High-Low Carbs: Heavenly Biscuits, Quick Crescents & Apple Pie Secrets 🍎🍏

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Turtle + The Wolf (@turtleandthewolf)

High

Dan was away in Boston and Maine last weekend for work and a short family visit. Punchy was out. I had a yen for the Lo's Fried Chicken carryout dinner for two from Turtle + The Wolf, a beloved Montclair restaurant. I wanted the chicken, but what I really wanted was the featherlight buttermilk biscuits. I ordered this dinner package once during that lonely, dark pandemic to share with Punchy. It is not cheap but honestly, the salad was enough for two nights and the 10 pieces of cult-favorite chicken took me through a few lunches/dinners. (You have to order ahead.) The creamy mashed potatoes, yum. (I resisted the Chocolate Peanut-Butter Tart with toasted fluff but had it once with Dan at the real restaurant table.) The hot biscuits were perfection, four small, light, leavened-in-heaven beauties lined up and presented with a little cup of honey. Golden tops and tender, fluffy insides. Omigosh, butter from my fridge, and honey from the cup. Excellent. 

Low 

The Pillsbury rolls contain flour, shortening, water, baking powder--and possibly palm oil.

By contrast, I went to ShopRite with Punch last week when she was hungry. She wanted to make a Seafood Boil, and that was nice, with snow crab, fresh mussels, baby potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp and plenty of Slap Ya Mama and Old Bay Seasoning. I also allowed her to chose some kid things like chocolate milk, fruit punch (one of each), waffles and Pillsbury Original Crescents rolls. She made them after school today. "I love snacks," I heard her say on the phone to a friend. I was surprised at how good the crescents were, again with butter and honey (her idea). Also, food science at work. Processed, I know, but took me back to my girlhood, round biscuits in a tube, arranging them in a metal pie pan in our 1950s green Dumont kitchen, setting the table for my mother. Today's crescent dough triangles are rolled up so neatly, the directions so clear ($3.49 for an 8-ounce tube).

Apple Pie Secrets

I just wrote a story about Apple Secrets for Food52. I'm proud, and have been sending along more ideas. I've wanted to work for/write for that site ever since one of my idols, NY Times food columnist Amanda Hesser (Cooking for Mr. Latte book), co-founded it. Here is the link:

https://food52.com/story/apple-secrets-baking-cooking-fall

Still chasing my dreams at age 64, and why not? (Bobbi Brown and Katie Couric shared at the 92nd Street Y talk Wednesday night that they are both 68, and nothing's stopping them.)

My apple story intro mentions a tube of biscuit dough. That came first, before we bought the crescents.

Have a good night. 🍎🍏🍎🍏

Jewels in My Pocket

Tender, paper-thin frozen crepes flown in from Brittany. 

The source: White Toque.

Pretty things that put sparkle and joy in my Thursday:

1. This former fruit avoider ate organic ruby-red raspberries tonight, wrapped up in a real French crepe flown to the U.S. from Brittany. Kings in Upper Montclair and in Verona both stock them in the freezer case, about $11.99 per pack. This getting of high-end brands is a big reason why I like Kings. Each crepe is 150 calories with a modest 6 grams added sugar. I rolled mine around freshly whipped organic cream and a sprinkle of pure, dark Valrhona cocoa for good measure. Antioxidants twice, between the berries and the deeply colored cocoa. Spice likes hers with Nutella, berries and bananas but I usually avoid Nutella because I might spoon through the whole jar. I brought this dessert up to the country once as a house guest (Dan F. and Suzy's house in Hudson, NY) and everyone loved it.
2. Went to America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses for an eye exam and new glasses. Scored really nice Ralph by Ralph Lauren black sunglass frames on sale, to be fitted with updated prescription reading lenses. Same for another hip pair of reading frames. I got blue light protection for the first time (not sure I need it? Do you?). This America's Best is in a strip mall in Clifton but is clean, well-stocked and professional. And the cost of a thorough two-part eye exam by Lucy (sp) and then by a doctor, plus the two pairs of glasses, came to $192.95. I don't have vision coverage on my health insurance.
3. Wriggled into my cozy sweater and walked along Valley Road, down Macopin and up Nassau at about 6:15 p.m. Saw lots of perky yellow daffodils and ran into my neighbor and friend Beth walking back up the hill. We met when our girls were in kindergarten at the neighborhood school. We talked for a good while, pausing our walks.
4. Watching "Riding in Cars with Boys," the 2001 movie directed by Penny Marshall and starring Drew Barrymore as Bev, a Connecticut girl who gets pregnant at 15 in the 1960s. Lorraine Bracco plays her mother, Brittany Murphy plays her best friend, and they're great. So are the sixties hairstyles, clothing, furnishings and cars. The movie is based on an autobiography by Beverly Donofrio. Dan has been very busy this week working in Palm Springs, California and now the Boston area tonight, so I have the living room cinema to myself.

Also did my work on a magazine assignment and arranged a blowout for an upcoming job interview.

Good night.

Feathering My Nest at College

My campus nest is for workdays, not overnights. This morning, Figgy and Dan suggested a few places to work out of the home. I've had trouble focusing in my office, and I work more productively in a shared space. I had already considered these and ruled them out.

