Ailantha - Blog

My New Fear Of Flying

1/22/2019

"Equal and Opposite Reactions"
By Patti Liszkay
Only $3.99 on Amazon Kindle
http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa

"Equal and Opposite Reactions is a rollicking good yarn about complex relationships and emotions in middle-class American culture. The author has created an incredibly funny romantic comedy, which transcends the ubiquitous romantic triangle and expands it into a quadrangle, complicated by the interweaving of relationships between the children of the principal characters. Cleverly plotted, twists and turns, and exceptionally well written, this part drama and part slapstick comedy is a tour-de-force. Bravo Patti."
- R. Bruce Logan, "The Narrative Arc"

My New Fear Of Flying

This Thursday, January 24, my daughter Claire will be interviewed about her medical mission work among the most vulnerable populations on the planet,

...on Windy City Live, Chicago's ABC-affiliate daily talk show.

     The other day Claire called and informed me that I was welcome to come onto the set and watch her interview from the wings. And so tomorrow I'll be flying from Columbus to Chicago.
      And I'm dreading it. The flight, that is. I'm worried about the aviation inspectors and maintenance techs and air traffic controllers who are working without pay. How many of them are calling in sick these days? How are the air traffic controllers, whose jobs are already among the most stressful of occupations, faring on the job under the added stress of no income?
         I, who have never before had the least reluctance about flying - in fact, I've always loved flying (see post from 12/27/2013, "I Love Flying"), - don't want to fly. I'm going to. I just don't want to.
          In truth, though, I feel less fear of a plane crash than shame at having to face the TSA agents. I can't stand the thought of the hardship and anxiety they and their families are going through right now. I can't stand that I'll be one of the travelers who'll be adding to their unpaid work load. I wish there was something I could do and I keep wondering what I should do when I go through security: Say something to the agents, tell them I'm sorry about all this? Buy gift cards to hand out to them? Are they allowed to accept gift cards? Would they find a gift card demeaning? Even so, what good would a $5 or $10 gift card do for someone who doesn't have money for food, the mortgage, gas, and the heating and water bills?
         I don't know how I'll be able to look any of those TSA agents in the eye. I know this mess isn't my fault, nor will my not flying improve the situation for 400,000 unpaid TSA agents, but I still feel guilty.

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The Joy Of Stuff

1/21/2019

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"Equal and Opposite Reactions"
By Patti Liszkay
Only $3.99 on Amazon Kindle
http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa

The Joy Of Stuff

Until a few days ago I'd never seen or even heard of the Netflix TV series "Tidying Up," which I guess is not surprising considering that I generally don't watch television, being myself more of a movie buff.
Hence I had no frame of reference for the following quip, which has been showing up at least once or twice a day for the past few weeks on my Facebook feed:

It was at last week's meeting of the Panera Posse,

....my group of gal pals who meet every Wednesday at Panera (see post from 7/2/2105, "Just Another Morning with the Posse"),

...that I learned about "Tidying Up" and Marie Kondo, the host of the show who apparently teaches people how to part with their superfluous stuff by having them ask themselves of every object that they own whether said object gives them joy. If the answer is "no" then the object goes.

     Actually I'm kind of having trouble wrapping my head around this approach. Decluttering I understand. You got too much stuff, you get rid of some of it, it feels good.
        I also understand about being organized. Not that I am. But I understand the concept.
       But this idea of the retention or disposal of items being based on whether or not they give one joy...that doesn't compute too clearly in my cerebral hard drive.
       I spent some trying trying to figure out why I can't relate to Marie Kondo's modus operandi before it finally hit me: Most of my stuff doesn't give me joy. I mean, I guess I like most of my stuff well enough to share space with it, but joy? That's an emotion with a lot of propulsion behind it.

In taking stock of my stuff, I’d venture to say that most of what I own is utilitarian in nature,

…with some decorative pieces to fill in the blank spots.

But does any of that stuff have any strong emotional pull for me?
Eh.

