The Summer of ‘24

Haha!

It has been a relatively uneventful summer for me, other than a wonderful family wedding in Traverse City in June.

I’ve had no other big summer vacations. No road trips. No major plans. But still. I count every interaction and get-together as a blessing.

 

Recently I had dinner with a couple of friends from my old neighborhood. We went to a new place I don’t think any of us had been to before. Sadly, we were all decidedly underwhelmed. Since it was happy hour, we took advantage of the appetizer and drink specials – but the food was not great and the drinks were a little too concocted, if that makes sense.

 

They took a simple gin and tonic and mixed all sorts of weird ingredients in it to make it completely unrecognizable as a G&T. When I had to remove the green leaves floating on the top in order to take a sip, well, that didn’t bode well.

 

On the other hand, we got to experience a new place. For all we knew, it could have turned out to be our new favorite hangout.

 

And aren’t new experiences what life is all about?

 

Maybe.

 

Because on the other other hand, I’m best described as a creature of habit. I tend to visit the same places repeatedly. I have favorite meals that I order consistently such that I won’t even bother looking at the menu. And I find comfort in knowing how to get to a certain location and what I’m going to find upon entering the establishment.

 

But I also know that life is filled with adventures and it’s sometimes good to get out of my comfort zone, so I do make the effort every so often!

 

Regardless, I was happy to be out and it was good to have some time with Pat and Suzy and catch up on life a little bit.

 

I’m finding it hard to believe that it’s past the middle of August already and kids are heading back to school. My floatie is still filled with fresh air and I can count on one hand the times I’ve gotten to the Lazy River this summer.

 

Believe me, that’s a tragedy in Jane’s Domain.

 

I was sick after returning home from the wedding in Michigan, so I missed out on several mid-summertime activities and events. And then I had some doctors’ visits, family obligations and various and sundry responsibilities to handle that precluded me from being the social butterfly I normally am.

 

So, in recent weeks, I’ve made the effort to get together with various friends. 

I've been fortunate enough to be invited on friends' boats a couple of times. But rather than wait for the phone to ring or the invite to come via text, I've made the extra effort to schedule those get-togethers with friends. After all, isn't that where the maintenance part of friendship comes into play?

 

A few weeks ago I had lunch with Becky – a forever friend from our days at Ohio State. Becky and I don’t get together often – usually only a time or two every year for a marathon catch-up session at lunch. Fortunately, we found a spot that doesn’t care if our stay exceeds the normal time for lunch – and I always tip a lot extra so that our server doesn’t get too annoyed with us. (The place is rarely busy at lunchtime, so we’re not holding up the table. That is, until the happy hour crowd starts to arrive. And that’s generally our cue to leave!)

 

Anyway, Becky and I have traveled the same route with our aging parents and we are kindred spirits. We’ve been able to commiserate with each other and give each other helpful advice when it’s needed. So we always leave those lunches exhausted from trying to fit in ALL the stories we’ve been saving for our next get-together. I don’t know about Becky, but I always go home and remember something I meant to share with her but forgot.

 

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoy our time together and look forward to the next one.

 

I’ve had get-togethers with Sue (before she left on her recent international trip with her husband), with Karen and Karen, and with Debbie in recent weeks. Incredibly, I’ve known all these women since my late teens and early 20s.

 

I even met up with John and Sesame at the Hollywood Casino recently. And that was definitely impromptu. Going to the casino on a random Tuesday evening was nowhere close to being on my radar, but Sesame texted me and said they were heading out and did I want to meet them there. Spontaneous is not my modus operandi, but I surprised myself by saying yes.

 

The ONLY picture I took from
all these get-togethers. 

Since I had had no plans that day, I was most assuredly not ready for a public appearance. But I slapped on a little blush and lipstick, pulled my hair back and dressed in something other than the wrinkled tank top I’d been wearing. And set out for the other side of town for a quick meal and a little gambling. As I’ve never won anything at this casino, “little” is the operative word in that last sentence, but I figured it was a fun way to spend the evening. Plus, I hadn’t seen much of my friends – so I was happy to spend a little quality time with them.