1. Upper Montclair Starbucks. I know too many people coming in and out. Not a private office. Plus, memories of completing a very stressful writer's test on deadline there, at night. Just under the wire.
2. Java Love on Bellevue Avenue. It has many fans, but the tabletops are small and I wouldn't feel comfortable staying too long. Can't spread out with my accoutrements: Kate Spade pink Filofax, Lilly Pulitzer laptop case, Stashers bag.
3. Cedar Bean's Coffee in Cedar Grove. Too far to drive and the menu is not really my cup of coffee.
4. Clifton Public Library, Allwood branch. Dan loves working there and is there right now, but IDK, it just doesn't grab me.
5. Montclair Public Libraries. The one on Bellevue has charm and history, but not too much workspace, and it feels like just me and middle schoolers in the afternoon. I should be working on a geography report. (Do they still even teach geography?) The main branch, like Clifton, just doesn't grab me as a workspace. But I am grateful to have two fine public libraries in town with a trove of books, and they co-host important festivals, speakers and events.
6. Mercado on Valley Road. Good food but laptop limit windows and also, most people are there to talk and socialize, not work.

Figgy reminded me about the Montclair State University Library, so here I am. It was a hell of a steep hill to walk on campus but I did it. So that's an added benefit, about 40 min. round-trip walk for slow walker me. I got a latte at the new college Starbucks next-door and then sat outside at the tables to make work calls/set up interviews and eat my packed lunch. I didn't want to offend coffee lovers with the smell of lox. Look at my bowls, I love them:

I shopped Food52.com for 20 percent off spring refresh items for our home using code SPRUCEDUP but I think the code expired now. I saved a lot but most of all, found great style in the shop (spring wreath fresh from a farm in California, half-moon-shaped woven doormat, streamlined dish rack designed in Japan and garden gloves). I loved the set of small nesting bowls on 52 but that aqua (Sea Glass Swirl) one pictured on their site was not included in the set, and is so pretty. So I went to the source, Golden Rabbit Enamelware, and ordered this set of nesting bowls in Modern Monet. Dishwasher-safe. It helps that I grilled zucchini on the stove last night, so it was ready to go, along with rice and the fish.

I also went on my Zoom support group meeting at 7 a.m.! to start my day right. So I am feeling better, inch by inch. More productive, more purpose.

Step by step, dream by dream, goal by goal, one day at a time.

16 Sweet Gratitudes, Catching Up

1. New Prada lipstick in the house. I bought my first tube in mid-May at the Nordstrom flagship in NYC and used it down to the nub. The colors are so stylish. Prada is so stylish. A lot of lettuce, $50 plus tax, but very worth it. The counter guru helped me find two great hues in person now. But the matte is a bit drying, so best to put the Prada lip balm under or on top, or even dab on Vaseline.
2. Lunch with young MTM*, my colleague and friend, a couple of Sundays ago in Princeton. We ate on Witherspoon Street. MTM had a salad and I had the chicken pot pie. It was a beautiful day, and we had been talking about reconnecting for years. :)
3. Chef Lidia Bastianich at the Ferguson Library in Stamford on a weeknight with Sis and Diane. We soaked up Lidia's hints, such as how to tell if you're buying real Italian San Marzano tomatoes. If a food is made in Italy, the packaging will say PRODUCT OF ITALY, Lidia said. I used that rule when selecting prosciutto last weekend.
4. "A Wonderful World, The Louis Armstrong Musical" on Broadway. I went to the matinee yesterday with Sis and Edie. It was.very.very.good. I've played Satchmo's music today. 
5. Post-theater dinner two blocks away at Patsy's, a landmark Italian restaurant and celeb magnet on West 56th Street since 1944. Best shrimp scampi with spaghetti that I have ever eaten. In my life. The simple pan sauce was intuitively done, "broiled with butter, garlic and lemon," per the menu. Tender butterflied shrimp. And if I were still indulging in desserts, I'm quite sure the ones I eyed on the old-fashioned rolling cart, pushed by a waiter, would have been winning. Especially that fancy ruffled chocolate cake or tiramisu.
6. "Conclave" film about electing/selecting a Pope. Dan and I saw it on opening night of the  Montclair Film Festival. Very well done. The acting (Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow) is superb as are the settings and secret rituals of selecting a Pope. Director Edward Berger was there at the Wellmont Theater and took questions afterward.
7. The New Yorker Festival. Drove into NYC with my friend Anne to see New Yorker Magazine editor David Remnick interview Rachel Maddow.
8. The cold opening of SNL last night, Saturday, November 2, with Maya Rudolph and the real Kamala Harris. (Thank you, Nan, for texting link.)
9. A hike in the Stamford arboretum woods with Sis and Galena.
10. Walks around our block and in Anderson Park and Edgemont Park.
11. Tea nightcap at Figgy's apartment the other night.
12. Dinner in a Dumont tavern with Moey and Tish.
13. "Godzilla" movie. Newest version, made by Japanese writer and director Takashi Yamazaki. 
14. Ina Garten's memoir.
15. Seeing my friend Rachy for late breakfast, another thing that's been put off for months.
16. Work clients, including two new ones. I'm grateful.

I just realized many of these are Italian--numbers 1, 3, 5 and 6. And 12 is famous for its pizza.

*Dan gave my friend Eileen the "young MTM" nickname decades ago, before she was married, when we went to a party she hosted in Weehawken in her pretty little Mary Tyler Moore-style apartment with a view of NYC's sparkling skyline across the river.

"Toyota Universe" and #Onceinabluemoon

Image from and info at https://starwalk.space/fr/news/full-blue-moon*.

Hi from the Toyota service center on Route 46 East in Little Falls, New Jersey.

