Sunday, March 22, 2009

TIME OUT..........................

In the best interest of my left hand I find it necessary to take a short break from blogging.......that nasty staph infection has refused to go away and with no signs of it improving I need to stop using the computer......every time I go online to type the finger resembles W.C. Fields nose.....not a good thing.....I hope I can return soon and catch up with my Weekends in Paris....but in the meantime...remember.....Don't garden without gloves!!

See you all soon.....

Friday, March 20, 2009

WEEKENDS IN PARIS......ROOFTOPS

Welcome to another week of Weekends in Paris...
Everybody's favorite city.....
K Beau leaves for the City of Lights in the morning and I wish her a safe and fun trip and Cathy...one of the Darling Bakers says Bon Voyage next month....What lucky ladies!!
This week we are viewing the famous Paris Rooftops.....Enjoy!!Taken from atop Montmarte

Most of the roofs are covered in tile.....isn't it cool.

Taken from atop a Penthouse apartment that we visited...Can you imagine living this close to the Eiffel Tower....


I love the French flag.....It's almost....almost....as nice as our flag...


Our neighborhood cat across the street......I would watch his acrobatics all day long...He loved to have his picture taken..

another view of the Tower.....with tin roofs in the forefront...

No cable t.v. for these folks!!

How old do you think this building must be??

And another shot of "Jimmy" the cat....
Yes, his name was Jimmy....
He was a very daring cat.
Stop back next week when you'll see Paris Windows....
Have a Great weekend everyone.....









Wednesday, March 18, 2009

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY........GOING GREEN.

Hi and Welcome to another edition of Susan's Tablescape Thursdays.....
Hosted by the decorator extraordinaire at
Stop by Susan's site to see links to all the other ladies participating this week in this Oh...So.. Much.. Fun... Activity....This week over at the Darling Bakers where I contribute very little compared to my other Darling Ladies....we had a St. Patrick's Day Party...
It was all about the food with some green thrown in...
My table was not very creative....just lots of green.
The food on the other hand was pretty darn good....So here's a simple table
and some really good eats!!

Another quilt was pulled out just for the occasion

Along with all my green pitchers....plates and platters...


The Romaine sure was green.....

another excuse to bring out the dinner china....
An old coffee cup....a tiny milk pitcher and my favorite a butter pat plate.
How cute is that?

Polka dot napkin......Nope....polka dot tissue paper...

The easiest tastiest bread ever....
The No-Knead bread recipe.......seeded Rye version...
Perfect for a big corned beef sandwich....

Hot sliced corned beef....cooked all night in the crock-pot...
A little water....a drizzle of EVOO...some pepper and a big onion...
Wake up in the morning to the best corned beef you ever tasted....

Hold the mustard....and add a big deli pickle.
It's Heaven on a plate....
You've gonna think your sitting at a table at the Stage Deli in NYC....

For dessert....how about some Pistachio Cream Puffs...
My signature dessert....

And this is Millie and Siggy.....
from the early 1940's
My father had to take a trip to Detroit.....or as he always called it...."Dee-Troit"
to drive back a new car for his boss at the time....
He actually brought these back for my mother.
I think it was the first and last gift he ever bought her on his own!!
The only two things I have to remember the real
Millie and Siggy.....
Make sure to stop back this weekend for another installment of
Weekends in Paris...
See you then!!!











Monday, March 16, 2009

BIG TEN TIRES........FIASCO.







This falls into the category of
"It can only happen to Sue..."
A month ago I had new shoes put on the Bug......
I was looking for an American made tire...didn't want one from Taiwan, China, Korea or Japan...... After all it is a German car.....After calling around to everywhere I found the best price and the right tires at Big Ten Tires over by the mall......Knowing I could leave the car and spend an hour or so wandering through TJMaxx and Marshall's I went over to get them installed....Not thinking to look at them before driving off I got home to find something other then Bridgestone tires on the baby......