I confess that I do have a whole closet full of stuff that falls into that no-man’s land of I don’t love-it-or-need-it-everyday–but-I-need-it-a-few-times-a-year-or-I-might-need-it-someday-or-my-kids -might-want-it, to include among other things:

…blankets for when we have a houseful of company over the holidays, some spare warm clothes, my kids' photo albums,

...as well as some wedding supplies and decorations I got on the super-cheap years ago for one of my kids' weddings that I've been lending out and/or saving for any future family or friend weddings that might roll around.

Chair covers with light blue sashes. Anybody need 'em?

I don't know if Marie Kondo approves of you keeping that kind of stuff.

But is there anything among my stuff that actually gives me joy?

Okay, there is my electric water kettle. I drink tea all day long and hence I'm frequently filling the kettle with water, pressing the button, and one minute later pouring my tea. I must admit that my tea ritual sort of gives me joy. Or at least it gives me tea. Which I guess gives me joy.

And there are the LGBTQ and transgender rights flags hanging over my front porch.
Seeing those as I come and go gives me some joy,

...as does my living room lamp,

...which Tom has noted resembles the Martian invaders in the 1953 movie classic "War of the Worlds,"

...a movie I happen to own because it likewise gives me joy,

...as does my television, on which I've often watched the above movie and many others.

I do receive joy from my photo albums,

...and from my laptop, and from my blog, which I guess, technically speaking, isn't a "thing,"

...and from my book,

...and from my Mickey Mouse sweatshirt worn with my soft, fuzzy pajama pants,

...which are about the only clothes that give me joy,

...unlike the the rest of the clothes that take up my half of Tom's and my bedroom closet. In truth I see clothes mainly as something I have to put on to avoid going around naked. Every now and then some of my clothes wear out or don't fit right anymore or I get tired of them so I get rid of them and buy some new ones with no expenditure of emotion.

I likewise am not given joy by the dressers wherein reside the remainder of Tom's and my clothes. These dressers belonged to Tom’s great-aunt,

…as did our bed,

…and were passed down to us when his great-aunt died shortly after we were married forty-two years ago. I figure our bedroom furniture must be a hundred years old but is still perfectly usable and still solid and sturdy as an oak,

…as is my sewing table, which was my father’s desk in his first medical office.

But after 42 years of looking at these pieces I’d kind of like to thank them for their service then give them the heave-ho and replace them with some bright, kicky Ikea pieces which might give me joy briefly until they fell apart.

Same goes for the furniture in this bedroom. These pieces also came from Tom’s great aunt but are newer than the ones in our bedroom.

I figure from the hardware on the drawers that the dresser and vanity must date back to the early 1950’s.

In truth I’ve always found these pieces rather ponderously ugly and oppressive.

Especially the vanity.

On the other hand I’m sure they were top-of-the-line and expensive at one time. And we got them for free. And they were functional.

You could fit a slew of stuff into their big, boxy drawers.

       But now the drawers of the vanity are empty so I guess I could get rid of it.
       But then there would be a big empty spot in the room.
       And so I keep it.

As the Dude* would say,

...It really ties the room together.

I also have a number of storage pieces,

...a second-hand desk,

...a colossal armoire,

...a dresser from Tom's childhood bedroom set,

...that since all my chicks have flown the nest now sit empty or almost. But if I get rid of them the rooms will be bare and sad. Unless I replace them with other stuff.
I expect that having not enough stuff can be as oppressive as having too much.
It's probably all a matter of acquiring the right stuff.

*The Dude was the philosophical anti-hero who owned a rug which gave him joy the fantastic flick "The Big Lebowski."

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Just Don't Fly. Or Eat.

