Life's Economics

Oprah just had a program about people struggling through this time of belt tightening. Oprah, of all people--a tiny bit hard to relate to her circumstance when she has risen so high and had such great success--by her own merits. I'm afraid the only belt tightening going on there has to do with her creeping waistline. But, she is trying to tell the stories of families who are going through tough times. However, the interviewees today didn't ring any bells with me.

The one lady had been living well, but had lost her job, and really still wasn't doing too badly, considering her husband is still working. But when asked what she missed about having only half their income, hair highlights and manicures were pretty high up on the list. And she now has to shop in the dollar store.

Good grief! I had my hair frosted once and since a lot of it seemed to fall out afterwards, I didn't do it again. And dare I admit that I have never had a manicure? Or a massage, gym membership, cell phone contract, or charge account balance? For years I cut my own and my children's hair, made my own clothes (I have a designer one-of-a-kind wardrobe), and hung my own wallpaper. My mantra was that any dollars I could save doing something myself were dollars that did not have to be earned (and taxed).

Somewhere people got the idea that living well means not doing for yourself, and that hiring everything is the way to go. Well, I wonder when they will realize that their incomes are no where near the range of the very wealthy (or the plumber working under their sink), and that they are bankrupting themselves and their families through this faulty thought pattern. Wealth will always be a pyramid, and the largest number of us will always be at the lower end of that triangle. Quality of life has much more to do with richness of the mind than richness of the pocketbook. There is enormous satisfaction in being self sufficient, and it also allows for greater independence. I bet I could count on one hand the times that I have had to sit and wait for a repairman or a workman who may or may not show up--just not my problem.

As to the dollar store--they sell bottles of nail polish and emery boards for a buck. And I am proud to say that at the age of 60+ I can still paint my own toenails!

Work Clothes

When I was singing in a local opera company, I used to do my make-up and hair before leaving the house, and then drive to wherever the performance was. It was a little odd, since the opera chorus has only three characters types: villagers, peasants, or courtesans. The courtesan parts were the best, since the costumes were always extravagant ball gowns, and I had quite a collection of rhinestone finery and fans to accessorize. You know how it is when you see Santa driving his car. I confess, I loved dressing for work.

MyTreasure has always had a tuxedo to wear whenever he does an orchestra concert. Very early in our marriage I went to a rummage sale at a local church in a high end neighborhood, and came across a rack of clothes that had a very lovely tuxedo with silk lining and lapels that looked like it had been worn once--probably to the previous owner's wedding. I held it up for size, and a lady came over and asked me if I was interested. I tried on the jacket and she gave me a price of $5. I said that I didn't know if it would fit, and she dropped the price to $3. So, it went home with me. It really was beautifully made, except that the pants had buttons on the fly, instead of a zipper. MT tried the thing on, and lo and behold--a perfect fit! It looked like it was made for him. Sleeves and pants lengths were exactly right. He wore his $3 tux to all his concerts--I bet close to 30 years. He hated that button fly. Then he outgrew the button fly. It was time for a replacement.

As we approached the year 2000, retail decided that a lot of men would be purchasing tuxedos to party in. Yeah, right! Didn't your man rush right out and snatch one up? Isn't that part of everyman's wardrobe? Don't they all want one? MT took advantage of the postmillennium sales and got himself a new tux. We went on a cruise with family right after, the tux went along and was paraded out for "formal night". I thought my aunt's eyes would fall out. "You have your own tux?!!!" She can't get my uncle out of his velcro sneakers and baseball hat. Oh well....

So, yesterday MT has a concert. He's headed out the door looking beautiful, off to work. Quite the guy! Eat your heart out ladies!

Jet Lag

How is it possible to get jet lagged when you don't change time zones? Maybe there is more to it than just time change. More like culture/climate warp. I spent a couple of days in Florida, where the sun shines and the breeze is temperate, and the palm trees are swaying. In a short three hours I find myself back where the clouds cover the blue and the traffic rolls, and if the breeze blows there are usually falling tree limbs involved. It amazes me that in less than half a day you can be someplace so totally different and it makes my head spin. That's my jet lag.

