Anonymous said... Timing is Everything

You ever have one of those days, which start out with nothing in

particular in mind to do?

Well, yesterday was just that.

I collect stationary. Mostly blank, but with lovely pictures on the front.

A treasure trove of future messages kept in my head

like eggs in an ovary

never to be used up in one's lifetime.

A picture of an orange and rusted ecru female Northern Cardinal


caught my eye. As it was sitting on my kitchen table

along with other cards to be put away,

the pile of which, had been taken out

for selecting the 'right bird' to escort

a check owed to my sister for purchasing a tree.

This puffed up, cute Cardinal, I thought,

might make a nice Thank You

to send to a manager of a dining establishment

operating at the local Hunt Club

where I had been for a delightful lunch

a few days earlier

with a group of friends.

Fountain pen in hand

my thoughts filled the entire two sides of the

card's blank interior commenting on the food, presentation and staff.

So, done.

I decided to make the 5 minute drive

south of our home

to deliver it in person.

Greeting me at the entrance area

inside the building

was a pair of spring arrangements

on a chocolate brown carved mahogany sideboard.


from local blooms

found everywhere.

The manager,

a woman, I've known for years

who is married to a former

history teacher at the High School

and lives on Stissing Lake

complete with beautiful boathouse,

thanked me for the note

which remained sealed during our visit.

She asked me what I thought of the arrangements

made with flowers from her garden

of lilac and apple blossoms.

We agreed that a little more height

for line and balance was needed.

I told her I had something home

to add.

Back home, in a flash

I picked red-orange tulips, spirea, forsythia branches,

Aluminum greens, monkshood leaves, and hosta

'just for fun' to add to the paired display

as well as the tables, containing pastel green

napkin 'fans' balanced in stemmed wine glasses

and pairs of daffodils in small vases at the center.

The greens would act as a filler ( two per table).

Restaurant manager was delighted.

One of the waitresses, a lifeguard in the summer


was looking forward to our 'time at the lake'

where she watches the children swimming

and I do crafts with them

and tend the town garden there.

So, it was homeward bound.

Still too overcast and cold.

I decided to break with habit and

go to the local market earlier than usual.

Once there..I dawdled and shopped

Mainly for vegetables

the 'positive' part of my diet,

of which unlimited quantities

could be consumed.

Once back in the parking lot

I dawdled some more

bringing in all the shopping carts

patrons had strewn all over

as they do particularly on Fridays as part of the 'weekend rush'.

When out of the corner of my eye

I saw the back of a man with a RED PONY TAIL

Could that be?

Molto Mario Bataglia! (of the Food Network: Freshness and simplicity are the keys to Mario Batali's spectacular Italian cuisine. Molto Mario brings these principles home – it's a culinary tour of Italy with tips and secrets from one of New York's premier chefs.

Slipping back into the store

I spied this culinary king around the corner at the rear of the store

in front of the dairy case for cheeses.

His hand held basket was filled

to the brim with vegetables.

Are you Molto Mario?

'No. I'm Mario Bataglia'

Heh, heh, heh.

Kvelling like an idiot,

I blurted out that I was a big fan of his.

Noting, he had lost a lot of weight,

I told him so

as a question,

'You've lost a lot of weight'

He half smiled and nodded yes, in agreement.

No more 'Molto' to the Mario

As, we were both on the same quest

where lettuce is best.