It just isn't right

One of the highlights of summer in Bloomington is our farmer's market (see a previous post). But this season, it's so pricey that its comparable to shopping at Dean & Deluca or the food hall at Harrods. Now I know the farmers have suffered this spring. The continuous torrential rains and cool temperatures didn't make for ideal gardening or growing conditions. And I also realize the flooding all around Bloomington probably damaged many of the farmers' gardens and they have to pay upwards of $4 a gallon for the gas to get them here (if they use motorized vehicles). But charging us as much as $4 for a quart of green beans is ludicrous. Two dollars for six green onions is even worse. But $3 for a pint of small red skin potatoes is totally absurd.

Being the daughter of a home economist, I've been taught from a very early age to choose my fruits and vegetables wisely and with great care. I also know my way around the kitchen and appreciate locally grown, quality ingredients--yes, even those grown with pesticides and non-organic fertilizers. (Miracle Grow is the fertilizer of choice for my own garden.) But I will not pay those prices for any produce any where and I can't imagine I'm alone in my thinking. One can only hope that as the summer progresses, the law of supply and demand will return sanity to the farmers' marketing process.

Barak Obama in Bloomington

I've been a life-long Republican and an advance person for Presidents Reagan and the first President Bush (when he as vice president). I've been to three Republican National Conventions, and I've been around many charismatic candidates. But yesterday I had an epiphany. During his surprise visit to the Women's Little 500, I pushed my way to the fence line and Barak Obama shook my hand. Dare I say it--I might take the democrat ballot in the Indiana Primary, May 6.

The excitement Mr. Obama generated with the young people was electric. They were screaming and shouting "We Love You" by the thousands. Mr Obama held up the beginning of the race to shake hands and encourage all 32 teams of racers. Not one single boo was heard from the crowd as so often happens when politicians appear at sporting events.

My experience yesterday confirms the truth. The country needs a change--a total change--not eight years of reliving the embarrassment of one family's first eight years in the White House. They can't have and don't deserve"Do Overs." Equally, this nation doesn't need more of the same old Republican leadership with McCain.

Its time to clean house, sweep out the cobwebs and give a new, young guy a chance. That's what happened with John Kennedy and I think the nation's ready for it one more time. (I'm just having trouble coping with the idea of asking for a Democrat ballot. Maybe, just this once, I'll take one for the country.)

Easter in Tudor Style

Today's Easter Sunday and despite the cold gray sky and snow flakes, I indulged myself for an Easter treat...lunch at the Tudor Room in Indiana University's Memorial Union Building also known as the IMU. Since my first visit to the Union Building when I was only in 5th grade, the building has seemed like a castle with its fire place that's always burning, the leather club furniture and English Tudor style archways and beamed ceilings.


Situated in the heart of the campus, the Union's proud history dates back nearly 100 years t0 its founding in 1911 as a gathering place for students, faculty and visitors. While the smoke filled lounges and bridge games in the Commons have been replaced with franchise fast food, computer kiosks and bank machines, the Tudor Room remains today as I have always remembered it with its stained glass windows and two-story vaulted ceilings hung with tapestries and banners.


The Easter brunch buffet probably wasn't the tastiest holiday fare in the area and certainly less opulent than Easter buffets in larger cities, but it honestly reflected the tradition and tastes of the collegial community. Today was not a day to stick with the Weight Watchers point counting. It was time to enjoy ham and lamb, spring carrots and delicious desserts and to be reminded that spring will soon arrive. Once again Bloomington will shed the grays of winter and burst into pinks and greens with the Union Building proudly standing in the center of the colorful display.



One more important point about the IMU is its incredible art collection. The IUM's web site describes the art collection as follows:

"Indiana University and the Indiana Memorial Union have a rich history of commitment to the arts and creative expression. Started in 1923 when IU students purchased six paintings from artist-in-residence Theodore Clement Steele, the Union’s collection now boasts more than 1,200 two- and three-dimensional pieces including works by distinguished Indiana artists Wayman Adams, C. Curry Bohm, Marie Goth, William Forsyth and Rudy Pozzati."

Breakfast Down at the FARM

I took Mother to FARM this morning for breakfast. It's Bloomington's newest up-scale restaurant with a real twist. I've seen the Chef-owner, Daniel Orr, highlighted frequently in the Indianapolis Star and the Bloomington HT lately. A home-grown Indiana boy, Chef Daniel has a long and distinguished culinary petigree that includes stints in New York and Anguilla. I had been to FARM for lunch and wanted to try it again at a different time of day.

