Loud people who don’t care can ruin a meal

A loud guy has everybody in the restaurant wincing and making eye contact. What do you do? My good blogging friend Ann Koplow brought up that scenario yesterday in her wonderful post on Years of Living Non-Judgmentally. You can check it out here. In her sticky wicket, everybody else in the restaurant just toughed it…

A powerful Polish meal, cooked by me

Back in November, I wrote a foodie post about my night of cooking a Polish meal for my dear wife Karen and myself. But not being a frequent chef nor food writer, I forgot to take a picture of it before I dug in. Readers got a photo of my empty plate instead. Well, I…

Welcome to March at the Syracuse St. Patrick’s Parade

The happy times will roll down Syracuse’s Salina Street this afternoon. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a really big deal. For hours and hours, bands will march, floats will be pulled, vintage cars will roll slowly so dignitaries can wave from inside, fire companies will show off their shiniest truck. Dance schools will…

Knock down, stay up

If I don’t get out there with the shovel right quick, my dear wife Karen will have to bob and weave when she walks out to her car a few minutes from now. Yes, this time I’m talking using the shovel reaching up. On the roof of our side porch right this 7:53 a.m. second…

I’m tired of the red truck and the unleashed black dog

This is our beloved rescue mutt Ellie B, aka Dogamous Pyle. Isn’t she a beauty? It is my responsibility to keep her safe and sound, and I take that job seriously. In the winter, she tends to love sprawling in the living room. I know, though, that a daily walk is good for both of…

Nothing quite like the sound of a snowmobile on a city night

Once, twice, three times my dear wife Karen and I heard the unmistakeable sound outside our living room window tonight. A snowmobile, going fast, with that trademark engine whine, around our Syracuse city neighborhood. We had almost a foot of snow today. The enthusiast who lives anonymously among us would not let the opportunity slide.…

Icing on the cake for fellow blogger’s birthday?

While commenting with my fellow Syracuse blogger Christopher S. Malone yesterday, the subject of snow came up. No surprise. I did mention Syracuse, right? In any case, Chris said it always snows here on March 12. And he would know that because … drum roll, please … it’s his birthday. Happy birthday, interesting fellow. If…

So be it, but I will say a quick hello to the green

When the morning newspaper puts a forecast for a foot of snow the next day on the top of the front page, I have to take notice. Especially on the second straight day when the temperatures in Syracuse have cracked 40 degrees, spurring a good melt and a measurable rise in my spirits. I’m about…

The flip side of daylight savings

I do admit that I dig the extra hour of daylight after dinner. But as I opened my eyes to face the morning side of Daylight Savings Time, I was again reminded that it’s just one big Ponzi scheme. I had waited all winter for daylight to greet my opening eyes, day by day, minute…

In March, there were three birthdays in our house

My older younger sister celebrates an almost-milestone birthday today. Happy birthday, Frannie! Her big day used to start a parade of cake and candles when we were growing up. Father Frank was born on March 13; mom Dolores on March 21. Youngest sibling Dory (September) and oldest sibling me got to sing and eat. That…