After a month of many calls from the "Boss" to the manager....and then to the district manager we got the call that they had "Real" Bridgestone tires in and to come over to get them put on......So this morning and against my better judgement to wake up early in the rain and drive over.....I showed up at 10:00 at Big Ten....I was the only one in the place....This is important to the rest of the story....I'm told by the manager that his Tire Guy didn't show up and it would take a little bit of time....No problem... I brought a book to read....I thought maybe and hour or two....It was raining so no walking over to do some bargain shopping....but I'm an extremely patient person....

So I sit in the waiting area and start reading my book.....The biography of Van Johnson....how exciting. Then I glance over to my right into the mechanics area and what do I see.......the mechanic standing mesmerized in front of a t.v. ..........remote in hand......watching what appeared to be some sort of "Girls Gone Wild" video....He was having the best time. Fast forward......Rewind....Stop action....there was alot of that going on...He would work on a car for a few minutes then wander back over to the t.v.......This went on for 2 and a half hours....Now I assumed that no one was waiting for the car since I was the only one sitting there....Wrong. But back to that in a minute.....I kept getting up to check on the progress of my tire exchange and my poor Bug was just sitting up on a lift....it's Rotors exposed for all the world to see...it looked so pitiful.....The manager no where to be seen.....He finally popped out his head to say "Do you have a question...I'm doing the best I can."..........he wasn't doing anything so I would hate to see him at his worst?

I continue reading......but out of the corner of my eye I see the video getting really raunchy.....Is this something you should be watching in a business where women can see you....I'm getting highly offended by this point....and I hate to think of the poor guy's car that he's working on.....When in walks the "poor guy"......a very nice Atlanta Firefighter who was waiting for his car to be done.....He had gotten there a little past me and was told it would take awhile because they were working on my car so he went over to the mall..........That's a joke my car sat there for 2 hours before anything was done to it.....At 12:45 I noticed the t.v. set gone off of the tool chest and the Employee of the Year was out helping with my car because the manager needed a break?? I drove off at exactly 1:00 with a headache and the e-mail address of the fireman so I could send him the phone number and name of the district manager.......
Just a note to the people higher up at Big Ten......try not to offend your women customers...whether it be selling them one brand of tire and giving them something else or letting your employees watch "girly videos" in plain view of the customer......I don't know maybe your trying to get Man Business......but women buy tires too!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

CITY KRAUT.........


Have your ever had a sauerkraut dog from a New York City cart? Sitting in that cloudy water for probably days at a time....if you can get past that it sure does taste good...probably the best kraut you have ever tasted....So we set out to replicate that taste at home and we achieved our goal...with the Boss at the helm we came up with a recipe that is so tasty you swear you were eating on the corner of Park Ave. and 50th.....here's the recipe...


1 large bag of sauerkraut (we used Hebrew National)this can be found in the hot dog section of the store.
1 large red skinned potato shredded
1/2 large onion....red or yellow shredded
1/2 Granny Smith apple shredded
You can use a Cuisinart to shred or a hand grater...
1 heaping tablespoon of Dijon mustard

Add all of the above except the mustard into a heavy pot with a lid...add about 1 cup of water. Cook on medium heat uncovered for 1/2 hour....stir a few times and add water if you need to. Then cook an additional hour with the pot covered and the heat on a low simmer....again checking often to make sure water is in the pot...not too much, but just enough so sauerkraut doesn't burn....when the 1 1/2 hours is up add the mustard and stir well....
You can use this on your favorite hot dog....Nathan's!!......or like I'm doing for lunch tomorrow...on a Reuben sandwich....I also use it as a base in the crock pot for stuffed cabbage rolls...It only gets better the longer you cook it...so sitting in a crock pot for 8-10 hours under the cabbage rolls....Well...the taste is incredible.....

Friday, March 13, 2009

WEEKENDS IN PARIS......TOURISTY SPOTS..and a Guest Blogger!

