January ends

When things are going right - things are going right!
The last days of the great Southern Seasons January sale is coming to an end. Not to miss my last opportunity to shop for some bargarins, I could wait no longer. My favorite Sour Cherry jelly was out of stock, but the Ginger Preserves I use for sweetening salad dressings and dipping sauces was in stock. Of course one must look about just in case, this case finding a bottle of Espresso Martini Mix (2 Tbsp. 65 calories). As I write a tall glass with ice, vanilla vodka, vanilla soy silk, and the mix are chilling on my desk. The flavoring is just right, not too sweet and not to bland and the coldness of the vodka is perfect. Of course purists will want to strain the ice and serve it straight up, I'm not that perfect. And I do not even like coffee. Another perfect day at Southern Seasons.

Second blessing of the day. The winter term for OLLI Ballroom dance classes on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon has begun. Some of the students have asked for more practice time, the lessons are great but we have no place to 'just practice.' The director of OLLI solved that problem in quick time. OLLI rents classroom space in the education wing of a reform congregation in Durham - a space that just happens to have a Commons Room, which just happens to be empty on Thursdays from noon to two in the afternoon. Perfect solution.

Why a weekday? Most people would expect to dance evenings and weekends when it's party time. Not retirees. OLLI folks like dancing to add to their workout routines for keep limber and fit but most do not like to drive at night and lack the necessary energy after the dinner hour. So we dance in the daytime [before some grandparents have to pick up grandchildern after school], whenever we can find a floor that is not already occupied. Since Dear Hubby gave me an iPod and I now have a sound/dock companion, hours of dance music are in playlists that afford us great dance-able tunes [Fox Trot, Swing, Rumba, Shag]. How bad is that? OK, it's not sex, drugs and rock 'n roll but we've been there, done that.

There's more. My step-son is enrolled in a Graphic Design degree program at a west coast college. Last week I pulled nearly all of my used design books (Photoshop, composition, color theory, etc) and packed a box 'for his inspiration' to ship west. One of his classes is History of Graphic Design, the history part being the most problematic for him. Here's where my graduate degree in the History of Decorative Arts will prove handy. Thinking "what would I include if I were teaching history of graphic design" work began on an outline covering mid-nineteenth century to mid-twientieth century. The more I wrote, the more ideas came to me and before long I had a three-page outline and that's just the bare bones of the subject, I left out lots!

I encourage him to think of me as a 'weekly coach' and call me once a week to discuss his class lectures and the outline (which may be 30 pages by the end), and hopefully secure for him a respectible grade. What would his teacher say? Knowing his history-knowledge void I expect that any help he can get will be better than none; and yes, HE still has to do the library research and study. I can only coach him so far. The outline took a good deal of time but the exercise was challenging.

Lastly, we had an hour-long East Coast Swing lesson tonight in Carrboro and I got a tremendous workout. Whew! what upbeat energy this class has. We finished the last of a four-session Beginner class and are ready for the next level in February. It's a stretch for dear hubby as he has band practice from 3-5pm, but somehow we manage to get home for dinner soon after 7 pm. What's a late dinner? Cooked apples and oatmeal. Any dancer will tell you that dancing and eating a heavy meal is impossible. Another good reason to keep dancing.
bb

Dance, dance....

Found just the email I've been waiting for - the fifth (5) couple confirmed for the Level One Ballroom class; and the dancerCIZE is all set with 11 paid participants - so far. I may have #12 next week. And the 4th and 5th cabins for the January Caribbean cruise are, or are about to be, booked. Britt and Truby Max have found two other singles, so each has a roommate and ones that dance. Wonderful, Wonderful...the fall term is shaping up.

At the moment I am testing an Espresso Martini - trying to duplicate the one enjoyed on the Alaska cruise. 'Googling' same got me dozens of hits; but I prefer this one from Italian Cooking and Living on foodtv.com.

1 shot freshly brewed espresso
1/2 ounce Kahlua
11/2 ounces Stolichnaya Vanilla vodka
3 espresso beans for garnish

I bought Vanilla vodka but I'm using Creme de Cacao instead of Kahlua. This time. Next time I'll try another version and I skipped the bean garnish (?). The bartender on the M.S. Oosterdam could whip this up in a flash and it was so smooth and cool after an intense gym workout. I know what you are thinking: I don't drink. True. But....I would like to serve this as an aperitif for Christmas dinner and I must perfect the mix-recipe first. Someone has to do it??

And besides, EF is not home. This is MY Thursday. EF leaves for an OLLI class, has lunch, gets to band practice by 3:00 pm then heads to the Carolina Club at 5:30 to have dinner in The Grill and make the Portfolio Investment Club meeting at 7 pm., coming home about 9 pm. This is MY ONE Thursday of the month to be home all alone and do whatever I want.

Jan, my sister, just left - post-surgery boot on one foot and cane in hand. Her heel spur and plantar faciitis keep her from walking and waiting for a heel procedure to heal. She left with some of my cast-off books to read during recovery. We enjoyed some iced tea with cheese and crackers - she loved the brown, rice-wafers found at Weaver Market in Carrboro! Jan is currently on the Y committee for the Silver Harvest Ball in Burlington, NC, Sunday, October 6, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. We danced there last year and I thought they did a splendid job but EF is balking at going this year. He's done with dancing (?).

The number one aim for today: REALIZED! Get into making the "fancy-scrappy-one-of-a-kind" jacket that I've been procrastinating about for months (years really). Well my long range goals are seeing progress - there's nothing like delayed gratification is there? As of this writing the sorting, editing, fabric audition and piecing process has produced the fronts (2). OF course there is still the back and two sleeves to create. The fronts are not the easiest but the most creative fun. The sleeves will be the challenge - getting the curve of the upper sleeve to fit the body of the jacket will take some effort. That and getting the sleeves long enough to have a turned-back cuff. The color scheme: why GREEN of course, actually so multi-colored with reds, yellows, blue and aquas that the whole thing will be a 'designer' model. The lining will be a pale green, chambray fabric that has been waiting eons in my stash for some purpose.

Plus I spent most of the morning Online searching "Villa Barbaro" "Veronese" and the work of Georges Rousse for the Durham Project. September 10th was the premier of a documentary film showing an French artist creating 'unusual spaces' within old tobacco warehouses. See: http://www.rousseprojectdurham.com/
This is for the Aesthetics class at OLLI. I have several questions and some questions of historical context for the professor but that can wait a week or two. I don't want to infuriate the poor man too soon....

Meantime, back at OLLI, our reservations for the OLLI Retreat at Blowing Rock, October 21-24 (Duke Fall Break), have been confirmed, as are our reservations at the WestGlow Spa for Wednesday 10/24. The NC painter, Elliott Daingerfield (1859-1932), built the house which now serves as the central lodge for guests at WestGlow (rated 7th of the 15 best spas in the world) http://www.westglow.com/. Daingerfield is one of my long-range goals: delivering a lecture [or course] on a North Carolina painter who enjoyed a national reputation at the turn of the 20th-century and has been nearly forgotten in the seventy-five years since his death. Once called "America's Millet" his works are in most major U.S. museums but who knows his name? I hope to photograph the expansive vistas that he so often painted.

Driving home on Thursday, 10/25 we may stop at Bernardin's in Winston-Salem for lunch. See: http://bernardinsfinedining.com. Why there? The fresh, grilled tuna steak on a bun is the best lunch choice, their menu offering Continental dishes with just a hint of Asian flavors. We cannot get there often but it's worth the wait.

Oops! I'm out of martini. Better see if there's any left in the cocktail shaker.
Until tomorrow, bb