five seven five

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suitcase plane travel
Ireland and Tanzania
cousins godmother home

Today's Think Kit blog post prompt:

Five Seven Five

Write a haiku (or...multiple haiku!) about the past – whether it's a year ago, a decade ago, or from childhood. If you want to, give some background information about your simple scene. And then – write one that paints a picture of the present, or predicts the future.

Some people can whip out a haiku at the drop of a lotus blossom. 

Not me. 

It took me all day and a lot of counting on my fingers to come up with this one. 

I think it sums up 2014 pretty darn well for me. 

See you next year! 

travel

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Selfie snapped immediately after landing I arrived in Dar es Salaam 

Today's Think Kit blog post prompt: 

A Single Word

What one word sums up the past year? Now: unpack, unfold, and uncover it. What does it represent? What events float to the top when you think about your word? And, okay, if you can't limit yourself to a single word...use a (select) few

This was the easiest prompt so far! With out a doubt my single word was TRAVEL. The sentence "Now: unpack, unfold, and uncover it" resonates - I literally unpacked my suitcase, unfolded my clothes, and uncovered new adventures all over the world. 

2014 was a grand year! 

kitchens and conversations

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Today's Think Kit blog post prompt: 

Goin' Places

What place stood out for you this year? Outdoors or indoors; a huge gathering or a tête-à-tête? Where were you? Who were you with? What feeling did you have when leaving? Were you inspired? Refreshed? Or...confused and glad to be gone? Whether it was exciting...or awkward: give us a hall pass out of our own room for a few minutes.

What? Choose just one one place that stood out this year? Yikkes! 

Actually there is one place that stands out - my godmother's kitchen in Morogoro, Tanzania. We had spent the day running errands and we were chatting as she prepared our dinner. 

Janet shared stories of her life as a young Sister and her Mom's visit to Tanzania and her childhood. I loved hearing about the journey the beautiful Ebony Crucifix she gave me years ago made from Tanzania to Indiana (with a tour of England in between) and seeing her beautiful face on the cover of a Maryknoll pamphlet from the 1960s. 

Spending that afternoon chatting with her was exactly what I'd come to Tanzania for -to be able to stand in her kitchen and have casual conversations and just soak in her life. 

See the corner of the rug on the right side of the photo above? I brought one just like it back with me and it is in front of my kitchen sink. Every time my toes touch that rug I am transported back to that glorious day. 

sixty-five

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Midtown Indianapolis, Indiana, meets Musoma, Tanzania

Today's Think Kit blog post prompt: 

A Dash Of Thanks

What are you thankful for? Maybe it's from this year – or maybe it's something in your past that resonated with you recently. And – we hold people, places, and things in equal regard: a sense of gratefulness can take many forms.

My HUGE dash of thanks is for all of the amazing travel that I got to do this year. I was healthy enough, I had the financial wherewithal (thanks in part to a grant), and had a job (jobs actually) and generous co-workers that allowed me to be gone for so long. 

Here is a rundown of my travels: 

January/February - 16 days in Ireland.
May - 4 days in St. Pete's Beach, Florida for a cousin's wedding.
July - 28 days in Tanzania
October - 8 days in Colorado for a conference and visiting friends.
October - 3 days in St. Pete's Beach, Florida for a godson's wedding.
November - 6 days in Sanibel, Florida with my brother and his family. 

That's 65 days of travel!

How incredible is that? 

weird.wild.wacky.

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 Today's Think Kit prompt:

Weird. Wild. Wacky.

 
Time to get weird. We want to hear your strangest story from the last year (or more). Will it make us raise an eyebrow or three? That's what we want. Whether it's a tale of colliding coincidences, a strange Saturday you just can't shake, or if it makes you squirm just to remember: get weird.

It always bugs me when people say that something "restored their faith in humanity."

My faith in humanity is firmly in place, thank you.

Although I do enjoy an occasional fabulous reminder.

This story starts with a trip to Florida for the wedding of one of my godchildren. Dad was generous and sprung for the airline tickets and hotel.

We flew out early on a Sunday morning, which was perfect for me. I worked at the Red Key on Saturday night, got home at 3:00 am, showered, zipped up the suitcase, and left for the airport. Sweetie and I rode together and parked in the long-term parking.

I sent sister Beth a text letting her know we had arrived. She said that she and Dad were still at the Farm. I was getting a little worried, but figured they had it under control.