I'm happy to be here for a noon appointment on a summer Wednesday because

A. It's our first free maintenance check and oil change (under warranty) on the preowned (formerly leased only) RAV4 we bought this spring. It feels good to take care of yourself and of your car. This is fun, especially when the service, with 21-point check, is already paid for, though of course you get ripped off with inflated interest rates and bloated warranty protection charges, etc. when you sign the contract. Next time, if and when there is a next time, I will be far more present and careful. Dan and I did our best. I am grateful for our car.

B. I'm in a workspace away from home, hooray, sitting at a cubicle with a big desktop computer. Not seeing dustballs on carpet, dishes to wash, faded orange echinacea to deadhead in the garden, never mind my laptop and notepads of interview notes, stories I want to pitch. It's just the service area holding room, but it takes me back to all the offices I worked in--at clean desks with other people committed to a common, branded purpose. In this case, it's Toyota technicians and service advisors (shoutout to my man Luis) and of course, the cashier, but I might as well be back at the Twin-Boro News, The Daily Targum at Rutgers, The Nation summer internship. Woman's Day, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, Cigar Aficionado or Strategic Communications, my last NYC staff job. Or the Hot Chocolate Sparrow on Cape Cod or Joyist, the fabulous smoothie place that thrived in Montclair before the pandemic shuttered it. I loved working on my Rose Gold laptop there, while the Joyist pros buzzed up healthy "Natalie" pink drinks and peanut-butter fueled "Lukes," salads and bowls in that sleek, modern space. All of us--we were industrious and working for a greater cause, witnesses to one another's efficiency and effort. That's what you lose when you work alone at home.

Nissan has free Danishes, a fellow Toyota owner said to several of us near the free coffee machine. (No pastries or bagels there at noon, just vending machines.) We all like to convene and kibitz with other people.

I've been organizing my sunroom office for over a month now. I've filled seven grocery totes or more with books I needed, wanted, loved and in many cases never even cracked open. Pricey cookbooks, including one all about making jam, a double I bought of a Giada fresh Italian bible, an extra Michael Pollan copy. I removed a small bookcase from my sunroom office to make space. That's how many books I have released. I've been unearthing beautiful wood shelves and polishing them with my little bottle of luxury Diptyque leather and wood lotion, featured in my assignment for Good Housekeeping, 10 Best Furniture Polishes of 2024, Tested by Cleaning Experts. Anything French and chic is a win in my book.

SURPRISE NEW ENGLAND LOBSTER ROLL AND SUMMER BLUE MOON!!!!!

Sis told me Sunday about the blue moon coming Monday. It doesn't look blue, just perfectly full, bright, textured and seen. Memorable. Craters, storybook dimensions. So clear and close, you wish to pluck it from the sky.

So Monday at 5 p.m., I drove to Connecticut (usually one-hour drive but took 1 hr. 20 minutes due to rush hour and downpours) to see the #onceinabluemoon Supermoon with her. It was stupendous. 

I can see little blue men up there, Sis joked, pausing to look through her binoculars while we walked her dog, Galena. 

Add to that a lobster roll that rivals the best I ever had, maybe 30 years ago in Kennebunkport, Maine with Dan pre-kids or the one we loved at McLoon's Lobster Shack with Spice/Spike more recently. This roll was a special at Tomato Tomato, a pizza/Italian restaurant right down the street from Sis in Stamford. Big, succulent "local" lobster pieces. Melted butter for dipping. Toasted, charred, buttered bun with perfect grill marks. It was an appetizer, and cost $25, but it was ample. Sis treated. I only paid a little. 

And the dazzling Democratic National Convention in Chicago!!!!!!! Michelle and Barack Obama. JFK's grandson, Jack Schlossberg (newly minted contributer to Vogue). Oprah. Nancy Pelosi. President Bill Clinton. Young poet Amanda Gorman. So much. So much hope.

Good night.

*

*In French from that site: 

Qu'est-ce qu'une Lune bleue ?

L'origine du nom est encore incertaine. Il est utilisé depuis longtemps ; certains le font remonter à 400 ans, lorsque cela signifiait quelque chose qui ne pouvait jamais se produire (d'où l'expression anglaise "once in a Blue Moon").

Une Lune bleue peut être saisonnière et calendaire. Examinons de plus près chaque définition.

translated from French: 

What is a Blue Moon?

The origin of the name is still uncertain. It has been used for a long time; some date it back 400 years, when it meant something that could never happen (hence the English expression "once in a Blue Moon").

A Blue Moon can be seasonal and calendar. Let's take a closer look at each definition.

Hard Work & Stress Surge

Just handed in my brain 🧠 health article about frontotemporal dementia, FTD, the most common dementia to affect people under 60. Research has found a link to newfound artistic creativity early on in patients who have it. People who previously had no interest in art produce beautiful paintings, etc. One part of the brain stops working (the front part) and the back part kicks in to do artwork. FTD is a small segment of the dementia out there. Alzheimer's is "still the lion's share," said a doctor I interviewed.

Every time I typed the acronym FTD, I thought of Florists’ Transworld Delivery (also FTD), established in 1910. I have sent my mother-in-law in Maine flowers via FTD.

Bit of a stress surge over Punch issues, but trying to keep that lion in its place, not let it tear through my mind and take over.

Good night. Still have to eat dinner.

Perfectly Imperfect

I am not perfect. No one is, but this is about me.

I want to do everything right, and please the three editors I report to (at three publications). That is not always possible.

Two trains tried to get on the track at the same junction this week. Neither fully merged on. Both were delayed. And the conductor was me.

