Don't read this if you're on a 'no added salt diet'

The renovations at CCI are completed and they received unexpected reviews. In my naivete, I expected people to walk in and say "WOW!" Foolish me for always living in my dream world. What actually happens is, people walk in, look for a table, sit down, and after awhile say, "OH, when did you change the floor?" Then eventually they notice the table covers and last they notice the paint. This evolves into idle chit-chat and "it looks nice." Never any disparaging remarks on the previous look; and so far, no negativity on the new look.

Before

  

So, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over and most of the country is working on Cyber Monday and Christmas. I'm still thinking about Thanksgiving. Ralph and I cooked and we celebrated at my house. There were five of us. Byron, my mother's husband, brought rutabaga and a mixture of creamed onions and Brussels sprouts. When he walked in with it, I said, "You shouldn't have." He replied, "The only way for me to have my traditional Thanksgiving food is for me to bring it myself." I repeated, "Really, you shouldn't have."

Yes, I remember he always served rutabaga, but the creamed onions and Brussels sprouts mixture? WTH is that? The only creamed food I've ever eaten is creamed corn. My Grandmom Tweedie always served it because I think it was her favorite. I draw the line at creamed corn. I can't eat creamed onions and Brussels sprouts and I didn't. Yes, I'm an ingrate.

I didn't realize he was all about tradition, so in keeping with the holiday tradition started by Byron at my mother's house, just before everyone was finished eating, I announced, "We have home made pumpkin pie by Mom and I'll bring that out in one minute." You know what? Apparently, they don't like that tradition and unlike Byron, I did not bring out the pumpkin pie just then. I waited for perhaps an hour. New tradition? Who knows. The term 'new tradition' sounds like a contradiction in terms. I guess that means we're stuck with the old traditions until the change occurs repeatedly.

Everyone said they liked and enjoyed the meal. Ralph and I made the turkey. Ralph made the stuffing. I made the cranberries and roasted sweet potatoes. Well, the sweet potatoes were supposed to be roasted, but due to limited oven space, they were more like baked sweet potatoes. In any event, I heard no negativity.

Now, negativity is a weird thing. I said I heard no negativity about the CCI renovations and now about the meal. I'm learning the hard way that just because I haven't heard it, doesn't mean the negativity isn't out there.

                                      
Before the meal. Hostessing holiday dinners is not my forte. I forgot to plan for hors d'oeuvres.
                                                           
Ralph was fixing a dish of left overs after work on Friday. I was only in the kitchen for a minute and I noticed he didn't take out the container of baked sweet potatoes. I mentioned it. He said, "I thought the sweet potatoes were your favorite." Right. This from the person I have to hide my favorites from or put them in a dish labeled 'Carrie's-don't eat.'

Since when does he care about 'my favorite' when if it's something he likes, he's eating it no matter what. So there it is, negativity about the sweet potatoes on the day after Thanksgiving. And as if that wasn't hurtful enough, he called me on my cell phone and left a message saying "the cranberries are better! I think they needed the extra day to sit and absorb the flavors." Better than what? I thought they were great on Thanksgiving. Whatever.

My mother is usually the highly critical one. I didn't hear a peep out of her, but then I didn't talk to her the next day. And because as you can see I don't do well with food criticism, I'm not sure I really want to talk to her.

This is not CCI. I can understand restaurant customers criticizing the food, but my son about my home cooking? He doesn't even like cranberries and he was pushing for candied sweet potatoes, so I think that is the real problem. I know, denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

In any event, I discovered sea salt a few months ago. The only food I ever salted was baked potatoes and corn on the cob. These days I salt pretty much everything.....yes, this coming from a registered nurse who works in the cardiac cath lab. If you're a patient, do as I say, not as I do.

My recommendation is if you don't like my food, use the sea salt. It's always there on the table at meal time. If the food is good, it will make it better. If it isn't good, the sea salt will make it good....well, sorry cranberries, you're on your own. I don't recommend salting the cranberries. They are one of those foods that one either likes or doesn't like.....Or, add sugar, that might help. I always use half the recommended sugar in the recipe, which is an improvement. I used to use one-quarter the recommended sugar. I think I got that from Deb...who hasn't seen the completed CCI renovations. Is she going to voice the renovation negativity that I haven't heard thus far?

It's OK, I'm strong. I'll cry into my pillow for a few minutes and then 'carrie-on' in true Carrie style! Right, I'll blog about it! LOL 

Giving thanks

I'm getting a lot of riding in; unfortunately, because it's slow at Manatee Memorial. Hmmmmm, there's that gift horse again, and I won't be looking him in the mouth.

Regarding the gift horse, would you believe Ralph never heard of him. He intimated the gift horse is some throwback from 'back in the day,' say like 1960. As though the gift horse possibly went out of vogue along with 8 tracks, Beta VCRs, floppy drives, floppy discs, etc. Sheesh. The gift horse is a proverb that was first referenced in writing in the 16th century. I love proverbs, i.e, the grass is always greener, two birds in the hand, and so on and so forth. In any event, the gift horse thankfully visits me at least once a day. Ralph must have slept through the first 18 years of his life. How else could he have grown up with me and not have heard of the gift horse? Ralph must feel deprived...although the gift horse recently visited him and my mother at the Emergency Room at Manatee Memorial. Now, Ralph is not only richer, but wiser. No, my mother and Ralph were not together when they sustained their injuries.

