Musician's Widow

I can't even make a salad at home as good at the one the Texan Cafe used to serve!

There’s a show on the Food Network called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” I’ll be honest, I’ve never been able to get into the show.  Chefs talking about foods they’ve eaten at various restaurants just never has quite done it for me.

However, last night, I found myself talking my head off to my husband about two dishes I’ve never found anyone able to beat. I was holding my own little “Best Thing I Ever Ate” for my captive audience. (He had no where else to go, so he was captive…)

First is my favorite Chef Salad. The place that had my favorite doesn’t even exist any more…

The best Chef Salad ever was served at a cafe in my hometown. The Texan had the best Chef Salad… but you had to have it with Thousand Island. It wasn’t as good with any other dressing. Chef Salad with Thousand Island dressing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! (They also had great hamburgers!)

It had all the perfect toppings, served in just the right amounts and manner. And there was truly something special about their dressing…

Today, a gas station stands where that restaurant once stood. It makes me sad every time I pass by there. I miss the Texan something terrible!!

The other thing, very ironically, also is in my hometown. The best Nachos I’ve ever had can be found at Los Comales, a small Mexican restaurant in my hometown. But you have to get it with queso instead of shredded cheese.

I’ve had nachos at almost every restaurant I’ve gone to at some point. It’s just a go-to thing for me when I can’t decide what else to have. But no one makes them like Los Comales. I think the thing is the chili they use… and they don’t hold back!! Most places seem to serve nachos very dry. That’s not right, to me. I want nachos that make me need multiple napkins to eat. I was lots of chili and cheese. Sour Cream and guacamole. Jalapenos. All of it. Make them messy!!

I’m sure I have other dishes at various restaurants that outshine other establishments, but these are the two that pop to mind first.

Anyone have a “best thing I ever ate” dish and restaurant? Do tell! If I am ever there, I’ll check it out!!

Last night, my husband and I went out to run a few errands. We hadn’t planned to eat out, but timing of our stops and our grumbling bellies said we should grab a bite.

After a nice dinner of Mexican food (enchiladas for him, a burrito for me), we found ourselves restless. A rare case of boredom struck. We didn’t want to go home, but we didn’t want to go too far. Driving into Nashville just seemed too far, and going to a local sports bar meant thick smoke and money out we didn’t want to spend. We drove around a little while, but in darkness its hard to enjoy your scenery. Then my husband had a flash of genius. He said we were going bowling.

Bowling, you may ask? Why is that genius? Because we never think of doing that until we are driving by our local bowling alley late at night after its closed. The conversation ALWAYS goes something like this:

“Bowling. We should do that some time.”

“Yeah, we should. We’ve never done that together.”

“We haven’t… that would be a fun date night.”

So, here we were, bored and bowling seemed the thing to do. Suddenly, it was date night! Apparently, everyone else in town had the same idea, though. We ended up on a waiting list similar to one you would find at a fancy restaurant on a Saturday night. About a half-hour until we could get a lane.

We both got something to drink and sat to watch others bowl. I quickly got intimidated! Everyone was so good! There were guys doing trick shots (and getting strikes with them!). There were people playing with as much effort as I give to go to bed. Yikes!

My husband asked me when was the last time I went bowling, and I had to think. Hard. I eventually had to tell him it was probably close to 15 years since I’d last went bowling!

As we sat, I told him about going bowling with my aunt when I was kid. Every summer for several years, my aunt would pick me and my brother up to go out for an afternoon. Pizza for lunch, then bowling the afternoon away! My brother and I went a few times just us once he had a car and could drive. Then I remember going with my church youth group at least once. Those tales were the extent of my bowling experience.

Finally, our turn came around, and we were sent off to lane 34 with rented shoes and hopes we didn’t end up throwing the ball behind us instead of down the lane! (Okay, maybe that was just me with that worry and visions of disaster that would rival the Stooges.) We planned to bowl one set. That would save money, and we figured we’d probably be ready to give up after one set anyway.

We picked out balls, got set up to play and away we went.

I don't bowl with any kind of decent form...

Our first game, neither of us broke 100.

Yes I said, first game. I wanted to keep playing, so my husband went and paid for a second game before the first one was through. He spoils me. I admit it. And I am grateful.

I threw more gutter balls than I care to admit to throwing. I was a little envious of the little kids beside us who had bumpers!

