Martini Musings

What’s On Your Calendar?? Full disclosure, I use an old-fashioned calendar. You know what I'm talking about...spiral bound, biggish blocks, one week at a time, or the whole month at a glance.  Some may call it a planner.  I look forward to getting my new one every year and because I had been working at a school, my calendar went July 1 thru June 30.  That being said, I truly don’t need that kind of calendar now, but I’m choosing to wait until December this year to purchase another.  I know I’m probably one of the last people around to use a paper calendar, but I’m just not a digital girl in my day to day life.  (except for Facebook, gmail, and the occasional Instagram viewing!)  I know people who have mastered the phone calendar/appointments and what a convenience that would be, but typing on a phone the notes and appointments, extra comments and details, is not easy for me.  That being said, sometimes, my calendar would get so full I...

Food for the Soul! I am barely three days out from my visit with Gabriel and already, I am missing him…and his parents too!! What a great socially distanced, hotter than hell, fun, long weekend it was!!   Let’s not forget the tasty outdoor dining on the covered carport, (with the flies!), the various flavored, hand-crafted mojitos, and cornhole, a pool for Gabriel (and maybe a few adult feet!) as well as Gabriel’s introduction to the animated stuffed animals and people that Pappaw has collected over the years!!   All of them singing a different tune!   (* Note…Gabriel is still trying to decide if he likes these things…holding onto my shirt with the tightest grip ever was just a small indication that maybe he wasn’t ready! ) As you know, we have been practicing the social distancing, the quarantining and the hyper aware behavior of protecting my parents, whom I adore, and are totally fragile. They are really struggling not to have visitors and sit around the ...

Who knew? Today, just random thoughts!   Finding myself wondering lots of things these days!   I can almost hear Andy Rooney’s voice now…” Did you ever wonder ?” Who knew that on March 13 (Friday, the 13 th ), we would begin four long months (as of this past Monday) of shutdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions, masks, and isolation from family and friends?   For me, it was the week after the Gala and we could have been one of the fundraising casualties if our event had been one week later.   I’m grateful every day for that blessing! Who knew that toilet paper would be so precious?   I have always appreciated toilet paper and other paper products, but never did I see such a demand.   In line with this “ who knew ” I can say that although I knew people were greedy, who knew that greed would cause a severe shortage in toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels?   Come on people, cut back on what you use, and save some for your neighbor. ...

I’m Back In The Kitchen… Now, I will admit, I’ll never be confused with Ina Garten, Julia Child, or Martha Stewart…in fact, I’m not a fan of any of them!  But I don’t mind cooking.  I’m not a creative cook, and I will say in my 34 years of marriage, the meals were the same basic things, perhaps with a few twists…chicken fixed ten different ways, meatloaf, pot roast, pasta in an assortment of ways, pork chops prepared two or three different ways, pork tenderloin, etc… I made the meals look different by changing up the side dishes, but I never really strayed. On special occasions, we’d have steak on the grill.  Bottom line, variety in the kitchen was not necessarily my strong suit.  With that being said, I didn’t mind cooking but I was NOT a baker.  Desserts and sweet treats were reserved for store bakeries or the ice cream isle.  I have a couple of items that I will prepare but even to this day, I am not the baker in the group. Now I know thos...

There’s a new girl in town… Today is about a new attitude…lots of changes are taking place and as of June 20, when I had my hair cut and colored, I decided to try and “embrace the gray!”   Now, full disclosure, I am not saying with absolute certainty that I am going all gray, but it is time to admit that my hair is totally white underneath the color that I have professionally applied every month!   There’s nothing like a pandemic shutdown to come to terms with that truth.   I would say that I was prematurely gray at a young age, but no need to give away all of my beauty secrets.   Suffice to say that I have been doing the color cover-up for a long time.   During the closure of my salon, my roots became increasingly longer and more noticeable.   I use an amazing color spray to hide those roots in-between colorings…I refer to this as my spray paint.   However, it appeared that many others were doing the same and soon, this spray paint was...