S. and I took the shuttle to the airport, checked our bags, and had breakfast at Cafe Patachou. Beth and I had been texting back and forth but I assumed that they were in route. I asked Beth how far away they were and she replied that they hadn't left yet. I started to panic. It was now 5:30 am and our flight was at 6:40 and they were 45 minutes away.

Side note - I think the airline tickets should reflect what time they want you at the gate. I've found that boarding typically starts at least 30 minutes from the flight time.

Anyway, back the Farm, Beth insisted that Dad hustle it along, that they had to leave. Right now.

They parked in short-term parking and made it to the gate - they were the last ones on the plane, but who cares!

The flight had assigned seats. Dad was by the window, I was in the middle, and a poor man that weighed at least 350 pounds was in the aisle seat. Beth and S. were behind us.

As you can imagine the man in the aisle took up all of his seat and then some. Dad isn't a big man, but he's one of those guys that sits with his knees wide apart and elbows out. I tossed my messenger bag under the seat in front of me and only opened it to get headphones for S. I had to sit with my arms crossed and my hands gripped to the sides of my thighs to keep myself squeezed together. .

I tried to fall asleep - I'd been up almost 24 hours at that point but kept getting jabbed by elbows and knocked by knees on either side. I even suggested to Dad at one point that I thought it was in good form to let the person sitting in the middle to have use of at least one of the armrests. He didn't take the hint.

I'd just dozed off for about the tenth time when Dad started throwing his elbow in earnest, rooting around in his pocket for something. I had to squeeze myself closer to aisle guy while Dad dug around in his jacket. He finally found what he was looking for.

A hard-boiled egg. Already peeled and salt and peppered.

And smelling like a hard-boiled egg that had been in his pocket for a couple of hours.

He finished the egg and handed me the paper towel that he'd stored it in. And started the digging though his pockets dance again.

A banana.

He kindly handed me the peel when he finished. By now people are looking around to see where the smells are coming from and I'm sitting there red faced and red handed with a banana peel in my hand.

Finally the flight is over and aisle man attempted to get up (did I mention that his wife didn't sit next to him, but was in the row in front?) and planted his cane firmly on my foot. I yelped and he crashed back down. I wound up pushing on his bum to help him to his feet. After he was safely out, I looked over to see Dad struggling with his shoes. He'd taken his penny loafers off and was having a hard time getting them back on.

Since we were the last people on the plane I suggested that he just carry the shoes and we'd deal with it in the airport. We deplaned, found the proper baggage carrousel, and I planted Dad in a chair so he could put on his Birkenstock sandals. The fact that he brought two right shoes is the story for another time.

My friend Ann (mother of the groom, daughter of this guy) picked us up at the curb. I was sitting in the way-back (third row) of the beautiful van she'd rented listening to the chatter and felt myself relaxing. It was a beautiful morning and all was well.

I saw the toll bridge ahead and I reached into my bag for my wallet. I had plenty of cash. I'd stopped at the bank machine the day before and it had been an exceptionally good tip night at the Red Key.

My wallet was not in my bag. MY WALLET WAS NOT IN MY BAG!!!

I tried not to freak out too much in my way-back seat. Maybe I'd dropped it in the van while climbing into the seat. No such luck.

We arrived at the cute independent hotel and while the rest of the group headed to the beach I dumped my bag in front of the office. Lip balm, Kindle, camera, phone, the bag of plugins and cords, tissues, coins, lint, everything but my wallet landed on the steps.

The last time I remembered having it was going through security in Indianapolis. I called the lost and found in Indy and they connected me with TSA - no one had seen it. I called the Tampa airport and they hadn't found it either, but told me to keep calling.

The only way to report it to the airline was via an online form which I was attempting to do on my phone. I submitted the report and got a nice auto-reply that they would contact me if anyone turned it in, but they were not looking for it.

How the heck was I going to fly home two days later with no ID? How was I going to eat and shop with no money or credit card? And most importantly, how the heck was I going to have a drink on the beach with no cash?

I calmed down a little bit remembering that I had a passport at home that could be FedEx'd to me - after I got someone to break into my house, of course. I checked the TSA website and learned that they can make exceptions for folks that have lost their ID. It is helpful if you have someone traveling with the same last name (yay Dad!) or have a web presence that includes your photo (yay for the uncommon name of Nora Spitznogle!). And I realized that I could access the scan of my passport that I'd sent to my godmother.

I joined the group at the beach lamenting that I didn't have any money to buy a beer, but it turned out to be too early to drink anyway (not in my mind, but Florida law doesn't allow sales before noon). We took a walk around the neighborhood and Dad slipped me some cash to tide me over.

