Day 249 - Sept. 22
Listening to: Another One Bites the Dust
Thought for the day: Food is our common ground, a universal experience. ~James Beard

CITY HOUSE

Remember when I said that I can always tell a restaurant is going to be good if there are cookbooks on a shelf? Let’s recap. So far I’ve spied cookbooks at The Yellow Porch, Eastland Café, AND NOW…………..City House! These are City House’s cookbooks. The cookbooks………. they do not lie.

City House was the destination of our Wednesday night dinner group………well, half of us. The half I ended up with? They are all full blooded Italians. City House is an Italian eatery. If you have never eaten real Italian food with real Italians, you really need to try it. FO REAL. Their appreciation for City House’s exceptional Italian food was so intense it seeped into the food itself. In other words, my Italian friends LOVED City House which intensified my appreciation.

The dishes sampled at my table included eggplant caponata, pizza with house-made belly ham, mozzarella, grana padano, oregano, and chilies, a pasta dish with conchiglie, crowder peas, potato, side meat, tomato, grana padano, and linguini with tomato, garlic, chilies, olives, parsley, and bottarga. You will not go wrong with ANY ...OF.... THESE!

To top off the meal we ordered two desserts and shared. Typically, the Wednesday group does not do dessert, but after hearing that City House’s pastry chef was recently featured in Bon Appetit…………well DUUUUH…………..we had to try it. Sharing the desserts was the icing on the Wednesday night dinner group cake experience!

On the Shelf:
The River Cottage Meat Book
Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey
Naples and Campana
Cornbread Nation
Pork and Sons
Cooking By Hand
And some book with a spoon on it

http://cityhousenashville.com/menu/

Day 250 - Sept. 21
Listening to: September
Thought for the day: I don’t really remember what I’ve done on any specific 21st of September.

I feel like my life derailed a while back…………..not necessarily a bad thing mind you. I’m sure I’ve done my fair share of derailing other’s lives as well…………….also not necessarily a bad thing. Guess what? That makes me a derailed derailer just like the derailed derailer in this photo.

Speaking of derailing……….. I am going to derail this photo blog………………………………..right………………………..now.

Last week I learned that when you cut a finger or toe off, it is referred to as a derailed digit (thank you Tracy P). I also learned what to do if I ever derail a finger or toe. I thought I knew what to do, but I would have been wrong had there been a need to retrieve a chopped member prior to reading this article. So get some popcorn, pull up a chair, get comfy, and read what to do if a body part falls off. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/16/things.fall.off/index.html?hpt=T2

Okay……….time to get my life back on track.

Day 251-Sept. 20
Listening to: I Wear My Sunglasses at Night
Thought for the day: Hello, my name is Kris and I am a board-aholic.

In this photo you basically see what my view was tonight from 6:30 until 9. I am the recording secretary for the McGavock Band Boosters. Prior to this lovely Mcsecretarial assignment, I was vice president, then president for two years, and now am on my second year as recording secretary.

As I sat listening to various questions, plans, blah, blah, blahs tonight, I thought………….. ………..on top of my Mcboard activities, I’m also the president of the Veterans of Old Hickory Memorial Park and have served in the capacity of secretary at some point in time for the DuPont Hadley Middle School PTO, Lakewood Dixie Youth Baseball, Old Hickory Youth Football League, Old Hickory Chamber of Commerce, HUMC Communications Committee, and the union at work. I HAVE A PROBLEM!!!! It’s board mania!!!! They’re all volunteer positions. Hmmm……..the former CEO of DuPont makes major coin serving on various boards. Why can’t I be that kind of board-aholic? I’m thinking the make-bank board positions require horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. I’m only in possession of a very tainted halo. DURN.

Day 252 - Sept 19
Listening to: Bad Mama Jama
Thought for the day: A small key opens big doors.

If you don’t know already, I live in Old Hickory Village. The Village was built in 1918 under the supervision of DuPont (my employer) to house the workers employed by the powder plant. I’ll spare you the history, but here is an article describing the village’s construction that is absolutely fascinating. http://www.dupontalumni.org/articles/article28.htm

I have lived in the village for 14 years now and something has been bothering me. Not many of the houses still wear their original front door. I have counted four houses displaying the original entryway. One of the four is featured in my photo today. My observation is based on the documentation and photos relating to the village houses that I have access to via DuPont.

Where did all of those doors go? Door heaven? Door dump? ...........and.....Why would so many people swap out the door? It’s an attractive design. It has been said these houses would survive a nuclear blast because they were built so well, so I can’t imagine the front door being faulty on so many houses. The houses these days have doors that are solid, have big heavy lead window designs, or look like the door featured in Bewitched…………..why I noticed that door as a child is beyond me. The Bewitched door has a half-circle window at the top with the spokes in it. My front door was not only replaced but moved to the other side of the house.

This is one of those mysteries that I will never have an answer to, but I can always wonder.......

Day 253 - Sept 18
Listening to: Thriller
Thought for the day: Gatorade. H2O. Gatorade. H2OHHHHHHH.