 

I had breakfast with Lynn whom I hadn’t seen in a while. Her husband had been in a serious car accident last spring and Lynn has been by his side every day helping him in his recovery. Thus, getting together with her was a special occasion and I was happy we had the opportunity to spend a little time talking about our lives, faith and Steve's progress.

 

I also had lunch with Melinda last week at Carrabba’s because, well, I had a coupon. This place was the location of my first date with Vince, so it holds a special place in my heart. And he always indulged me by taking me there a couple of times a year. Since his passing more than three years ago, I’ve only been there a couple of times when I can talk someone into going.

 

But Melinda is actually the one who introduced me to the restaurant years ago. She also introduced me to their Chicken Bryan, which is my most favorite meal. (The lemon butter sauce is amazing!)

 

So even though I was excited about having my most favorite meal, I was also looking forward to seeing Melinda and catching up on life. Oh, and to clarify - the coupon was only the impetus to our getting together; not the only reason we got together.

And I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but friendships are even more important than lemon butter sauce!

 

We have a few more weeks of summer left and I’m hoping to fit in a few more get-togethers with friends. It may not add up to a phenomenal summer filled with major plans and adventures, but it was a phenomenal summer anyway. Friends make life phenomenal. And good friends? Well, they’re priceless.

 

I hope your summer has been phenomenal, too.

 

Until next time, friends.

A Fun-Filled Weekend in Jane’s Domain

It’s Monday afternoon. I’m still finishing my morning coffee because, well, I slept over 10 hours last night. I kind of have a rule of not drinking coffee in the afternoon because I don’t want to be awake all night from the caffeine buzz.

 

Guess I’ll be testing that little theory tonight, won’t I? If I’m able to fall asleep with no interruptions, I may have to change my ways. You’ll see me with my hot pink coffee mug permanently attached to my fingers guzzling java at dinnertime.

 

Anyway. WHY am I drinking coffee in the afternoon and WHY did I sleep over 10 hours last night?

 

Well, it’s because I went to Steubenville for my friends’ daughter’s graduation party over the weekend. That’s the quick answer. The long answer follows.

 

See? Long time friends.
Nick had hair and I was cute!

I’ve written about him before – but I’ve known Nick since my first year at Ohio State and we’ve been friends ever since. Time used to be measured in years, but now we measure it in decades.

 

Yikes – how is this possible? And when did we get so old??

 

But it never matters once we all get together because we just fall right back into our decades-long friendship. Other OSU friends were there, too. Nick’s twin brother, Joe (of course) and Charisse from Cleveland and Butch and his wife Dragana from Columbus. (Whom I never see, by the way, even though we live only about 15 miles from each other.) 

Other friends I’ve known seemingly forever – the two Mikes and Randy and Chris and Deena and Nick. (I hate when I name names…I’m always worried I’m going to leave someone out. Plus, I’m never sure if people actually want me to name their name!)

 

Nick and Beth’s daughter is heading off to college in the fall and I just wish so much for her in her college experience. I hope she learns a lot. I hope she has fun. I hope she makes mistakes (because we all do), but I hope she accepts those mistakes and learns from them.

 

But, mostly, I hope she meets a group of friends that she will be able to laugh with, lean on and grow with for the rest of her life.

 

The party, by the way, was amazing. The decorations were incredible. There were so many pink balloons, my little heart was overwhelmed with joy. But, truthfully? I got tired just looking at them all because I know how much time and effort went into all that decorating. 

But Beth did not act exhausted in the least. (Unlike me during some of the mega-parties Vince and I used to throw. I’d sit down somewhere during the middle of the party wishing I could just take a nap!)

 

But I also know they had a lot of help and support. That’s the kind of people they are – will step in and give anyone a hand – so others want to do that for them, too.

 

They had food catered from all sorts of local eateries (Pastaio and Scaffidi's – if you’re ever in the area, you should definitely check ‘em out). Other places, too, but I don't remember their names. Nick prepped some of the food himself. And there were cakes and cookies and tiramisu, oh my! 

