Focused at Fifty

A little advice from Morticia Addams going into the New Year... We need to remember this when we see someone who does not fit into our standards of normal. I am not by any means advocating chaos, but instead, advocating acceptance to those who choose to live their lives outside of the box without the fear of repercussion.

An example of a 150 ft yacht! (Not my pic)  Back in the 90's, I used to cater in Center City Philly for an upper end private catering company run by my sister's friend Jane. I was very fortunate to work with a group of fun people at some of the swankiest penthouses and luxurious homes in Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, the Art Museum neighborhood, and the Mainline in Philly. Most of the clients were extremely gracious. You had a group of plucky 20 something waiters or bartenders working our hardest for Jane because she also became a very good friend. We wanted to see her succeed. My sister got me the "in" working for Jane and I worked for her for a good 8 years off and on. Many of these catering gigs stand out. They either involved crazy parties with drunk wealthy people, Philadelphia celebrities, or over the top parties that only that type of money can buy. One stood out in particular. I was to bartend on a large yacht moored in the Delaware River ...

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures, that were not receives well during his lifetime, but later found acceptance. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance until he moved to Paris in 1906. There he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constatin Brancusi. (source:  Wikipedia: Modigliani )  I just love the quote below and have always admired his works. The quote may seem like an off the cuff excuse, but it goes so so much deeper. Check out his works online. They are hauntingly beautiful.  Why do artists create what they create? Take the time and ask the artist! Their reasons may astound and confound you but you will definitely be amazed. Their reasons are not what you think. Remember what you see in a work of art m...

Marc, Holly, Suzanne & Maria at Suzanne's Wedding Aug 2016 It seems that tragedy becomes a right of passage during one's adulthood. It happens and one struggles to make sense of it and adapt to it. Around and around my mind goes wondering how or why did this happen? I can't wrap my head around it. Just endless thinking about the scenario wondering how it could've been prevented. It is so hard to comprehend why it happened. Just a tragic and senseless murder. My coworker and friend Holly tragically lost her life last week at the hands of her own husband. He killed her in cold blood. I write that not to shock you but to relay how cold and horrible that it truly was. The details will not be recounted here. They are just too horrible for me to say. Just know that a wonderfully genuinely friendly and lovingly silly mother lost her life. And now her two children in their 20s are without their mother. And her own elderly parents are broken and have to bu...

Not me. This guy is working! ("Hollywood Capers" 1935) HAPPY HOLIDAYS my friends! Here are just a couple friendly reminders on how to act and treat your bar staff when you are enjoying yourself out and about for the holidays. I am extremely lucky in that I rarely have issues where I bartend. I recognize that good behavior while at a bar is definitely a two way street. I will treat you with respect and I expect the same in return! Some of what is said is a lil' snarky but it's meant in good fun. This blog is also for all of my bartending friends whether they work at a local bar, a restaurant chain, catering, a swanky restaurant, a ski lodge or a hotel chain. It can be a tough job. There are some written and some unwritten rules of the bar which will make your holiday, and mine, go a lot smoother. Please don't curse. There may be kids present if the bar you are at may have a restaurant. I'll keep my mouth clean too. This seems incredibly...

like reading this again when I am settling down in the evening to write with a beer, glass of wine, or bourbon by my side. "Filled with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visitors clamber, Through the chamber of my brain - Quaintest thoughts - queerest fancies, Come to life and fade away; What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today."  - Edgar Allan Poe

"Parvin State Park" When I hike, my mind wanders. I was in the end stretch of a 7 mile hike on the Elk Trail in Elk County, PA when I thought back to one of the greatest lessons by my father that I have ever learned. Ironically on the Elk Trail, I saw no elk. I saw signs of elks: their scat, their prints in the mud, but no elk. I did see elk in pretty much everyone's front yard in Benezette and Weedville, PA though. The elk, as it seems, like to hang out in yards filled with grass, lazily munching away. Back to the lesson from my father, it was and to this day, a memorable and important one. It stayed with me because it rattled my core. My father was disappointed in me. I learned from it and he forgave me. For that I am thankful. And I never forgot the lesson he taught me. I was in Cub Scouts as a young boy. Went through the Webelos (between 10-12 yrs of age) and then onto Boy Scouts for a couple years. Dropped out. Wasn't for me. Moved on with life... ha-...

