People places and food, on a Wednesday afternood

I don’t really have a lot to share at the moment, but I’m tired of seeing that tiki-idol in my last post, so here we go.

Earlier today (it’s a late and sunny Wednesday afternoon as I write this) I shaved & dressed, swallowed a couple pills for my sore tailbone, gritted my teeth and headed to the Lutheran Senior Center for lunch.

It could not have been a nicer time; many of my favorites like Mary and Cussin’ Connie (who were both sporting new ‘dos) were there, and I love those characters like family.

Speaking of characters, the reason you’re seeing Bette Davis on here is because we got to talking about heavy smokers, and I just had to do my impersonation of Bette Davis from her final appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Why Doug… why?

Anyway, here’s a few photos I took of the day.  Nothing exciting to look at,  but I’ve been wanting to share a couple of these people for a long time.

My friend & neighbor Lida, who I ran into in the lobby downstairs.  I’ve known Lida for 7 years, she’s a special needs person who is both funny & kind, and remembers every ailment you have. “Doug!!  How’s your back!  And your front!”Here’s the infamous Kuhn’s Market I’m always talking about.  If you were familiar with the area, you’d notice a BIG empty space to the store’s left that was formerly a YMCA and other building.  They’re constructing a new Kuhn’s “Superstore” that will be more than double the size of our 1950’s sized grocery store. 

I’m not crazy about it, but that’s progress!This is Bridget who works at the Lutheran Center, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  I adore her.  When I visited the center’s Open House in June 2023, she was the first person I met and was sold.

(She’s also an expert on all the superheroes in the Marvel & DC universe and we’ve had some great discussions.  Well, she does have 3 boys!)Today’s lunch—pulled pork sandwich, Texas-style corn, coleslaw, cantalope, hunk of cake.  Don’t let the simplicity of this meal fool you, the center serves the best pub steakburgers and pulled pork I’ve ever eaten.  Finally, this is for Cathy & Sharon (my neighbors) who wanted to know what a single man has for Easter Dinner.  That’s a Bavarian ham sandwich with butter & horseradish, roasted broccoli with red peppers, au gratin potatoes with onions and a deviled egg.

I know it’s nothing fancy, but it suited this single man just fine.  The End

There must be a cursed tiki idol somewhere in my house—I mean, what else could it be

This past week I was supposed to go to Red Lobster with Evvie, Deb & around 20 others from the Lutheran Center.  I’d known about it for weeks, looked at the online menu a couple nights before, was all set for some fun times with friends and linquini with lobster sauce.

The day before our outing, I wrenched my back and couldn’t go.  It’s gotten a little better, but my lower back still hurts.  It’s not like I slipped & fell, or picked up anything heavy… so what happened?

I admit I’m not in the best of shape at the moment.  I spent the last 15 months with long covid, and have yet to resume any daily exercise.  I’m still dealing with relapses too, but they’re becoming fewer and only lasting a couple days.

But back in mid-March, I got the flu and was laid up for a good 8-9 days.  Made a shaky recovery, went to the Pittsburgh Aviary not fully well but was anxious to get back out there.  And exactly one week after that, got one of the worst colds in my life.  Coughed nonstop for 14 days & nights straight.

And now I’m dealing with this back pain AND a swollen abdomen which isn’t too painful, but it is uncomfortable.  I’m pretty sure it’s related to my non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (which hasn’t bothered me much since I was diagnosed with it in 2018).  Ugh!

Remember when the Bradys were cursed?  Greg wore the tiki and had a wipeout while surfing; Peter told the gods to come & get him, and got a big hairy spider on his chest; Alice wore the idol and threw her back out during a hula dancing lesson

Here’s how I can tell the difference between belly fat and fluid rentention.  When I’m feeling chubbier than usual, I can do a good job of sucking it in when I’m out and about.  When it’s abdominal fluid, you cannot suck it in.  Why am I sharing all of this?  I’m sorry, I just had to get it out of my system—and if I can’t do it physically, I’ll do it with words.

This is a good reminder to cut back on the sugar (which may be giving my liver some problems).  At Christmas, Keurig sent me a gift-box of iced coffees, and I hated all of them EXCEPT the McCafe k-cups which I loved a little too much.  (Boy are they super sweet.)  I ordered a lot more of them, and got into the habit of having an iced coffee every night around 10:30 before bed.  Every night.

I know, I know… I used to have so much more discipline!

Well, I don’t know if I’ll be posting this.  If you’re reading it, you should probably act surprised.  I hope everyone has a nice Easter.  And I hope this time next year, I’ll be at my sister’s house, enjoying deviled eggs and spiral ham.

 

Mary, SNL and my red dresser, the object of my affection

The other night I was watching videos on SNL’s (Saturday Night Live) youtube channel, celebrating the show’s 50th anniversary in 2025.

BTW, can you believe SNL has been on the air 50 years?  As God is my witness, I still remember the week that first show aired, in 1975.  A girl named Mary P. in my 8th grade homeroom was asking if anyone heard of this new show premiering Saturday night on NBC.  Her older brother Frank learned it wouldn’t be airing in Pittsburgh, so he fashioned an indoor tv antenna to pick up the NBC affiliate in Johnstown, Pa.

George Carlin would be hosting, my brother Duke was a huge Carlin fan—so we did the same thing.  Made a giant UHF antenna and hung it on his bedroom wall to pick up Channel 6 Johnstown, and that weekend watched the first SNL on his 13” b&w tv in disbelief at the shameless antics. 

It would be another 4 years before SNL aired here in Pittsburgh.  The hugely popular “Chiller Theater” held onto that 11:30 time slot until 1979.

Anyway, I’m watching this SNL clip from 1992 where Adam Sandler is singing a love song about his red-hooded sweatshirt.  (Believe it or not, the song is now considered a classic.)  And it got me to thinking, I have something red I love too—my bedroom dresser.

When I was moving to my new apartment in 2017, my sister Shawn said there was a dresser at IKEA she thought I’d like, would I like to go see it.  I said “Why?  I already have a bedroom set without a single scratch.”  She said “Doug you bought that 30 years ago!  It’s so big and dark, and you got rid of everything else in your old apartment, why not that too??” 

I said okay.  So we went to IKEA, saw the red dresser and it was love at first sight.  My brother-in-law Jim and niece Sophia assembled it while Shawn helped me move the rest of my stuff in, and I plan on it being the only dresser I own until the day I die. 

Speaking of objects of affection… when I first became friends with blogger Rian of “Older but Better”, she would sometimes mention her Aga, in her kitchen.  I assumed she was talking about her Spanish maid or cook.  I later learned she was referring to her blue enameled stove from the UK!  The manufacturer’s name is Aga and it’s a beauty.

I don’t know if Rian loves her stove, but it seems like a member of her family.

So I was wondering… is there something you own, something atypical like an IKEA dresser or English stove or red-hooded sweatshirt you’re especially fond of?    

Lastly, that classmate I learned about SNL from in 8th grade, Mary P?  Three years later I asked her to be my date at our Junior Prom.  She said yes and here we were.