Bonni Brodnick Blog

I was in Scotts Corners Market today and ran into a friend carrying a slice of cherry pie in a plastic container. I asked what he was doing with that delicious-looking piece o'pie and he said, "I'm eating it for lunch ... with a big cup of coffee."  I love that!! What is wrong with me that I would never have a piece of pie for lunch!?!?? I think we all need to forget the starch/protein/vegetable commitment and go solely for the pie .   (My birthday is on Monday ... this will be my new vow.)

When I was about 3-years old, my parents took my brother, sister and me to a Pete Seeger concert at a Friend's meeting house in Pennsylvania. I remember so clearly listening to his music as he sat on a rocking chair on the front porch, lit by a single bulb, and strummed his banjo. As we all sat huddled on a blanket, it was a memorable chilly October evening of my childhood, made all the more richer by his message of peace and goodness. “The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be known," Seeger said in 1994. President Obama released a statement following Seeger’s passing that read, “Once called ‘America’s tuning fork,’ Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song. But more importantly, he believed in the power of community – to stand up for what’s right, speak out against what’s wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be. Over the years, Pete used his voice – and his hammer – to strik...

                                                            Cakes by Wayne Thiebaud   Yesterday I heard NEW YORKER writer Adam Gopnik interview Judith Jones, senior editor at Knopf (and champion of Julia Child's cookbook that no other publisher would touch, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking.") Gropnik said that his grandfather's dying words were profound: "You can't have your cake and eat it, too. What does that even mean ?"  Good question, n'est-ce pas?

A friend has fiercely independent nonagenarian parents. His 98-year old father is the caregiver to his 92-year old mother, but now (according to their children, not them) he could use a hand with cooking and driving. So their devoted offspring got together and posted an ad on Craigslist : "Needed: Live-in aide/driver for elderly couple." Tasks would include dressing, daily walks, and of course, the potential caregiver would have to have impeccable references, a good driving record, the ability to merge right in and work for a couple married 71 years (no easy feat), availability to sleep over and oversee a daily housekeeper. The Craigslist ad went unanswered until yesterday, when a single and priceless response came it. Read on ... "Hi, I have a very bizarre idea, and I'm a little embarrassed answering this ad, because it proposes a strange idea even to myself. If you would like to meet or call me, let me know.  (Local references can vouch for my legitimacy....

                                                                              "Blue Dress" by Pamela Kogen "Blue Dress," a new rendering by my sister, Pamela Kogen, has a richness and whimsy that I adore. This weekend, Pamela's latest work will be featured at a pop-up gallery in Princeton called "Our House Your House." Lift the winter blues and check it out: January 25 - February 15, 2014 Palmer Square 711 Avery Place (across from The Arts Council at the corner of Witherspoon) Princeton, New Jersey

The person serving mini-tacos samples showed complete politesse when I circled back for the fifth time. My love for box stores was sealed. Who knew Costco could be so inspiring? Click here   for my  HuffPost, otherwise, read on ...                   Costco: Bonding with a Box Store While driving the back roads of Connecticut recently, I noticed my car was hydroplaning on muddy surfaces. This indicated a few things. Either: 1. I’m a lousy driver 2. Mud is the new ice 3. I’m driving too fast 4. I need new tires. Bingo. Serve it up on #4. After many exciting miles of wear from my house to the supermarket to the tailor, and the cleaner, my tires were bald. Selecting new ones was an interesting process, mostly because I don’t know squat about tires. With research and guidance, I landed on the ones with optimum all-weather traction that create a solid tread block for an exceptional combination of handling, steering, comfort and ...

No way!!! You didn't miss Squirrel Appreciation Day this year, did you? I'm thankful for many things and my list runneth over, but I've never thought squirrels could be counted among them. Until now. In the event this special day passed you by, get out the party poppers and read on ... Here's my new  Huffington Post : "Squirrel Appreciation Day: Don't Miss Celebrating!"   ( Click here ) .                                       Nature , Green News , Animal Behavior , Humor , Lifestyle , Squirrel Appreciation Day , Squirrel-Appreciation , Weird Holidays , Green News

The polar vortex is back with bitterly cold air settling southward from the Arctic. As a snowstorm bears down on the northeast, the winter weather term bombogenesis has come to the forefront. The impacts of a bombogenesis can include rapidly strengthening winds and high precipitation rates, as well as thundersnow . Currently, we have about 9-inches of snow, with more to come. Here is the view from my window:                             * * No, the image isn't missing. We are currently experiencing a complete white-out.

