Domestic Putterings

In the Pink

This Domestic Putterer is going to be walking a bit stiffly for the next day or so.

But it's worth it.

I spend Saturday morning walking the 5-kilometer Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure in downtown Cleveland.

The weather was perfect. There were just enough clouds to keep the sun from getting to strong, the weather was mild and there was a slight breeze.

For someone who is on more of a second-shift schedule, having to get up before 7 a.m. is not a fun thing. But some things are more important than sleep.

Like my sister.

And your sister. And our moms, our aunts, our grandmas, our cousins, our friends, our colleagues.

Pitching In

My delightful, wonderful friend Julie is one of those people who went to New Orleans and found her home. Not even Hurricane Katrina and its devastation could keep her from returning to make the Crescent City her home. It is the passion of people like her that have helped New Orleans reach for a future.

She writes a blog, NOJuju, about New Orleans food, style and culture.

But lately, Julie has been dealing with her recent diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and all the joys associated with it. Terrible wrist and hand pain have made it hard for her to keep up with the blog, as she's had to marshal all her strength towards doing her actual paying job.

Julie put out the call to her friends, asking them to contribute material. Tim wrote about oysters. Melinda wrote about turning the cabbage in her Seattle garden into a vegetarian version of stuffed cabbage.

I'm the latest to help out, touting Cleveland a bit in an entry about Bar Symon.

Laissez les bon temps roullez!

A Hole in our Home, and in our Hearts

Four summers ago, a scraggly, sick, more-than-half-starved black cat half-walked, half-crawled into the back yard.

Friday, she left our home for the last time.

We made the difficult decision Friday to put Lenny to sleep. I did not expect to have to make this decision so soon, or so suddenly.

This is what you sign up for when you take a pet. Their lives, their well-being, are all up to you. It is the responsibility you get for the reward of companionship and love.

And, oh, were we rewarded by Lenny.

An Afternoon at the Great Big Home and Garden Expo

It's my fate. The day I go to the I-X Center for a home and garden show is guaranteed to have craptacular weather. One year, there had been a snow-thaw-freeze that made walking the parking lot a battle to stay upright. Other years, it was bitter cold that numbed noses by the time the entry was reached. This year, it was blowing snow and a wicked cold wind that I pushed against to get to the Great Big Home & Garden Expo.

No wonder John chose to stay home. But the weather didn't deter everyone, as crowds were steady.

I'm glad I didn't, as I got to see old friends, get new ideas and see beautiful garden set-ups that had me thinking summer.

A Very Conscious New Year

Well, 2009 is officially in the history books and we're in the 2010s.

Many of us were happy to kick 2009 -- as well as the previous decade -- to the curb. Between terrorism, war, the economy and job losses, we had to look even harder for the silver lining.

Even in the midst of hard times, it's hard not to get a wee bit excited about the new year. Twelve months, 52 weeks, 365 days, shiny and new. Nothing bad has happened in them yet. Anything is possible.

During my career, I've written a few New Year's resolution stories. I've kind of soured on traditional resolutions, because very often they're made impulsively with no real idea on how to carry them out.

This year, I'm looking at the resolution thing a little differently.

A Detente in the "War on Christmas" blather

In recent years, a certain faction of Americans have come to believe that there's some kind of "war on Christmas."

It makes great fodder for talk-show gasbags and, thanks to the Internet, urban legends galore spring up about this imaginary war.

I wish the Christmas Warriors would take a Big Girl Pill and chill the heck out. The Obamas have not banished Christmas from White House celebrations, they are following traditions also followed by the devoutly Christian George W. Bush during his administration. No PC Police are going to haul you to the gulag for saying "Merry Christmas!"

What, pray tell, does it do for your Christmas spirit to harangue a minimum-wage store clerk for saying "Happy Holidays" because their employer realizes that not every customer is Christmas shopping? My esteemed former Plain Dealer colleague Connie Schultz addressed this in a magnificent column.

We need more "Peace on Earth, good will toward man" and less "War on Christmas."

Talking Turkey, and Everything Else on the Table

It's almost as much fun to talk about Thanksgiving food as it is to eat it. So let's share all the good (and not-so-good) eats we love as the holiday descends.

Time to share!

1. What's your favorite stuffing/dressing?

2. What dish is a regular at your Thanksgiving table that you'd gladly never see again?

3. What's your favorite non-stuffing/dressing side dish?

4. What dish would you love to make, but haven't because you don't have time with all the "traditional" dishes you have to make or because no one else wants it?

5. Stuffing/dressing in the bird or out?

6. What's your favorite way of using Thanksgiving leftovers?

Turkey for Me, Turkey for You...

We're less than a week away from Thanksgiving, which John has taken to calling "a speed bump on the way to Christmas."

I always liked Thanksgiving because of its simplicity. It's about getting together, eating, and being happy. I've never gotten into Thanksgiving decor beyond a tablecloth in fall colors that looks good from September through November.

We're not all blessed to have the harmonious ideal of a Thanksgiving, as pictured in Norman Rockwell's classic painting, "Freedom from Want." That ideal can cause a lot of stress, as a recent New York Times article showed. Some people fear judgment from their mothers-in-law or from their guests, and tie themselves into knots trying to be Martha Stewart on crystal meth. People struggling with family dysfunctions, job loss, money troubles, or grief dread the holiday, feeling like they have to put on a happy face of denial in order not to upset everyone.

Maybe it's time to let go of the ideal, just a little.

Going Home ... and Coming Home

In case you're wondering about the long break between posts, your Domestic Putterer took a little vacation. And, it turns out, just in time.

I'd decided over the summer that, since I was out of work anyway, it'd be a good time to take a trip back to Connecticut to visit my family and friends. I'd missed my 25-year high school reunion last fall, and hadn't seen my grandmother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in almost a year. Mackenzie and Nick are growing up so fast; I don't like missing such a big chunk of their lives. And, when your grandmother is in her mid-90s, you know -- but don't want to admit -- that opportunities for time together may be dwindling.

When plans started being made on Facebook for an all-years reunion for Pomperaug High, I figured I'd come back for that and stay about five or six days. Then it was announced that the Homecoming game for my college alma mater, Central Connecticut State, was the following weekend. So the trip got extended another five days. It'd leave me lots of time for family, but also time to see friends and just hang out. I knew that I wouldn't do half the stuff I'd want to, which led me to skip trips to New York City or the shore, and focus on people time close to home.

Your Bedroom Makes the Baby Jesus Cry

Remember when we'd complain about Christmas decorations coming out right after Halloween? Ah, the good old days. Now, we're lucky to get past Labor Day. Costco already had its decorations, wrapping paper, cards, etc., front and center last week. And more trees than usual are dying in order to fill our mailboxes with catalogs, as the mail-order industry hopes we'll send a little stimulus package their way.

Some of the stuff in the catalogs makes me wonder who makes out these mailing lists. What on earth did I order that I'd get a catalog which sells a wall-mounted shower gel dispenser shaped like a giant nose that drips the gel out of a "nostril"? Ewwwwwwwww.

My friend Jen is fascinated by the Domestications catalog and its dedication to "themed" bedding. You can find themes from bears to geishas to tropical islands. But it's the Christmas-themed bedding, exemplified by the gaudily shiny Gift Time embellished quilt set (above) that has Jen giggling these days.