Southern Hospitality

I celebrated Thanksgiving with my friend Rochelle Brown's family. It was a banquet. They had three kinds of stuffing (cornbread jalapeno, oyster, and traditional) plus honeybaked ham and turkey and all kinds of southern vegetables like okra and grits and greens. Quite different for a nice JEWISH girl from the mid-West.
I brought a chocolate Turkey from Ethel's chocolate and Rochelle's grand-niece Jada just loved it

Comfort and Joy from Republic of Tea

File this under most unusual use for tea.
My toilet overflowed today.
Even after I sopped it all up with towel, the place smelled awful.
I opened my Republic of Tea Comfort and Joy tea to console myself, and it smelled so good, I put the opened tin in the bathroom.
It was of some comfort, but cleaning up after a toilet overflow is no Joy

Delicious News that proves how intelligent I am

LEARNING CURVES; THE WIDER GALS' HIPS, THE HIGHER THEIR IQ: REPORT: These hips don't lie - women with hourglass figures tend to be more intelligent and have smarter kids, a new study says. Researchers have even come up with a scientific explanation for their theory - and for why men prefer voluptuous women with large hips and small waists.

But I wonder if you loose weight if you loose IQ points

Dead Deer

While my friend Edith Hall Friedheim and I were driving up to the Inn at Manitou, a deer suicided into our car. Actually, Edie was driving and I was turned facing her as we talked. I saw the deer jump over a divided highway. Edie was looking ahead and didn't see the deer until I screamed. She swerved and saved us and the car.

The Casulties: one deer, one left view mirror and a big dent in left side of rental car.

We went on to Inn at Manitou and were soothed by savouring gourmet food and getting massages and facials.

I have never seen anyone or anything commit suicide before

Picky Eater at Taste America

The James Beard Foundation's 20th Anniversary Benefits the Farmers Market as well as "a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools.".. It is truly a celebration of those who appreciate culinary excellence.And knowing it was at Nana, with some of my favorite chefs cooking made it irresistable.

Of course I wanted to be there. But the most interesting part of the evening was not the food, (which was of course spectacular) but the people at my table. Leslie quickly admitted she was a picky eater. She did not even want to try the first tuna course. I think she only came because her friend Rhonda persauaded her. But I think I should call her lucky Leslie since she won the biggest price..a $2500 office package from Office Expo. (and Leslie does not even have an office) She also was the high bidder on a dinner at the James Beard House. I asked her to do a column called the Picky Eater.

Also met a girl who was representing a new line of beverages that are healthy and non-alcoholic and pair with foods. But more on that after I taste it.

WhAT kind of job is this?

See Madelyn at work
See Madelyn at work

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/tribpm/s_528319.html

My lucky day in New York

Yesterday was my day
I got on a bus and the meter was broken. Free rides for everyone.

Spent two hours interviewing Max the bald chocolate man who is a genius. Tasted wonderful unique new things. Learned he even had lots of aphrodisiac chocolates.

WEnt to cosi for dinner since they have free wireless access. (I actually stayed four hours0
They took 45 minutes to get me my dinner. I did not complain. I was there for the wireless, not the food.

They comped my meal because they felt it was below their service standard.

I did not enter the lottery. I was too tired after four hours at Cosi

How is my mother???

My Mom fell on June 12. She fell onto a dresser and cut open her forehead and scrapped off skin from her leg. She may have also broken her nose.
She was taken to hospital in an ambulance because she was bleeding so badly.

Luckily, I was in Florida with a rental car and was able to drive right over.
The first night I was there, it looked like her eyes were hemorraging, she suddenly had big dark purple circles under her eyes
We called the doctor in the middle of the night. Doc had us go the emergency room where they told us her would had been incorrectly wrapped in first visit.

She has a slight concussion but is in good spirits.
She needs an aid full time to dress her wounds, change the bandages, and help her generally.

I hope to go back to help her after my grandbaby is born in first week of July.

I know this sounds like a Christmas letter, (actually, I think holiday letters generally have better news) but it was the only way I could easily tell everyone about her progress. I will post updates on my blog

Thanks for your concern.

The question everyone always asks me

Why did I start www.travellady.com?

I started travellady.com because the magazine I was food and travel editor went bankrupt on the same day Rupert Murdoch bought the Dallas Fox Channel and decided no freelancers.

I had taken trips to Japan and Korea. Promised stories. But suddenly had no outlets.

