Tag: Autumn

  • ODDS and ENDS: Chicken Stock, Breakfast Tacos, and Tottenham

    (Till I stop coming back to you…)

    There are many things that make it feel like Autumn to me. I skip all the easy ones, like leaves and pumpkins. For me, one of the best things that make me feel all warm and Autumn-like, is chicken stock simmering on the stove. It usually starts a couple days before, when I roast a whole chicken for a Sunday dinner. I’ll take all the leftover bones, throw it in an old weathered stockpot – carrots, celery, onion, garlic, fresh thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper – and just let it simmer away for a couple of hours. The smell fills the apartment, throwing shade at the cold outside, and making the idea of a warm blanket on the couch sound like a friendly “How do you do!” as dreams of soups and stews dance in my head as I drink a cup of coffee. The simple act of stock making is a life affirming exercise of epic proportional steps.

    Beware you in the world of simple breakfasts. I have come down from on high to explain to you the joy and wonder that is the simple and honest Texas Breakfast Taco. A creation of Tex-Mex joy and wonder, as how can something so simple be so gratifying and satisfying. The flour tortilla, the scrambled egg, bacon. If one were to get wild and throw a starch in it, like maybe some tater-tots or fries, or one weekend I tried some leftover mashed potatoes. They have to be wrapped in foil, which allows the warm taco to steam the tortilla, keeping it soft and a little spongy. They can keep for a little while that way, but the pleasure really comes in the unwrapping and dipping in a salsa. An experience that can be savored, or rushed, depending on what the demands of your day might be.

    Hey! They won a match on Monday! They might win another this Sunday! Things are changing! I can feel it! #COYS

  • The Apples Were Picked

    My family went apple picking this weekend. My daughter even brought a friend, so we had an extra person to help enjoy our Autumnal Tradition. And there was a hay ride (Actually, no hay was involved, but no one cared) and a core maze, a pumpkin patch, and apple cider donuts. There were food trucks as well, but those don’t interest me.

    What interests me is putting on a flannel shirt on a warm Fall morning, and sweating too much, as I stomp and trip over rotten apples on the ground, looking for that one unplundered Golden Delicious apple tree that’s hidden way in the back of the orchard. And I also enjoy eating an apple a day for the next month, and wonder at the benefits of my increased fiber intake!

    I was rather excited to be there

    The whole thing is cheesy and cliched, and I love it so much! As the kid and her friend were running around the corn maze, I told the wife that I know that we won’t be doing this forever with the kid. She’ll either outgrow it, or move away. But, I would like to still come out and do this; walk around the orchards, watching the families and their little ones enjoy the fifteen to twenty minutes of pleasure they all get picking fruit from a tree.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Political Ads, Sports, and Apple Picking

    (You’re good, so good…)

    We are now under 30 days from the Midterm elections, and if you are like me, you’ve had your fill of the political ads. There is no way to avoid them, as they seem to have invaded every for and medium out there. This time around, the kid has started paying attention, and asking questions, which is good. Her game is trying to figure out which political party a candidate is with, being that in almost all the ads, no one specifies anymore. All of these additional conversations with my daughter have been great but lead me to ask her a very important question; “Are you excited to vote when you turn 18?” Which she quickly answered, “No.”

    The Dallas Cowboys suck this season. And the Cubs got swept outta the playoffs, super quick. I don’t have high hopes that Tottenham will have righted the ship after this International break. So… I’m not having a good sports month. It’s an October Slog. In fact, when I was out shopping last week, a store clerk asked me why I was out in public with a Tottenham hat on. “Why are you announcing your shame to everyone?” he asked. I didn’t take it personal, he was an Arsenal fan.

    That’s right, I’m again doing the very cheesy and cliché thing! I’m going up the Hudson Valley to take my family apple picking. Oh, I love how silly, and over crowed, and just basic this tradition is. But you know what I really love? Apple Cider Donuts! Eating apples off a tree! Putting on a flannel shirt, and walking around in mud! It’s my Rites of Autumn! May it live forever!

  • ODDS and ENDS: Autumn Marketing in Summer, Theatre, and Tottenham Hotspur

    (Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…)

    It’s not done yet! I know it’s August still, and it’s hot, and the subway platforms are a swamp, and when I step outside, I just start sweating. I’m an old man and I can’t stop talking about the weather, and around this time of year, I want it to be Fall more than anything. But I’m going to throw the marketeers of America under the bus one this one. These Ad-Wizards starting running back-to-school commercials before the 4th of July. Halloween junk on sale at drug stores and Home Depot in August? Just yesterday, I got a catalog in the mail from L.L. Bean telling me that it’s time for Fall! I’m not crazy; they’re all jumping the gun here, right?

    The kid auditioned for a school play. This made me very excited and proud. Also, it put me on notice not to be a “Stage Dad.” See, the kid needed to have a one minute monologue memorized for her audition, and she came to me for help. You know; me, her dad, the guy who got a theatre degree, and did plays and puppet shows and physical theatre here in New York City. Me! She came to me for help, and I said yes! And then I had to tell myself that I cannot live through her, and her experiences in auditioning and doing this play. No! I am here to support, and give guidance when she asks for it. But, she didn’t know how to score a script, or what a beat was in reference to dialogue, so I had to fill her in a little. But no Stage Dad shit!

    This could be a rough season for Spurs. Just saying…

  • Summer Break is Over

    Before I had a kid, and was a young adult running around New York City, the framework dates for Summer were simple; It lasted from Memorial Day to Labor Day. After Memorial Day, it felt like the City emptied out, and then the day after Labor Day, the City filled back up. And that was how I thought of Summer in those days.

    After having a kid, “Summer” returned to the definition it had when I was a child; Summer was from when school ended, to when school started up again. It didn’t fit neatly into the Memorial/Labor Day bookends, because the school bookends feel correct.

    Which brings me to say that Summer is over as the kid is back in school.

    And this was an okay Summer. Nothing amazing, but still fun. We did some road trips as a family, visiting Vermont and West Virginia. The kid went to her sleep away camp, which allowed all of us to enjoy a break from each other, and as enjoy reuniting as a family again.

    Displaying IMG_9449.jpeg

    (Here I am about to go four-wheelin’ in Vermont.)

    Creatively, I took a break this Summer. I kept up the journal, but decided that I should have a break from the blog, reviews, and fiction. I thought it best to catch up on reading, and start thinking about what I want to accomplish for the last half of the year. I did work a little on a novel, but it was more an exercise of fun, and not meant to be anything more than that.

    So, here I sit, writing a blog on the couch, a stack of books on the end table, and a crap ton of short stories clogging up my Inbox that need to be read and possibly reviewed. Then there are the stories I need to finish writing, and then proceed to submit to all the lit journals across the internets.

    Which leads me to say, I am looking forward to Autumn!