R.I.P., Tony

A more comely man in drag, there never was.

Saving my superficial peroneal nerve

It appears a lifetime of sitting with my left leg tucked under me has resulted in prolonged damage to the aforementioned nerve in my leg. Symptoms are tingling, off-and-on numbness and, when the nerve is compressed, weird rhythmic vibrations on the outside of my left foot.  It's like someone turned the bass way up under my skin. Unnerving. (Ha!  Get it?!) The cure? B-complex vitamins and - here's the next-to-impossible part - no more leg tucking or sitting cross-legged (my go-to positions in practically every domestic seated scenario, except at the dinner table.) For the the past few weeks, I have tried to break myself of this lifelong habit. It takes a level of in-the-moment consciousness I haven't experienced in years. That can't be all bad, right?

Countertop counterpoint

We've been round and round and round about what to put on the countertops in the new kitchen - Corian, Soapstone, Avonite, Corian. Seriously, it has kept me up at night. (That, and worrying that mice are going to start coming through the holes in the floor any day now.)  Finally, I think we've hit on the solution:

Silestone in "Coffee Brown" which will set off the white cabinets, look great with the stainless sink and appliances and complement my backsplash tile in "Morning Coffee" (a choice on which I've never wavered):

It's a "coffee" themed kitchen. Perfect for an insomniac! My contractor/spouse/cabinetmaker tells me the cabinets are almost finished. It may take a few more marital favors to see installation actually completed, but I am seeing the light!

Collection or clutter? That is the question.

I'm going to show this to my husband whose album collection numbers in the hundreds and takes up two huge shelves in our family room bookcase. Will it make him give up the records? No freakin' way.  But, it's worth a shot. (Double click to view full screen.) Thank you, BoomerAlley guy:

With a nod to Nancy Sinatra

I wrote a story about one of my favorite subjects today. No, it wasn't Jon Hamm although, God knows, I try to work him into my content whenever possible.  (Now, there's a pick-up line: "I'd like to work you into my content, ya big lug!") Unfortunately, working on the assignment gave me a horrible case of the boot lust. My collection is lacking a pair of riding boots.  And, I did buy those skinny jeans. (Actually, they were 'straight leg'....there's a difference, albeit minor.) Maybe if I could find some on sale, say, at DSW this weekend.....giddy-up!

Think you know your movies, do you?

Take this a fun, cleverly executed "quiz" and see if you can name all 26 films represented:

Mad Men: "Hands and Knees"

A few, quick questions about last night's episode:
1)  Did Joan or didn't Joan have the abortion?  Remember, she's had two, already, and was concerned about her ability to have children. If she does keep it, let's hope she doesn't expect Roger to step up to the plate: "Maybe I'm in love with you?"  How reassuring.
2) Was telling Faye his secret the right thing for Don to do?  Can she (and her suggested mob connections) make his problem go away? Or, will the end of NAA take care of that, anyway? (Fantastic acting on Jon Hamm's part last night, by the way.)
3) Will Lane return from England a family man or legally free to pursue his "chocolate bunny," Toni? And talk about Daddy Dearest bringing Lane to his knees. That man puts my grade school nuns to shame!
4) What was with that look Don gave his new secretary at the end after she brought him the Beatles tickets? For a moment, I thought he might ask her to the concert and stand poor Sally up.  Could it be Don's relationship Faye has suddenly gotten too complicated, as in major power shift?
5) Why must there be only 4 shows left in the season?  'Such a cruel, cruel world.

Love the New Yorker

Jegging buyer's remorse

Who'd a thunk I'd break down and buy a pair of legging jeans from the Gap? Especially since I swore last year that 'skinny look' would never, EVER be mine.  But it was a 3-hour 50% off sale, and I guess I got swept up in 'skinny' mania.  Now, the hunt is on to find some long tunic tops and some really, really tall shoes.  I'm thinking six-inch heels, at a minimum.

Now THAT'S football weather

I'm posting a friend's photo from yesterday for all you non-Midwesterners, even though this isn't my town OR my team.  By the time the storm came through Lawrence (this shot was in Manhattan), all we got was a big drop in temperature and a steady, soaking drizzle.  Still, isn't nature impressive?  And how about all those diehard football fans just standing there, even though a tornado could drop out of that wall cloud any minute? (They did suspend play for an hour while the storm moved through. I'm guessing it was very shortly after this pic was taken.)

