just_margie's Xanga

Where did I find the time?

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:53:38 GMT

I can barely find the time to write on Xanga. How did I ever do so much commenting? Obviously, I was sitting in front of the computer a lot more. I'm going to try to get around to visiting everyone soon. Today just isn't the day. Meanwhile, thank you all for the warm welcome back. I really appreciate everyone being so kind. Hope to see you soon! Meanwhile, here's a few more Rome photos...

Margie

Check out the guy crumpled up in a little ball in the street. I don't think he was feeling too well.

I love the expression on the little elephant's face.

Just a little scary church stuff. They've got no problem with reminding you that you're going to be history yourself someday!

Why Rome is Difficult

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:22:00 GMT

Well, first of all, any time people don't speak the same language I do, I get a little concerned. What if I need something? Thank goodness for Hubbard. He spent several months in Rome as a student. Long ago he learned how to communicate in Italian, though he doesn't know a whole lot of the language. Hubbard isn't bothered by the fact that he probably looks like a babbling lunatic to these people. He just keeps after it until they understand. He's very polite and gracious. Everyone ends up trying to help him when he starts "talking". The evening of my birthday I went out shopping by myself. I was a tiny bit terrified the whole time. But, I did end up feeling like a grown up lady. And practically everyone I ran into spoke English.

Rome is all uphill. You've heard of the "Seven Hills of Rome"? Well, there aren't seven. Rome is one big hill. In fact, I believe that no matter which direction you go, it's a climb. And since Hubbard tends to march everywhere he goes in Rome, the ascention gets a little tiring. I have to admit it. I'm a wimp. But, next time, I'd like to take it a little slower and use public transit a little more. The first trip there I was afraid I'd miss something. So, I wanted to walk.

There are too many people. Too many alive and too many dead. It's a very high energy city. And I feel like some of that energy comes from all the ruins and history that you're walking amongst. The first time we went to the Forum I thought I was going to faint. It was so full. The air was thick. It was like everyone that had ever been there was still there. Rome is a little overwhelming.

Rome is magic.

Roma

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:33:56 GMT

Rome is a magical place. It is almost scary, the way it doesn't change. The energy is Rome is so intense that I was almost short of breath the entire time I was there. It's spooky. There's no denying it's spooky. It is almost inconceivable that we stayed within a minute's walk to the Pantheon. Narrow cobblestone streets, laid with cars not in mind. Something stirringly beautiful around every corner.

The central historic district is where we stayed. We took a hellish cab ride to the Pantheon. Italian dring is everything I thought it would be. Terrifying. Beyond terrifying. From there, our cab driver claimed he could drive no further. I was a tiny bit concerned that we were going to have to walk with our luggage a long way. We turned the corner and there we were. We stayed in the Piazza Rondonini. Darling little apartment with a kitchen and a lift to the 5th floor. A two person lift this was. Three if you're willing to become intimate. It worked almost every day we were there, thank God. We had a little balcony that overlooked the piazza.

That's our place. Up there in the top left corner. Those two "windows" were actually doors onto the little balcony. The construction going on to the far left was a replacement of the tile roof on that building. Judging from how fast they were working, it should be completed in about 7 1/2 years. Here's our little piazza...

That little umbrella, we sat under it waiting to meet our weird landlord, Marco, and hand over a huge wad of cash. Something felt strangely wrong about that. But, it turned out to be the right thing to do. Right below our apartment was this heavenly little restaurant. More on that later.

So, here was our approach to Rome. Hub is in charge of sight-seeing. I am in charge of food. Fancy that. I was extremely lucky to find this book, "The Food Lover's Guide to the Gourmet Secrets of Rome" by Diane Seed. God sent me this book. Each chapter is a neighborhood. She lists all the best place to eat and shop for food and drink. The book just came out in 2007. It was written by a resident of Rome who is from the U.S but married an Italian man. And she runs a cooking school. Perfect. Anyway, we'd get up every morning and decide where to go and then take down notes about restaurants in the area. When people ask me what I loved best about Rome I always say it was the food.

