BBC crime shows.

 (picture a dalek without the dalek inside, but instead replaced with sharp spikes)

What would autumn be without football? When we saw that our alma mater (Kent State University) was playing my niece’s university (Ohio University), we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go cheer on the Golden Flashes against their archrivals, the OU Bobcats. Actually, they’re less archrivals and more like two peas in a pod when it comes to finishing near the bottom.

Neither school usually goes on to play in bowl games post-season (though my research shows that OU has been in 12 bowl games to KSU’s paltry 4), so we’re both used to lackluster performances on the field. By the way, we did see a few other Kent State fans wearing college or team sweatshirts. We opted not to sit in the visitor section since that’s at one extreme end of the field and would have rather limited how much of the game we would have seen (we bought tickets for seats around the 50 yard line or so). 

My husband informed me Kent was favored to win, so I had high hopes for a good game, and we certainly weren’t disappointed. It’s always fun when your team scores first, and we definitely didn’t have to wait long as that happened within about the first 5 minutes of the game. Things continued pretty much in our favor as the halftime score was 17-7. It seemed like it might be a runaway game, but the Bobcats got their act together and came back with a vengeance after halftime closing the lead down to 3 with a final score of 34-31. Even though a bit higher score would have been a nice boast, it certainly wasn’t a dull game in the second half. 

After the game we walked around campus a bit since we didn’t have time to do that after we arrived. I was definitely impressed as the school oozed with every bit the same amount of charm as its red brick ivy league idol, Harvard. It’s the first time I’ve seen [stateside] dorms lined up with a sort of quad in the middle. I bet it’s absolutely hopping with activity when the freshmen move in.

However, late in the afternoon on the cool autumn day it was, it was fairly deserted. It’s also a much more compact campus than Ohio State, though I suppose it’s somewhat similar to Kent or perhaps Bowling Green in its sprawl. Of course their football stadium was a part of campus, unlike Kent which has placed theirs on the outskirts of town a fair distance from the campus (you have to take a shuttle to get there). Yes, I suppose it’s because the Golden Flashes aren’t really a bragging point for the university. 

Although OU’s library isn’t the skyscraper that KSU’s is (but then Kent offers a Library Science major), it was more than adequate and I really liked the retro chairs on offer for the students. They used to have that sort of thing in the first dorm I lived in, but I think they were actually leftovers from the mod 60s and 70s, rather than a retro statement. That’s really the only campus building we went inside, so not sure what the student union is like (though I assume they have one). 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fabulous dinner we had at Tavolino’s in downtown Athens. Andrew found the restaurant online and thought it would be interesting since they had a prix fixe menu like we often saw when we were in Italy (Simply put, a prix fixe menu (pronounced “pre feks”) is a multi-course meal available for a “fixed price.” There can be as few as two or as many as ten or more courses.) 

The choices for that night were: Starter was slices of baguette with ricotta cheese and an accompanying bowl of bruschetta to add on top; then the appetizer was a choice of either soup (homemade vegetable) or salad. Entrée choice was either chicken and mash potatoes or lasagna.  There were about 4 different choices of dessert. 

Andrew and I both opted for the soup, but chose different entrees; then purposely picked different desserts so we could share. However, we both agreed on the lemon theme, so we chose a slice of lemon tiramisu cake and a slice of lemon cheesecake. Andrew said the cake seemed like the kind of thing you might have with afternoon tea. I couldn’t really detect the tiramisu flavor much as the lemon kind of took over, but it was nice and light. The cheesecake was a lot denser, and definitely typical for what you might expect in a homemade version. 

All I know is we both felt stuffed and kind of rolled out of there. Part of me wanted to go straight to a gym and walk it off, but the other part of me just wanted to get comfortable and sit around in PJs for awhile before bedtime. I think you can guess what I ended up doing (after the hour and a half drive home). 

Besides the generous portions of delectable meals, the restaurant itself was so charming and classical. It felt like Athens best kept secret, and wouldn’t have been out of place in its overseas cousin. Although we were alone for about the first half hour or so, it didn’t take long for the tiny restaurant to fill up, hence the need for reservations (though you can also order to pick-up and go). I totally loved the ambience and felt it was almost as romantic as the wine cellar at Grand River Cellars winery. I doubt students eat there very often due to the somewhat steep prices, but would certainly be a nice place to take your parents to (if they’re paying : ) 

Well, that’s October in a pumpkin shell. Looking forward to turkey day and all that follows.