1/14/2019

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I have a trip to the West Coast planned for the beginning of February.
     At this point I'm afraid to go.
     I, who have never in my life had any fear of flying am now anxious about my upcoming flight. In truth, until the government shutdown is over and all aviation workers are back on the job with their pay - and back pay - reinstated I don't want to set foot on a plane. Because:
       1. The personnel who inspect the planes and equipment before takeoff have been furloughed. This means that nobody has been inspecting the planes for safety.
       2. Some aviation inspectors have been called back to work but without pay. The technicians who maintain the planes and equipment are also working without pay. So are the air traffic controllers. So are the baggage screeners.
        So: The techs who are doing the plane maintenance haven't been paid in weeks and either no one's inspecting their work or the inspectors are also not getting paid. That's making me nervous.
         It's also making me nervous that air traffic controllers are not getting paid. Mix the normal high pressure of that job with the added stress, resentment and frustration of not getting paid and how long until air traffic controllers start calling in sick? Or making mistakes on the job? How much stress, resentment and frustration can someone work under until they start making mistakes on the job?
        My confidence as an airline passenger is not high. Plus I feel really badly, as I'm sure most of the rest of the country does, about the hardship these people and their families are suffering and I'd feel guilty about them having to serve me while not getting paid for their service.
        But then, in a worst case one can cancel a trip and avoid getting on a plane.
        What none of us can avoid is eating, and now I'm worried about eating, too. Because:
        1. Since the Food and Drug Administration is one of the agencies going unfunded during the shutdown, food safety inspectors of foods that have a high risk of bacterial contamination - such as fruits, vegetables, seafood, cheese, and eggs - have been furloughed.
         2. Meat and poultry inspectors are still on the job but they aren't being paid. Meat and poultry inspection is a taxing job even when the inspectors are getting paid.
         So: The people who keep our food supply safe are either not there or are being expected to do their job without pay and food safety experts are now worried about outbreaks of food poisoning due to the shutdown.
          Furthermore, due to the shutdown the federal government hasn't been able to pay the quarterly $5 million water bill now overdue for the use of water at the White House.
         I sincerely hope the DC Water Company turns off Donald and Melania's water.

References:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-what-closed-open-affected-explained-post-office-irs-national-parks-2019-01-05/

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/10/air-traffic-controllers-miss-first-paycheck-1093977

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-regulation/government-shutdown-impacts-airline-industry

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/health/shutdown-fda-food-inspections.html?module=inline

https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/fda-government-shutdown-routine-food-inspections.html

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Our Border Crisis

1/12/2019

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There can be no reasonable doubt that our country is facing a crisis along our border. This fact has been verified over and over again not only by experts in the field of such occurrences, but by the the American citizens who've suffered, continue to suffer, and will suffer in the future by the effects of our border crisis.

I'm talking, of course, about the crisis along our coastline, our country's border with the sea, where in recent years cities in coastal states have been battered by monster hurricanes and flooded by subsequent rising ocean waters and behemoth rains of biblical dimension.

In 2017 and 2018 areas of Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, North Carolina and South Carolina were invaded by hurricanes that massed out at sea then grew and intensified and churned with super-charged energy absorbed from the heat of too-warm ocean waters, then swooped across our shores onto our land to wreak death and devastation so great that many people in the ravaged areas still haven't recovered their losses and some never will.

Scientific data point to future hurricanes and storm surges - the rising post-hurricane waters - getting worse, bigger, more intense, lasting longer and subsequently causing more damage and loss of life in regions along our sea border. The reason is climate change, as the ocean temperatures rise along with that of the rest of the planet.

Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, the purpose of which is to bring all nations together to combat climate change and its destructive effects on our planet.

In 2017 the Federal Emergency Management Agency - FEMA - was sucked dry by the hurricanes and lacked sufficient funds to deal with the scope of the destruction they wrought. In 2018 Donald Trump cut FEMA's budget by $10 million and diverted the money to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement - ICE - detention program.
FEMA contractors are currently not working on disaster response projects due to the government shutdown, nor is the FEMA website being managed due to a lapse in federal funding.

Tragically, the President of the United States is neglecting our border crisis.

References:
"A Warmer World Makes Hurricanes Wetter and More Intense,"
https://www.apnews.com/47d8e0bf05354260931de08ad9976a37

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-data-hurricanes-will-get-worse/

https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-season-2017-maria-irma-harvey-2017-9

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/11/femas-budget-cut-10-million-support-ice-documents-show/1274723002/

https://www.fema.gov/lapse-federal-funding-impact-fema-website-operations-notice

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/10/hundreds-fema-contractors-ordered-halt-work-government-shutdown-drags/?utm_term=.82feea36d699

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What Nancy Pelosi And Chuck Schumer Should Have Said

1/11/2019

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How it went down:

Chuck Schumer: "Why won't you open the government and stop hurting people?"