The pool table was covered in pink plastic and then covered again with snacks and crackers and meats and olives and other appetizers. So much food that I actually thought that was the party food.

 

How am I still making this rookie mistake? Italians do NOT stop at mere appetizers!

 

I only found out later that the lasagna, meatballs, chicken limone and all manner of Italian foods and pastas were being served in their outdoor kitchen. (I used to think we had a lot of space in our house what with our two kitchens both upstairs and downstairs. Yeah, right. We were rank amateurs. Nick and Beth have three…!)

 

But as the party progressed, we toasted our friendships with limoncello shots. We took lots of photos. I drank more wine in one night there than I had in the entire previous month. We got into serious conversations. We got silly and laughed. A lot. We chatted and caught up with one another’s lives.

 

There were a couple people there I hadn’t seen since before Vince passed who gave me reassuring heart-felt hugs and also gave me a chance to talk about him a little bit. So, even though I missed him (as I do every single day), I didn’t have too much time to be sad.

 

But he would’ve loved being there in the middle of it all. And he would’ve taken far more pictures than I did.

 

And it was after 3 a.m. before I headed upstairs to crash on the couch.

 

I slept for a few hours only to get up in the early morning, head out to the patio near the pool and hot tub – and do it all over again. Well, except for the limoncello shots and the wine. For me, anyway. Driving back to Columbus later in the day precluded me drinking anything but coffee and my ever-present 24 oz drink bottle filled with water.

 

Everyone else waited until the afternoon before they broke out more bottles of wine. And they also brought out the trays of leftovers for an afternoon meal.

 

I was inside looking at the pool table once again covered in pink plastic and large trays of foil baking pans. I laughed and said, “This would be the party food I had for one of my parties. Here, it’s your leftovers!”

 

Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Vince was of the opinion that it was far better to have plenty of leftovers than to run out of food to serve your guests.

 

He did not subscribe to the Anne and Henry Domian Food Serving Rules. Wherein a person was offered either a hamburger or a hotdog during a Saturday cookout.

 

That used to make Vince laugh as he and his friend John used to cook burgers and hot dogs and steaks and chicken AND crab legs on the grill. Concurrently. But, on the other hand, mom and dad didn’t used to waste food, either.

 

Anyway, it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Nick supplied me with enough leftovers to last the better part of this week. And I drove home exhausted but smiling thinking about the conversations we had and my friendships with these special people.

 

How ‘bout you? What fun thing did you do this past weekend?

My Florida Vacation

A friend asked me to share photos from my recent trip to Florida and short cruise to Cozumel…and I realized that I didn’t take very many pictures. 

At least not up to the Vince Cordova standard of picture taking for a vacation.

 

I know we’ve become a very “snap happy” society with the advent of cell phone cameras that take excellent quality photos. But it also helps to have someone who thinks to take the photos.

 

For years, that was my Vince. And, because he loved taking photos and documenting our daily life, I have so many memories. Even insignificant dinners where he’d take my photo (despite my protests). Now, when they come up in my Memories on Facebook, I get to remember that night that I may not have specifically remembered otherwise.

 

Before Vince, I felt like I DID take a lot of photos. And this – mind you – was back in the day when we had those little point-and-shoot 35 mm cameras where the film had to be developed. I usually brought my camera along whenever there was a party or a gathering or a trip somewhere.

 

True, there were no selfies or duck lips, or hands on popped-out hips photos. And there were a whole lot of pictures that – once developed – were out of focus or might have been good except that the tallest person had their head cut off in the photo. Or they were just generally a bad photo that should have immediately been thrown away. But because we spent money on the film developing, they usually got tossed in a box of photos with all the other blurry shots as well as the negatives.

 

So now many of us have boxes and bins of photos in attics or closets or basements that need to be sorted.

 

That’s one of my March projects. There. I said it – now I’ve gotta do it!

 

Anyway, back to my trip.

 

I had a wonderful time! I rested and relaxed. I enjoyed the warmth and the sunshine. I had a glass (or two) of wine and some great conversations. I got to dip my toes in the ocean. Several times.