My daughter was dating a web designer. He did the first version of travellady.com

I never dreamed it would grow as large as it did. It was started before Travelocity

I started the other ones because Travellady.com has over 5,000 pages and I wanted to focus on other interests.

animal lovers eat well

Bone Appetit is Thursday, May 3rd!

We would like to encourage all of our awesome volunteers and friends of animals to go out to eat for lunch, dinner, or both at participating Bone Appetit restaurants on May 3rd, and a portion of your bill (at least 25%) will automatically be donated to Operation Kindness. You don't have to do anything more than simply go and have a nice meal, and you will be helping our animals!

Participating Restaurants
\u003cstrong\>I\u003c/strong\>\u003c/span\>\u003cstrong\>nclude\u003c/strong\>\u003cspan\> \u003cstrong\>(click the link to go visit the \nrestaurant web \nsite)\u003c/strong\> \u003c/span\>\u003cstrong\>:\u003c/strong\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.angrydog.com\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Angry Dog in Deep Ellum- lunch and \ndinner\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.lavendou.com/\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Lavendou Bistro Prove\u003cspan\>n\u003c/span\>cal- Lunch and dinner\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.dallasdinesout.com/restrant/a/angelo/angelo.htm\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Angelo's \nItalian Grill in Lakewood- Lunch and Dinner\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.urbanbistrodallas.com/index.html\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Urban Bistro on Inwood- Lunch \nand Dinner\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.terillis.com/dallas.htm\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Terilli's Lower Greenville- Lunch \nOnly\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.fusedallas.com/\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Fuse in Downtown Dallas- Dinner Only \n\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cspan\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>For more information \nplease\u003cfont color\u003d\"#0000ff\"\>\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\u003cspan\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#000000\"\>open \nthe attachment\u003c/font\>, \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>visit \u003c/font\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.operationkindness.org\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" color\u003d\"#000000\" size\u003d\"2\"\>www.operationkindness.org",1]
);
//-->
Include (click the link to go visit the restaurant web site) :

Angry Dog in Deep Ellum- lunch and dinner
Lavendou Bistro Provencal- Lunch and dinner
Angelo's Italian Grill in Lakewood- Lunch and Dinner
Urban Bistro on Inwood- Lunch and Dinner
Terilli's Lower Greenville- Lunch Only
Fuse in Downtown Dallas- Dinner Only

For more information please open the attachment, visit www.operationkindness.org
\u003c/a\>\u003cspan\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#0000ff\"\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#000000\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003cspan\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#000000\"\> or call 972-418-PAWS \nx261.\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cspan\>\u003cspan\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" color\u003d\"#0000ff\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/span\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003cstrong\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#0000ff\"\>Thank\u003cspan\> you \u003c/span\>for \nhelping the homeless animals of Operation Kindness!\u003c/font\>\u003c/strong\> \n\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cspan\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/div\>\u003cstrong\>\u003cem\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" color\u003d\"#ff0000\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/em\>\u003c/strong\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" color\u003d\"#0000ff\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.operationkindness.org/\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/a\> \u003c/div\>\n\u003cdiv\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Arial\" color\u003d\"#0000ff\" size\u003d\"2\"\>\u003c/font\> \u003c/div\>\u003c/div\>\n\u003cbr\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\"\>No virus found in this outgoing message.\u003cbr\>\nChecked by AVG Free Edition.\u003cbr\>\nVersion: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.2/781 - Release Date: 4/30/2007 9:14 AM\u003cbr\>\n\u003c/font\> \u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\> \u003c/font\> \u003c/p\>\n",0]
);
//-->
or call 972-418-PAWS x261.

Thank you for helping the homeless animals of Operation Kindness!

My weird relationship with the Weatehr

WEIRD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WEATHER

I left New Orleans three days before Katrina arrived. I barely missed two hurricanes in Florida.

And I just got to New York about 24 hours before the record storm.

Am I all wet or something.

Maybe I should go to the desert or someplace that needs water

Empty Bowls

I first experienced this in Santa fe. The bowls were spectacular and there were a few good soups. I think they originated the idea.

Dallas has made it bigger, but I am not sure it is better. There were about 20 different soups (plastic bowls supplied so you did not have to use the one you chose as part of the $25 admission fee)

Great desserts in Dallas. But Dallas knows how to add sparkle. I am not sure I liked the substance (the bowls) as well. But I had a great time and enjoyed the wonderful chocolate truffles. Next time I will just fill my bowl with truffles instead of soup. But then I am a chocolate girl.
www.chocolateatlas.com

No wonder Adam could only wear a FIG leaf

FIG SALE. Fashion Institute Group. It costs $12 to get in. When the guard told me that, thought he was kidding. I waited outside and asked a few people as they were leaving what they thought and what they bought. They all seemed to think it was worth it because things were 75% off. But I wonder if they shop at the $6 dollar store like I do.