From a galactic perspective, we are currently in the midst of a waning gibbous moon . Springtime is out there in the universe, but close at hand at Ikea. The grass is always greener ...                                                                                    Rug display at Ikea

Be present. Be present. Be present. Be present. BE PRESENT. Be present.  Be present. Be present.  Be present.  Be present.   Be present. Be present. Be present. Be present. Be present.  BE PRESENT. Be present. Be present.    BE PRESENT.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.   Be present.  Be present.  Be present. Be present.  BE PRESENT.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.   Be present. Be present. Be present.  Be present. Be present.  BE PRESENT.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.  Be present.   Be present. Be present.  Be present.  Be present. Be present.  BE PRESENT.  Be present.  Be present. 

Have you ever had a dream that completely and utterly makes your day ... and even days thereafter? Last night I dreamed that I had a little 4-year old boy (my son is now 25) squirming and laughing in my arms. He was soft-skinned and roly-poly. As I snuggled him, I said, "I'm going to relish you like a little radish !" What would we do without the magic of our imagination?

The first-ever Golden Globes signature cocktail? "Moët Golden Night" -- a lushy medley of Moët Impérial, cardamom simple syrup and pear brandy, garnished with three pieces of fanned pear slices. Love it. But there was 100% proof that things got too loopy, and a bit sloppy, throughout the awards program.  Let's start with Jacqueline Bisset  ... not only did she look drunk, but it looks like she missed her hair appointment. ( Click here if you missed her awkward acceptance speech for the TV miniseries called, appropriately enough, Dancing on the Edge .) Later, Emma Thompson trotted onstage barefoot clutching a martini in one hand and her Christian Louboutin heels in the other. She proceeded to toss the shoes above her head, and then whooped into a slurry speech. Followed by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and their duo-Golden cocktail goblets and inebriated posturing. By the end of the show, this viewer had the whirlies.

Cate Blanchett , who wows the crowd with her title role in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine , is in the States this week for awards season. On her character in Blue Jasmine "I think, I hope, what I brought out in Woody's screenplay is that she's utterly constructed. I mean, the references that are made to her teen years, you know — she's changed her name. She's estranged from her biological beginnings, you know — to avoid thinking of what? The chasm, I think, that has always existed, [which] she's filled with her husband, her social network, her clothes that she buys. And I think a lot of people said, 'Well, why should we feel anything for her?' But I tried to find a connection to that universal problem that so many of us feel — who am I, without all the trappings of our lives?" Playing the character of "Blue (n ée "Jeanette," but " Blue " is so much more romantic in fragrance) Jasmine," Blanchett says,...

7-degrees in Connecticut. Crystals on my window.

It is so frikking cold that my hands are blue on the keyboard. The circuit of electricity on one wall flipped off and, with that, bye-bye small space heater. Brrrr. The L.A. Times featured a polar vortex story today about a girl in New Hampshire who tempted mother nature by licking the flag pole in her front yard. She called the dare "nerve-wracking," especially when her tongue got stuck and she couldn't exactly enunciate a call for help. Is this detached jet-stream-gone-rogue from the North Pole making everyone crazy? Was the brutality of winter mocking the stupidity of this kid? Lesson Learned in the first week of the New Year: Touching your tongue to a flag pole when it is polar frigid cold weather is a very bad idea.

With the children home for the holidays, we've had to tailor the menus for gluten-free and lactose-free . Now that everyone is back in their places in NYC and Honolulu, husband and I can get back on the trash track. Tonight I made a gluten dinner. Lots  of gluten. Followed by ice cream for dessert. With real whipped cream. Lots of it. It's good to be back to normal again.

Now that we're two days into the New Year, it's as good a time as any to take a look at how 2014 is going. I like to try and nip things in the butt, so if it's not going straight-forward in the last 48-hours, right this second is the perfect time to make any corrections.  Don't even wait for January 3. From my desk, the trajectory is looking good: - Thrilled about the imminent snowstorm. Shoveler (not me) and snow blower are ready to go. - Daughter is still here on-leave from Teach For America. Returns to Oahu this weekend, so we're embracing every minute of her time stateside. - I lost my new leather glove. Then I found it in the driveway. - According to an article in today's NYTIMES, car sales for Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Jaquar and Mercedes are up. Reports an automotive consultant with Robb Report, a lifestyle magazine for wealthy readers, "Luxury is not a dirty word anymore." (Great. I'll take an extra-long bubble bath tonight and will no...