"Remember Who You Are..."

Buenos Aires First Day

2010-12-05T13:27:00.001-05:00

Finally getting around to posting photos from Buenos Aires - a gift to ourselves for our 30th anniversary. I'll give you plenty of time to enjoy each installment - I wrote out a little narrative that roughly corresponds to each day or so we spent there. One down and four to go! Enjoy.

Arggghhh...You're Under Arrest

2009-06-13T11:54:00.005-04:00

A recent Savannah Morning News article about our local police department was so unintentionally hilarious and puzzling at the same time that I had to share.

The Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department announced a redesign of the departmental insignia displayed on uniforms and vehicles. One of the reasons for the change? Get ready for this... The iconic image on the old badge (of Savannah's founder, James Edward Oglethorpe) was often mistaken for Captain Morgan. The rum bottle Captain Morgan. I swear. Here's the quote: "As for the removal of Oglethorpe's image, (Chief) Berkow said visitors unfamiliar with Savannah's history regularly equate the picture of the colonial Georgia founder with the mascot of Captain Morgan rum."

Berkow went on to say the new insignia - so generic it appears to have been selected from a movie prop department - is supposed to be "a cleaner, more professional look." No matter that the old insignia was designed in 2004 by a committee of officers from the formerly-separate Savannah and Chatham County PDs to signify the departments' merger. Only five years later it's being thrown out.

So...What did the department accomplish besides spending unnecessary money and disappointing their own officers who designed the previous badge? Having to give mini-history lessons to drunken idiots on River Street must have been enough of a burden to justify the change.

Makes you go, hmmmmm.

Good Buys!

2009-04-22T13:30:00.001-04:00

I was intently browsing my favorite shop when a friend called; I told her I was at the “crack store.” Which is the way I really feel about Two Women and a Warehouse - totally addictive. My old friend Kathy Kanis and her partner have put together a constantly-changing wonderland of new and second hand furnishings for home and garden – at terrific prices!

Here are a couple of items I recently snagged from TW&AW:(There are more, but my camera cord has gone missing so they’re temporarily trapped inside my Sony DSLR….)

	Great big baker’s rack for the porch. The finials make it a perfect match – and possibly a companion piece - to my very first furniture purchase in 1977, a wrought iron patio table & chairs. Score!
What a beautiful patina on this copper washtub! Big white hydrangeas are going in it.

Promotion without shame – I borrowed this photo montage from Cherry's...In The Garden and More, a fellow crack store fan and blogger:

And I Said I Wouldn’t

2009-04-06T17:44:00.001-04:00

We recently got a pair of chickens from our friend Rob who was movin’ on up – actually from suburbia to a darling garden apartment downtown. His two hens needed a home and Mr. C jumped at the chance. He’d raised chickens as a youngster and I knew he secretly wished to tend a flock again. He happily worked to convert the girls’ old jungle gym to a deluxe chicken condo. The fresh eggs each day are great, and the chickens are fun to watch. I resisted naming them at first, figuring I wouldn’t get attached that way. Then the perfect names came to me: Henrietta (get it? HENrietta?) for the little one, and Marietta for the big chicken…and if you’ve ever been to Marietta, Georgia you know why that’s so darned clever.

	Henrietta and Marietta sharing a dish of yogurt (good for the shell, you know)
	The payoff

Finally....Spring! A few photos from the yard.

2009-04-05T14:52:00.001-04:00

After days of rain, everything’s popping up – even the hostas I thought I had killed last winter! The azaleas and camellias are blooming together – always a nice overlap. Tiny purple flowers are everywhere - delicate wild violets and clover. Amaryllis are dominating their space, as they always will. The seeds in the greenhouse have popped up, the herbs and lettuces are thriving and even the tiny limes are starting to take shape. Glorious!

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I'm Back...With a Rant. (What Else?)

2009-03-23T12:25:00.013-04:00

I swear, the following actually appeared as the lead sentence of a food section article in last week's Savannah Morning News:

"In the South, when you're hungry but don't have much in the kitchen, you fry up something."