After our first exhausting outing in Rome we came back to our apartment and landed on the patio of L' Angoletto, the restaurant right below our place. The brought out wine and fried anchovies and suddenly I knew why I had come to Rome. Nothing had ever been better. The gnocchi was good. But, the carbonara was fantastic with little crunchy pieces of pancetta and a silk sauce. We sat and drank wine. Just about the time I thought they had forgotten us, our waiter brought out a veal saltimbocca for us to share. I can still taste it. We shared some hazelnut gelato. That was our two hour lunch. Luckily, all we had to do was tumble into the lift and go take a nap.

This is what you need in Rome. Patience. Hub posted a reminder in our living room. It's not easy going to Rome. But, it's totally worth it.

Been A While, Huh?

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:16:33 GMT

It's been a long while. So many times I've thought of writing, just to sit and look at the screen and think, "I've lost the will to write". I don't know what's come over me today. Maybe it was Jaz.

Max looked away four times like this just as the camera flashed. You think she's figured it out?

This is the best I could get from her. She's about 70ish pounds now. And a big old snuggly sweetie.

Roger the Wonderous Weenie Dog is still about the same. Sitting on tables. He has no shame.

We've been up to various stuff, the best of which was our trip to Rome! That's a full blog of pictures which I'm not sure I'll actually do. But, it was just the most amazing thing I've ever done. Hub was in charge of the sights and I was in charge of the food. I found this wonderful book that outlined all these fantastic restaurants by neighborhood and we ate ourselves across Rome. I just can't tell you how great it was. We rented a nice little apartment on the 5th floor with a balcony. The Pantheon was literally around the corner at the end of our block.

This was the view from our room.

This is one of the fantastic places we visited. The Castel S Angelo. Rome is an incredible place. We celebrated my birthday in Roma. The restaurant below us knew us well before our stay was over (10 days). Every morning when we left to go sight-seeing they would wave to us as we left the building. I already have a list of all the things I wish I had done. And 134 photos of the things I did do.

I had some of the best food I've ever had in my life in Rome. It inspired me to ask 10 friends over to have a huge Italian dinner. It would have to dig around to find the menu. Three antipasti, a 6 lb. lasagna, three primi piatti (entree's), rice with mozzarella and basil and two desserts.

Here's the table.

Here's the friends.

My friend Lori really helped a lot. We both took off work and cooked the day before. It went off without a hitch. I love food. So much so that I created a little Chinese New Year feast for Hub and myself...

Hub bought a new bike which he loves super much and he's already lost about 15 lbs riding it. What is it with guys and shedding pounds? Not fair.

He really loves his bike. That's all for now. Roger's about to knock the back door off it's hinges, wanting in. Good to talk to you guys again for a minute. Hope everyone is happy and well. Now, I'm off to wish someone a happy birthday...

Love,

Margie

Merry Christmas!!

Mon, 25 Dec 2006 10:26:45 GMT

Restaurant Week

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:18:42 GMT

There is absolutely nothing I like better than going out to a really nice restaurant. Today is our first official night out for Restaurant Week. But, we pretty much started last Thursday with the food celebration.

Thursday we had a couple of couples over to make pizza on the grill. We all made our own dough and topped each pizza differently. Bill and Lori made a pesto base pizza with chicken, goat cheese, some herbs, scallions, etc. Cornelia and Jean made half garlic and olive oil base and half red sauce topped with Canadian bacon, fresh pinneapple, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and some chopped jalepenos on one side. We made garlic and olive oil base topped with Italian sausage, scallions, fresh mozarella, tiny cherry tomato slices & parmesan. Hubbard cooked them all on the Big Green Egg. They were fabulous! We had a great time cooking, eating the anitpasto and drinking Hub's freshly made margaritas.

Saturday Hub and I went to brunch at Monica's Aca Y Alla. I had the Mexican lasagna and Hub had an enchilada plate. The margaritas were only $2.50 with brunch. Monica is the same woman that owns Ciudad, where we brunched on Sunday. I had the carne asada breakfast tacos and Hub had a fried fish taco to start, then French toast with bacon. We spent about twice as much money even though the margaritas there are only a dollar with brunch. At this point, I was beginning to be certain that my blood must be running margarita green! We ran into Slade and Wade. Always fun to see those guys. And Monica came by our table to say hello.