The four of us wound up at the delightful Tequila Mockingbird, the guys at the bar watching football, Beth and I soaking in the sunshine and a cocktail outdoors. I was flipping through facebook on my phone and saw that I had a friend request from a woman named Danielle. We didn't have any mutual facebook friends but she looked like a real person and I somehow thought that she was the niece of one of my Philadelphia friends so I accepted her request.

Lynn and Karen, two delightful women that were also there for the wedding, joined us and we had fun laughing with our new friends in the sun.

I popped inside to check on Dad and S. and visit the washroom. I met Beth on the way back and she said that she had exciting news to tell me when we got back to the table. I walked outside to Lynn and Karen laughing and telling me how exciting it was that my wallet had been found!

While I was inside, Danielle had called Beth to tell her that she had found my wallet!

Danielle found me on facebook (another yay for the uncommon name of Nora Spitznogle) saw that I was in St. Pete's Beach -- Beth had tagged me in a photo -- and messaged me to say that she had my wallet. But none of the messages showed up on my phone so she contacted Beth!

How amazing is that? We made arraignments to meet in a Publix parking lot the next day.

Her story about finding the wallet was even more wild. She was on the next flight after ours. Her seatmate found the wallet (the same color of grey as the carpeting) and after determining that it didn't belong to any of them stuck it in the seat pocket. Danielle peeked in the wallet, looked at my name, and saw all of the cash. She gave it to the flight attendant, who put it in her pocket.

Danielle Googled me using the in-flight WiFi and saw where I was - her home town. She asked the flight attendant what would happen with the wallet and she explained that she would take it to her home base and it would get mailed from there. Danielle told her that she was heading back the next day and could deliver my wallet in person and the flight attendant gave it back to her!

How wild is that? She was able to get my wallet back to me much quicker than if it would have gone back to Pittsburgh (or wherever).

Danielle was as sweet in person as she was on the phone - I can't express how grateful I am to her!

I picked up a little token gift and I intended to give her some cash also, but she wouldn't take it.

I hope that I can do something just as amazing for someone soon.

And in case you're wondering, I ditched the grey wallet for a bright red one.

a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

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under the mosquito net, Morogoro, Tanzania. 

I am a last-minute participant in the Think Kit blogging challenge. I tried to blog everyday last December, but it fell apart for various reasons....mostly because December is busy with work and play and obligations and holiday panic, blah, blah. 

But I really want to start writing again. I still write the music column for the Broad Ripple Gazette, but I've let other writing opportunities slide and I don't like it. 

And this year I have plenty to write about and need to capture those stories before they have totally left my brain. 

So here we go. Again. 

Day One prompt: 

Nothing like a strict word count to kick off our month of blogging...just kidding! Share your year in photos. Was there a moment of unrestrained happiness? An unexpected encounter? What role do photos play in your life – were you more selective with your phone (er...camera) this year? Or are you the King of Selfies? Dig into the deeper meaning of a moment frozen in time.

I'm all about the photos and think that the idea of selfies might just have been invented for me. In previous years I took an extraordinary amount of feet snapshots - so many that they have their own label on this blog. 

I moved away from photographing my feet when I discovered the whole selfie thing. Or maybe because I lost weight and figured out the right angle to tilt the phone to hide the double chin that I was born with. 

I embraced the foot photos again this summer when I spend most of July in Tanzania visiting my godmother. I started wrapping up my day with under-the-mosquito-net facebook posts. It was a great way to reflect on the adventures of the day and there is great comfort and safety in being  under a net. 

Tucking the net in makes going to bed intentional and marks a clear end to the day. Going to bed at Chez Pez is fluid. I get up to find the charger for my phone, up to get a glass of water, up to double check the lock on the door, up to start laundry, up to grab another book.....

I think I should add a mosquito net to my Christmas list, I think I'd sleep better. 

+++++

So what is old is new again....photos of toes, blogging, and hoping to make it through the month. 

I'll see you tomorrow. 

and, I'm off....

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I've landed in Denver, driven to Colorado Springs and had a lovely nap since that photo was taken this morning.

I could have slept all evening, but made myself get up so I wouldn't be wide awake at 3:00 AM. I worked both at Second Helpings and the Red Key yesterday and only had three hours of sleep before leaving for the airport.

I'm in Colorado for a conference until Wednesday and am looking forward to seeing my Weight Watchers friends this weekend. I hope to visit college friends in between but haven't gotten organized enough to confirm plans. Sleeping though the the decent hours to call anyone didn't help.

Good night, sleep tight.

ireland here we come!