No surprise here, this line was NOT written by a Southerner - but by a woman with the Chicago Tribune. It went on to describe a hot mess called, "Potato and Onion Fry-Up" - an unimaginative dish that's typical breakfast fare in diners everywhere. The ol' Southern stereotype is glaring - the writer probably pictured Granny fryin' up a mess o' greens in possum fat for Jed and the rest of the Clampetts - and then congratulated herself for dreaming up such a clever lead.

This is what happens when your local newspaper can't afford to pay a full-time food editor or staff writers...you rely on this garbage plucked from syndication to fill what's left of your food section. Our food section used to be stellar - but no more. The sole saving grace is the occasional contribution from the wonderful Savannah food historian and writer Damon Lee Fowler. But those have dwindled from weekly to twice a month, the victim of budget cuts. And just today I learned that our very popular local restaurant reviewer was let go.

Like many dailies across the U.S., the Savannah Morning News is in trouble. Big notes due after multiple extensions...staff layoffs after drastically declining ad sales...and now, salary cuts for existing staff. I feel for them - I do. But I still think someone needs to read this stuff before they put it out there.

PS - This is the same paper that recently ran a photo cutline describing a traffic accident caused by a "wreckless" driver.

I rest my case.

Sorry to be gone so long - it's great to be blogging again. Stay tuned, more fun entries ahead - lots to talk about!

100 Things About Me X

2008-10-26T20:55:00.013-04:00

Must...blog....more.....often.

At last, and by popular demand - further entries in the fascinating "100 things" series.

87. Years ago in a long-forgotten restaurant , Mr. C. ordered something that he called "remulon sauce." When the waiter left, I made the Vulcan salute and solemnly said, "Live long and prosper." To this day we can't order remoulade sauce without laughing.

88. My dog Blossom has an orthopedist and an opthalmologist.

89. My high school and college jobs included working as a clerk for US government agencies - two summers at the Centers for Disease Control, and then Christmas vacation at the newly-formed Federal Energy Office during the 1973 oil crisis - pretty interesting except I was going for donuts and ordering pencils.

90. My supersonic hearing allows me to hear Mr. C's cell phone ringing from upstairs and it drives him mad.

91. I love that one of my children wrote this in my closet. If we ever move, this shelf goes with us.

It's Been a Long Summer - What's for Supper?

2008-09-11T12:46:00.001-04:00

Summer is ending and I'm feeling that I should have accomplished much more, as usual. I've been updating a website for our friend Tommy, recently home from a month-long hospital stay; we've dodged a few hurricanes so far (knock wood); refinanced our house; watched the Olympics, Wimbledon, the US Open and the DNC and RNC on television (or as much as we could stand); traveled to Atlanta a couple of times and spent a week at our beach house - the dreaded 'staycation.' I really shudder using that word and all that it implies about our sagging economy. But there you are.

I'm spending so much time at the computer for work that I haven't expended the extra energy - never mind the eyestrain - to blog. But my loyal readers clamor for current info, so at least I can tell you what we've been enjoying at the table of late. I know it's strange to take a picture of your dinner plate, but sometimes they really are so lovely that you want to share.

Mr. C and I have put together the most wonderful summer suppers from our local freshness; This particular night (my sister Beeb the former food stylist will note that I left the birdwatching binoculars on the table!) we enjoyed a cold supper of fresh shrimp and freshly picked crabmeat on toast points with dabs of various toppings including homemade mayonnaise, capers, onions, lemon and avocado; also, grilled chicken satays with ginger, soy and scallions. Sort of an Asian Southern fusion, tied together with a crisp Chardonnay. Not bad at all.

Mr. C's specialty is this tart, a simple pâte brisée folded around whatever fresh fruit we come across. This tart was made with juicy dark bing cherries. We don't get many of these at our local market, and I think he made great use of them!