Sunday stories

In today's paper, you'll find my column about some things that really creep me out and a feature about two nonagenarians who inspire me. Pictured above, of course, is one of the latter.  98 years young and still hitting the gym three times a week. (Suddenly, I feel like such a wuss.)

Sing along, won't you?

 

Hello dark tights, my old friend.

I've come to put you on again.

Because the temps are fi-nal-ly falling.

And my legs were looking a-palling.

And the vision that was Cathy in a skirt,

Really hurt.

Here's to the fall, and Lycra.

Oh, Tommy!

Facebook was a-buzz this morning with raves over Tom Jones' performance on David Letterman last night, so I thought I'd check it out.  Here's the 70-year-old heartthrob singing his heart out.  Sure, he's had too much work done (but give him points for growing out the gray) and the signature pelvis move was sadly missing....but, damn, he sounds good!

An inspired review

"Eat, Pray, Love" fans will not want to read this, and it is rather late for the news cycle. But, I have to admit, I really wish I'd written it....and I might have, too, if I hadn't prohibited myself from seeing the movie.

Where have I been?

Buried under a ton of work, I'm afraid. 'Guess you could say I was too bogged to blog. But, I'm back, baby!  And, as my first order of business, I'd like to acknowledge the return of MoFam (Modern Family) this week, which made me astonishingly happy. It was like having the fun neighbors come back to town after a long summer.

If you have yet to check out this award-winning family comedy (Wed. nights at 8 Central on ABC), do yourself a favor.

Trim those triceps, baby!

Journalism isn't officially the oldest profession but, sometimes, my job requires me to lie around with young, muscular men.  (I know! They just don't pay me enough.)  Here's another edition of my exercise column called Three Moves.  (Click on each photograph to see instructions for the exercise shown.) Youthful Chris, above, is a month younger than my son, thereby squelching any cougar-like, inappropriate thoughts before they could start. I'm happy to report I did three sets of "The Skull Crusher" in the photo, without bashing in my own forehead.

Mad Men: "Beautiful Girls"

    Don and Faye begin with a bang (referring to the lamp they broke, mind you.)  Roger and Joan succumb in a weak moment. Peggy wakes up and smells the equal rights coffee. Sally runs away from home.  I think we all saw those things coming.  What I didn't foretell was poor, old (and formerly freaky) Mrs. Blankenship's not-so-timely demise....but not until getting off the line, "We're in a business of sadists and masochists" with her signature deadpan delivery. 
    Here's to the most humorous episode yet, providing a refreshing dose of levity (especially after watching the darker-than-dark premiere of "Boardwalk Empire.")  Though as the parting shot above suggests, it wasn't all laughs. (Isn't there a little Joan, Peggy and Faye in all of us?)
    Best line of the night: "I'd have my secretary do it, but she's dead."
    And take a lesson, all you fellas out there:  A house call by two Swedish masseuses/nail technicians?  Best. Present. Ever.

You know you're bored (or really sick) when....

an afternoon-long marathon of "House Hunters" ends and you cry, "Please, one more!" 

Please excuse BoomerGirl from her blog

as she has a sinus/throat infection, is on her third round of antibiotics.....and the only positive thought she can muster is, "I may have the super bug but, at least, I don't have bedbugs."

Oh, God. I'm one of THOSE people now.

You know, the ones who have so much time on their hands, they sit around doing stuff like this:

I just submitted this to "Sad Don Draper" (see post below).  What else was I going to do while waiting for 1200 pounds of floor tile to be delivered?

"Shut the front door!"

My new favorite forms of clean profanity, which I plan to use daily: "Get out of my way, Mickey Fickey!"

TJ's is coming! Woo hoo!

If this isn't the happiest news: Trader Joe's is coming! Well, technically, to Kansas City which is 45 minutes away, but one of the stores is five minutes away from Mom's house!  Will my Costco runs soon be usurped by Two-Buck Chuck and fresh gazpacho sprees?  Stay tuned....

