National Day of …….

I’m Glad Others Buy Them

It’s National Buy a Musical Instrument Day. I’m not going to run out and get one myself, but I sure do appreciate those that do. My husband and I like music. We enjoy watching the old musicals on TV and often go to dinner where there is live music, mainly jazz. In my sewing room I listen to Country because I identify with the stories in the songs.

Recently we spent five days in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Dixieland Jazz is prevalent. We enjoyed it so much we want to go back. One band in particular called the James Rivers Movement, we are still talking about. James, according to Google, is somewhere between the age of 76 and 81. He has been appearing in the New Orleans Jazz festival for the last 40 years. He played all the woodwinds, sang, and then surprised us by turning from the audience and turning back around playing a jazz melody on the bagpipes. We sat with our mouths open. He is not only a good musician, but also a showman. No one left the room until the evening performance was concluded.

When I was a kid, I took piano lessons and in school I played the trumpet and then moved on to the french horn. I got the music appreciation gene, but not the one that likes to practice. I can still read a music staff and tell you how long to hold the notes, but that’s as close to it as I get other than listening.

We have multiple musician friends who we follow from gig to gig in our area. Sometimes they are playing in a church, a club, or at a festival. I guess you could call us groupies. We have even donated money to some of them so they can get a new CD launched. Like I said, we like music and the people who make it happen. An interesting side note; they all seem to have more than one instrument. I’ll leave the buying a new instrument to them and gush over it like it was a new baby the next time I see them.

05/22/2017 0

“They were awful!”

It’s National Pizza Party Day. Really? I know a family that has pizza every Friday night for dinner. Does that make every Friday night a party? I doubt it. Who needs a party to order pizza. We probably have it three times a month, and it’s usually on a night I have been “busy” doing something else instead of making dinner for my hubby who still works lots of hours. The definition of busy could be anything from sewing, writing my blog, shopping or having lunch with the girls.

I have heard that pizza isn’t really Italian, but the National Day of calendar gives facts that says it is. It also says the original pizza used only mozzarella cheese, mainly the highest quality buffalo mozzarella variant which was produced in the surroundings of Naples, Italy. The first United States pizza establishment opened in 1905 in New York’s Little Italy. I guess we’ll give the Italians credit for pizza without argument.

It was estimated that the annual production of pizza cheese in the United States in 1997 was 2 billion pounds. That’s one heck of a lot of cheese. How much of that was consumed at your house?

I was the youngest of four girls, so from 7th through 12th grade, I lived at home with just my parents. I’m a people person so on many Saturday nights there were a few extra girls overnight. I liked to eat even then, so for a snack I would make a Chef Boy-ar-dee Pizza from a box. There was a package of dough mix that only needed water added, a can of sauce, and a package of very dry parmesan like cheese. I would add pepperoni or mushrooms sometimes. In my memory it seems like we usually ate most of it. I now have lunch about once a month with one of the girls involved. She admitted to me one day, “Remember those pizzas you used to make. They were awful, but you liked them so we all ate it.” I wish you could have seen the look on her face when she told me that. It appeared she could still taste how awful they were. We laughed and talked about what good memories those pajama parties left us with.

Next time you have pizza, don’t just have it for supper. Call some friends, get out the cards or a board game, and turn it into a party. Oh, and by all means, order a good one with gooey thick hot cheese and the toppings of your choice.

05/19/2017 0

Add Some Nuts

Today is National Walnut Day. I would guess, though I didn’t look it up, that walnuts are one of the most consumed nuts alongside the almond. Walnuts make a great addition to cookies, cakes, breads, and all by themselves are a protein filled healthy snack. What would trail mix be without them.

One of my family’s treats at Christmas time when I was little, was a full dish of assorted nuts in the shell. We had two crackers and four meat picks. The four of us girls would eat the filberts first, then the almonds, then the walnuts. We would see if we could crack the walnut-shell open in order to get a complete half. Somehow they tasted better if they weren’t broken. How innocent the mind of a young person is to believe that. (I miss those days.)

Also at Christmas time, we gave home-made Mrs. Clause Fudge and date nut bread to the milkman, the paper boy, the post office employees, the Charlie Chip man, our teachers, and friends. Both of these contained walnuts. There wasn’t the concern then about nut allergies that there is now. To this day when I make date nut bread, I give half of it away so I don’t eat all of it because there is nothing better hot or cold, with lots of butter on it, especially if the dates are left in bite size chunks. Now my mouth is watering.

I don’t know too many cookies that aren’t better with a handful of chopped walnuts thrown in the dough. And let’s not forget maple walnut ice cream; another one of my favorites. Can you tell I like food. It’s rough being one of those people who lives to eat and likes everything, well most everything.

Whatever your plans for the day, may I suggest you take a resealable sandwich bag full of walnuts with you. They are a much more healthy snack than that sugar filled coffee you pay five dollars for.