From our favorite Saveur magazine, I found a wonderful recipe for Green Goddess dressing (remember that one?) and used it on wedge salads, that venerable steakhouse staple that's made a big comeback of late. The iceberg returneth! And this green goddess, made with anchovies (for depth) and tarragon, is wonderful and light for summer - and bears no resemblance to the old wishbone bottled dressing your mom used to buy.

And most recently, we were assembling BLTs at the beach - before watching the US Open one morning - and I snapped this photo of this perfect assemblage of ingredients - the peaches and tomatoes were particularly luscious.

100 Things About Me - Part Nine

2008-08-06T12:26:00.043-04:00

I'm wondering: Is the essence of me captured by this list? While I ponder, here are more entertaining facts and anecdotes to enlighten you on the subject of moi.

81. Just after I met Mr. C (who, by the way has lovely Mediterranean coloring), I was dining with friends at our favorite Chinese restaurant to catch them up on the details of my newly-complicated life. We cracked open our fortune cookies and mine contained the following prescient message: "Two proposals soon to come. The darker one loves you best." My friends gasped. I cried. I still have that tiny slip of paper.

82. I once spent a couple of days with Rachel Hunter and Annette Roque (later Mrs. Matt Lauer) and others on location for a photo shoot with my daughter ClayB, who lucked into a job with top models as a ten year old. Rachel asked me for parenting advice and chatted with Rod Stewart on the phone. Annette romped and played with my daughter, and they all ended up on the cover of the Saks Fifth Avenue catalog. All in all, a pretty cool experience.

83. Unlike most women of my acquaintance, I do not have a compulsion to collect sterling silver flatware, fine china or crystal. When I break a plate, I run up to World Market and buy another one. And there is no polishing. Simple.

84. I have appeared in the published memoirs of two people.

85. Every Sunday, I stew chicken with vegetables and brown rice in sufficient quantity to feed my three dogs for one week. They no longer have skin or coat problems and they sure do enjoy their chicken dinners.

86. I have received complaints from faithful readers that too many of my posts are about things that annoy me. I apologize for any over-negativity. So here's something nice: I love it when......uh......hmm....let's see......I'll get back to you on that one.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2008-08-04T17:01:00.025-04:00

I thought it might be fun to show you what's been going on in my world.

Here are Blossom, Bubba and Katie, doing what they do best. I love these dogs to distraction and I just can't get too worked up over a little dog hair on the couch when they're this content.

Here's Bubba all suited up for a recent crabbing expedition. We've found over the years that terriers love to leap off a moving boat, so the doggie life jacket is a necessity.

We've been growing things. It's really satisfying to whip up dinner using herbs and vegetables you just picked. Combine that with the shrimp and crab you just walked down to the dock and pulled out of the water, and you'll understand why we live where we live. Even though it's really hot and humid.

Last weekend, we got KC settled in at the Kappa Delta house for her junior year of college. I used to get excited to pick up a new cigar box for my school supplies every year. KC's version of my cigar box is the newest Pottery Barn bedding ensemble.
Ahhh, you just can't beat the aroma of that high thread count .

100 Things About Me The Eighth

2008-07-31T00:18:00.041-04:00

It's the Seventies!

72. In one magical night at the Savannah Civic Center, Harry Connick, Jr. took my hand and sang a few bars to me; THEN I met Gregg Allman, who was sitting right behind us. While I spent the rest of the evening on cloud nine, Mr. C couldn't get over the fact that we had better seats than Gregg Allman.

74. People who rattle off a long conversation and then say, "Like I said...." - and proceed to repeat the whole thing all over again - make me want to scream.

75. The best gift I ever received was the book my sister made for me as a wedding gift. It contains our family recipes, accompanied by photos and family lore. It's one of my most treasured possessions.

73. I make killer deviled eggs. Like any self-respecting southern woman, I have an enormous deviled egg serving platter. It does not look like this monstrosity, a popular item among tailgaters in Tuscaloosa - where people obviously have no taste. Except for deviled eggs.