Welcome to Week 4 of "Weekends in Paris!" It's me, Weef, aka Sue's daughter, and I'm this week's "Guest Blogger". This is very exciting as I've never been asked to guest blog before! So, here goes...

This week's theme is "Touristy Paris" and what better to start off a tourist's journey in the city of light than with an image of the Eiffel Tower! When the Mom and I stayed on the Rue de la Clef, our first stop after getting off the plane (and taking a nap...) was to head over to the Eiffel Tower. I don't know what it is about it, but it's just really neat and these days I've got Eiffel Tower stuff all around my home... even a giant wire sculpture of it that I got at the Pottery Barn in Soho years ago after managing to (with the Mom) fit into a cab... but that's a story for another time!





The Eiffel Tower is certainly a "Must See" if you're ever visiting Gay-Paree. But, take this word of advice-- there are ELEVATORS. Back in the '70's when the Mom and Dad made their first visit, Mom stayed on the ground and the Dad hiked up the stairs... at least until he got to the first platform when he then realized that there are *elevators*! Also, I highly recommend the Restaurant Jules Verne. It's a totally unique dining experience right up in the Tower!





Shakespeare & Co. books is another Paris institution on the Left Bank. An English language book store that has been a hang out for the likes of Hemingway and the Beat Poets, it's a fun thing to see, especially if you're stopping in across the Quai to the Bateaux Parisien...




The Bateaux Parisien is a cruise line that runs hour long scenic boat tours up and down the Seine. Or at least they're supposed to be an hour long. Speaking from experience, don't take the last cruise of the night on the eve of Bastille Day. The Mom and I made that mistake once and the boat cruise became more like something out of "Speed II: Cruise Control". But, that being said, any other time is a great time for a boat cruise on the Seine. I have been on these cruises seven times in three visits. It's addictive! And besides, where else but in France could you ride on a boat named the "Isabelle Adjani" or "Catherine Deneuve?"







One of the things you'll see if you are on a boat cruise in the Seine is the Musee D'Orsay art museum. This is the museum of impressionist art that is housed in a former train station. While it certainly doesn't rival the collection size of the Louvre, it's a must see, especially if you're a fan of the impressionists like Monet, Van Gogh and the like. Up at the top of the building are these giant clocks and you can see through to the face when you're inside on the top floor... I was able to get this neat picture of two figures in front of the clock face!






Then there's the Catacombs! Not for the feint of heart (or claustrophobic) but certainly cool. Together with the Paris Sewers the Catacombs tours are one of the ways to see "underground Paris".... the catacombs are underground tunnels where hundreds of thousands of bones of former Parisians are buried... during the plague (and other times in Paris' history) the local cemeteries began to get filled and at night, the "old bones" were dug up and relocated in these tunnels and underground chambers. It's said that during the reign of the Sun King extravagant parties would be held down in the catacombs and during World War II supposedly some of the treasures of the Louvre were hidden here as well. We visited one day with my friend from the former East Berlin, Jana (who was in the Cornell Law program at the Sorbonne) and her friend from back home, a very genial German med student. It was quite an adventure! To get out of the catacombs once you've been on the tour you have to walk up a multi-storey spiral staircase about the width of a man-hole. I honestly almost passed out and I'm not even claustrophobic. Try to get past the fact that you're walking amongst bones (which can be hard to do when you see the weird patterns that the bone-buriers made with skulls, etc.) Thank god for the Germans, had it not been for them walking behind me I would have been a goner! ;)




Vive la France! Liberte! Egalite! Fraternite! Here's an image of "Liberty Leading the People" by Delacroix, which hangs in the Louvre. Any visit to Paris has to include a visit to the Louvre, even if you only get to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo! Anywhere you turn in this museum you'll be amazed at the beautiful works of art. If you have the chance also to hit up the Cafe Marly for lunch (on the ground floor of the museum), I highly recommend it!




