R.I.P. Ms Taylor

Got out of the shower today to the GMA news announcing Elizabeth Taylor's passing earlier this morning. My immediate thought was one of disbelief, truly I was just stunned to hear this. No one gets out of this gig alive, however,my nutty brain has pigeon-holed ideas and expectations. And my expectation is that some people never grow old or die. Ms. Taylor fell into both categories. I don't know why, other than she was possibly the first 'movie star' that grabbed my attention and while I would see a photos of her over the years and it was clear that she was in fact getting older ~ I was apparently in denial - if she was getting older than so was I. Clearly this is just wrong.




My first memory of her was the big news story that she and Richard Burton made during the filming of Cleopatra...she and Burton's love affair was scandalous. It was on the TV and in the Seattle Times newspaper! It was "sinful"... Both were married to other people and they carried it out in public, relatively unheard of in the 1960's. Loads of tongue-wagging for sure...even today their love affair/relationship is considered over-the-top, which is saying a lot given the Brad & Anjolie coverage, Lindsay Lohan's quarterly front page headlines and the daily rantings of one Charlie Sheen.

I admire her creation and work on behalf of the American Aids Foundation, and it never occurred to me that she was politically on the right until she married (and helped get a Senate seat ) John Warner. Truthfully, I did not see that coming.

I do remember some of the Barbara Walter interviews that have, over the years, given us a window into who she really was off the silver screen, brawdy humor and all. Having been married more than once myself I understand that path all too well ~ however, she never seemed to have gotten that role down - I rather like that about her. She too was imperfect in ordinary, common ways. And yet she was extraordinarily beautiful...

Thank you Ms. Taylor for leaving us with memories of glamor, style and class...I have not seen all of her films - think I will see what is now available at the library. Heaven awaits your arrival, may you not be disappointed in who is or isn't there. You really were a 'Dame' in every sense of the word.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor rest in peace.

Ciao~

yo, the second day of spring

I love the seasons and with the brief 6 months of living in Desert Hot Springs back in the early 80's, have lived in a state with 4 of them my whole life. Summer, Fall, Winter and SPRING! Even though each has its pros and cons, if asked what my favorite season is - the word 'Fall' does fall out of my mouth. (Pun intended.)



yard today - March 2011

 However, I always do a happy dance the minute my crocuses appear at the edge of my lawn in early February. Even this year while touring the Southwest I knew my yard's first born would appear to welcome the daffodils that would follow within a few weeks. We arrived home almost 2 weeks ago and my yard is, again, not disappointing me. I have daffodils - lots of them. Tulips have pushed up nearby preparing to bloom next, roses and hydrangeas are sprouting new beginnings, and lilies ...visible evidence that Winter's blast of enforced plant hibernation is on it's way out and 3 months of brilliant colors and texture is about to be born again. Cyclical? Yes, and it never gets boring. This is all worth a happy dance,  and I have, on several occasions, danced my heart out and then some to Cee Lo Green's "Forget You".

Looking forward to my yard looking similar to this May 2009 photo soon:

Winter's hibernation, while seemingly peaceful and restful for the plants, gave way to the pine trees in the neighboring yards dumping every cone they grew into my yard...actually it was hilarious to see. Oh, I have had pine cones in my yard for years, however this year was 2x!  Apparently there was a bit of wind while we were gone - who knew the neighbor's debris could jump the fence, so to speak.

Until today, the only thing missing was the birds and squirrels. To encourage their walk/fly-bys, we feed them - hazelnuts for the squirrels and sunflower seeds for the birds. Oh yes, we spoil them. The squirrels returned yesterday - it took 3 days for them to find the nuts, but they are back. This morning while having my first cup o'joe and looking out over my kitchen sink, what do my wandering eyes see? A robin, finches, bushtits, wrens and yellow breasted chats all flew to the feeders. Now I am just waiting for the resident raccoon to return,as we have a family living in the neighbors Madrona tree. I've named him Zorro....for the obvious reason.


Zorro sitting on the squirrel feeder.

He feeds out of the squirrel feeder (which he is standing on here) and apparently hasn't missed many meals.

Ciao~

Lactose free - sorta, kinda, not entirely.

There are many things that, given the choice, I would dearly love to be allergic to - dairy products would NOT be one of them. Liver, lima beans and oysters come quickly to the front of the line. I was born with an allergy to milk. As a child I was tormented by my mother with 'Cheerios in apple juice' and 'goat's milk on hot cereal' and for drinking, I still gag at the mere thought of both of those options. I am sure that she was doing the best she could at the time, for back in the 50's alternative/substitutes for dairy were non-existent. Well, apple juice and goat's milk were the alternative. (Gag, gag, gag and shudder!) She just wasn't willing to deal with the rash that dairy created - ok fine, I get it. By my twenties I had grown out of the rash/allergy reaction. I adore, really worship dairy products. And I ate dairy with abandon for years without a misfiring.

However, somewhere along the road of life dairy rebelled and no longer could I find comfort in a cup of Greek yogurt, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream melting over a warm fudge brownie or a cottage cheese filled cantaloupe. Lord, I miss my 8ozs of milk before bedtime. And with a cookie it was a bit of heaven after a long day at work. (Sorry, but tea is a distant second, even today.)

I love cheese - let me count the many ways: cottage cheese, extra sharp white cheddar (or yellow will do), Havarti, Provolone, Reggiano-Parmesan, a divine Mozzarella/basil/tomato Panini -YUM-O! and/or good old American melted cheese sandwich with Dijon mustard. God did good when he created cheese! Cream sauces, oh how you are solely missed. Mozzarella (low-fat of course) cheese sticks were a staple in my daily diet.

