Soaking it all in

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving, sometimes with friends and family, sometimes alone, and we reflect on things in our lives we should be thankful for. I have many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for having a loving and supportive family. I am thankful for my pets that also provide me with unconditional love. I am thankful, that unlike many others, I do have a roof over my head, electricity, hot water and the ability and comfort of sleeping in my own bed. I am thankful to have a job that has allowed me to report on issues in our community, both good and bad, sometimes ugly, sometimes humorous. A job that has also allowed to me discover new places and adventures and discuss my all-time favorite topic – FOOD. Oh, yes I am thankful for food! This year I’ll be home for Thanksgiving (all alone, all by myself….whimper…whimper), while the rest of my family is in Chattanooga. I don’t plan on cooking an entire meal for myself but I do plan to EAT. So I am thankful for places ...

It’s getting cold outside and it’s usually the time of year where I tend to crave, soups, stews and chili. I mean nothing warms up your insides better than a bowl of piping hot chili covered with melted cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Am I right? Or warming your hands as they grip a cup of savory chicken soup, which will also warm your heart. Sounds like Heaven! But the other day something entirely different beckoned me. I was watching a TV show that highlighted old television commercials. I got up and went to the kitchen to get some water. In the background I heard, ‘Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener...’ And just that quick I needed, no not needed, WANTED a hot dog. “Man I haven’t had a hot dog in years,” I thought as I grabbed my wallet and keys and rushed out the door. Within minutes I was back home, suddenly facing a new dilemma — toppings and buns. “Let me see where my old bun steamer is,” I said to myself as I plunged my entire body into the cabinets of a...

I always buy candy to make sure I am covered for Halloween. I moved to Allenhurst in 2006 and can count the times I actually had a trick-or-treater knock at my door, on one hand. I live on a cul-de-sac where three families have children. Most of the time the parents take their kids trick-or-treating at local community events, especially if Halloween falls on a school night, and also because it is safer. Knowing that in all likelihood the candy I buy will be consumed by me, I go for the good stuff. I’m a chocoholic so I always get my favorites — Butterfingers, Snickers and Tootsie Rolls. I get the bowl ready, just in case, sit down to watch TV and wait, and wait and wait. There was this one year when I was doing this same routine and flipped the TV to the SyFy Network. It normally does a “30 Days of Halloween” each year, and when the channel came up, one of my favorite horror classics, “Friday the 13th” was just starting. “Oh yeah,” I thought, “I haven’t seen this movie in years.”...