The Bookinistes! On the right and left banks of the Seine book sellers have these wonderful stalls with old books, magazines and great prints. You could easily spend the whole day walking up and down the quais checking out the wonderful books and other goodies! It's a true Parisian institution.



A-ha! The Tuileries Gardens Ferris Wheel! The Mom *loves* Ferris Wheels. This one is set up near the Louvre in the Tuileries. I, unfortunately, I hate Ferris Wheels. So much so that when the Mom and I went on this one I ended up screaming at the French Ferris Wheel workers to let me off as we rolled past them. It didn't work. But, once they finally let me off, I took these pictures and Mom is up there somewhere. Sadly, my fear of heights (and more specifically, fear of falling from a great height) made me a poor Ferris Wheel companion. But Mom had a good time (at least, once I got off).



Here's Mom, in the 'Combs! Till next time we meet, next "weekend in Paris!"


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY.....HAPPY 50TH. BIRTHDAY BARBIE!!

If it's Thursday it must be our favorite sport of the week!
Tablescape Thursdays with Susan......
Our Tablescape "Diva" at
Stop by Susan's site for links to everyone participating in this fun weekly event.
HAPPY 50TH. BIRTHDAY BARBIE!!!!!
Do you remember when you received your very first Barbie doll? I do and it started out as the all time worst birthday of my life.......It was October 8, 1959.....Barbie had just come on the scene on March 10th of that year and she was the hottest thing to hit town....Every girl wanted a Barbie doll including me.....My birthday came and the folks did not get me Miss B....I was heart broken.
Then to make matters worse I was shunned by the neighbor friend who was younger then me...
Wendy Combs lived next door and was a semi-friend.....meaning she only had to be friends with me because I lived next door....
So that day she was going down to Superior Pharmacy with her "real" friend and I asked if I could tag along......I got a BIG FAT........NO!!!!
Boy, two disappointments in the same day......it just didn't seem fair.
So off I went to my room and cried and cried and cried.....
About an hour later the doorbell rang and there was Miss Combs at the door....... box in hand......
Yes, that famous long narrow box......She went and bought me a Barbie!
All was well with the world......
So in honor of that famous Doll let's celebrate her 50 years of making little girl's birthdays
Special....

We decided on a game night and pizza party.....How many of you had that wonderful game
"The Barbie Game......Queen of the Prom"..........
I dragged out the game but couldn't convince the Boss to join me in a game.....
understandable. It's a "girly game".....


But he did agree to eat half the pizza......


ofcourse popcorn and coke was involved.....


Hey look....it's Ken. Prom King and Barbie's Main Squeeze for the past 50 years..
I did hear that they had a falling out back in 98' but got back together...
Thank Goodness.....
but why no children?

Do you love how she has kept that lean figure for all these years....
Do you think she does Weight Watchers?
Plus she has a strange resemblence to Debi Mazar from "Entourage"
Remember poor Pointdexter.....he was a real loser.
Just like the guy I ended up at the prom with....
And not to forget the Tablescape....I love clear glass plates....You can do so much with them.....
Here I used 78LP's as chargers and just put the glass plates on top.

Here's that famous box......the best packaging of a toy ever made.....I love that box!

I love board games....only because I have made an art of cheating......

Barbie seemed to be having a good time but wanted to know "Where is the cake?"

Will a cupcake do??


Looking down at the fun.....I wonder what she's going to look like at 100?


That was my birthday party for the most famous doll ever made. I hope you got a walk down memory lane and I hope all the grandmother's out in blog land continue the tradition of grandmother's everywhere....
Making little Barbie doll clothes for their granddaughters....
I know I can't wait to make those little outfits for Miss Sophie....
So Happy Birthday Barbie.... I don't know how you do it but you look pretty damn good for 50..... I guess it's because you never got married to Ken......
**the doll and game in the pictures are the 35th. Anniversary reproductions of the originals.....I don't know what ever happened to my original game and doll....I can only imagine that the poor doll at some point had that adorable pony tail cut off......