"Miss Moxie Don't Care About Adulting"   I  put up a post on Facebook this evening where I stated "Not looking for sympathy ... maybe a lil. There are weeks I just don't feel like I do ADULTING well. :( " I feel like I need to elaborate FOR ALL OF US! It's is SO TOUGH! AND .. The kicker is that I DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS!!!! lol How do YOU FOLKS do it??? With the immediate response on Facebook, I knew I needed to write a blog post about it. I've been enjoying myself so maybe the gin will help. LOL My Nana once said to me "Gin is the Devil's drink, and tonight I'm visiting the Devil!" Ha-ha, hopefully I won't be visiting the Devil tonight, just a little honesty and then bed. It is really tough being an adult or ADULTING as we say these days. SO TOUGH this week. I find myself wanting to go back to the simplicity of my 20s. Now overall I have it very lucky. I have a wonderful home, stable great (sometimes) job, and an...

Miss Moxie is not helping me. After staring at the pile of paperwork on my desk at home, I grew frustrated over my pack-rat self. I was determined to change my ways!! Time to shred and purge! I clip articles hoping to read them, collect brochures from places I wanna visit, rip recipes out I wanna make, save birthday cards from years ago, etc. My Mom saved everything so I know she is who I got this “urge to save” from. And then there are the magazines and books I think I am going to read someday... Any magazines around the house I try and toss or forward onto someone after I’ve read them pretty thoroughly. Books or magazines I haven’t read 'Im trying to be more proactive and donate them to friends, family, or a library. If I have not read those clipped articles in a year, I toss ‘em. A couple I kept and moved them from the pile to my nightstand or magazine rack in the bathroom. Ha-ha. Perfect night time or “private” bath time reading. J   ...

This has always moved me.  You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive. by Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet and activist

The Devil's Snack I had a tough commute tonight. I hit rush hour which extended my normal commute of 1 hour to just under 2 hours. It wasn't an accident thank God. It wasn't construction. It was just blasted traffic! Grrr. Not even anything crazy to look at. Prior to hitting the jam, I ended up stopping at the local quick gas/coffee/convenience store right before the highway. Picked up the necessities: gas, coffee, and a snack for the ride home. In this case, it was a 14.5 oz bag of my favorite childhood munchies, BUGLES! OH GOD I loved them!!! Well I hit major traffic and everything stopped. I had already had a handful of the Bugles. They were sitting on the passenger seat JUST STARING AT ME. I mean like just mocking me, tempting me to eat them.  Ok I just had one hand full, then another, and still ANOTHER. By the time I hit Shartlesville.... yes that's the name LOL, I ate 90% of the bag. So what did I do, I asked Google how many calories wer...

  "Miss Moxie" The writing contest for the "Marvellous Tiny Tales" has a second part which I will be entering as well. Remember from the first part, the story has to be 3 sentences long, the more odd and quirky the better! Even if I don't win, it has been a fun writing exercise. Here are the selections I have been tooling with. Let me know which ones you like. "Miss Moxie's Other Plans" While I was immersed in a favorite novel, Moxie the Cat had other plans for me that bedtime which included lounging on my chest. The book shall wait until another evening as Miss Moxie apparently is not a fan of Hemingway. She has won again. ******************************************************************************** "Country Drive" Driving with windows down through the countryside on a sunny September day, Barkley passed old stone houses, farms and fields as far as the eye could see. Up and over meandering streams and through...

"You Can Dance" I hit the gym last night and brought up this album on my mp3 player, Madonna's You Can Dance . We are talking Old School Madonna! I love the album; had the cassette and still have the CD. (As you can gather, I'm Old School, LOL.) The album was released in November 1987, the Fall of my senior year of high school. I was seventeen at the time of its release. WOW, the album is 30 years old! The difference between listening to the album in 1987 vs 2017 ... besides 30 years? Again, WOW. The difference is that in 1987, I would listen to it and dance around for an hour, not losing my breath. If I were at an under-age club, I'd be probably dancing for another 3-4 hours. Ahhh, the endurance of youth! Now in the Fall of 2017, I would listen to it for an hour on the elliptical machine or treadmill. Oh how the times have changed. After an hour on the elliptical, I can tell you I am probably breathing pretty hard, sweating bullets, and checking how man...

