It was August 1992 when my Poppop died. I remember my Nanny gave me all his socks from his sock drawer. She said they were only slightly worn and I could get some use out of them. They were nice socks. There were a bunch of black and navy and brown. There was even a pair of bright emerald green socks that I delighted in wearing with outfits that didn’t match mainly as a tribute to Peter O’Toole. I wore the socks through college and I continued to wear them afterward. Wednesday, I pulled on a pair of his black socks and I noticed there was a big hole in the heel. I twisted the sock so the hole wasn’t so clearly evident and I went to work. That evening, I took off my Poppop’s socks and threw them into the garbage rather than the hamper. Over fifteen years of wear by me! I still have the green socks and a couple pairs of navy still in my sock drawer but it completely broke my heart to throw this last pair of black socks away. It seems insane but those socks have been with me on trips, in meetings, on interviews, at trainings, on hikes, tours, holidays, through Europe… just about everywhere and in connection, my Poppop has been there with me too. And now I say goodbye… to a great pair of socks.

I’ve been lethargic this last week. Each evening I’d pull my laptop into bed with the intention of writing a blog entry… but I’d fall asleep. I had some pretty cool things I wanted to write about but now I can’t seem to remember half of them.

On Monday, ex-donnaville reader, Todd was in town and we had dinner. Todd was the very first reader of donnaville– he was the first to email me encouragement and write a comment when I turned them on. We decided to meet at Ludwig’s which is a wonderful authentic German Beer Hall replete with cockroaches and transvestites. I walked in and was shocked to find the entire place gutted! That explains why the sign was missing. Trying to salvage the evening we went to Cuba Libre instead. This made me extremely happy since I love Cuban food and haven’t had it since Lisa and I went to Key West back at least 5 years ago. At dinner Todd told me he doesn’t read me anymore because I’ve lost my edge and have become quite boring but he admires how I continue to press on despite my utter lack of content.
“NOW WAIT JUST ONE SECOND THERE BUDDY!” I yelled, “I NEVER HAD QUALITY CONTENT!”

Todd is doing well and is planning a trip to Romania. I am quite jealous since I haven’t been out of the country in years and have been struggling with itchy feet for quite some time. Rather than buying a plane ticket I’ve just been applying Gold Bond medicated powder. I found it’s cheaper and works rather effectively.

As we walked to Cuba Libre, we actually passed a celebrity on the sidewalk. It was weatherman John Bolaris! Philadelphia girls, I have some very bad news. John Bolaris came up to my knee cap. He is WEE! TINY! What’s Hervé Villechaize’s favorite bagel? De Plain! De Plain! I mean John Bolaris is miniature! He always looked so tall next to the weather map. I guess that weather map is just real tiny.

At any rate, Monday was wonderful and I hope to visit Todd in DC one of these days.

I love this Web site!!!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

I missed church. My family went Saturday evening rather than Sunday morning. I wasn’t around Saturday evening. Rob and I went to Swanky Bubbles with his friends to celebrate Steve and Carin’s birthdays (how convenient their birthdays are so close). The restaurant was nice, I enjoyed it. Rob and I got the Bubble Box (two skewers of satay chicken, two dumplings, two spring rolls and fried calamari with interesting dipping sauces), Edamame Gnocchi and Vanilla Gellato. It was an enjoyable evening.

This afternoon I went home and had Easter supper with my family. My mom made ham and roast beef and hrudka and paska and potato salad and cole slaw and beets. After supper Lisa and I brought out a birthday/easter cake for mom. Yes, Easter somehow landed on her birthday this year. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY!

The rest of the day was spent picking through Violet’s trash. Yes, you read that right. You see, Violet is moving. She had a fall a few months ago and it made her realize it’s time to move into a home. I mentioned to Mom and Lisa that Violet has a ton of stuff on the curb so we rode over and picked through her garbage. Lisa pulled out a box that contained a 40 piece service of Adams Calyx Ware, “Singapore Bird.” I did a google search on it and found a site selling the exact set for $845.00! Can you believe it! Our other finds were rather humdrum in comparison. No matter how old or sick she is, I can’t believe she would just throw this stuff away! She could have called Goodwill or The Salvation Army or Purple Heart and donated it. People amaze me. At least we saved a few things from the dump.

It’s time to go to sleep. I hope all of my lovely readers (all 4 of you) had a lovely Easter and that your baskets overflowed with sweets! Christos Voskrese!

Last night I took some colleagues to Osteria, the #1 rated restaurant in Philadelphia by Philadelphia Magazine. We ordered the Lombarda pizza as the review recommended. When we finished, there were two slices left. When the waitress asked if we’d like it wrapped, all of us shook our heads no. This pizza couldn’t hold a candle to Rick’s pizza at Delorenzo’s. Searching the menu, there wasn’t a single entrée that popped out at me. When it came time to order, I asked the waitress for her recommendation. She told me to order the rabbit. It was served in a bowl, on a bed of buttered grits. I had a hard time separating the meat from the bone. Ultimately I think I ate about 3 mouthfuls of meat, if that. The grits were good and the meat I was able to extricate was good but c’mon! I was expecting something really fabulous. And no, my sights weren’t set too high. The food was just mediocre.

DO NOT GO TO OSTERIA! FIND ANOTHER RESTAURANT.

I really think some money must have changed hands for that rating. There is no other explanation.

How did it get to be Thursday? Time is just flying by me. I am looking forward to the weekend. I got nothing planned other than Easter stuff. Talk about fast– how can it be Easter? Are the Easter lilies even blooming? The thought of a pastel outfit seems too soon. Still, I welcome Spring; it can’t come fast enough.

I spent Monday evening watching La Femme Nikita episodes (Season 2 where it is discovered that Michael has a secret wife and child!) and cleaning up my room. I am struggling to keep one of my New Year’s Resolutions. Oddly enough, I am doing really well at hanging up my clothes at night, the area where I am faltering is putting away clothes that I had packed in an overnight bag or clothes that I just washed and folded. Last night I put them away and I promised myself that I would do better in the future.

Recently I bought a shoe rack that holds 30 pairs of shoes. It is totally filled. Yet why is it that I hardly have any shoes to wear? I keep going through them determined to get rid of pairs I don’t use… but I can’t! They are all necessary to my survival in this world. I don’t understand. I don’t understand why I have so many shoes, why I rarely wear those that I have and why I feel I need more.

Perhaps it all comes down to that insane belief that one day I will find the perfect pair of shoes, perfect outfit, perfect dress that will render my life perfect. Ha!

The funny thing about the shoe rack is that the picture on the box showed how lovely the rack looked full of shoes. I think the shoes they used were size 6s because let me tell you, my petite size 11s BARELY fit. I am constantly picking up shoes that FELL OFF THE RACK. Ahhhh, the struggles of living life as a sasquatch.

My bed was so comfortable this morning, so warm and wonderful. It took an awful lot of self-discipline to propel myself forward. I wonder if I could be one of those people who just jump out of bed in the mornings singing zippity doo da if I didn’t have to wake up so gosh darn early? It shouldn’t matter how early I rise as long as I get the right amount of sleep. Last night I fell asleep around 10:30. Seven hours should be enough. Maybe I just need 8? Just recently I read an article about some woman who claims to only need 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I find that hard to believe. I bet she takes four hour naps during the day.

I think I need a new pair of glasses. My lenses are scratched or something. No matter how I wash them, they seem dirty. At some point this week I should hit the place I buy my glasses and see what Mr Steve Robbins has in stock. I’d love a crazy, artsy-fartsy frame.