But still, it is bedtime. I have to rest, and eat properly, and take my medicines, and remove my Guerlain mascara with Vaseline (I still do that, and think Jane Fonda did, too) and talk to Punch about something important. Tomorrow, I will do my best.

Good night.

Eye Rest vs. Blog Post

See, tomorrow night will be a week since I drove into NYC and posted NEW YORKER FILM SCREENING IN TRIBECA. I have my Lilly Pulitzer wirebound narrow notepad, the one I scrawled in when the lights went down. 

I haven't seen a steno pad in years, the friendly photographer said as the credits rolled.

I know, I said. I love writing with pen on paper, though. 

Me too, he said, and we smiled.

It made a little crisp sound when I flipped each page in the dark. The notebook looks like this, and is not an official steno pad. Now I see it's unavailable on Amazon and I hope I find more, after I flip it over and use the other (blank) sides of the pages.

Anyway, I've been busy with magazine assignments. I hope to do my movie recap tomorrow? 

Good night.

Time to Sleep

I spent several frustrating hours trying to capture screenshots/custom images and insert them in an online story. Along the way, I also lost some text that I now have to create from scratch, and memory. (I viewed history versions on the story, and mistakenly deleted a slide, so the copy is gone.) But I read it so many times, I think I can.

Must get the hang of it, but have invested hours today with only partial luck.

See you tomorrow.

Good night.

Must Go to Bed

I procrastinated so long that I had to write an article for a couple of hours this Friday night. 

Dan was in the city to listen to jazz with his sophisticated friend and the best man at our wedding, Dan F. I love that they met in Teaneck, New Jersey when Dan F. was 3 and my Dan was 4. The former had just moved into the suburban neighborhood and wandered off and gotten lost. My Dan helped him find his way home.

To soften the blow of working Friday night, I walked around the block once first under the night sky. Ran into Beth, a nice neighbor/friend out walking her richly dark dog and we walked together and caught up. I lit one of the pretty pink taper candles Dan brought back for me from The Belfast Co-op in Maine and I played podcasts and music on Spotify on my laptop. That way, I wasn't working alone.

Good night.

Now I See It, Now I Don't

Above: I love the Classic Fit Oxford Color-block Shirt in Multi ($110) by Polo Ralph Lauren--saw it in the Polo window here. Texted to Dan to see if he would like for late/better Father’s Day gift but he said "That shirt looks like a circus clown’s" and then he put the clown emoji, which is one of our personal favorites. 🤡 He always loved the Polo oxford shirts I got for him in all of those colors separately (except pink), so I figured I would give it a try.

Now I see the Kipling bag store and the Swarovski shop across from me, the latter with a glittering crystal curtain suspended from a bar. I see signs upstairs: BURGERS SHAKES FRIES FUN.

Now I don’t see it, head down to write, not daydream.

Sitting in The Mills at Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth (six minutes from the program Skippy attends 9 a.m. to 1:15 daily) with my laptop to work...quite a place. Thanks to a romp through with Skipper on Friday afternoon--much to her delight--I now noticed some good stores here. As in Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach, Kate Spade New York.

Skippy loved H&M, Hot Topic and especially Zumiez (pronounced zoomies/hoping for new skateboard for tricks). She has a longboard but there is a new(ish) skate park in town. In the food court, the sushi place and Häagen-Dazs caught her eye for future visits. I remember being her age and the same ice cream brand catching my eye at Paramus Park Mall. It seemed like such a luxury, and the best of the best on a cone or in a cup. (Now, when I see ice cream, I generally look the other way. Interesting American artifact.)

I’m grateful for the WiFi connection at Starbucks; this little round wood table; a side stool to hold notebooks, earphones, chargers etc.; and the spinach-feta-whole-grain wrap I ordered with siracha hot sauce for lunch.

At 11 a.m. my time (5 p.m. Paris time), my cell phone will ring and it will be a sophisticated man from France who lives at a storied, gorgeous château and gardens one hour’s drive from the city. I will interview him for aspire design and home Magazine, ask questions about the estate and the trees--he actually grew up there--and he will talk and I will write as fast as I can. I generally still prefer to take notes by hand. I have my own shorthand after so many years.

Sorry, I’m just writing, I say. The sources understand. After the call, I go over my notes and flesh out the shorthand to be sure I understand it all in detail.

I better get going because I came straight here to be productive--to write one article about a beautiful Charleston home and to do that phone call.

Enjoy your day. I always feel better connected and settled and accepting/honoring my work when I post here, just like last summer, on some days I was writing on Cape Cod instead of swimming in the sea. So, I say merci. (And since I’ve been writing more frequently about French things for aspire, I added a new post label: French.)

Up in Dark for Quick Walk

Coffee image cribbed from Newsweek.com coffee (+ cancer) story, which I have not read. (Note to Celia and Dan: Another news story about what coffee can and can't do.)

Here is the link I like:

https://medium.com/the-innovation/what-successful-employees-do-every-morning-7c3d64b19abd

I'm not sure I can make a habit of waiting 30 min after wakeup for morning coffee, or that I can (ever) limit it to one cup per day*, but I hope to take a quick walk every morning before Punchy's schoolday starts at 7:50 a.m.

I like the advice in this short article.

Have a good one. 

*In my efforts to skirt sweets, I have embraced coffee. And the foodie in me loves it--searching out craft blends, organic half and half, cute cups etc. Coffee is my friend now, about 2 cups in the morning and one in the afternoon. That's a lot for someone who never liked coffee much (until Starbucks hit NYC in the late 1990s, and lured me in with whipped cream, caramel syrup and that trendy cup, plus dark chocolate dipped graham crackers, which I know from a press tour were originally made by exquisite Lake Champlain Chocolates in Vermont!).