TIME SPENT WITH CATS IS NEVER WASTED. Sigmund Freud

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.  - Mark Twain.

"Tiny Tales"  I've entered a writing contest called "Marvellous Tiny Tales" where you submit tiny expressive stories in three total sentences. The prize? Bragging rights and a small animated movie being made to go along with your story. Criteria? Be odd, bold, and unusual. That sounds like me. LOL. My tiny stories "Dream Traveler" and "Feed Us!" are what I will be entering. Putting out my writing can be nerve wracking but why would one write if not to be read? (Private journals not included.) Anyway, here are the tiny tales and others I wrote during this project. "Dream Traveler" One steamy late summer evening in Philadelphia, Baxter fell into a deep slumber and found himself wandering down a long hallway filled with a thousand doors. Choosing one, he entered a noisy boisterous bar filled with energy and excitement as far as the eye could see.  He was feeling suddenly thirsty when a bartender sporting the curliest mustac...

Hurricane Harvey (Nasa.gov) A video interview occurred last week with a reporter sticking her microphone in a poor woman's face at one of the Houston evacuee shelters in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. It was an extremely uncomfortable moment which showed the raw emotions and pain of a woman and her family pushed to the edge by the tumultuous events surrounding the hurricane. Link to the interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Cw-J0s_-c The reporter initially did not get the obvious hint that we the viewers picked up on, other than just saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The woman kept stating, "And you are STILL putting that mic in my face." The reporter finally embarrassingly withdrew it, shaken up herself. I'm sure she regretted continuing the questioning. I also feel that it wasn't her intent to set the woman off, but it happened and hopefully she will learn from it when interviewing in the future. And by the way, ...

Pic by Scott Olson (Getty Images) This picture really got to me. This poor swimming cat, with a look of desperation on his face, just trying to make it to higher ground. I was crushed when I saw this. People are not the only ones who have been suffering during Hurricane Harvey. People's pets and other animals are also fighting to survive. The photos of these animals all have the same look of fright, anxiety, and apprehension you see on the faces of their human companions. Cowboys saving their cattle (from Houston Chronicle) From the cowboy trying to get his horse to higher ground. To the farmer searching for his herd of cattle of 90, only to be able to find 30. The others presumed dead, including many calves. To the countless dogs and cats being passed from arm to arm or from carrier to boat, all to safety. To the farmer leading a stray long horn steer who is not fighting him because he wants to get to higher ground and safety. To still another ...

My social media contacts on Facebook have grown tremendously in the past several years, partly because of me wanting to promote the blog. But I don't think it has 'helped' the blog as I've thought or hoped it would.  I'm torn somewhat but I've decided to scale back for my own sanity. I think I'm done with the acquaintance friend. I have more acquaintance friends on here from my local community which have caused me more stress than someone from Indiana who wants to be my friend  just to read my blog! And guess who will ultimately remain, the housewife from Indiana who supports my writing. I'm done feeling like I have to have an online phone book called Facebook. I will go through and see who supports the blog. That will be a big decision. Keeping family, Philly friends, high school/college friends and fraternity bros are at the top of my list too.  Time to evaluate again where this path called life is leading me! And remember, noth...

So with this day being what would've been my mother's 75th birthday, I am dedicating this laughably "garden" blog post to my dear Mom Abby. I feel she would've gotten a kick out of this post. And in retrospect, I think I will follow her gardening advice from here on in and plant marigolds and impatiens because as she used to say, "They'll survive anything!" Back at the end of April, I purchased several Flower Rockets at the local Rite-Aid store. They were on sale for $1.00 per box (that should've been my first clue) and even better yet they're... "AS SEEN ON TV!"(second clue, slapping me in the face). I have WHEAT growing on my deck... Yes, I am sometimes a sucker for that age-old slogan slapped on any merchandise. The Hurricane Spin Mop?  The Pyramid Silicone Baking Mat? The Dump Cake Cook Book!? Brett Favre's Copper Fit Socks!?!? All seen on TV??? I'll take them! LOL I'm not that bad BUT I was excited ab...