Why I Oughta...

Coloma Michigan, where my family has been going for over 20 years has a lot of natural beauty.  Most of it involves Paw Paw Lake.  My parents bought their place up there in the late fall of 1989 and one of our first trips was in December.  Being a lake-town, the place was quiet and there wasn't a lot to do.   But...like a beacon in the night, the Loma Theatre was open.  The neon sign wasn't working, the marquee was poorly utilized (lots of "5's" for "S's" and such) and the movies were second run at best. I forget which movie we went to (as a family) that night, but I vividly remember walking into one of the 3 cramped theatres and seeing a section of seats roped off with yellow "caution" tape.  About half way through the movie we found out why the tape was there as a portion of the ceiling collapsed in and slammed to the floor.  The place was in rough shape. Since then, I'm not certain what has happened, but the place has been transfo

Just back yesterday from a week of rest - we've been up in Michigan taking the week off.  We did a lot of nothing and loved every minute of it.  Really feel recharged at work this morning after being away all week.   Have to do this more often. We spent time in Holland, St. Joe's (more on those soon) and South Haven.  South Haven is a short drive away from Coloma.  We head there for coffees/sodas in the morning at Cafe Julia  and enjoy the town a bit.  They have these cookies called "The Cookie" which are spectacular.  I think they used to call them "granola clusters" but changed the name at some point.  I can't recommend them enough.  If someone has reverse-engineered the recipe of these things please notify my wife Nat! We always park in the big municipal lot - which during the summers has a wonderful farmer's market and during the winter they turn into a ice rink.  They built this structure a few years back and it really turned out great. This

You're really missing some good comedy.  Seriously. Nat and I don't stay up that late very often, but when I do, I always go to bed with my belly hurting from laughing so much.  Most of the times, like last night, I catch him on Fridays. Some say that "he's the best thing to happen to late night tv since Carson."  He doesn't seem to get too much credit for having a great show, but much like Conan was on Late Night, I suspect he has a very loyal following who hangs on his every show. Craig's show is a bit different than Letterman/Leno/Conan.  He does bits just like them, but the biggest difference is in how the show opens.  He does a long monologue.  Like a REALLY long monologue compared to Jay and Dave.   I never noticed it until a friend (who also works in late night tv) mentioned to it, but indeed, he was right:  sometimes the monologue goes past the 30 minute mark and is broken up with commercials.  In fact, he can carry the entire show by himself

I mentioned earlier in the year that we received a really nice wood carving for our home from my future-brother-in-law Bill as a Christmas/Wedding present.  Since December 25th, it has had a nice home leaning against the wall on top of our piano.  Nat was getting tired of it not being hung.  I was getting tired of not being hung.  The issue was that on the back, Bill had sunk in two fixed heavy-duty hangers.  The type that you have to put two screws in the wall then try to "hit" the hole on the back.  There wasn't a wire to hang this thing from, so I first considered stringing one of those. Nat's folks were over this weekend and I mentioned to them that I thought that's how I was going to hang it.  However, her mother reminded me that they bought me a level for Christmas last year (2008) that was made for this task:  The 36" Black and Decker Accu-Mark Level with Gecko Grip! The level is, indeed, made for hanging things on the wall.  First, it has this gr

Up in Michigan there were a few boxes of Cracker Jack in the pantry.  Like most things up there (and I presume the case is much the same at most people's lake houses), I have NO idea how old it is.  Could be a few months.  Could be a few years. It's just popcorn, carmel and nuts, right?  How bad could it be.  I cracked it open and it was - much to my displeasure - pretty stale.  Before I threw it away, I dumped the rest of it out to see what the prize was. I don't remember what Cracker Jack prizes were when I was a kid, but I have to think they were better than this. A friggin' Minnesota Twins sticker?  Seriously?  What kid is going to be into that?  Not even a Twins fan. Cracker Jack:  Who you crappin?

Here's a tip for all of you pizza take-out guys and girls.  After you pick up your pie and get into your car, crack the box lid a bit.  It'll release the steam and keep your crust nice and crisp.  Your windows steam up in the car some, but the overwhelming aroma of sausage and pepperoni more than makes up for it.  Here's the cracked box in my front seat that I picked up Friday from Two Brothers from Italy in Elmhurst. What's that?  You don't pick up your pies?  You get delivery? Sucker.

Yesterday, we closed on the sale of my condo in Frankfort.  Bittersweet day.  While I'm thrilled to have sold the property during these difficult times in the real estate world, it is sad to close a chapter on my life.  I bought the place in 2003 right after my election to the Village Board.  It was my "first place".  I bought pre-construction and picked out all of the finishes.  I loved that place.  Loved everything about it.  It was "above" a series of commercial stores.  There was an italian restaurant, a bar, a hair salon, a bank, and a Greek breakfast restaurant.  The Village really stepped out when they (we) approved it. After we got married, we moved out.  We had a few false starts with buyers who couldn't close because of mortgage issues, so we ended up renting it for a year plus.  After the babe was on her way, I decided that I wasn't interested in being a landlord any longer.  Couldn't deal with the issues.  Didn't want the stress.

We're subscribers to the print edition of "bon appetit" magazine.  I know....blame Nat and I for the demise of Gourmet!  Anyway, I don't love the magazine.  Sometimes I find something in there worth clipping, but most of the time not.  One of the features I do enjoy, however, is the section inside the back cover called "FEEDBACK".  They interview a famous (or relatively) famous person about their food peccadilloes and passions.   The questions change depending on who's being interviewed (this month is Stanley Tucci), but one question seems to be in there every month:  Name three things that are always in your refrigerator. I can do mine: giardiniera, peanut butter (yes!  We keep our pb in the fridge and I'm kinda partial to this 'flaxseed pb' from TJ's at right), and "Special Blend" dry Parm/Romano blend from Caputo's Market.    Now..it is your turn to share with me in the comments.  Only rule:  your items can't inc

On plenty of gadget/nerd blogs that I read, I often see "unboxing" of new gadgets/phones/computers.  They're step-by-step photos of un-packing of the new prized piece of technology.  It has always fascinated me that someone would go through the trouble of documenting each piece of packaging.  I don't think that it is for the ' packaging nut ', rather, I think it is said nerds way of showing off a bit on his/her new toy.   Well...good news for you.  Unless you want me to "unbox" my new mitre saw stand, I'm going to skip any such technology documentation.  Instead...I'll share with you something I find a bit more interesting: cheese.  Yes...CHEESE!  My wife LOVES peonies.  I LOVE cheese!  Rather have it than chocolate any day of the week.  Since the day I joined at work, they've always had string cheese in the fridge.  For those afternoon snacks, they've usually filled the bill.  But, when we came back from Christmas break, there was

Last fall, I c oached the kickers and punters at Elmhurst College - a Division III football team in our town.  I had contacted the head coach early in 2009 and interviewed for the job.  After a few rounds of chats, they gave me the role.   I inherited a senior kicker/punter and a junior kicker. I joined the team a month or two before fall camp, so we had a few workouts before the season hit.  The season team-wise was a bust.  We went 4-6 with a couple of heartbreaking last minute losses including a triple overtime loss. But in coaching, I had a ton of fun and gained a bunch of new friends - both players and fellow coaches.  There's not many people that provide more laughs than a bunch of college-aged men on a football team.  I would leave practice every time with a big smile on my face. Fortunately, my work schedule was flexible enough for me to be able to get to a few practices during the day- but not every one - and to most games.  They move their schedule around and do