Nic Passomato, Tsar of Gatorade brewing, has been mixing up this electrolyte elixir for the McGavock High School marching band for over 20 years now. He spends one week every year (during band camp) hydrating parched kids. He helped me make Gatorade today during the band’s day-long rehearsal.

I have been making Gatorade for the band during regular rehearsals AFTER band camp for five years now. Naturally, me being a young ‘Rade renegade, I started talkin' schmack at Nic during band camp this past summer claiming to make better Gatorade than him. This schmack has resulted in the birth of the 2011 “Gatorade Off” which will occur during next year’s band camp.

I’ve have started preparing for the competition by mixing flavors, strengths, and other liquid ingredients. The kids know about our Gatorade rivalry and are beginning to get involved in the process. It is becoming a game for them to guess what is in the mixtures I serve.

The photo is of one of today’s mixtures. It is comprised of mostly orange Gatorade with a splash of grape Kool-Aide and a splash of lemon-lime Gatorade. Tsar Nic and I decided it looked like poo water or sewer water. The kids decided it was “orange tootsie roll” flavor. Hmmm………..poo water vs. orange tootsie roll…………I think the kids need to be in charge of marketing the 2011 Gatorade-a-rama.

Day 254 - Sept 17
Listening to: a fly trying to escape
Thought for the day: For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it...............even if it doesn't beat very fast.

I performed my stress test today to see if the prognosis of my next-to-death-low-heart rate is indeed Grinchitis.

Before the test began, the nurse asked me to raise my shirt so she could hook me up like Frankenstein. When I lifted my shirt, she said, “You must work out.” I could feel my Mcdonald’s Happy Meal-sized flab hanging over my shorts, so I’m not sure what she saw that said “this person works out.” What kind of people does she see on a regular basis?

She took my resting heart rate and ooohed and aaaahed over how low it was.

Then, I got on the beastmill. At first, I was like, “I got this….I got this…..this is easy.” I did fine reaching 85% of my max heart rate, but when we started to move to 100% I knew I was in trouble. I never made it to 100%. I plateaued around 90%. I could have stayed on longer if she would have let me run. Why is it so hard to walk fast on a big incline? Telling me not to run was like telling a woman in labor not to push. I lasted 11 minutes. She said most people only last 4. I’d like to say I felt superior, but I didn’t. I felt sick. I stopped and bought a box of chocolate covered raisins on my way back to work.............. for medicinal reasons……………it helped.

WHEW………..don’t know the results. The nurse thought everything looked normal. There appears to be no permanent damage from all of the heart stompin’ I’ve endured in my life. I have faith the doc is gonna say the same thing!

Day 260 - Sept. 11
Listening to: Fire and Rain
Thought For the Day: I still remember……..

I spent time today, like the rest of you, lamenting the events that occurred nine years ago. I remember each pivotal moment (there were many). One distinct thing I remember was the eerie quiet the engulfed the skies as the FAA grounded all airline flights.

Americans have tremendous passion about September 11, 2001. I wonder if that passion will persevere. Before you give me an adamant “YES” stop and think. As a country, we still acknowledge the day of infamy that blasted our country into World War II. However, the majority of my generation does not have a passion for it. I know the importance and sadness of Pearl Harbor, but it seems more like a movie to me than a real event. I have no reference points. I can’t share with people where I was standing when Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war against Japan. Over 2,000 Americans perished at the hands of a foreign entity on American soil on December 7, 1941. Yet, most people I know don’t invest themselves emotionally in December 7 like September 11.

Will the generation of 2070 react toward 09/11/2001 like my generation reacts toward 12/7/1941?

Day 261 - Sept 10
Listening to: Levon
Thought for the day: If only I had a heart, a brain, and a kick-ass pair of red shoes……..

Last week I went for a physical. My heart rate was 39. This beggarly beat landed my butt in a cardiologist’s office today. When the cardiologist’s nurse took my blood pressure she told me she couldn’t find my pulse with the stethoscope. I started thinking, “OHHH EMMMM GEEEE……….I am the freaking GRINCH!!! I KNEW IT!” I glanced down at my skin to make sure I wasn’t green. She then took my pulse, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Your heart rate is low.” I said, “Give me a box of cookies and we can remedy that right here, right now!” I know this because I have experience in consuming large quantities of cookies.

Then, the doctor came in, listened to my heart and told me I had a slight murmur. He proceeded to describe my murmur in terms that made my heart sound very much like a slow toilet trying to flush its contents. Despite a toilet for a heart, he declared me healthy. I have to jump through one more medical hoop before his ruling is official. A stress test has been scheduled to confirm what he suspects...........that I have a heart that is a turtle in the race of life…………..or a slow-flushing toilet!

Day 262 - Sept. 9
Listening to: Tijuana Taxi (yeah, I know....)
Thought for the day: duh-dah dee dee dee dee deee.........

