Frozen Cat

Way back in the day, around 1980 or '81, my now-ex-husband and I were living in Woodbridge. One day, after a snow not unlike what we just experienced here in 2009, he went outside and found a frozen cat in the yard. He picked it up by its tail and brought it over to a window for me to see. Poor thing!

The reason I relate this story now is that yesterday my orange fluffy cat named Sassafrass was nowwhere to be found; I was worried the same fate as the frozen cat had been visited upon him. In my non-thinking way, I mentioned the frozen cat to my 10-year-old son, NOT THINKING that it might upset him quite a bit. He didn't show it, but last night, I found him at our desk in the bedroom writing. He turned to me, a little shyly, and said, "I just have to get it out." He was writing about the frozen cat.

Here's his poem, which he calls "Frozen":

The cat's body
may be frozen
but its spirit
is frozen to
our hearts
imprinted like
a metal bar
burned on
your cheek
while being
locked away
it may escape
for the soul comes
and stays
you may
never forget
the snowstorm
that tried to
put it away
that prayer
comes and goes
all around the world
and it all started
with the snowstorm


Gave me shivers. After I read what he wrote, I was happily able to tell him that our cat, Sassy, was safe and sound in his house in the garage and definitely not frozen.

**The photo above of Sassafrass was taken soon after my daughter rescued him (and three other cats) from a bleak existence at a home overrun with animals, all with fleas and underfed.

Unleash Your Inner Diva

You know it's true; your lifelong dream is to stand before a crowd of screaming fans and belt out a true diva song, like "Cry Me a River," or "Strangers in the Night" or "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." Okay, maybe an image of Evita with her arms outstretched is stretching it, but you know what I mean. Scratch that. Make it "Blue Moon" instead.

If you're like me, you sing a lot, in the car, in the shower, or just in your head. I have found a way to unleash the inner diva in me with the help of Susan Boyle.

You remember Susan Boyle, correct?

"Britain's Got Talent" suprise of the year?

A woman weighed and measured immediately by her looks by everyone in the arena and found wanting, who then stunned the audience when this beautiful voice flew out of her golden throat. It is doubtful there was a dry eye in the house. A wake-up call to all in attendance.

Susan Boyle was and still is a hit sensation and has released a CD entitled, "I Dreamed a Dream." Pick this one up as soon as you can; Susan has a glorious voice and I only wish I could keep up with half of her singing ability, but I have fun with it. Her cover of "Wild Horses" is breathtaking and she covers songs made famous by Madonna and the Monkees, too.

I understand from liner notes that she chose these songs because they all mean something dear to her. A great selection of mostly familiar tunes that will have you reaching deep down and pulling out your own inner voice. So, if one day in the not-so-distant future finds you toodling down the road and you pull up to a woman of a certain age driving a black Benz station wagon and she's wailing at the top of her voice, you will know that you have found me and that I am channeling Susan Boyle as we travel our separate paths together in Diva Land.

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/flash/vdo.asp?VDpubID=520245&popupclose=0

Soup's On, Baby

Before tonight, I had not fully realized my own personal connection between good energy and good food. Nor had I realized how strongly those experiences can affect me.

Tonight, in my cramped little kitchen, I created a meal that felt really good and the people with whom I shared it made it just that much better. Just a few hours earlier, I decided to hold a dinner party tonight for a little Hanukkah celebration. I felt I owed Gary one since I was so mopey during the one we went to on Sunday. Went shopping, started preparing the meal, and voila! It all came off without a hitch.

Preparing the meal was enjoyable, even making the "Israeli Salad," (Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest Cookbook--that's what is getting all the oohs and ahhs in the photo, above), which has many ingredients that all need to be chopped into small pieces. Took a while, but the end result is an amazing melange of color and taste. I even tried a new latke recipe ala Martha Stewart and poured a lot of my love into the whole meal.

I remember seeing a movie, "Like Water for Chocolate," and loving the story, most of which takes place in the homestead kitchen. A young girl finds out early in the story that she is to be her mother's caretaker as she ages and that she cannot marry while carrying out this important duty.

As she learns to become a great cook, she finds out that her emotions are relayed to people through the food she prepares; if she is sad, the people who eat her food become despondent; if she is happy, they smile and laugh; and, in a great scene, if she is feeling very sexy, an all-out love fest occurs.

That's the way it felt with my friends and family tonight; actually, we all felt like family. It was a good match friend-wise around the table. No stress for me at all in trying to relate to everyone; it was so easy. Gary and I have been talking about opening our home more often to our friends and this dinner was a good way to start doing just that.

My belief is that if I can fill my life with these types of get togethers, then the ones that don't feel so good, for whatever reason, can go the way of water off a duck's back. I can work to take the emotionality out of stressful events and be present while I am there, knowing that they are temporary uses of my time.

Tonight brought back the warm feeling of sitting around a big table, sharing good food and wine (and doughnuts) and stories, enjoying the company of those around me, and feeling like we could stay around that table forever and it would be just fine.

Deck the Halls (and Roadsides)

So, those of you know know me know that I absolutely abhor those blow-up Christmas decorations that adorn many a fine brown lawn this season.

I get my cheer from other things, like the nativity scenes randomly placed about on our main roads. There's one right in front of a furniture store that grabbed my attention recently.

Don't ask me why I noticed, but that Joseph is looking pretty hot! Wow. Couple that with his sweettalking ways and no wonder that birth of Mary's was immaculate. At the same gathering, one of the wise men, ahem, kings, is hanging around on the edge of things, solemnly and very seriously staring down at a bunch of empty hay. What's up with that? Too much frankincense in your myrrh, your highness?

On yet another stretch of asphalt holy ground, I hear there is a nativity scene with two Josephs and no Mary; I may have to plan a road trip to see that one.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Feeling Aged

Sitting down to an actual dinner with my family is a rare occurrence. But when we do, it's nice to jaw about the day or whatever is on our minds. For our dinner last night, I brought out some new cheeses for us to try as our dessert course.

I had been to Wegman's earlier in the day to see my daughter for lunch and then did a little shopping afterwards. One of my favorite sections is the cheese department; I like to try new cheeses, but tend towards the milder flavored offerings.

The two I picked up were a Quadrello di Buffala and a Tallegio Ca'De Ambros, both from Italy. As I said, both were mild and we all decided that the Buffalo was sharper, but still good. But we LOVED the Tallegio--we were all over that cheese.

I mentioned to my son that he has tried more different cheeses in his ten years than I had in my first 45 years of life. "Really?" he asked innocently. "Didn't they make cheese when you were a kid?"

People Who Live in Glass Houses

Free Will Astrology

Rob Brezsny's Astrology

"I don't normally recommend that you worry too much about what others think of you. In 2010, however, you could benefit from thinking about that subject more than usual. Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect that you'll be able to correct misunderstandings that have negatively affected your reputation. You might even have the power to shift people's images of you so that they're in relatively close alignment with the truth about who you actually are. Here's the best news: You may be more popular than you've ever been."

Okay, sometimes this guy, Rob, really freaks me out; this horoscope is too appropriate and hits it right on the head. How cool.

Personally, I think the only reason I might be more popular in January is that I'm bringing two freakingly wonderful musical shows to town; other than that? Meh.



*disclaimer: I borrowed this from some obscure site; the obvious grammatical error and typo kills me, but I'm using it anyway. Sorry.