I always bring something to keep me occupied during the waiting. There is always lots of waiting, and I think to myself that I will accomplish something while I am doing the waiting. I guess that comes from the feeling that if I had a couple of extra hours I would finish xxxx. I have been on two plane trips this last month and have carried a rather bulky collection of yarn for a scarf that I am knitting, and I haven't gotten it out of the tote bag yet. But I did get through a fat Michael Crichton and a whole bunch of Everyday Food Magazines that I wanted to dispose of.

I sat in the row with two very nice women who were curious to know if I would actually use the recipes I was tearing out of the magazines. That's my system--go through the magazine and tear out the pages that look interesting, and throw the rest away. The pages, (hopefully with pictures) go into a pile on my kitchen counter, and when I want an idea for dinner, I look through my stack, and see what would work with what I have on hand. The ones we like get written on a card and filed in my recipe box, and the pages then go to the garbage. Well, those ladies didn't look convinced when I said "Oh yes--I will cook this stuff!" Ha! What do they know? Last night I pulled out a page from the plane for crustless quiche with broccoli, mushrooms, and red potatoes, chopped up the scallions that needed to get out of the vegetable drawer and got a very sweet note from MyTreasure about how nice his dinner was. See--he missed me. I'm back!

Easter Whirlwind

The biblical whirlwind took place around Elijah, and had nothing to do with Easter. But it passed through our house last week in the form of family and friends at our Easter celebration. We always invite everyone, and usually some can come, and some can't make it. About a week before Easter, I started to total up the numbers and realized that just about everyone was coming. We topped out at 27 total for dinner. We have had larger parties, but in the summer, out in the yard. April means inside for all but the egg hunt.

When we moved into "This Old House" we had an Ethan Allen oval maple table with two leaves. It was normal sized, and looked ridiculous in the middle of our big new dining room. I started making the rounds of the second hand/antique furniture stores looking for a big table. There used to be about one in every block, and they are all gone now. I consider it a great form of recycling, and a lot of our furniture has been acquired that way. You can get a unique older piece of furniture, made out of actual wood, at a good price. I turned up a wonderful table at a store right nearby, and the salesman/owner was skeptical about anyone ever needing a table so large, so he offered it to me at a very fair price. It is 4'x6' closed, with 5 leaves. It went into our dining room and looked perfect. My only complaint is that it is a little wide for playing cards. (Maybe that's why people have card tables...) And, I sold the maple table for almost as much as the big one cost! Yay for "recycling"!

A while back we had 17 for Thanksgiving, and we decided that seemed to be the maximum number for seating comfortably. Where were the other 10 people going to go? We opted for buffet service off the kitchen island, sat the kiddies in the breakfast room, and set up three card tables in the front room. It all went well, but the prep went on for days, although the clean-up was only one extra day. I was tired! I think all the conversation and bustle wears me out. I've gotten pretty good at what can be done ahead, so that I actually get to enjoy the party. How nice that everyone came. I hope it was fun! See ya' all Memorial Day!

A Lutheran Prelude to Easter

We just got home from our Good Friday Tenebrae service. It is always a weird experience for me because it is a worship/work affair. Our organist has made it a little toooo dramatic for me--aided and abetted by our last pastor (who shall remain anonymous, but whose initials are D O'R--otherwise known as the Professor's Mom's husband) and he does this thing throughout the service with the pedal of the organ that simulates a heartbeat. Of course, at the appropriate moment in the service, the heartbeat stops. Let me tell you--Major Headache! I suppose it is compounded by the big finish to the whole thing, which is me singing "Were You There" in the dark. I used to get nervous, due to having to wait until the very end before singing, and have taken to retreating to the downstairs hallway until the end, when I head to the balcony to do my thing.

So, this year it was a tiny bit different. There were no ushers, so I was standing by the door avoiding being in the balcony for the heartbeat thing, and I handed out bulletins to worshippers as they came in. Inadvertently, I gave up my bulletin (we ran out) and couldn't follow the service from the more distant office, the way I usually do. I wandered into the narthex and looked on with the people who were turning down the lights, since this a service which gradually removes the light source until we finish in the dark. I ended up singing the hymns there in the narthex, which worked out great, since I was nicely warmed up when I had to go up to the balcony to sing. I think that there is some benefit to getting old. I am losing my nerve. Or to rephrase--nerves. Singing and playing used to be so difficult--there were times when my hands and knees were shaking so badly that I didn't know if I could even play/sing. There was even a time when I had panic attacks--I guess they call it performance anxiety. Now, either I have developed an ego, or something else (advanced age?) has taken over.