In any event, I'm thankful to get in all the riding, and my personal best is now 25 miles. My new Verso Roma arrived and I took it to Village Bikes for them to assemble. The other day I found the same bike for $180.00 less, so I emailed the company from whom I purchased my bike and the the rep agreed to contact Kettler (maker of bike) to see what can be done. I'll keep you posted. The new bike won't be assembled until Wednesday....UGH...I'm anxious to take it out!

Remodeling continues at the CCI (Carmella's Casa Italiana). The new flooring will be installed on Monday. The painting is scheduled for Wednesday. We're closed on Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, so the paint will have an extra day to dry. Last but not least, I expect the new table covers by the end of the week. Our new look is going to be so awesome and we're all really excited. Deb is taking off some time, so she won't see the finished results until a week from Wednesday. If she gives it her seal of approval, the new look will be a shoe in with our customers. Whoo hoo! Stop in and feel free to eat and tell us what you think.

I'm learning a lot about how people are doing business these days. I understand that we're all doing business in a sketchy enonomy. I say sketchy because I'm not convinced it's a recession or a poor economy. 40 million dollars were spent on the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare video game that debuted about two weeks ago and billions of dollars are spent at the box office each week when the new movies come out. From the way the flooring experts are running their businesses, they must not be starving either.

Here's my experience with the flooring experts. I contacted six flooring places for estimates. One salesman gave me samples to take to the restaurant and when he showed up to measure the floor and give the estimate, he arrived with several other samples. One place doesn't do commercial flooring. One place was so disinterested and unhelpful, I wonder if his establishment is a front for illegal activities. The fourth and fifth guys measured the floor and promised to email the estimates. No emails with estimates as of this writing. The sixth guy was a no call/no show.

So there you have it. The winner is John at Manasota Flooring. I recommend him. Depending on how the installation goes tomorrow, I'll let you know if I highly recommend Manasota Flooring! The operative word there is 'highly.'

If I don't see you at CCI or MMH, please have a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful I'm still in business, for my loyal customers, for my family and pets, for my loved ones, for my friends, for my health, for the frequent visits from the gift horse, and on and on. See you soon!

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

Hi there! I've been outta the loop, but not outta touch! There's a lot going on, and I have my finger on the pulse of the happenings. Among other things, business has picked up at CCI (Carmella's Casa Italiana). It started on, of all nights, Halloween! I wish every night was Halloween! The plans for redecorating and improvements continue, and everything is nailed down except for the paint color. C'mon in and see the progress. Don't wait until it's all completed to see what we are up to. Oh, you could even help select the paint color!

We've been really busy with other projects at the Casa. We introduced home made cannelloni. We still have the raffle for the CCI tote bag for those who order the fried ravioli appetizer. I updated all the menus. And last but not least, it's soup season, so we have soup: Minestrone to warm your innards.

Yes! The early birds, snow birds, and cuckoo birds are here. Wait....the cuckoo birds are always here. At least that's what Deb tells me. I depend on her for a lot of my information, like the latest scandal on honey. But I digress......and honey scandals are beyond the scope of this blog.

I managed to take many bike rides, and so far my personal best is 22.5 miles. Typically, my rides range from 18-22.5 miles. I forgot about the time change on Monday, so I arrived home in the dark. Tried to cut it short; but if you know me, you know how it goes. On Wednesday, I bought two flash lights to carry with me so the next time darkness falls and I'm out there, I'll be better prepared. The wicker basket and low level of my seat (I'm petite) precludes mounting front and rear lights.

 How cute is he?!

And speaking of better prepared, you know those spandex biker shorts? I thought they were an expensive luxury to look hot while riding a bike. Not so! Apparently, since I ride 2-7 times a week, that makes me an enthusiast. I don't know the classification for those who ride once a week and more than eight times a week...perhaps once a week is a wannabe and more than 8 times a week is a lunatic. With all the free time I've recently acquired, I can easily see myself becoming a lunatic. In any event, at this juncture, I'm an enthusiastic and now I wear those spandex biker shorts. My Connecticut sister would say I took up biking just so I could wear spandex again. Not so! Gave up spandex over 20 years ago and didn't figure I'd wear it again, or want to wear it again. Well, I couldn't be more wrong! I wear it and I wear it willingly.

Biking is more than popping up the kickstand and hopping on the seat. Just like running is more than donning a pair of sneakers. If you want the skinny on biking because you're thinking of taking up riding, feel free to give me a call. Among other things, I can give you the real scoop on how to prevent blisters in unmentionable places.

With CCI and my position at the hospital, you're probably wondering how I can progress from a biking enthusiast to a biking lunatic. Very easy. Suddenly, I have an abundance of free time and energy. I was informed at the hospital that "people" are watching my call time and my hours. As though I'm not neurotic enough, now I'm paranoid about these "people" who are watching me.

I thought I was being a flexible and dependable employee by volunteering to cover call or fill in for sick co-workers. Since these "people" are watching me, that's no longer required. I take my assigned call and I leave when the work is complete or when 3:30 pm arrives, whichever comes first. I'm not expected to stay late or come in early. The pressure is off. I go to bed without feeling completely exhausted and I wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the new day.

Yet these "people" are watching me. Who are these "people?" Some individuals have voices in their heads. Do you think the person who told me about the watchers has "people" in the head. Could these "people" be the cuckoo birds that Deb talks about? If you ask me, it sounds really crowded up there.

My abundance of free time and energy is a gift; and we all know not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 Hope to see you soon! Stop in, the food is wonderful!