If this is my Valentine, I am afraid to meet the Easter Bunny

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!!
~~~

RED-NECK VALENTINE'S LOVE POEM
Collards is green
my dog's name is Blue
and I'm so lucky to have
a sweet thang like you.

Yore hair is like cornsilk
a-flapping in the breeze
Softer than Blue's
and without all them fleas.

You move like the bass,
which excite me in May.
You ain't got no scales
but I luv you anyway.

Yo're as satisfy'n as okry
jist a-fry'n in the pan.
Yo're as fragrant as "snuff"
right out of the can.

You have som'a yore teeth,
for which I am proud;
I hold my head high
when we're in a crowd.

On special occasions,
when you shave under yore arms,
well, I'm in hawg heaven,
and awed by yore charms.

Still them fellers at work,
they all want to know,
what I did to deserve
such a purdy, young doe.

Like a good roll of duct tape
yo're there fer yore man,
to patch up life's troubles
and fix what you can.

Yo're as cute as a junebug
a-buzzin' overhead.
You ain't mean like those far ants
I found in my bed.

Cut from the best cloth
like a plaid flannel shirt,
you spark up my life
more than a fresh load of dirt.

When you hold me real tight
like a padded gunrack,
my life is complete;
Ain't nuttin' I lack.

Yore complexion, it's perfection,
like the best vinyl sidin'.
despite all the years,
yore age, it keeps hidin'.

Me 'n' you's like a Moon Pie
with a RC cold drank,
we go together
like a skunk goes with stank.

Some men, they buy chocolate
for Valentine's Day;
They git it at Wal-Mart,
it's romantic that way.

Some men git roses
on that special day
from the cooler at Kroger.
"That's impressive," I say.

Some men buy fine diamonds
from a flea market booth.
"Diamonds are forever,"
they explain, suave and couth.

But for this man, honey, these won't do.
Cause yo're too special, you sweet thang you.
I got you a gift, without taste nor odor,
more useful than diamonds...
IT'S A NEW TROLLIN' MOTOR!!

Falling on his head with style and grace

I went to the night of Cortero, the Cirque de Soleil show in Dallas. It was wonderful. But near the end of the final act, one of the acrobats, seemed to suddenly slip and fall on his head. I saw the back of this head near his neck actually hit the floor. My friend Laurance saw his ankle slip over the bar.

The show stopped. It was very dramatic. They came out with a crew of paramedics and rushed him off in a stretcher. There was nothing about it on the news--which is strange because if someone has a car accident--it is on the nighttime news.

Laurance said, "This is part of the risks and it makes you appreciate even more all the work that is accomplished, night after night in an always present danger to make it look easy when in actuality, it takes a lot of efforts and discipline."

Happy Birthday, Ms. USA

A friend invited me to a birthday party for Ms USA.
Not the currently famous one, Tara.
It was Ms USA 1992--Shannon.

A man who I met five years ago and had not seen since knew Shannon and invited me to meet him there. I arrived at nine. He arrived at 11. (that is even later than my ex-husband's average)

So I arrive at Cretia's, looking for Ms USA. It is very odd to go to a birthday party where you do not know anyone. And can't even recognize the birthday girl.

My mother brought me up right. I did bring a gift-wrapped present. A bottle of bubble bath Champagne.

I actually had a great time. I must be on the birthday circuit

Noteworthy birthday party

My friend Gustavo is not just a wonderful piano player (one of the best from Argentina) but a superb host. I love his birthday parties. He and his partner Richard bake zillions of different empanadas and roll sandwhiches on a thin Argentinian bread. His mother frosted the two spectacular birthday cakes and I am only sorry not to have taken a picture. After the cake, Gustavo played some Argentinian music (after a warmup birthday rendition by his friend Richard) Several of the people got up and did the Tango. I felt like I had front row seats at an intimate performance.

Positively Promiscuous at Yoga

I am really getting addicted to yoga. I have now done 4 classes in less than 48 hours. I did yoga and chocolate, a Saturday morning session at Tsada with Ro, a meditation class with Vino this afternoon, and now I am off to Underground Yoga with Chinook. No wonder I have no time to get anything done. But my downward facing dogs are really getting good.