My husband used to play regularly with a group of musicians. I happened to have flown in to visit him when we were dating on a bowling day… it was a “no girls allowed” kind of thing, so I sat away from the group in amusement of it. As such, I didn’t pay much attention at that time, but I found my husband to have a smooth form while bowling. I told him watching him was fun, and he made it look easy. Unfortunately, he’d gotten rusty over time and pretty form didn’t help him get strikes.

Oh we both did get strikes and spares… just not enough of them to talk about.

Our second game went better than the first for me. I picked a different ball and that made all the difference in the world. A lighter ball gave me more control, and I did finally break 100.

I’m not going to win any tournaments and I won’t be joining any leagues, but I have to admit I had a TON of fun. There’s something fun about laughing at yourself when you stutter step instead of slide. When your ball heads straight for the gutter, and the pins laugh at you on screen. And for the record, I did NOT throw the ball behind me at any point.

There’s something romantic about  a bowling date with your husband of almost 4 years. You discover new things about each other, you laugh, and you are reminded some of the most fun things in life are the most simple.

I hope we go bowling again soon! It was fun. It was cheap. It was something different.

I might have won the second game, but my husband won overall for both. I'll get him next time!

Breakfast. They say its the most important meal of the day.

I have gone through phases in life, though, in which I just skipped that important meal. In high school, I went through a carb-breakfast phase. I found popcorn or potato chips or Frito’s to be perfectly acceptable forms of breakfast. In college, I would be a good two to three hours into my day before I would stop at a snack shop for a bagel or something.

Today, though, I can’t have a good day without getting up and having breakfast. I’ve embraced that important meal.

Every day (except days when I have to go pick up my husband from the bus — those are usually get up, throw on a baseball cap and run out of the door still rubbing sleep out of my eyes), I get up and head straight to the kitchen.

Coffee is hit or miss. Some days I can’t imagine not brewing a pot of coffee. Sometimes, though, that depends on if I get up way earlier than I know my husband wants to get up. We have a coffee grinder, and I hate to wake him by using it on those mornings. Other days, I wrinkle my nose at the coffee pot and reach for either a glass of milk or juice. Sometimes I’m feeling especially rebellious and I’ll reach for a Dr. Pepper.

Then, its generally one of three breakfast options:

– eggs. I grew up hating eggs, but in the last year I’ve started going through a dozen eggs every couple of weeks. Fried or scrambled or sometimes boiled. I’ve found a pleasure in this breakfast item. Scrambled is usually combined with ham or cheese and some salsa. You have to put a splash of milk in your scrambled eggs to really fluff them up.  Fried is over easy. However, I’ve definitely found the quality of egg to be key in this. I hate when the yolk breaks while I’m frying it. The whole point of fried eggs is the buttery, gooey yolk! Fried eggs must always be accompanied by toast with jelly.

– cereal. Who doesn’t love a big bowl of cereal in the morning? What takes you back to childhood faster!? Special K, Cheerios or Total are usually the three brands in our pantry. Occasionally I’ll sneak in some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, though. I always put in way too much milk, but I don’t care. I don’t want dry cereal! I want to be able to drink the milk after, or perhaps use it in my freshly brewed cup of coffee. Seriously, the milk that was used over cinnamon cereal is the best thing ever in a cup of coffee.

–PB&J.  I blame my parents for this one. They’ve been on a peanut butter and jelly for breakfast kick for awhile now, and I totally understand why. Its a wonderful comfort food as you start your day! I alternate between toasting my bread or leaving it soft and squishy. My husband hates my other addition I make to PB&J at times: breakfast meat. He says its gross. I ignore him and do it any way. It’s my one thing I eat that most people probably do find gross, but I say, “Don’t knock it until you try it!”

Oh, sure, some days I sway from these breakfast choices. Pop Tarts find their way into my pantry sometimes. Oatmeal as well. But most of the time, you’ll find me devouring any of these three items within fifteen minutes of rolling out of bed.

So I ask: What’s your favorite breakfast choices?

*Topic idea from NaBloPoMo today.

We’ve officially entered fall, my favorite time of year. I love this season more than the rest for so many reasons.

Fall is…

• cool temperatures.
• warm colors.
• pumpkin patches.
• corn mazes.
• Oktoberfest… both the festival and the beer!
• birthdays galore (including my own!).
• Pumpkin Spiced Latte and Carmel Apple Cider at Starbucks.
• Football!
• festivals and county fairs.
• open windows during the day.
• hot chocolate at night.
• Halloween and Thanksgiving.
• Columbus Day and Veterans Day.
• trick-or-treat!
• turkey and dressing.
• chili, stew and cornbread.
• sweaters and scarves.
• hayrides.
• tailgating.
• laughter and new memories.
• the best time of the year!!!!