05/17/2017 0

Be a Tree Hugger

Today is National Love a Tree day. Trees provide more than just beautiful landscapes and a shady canopy on a sunny day. They play a significant role in reducing erosion and moderating the climate as well as give us oxygen. Large quantities of carbon are stored in their tissues as trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

That’s the adult version of why we should love trees. I think my grandson’s idea is better. He has a maple tree in his back yard that is the perfect climbing tree. The large branches are close enough to the ground that he and his friends can ascend easily. There are enough large branches that three or four boys can be in the tree at the same time and they each have their own spot to sit. When it gets quiet in the yard, I have learned to look up. They haven’t run off to one of the other boys yards, they are usually up in the tree. It always makes me smile.

I lived in Washington state when the tree huggers and ornithologists shut down logging for a time in order to save the habitat of the spotted owl. I’m a big animal lover but they almost killed the economy of the town and livelihood of the people where the logging companies had their headquarters. Personally I think people and jobs are more important than animals, but we don’t want to start an argument.

Think a second about the Christmas tree. Our winter would sure be drab without the holiday lights adorning pine trees; and in the south and west, palm trees.

It is the week of the Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY, and the Dogwood Festival in Dansville, NY. I know, lilacs are bushes, but I can drive down almost any street in my area right now and see the flowering trees and bushes in bloom. It is a beautiful energizing sight and smells good too. We also have to thank trees for their yummy fruit, tasty nuts, and how they are the homes to so many animals.

When you get around to thinking about all the reasons trees are important, it really is fitting they have a special day for some extra love.

05/16/2017 0

Best Smell Ever

It’s National Chocolate Chip Day. In my opinion, chocolate chip cookies baking is one of the top smells on this earth. I learned to bake at a very young age and have been doing it ever since. To my surprise, the National Day of Calendar informed me that the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe has only been around since 1939. I know that’s a long time, but I would have guessed it was older than that. At least I’ve had the benefit of it for my whole lifetime.

There are many ways to eat chocolate chip cookies; warm out of the oven with permission (when the chocolate is still gooey warm), snuck out of the cookie tin (just before a meal of course), dipped in milk, in small savory bites. I could go on. Probably the best way is to be able to share the event with another person so you can tell one another if they have chocolate on their face.

These days you can buy chips in lots of different flavors, made by different companies. I suggest you buy good ones, you know the ones that cost more. There’s nothing worse than biting into a chocolate chip cookie and the chip has no flavor because it wasn’t made by Nestle or Ghiradelli.

I have a friend that bakes up a storm whenever we are invited for a meal. I rarely eat her goodies because they are tasteless and usually very dry. I feel if you are going to spend your time baking from scratch, use the best ingredients available, and don’t substitute low-fat this and low calorie that, because the flavor goes out the window. But then again, she’s thinner than I am, so maybe her thought process has something over mine.

Chocolate chips can be used in all sorts of other ways than just cookies. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. And it probably isn’t necessary to have a day to celebrate them because they are almost a staple in anyone’s cupboard that knows their way around the kitchen. Just for fun, celebrate the day by making some fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert. If you are afraid you might eat too many, give some away. I can already smell them baking!

05/15/2017 0

It’s a Team Effort

It’s National Military Spouse Appreciation Day. This day is always celebrated the Friday before Mother’s Day. We all know, in the past that would have been very appropriate. The stereo-type still has most people thinking it’s only men in the military, but that is no longer the case. I didn’t check, but perhaps this day should also be celebrated the Friday before Father’s Day.

I’m an ex-spouse of an Air Force member. I’m proud that I was able to serve my country in that capacity. Serve, you ask? You’re darn right! We left our families behind, went where we were told, when we were told, and my kids have no real roots as their schools changed as often as our address did. I don’t mean to sound like I am complaining, but a transient life at the will of Uncle Sam is a lot less grounded than a life close to your own hometown with the folks handy to call on when a baby is about to arrive or one of the kids is sick.

In war-time when a military spouse is deployed, the other spouse is left holding all the responsibilities of the family. I have had people say to me, “Well, you knew that’s what you signed up for.” That’s true, but again, it’s not the same when you are in a foreign country or living on a military installation that is in the boonies of a state you are unfamiliar with. The best part is, the other spouses are in the same situation, and you bond quickly with the neighbors. The sad part, is when you get transferred, you rarely hear from those people again. It truly is a nomadic way of life. In my case, the experiences I had and the places I got to live and visit made up for that.

Some civil service jobs give preference to ex-military members. I feel that should also be extended to the ex-military dependents but I doubt that will ever happen.

I fly an American flag, correctly lit, 24/7. My time as a military spouse has given me an understanding that people not connected to the military don’t have and I’m proud of it. Next time you see a military member and think of saying thank you to them, add, and to your family too. I’m sure they will appreciate it.

05/12/2017 0

Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

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