I have to say that I got a little boost a couple of weeks ago when MyTreasure was pruning his music collection. There were a bunch of cassette tapes which no longer serve any purpose, and it was time for them to go. The CD's have taken over. So, he was playing tapes, just to see if there was anything on them worth saving, and he came across some of our kids when they were babies, and we used to make them talk into the tape recorder. But there were also some recordings of me doing various concerts or church services. Not bad! I confess I sounded pretty decent. Guess I should sing a little more often, and not be so timid about asking to do so. I've lost some flexibility (don't we all as we get older? And the voice is a muscle, after all...) but I think I can still pull off a decent solo. So, I did my verses of "WYT", and didn't end up shaking by the end. Wow! What a luxury, to be able to just sing without agita. Yay! I just hope I'm not one of those old gals that you wish would stay quietly seated. But--do I care anymore?

What Sticks In Your Head

Yesterday at the weekly Weight Watcher's meeting someone mentioned a recipe for "Killed Five Times Green Beans". What an intriguing name for a veggie dish. She proceeded to describe the dish, and stupidly, I didn't go up to her and get a more specific recipe. I have a bag of green beans in my refrigerator, and this recipe is calling to me. I checked the internet, and there are recipes there for Green Beans Cooked Long and Slow. There seem to be two traditions from which this process emerges--the South, and Jewish cooking. How interesting! Lots of mentions of beans "the way my Grandma made them," some with tomatoes, some with bacon and onion, some with smoked turkey wings or ham hocks. Cooking times vary from 1 hour to 10 hours.

Well, it's killing me that I am going to have to wait a whole week until I can catch up with the lady in WW. She described caramelized onions (which take forever to make all by themselves) added to the beans and then cooked all day. Got the beans, got the onions--don't got the recipe. Guess I'll try the one with the tomatoes this week, and hit the store for another bag of beans next week. I confess I do like my cooking!

Newlywed Game San Diego Style

MyTreasure and I flew out to San Diego to see how the happy couple are arranging their lives on the faraway coast of Californ-i-ay. Hard to believe that it has already been seven months since the wedding. The groom was enthusiastic about moving west, but the bride had been reluctant to leave her family. I confess I wasn't happy about them going so far, but isn't that always the way? The husband wants to retire and move away, but the wife wants to stay close to family. The bride told the groom that they would do a two year trial out there, and if either was unhappy, they would move back east.

I am happy to report that the bride is now talking about where they would like to buy a house, and everywhere we went, the two of them were scouting out neighborhoods for an eventual relocation. I'm glad that they like it so much. It is so very pretty there, and I don't know if it is seasonal--seems like one time we were in CA, in August, everything was brown--all the hills were brown, and the ground was brown. At that time I was greatly unimpressed. Right now, in March (spring?) everything was green, and the ground cover was blooming in vivid flowers, none of which grow on LI. The sky was very blue, and the sun shines almost all the time. I would have been happier with warmer temperatures--we wore our jackets most days, but maybe it warms up in the summer.

We stayed five nights, and each day they took us to a different place where the scenery was spectacular. I can see how you would enjoy being surrounded by beauty everyday. Around every corner there are vistas of hills running down to the Pacific, threaded by roads that twist and turn. We ate in a different restaurant almost every night--they are worse foodies than we are! (I only gained two pounds...) They have a good sized balcony/patio with a grill, and we had wonderful pork chops one night.

Their apartment is very spacious, and set into the building so that you do not see the adjacent apartments, even from the patio. There is a two car garage with an automatic door and a stairway right up into the apartment. They have two bedrooms and two baths--all very comfortable. The jobs are working out, and they seem to have mastered the six-lane traffic system, since they both spend a fair amount of time on the roads getting back and forth to work. The plane ride is a bit long, but what a lovely place to visit!