 

My hosts for the first weekend – Melinda and Dan – were happy to show me around their (relatively) newly adopted state. Melinda tried to point out various areas of their part of Florida. In vain, I might add.

 

It’d be like me trying to explain to someone not from Central Ohio the trip from New Albany to Grove City – and all the suburbs in between. To a directionally challenged person, this is a lesson in futility.

 

Perhaps I should have pulled up a map and followed along. But I also knew I wasn’t going to be driving myself around there anytime soon. And if I ever do, I will desperately rely on my GPS.

 

So instead I just enjoyed the drive and looked at the flora and fauna that is Florida.

 

We enjoyed meals out. And had some tasty drinks. And went to a pop-up outdoor market where we poked around the handmade goodies made by locals. One night we even had a Facetime call with our friends Brian and Patty back in Columbus, which was fun. Especially since Melinda, Dan and I were outside on their patio by the pool.

 

I then moved on to Susan and Jeff’s. I worried a bit that I might be overstaying my welcome since I was going to spend several days with them – and then Sue and I were going on a 4-day cruise to Cozumel.

 

You know what they say about guests and fish? Something about three days and beginning to smell – or something like that.

 

But Sue and Jeff were also great hosts and I felt a sense of rejuvenation that being on vacation with no responsibilities ensures.

 

Especially since I had no dog-walking duties. (Haha. Sorry, Mags…!)

 

But Sue and I went to the beach one day and just reveled in the heat and sunshine. Fortunately, for my paler-than-white skin, we had an umbrella to shield us. This, along with my 70 SPF kept me from frying. Thus, I came back to Ohio with a slight tint of color, but not anything that people would look at me and suggest I’d “gotten some sun.”

 

In my teens and 20s, that would have been an insult. But – hey – with age supposedly comes wisdom. Am I right?

 

Sue and I had pedicures one sunny afternoon, which was necessary lest I horrify the natives with my gnarly feet that have been fully hidden in socks and boots all winter. Felt blissfully freeing to wear my flip flops with happily polished toes in “Under the Moonlit Sea,” which is a cool purply-blue color. Sue chose “Aquatic,” which was gorgeous – a sparkly green with blue flakies.

 

Gee, you wouldn’t have guessed that we were going with a theme for our upcoming cruise, would you?

For dinner one night we had burgers on the grill, which, believe it or not, was one of the highlights of my trip.

 

I know what you’re thinking, which is probably: “You are weird, Jane’s Domain!” And that may be a nice way of putting it. But allow me to explain.

 

I can’t remember the last time I had burgers on the grill. Vince used to be our Grill Master and he’d make us the tastiest burgers on any random Tuesday. I took those dinners for granted, I guess.

 

And there is just something about burgers on the grill that no “flame broiled” or “gourmet” burger can hope to compare.

 

Sure, I suppose I could go out and buy a grill and make my own burgers. But it’s just not the same, you know? Besides, I’ve been known to singe off my eyebrows with a grill and, well, that is just not a good look.

 

I also read a lot of books on this vacation. To some, that might mean it was a boring vacation. To me, on the other hand, it meant I truly had a chance to relax. I told my sister recently that I’ve had a hard time concentrating on books since Vince passed. Don’t ask me why. It’s just hard to fully immerse myself in fiction. Sometimes I find myself re-reading pages because I’ll finish a chapter and have no idea what I’ve just read.

 

During this vacation, I managed to read just like I used to. That’s a good thing.

 

Hunh. I didn’t think I had a lot to share about my trip to Florida. Guess I never know when to shut up – and burgers and SPF and book reading becomes the topic of conversation.

 

Ah well. If you’ve read my blogs before, you know that they sometimes meander. (Sometimes?? Surely, you jest, Jane!)

 

I may write more about our cruise to Cozumel in another blog. Meanwhile, enjoy the sunshine-y pictures. 

Here in Ohio on this Sunday, we’re having a snowy, dreary day. But no matter the temperature outside – I hope you enjoy your day.

 

And I’ll be back again soon!