Tonight, we go to York Street. York Street is a place that Hubbard's dad paid for us to go as a gift to Hubbard when we were first dating. At that time, it was most likely the nicest restaurant I had ever experienced. Intimate. French food. The wine. It was incredible. York Street has changed hands a few times since then. But, it's still considered one of Dallas' best intimate dining experiences. The woman from KRLD, who is in charge of Restaurant Week, told me her friends were asking her to pull strings to get them reservations. Of course, the place is so small that once it's full, it's full. We have an 8:00 reservation and I'm scared to death that I'm going to stay up too late and be all tired for Abacus tomorrow night. I haven't seen the menu because York Street doesn't have a website. A friend of mine, who's husband is a chef at Stephen Pyles restaurant, suggested I call and find out what York Street is serving tonight. I decided to wait and just be pleasantly surprised.

So, that's where we are going tonight. Tomorrow night, it's Abacus. We LOVED Abacus last year. And this will be even more fun because our friends Bill, Lori, Cornelia and Slade are joining us. They have the menu posted on the Abacus website and I still can't decide what to get. Slade sent me an email today at work saying "72 hours and 14 minutes until dinner!". We're really excited.

I guess I'll update later with the fabulous food I ate. I'm salivating already!

Oh, and of course, the wine, darling... the wine!

The Holidays Are Upon Us

Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:51:44 GMT

I'm so excited! I'm considering mid-August to be the beginning of the holiday season. Here's the line-up...

August 14 marks the first day of Restaurant Week. Margie LOVES Restaurant Week. It's a wonderful chance to try a really expensive restaurant for much less than what they would normally charge. $35 gets you a three course meal, if you can stop at just that. We're going to three restaurants this year with the money I got as a reward for recommending Slade to work where I do. Of course, Slade is going with us to Abacus. Afterall, if not for him... Anyway, we're going to York Street on Tuesday. Very small and intimate and we're damn lucky to have a reservation there. I called the day the list of participating restaurants came out and it was almost full then! Wednesday is Abacus. Went went there last year and just loved it. And Friday is Il Sole. We haven't been to York Street in about 13 years and we've never been to Il Sole. Both come highly recommended. I can't wait!!

The next event is at the end of September. You guessed it! The Great State Fair of Texas! Of course, we'll be there on opening day. The fair usually marks the beginning of cool weather. As I sit here and it's 105 outside, I sure wouldn't mind a little of that!

Mid October is Margie's birthday.

Then, Halloween and our trip to Caddo Lake! (Watch out for the bad music if you hit that link.) We're staying in Uncertain, Texas. You gotta love that name! It's a really cute little cabin with a screened in porch, full kitchen, private dock and a canoe. Obviously, it's right on the water. We can take the dogs, too, for just a $10 additional clean up fee. It's that a steal! We may leave them with the blonde ladies, though.

After that, Thanksgiving and the first Friday I've ever been able to take off after Thanksgiving that I can remember. It's one of the joys of not working retail. I can take a normal day off!

Then, Christmas. I AM going to my parents house this year. We have no big trip planned for the following week or anything. So, that's my plan.

New Year's is next and that's always a favorite. We'll probably spend it with our friends the Smiths, if Hubbard doesn't come up with some kind of get-away weekend.

The finale is Hubbard's birthday, the first week of February.

Sounds like fun to me!!

On another note, Maxine and Roger are doing great. I can't really get a good picture that shows how big she's getting. But, she's really tall! She weighs over 25 lbs now. The vet says he thinks she'll be a 50 lb adult. I guess we'll see!

More Max

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 18:30:13 GMT

She's 12 weeks old now, I believe. And she's really starting to be a good girl. She understands a little bit of English and she knows that going potty inside is not a good thing.

She and Roger are such good friends.

They actually are learning to peacefully co-exist. Even if it only lasts a few minutes.

Then, of course, a girl gets sleepy.

That's my sweet little girl!

If you know Roger you would never believe how he's changed. Having his own boxer puppy has really made him step up to the plate. I'm so proud of what a good dog he is with her. I don't know what I'd do without the little spoiled boy! Max loves him big time!

Sleepy Girl

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:27:43 GMT

Sometimes a girl just gets sleepy...

Puppy Progress

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:26:31 GMT

That was the first day.

The following Saturday...

Today...

The girl is growing.

Face Day 1

Face today...

Dang.