My mom’s handsome hero, Bob Barker passed away over the weekend. Someone posted that he lived as close to 100 without going over, which is dark, Price is Right humor. I think Mr. Barker would have probably chuckled at that. Thank you to all my friends who said they were thinking of me and my mom. I know I’ve posted, “Da Holy Hour,” many times now, but in…
Today, I sanded and painted like a madwoman. I have been doing this for months now because I moved into a condo that needed some work. I’ve painted five hardwood doors, first sanding them thoroughly, then putting four coats of paint on each side. That meant I also had to sand and paint each door frame. I just finished painting my living room and have now painted every…
People can be so picky. They love you and your zucchini bread one day, the next, they want to kill you because your recipe left zucchini bread drippings all over their oven. So, clearly I will not be getting the James Beard award for excellence, but it’s not my fault. My mom was one of those seat-of-your-pants cooks. She just slapped stuff together and it tasted great, pretty…
Is it me, or does it seem like everyone is going on fabulous vacations except me? They are? I knew it! I cannot go this year because I am in the throes of painting every square inch of this condo, (including doors-yuck) like the maniac that I clearly am. Note to self, Next time, hire a painter! But I’m passing valuable information on to any of you lucky…
Decades ago, I went to a Thai restaurant in L.A. and scrunched up my nose at the thought of Coconut Chicken Soup. I’d never even seen a Thai restaurant, so it seemed strange to this western Pennsylvanian and I was not convinced it would be good. Then I tried it and it instantly became one of my very favorite things. Any time I have a cold, it’s my…
So, I made all that fuss over my story about my mom called “The Power of Love and Pizza,” being picked by Writer’s Read. I was thrilled to go to NYC and read it in front of a crowd, but you never got to see the video because I just got it a few days ago. I did post it on my Facebook page, but lots of you…
I had a dream about my mom this week. She was standing on the front porch of my parents’ former home and I was behind the screen of the front door looking at her. She was dressed up and looked beautiful. I told her I wanted to open the door to hug her but I was afraid she would disappear. She said, “No, I won’t.” So, I opened…
OK, so clearly I am not the world’s most consistent blogger. But a lot happened in the last three months. A death in our family made writing happily about life impossible. My god-son and nephew, Marc Tunno, was killed in a car accident. He was funny, irreverent, and lived life on his own terms. He was only 48-years-old. His untimely death left us feeling gut-punched and incredibly sad…
“Mary, Mary, Wake up, it’s Christmas!” I remember my eyes popping open and excitedly saying those words to my sleeping sister on Christmas morning of 1961, the best Christmas of my young life. Out in the living room sat wrapped packages and two large cardboard boxes that must have been too big to wrap…one was for me, one for my sister. Inside each box was a walking doll,…
NATE! And ALESSANDRO, my two great-nephews. I keep telling myself this does not mean I’ve lost my touch. Just because Nate is 13 and Alessandro is only six merely means that Tunnos are extremely competitive cooks/bakers. It also means, my nephew, Chris and I will have to keep trying. Plus, there was a snafu this year. Two of the same pies were accidentally entered by Bob. In all…