My Building Blocks of Time

Image above from THIS LINK.

It seemed like I did everything in blocks of time today. But I didn’t take good care of myself--ate poorly by the end; didn’t apply under-eye concealer or mascara, let alone face cream; no earrings; and another bad hair day.

The blocks:

• A block of time for work emails to Barcelona and Paris (two glamorous design projects I'm writing about).
• 3 minutes to take a shower.
• A crunched window of time to pick up the Montclair School District Chromebook computer for Punch. (The block was from 1 to 3 in the afternoon, we arrived after 2:30--after school.)
• A two-hour block for Punchy's therapy.
• A 30-minute block to dip flounder filets in milk, coat with cornmeal, brown in walnut oil and set table before showing up at P's friend's house (she had biked there) to get her to bike home for dinner before dark.
• A joyful 10-minute block to order a special Halloween treat to be shipped to Punch and her Mimi and Poppy at their house this weekend. (We will miss her.)
• A 5-minute block from 6:55 p.m. to 7 p.m. to text Dan a grocery list. (I can do that quickly--20 items.)
• 1-hour Zoom call from 7 to 8 p.m.--family support group for "Nurtured Heart" approach to parenting and life.
• And now, happily, a 2-hour block to watch the long-awaited season 5 premiere of "This Is Us" on NBC at 9 p.m.

Good night. I trust tomorrow will be better, and I will fit in better self-care, though two Punch appts after school.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

That post title--I learned it from my mother when she was juggling family funds around to meet the most pressing needs first. I'm not sure why it refers to apostles, but it definitely gets to the point.

I think my parents always paid their bills on time. They were very organized about money. On one salary, they saved enough to have a second home built on Cape Cod. But please note: We ate out rarely. They usually bought store brands, not Nabisco. We didn't have big dinner portions at home--but that didn't matter. We were used to one chuck steak slipped under the broiler to feed the family; one skillet of meat sauce; broccoli defrosted from a small frozen box. Moey remembers that I brought sandwiches on party rye for lunch at St. Mary's School.

Over here, we have been trying to cook meals at home but we definitely eat out way more than my birth family did and we are two freelance writers landing, once again, between paychecks. 

So our health insurance is newly cancelled. That's happened several times over the years--we owe a couple/few months, over $1,000. As soon as we pay, our Rx and medical coverage kicks back in. But in the meanwhile, we can't pick up most prescriptions. One of mine, without the plan, rings up at $600+ vs. the normal $59. This no-health-insurance phase can be precarious. Once, Figgy had to go into the hospital and I had to call Sis, who gave me her credit card info to pay our insurance premium over the phone. (It was a loan.) Crazy, I know, and thank God for my sister.

Our September mortgage was late, but in before the end of the month. We are up to date, thankfully, with our monthly IRS payment plan. Our State Farm car and home insurance bundle is about to cancel, so we have to call and pay that $404 payment tomorrow morning.

I'm owed a magazine writing check and Dan has been writing constantly for a science publication, Neurology Today. So we will catch up.

Anyway, good night.

TCOY

1. Walked around block with Sug.
2. Sent important writing to S, and talked to her.
3. Healthful foods: Baby potatoes; mixed veggies; Ezekiel English muffin; roast chicken; banana.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET 

Items of interest.

• Vesta Chocolate, a small hot mocha made with oat milk to bring Fig at work; a large iced pumpkin spice latte and one signature brownie for Punch, plus counter tip, $20.64. Thinking of my parents in this post, I see that is indulgent. However, I greatly miss NYC and all of its best-of-everything sophistication. Julia and Roger, at Vesta, were pastry chefs in NYC and are exacting in presentation and handcrafted product. I want them to stay in town. I want to support them and be a part of that glamour and luxury. Also, Punch rode her bike there Wednesday and sat with her laptop til they closed at 7 p.m. She had only $2.60 in her pocket, and lovely Ana took care of her with a little chocolate and a brownie slice.
• Montclair parking meter, 75 cents.
• MEZOCO.COM taco truck coming to our pared-down block party Sunday. You order ahead and pick up the food in your time slot. Preordered for Dan, me, Fig, Punch and two of P's friends, who are coming as guests, plus $5 tip, $64.50. Didn't order extras, like chips, salsa, guacamole or drinks.

My Essay Published on The Plum

I love this photo that The Plum team selected.

I'm happy and proud that my essay--"I Had a Baby After 40--and Now I'm in Homeschool Hell" was published in this time of tragedy and fear. I think it might bring a smile to some faces....the most frequent comment I've heard is that it's honest.

I'm grateful for my wise and insightful editor. You can't take that for granted.

I am happy to be honest. I hope I have not revealed too much of Punchy's life story. I tried to be careful, and I noted to my editor that I was watchful not to call Punch our daughter. [Because we are her legal guardians; her birth mom retained parental rights.] Punch is always adamant about that.

My all-time favorite writers are the ones who transport me to where they are. I hope I did that, too. I tried.

Truman Capote--"A Christmas Memory" puts me right in the kitchen where pecans will be shelled and fruitcakes will be baked. Can't you smell the scent of spices and fruit? See the Christmas tree dragged home from the woods by a young boy and his elderly cousin?