76. The great big Kohler farmhouse sink I installed in my kitchen two years ago makes me happy every day.

77. My Lasik-corrected eyesight also makes me happy - every minute of every day. Some things are just worth the money.

78. I have never been arrested (knock on wood).

79. I once directed Hank Aaron in a television spot that I also wrote. It won an ADDY award for excellence.

80. Growing up, we had a pair of Siamese cat brothers. This statement usually confuses people at first - they think I'm talking about conjoined felines.

100 Things About Me Part Seven

2008-07-28T09:26:00.009-04:00

I'm not sure I'll be able to stop at 100...
61. I supported myself for a year working as a waitress. I tip generously, but will speak up if the service is lacking. This irritates my daughters, neither of whom has ever worked as a waitress.
62. I have read all of Jane Austen's novels multiple times.
63. My secret wish is to spend a year traveling the U.S. in a motor home.

64. I was at LAX the day the shoe bomber was captured and travelers were first asked to remove their shoes.

65. I have what is now known as a math disability. My high school teachers gave me passing grades in Algebra so that I could graduate.
66. I have been hospitalized three times with life-threatening illnesses.

67. Buttered toast with hot tea is my meal of choice when I'm not feeling well.
68. My family's nickname for me is, "Amy-doodle."
69. I misunderstood for years the lyrics to God Bless America, singing, "...through the night with the light from a bulb." To me, this made perfect sense.

70. People who continually say, "Not a problem" irritate me.
71. In college I famously stole my boyfriend's VW while he was in a bar with another girl and parked it - doors open and lights flashing - on the front lawn of my sorority house.

The New Reality

2008-07-24T14:59:00.022-04:00

So, I'll admit it...I watch a lot of reality TV. I follow a handful of shows based on competition where the outcomes involve some skill. I love The Amazing Race, the show that takes the viewer along on a fast-paced trip around the world as contestants struggle with fatigue, travel mishaps and challenges to win a million dollars. My whole family is riveted to every episode.

I also like for similar reasons Top Chef, Project Runway, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars. I personally do not consider them to be true "reality shows," where people are thrown together in sketchy situations and expected to act like asses for the camera.

On Dancing With The Stars, it's fascinating to watch celebrities transform into lean, skillful dancers. Their teachers are the current stars of ballroom, who have never received this kind of exposure for their talent. Not surprisingly, among the best of the celebrity contestants are professional athletes. They are coachable and have the physicality and competitive drive to excel at this new "sport" and win. But it has taken me by surprise that among the athletes who are lightest on their feet are big ol' football players - Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice and Jason Taylor.

I read in the paper this week where Miami traded Jason Taylor -the six-time Pro Bowl defensive end and 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor - to the Washington Redskins because "management and players objected when he wasn't around for team workouts during the off season due to his Dancing with the Stars commitment." Pulleeeze! !

For those not in the know, Jason nearly won Dancing With The Stars last season. His partner was Edyta Sliwinska, the gorgeous professional ballroom dancer who's famous for wearing costumes that leave very little to the imagination. After 12 weeks of daily ballroom training, I would venture to say that Jason got his workouts. But he also got to spend the off season in LA dancing with Edyta - so I think it's more accurate to say that the Dolphins' management and players just had a bad case of being jealous and pissed off.

Footnote: I strongly object to last season's casting choice of figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Sure, she's an athlete, but in a sport that requires years of training in.....dancing! Hellooo! Of course, she and her partner won - but it wasn't a fair fight.

100 Things About Me The Sixth

2008-07-23T07:45:00.008-04:00

Think you know me well enough by now? Not even close.
51. Mr. C and I honeymooned on a 37' CSY sailboat just like this one, cruising the islands off Honduras.
52. I attended a tiny private elementary school near Emory University. I later discovered people thought it was a school for retarded kids.
53. I have a round scar on my scalp where my sister hit me over the head with a 2x4. This happened a long time ago and we get along much better now.
54. I can still sing my entire high school fight song, accompanied by drill team choreography.
55. The first time I met my husband it was after midnight, I was drunk, and he was wearing nothing but a bathrobe.
56. Early in our marriage, Mr. C and I owned a herd of goats, which is what happens when you bring home one male and one female goat to eat kudzu.
57. I have a weakness for dogs.
58. I am deathly afraid of snakes.
50. I first smoked a cigarette at 12 with my friend Rebbie. We smoked Winstons in the woods and we were super cool.
60. I love it when my Dad says, "We're off in a cloud of camel dung."

