LUVY DOVY

And what a name it is for such a sweet little place to eat out on these mean streets.
My friend and I met for lunch at Luvy Dovy, a somewhat new place on Jefferson and Arsenal. I admit, I didn't have high expectations but in fact, I was pleasantly surprised.

My friend had a sandwich, tuna, I think and I had a very nice salad. It had lots of romaine and other healthy goodies.

I like the folks who run the place. They've opened in an upcoming neighborhood and are lovely people. I'd like more vegetarian but I know, most people don't care.

I can say if you are in that particular neighborhood, it's a good place to meet friendly folks and have a pretty healthy meal.

Go see them, support them and get something pretty good to eat.

My friend provided a photo along with the ones that I took...showing the place where it's located.

HAVE A LOOK AT CURIOUS VAGABOND

How about just going to www.curiousvagabond to see that post. I'm too tired to post any additional right now. Time for a nap and then a walk/electric bus to downtown...this town is so damn cute...it looks like a little stage set.

More later, huh?

WELL, KICK ASS MAPLEWOOD!!

I was gonna do a post about how wonderful it is to hang out at my house and bla, bla. Of course, it is....

But at the last minute I decided to go to the opening of the Jump and Jive Club in Maplewood. I don't know whether to call it a club, a bar, a restaurant, a piano bar or what but good god 'o mighty. I went there by myself and by the time I left I was hoarse from singing and generally whooping it up.

What a great place to go to have a couple of drinks, some food and either be entertained with dueling pianos on stage or really get into the groove by singing and carrying on yourself.

The pianists were really, really good. Now, of course, they didn't do Bach or Beethoven but they did play really damn well and they did a lot of songs that are recognizable. And they were showmen. They got the whole place involved.

I ran into an architect who is an old friend and who did this club. It was nice to see him, talk to him and discover that he met and married someone..I guess it's never too late for those of us who long still for that kind of companionship.

Jump and Jive is just the most fun I could have with my clothes on. I haven't sung out like that for a long time. Just enjoying the groove of what's happening. It was such fun.

I heartily recommend this brand new place on the corner of Sutton and Manchester. These guys are going to have a lot of success with this venture. It's kinda old school and kinda today at the same time. I'll bet they end up franchising this idea all over.

I can only imagine going there with a sympathetic sweetie or a group of friends. I don't know if it would be more fun than I had tonight but I'm guessing it might.

How lucky for me to have this place open in Maplewood...so near my house. I'm telling you..this place kicks ass.

If you wanna have some unselfconscious, down and out fun, its a great place to go.

Anybody out there wanna go, just let me know. I'm up for some inexpensive drinks...imagine...prosecco at 4 bucks a glass. Whatever! And a salad and some really great entertainment.

Fun, fun fun...that's all I can say.

HOME GROWN MEALS

The other night I made a very simple meal from a few vegetables grown right where I work, at Bowood Farms. Molly, the young woman who takes care of the garden being grown there at Bowood had a few veggies to pass out to employees. Really, I think I might have been the only one who took a few, leaving some for anyone else who just might want them.

I was having a guest for dinner and wanted to use the veggies in a way that would be filling, tasty and not overpowering. After cooking some pasta (organic but unfortunately not whole grain) I put it aside and chopped up a little of everything that I had been given. There were chunks of pattypan squash, slices of zucchini, wheels of okra and pieces of sweet red pepper chopped into small dice. I also added some scallions and garlic that I had on hand and seasoned the whole lot with some herbs growing in my back yard and a little parmesano reggiano...all the way from the other side of the world.

The olive oil, black pepper, pasta and cheese were the only items that came from far away. It was so nice to know that just about everything my guest and I ate that night came from only a few miles from here.
I wish I had the wherewithall to really grow a great garden. It takes so much more time than one would imagine. I did it as a young person and if it's big, it's almost a full time project. So, I will be content purchasing from farmer's markets and supporting as much local produce as I can while growing my own small garden in my side yard and of course, growing herbs and being open to weeds and other wild growing things.

Tonight I sit here enjoying the last of that meal as leftovers. It is just as delicious but not quite as exciting as sharing it with someone. Eating the food, I remember the pleasant evening with my charming friend.

Tonight I had another friend here and she and I laughed about so much and had such a good time talking...but I'll tell you more about that another time.

LIFE COMES ON

In the middle of my planning a trip and writing poems and day-dreaming about what might be, I received the news that my brother had committed suicide.

I have barely been able to put this event into any kind of place in my life. I struggled with the why's and the reasons that he might have done this. I'll never know. I was very sad. I thought of how very sad and lost he must have felt to do such an act.

I guess at one time or another just about everyone has considered how the world might go on without them. But most go on with their lives dealing with the pain and the disappointments that come. Some do not. That's what I've had to accept about my brother. He decided not to go on. For him, I guess, this was the least painful way to deal with the things that gave him pain and disappointment.

I keep his memory in my heart. I keep his playful spirit, as a little boy, in my mind. I release him to a less painful (and at least in my imagination, a more beautiful) place. I wish I could have helped.

I simply wish that I'd had some way of knowing that this way coming...some way of helping him make another decision but I didn't. This makes me very sad.

I thank all my friends and acquaintances for the help and support that they've offered me since this very sad event. I will always be thankful to you all.

TRAVELING AT NIGHT

Where do we go when we dream?

Last night I had sad, disturbing dreams...about a kiss on the cheek from an old love and a confrontation with an old friend. I connected them in some bizarre manner at a movie theater and oh, I'm not going to go in to the whole thing.

Even though there was a little light in the dream, it was but a little. Most of it was sad and ineffective and hopeless. I wonder what part of my life is being reflected in this dream right now. Oh, I do "get" a big part of it and understand the why's and who's of the dream...what I don't understand is what direction it is pointing me toward. What change in my inner thinking is it asking? Is there some action I need to take?

Really, since it is my belief that basically the world exists within each of us, any action I'd need to take is strictly within myself. The state of my world outside my own self is the same. Nothing has changed because of any dream I've had. Or do dreams point to change? Perhaps so but just internal change, I'm guessing.

So, it's left me sad, disgruntled and generally feeling negative this morning. Time to exercise...maybe that'll help.

Just as 'a kiss is just a kiss'...a dream is just a dream. Nothing more. I must start remembering those things.

And bla, bla, bla...