Joan Didion. I once wrote her a letter, complimenting her for, among other things, her detail-rich writing. I think I said of one of her stories: "It's not just ice cream at your daughter's birthday party, but chocolate-marshmallow ice cream." She even wrote me back. I remain very grateful.

The short story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, copyright 1961. I was transported right from the title. I read it in college and must read it again. On my list.

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar. Instant flight to NYC magazine world.

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons 
Do you remember that line from the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot - 1888-1965? I think of it often, especially in this time of endless cups of coffee.

I hope all is well. #holdfast #hangtough

TCOY

1. Made banana pancakes w four ingredients--rice flour, bananas, baking powder and eggs--and pinch of sea salt. Punch liked them, and she can be finicky.
2. Private Benjamin appt. Yes, one hour therapy at 1 pm on the phone, sitting in my car.  The weather went from rumbling thunder to rain to sunshine. I was parked back by the garage, near our Bleeding Hearts flowering plant. I also talked to Sis for a while and to two Mainers--my mother-in-law, who is 90, and my sister-in-law Martha, who is teaching eighth grade from home. I asked her for tips on homeschooling Punchy because it's hard to be back after last week/spring break. I left messages for Moey, Anne and my brother Will. When I walked into the house I said to Dan, "That was the best two and a half hours I've had in the last five weeks." We laughed.
3. Hope to take lavender bath soon. It is already 7:19 pm.
4. Watched 2 episodes of "The Closer." Love it.

$ UPDATE, MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Up til 3 am Thursday morning [rough day w. P and too much coffee?] Ordering from Amazon in dark of night, two great books, one bottle coffee extract for my Café au Lait Pots de Crème, total $33.63.
• STITCH clothing boutique, must help keep them and myself afloat in these rough times, cute blouse, $78.
• Cash donation to raise money for face shields for front-line workers, $48.
• SLA Thai dinner, I sent Figgy to get curbside pickup for 4, $93 + $15 tip, so $108--that was our big spring break treat. Figgy got vegan pad Thai with tofu, no eggs.
• Kings, large pot of strawberry-ice-cream-pink hyacinths to later plant in garden for next year's bloom, $4.20.
• Season 2, many episodes of "The Closer," $29.99.
• CVS, ordered free 2-day rx delivery, added 4 Clif bars, toothpaste, 2-pack Glide dental floss, can of whole cashews, bottle of Caltrate pills, 4 cans Bumblebee solid white tuna in water, about $54.

Total from Wed. April 15 thru Tues. April 21: $355.82.

Ongoing monthly spend as of April 21: $1,715.56.

Avg daily spend: $81.69.

Compare to previous months:

March--the effect of coronavirus quarantine and not working in NYC for now

Total monthly spend as of March 31: $1,916.15.

Avg daily spend: $61.81.

February

Total monthly spend as of Feb. 29: $2,480.34.
Avg daily spend: $85.53.

January

Total monthly spend as of Jan 31: $3,063.60.

Avg daily spend: $98.83.

December 2019 [Christmas and all that entails]

Total monthly spend as of Dec. 31: $3,998.16. 

Avg daily spend: $128.97. 

November

Total spend for November (30 days): $2,979.03. 

Average daily spend: $99.30. 

October

Total spend for OCTOBER 31 days: $2,495.36.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $80.49.

September

TOTAL SPEND FOR SEPTEMBER (30 DAYS): $2,214.43.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $73.81.

August

TOTAL SPEND FOR AUGUST (31 DAYS/PLUS VACAY IN HERE): $2,895.06. ⬆️

AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39.  ⬆️

Article Archive: Writing about People in Need, People in Pain

I worked as a writer in the offices of Catholic Charities on First Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets from October 21 until December 20 and then about once a week after that, writing articles for the website through January and into February.

I am thankful for my smart and funny co-workers. Thankful, after a career writing primarily about "lifestyle" topics, from stylish sofas to decadent brownies--with some very notable exceptions--to tackle heavier subjects, including homelessness and the need to replenish food pantries.

I loved working in my New York City again...not just the glittery city, but the hardworking city, alongside the friendly New Yorkers who serve coffee and rolls from corner carts and the ones in French uniforms with neckerchiefs who sell brightly colored macarons in a chic cafe.

I loved being among them, one and all. I liked riding the E train from the Port Authority to 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue.--noticing eye shadow colors women wore, subway ads for mattresses and for men's underwear. The fun faux fur coats, boots and totes people sported. The tourists and lovers. My guessing game--telling in a blink who was wealthy and who was not.

I liked riding the bus to and from Montclair. I liked pushing the elevator button to my floor at work. I was tired at night, but I went to bed early and got up about 6:10 am.

After many years as a freelancer, I was part of a team in an office again. And it reminded me that I thrive as part of a team, and still want that.

I liked belonging. Being professional and supportive. Working together on a raft of 5 smart people in a sea of words, to end up with the best possible product.

I hoped to join the team permanently. The work was meaningful. The organization's reach is remarkable, from helping feed the hungry to supporting immigrants. It seemed I was going to be hired--that was alluded to many times--but then, after a 6-month budget review, I was told that the writer position would be restructured and would not be filled at that time.

I was sad and I mourned this loss, like the huge blow it was. My heart sunk straight down to my Tory Burch wedges.

I am still grateful, of course, to our friend Celia, who heard about the need for a writer and told me right away. I earned money to pay for our family health insurance, heating oil, mortgage, phone bill, groceries and many other necessities. I earned money for Punch to join Dan on his work trip to San Francisco. I bought a knee-length winter coat after many years of jackets.