100 Things About Me, Halfway Home

2008-07-20T07:55:00.010-04:00

Halfway there. I'd like to stop, but I just can't.
41. People who yak on their cell phones (especially with bluetooth devices) in public places annoy the crap out of me.
42. The first movie I ever saw was Old Yeller. It made for a fun family outing until they killed Old Yeller at the end.
43. I once skied down Peachtree Street behind a Cadillac during an unusual Atlanta snowstorm.
44. My sister and I maintained the following routine for much of our childhood: Friday night we slept together on the sleeper sofa in the den watching scary movies until 1 am; Saturday morning we fixed our own breakfasts then played with Barbies for several hours. Our favorite breakfast (prepare yourself) was Vienna Sausages sauteed in butter.
45. I once appeared in a television commercial for a miniature football called "The Teenypig."
46. I believe I am the only child in Atlanta who never attended a live broadcast of "The Popeye Club" during its daily run from 1956-70. Apparently I will never get over this.

47. I was always the youngest person in my class. I turned 17 a few days before graduating from high school.

48. I have a 5" x 5" crosshatch scar on my right leg from a floor furnace burn I received as a toddler.

49. I was named for my my maternal great grandmother, Ammye Sewell of Carrollton, Georgia.
50. My parents were married for more than 50 years...53 years, to be exact.

100 Things About Me Part Fourth

2008-07-18T07:55:00.011-04:00

It just gets better and better, doesn't it?

32. My childhood comfort item was a loveworn stuffed dog named Flop-Flop. He now lives on a shelf in my closet where I can see him every day. OK, make that an adult comfort item.
33. I love gadgets and new technology. At one time I told my family I wanted an iPhone "more than life itself."
34. I am an above-average mimic. This talent has gotten me into trouble more than a few times.
35. I will not eat the liver, gizzards, kidneys, heart, lungs, intestines, testicles, brains or eyeballs of any animal.
36. Blue eyes and big feet I inherited from my Dad, but the pug nose is mine.
37. Have I mentioned that I have two 20-something daughters who are gorgeous, smart, fun and single?
38. Heidi, my family's Dachshund, lived to be 21 years old.
39. Worst first date ever: Driving down a busy street, the couple ahead of us was having a violent argument. The driver stopped, pushed the woman onto the pavement, and ran off. To my great surprise, my date pulled a gun out of the glove compartment and gave chase.
40. My formative years were spent in a pixie cut.

100 Things About Me Part Trois

2008-07-17T07:55:00.019-04:00

As if you could ever get enough of these fascinating facts...
22. My paternal great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy. (I know, it seems impossible but it's true.)
23. My maternal great-grandfather was killed in his dental office by a patient who was crazed with pain.
24. My older daughter has been dating a dental student.
25. I was once engaged to a lovely man but broke it off because I wasn't sure I could live in a small town. As it turns out, I'm the one who's lived in the smaller town for nearly 30 years.
26. Growing up, I had an imaginary playmate named Follylo. I blamed him for everything bad that I did. Follylo looked a lot like Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live, which freaks me out because that was WAY after I dreamed him up.
27. I took tap dancing from the age of 3 to 17 and was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I miss tapping.
28. In 2001, Mr. C. and I attended the New Zealand premiere of Lord of the Rings as invited guests. We walked the red carpet (directly behind the Prime Minister) and partied with the cast and crew.
29. I was a high school homecoming queen and a college fraternity sweetheart.
30. In my opinion, everyone should visit Paris. Go with someone you love.
31. When it comes to spelling and grammar, I'm kind of a Nazi. I just can't help myself.

We have photos - lots and lots of photos.