So. I'm going to Ireland later this month. Mom is traveling with me for the first week, and then I'll be joined by my sisters, their husbands, and Dad. 

We invaded AAA today to book the tickets. If the chaos and noise that was part of the airline ticket purchasing are any indication, this will be a raucous trip! 

 Cheers! 

www dot weight watchers dot wheeee!

Chicago Camp '61

You might remember that I lost weight five years ago. And I gained most of it back. I gained it so slowly that I barely noticed. Unless I was bare - then it was obvious. 

Since April I have lost over 20 pounds. I'm even lighter than I was five years ago, mostly in thanks to the women pictured above.

Weight Watchers is a great program - as it turns out healthy eating, portion control, and increased activity are the key to losing weight! Who knew? 

Actually I did know, but I needed to be held accountable.

But the thought of attending another meeting makes my head explode. I have seven standing meetings each week, and several other monthly meetings - board meetings, church meetings, neighborhood meetings, committee meetings - you get the picture. 

One day I dipped my chubby toes into the Weight Watchers online community and stumbled across a wonderful group of women all born in the same year. And what a diverse group we are: nannies, nurses, FBI personnel, college administrators, teachers, payroll specialists, homemakers, cable industry execs, and all sorts of fun and inspiring women. I made instant friends!

It is fascinating, but we don't talk about food or our weight as much as you think we would. Since we all have a common point of reference - being 52 - we talk about everything under the sun. 

Several of us got together over the weekend. People flew in from all over the country and spent the weekend together in Chicago. I was lucky enough to drive up on Sunday to soak in their goodness. 

It was great to meet so many of them in person - and I think we're all just fabulous!

click your heels

Phoenix Airport, Southwest terminal 

I guess there is no place like home, but sometimes you want to slow the process down a little bit - and not by having your flight delayed by two hours. Luckily I got a text alert before Annie dropped me off so we were able to goof around a bit more. We peeked in on the yoga class that Tim teaches at a local park and photographed some fun murals and signs downtown.

This sign is for a pest control company. I need to download the photos from my camera, these are the cell phone versions.

Rooster on the side of a bar.

While I loved the bonus time with Annie, it was a long damn day. I went straight from the Indianapolis airport to my Red Key waitressing/cooking shift. Luckily it was busy enough to keep me from falling asleep.

foreign state fairs and snickerdoodles

Me as Martha Midway, the Arizona State Fair mascot 

I couldn't believe my luck. The Arizona State Fair was happening in Phoenix while I was in town!

My conference ended after lunch so Annie and I spent the afternoon running errands, baking cookies, and taking a necessary nap.

I don't want to say that I was disappointed, because I have a special place in my heart for State Fairs and the states that still have them. But there's no place like home, really.

The open class culinary depart consisted of three lonely cases tucked in the corner of the commercial building. The other open class division had more entries. Like Indiana quilts were popular. There were other interesting entries that you don't see in Indiana- gemstones and Native American crafts.

The 4-H projects had a little bigger presence, although this is THE culinary display. I comforted myself with the fact that Arizona only has 15 counties vs. Indiana's 92, although I'm not sure if the State Fair 4-H projects funnels through the counties like Indiana's does.

There were several cool exhibits. One to fallen Arizona soldiers that was sad and lovely and a whole space dedicated to an exhibit of giant electronic bugs with the requisite photo opportunity.

I'm not a corn dog eater, but the addition of bacon does make it more appealing. The usual Fair foods were represented with some ethic twists.

Indian Fry Bread tastes suspiciously like an Elephant Ear. The Indiana State Fair is 'dry.' It was odd to walk by tents selling Bud Light.

And there was a rocking face painter somewhere on the grounds.

I'm glad that we went and I loved spending time with Ann and Tim. And it's always nice to return home feeling smug about something about your home state, especially when you're leaving sunny Arizona and fly into cold and dreary Indiana.

poptarts for grownups

Ann and Tim and I went to dinner tonight and explored one of the downtown Phoenix's newest restaurants/pubs, Angels Trumpet Ale House. I had a great salad to balance out the homemade potato chip appetizer and this tastes better than it looks dessert.

The homemade poptart featured a pumpkin/ginger filling and warm vanilla icing. May I suggest pairing it with the Lefthand Milk Stout beer?

We had a grand time on the outdoor patio looking a dogs, chatting about our lives, the neighborhood, and other exciting topics. On the way out we were lucky enough to meet the owners. I wish I lived close enough to check out TV Dinner Tuesdays.

summit

I'm not a big conference goer. I've never had a job where conferences are a big part of the working culture. In the last few years I was more likely to be a panelist or presenter than attendee.