Donald Trump: "Because then you won't give me what I want. What is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier?"

Nancy Pelosi: "No."

Donald Trump: "Bye-bye."

Mike Pence:

                               How it should have gone down:
     Chuck Schumer: "Why won't you open the government and stop hurting people?"
     Donald Trump: "Because then you won't give me what I want. What is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier?"
     Nancy Pelosi: "Re-open the government. Let people get back to work and get their paychecks. Then we can talk about Border Security and a Wall."
     Donald Trump: "I said, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Yes or no?"
     Chuck Schumer: "Re-open the government. We'll talk, we'll negotiate, We'll do a deal. You'd like that, a deal?"
     Donald Trump: "Yes or no?"
     Nancy Pelosi: "Something for you, something for us?"
     Donald Trump: "Yes or no?"
     Chuck Schumer: "A DACA deal for us, some wall money for you?"
     Donald Trump: "Not 'some wall money.' $5.7 billion. I want it all. I want it all. I want it all. And I want it now. Yes or no?"
     Nancy Pelosi: "Re-open the government. Then we'll talk. We'll negotiate."
     Donald Trump: "Negotiate?!" Slams table. "I'm asking you, would you do that if you were in my position? If you would do that you should never be in this position because you'd never get anything done. Bye-bye."

      I did not give the above imagined scenario a happy ending or different outcome than that of the actual meeting which took place the day before yesterday because it's not within the realm of believability that there's anything Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi could have said - short of, "fine, we'll give you your wall money and you can go ahead and deport all the DACA kids, too" - that would have convinced Donald Trump to re-open the government.
      It's just that that it would have been far more savvy and shrewd on Schumer and Pelosi's part and more beneficial to their purposes if they could have linked arms and stuck to one consistent response throughout the meeting: "Re-open the government then we'll negotiate."
     That direct "No," on the other hand, sounded like a door slamming on the hopes of those whose lives have been disrupted by the shut down. It also gave fodder to feed the narrative of the Democrats being as intransigent as Donald Trump, even if that narrative isn't true.
     Remember that last year Chuck Shumer with Republicans Mike Rounds and Susan Collins laid before Donald Trump a bipartisan compromise immigration bill that would have funded the wall and reinstated DACA . But Donald Trump rejected that bill even though it would have given him his wall money because what Donald Trump really wanted from that bill, what he wants now from a federal budget, what he always wants, first and foremost, more than a wall, more than a functioning country, more than the security and well-being of Americans, is one thing and one thing only: to win.
        And in Donald Trump's universe, unfortunately, a productive compromise isn't a win.

Reference:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/09/trump-calls-meeting-with-chuck-schumer-and-nancy-pelosi-a-total-waste-of-time-after-he-storms-out.html

https://freebeacon.com/politics/trump-challenges-reporter-would-you-sign-dems-bills-to-end-shutdown-if-you-were-president/

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But A Wall Against What?