I spent a large part of my morning watching Tweets and Facebook posts pour in celebrating the opening of a new building for Room In the Inn, a temporary shelter for the homeless. The homeless have been on my mind all day, so it was a no-brainer when I saw this guy on the corner what my action would be. Today, I followed in the footsteps of my friends Tracy, Russ, Keeley, and my own daughter in supporting The Contributor, a newspaper designed to help the homeless. It’s not just any ole paper. The homeless themselves write the articles, assemble the paper, and sell it on the Nashville streets. The cost? A mere dollar. My selected vendor was a perfect gentleman with the most genuine smile. I'm not worthy.

Teach a man to fish………

According to Tasha French, founder of The Contributor, every dollar donated translates into almost $9 of income.......all going directly to the homeless and formerly homeless. The best news though is that the program helps get the homeless off the streets. The stats say 29% find housing after selling papers for more than a month. The number goes up to 35% after 3 months of sales!

For more information, please visit both

www.nashvillecontributor.org
www.roomintheinn.org

Day 265 - Sept. 6
Listening to: The Promise
Thought for the day: Without labor nothing prospers. ~Sophocles

I turned to Wikipedia to find out what the LLL acronym on this bumper sticker represents. I was shown a slew of options. When I was in college, we had our own LLL club. It stood for Loser Loser Loser because none of us seemed to have firm goals. Despite the negativity of it, we laughed a lot about our circumstances. Loser Loser Loser wasn’t on Wikipedia’s list. Their suggestions for LLL included low-level lighting, La Leche League, Leisure Suit Larry (like this one), Lifelong Learning, Love’s Labor’s Lost, and Lurk Listen Learn (many of my Facebook friends). I believe Leisure Suit Larry would have belonged to our college LLL club!

For today, LLL means Life, Love, & Labor Day! If it weren’t for my mother’s cooking, Labor Day might just kick Thanksgiving to the number two spot on my list of favorite holidays. I mean, think about it. There are no expectations, no Lifetime sappy holiday movies to make me feel like a Loser Loser Loser, and it’s a reminder that I am grateful to be employed even if I do not have my ideal job. Basically, it’s a day to be Lazy Lazy Lazy! I Like Like Like!

Day 269 - September 2
Listening to: Giving All My Secrets Away
Thought for the day: It does not suck to be you!

I’ve noticed an abundance of my Facebook friends have had moments and/or days this week that just basically SUCKED. You can blame it on the suckconomy, suckolotics, suckazoids, suck-eeps, or just plain sucky global warming. My guess though is that you’ve endured suckatosis because you don’t own one of these supersucker trucks! Wonder what the plain sucker truck looks like. Seriously, wouldn’t it be cool if you could take a supersucker truck and suck up everything that sucks? It would be SUCKTASTIC…………..no disease, no poverty, no war, no catastrophes………. There are two problems with this idea. When catastrophes happen, it’s as if someone places a ginormous magnifying glass on humanity as we see people rush to help one another. Would we see this side of our species if everything bad was sucked up in the supersucker truck? Secondly, who is to say that some of the good stuff wouldn’t get sucked up with the sucky stuff. That would really blow.

To all of you who have had a sucktrocious week, I’ll pray for you. May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.

Day 270 - September 1
Listening to: Last Dance
Thought for the Day: Thank you Wednesday for treating me with kid gloves.

The Black Pearl at Black Jack Cove

I told a friend of mine about my plans to play tennis on Tuesdays and golf on Thursdays when I get old and his comment was, “in between you have what do ya eat Wednesdays!” My Wednesday night dinner group chose to return to the Black Pearl at Black Jack Cove for our weekly jaunt into restaurantland. We have logged four trips to the Black Pearl. It is a keeper.

They've parred down their menu which isn't reflected online yet. Tonight, I ordered the special which was jerk chicken marinated in some kind of slap yo mamma sauce served on top of dried tomato pesto laced mashed potatoes. It was a bit too spicy for me but nevertheless was tasty and the inventiveness of it was greatly appreciated. Be forewarned that there is a Corps of Engineer charge on every bill (designated as COE). My charge was 78 cents……….. a mere pittance to pay for such a peaceful place.

One note of interest: there are little baggies of water randomly placed along the deck. Each bag contains one shiny penny. The waitress informed us that these little baggies bid flies farewell. Skeptic that I am, I checked it out online (http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/flies.asp). I still don't know if it's a legit fly repellent or not. I can say without doubt not one fly asked me for a bite.

http://www.blackjackcove.com/

Day 271 - August 31
Listening to: I Will Survive
Thought for the Day: As long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive.

I allowed garbage juice to seep into a crack in my attitude today, so basically I had a bad day. Thankfully the pavement pranksters that I work with left me the gift of a roadside tribute to my commitment to play tennis on Tuesdays and golf and Thursdays when I get old. I can SEE my future!

Truth be known, this image is a good pictorial description of where my head was today. I had a tennis ball in one eye and a golf ball in the other: both objects grossly obscured my perspective on life. Thanks to some crazy coworkers though, I did have a smile on my face briefly ……………..just like my personal pavement parody.

Here’s to tomorrow. Here’s to waking up in the morning with no obstruction to my vision on life. Here’s to seeing clearly. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow WILL be better.