It is exciting to be with other organizations who do similar things to Second Helpings, although none of us are exactly alike. For instance of the agencies attending the Catalyst Kitchens Summit we are the only ones who use all rescued food. And our training program is the shortest, at ten weeks.

I'm soaking in tons of information and ideas and hopefully sharing best practices that others can use. Day One has been great, although I'm not used to sitting still this long.

pork belly and belly laughs

I've been quite the traveler this month. Only five days back from Austin and I'm gone again. I flew to Phoenix yesterday after work. I will be attending a conference and I'm lucky enough to get to stay with my dear sister, Ann and her darling husband, Tim.
I spent most of today napping, reading, and of course catching a few episodes of Law and Order. A dream day, really.

Annie and I ventured to Old Town Scottsdale for happy hour at the delicious Citizen's Public House. The food was great and a little fancy. We sampled three dishes - the Pork Belly Pastrami (served on rye spaezle with a Brussels sprout sauerkraut - Bernie's Mac 'n Cheese (Gorgonzola, Emmental, Cavatappi, and chilled tomato relish) - the Original Chopped Salad (corn, couscous, smoked salmon, asiago, pepitas, tomatoes, arugula, and currants).

Once I got over my "lipstick on a pig" thoughts of dressing up pork belly, mac 'n cheese, and salad I really enjoyed the food. My Sidecar cocktail was delicious too.

I have to say that my very favorite part was not only being with Ann, but that her friend who works at CPH joined us. I just loved seeing Ann laugh and have fun with adult friends. She and I are enough apart in age that she was in junior-high school when I went to college and she's lived in Phoenix so long that the paths of our friends don't often meet.

A lovely evening of pork belly and belly laughs.

slingin' beers and flippin' burgers

Red Key Jukebox 

There is a cause and effect of going out of town for a week for me - three jobs to be covered. I have plenty of vacation time at Second Helpings, but between wrapping things up to leave, answering e-mails when gone, and catching up when I get back, I can quickly feel overwhelmed. I think I did I good job this time of balancing everything with the day job this time.

One of the consequences of being off last Saturday and needing this Saturday off, I had some shifts to make up for the folks that graciously covered for me.

I raced from my first day back at SH to working at the Red Key last night. And I'll do the same thing tonight. While it felt a little stressful, once I was there it was okay. I love the routine of taking orders, delivering their drinks and cooking their food and taking their money. There is satisfaction in seeing a task done from start to finish.

And I can sleep later, right?

wrapping it all up

Scott Avett

Here is my recap of Day Three of the Austin City Limits Fest.
http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/austin-city-limits-festival-2012-day-three-recap/

I can't wait to do it all again!

home again home again

Me. Austin Airport 4:30 a.m. The only part of me that was fit to photograph

Yawn.

My flight was at 6:00 a.m., which meant getting to the airport at 4:30.

Bleck.

I had a great time in Austin and it was nice to spend almost a week away from work and mowing the grass and doing laundry and the day-to-day business of being Nora.

For my re-cap of Day Two of the Austin City Limits (with photographs!) click here: http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/austin-city-limits-fest-2012-day-two-recap/

over.

My favorite shoes are staying in Austin.

Sorry Austin.

It has been a great vacation. I heard at least nineteen bands and watched at least twice as many Law and Order episodes.

The week was a nice mix of music, writing, watching television, and napping.

Between the flurry of wrapping up work and getting ready to leave town and the slight pressure to get the photographs edited and recaps written, not to mention the hours spent at the festival I was still a little tightly wound.

Today was the day of true relaxation. A lovely steak and a whiskey made it seem like vacation.

Just in time to pack and set my alarm for 4:00 for a 6:00 am flight time.

It was fun while it lasted!

decompression

Today was spent finishing one book and starting another, watching three Law and Orders in a row, napping until my back hurt from laying down so long, and a trip outside the house to see my friend uber-talented Stanley Smith play in at the delightful Elephant Room in Austin.

Can't think of a better way to start my vacation.

panic

I left for the airport straight from work today.
It was weird to see my suitcase sitting next to my desk.

I don't know about you, but sometimes it is more hassle to get ready for vacation than it seems worth. It spent the whole day concentrating on getting the things on my list done - and I did it!

Made it to the first plane in time, and am now enjoying a two hour layover in Chicago. I'm starting to relax already - nothing to do with my dinner of an Irish whiskey and popcorn, I'm sure.