TURN-OFF

Tenants milling about, trying to go home.

IT'S GETTING TO BE A HABIT. EVERY YEAR OR SO, I receive a notice from Con Edison (the gas, electricty company) full of regrets. I immediately feel their pain. Because it will soon be my pain too...unless...
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Alas, the management of the building I live in seems to be engaged in the Sherry House/ Con Ed yearly gotcha marathon. Maybe just to take our minds off impending terror trials/ strikes, disappearing subway routes, (due to renovations...where did that station go?), unmentionable inflation, etc. So I just received a neatly written note informing us that management has not paid a $1660.00 security deposit , and soooo sorry, but unless Con Ed receives the payment very soon they will have to turn off service to the commonly used areas of the building.
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Hmmm, let me see. That would include interior lights, heat to the building, (now 16 degrees), garbage compactor, laundry room, and oh yes, ELEVATOR! A mere hop, skip and a jump for us to traverse 18 stories. And of course, no deliveries to be received, no visitors (or maybe) bearing flashlights or glowing candles, perhaps all the shrinks in the building meeting their patients on a landing or in the lobby, no light for postman in mail room...I'll stop now. BUT, this is nice...my own personal space, my apartment will not be affected, because I maintain such a fine relationship with Con Ed. I pay my bills. So it looks like I'll be able to flaunt my brightly lighted apartment, in the midst of a darkness that may invite my gothic imagination to take hold.
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Last time around I called management in a panic...they asked me to hold...I'm still waiting. I found the supe (superintendant) who reassured me with the NY answer...Nahhh, ain't happenin'. Met fellow tenants clutching letters..did you get one too? I did phone Con Ed...Press 1 if you speak English...I finally got to press 7..very polite rep asked me if that was a form letter? Nothing to fear but fear itself... I actually bought into those winter games. Turned out, the supe was right. This time, pretty much a big yawn...What, me worry?
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But what if?
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J.D. Salinger

photo/ Lotte Jacobi
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JEROME DAVID SALINGER/ January 1, 1919- January 27, 2010
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J.D SALINGER, the author of "The Catcher In The Rye", has died at the age of 91. Many will remember him, many tributes will be made to this most reclusive of writers, whose reputation rests with a slight body of work with a huge influence: " The Catcher In The Rye", "Nine Stories", the stories about the Glass family: "Franny and Zooey", and "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters", among others.
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For a big portion of my younger life, I had myself confused with J.D. Salinger. I certainly didn't see him when I looked in the mirror, I being a reasonably comely young woman. And he being a He, and already on his way to being a world class recluse. But first he became the idol and role model for every aspiring wiseguy writer to surface from their complete submersion in his prose. Whenever I put pen to paper...we did in those days, yellow pads, blue Bics, I had to make the decision who I would be that day: Holden Caulfield, or Franny or Zooey. I blushed at how much the Glasses fit in my family's clothes.
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I can say that I've never fully recovered from the spell that J.D. Salinger cast over me. A wry and slightly cynical voice was stirred when Salinger's prose appeared. Still breaking away.
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Some say that Salinger fulfilled Holden's desire to build himself, "a little cabin somewhere with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life..."
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Rest in peace.

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CHOCLAT SIN..# 11

AH, SIMPLICITY! SOMETIMES A LITTLE TENDER MORSEL will do you. Think of this as a something you'd really like to share. Sweet and refined at the same time. A light wine....also, good, strong espresso, with a twist of lemon, perhaps. I think this is good at tea time. Tea served from my Grandmother's samovar, the one she said the Tzarina gave her when she stopped at Rashkov....
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CHOCOLATE CHIP MERINGUE COOKIES
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3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
3 tbls. unsweetened cocoa
3 tbls. semisweet mini chocolate chips
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Preheat oven to 300 deg.
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt at high speed of a mixer until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbls. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sift cocoa over egg white mixture; fold in. Fold in chips.
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Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls on to prepared baking sheet. Bake at 300 deg. for 40 min. or until crisp. Cool on pan on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, reusing parchment. Store in airtight container.
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Sift cocoa on meringues when serving.
Serve with a dry, fruity Riesling or a crisp and light Prossecco.
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Dream...