1/6/2019

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             Is there anyone out there who still believes that the government shutdown is about border security? Or, for that matter, about building The Wall?
             I do actually believe the shutdown is about building a wall. But not between the United States and Mexico.
            Quick Quiz: What huge Trumpian issue that has dominated the news for most of the last two years has suddenly disappeared as if sucked down a black hole? Anybody remember the names Robert Mueller? Michael Flynn? Paul Manafort? Michael Cohen? Anybody remember the Special Counsel investigation into collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government and a potential obstruction of justice charge against Trump himself?
           Anybody remember the dozens of indictments against Donald Trump’s associates, advisors and aides? The continuing news stories that investigators could be closing in on Donald, Ivanka, and Don Jr.?
          What happened to those news stories?
          In truth they’ve been shoved behind a big concrete wall of stories about a government shutdown, 800,000 Federal workers furloughed or working without pay for weeks, Donald Trump crossing his arms and standing his ground that the government will stay shut down for years if necessary if he doesn’t get $5.6 billion for his wall, and House Democrats responding that he’ll get not a penny. Or at least not 560 billion pennies.
          So where does this leave the Mueller investigation besides out of the 24-hour news cycle and subsequently the minds of Americans?
          Bonus Question: Who are the worker bees that carry out the Mueller Investigation? Which agency gathers the information, collates it and turns it over to the Special Investigator’s team for adjudication?
          Answer: The Federal Bureau of Investigation. And which investigative Federal law-enforcement government agency has been shut down and will continue to be shut down until funds are appropriated for its continued operation? Bingo.
         Granted, FBI agents, like airport Transportation Security Agency agents, are as a rule highly dedicated individuals who so firmly believe in the importance of their mission that they continue to carry out this mission even without pay. But for how long? In the past few days hundreds of TSA airport screeners have been calling in sick for work. How long until they all start getting sick of trying to put food on the table, pay their mortgages and doctor’s bills, take care of their families, their children, live without a paycheck? How long until this sickness starts hitting FBI agents, including those working on the Mueller investigation?
         Donald Trump blithely tossed out that the shutdown could go on for months or years. How many months or years would it take to starve the Mueller Investigation of its starving FBI agents?
          And so this shutdown may be politically bad for Donald Trump, though maybe not too bad if it rallies and excites his base, but it could also save him from a potential indictment if it causes not only breakdown in the government agency that’s moving his investigation along, but such a grave national crisis that there’s no time or resources to spend on a Special Investigation. This shutdown is buying Donald Trump time, maybe all the time he needs.
         Not that Congress couldn’t put an end to the shutdown and all the suffering it’s engendered among the population, not only among those who are struggling to exist without a paycheck but those who are suffering from the loss of services of the government agencies that have been shut down for weeks now. Here’s how it ends: The House approves the same budget that received bipartisan approval last year. The Senate approves the budget by a 60-vote, Presidential veto-proof margin. The Federal Government gets back to work. The workers get their paychecks.
          But Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won’t allow a Senate vote on a budget that Donald Trump won’t sign. Because Mitch McConnell has hitched his wagon to Donald Trump’s star. Or rather, Donald Trump’s Wall.
         But it isn’t a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. It’s a wall between Donald Trump and his just desserts.

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Abby And Luke's Wedding

1/4/2019

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Here's a photo taken in October,1998 of my first group of piano students after their first recital.

The little one in right-hand corner is Abby, a second-grader at the time,

...her sister Sarah, a third-grader, sitting on the other side.

I wonder how amazed we all would have been if we could have looked into a crystal ball back then and seen that a little over 20 years later we'd be at another event together,
...the joyful event of Abby's marriage to her childhood sweetheart Luke,

...her sister Sarah again by her side,

...this time as her maid of honor.

Luke and Abby were married on Saturday, December 29, 2018 in Bexley, Ohio at St. Catharine of Siena Church,

...a wonderful old building which I'm guessing from its art deco-style architecture was likely built sometime in the 1930's,

...as was also evidenced by the details of its beautiful interior,

...the more beautiful for being decked out for the Christmas season,

...and for Abby and Luke's wedding.

The brother and mother of the bride.

The bridesmaids.

The groom and his groomsmen.

The attendants,

...and the flower girls.

The bride and her father.

The wedding ceremony was lovely and heart-touching.

At one point the priest instructed Luke and Abby that from now on they belonged to each other,

...but it was clear by the beautiful light in their eyes that they already knew this,

...as did we all.

The reception was held at the Creekside Conference & Events Center in Gahanna,

...a stunning venue,

....with a great picture-window view of downtown Gahanna.

In the vestibule was a table set with cards on which the guests could write their good wishes and words of advice to the newlyweds.

Servers brought around trays of yummy hors d'oeuvres,

...pesto-stuffed mushrooms,

...and lamb topped with fig and tomato,

...while the guests socialized,

..sampled more appetizers from the cheese and fruit table,

...and let me randomly snap their pictures.
Sisters of the bride,

Vince and Kathleen (see post from 10/23/2016)

As the sun set the view from the picture window became more magical,

...until the magic moment when we entered the dining room,

(which offered pretty views of Creekside Plaza below),

...the guests were seated,

...and the wedding party arrived.