I also found some style wins in our Sutton Place neighborhood, brands I didn't know. Clean Market, where I got my trendy Keep Cup and met Goop products up close. I discovered the pretty pink Sweet Laurel cookbook there, and even the California bake shop's chocolate cake mix and special take on vanilla extract [made with tequila]. I found delicious New York pizza on First Avenue--perfect Mama's red sauce, melty cheese. I got to know some shops in Grand Central Terminal--Vineyard Vines, the food market, Warby Parker. And I passed the A La Mode Ice Cream Shoppe, with its adorable pink and white striped awnings, twice a day. That's the nut-free ice cream brand that Little Daisy Bake Shop stocks in Montclair!

I got to know others at work, not just on my team but in other departments, too. Almost to a person, they were kind and cheerful. Smart. Talented. I loved working with the two twenty-something people on our marketing team. I liked the clergy members in our midst, too.

I liked pitching ideas. I'm good at pitching ideas. I'm good at my craft of writing and editing, and getting along with people, putting them at ease, connecting with them.

I have empathy, important when talking to people in need, and writing their stories.

From October to December, I wrote pitches for The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund campaign, an annual and venerable effort that helps many New Yorkers. It runs in the newspaper and online from November into January. I worked on a team, primarily with my manager, researching and writing/rewriting pitches that we submitted to the NY Times team. They were getting pitches from several charitable organizations, so our goal was to send in compelling stories.--and get help for clients of Catholic Charities.

To be honest, by the time I left, the office-atmosphere tide had changed.

As I move on and trust that another door will open, I want to put links to some of my Catholic Charities writing here. I am also moving on to my essay assignment for another client.

NY TIMES NEEDIEST CASES FUND [We wrote the story pitches; NY Times reporters followed up with the clients and wrote the published articles.]
https://catholiccharitiesny.org/news/taekwondo-gave-2-children-outlet-it-gave-their-mother-break

ARTICLE IN NY TIMES ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
https://catholiccharitiesny.org/news/new-york-times-neediest-cases-reporters-help-raise-millions

FOSTER PARENTING
https://catholiccharitiesny.org/news/help-wanted-open-your-heart-and-your-home-fostering

ANNUAL HOMELESS COUNT
https://catholiccharitiesny.org/news/catholic-charities-new-york-hosts-hope-count-panel-discussion

EMBRACING BLACK CATHOLICS
https://catholiccharitiesny.org/news/embracing-black-catholics-changing-diverse-community

Must move on to essay. Thank you for being there.

With Age, Laugh Crinkles--and Wisdom

The older I get, the more I appreciate the BIG little things on my birthday.

I once received--and sent--a lot of birthday cards. I lined them up on my kitchen counter in Ocean Grove.

Now I get only a handful.

I have some laugh crinkles around my eyes and two deep furrows, worry lines, between my knitted brows, from years of serious pondering and concentrating. But gifts--I have such gifts.

I am so grateful for Moey's texts and for talking to her today. For Sis, her card, seeing her yesterday and taking a short, brisk walk at Greenwich Point with our little dogs and Punch AND for the lunch she and her friend treated me to in NYC today. For the sweet card from co-workers. For what Dan just carried in...I haven't peeked yet, but it looks like pretty things with green stems. For Elaine bringing a tray of homemade manicotti and a fresh loaf of Italian bread to the door.

For the striking sunset I saw from the 5 pm #66 bus heading home, black and white reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show" and a family coming together as best it can to sing "Happy Birthday" to me over berries and whipped cream. For the single pink taper in an angel candle holder...

I may need a dab more eye cream.....and a lot more hair color....but I still feel young.

Good night to you.

TCOY

1. Salon blowout at 9 am.
2. Important work interview today. I visualized walking in with so many people behind me to cheer me on--Dad, my grandmothers, Sis, Punch, Fig, Dan, Moey, Patsy, my friend Sarah. I also had the tiny silver rosary beads in my handbag--the ones my grandma Rosie brought back from Rome, and a crystal from the CALM collection Patsy sent.
3. Nice hot shower.
4. Good coffee, brewed by Dan.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET MONDAY & TUESDAY

• MetroCard refill, $6.
• Cookbook at Felidia, the restaurant where we lunched on E. 58th Street. It's the beloved flagship restaurant opened decades ago by Chef Lidia Bastianich. The 2019 cookbook, called Felidia, was at the front. I arrived first and well, the rest is history. I plan to make recipes from it. With tax, $38.11.
• Duane Reade, peppermint Tic Tacs, $2.17.
• Staples, made fresh copies of updated resume and crisp, colorful ones of some magazine clips, $17.28.
• Staples, white squishy clay for Punch, $3.72.
• Sunny Daes, Stamford, ice cream in waffle cone for Punch plus $1 tip, $7.25. Wow, that's $$.
• Milk, $5.
• Salon blowout for interview, plus tip, $45.
• Salon, purse-size tube of hand cream, $2.40.

total spend for Monday and Tuesday: $126.93.

ongoing monthly spend as of Jan. 21: $2,525.69.

avg daily spend: $120.27.

Visions of Sugar Plums

I feel happy. I like shopping and gifting.

Due to a glitch, I'm still waiting for my still-freelance paycheck, so I can't dig in full force yet. And Christmas is one week from today! But I'm told the check will be printed tomorrow.

Dan received a big [to us] check for a magazine article, but we had to pay dreary things like the mortgage, car insurance, money owed to his brother Mike, who kindly floated us a loan so Dan could take Punch to San Francisco when he went on that work trip in October [plane fare, hotel, meals, etc.].