DREAMING
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Some dreams seem real,
a landscape where I blithely walk.
I had such a vision last night,
someone knocked at my door,
itself a gilt rococo rhombus,
splintering from age,
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its scrolls and cliche' angels interwoven
and my friend Mary beckoned for me
to follow her to the door down the path,
which I did.
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I found a portal, not too embellished,
knocked and waved to my friend
Jim, whose undulating tresses
flowed seductively
as the hair of a satyr should.
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A real surprise,
but it was he, true enough
and not symbolic,
with a stance imperial,
like an ambassador-at-large
for mischief.
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I should have known all along.
In my real life he's gone for good,
and my question is,
is my dream about yearning?
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Wednesday's dream was another story,
all symbolic.
I had no form,
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I seemed to be a sliver of paper,
scribbled upon
then crunched in a clenched fist
and thrown to the ground
where a gust of wind sent me airborne.
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And my question is,
is my dream about longing?
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CHOCLAT SIN...#10

artist/ Olivia Stephens
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LAST WEEK I PRESENTED ONE HECK OF A TERRIFIC RECIPE, CHOCLAT SIN #9, that combined chocolate and peanut butter, in a more or less traditional way. This week I'm combining chocolate and peanut butter again, in a non-traditional recipe, unless you're used to cooking Mexican. Have a go at this one...have I ever steered you wrong?
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CHICKEN PEANUT MOLE'
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Vegetable oil or no-stick spray
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
Salt, pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth (low fat)
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 to 3 tsp. chili powder, to taste
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbs. honey
chopped cilantro/ optional
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1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, sprinkle with salt, pepper, cook until golden brown on all sides. Do not overcook. Remove from skillet.
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2. Add small amount of oil to skillet. Add onion, cook until softened. Add garlic, cook another minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, chili powder, peanut butter, cocoa, honey and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, 10 min., uncovered to thicken. You can puree sauce with immersion blender, or leave chunky.
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3. Place chicken in sauce, combine. Cook, low heat, uncovered 5/10 minutes. Serve with rice, sprinkled with cilantro, if you wish. Serves 8.
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4. You can drink a soft, light, fruity red with this meal.
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Painting...

Vermeer
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ISN'T IT FUNNY WHEN someone says exactly what you would have said, if only you'd gotten there first? Maybe ideas float through space. D.T. SUZUKI...caught this one...wrote it down..now it's mine, now it's yours....
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" A wonderful painting is the result of the feeling in your fingers. If you have the feeling of the thickness of the ink in your brush, the painting is already there before you paint. When you dip your brush into the ink you already know the result of your drawing, or else you cannot paint. So before you do something, "being" is there, the result is there. Even though you look as if you were sitting quietly, all your activity, past and present, is included, and the result of you sitting is also there".
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Maybe life is deja vu', all over again. As the great philosopher, Yogi Berra once said!
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Haiti...

HAITI/ QUAKE/ 2010
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Pulled down to earth, beneath the ground
smashed to gravel,
are you walking, are you sinking?
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Does your body draw away
from your dusty breath
to split this minute from forever?
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Yet your skin is flowing red,
you see your life walk the edge,
as a villain seems to press
his hand against your mouth.
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Try going back to live your hope,
calling out,
will I be alive?
Still the crimson flows.
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You are grey without your soul.
Have you faith that you exist
when it seems as if you don't?
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You learn quickly in this place
where a quake has pushed you down
to inhabit an abyss.
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You've little time to decide
if you're dead or yet alive.
And now you'll try
to take a walk
through shattered stone.

@copyright/ all rights reserved
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CHOCLAT SIN..#9

I'd say that this is one of the simplest indulgences to prepare. Frankly, I'd just as soon scoop some peanut butter onto a spoon, top it with luscious, melted dark chocolate and then lick the whole thing till I can see my face in the shining bowl.
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But no! I know that you folks are not as simple as I, and so you actually crave and deserve a recipe. This one's next best to eating out of the jar.
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CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER PAN COOKIES
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3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups all purpose baking mix ( Bisquick or similar)
1 (12 ounce) package dark chocolate bits, divided
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Stir together peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.
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Stir in brown sugar until mixed. Add baking mix and 3/4 cup morsels, stirring until just moistened. Spread mixture in a lightly greased 15x10 inch jelly roll pan.
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Bake at 325 deg. for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven, and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 1/4 cups morsels; let stand 5 minutes or until chocolate melts. Spread melted chocolate evenly over top. Cut into squares or triangles.
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Yield: About 24 pieces
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A Book

A BOOK
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I like to hold a book,
to dog ear it's pages,
to find the one I read last year
and wonder why I underlined the phrase,
"at my departing".
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Smelling the binding,
hoping no one's watching
my preference in perfume.
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But here comes Kindle.
Throw out a word
and an odorless tome springs back
like an echo
looking for a place to light upon.
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Google, owning the art of conjure,
has the noble goal
to possess the world of words,
so we can click like katydids
and ride a wave of language.
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Instead of burning books
I mean to collect and pose on shelves
a roomful of verbiage,
wrapped in as much dust as possible,
that motivates me to find
the one that's signed by Austen.
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c copyright/all rights reserved
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My Aura...

THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE CATS know what I mean when I say that I had the distinct feeling this morning that Milo was staring at my aura. Not at me, but something that may have been surrounding me, or perhaps clinging to me. I stared back and asked, "What"? Like I expect an answer. "What?", again. Hmmm, no answer. I can't get over that, that he knows something and won't tell me.
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I did the best I could, I moved out of the room. Hopefully solved the problem. Must have. Milo went back to playing with some trash. Yes, but what does Milo know, and when did he know it?