Greg and Birdie, parents of the bride.

Lisa and Mike, parents of the groom.

The father of the bride welcomed us and offered a blessing before the meal, then we ate.

Dinner was a lovely buffet.

After dinner there were heart-felt speeches given by the best man and maid of honor,

...after which Luke and Abby cut the wedding cake.

Then they danced their first dance together,

...followed by Abby with her dad,

...and Luke with his mom,

..after which we all joined in the dancing,

... and/or visiting.

The cake was out of this world, a sort of sponge cake with a fruit and whipped cream filling,

...and later in the evening the left-overs were brought out,

...along with trays of yummy pastries.

It was a beautiful evening.

After the reception was over Abby, Luke, and their friends moved to Signatures, a tavern across across the street from Creekside, to continue the celebration.

May their celebration of this day never end.

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Two Years Later

1/1/2019

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Two years and a day ago, on New Year's Eve 2016, I, like many of my fellow human beings who must share this planet with one another, each of us for whatever our designated time on its surface might be, was still in a state of shocked disbelief that

this person was going to be President of the United States, the most powerful position on the planet.

     I was still trying to cope with the surreality of what I thought couldn't happen here actually happening here, but on the last day of 2016 I was mostly afraid. I was gripped with fear and anxiety for the future for my country and for myself and those dear to me with our welfare in the hands of a seemingly spoiled, greedy, self-centered capricious, amoral, impulsive, irresponsible, vengeful bigot who would have the control of our nuclear arsenal under his twitchy thumbs.
      To help myself cope I made a New Year's Eve resolution to stop ruminating about what might happen but rather to take the coming year one day at a time and in one year from then, the last night in December of 2017, to look back over events and recall where our world was at the beginning of the year and see where it was at the end, which, really, was all I could do.
        2017 came and went with our country and the world the worse for wear on so many levels after a chaotic year of Donald Trump at the helm, and yet on the last day of 2017, though we seemed closer than ever to a nuclear war with North Korea, I and everyone I knew was still alive and doing as well as we'd ever done and the acute anxiety I and many others had been gripped with a year earlier had devolved into more of an ongoing state of anxiety-tinged general malaise and disgust as Donald Trump dominated the news daily with his divisive and dangerous antics. We were still on edge, but the edge had been dulled from over-use.
On the last night of 2017 I once again made the same resolution as I'd made the year before, to take 2018 one day at a time, and on the last night of December 2018 to look back over the year's events and recall where the world had been at the beginning of the year and see where it was at the end, and in the meantime to do what I could, in my own little way, to make it a better place.
       And now another year of President Donald Trump has come and gone and here we all are on the first day of the new year, still here. My tiny patch of the planet is still intact. I'm still plenty worried about some things: the environment; climate change; our crumbling national infrastructure; Trump's trade war; the National Debt that has sky-rocketed under Trump's careless, needless tax cuts for the rich; the alienation of our allies; North Korea; and mightily enraged about others: the plight of asylum seekers - especially the suffering children - at our southern border; the criminals, liars and sycophants Donald Trump has put into positions of power and influence and as his aides and advisors; the rank chaos, greed, corruption, and ineptitude that reign in Donald Trump's administration.
      But I'm still here, my internal knots of fear and anxiety from two years ago loosened on the ever-turning wheel of day-to-day existence, and no longer finding myself still having to shake off the disbelief that Donald Trump is actually President. The surreal has become real.
      And I'm also more hopeful than I've been on the past two New Year's Days that Donald Trump will be either be reined in by Congress and our Justice Department or self-destruct before he can bring about the total devastation of our country and/or World War III.
      And last night, in the final hours of 2018, I did not even feel the need to make my previous New Year's Eve's resolution to take a deep breath and take day at a time, such was my hopeful optimism that in a year from now life as we know it will still be going on.
       Happy New Year, Everyone.