I spent all day yesterday cleaning my house. Our landlord emailed me the other day saying they’d like to do a walk-through this weekend. Not a big deal, but I’d not done a good house cleaning in weeks. There was no way I could let our landlord come through with over a weeks worth of mail on the kitchen table, folded clothes on the couch, and a good layer of dust on every surface.

So, I got up and started cleaning. I even made a trip to Target to pick up more cleaning supplies. My cat, probably fearing that I might vacuum him (or use him as a duster), hid all day under the bed.

As my cleaning for the day drew to a close, I stripped our bed to wash the sheets.

There is nothing like fresh sheets, I say. I think if I could feasibly have fresh sheets every night, I would. But its not feasible, so I make due with about once a week.

I waited with anticipation for my sheets to get finished washing. I threw them in the dryer, and then ran to jump in my freshly cleaned shower.

That is part two of the epic sleep experience. Freshly showered, plus fresh sheets (throw in a thunderstorm — which I didn’t have, but that’s what the Lightening bug application on my phone is for) and you have most epic night of sleep. It seriously doesn’t get any better.

Okay, maybe you could throw in a back massage. But I don’t want to be greedy.

The dryer buzzed, and I pulled the warm, soft sheets out. I took them to the bedroom and started to put them on the bed. My cat came out and watched me. I gave him an evil eye. Last time I put sheets on the bed, he decided he needed to check out the fitted sheet personally for me before I could continue. He left a nice clump of white fur behind before I could shoo him off.

(Sidebar: putting on sheets makes me miss my old cat, Sully. He always made a total pill of himself trying to “help” me… and I’d always get mock-mad at him. Usually, we’d end up wrestling with the comforter. Good, good memories.)

I finished the bed without any problems, and, as I expected, my cat jumped up and curled up in his favorite spot: right below my pillow. I patted him on the head, and I took the laundry basket back to the laundry room. I grabbed a few clothes that needed to be put away and took them to the bedroom. I hung up the clothes, turned around and then saw it.

MY CAT HACKED UP A HAIRBALL ON MY BED.

I may or may not have uttered a few choice curse words. That’s between me and the cat. But he did a good job of it, and I decided it was payback for scaring him all day long with my cleaning. The wetness of it had gone through the comforter onto the top sheet. THANKFULLY the fitted sheet was unscathed, but it didn’t matter that much. I still ended up re-stripping the bed and shoving my comforter and top sheet in the wash.

I prayed my comforter survived the ride.

It kind of did. One corner had some batting sticking out when I pulled it from the wash, and I had to go find a needle and thread to patch it up before drying. That was fairly painless, and I did eventually get my bed reassembled. But somehow it all seemed like a lot just to get that epic fresh-sheet sleep.

Worth it?

In a word: YES!!

Sunset over my own backyard

My husband and I occasionally talk about wanting to go on vacation. A trip to the mountains or maybe a beach somewhere. Or even just a night at a hotel somewhere not related to work in any way.

However, funds are short and there’s no way to swing that right now. That’s simply a fact.

I often mention, though, that we need to explore our own city and area a little more. I still want to eat at Loveless Cafe and drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway. We are planning to visit Adventure Science Center next month, and even though we used to live minutes away, we’ve never visited The Hermitage.

We always enjoy visits to Stones River Battlefield, though, and an afternoon at Centennial Park never gets old. Every fall we visit a pumpkin patch and corn maze, and I hope we can make it to Oktoberfest this year.

There’s plenty to do right here, but its so easy to miss that fact.

When we take a drive out into the country, or even times we’ve visited my father-in-law on the coast of Oregon, I often wonder if the people who live there appreciate the true beauty of where they live. I venture to guess they don’t, simply because I so often forget to look around and appreciate what we have right here myself.

Yesterday, my husband and I took our cups of coffee into our backyard and just sat enjoying the sunset. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I mentioned to my husband that while we may not be on the porch of some cabin in the Smoky Mountains, I was enjoying it just the same. I unplugged for a little while in my own backyard. I sipped coffee and we watched the outside cats play and tackle each other. We watched the sun fade and twilight begin.

It was in a word, wonderful.

In this world, we seem to always be looking for the next best thing. Looking for something more. Looking for something better.

Maybe once in awhile we need to realize… what we each have is someone else’s “more” and “better.” Shouldn’t we appreciate that fact? Shouldn’t we live in the moment in the place where we are right then? Shouldn’t we just… be?