Sad Don makes me glad

    I should wait till Friday to share this since it has the potential of being a monstrous time suck, but I'm sort of an instant gratification kind of gal.  OK, all you Maddicts, check out the creative cutting and pasting going on at Sad Don Draper, then submit your own work of art.

Quote for the day

Maybe it's just a slow day in the blogosphere, but I think this is worth the post.  Good advice for young and old:
"The single most revolutionary thing you can do is recognize that you are enough." 
~ Carlos Andrés Gómez

Hummus with heat

If you're a hummus lover (and who isn't?) check out another one of my Recipe on Request columns, this time from the Aladdin Cafe here in town.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

    Looks like Don Draper has adopted the Dory the Blue Fish approach to life.  (True confession: I still go to Disney movies, without kids. See "keep swimming" clip from my favorite, "Finding Nemo," below. Such a great metaphor, don't you think?)

    Of course, Don wouldn't have seen "Finding Nemo" in 1965. (And I couldn't believe the Stones released "Satisfaction" that year.  I was thinking it was around '67 or '68.) So, we assume he's swimming for his health, even though he lights up immediately upon leaving the NY Athletic Club while noticing the world changing around him: Teen girls in mod fashions, impossibly young mothers, integration in the neighborhood, oh my!

   That scene reminded me of a pivotal moment in my adolescent life.  My father belonged to the Kansas City Club downtown (no doubt a very segregated place, at that time, speaking of integration), which had a pool just like the one shown in last night's episode.  In the spring of '68, he let me invite three of my 7th grade friends for a Saturday swim date and lunch at the club.  At that time, indoor swimming was a really big deal, and my gals pals and I were excited.  We anticipated it for weeks, talking about what suits and cover-ups we would wear.  Three days before the big event, I got my period for the first time which occurred in a mortifying and highly traumatic way.  Not only did I have to tell my friends why we had to postpone (it would be years before I even considered using a tampon - another traumatic yet hilarious story), my father had to be informed, as well.  (I made my mother tell him while I hid in my room.)
   This is another reason why I am a Maddict.  It's more than just nostalgia or a blast from the past.  It's a long, winding, unpredictable trip down Memory Lane, ruts and all.

Oh yeah, he's got my vote.

The fact that I'm weeping right now has nothing to do with this guy being a Republican. It's about him having a...wait for it...Masters of Communication degree. Enjoy:

Early to bed, early to rise...

makes a Mad Men fan have to wait even longer for Ep. 8 to begin!
   Adding insult to injury, the steel cut outs I tried to make in the crock pot last night (to be ready this morning, supposedly) were a complete bust. I know they look fairly normal, as steel cut oats go but, believe me, they're the consistency of just-poured cement:

Yesterday, I purchased some roasted walnut infused olive oil and pear cinnamon balsamic vinegar here to add to it and was so excited to have a warm breakfast at home again.  Back to the drawing board.
   Oh, and here's the Sunday column about a mad scheme I had to make money from drywall dust.  Yeah, that's right. Drywall dust. Something I've had a surplus of, lately. Which brings me to the main activity of the day: dusting.  Here's hoping your Sunday is much more fun than mine's going to be.

9.11.2001

Let's forget, for a moment, about the mosque controversy and that publicity-seeking pastor in Florida, and pray for the 2,996 souls who perished that day, including the hijackers who were as dangerously and destructively indoctrinated as the Rev. Terry Jones.

Do the ugly dance!

What would Friday be without another new and fabulous time-waster?!?  Check me out doing the Ugly Dance and then put yourself on the dance floor.  It's fun.  (These moves look a lot like my two-left-footed date to the WPA (Women Pay All) Dance sophomore year in high school.  Never before or since have I witnessed limbs flailing like that. Wonder what ever happened to that poor guy?)

'Back in the saddle (shoes) again

It seems so wrong, right? Especially after being forced to wear saddle shoes for years as a part of my all-girls' high school uniform. But, God help me, I love these shoes by G.H. Bass. (Remember Bass Weejuns? They still make them.)
I should be disgusted - nay, repelled - by these oxfords. And yet, I've got to have a pair. But, with the 2-1/2" heel or practical flat sole? That is the question.