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The Christmas Eve Bread Pudding Challenge

12/30/2018

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...Continued from yesterday:
In truth, there's not a whole lot in the way of entertainment in the small town of Seaford, Delaware. Even the closest movie theater is half an hour away in Salisbury, Maryland.
But what the town lacks in other diversions it makes up for in eating establishments, which one can find aplenty in Seaford, especially those of the cozy comfort food diner variety,

...the kind with the refrigerated cases at the entrance filled with mesmerizing
desserts.

It was at a couple of these diners that we took most of our nourishment over our Christmas vacation, as my mother at 98 years old is still a big fan of eating out,

...her favorite eatery being the Stargate Diner,

...a homey place with a friendly ambience owned and run by the nicest family.

On Saturday night we had dinner at the Stargate, where we were welcomed by the staff, who know my mother well, she being a frequent customer.

The food was, as always, good and plentiful,

...one of my favorites being the Maryland Cream of Crab Soup.

I also had my other favorite, the Eggplant Parmesan over angel hair pasta with the best garlic toast.

The others had among them,

...Chicken Scampi,

...Chicken Parmesan,

...several ordered the Broiled Tilapia,

...and the girls had their favorite, plates of buttered spaghetti.

As it turns out, the Stargate now includes a free dessert with dinner, among the free options being:

...ice cream,

...rice pudding,

...and my favorite, bread pudding.

However my daughter went outside the free box by ordering the pecan pie,

..as did I by ordering ice cream with my bread pudding.

After dinner we came home and had a piano lesson before bed.

The following morning, Sunday morning, we were back at the Stargate for breakfast,

...where I discovered to my wonder and delight that one could get two eggs, pancakes, and a pile of home fries for $2.99,

...which was to become my go-to Stargate breakfast from then on.

The others ordered various combinations of standard breakfast fare,

..except for Tom, who opted for the slightly more exotic creamed chip beef over a biscuit with sides of sausage and scrapple, a traditionally Philadelphia breakfast meat-esque product, though exactly what it's made of nobody is quite sure. However Tom thought it was good.

After breakfast my mom and I ventured to Walmart for a shopping trip,

...and so, it appeared, did everyone else in Seaford.

We spent the rest of the day at various occupations,

... Justin, for example, taught my mom, a Bridge enthusiast, how to play 21,

...until dinner time rolled around, at which time my mom proposed that we try the Golden Eagle Diner,

...which had been recently rebuilt,

renovated,

...and re-menued,

...so that in both ambience and food offerings the Golden Eagle now so closely resembles the Stargate,

...directly across the street from which it is located,

...that I thought the two restaurants must be owned by the same family.
But no, it turns out that the Golden Eagle is owned by a different family, a Turkish family, also very nice, one of whose members likewise came over and greeted my mother, as my mother often patronizes this place as well.

So here we are at the Golden Eagle Diner,

...where we met up with my daughter Claire and her hubby Miguel after they drove in from their disappointing day in Washington D.C. where they'd hoped to visit the national monuments and get their National Parks and Monuments Passport books stamped,

...but which were closed because of Donald Trump's shut down (see post from 12/26/2018).

The food at the the Golden Eagle, much like the food at the Stargate, was good,

...I went with the salad bar,

...and the Chicken Alfredo, which came with some great garlic toast.

Like ts counterpart across the street, the Golden Eagle also offered a free dessert with dinner, the choices being rice pudding, bread pudding, chocolate pudding or ice cream.

Once again I went with my favorite, bread pudding, with a scoop of ice cream. It was très yummy.

   Now, it so happened that there were among us several bread pudding aficionados, and we got to discussing the merits of this bread pudding versus the other great bread puddings we'd had in the past.
    I then put myself on the line by claiming that I made the best pudding of them all, and was immediately given the challenge of putting my money where my mouth was, so to speak. I took up the challenge and promised to prove myself by making a Christmas Eve bread pudding the following night, wondering even as I spoke if I should have just swallowed all my big bread pudding talk.
    We started off Christmas Eve morning back at the Stargate,

...after which I was obligated to make a quick trip to the grocery store to buy my bread pudding ingredients,

...and also for the ingredients for the apple crisp that Tom and I decided to make for dessert along with the bread pudding for Christmas Eve dinner,

...we all having decided that it would be nice to have a big Christmas Eve dinner at home.