I couldn't wait any longer for a couple of things because they were going, going, gone. The contributions for the teachers at Punchy's school were due today. A small discount code at a fabulous French bakery in NYC--for something I was shipping to fabulous friends--expires today.

So that took a little bite out of Dan's check, too.

I am still at work! Have to get going. Have a good evening. Worried about Punchy's finger, which she slammed in a car door when going ice skating Friday night. We thought it was okay but school nurse called with concern today, on the fence about whether it should be looked at. Since Dan is the one in home/doctor domain now, he tried to get an appointment but could not get through for hours. Don't know if staff was out at holiday party or the snow squall threw things off. But Punch texted me photos of her finger to ask about appointment....she was also in nurse's office when the nurse called.

TCOY

1. Yogurt.
2. Peppers.
3. Water.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Bus fare, round trip, $15.30.
• Duane Reade, 2 Greek yogurts and a water, about $5.
• Holiday gift contribution for "related arts teachers," meaning Spanish, dance, etc., $15.
• Ditto for "House teachers"--the middle school kids are divided into houses of about 100 students each and there are about five teachers in each house, $50.
• Cafeteria lunch, $6.
• Cafeteria, two big, beautifully iced holiday cookies to decorate our windowsills at home [or be eaten by Dan and Punch], $6.
• That lavish French bakery gift with shipping to keep it fresh, $59.10.
• Small bag chips, $1.

Total  daily spend: $157.40.

Ongoing spend for month as of December 18: $2,346.41.

Average daily spend:  $130.30.

Friday-Morning Quarterbacking--& Dan’s Work on NewYorker.com

DAN'S ARTICLE
Hi. Please click link above for Dan’s report on how child abuse deaths are not accurately tracked. It’s important data to see the light. Proud of him [can’t lie, also wish I could write for them some day in some way].
I know this is a grim, very grim topic for this glitter-and-eggnog time of year. My list is filled with items like fresh white ice skates for Punch [unless her friend gives her a hand-me-down pair today] and perfume and art supplies for Figgy. But darkness in families, especially around Christmastime, is tangible and real. Dangerous and painful, sharp and caustic.
I say this from experience, and I know I’m not alone.
A prayer for peace this Christmas. My team [the tight-knit one I work on] "adopted" two NYC families--each consisting of a single mom and a teen girl--to gift with winter coats, hats, scarves, gloves, PJs. We are all going shopping for the items at lunchtime today. The $75 Dan and I are giving to that is the most meaningful gift on my long list.
Writing again what vanished last night:

TCOY

1. Ate a clementine at my desk. Tiny but mighty delicious and fragrant.
2. Ice water.
3. No donut when box at office.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Bus, about $7.85.
• MetroCard, $3.
• Cathedral High School Christmas fair raffle tix, $20.
• Cafeteria lunch, $6.50.

Total daily spend:  $37.35.
Ongoing spend as of Dec. 12: $1,882.13.
Avg daily spend: $156.84.

December 2 Already

An old photo of me and Figgy. My hair looks awkward; hers looks professionally curled.
She must have been in middle school. My dear Figgy.

Back to work today...but then Punchy's school day shifted from delayed opening to no school....and we got the poor girl up at 6 am and sent her trudging to the bus stop on the corner at 6:59....then we found out. Fortunately, Dan was home with her because I had to go to the office.

My managers were great. At around 2:30, when the snow swirling outside made it feel like we were in a snow globe, they told me to pack up and finish writing at home today and likely tomorrow.

I hope to get to bed early. Still tired from that looong drive from Maine yesterday.

TCOY

1. Walked 1 hour 15 min total in NYC today
2. A few spoonfuls Greek yogurt.
3. Ice water.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Yesterday, gasoline, $7.
• Yesterday, Starbucks coffee in my refillable cup, plus small tip, $3.
• Donation on way to subway, man playing instrument, $1.
• Today, from here to end of this list: Duane Reade, 1/2 gallon Horizon organic whole milk for office coffee [the business provides the coffee, I bring my own milk] plus 50 cents donation to help fight hunger, $5.99.
• Cafeteria lunch, $5.50.
• Grand Central Market, bag of Eli Zabar mini brioche rolls, $7.50; Murray's Cheese, havarti with dill, Velvet Bees Honey Butter, 2 quarts Hudson Valley Fresh whole milk, Vermont Creamery 8 oz. lightly salted butter log, bag of Early Bird Granola, $39.04. 
• Macaron Cafe, most delicious and ample helping of avocado toast with sliced tomato, onion and a lot of smoked salmon; dark chocolate dipped orange peels [vegan]; dark chocolate almonds; and rice pudding in a glass jar for Punch and Dan, $36 plus $1 jar tip, $37.
• Vineyard Vines at Grand Central, PJs on Cyber Monday 40 percent sale for Punch and me, $66. Hers are too small; returning with gift receipt. Mine are red plaid flannel.
• Came home early from work to find another friend here with Punch. Two friends had been here earlier baking cookies with her, and they sold them on our block, making about $20. Anyway, I got off the bus to find Punch and A. saying they were hungry, so could we order a pizza? I ordered one and garlic knots, since Fig can't eat pizza cheese. $22.85 plus tip for icy driving and icy walkway, $28.
• Phone charger plus tax, about $16.70.
• Charity donation, $10.

total monthly spend as of December 2: $226.73.

average daily spend: $113.37.