I'm thinking the flat makes more sense.  I'll have to scuff them up immediately because, as I recall, too-white saddle shoes were never cool.

Everything but the....

Kraus 30-inch undermount single bowl stainless steel kitchen sink, that's what we had until I ordered this baby last night from Overstock.  I've always had a divided sink (why?) and love that you can lay big baking sheets and trays flat in this single model. Actually, we have one more appliance to purchases - the dishwasher - which will take a little more consideration, although I was surprised at how many decisions you have to make just to buy a freakin' sink.

If it's good enough for Barbie

I'm on round two of antibiotics for a stubborn sinus infection.  'Had one last year just like it.  It lasted over a month, all told.  I'm about ready to call my friendly neighborhood acupuncturist for relief.  Anyone had any experience with needles in the nose?

Oh, Don. Oh, Peggy.

    Thank you, thank you to the genius who invented DVRs! It took me less than an hour to unpack, throw my dirties in the wash and watch last night's episode of Mad Men, arguably the best yet. 
    From the moment I realized the episode would revolve around Peggy and Don, I hoped and prayed the two wouldn't hook up. They did, of course, but not in the manner I feared. This was much so better than getting physical. And it left the door ("Open or closed?") wide open to a whole new dynamic between them. Thank God, it's a short week ahead.
    What a welcome home present: The writing, the acting (Jon Hamm, especially), Don's squeeze of Peggy's hand at the end (I literally, audibly swooned), the juicy tidbit on old Blankenship...and the beat goes on for Roger in the one-liner department: “You know what gets you over something like that? Drinking."

A grand farewell

Omaha must have wanted to give the BoomerGirl a proper send-off, so they held a parade which the hubs and I could conveniently view from our balcony at the Courtyard by Marriott.  (This is the third parade we have unexpectedly witnessed while on vacation, oddly enough, and it was - for the record - part of the city's SeptemberFest celebration.)

 The procession got off to a prompt, if lackluster, start, until....

 Giant Monkey Boy came into view.  Unfortunately, he was face down (a bad night, perhaps?) We presumed the balloon handlers were rookies, or suffering from lack of leadership, until we figured out they were trying to get him under the traffic signals.

Finally, with Giant Monkey Boy standing at attention, we felt free to check out of the hotel and go to breakfast....

at the bustling WheatFields Cafe and Bakery in the Old Market area....

a charming place with a German bent.

I enjoyed the Quiche Lorraine

but passed on these

and this.

I snapped this photo because we're going to do a giant magnetic blackboard on the big wall of our new kitchen (my new creative outlet - chalk drawing) and I liked the graphics on this board. 

Adios, Omaha.  It was nice getting to know you!

Our last night in Omaha

won't be documented very well, I'm afraid.  'Seems I forgot to put my memory card back in the Nikon and was forced to use my "smart" phone which, despite its name, has a pretty dumb camera.

This was taken at M's Pub in the Old Market, where we sat at the bar and had a cocktail before dining at Vivace - both recommendations of 'Kim from Nebraska', a regular reader of this blog. Dinner at Vivace was delicious and graciously served.  I only wish I had better pics to show you than this

bottle of Chianti that my husband and I had with our scallops and salmon, respectively. Bravo!

Zoo. Whew.

For the record, I think the Omaha zoo is great.  So do - oh, I don't know - about half a million other people! It is Labor Day weekend, as my spouse reminded me. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait in line to get our passes. After that, lines were long in exhibits...

like this, penquins are my favorite.

 And this (the birds were shy)...

 And this (giraffes are just cool, aren't they?) When our feet decided we had seen enough....

we went here, on the banks of the Missouri River....

and refreshed ourselves with other visitors and Omahans....

by sipping cold beverages and enjoying the view (in the distance) of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, which our feet would not allow us to cross.

To to zoo!

   On our way to the Henry Doorly Zoo.  So many exhibits, so little time until the feet give out.
   Meanwhile, here's a parking lot shot of the Woodmen building, featured in "About Schmidt," where Jack Nicholson's character worked. That's one of those movies you like better in hindsight, I think.