Meanwhile we spent the day working,

...playing,

...wrapping last-minute Christmas gifts,

...relaxing,

...and getting started on dinner,

...until it was time for all hands to report to the kitchen galley for dinner duty.

Me working on my bread pudding challenge.

A couple of the kitchen workers pilfered some of my bread pudding whipped cream to fix fancy apéritifs,

..but I won't say who.

Then the food was ready, the table spread, grace said, and the Christmas Eve feasting began.

Oven-fried chicken,

...green beans almondine, shrimp, tortillas,

Mexican vegetables,

...avocado.

Then it was time to serve dessert,

...apple crisp,

...and my bread pudding, which I feared that I had perhaps injudiciously bragged about.

I held my breath (figuratively) while waiting for the verdict on my bread pudding.

Everyone said it was the best bread pudding ever. Miguel said it was a magnificent bread pudding that could only be improved by a topping of praline pecan sauce.
Alas, the only toppings I had to offer were ice cream and whipped cream.

     But I plan on learning to make praline pecan sauce for my next batch of bread pudding.
     Mayhaps everyone was just being polite about my bread pudding being the best.
     In any case, here's the recipe for my bread pudding (this amount is good for an 8"x8" pan. Double the recipe if using a 9"x13" pan):
     Patti's Bread Pudding
   2 eggs
     2 cups milk
     2/3 cup sugar
     A shake of cinnamon
     4 cups bread, cubed
     1/4 cup raisins
     1/2 an apple, peeled and cut into small, thin slices
     1/4 cup almonds (or more if you like almonds)
      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
      Grease an 8"x8" pan. Put the bread cubes into the pan.
      Beat the eggs, mix in the milk, sugar and cinnamon. Pour liquid over the bread, let stand until soaked. Stir in the raisins and apple. Top with almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the bread pudding is firm. Serve hot or cold.
        After dinner everyone sat around for a bit,

...then we sang Christmas Carols.

On Christmas morning, while some of the grown-ups went to Mass, the children played patiently while waiting to open their presents,

...borrowing a pair of nurse Auntie Claire's plastic gloves to play Princess Doll Hospital.

After the others arrived back from Mass we fixed our traditional Christmas morning breakfast feast,

...after which it was finally time for the children to open their presents,

...which included, of course, LOL Dolls (see post from 4/26/2018).

In the afternoon the kids got a game of poker going,

...followed by a board game called "Don't Wake Daddy," which, judging from the squeals of delight and dismay of the players, seemed to be quite exciting.

That evening we had Christmas dinner, our final dinner together,

...at the Golden Eagle.

This time I opted for the rice pudding for dessert.

And, while it was quite good, I would match my own rice pudding against this and any other rice pudding. This time I didn't say anything about it, though.
After dinner we said our good-byes to my daughter, son-in-law, and the children, as they were leaving for Baltimore that night since they had an early flight back to Los Angeles in the morning.

And the following morning, December 26, the rest of us said our good-byes.
However, after my mother left for her daily Mass,

...the rest of us headed over to the Stargate for a final farewell breakfast before we went our separate ways, my daughter and son-in-law heading to D.C. to catch their flight to Chicago,

...and the rest of us heading back to Columbus.

Ten hours later we were home.

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Gingerbread Houses, Paper Castles, And Fairy Princesses

12/28/2018

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...Continued from yesterday:
On Saturday morning we made another round of gingerbread houses.

When I packed the gingerbread kits to bring to my mother's I worried that my grand children might not be interested in making more gingerbread houses, as we'd already made one on my visit with them last month in Los Angeles.

I needn't have worried.

After we finished the gingerbread houses I gave the girls each an early Christmas present,

...animal face sticker books,

...from which, after they used the stickers to put faces on the animals, they tore the pages out to make the walls of a pretend castle.

Since they'd already built themselves a castle, I decided to give them another early present, princess dresses I'd found back in November on a Halloween clearance rack,