So, about 2 years ago I sought out a naturopathic physician to help find some solutions to both a sleep deprivation issue and regulating/adjusting/finding hormones in this physical body. She had me do two things: 1)saliva spit test; and 2) a 2-week food journal. Both were agonizing after the 2nd day. Little did I realize just how much dairy I consumed in any one day. Every meal and snack had some form of dairy…because that's what ya do if you love something. If it were even remotely possible, I am certain that an intravenous line would have been hooked up long ago to feed this obsessive love affair with dairy.

Well, I am here to tell you that I am, for the most part 98% dairy free. It was not pleasant at the time, and I did not go placidly into dairy-free-dom. Soy cheese is DISGUSTING! It does not melt worth a darn. And forget about the butter substitutes out there, yuk. I went back to good old butter-butter in small, seldom used, amounts. It took me about 6 months to find and enjoy some good substitutes for Half n Half - at Trader Joes I discovered a Soy Creamer that acts just like H/H. Goat cheese bricks, have become a fixture in my refrigerator, as has Rice Dream and Almond Milk for cereals and cookie dunking.

Last summer I decided that I could eat the occasional cup of Greek yogurt, dang it! 30 minutes after consuming it I was on the ground in my garden, curled up in the fetal position and wanting desperately to barf it up. No such luck, nor did I have the support of my husband who had earlier questioned me about the purchase of said yogurt. Ok, so dairy isn't my friend. I still find myself standing in front of the dairy case staring tenderly at the Chobani yogurt packed shelf. The memory of withering on the ground is still fresh in my mind so I resist even as the temptation persists.

Because I haven't found a perfect replacement for cheese in all markets, in all cities and towns - Trader Joe's isn't everywhere yet, I do have a small bag of shredded cheese in the fridge, for burritos and baked potatoes. I'm not perfect yet in this department either. But I don't eat it every day…I now considered it a "special event" food. The temptation to eat some every day hangs on, I ignore it for the most part and eat something disgustingly healthy - like grapes.

But I have found a replacement for ice cream in the form of Trader Joes Mochi - a coconut ice dessert in 3 delicious flavors and 6 individual servings: coconut, chocolate and mango. Thank you TJ's again for delivering a great product and saving my sanity...I think I should buy stock.


Now the sleep issue is somewhat resolved and I do credit the dairy-free 'ness' that I have obtained. However, that evil NP also determined that I was also gluten intolerant...that's a whole blog post by itself. Can a body sustain itself without dairy, gluten and animal products? Answers to these and other questions coming your way soon.  Until then -

Ciao and bon appetit...

Books, books, books - in love with good books

I read. I love to read. I have been a reader for as long as I can remember. The first book I remember consciously reading was a Nancy Drew Mystery. I was enthralled with her skill as a teen detective and I read all of the books at the time, beginning with The Mystery of the Ivory Charm. At some point I  read a story about Florence Nightingale and for a good long while, I wanted to be a nurse- that is until I discovered I can't control my gag reflex around body fluids, especially other peoples.

Books saved me. They eased a troubled child's world, befriended her in ways that have, over the years  been a source of comfort. I used it as an escape then and even today I can be transported to a foreign country, or get my adrenaline pumping in anticipation of a murder that is about to happen or the apprehension of a killer.

But I digress...so recently I discovered the books by Stieg Larsson and  obsessively read all three of them, in about 10 days. And because the author died shortly after these were published, no more Lisbeth Salander. Now I'm pissed. She was a great protagonist...clearly the 3rd book was left with an opening for the next book and further adventures. Now what? (Of course, for about 3 mins I took this personally.)

Although I love to read and my selection is rather eclectic, I enjoy many different genres - from non-fiction historical books - to sci-fi mystery/thrillers that has a band of witches, faeries and vampires as protagonists - to biographies/autobiographic novels. And I adore finding a series of books-requiring me to start at the beginning with the very first book in the series.

Somewhere around 1990 I discovered female detectives and the women who write them -giving them breathe on the page. I now have a long list of women authors who write mystery/thrillers with female detectives that I follow, religiously. One of those is Dana Stabenow and her heroine Kate Shugak, a Alaskan Eskimo -  it's a brilliantly written series. Check out the link above. I find Kate to be a strong, intelligent and brave woman fighting crime within the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. Sharp read. I'll leave you with this author, but will come back with others in the coming months.

Along with books, I also love libraries. Libraries make me happy. I feel safe in a library. I know how to find a book using the Dewey Decimal System...how many teens today can say that?

Hey Charlie ...it's called therapy, get some!

Is this guy for real? Am I the only person who thinks that he now believes he IS Charlie Harper and is living that role off the screen? Whoever has been feeding him the Kool-aid needs to stop immmediately.

Now I must admit I have enjoyed the sit-com "Two and a Half Men" since it's beginnings in 2006. The writers are good, Jon Cryer won an Emmy for his role - but Charlie you need to take a reality pill. Oh, that's right you took a test at some point in the last few days and are drug free....riiiiiight. And trust me, there isn't a TV star alive and working that is worth $3M/episode - and certainly not you. Especially given that you haven't been working, but have been trashing hotel rooms, hookin' up with lovely, but questionable young women, and now even your devoted publicist has fled for higher ground.

Goddesses? - these girls are...yes, girls, lets get real here,will only be around as long as the money lasts. And at the rate he is throwing it around, that won't be too long. As I said to my man this morning...I wasn't willing to "share" a man in my twenties and I am sticking to that now - much later down the road.
There are many qualified therapist that can bring you back into the light, please seek one out I am frankly tired of seeing you on the news - I am sure there is another B-list celeb that could use the 15 min you keep falling into. Seriously,  he is a train wreck. Someone needs to also intervene on these two young women who, in my opinion, may regret in the future what they are doing today...