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I come from a long line of mystical speculators. In fact I even got around to publishing a book of poetry about a year ago called "Two Ghosts", chock full of poems with spooky undertones.

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Last year I posted the following poem on my blog, sort of a reflection of my very early confrontation with the spectral. Here it is again.

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SOUNDLESS

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Late in the afternoon

as the sun swept its final glow

across the sky,

I sat in the kitchen

with a blue lined pad

arranging my homework for tomorrow.

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No noise was heard

of footsteps approaching.

Then suddenly

my grandmother was at my side.

I gasped

in surprise again,

and wondered why

she made no sound.

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Because, she said,

that's how we were in the village

where I was a child.

People floated when they wished to

and I learned their natural ways.

Not as high as the ceiling,

just inches from the floor.

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I asked if they were ghosts.

She said no, not at all.

Ghosts

are able to do so much more.

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"TWO GHOSTS"/poems/Lyn Rochelle

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.bn.com/

http://www.borders.com/

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CHOCLAT SIN..#8

One for you, one for me!
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THE BEST OF THE BEST FOR LAST...TOP TEN CHOCOLATES OF 2009!
Warning: It's going to cost you in calories and moola!!
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1. Godiva/ Dark Lion of Belgium...Butterscotch caramel in a dark chocolate shell.
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2. Godiva/ Raspberry Caramel Duet...tart raspberry caramel layered over caramel, in dark chocolate shell.
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3. Payard/ Masterpiece I...Box of your choice: Degas/ Dark and milk chocolate ganache with coffee beans. Picasso/ Dark chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey Tea. Palet d'Or/ Vanilla rum ganache covered with dark chocolate...plus half a dozen others too fab to miss.
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4. XOX Truffles/ Storefront in San Francisco, North Beach/ traditional hand made chocolate truffles. Listed in "Chocolatier" as one of top 10 chocolates.
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5. La Maison du Chocolat/ Coffret Maison Dark/ Assortment: dark chocolate, ganache, praline, creations fron Paris' best. In NYC...4 locations/ Madison Ave, Rockefeller Center, Wall St.,
5th Ave. Plan your next visit overindulging in chocolate!
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6. Romanicos Chocolate/ Most decadent chocolate truffles, handmade! Custom Chocoholics Box, not cheap. Located in Miami...air conditioned, so you won't melt. Neither will the chocolate!
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7. Vosges Chocolates/ Extra special chocolate combined with Mexican chili, or blood oranges, or pumpkin, or hazelnut, or honey, or caramel, etc. Top seller/ Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix. In NYC...at Bergdorf Goodman. Oh, don't forget chocolate marshmallows.
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8. MarieBelle/ In NYC, Soho...at Broome St. Tea Salon that brings to mind the cafes of Paris, Vienna, Budapest. Delicate, handmade with the finest cacao. Flavors such as saffron, cardamom, lemon, spices. Try Aztec Hot Chocolate in 4 flavors...Original/ dark/ mocha/ spicy. Don't try to resist.
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9. Jacques Torres/ Watch chocolate being made by the famous Jacques at Water St. in Brooklyn, and at Hudson St., in NYC. Interior of shop is designed to look like you're inside an enormous cacao pod! I've died and gone to heaven!
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10. Lindt Chocolate/ A special salute to a popular brand..and my fav. Intense Orange Bar/ dark chocolate, orange pieces, almond slivers. Buy it anywhere...I do, and carry it for my next fix! Nothing fancy shmancy here, $3.50 a pop!
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You can Google any of these sites..no harm in looking!!
Disclaimer: I do not get a kickback from this compilation! Why not?

Here's looking at you!
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OVER !!

I THINK IT'S TIME TO JUMP OUT OF THE HOLIDAY BOX. Forget the swine flu..I'm running a very high cabin fever. Time to stop sulking because I got one bauble less than perfection. It's the thought that counts, and I'm more than grateful to have collected so many.
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I've spent one day too many in the yoga position aptly named "couch potato". Thankfully TV Marathons and Memorial Tributes are trickling to an end. My tear ducts are just about drying up. I get weepy for the worthy and scoundrels alike, those who've passed this mortal coil. Don't get me wrong, I'm as fond of Walter Cronkite as the next person. Also, I wonder if it's all that necessary to have day long, night long marathons of "Law & Order". Programmers, please take note..."L&O" is on every day, every night, on a Mobius Strip, for eternity, going back to when Sam Waterston had black hair. A special marathon seems oxymoronic to me. And yet I can't quit it. Also marathons for shows that just debuted in October, are being given all-nighters. Oh, puhleeeze!
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If your moon is in the 5th House of Fun, like mine, you've got to get out there and shake it up! So pull that last strand of tinsel off the cat, sweep those pine needles out the door once more. Go, go, go...and smile at the first baby, you see! Happy New Year!!
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