2008-07-16T10:21:00.021-04:00

Not yet appearing in the list of "100 Things About Me" is that I love to take photos. I've thought a lot lately about becoming more deliberate about it. Digital has made it all so much easier - and more disposable; keep the ones you really like and delete the rest. Here are a few that I like:

This is our house one Christmas a few years ago. Mr. C. said I should take an excellent photo for posterity because he would never put up those damn lights ever again. So I set up the tripod and crossed my fingers.

From Spring of 2005 near Negril, Jamaica. Driving along the coast one morning, we found an amazing beachside hotel in the middle of nowhere. Next to the hotel, the fishermen had just come in and this one was selling his catch. We had a traditional Jamaican breakfast at the hotel just after this was taken. We had salt fish, ackee, callaloo, coco bread and Blue Mountain coffee served on a covered verandah overlooking the ocean. There must have been six or seven dogs lying around us on the tile floor patiently waiting for leftovers. Heaven.

These were taken in San Francisco, Fall 2006. I kidnapped Mr. C from his office for a "destination unknown" anniversary trip. I highly recommend this tactic when you can't get your spouse to commit to going somewhere fun. I rarely take a food photo in a restaurant, but the clam chowder from the Hog Island Oyster Co. looked beautiful and tasted even better. And what the hell, we were tourists.

Viera, Meet Vieques

2008-07-09T20:40:00.010-04:00

I heard the Today Show ran a segment this morning saying that Vieques Island, Puerto Rico was the number one-rated Caribbean destination. For an island without a single bona fide resort, I thought that was a little suspect.

So I found the video, and sure enough,Vieques was voted the number one island destination according to readers of Travel&Leisure magazine. That made sense, given that T&L readers are a pretty independent-minded lot, preferring to go off the beaten path as we do.

That's why I'm feeling pretty smug, Mr. C and I having owned a house on Vieques for over a decade and all.

Meredith Viera had no idea how to pronounce Vieques, which I thought was funny.

Vieques is a place we love and feel deeply connected to, but it's not for everyone. I was going to write about it eventually, but now seemed like a good time to start. Here's the segment:

100 Things About Me Part Deux

2008-07-03T18:59:00.013-04:00

Continuing this highly entertaining and enlightening list:
11. My sister and I have a strange language that we use only with each other.
12. Whenever I see a chimpanzee, I laugh out loud.
13. Injections don't bother me.
14. I once met all the members of Earth, Wind and Fire.
15. In my opinion, the people out on the plaza screaming and mugging for the camera have ruined The Today Show.
16. I still love Matt Lauer. The crowd thing is not his fault; notice how he tries to avoid them.
17. The Academy Awards telecast is a big deal at my house, with a themed menu and a betting pool.
18. When I was little, I was afraid of imaginary things called "the comets" that would chase me around the house. My sister enjoyed this immensely and helped them chase me.
19. I have no interest in ever taking a cruise.
20. My father was a famous big band disc jockey and interviewed, among others, Mel Torme, Doris Day and Bob Hope.
21. I once won a trip to Las Vegas in a shag contest. (For the benefit of you giggling Brits, that's dancing where I come from.)

100 Things About Me

2008-07-02T02:14:00.023-04:00

With thanks to one of my favorite bloggers Kristine of A Penny For Your Thoughts, from whom I stole the idea.
I won't list these all at once, just as they come to me.
1. I'm somewhat lucky. It's not unusual for me to win a contest or find a $20 bill on the street.
2. Long eyebrow hairs and hairs sticking out of people's ears and noses REALLY bother me.
3. I once met my childhood idol, The Cisco Kid. His horse Diablo was with him.
4. I have a strawberry birthmark, and so do both of my daughters.
5. My husband and I decided to marry within a month after we met. 28 years ago.
6. I spent two years taking roller skating lessons every Saturday.
7. When I was 9, I went to the 1964 World's Fair and have loved traveling ever since.
8. Motorists in my city do not understand how to use reversible turn lanes and it drives me crazy.
9. When I was little, my hair was so blonde that a few busybodies scolded my mother for bleaching it.
10. I hate blonde jokes.