The Saturday brunch menu was really unique for the area. Usually brunch in town consists of various versions of omelets, eggs to order or as sandwichs, bisquits and gravy and French toast. Sometimes yogurt, granola and fruit are also available. The FARM menu had many of the same (no bisquits and gravy) but with combinations of ingredients that were truly unique. Mother chose the French toast made with locally baked bread soaked in a flavorful custard flavored with a combination of cinnamon and other spices and a liqueur (I think it was grand marnier, maybe not). The soaked bread was then baked and served with a very light butter carmel sauce rather than syrup. It was delicious--a little too crusty on top--but enjoyable just the same.

I selected the omelette of the day made with only two eggs (started Weight Watchers this week). It came filled with small slivers of ham, brie cheese and cranberrys. An unusual combination--but it too was tasty. I'm glad I asked to have it downsized (at least I think it was). The side house potatoes were too plentiful and a bit too dry. So the next time I'm there for brunch, I'm going with the French toast. (Note, photo left was copied from the Indpls Star website.)

Chef Daniel was there meeting guests even at such an early hour (10AM) on a Saturday. As it turned out he's from southern Indiana where my mother's family farmed. The Farm decor deserves a peak-see. It's eclectic, mid-century (1950's) farm design spotlights some of the area's finest antique farm tools and object d'art.

(As a side note, the FARM Bloomington web site is one of the finest I have ever seen. The photography and design is superb. The link to its web design firm goes to Anguilla, a Caribbean island. All that bright sun, blue water and white beaches have given them an extremely keen eye for color and visual appeal.)

Who's Watching the Children

Outrageous is a strong term. No word better describes the Monroe county prosecutor's decision not to press charges against parents who chose to leave their three-year old toddler unattended in their unlocked car while they went to a movie. I don't subscribe to the philosophy that it takes a village to raise a child, but I do believe it's the prosector's duty to protect the children. In a town like Bloomington, strange crimes are always occurring (many based on drugs). Any parent who thought for even a brief moment their child was safe in a parking lot needs to be shaken back to reality. Prosecutors usually can do that.

But back to the parents. Haven't they read about amber alerts, stolen children, kidnappings and the like?Are they so isolated that they've escaped the tons of mail and milk cartons with missing children's faces. Don't they see near-daily reports of children being mistreated as a result of parental neglect. If nothing more, the prosecutor should have at least brought some kind of charges. It's too bad that parental stupidity isn't an arrestable offense especially for the sake of the children. Maybe they all need to watch a few episodes of Law and Order.

Traffic Control: Liberalville Style

Liberalville takes pride in making life miserable for those of us who live inside its borders and traverse its streets in cars. Our city fathers would prefer (and truly believe it's feasable) that we rode camels, horses, bicycles, skateboards or any vehicle not requiring carbon- emitting fuels. If Liberalville was a utopia, that might be feasible. But it is not. People have to drive cars to work, to shop, to school and to the hospital. That is the reality. Driving cars is a necessity--not the luxury it might be perceived.

To combat their "carsaphobia," Liberalville neighborhood groups coerce city engineers to erect barriers, concrete planters, flapping plastic obstacles and any other device they can construct to prevent or encumber a person from driving from the east side to the west side of town. They literally dare anyone --emergency vehicles include-- to drive through their neighborhoods unscathed.

The elected Liberalville city council sit in its ivory tower and rubber stamps any random thoughts, ideas or outrageous concepts regarding traffic control brought before them. It pays little or no regard for public safety or convenience. The city constructs traffic barriers with total disregard for merchants, business owners or anyone else that might be relying on customers arriving in motorized vehicles.

Liberalville's scholarly lords and masters just turn their collective cheeks and choose to simply ignore the oublic safety and economic problems they've created. So we, as their constituent serfs, are forced to navigate our way through traffic purgatory while diligently watching for obstacles in our streets that could harm us, our passengers and our vehicles.

Saturdays Backwards and Forwards

On this, the last Saturday of 2007, a Saturday retrospective seems appropriate. For me, Saturday mornings more than likely included a mother-daughter breakfast or lunch at a B'town eatery. In fact, I've frequently described many of those meals including breakfast at Cafe D'Lish and lunch at Truilli Flatbread. Saturdays from May through September more than likely also included trips to the eclectic Bloomington Farmers Market. It's a cacophony of cultures, religions, ethnicity and lifestyles that truly epitomize Liberalville.

Once a month, Saturday afternoons were spent having my hair tinted and trimmed at Champs Elysee Aveda Salon. And what would Saturdays be without regular trips to Sam's Club. As I've said many times, when memberships are listed in my obituary, Sam's Club will be the only one. The "sample" ladies now smile when they see Mom and me coming towards them...except when they're offering goo in a hot pocket.

Then Saturday evenings are always spent relaxing at Chateau Hamm in the country, watching for snowfall or the barn swallows to return in the spring. How I love spending Saturday nights on the patio and listening to the tree frogs, crickets and the mother cows calling their calves. Many cold winter Saturday nights, I'm curled up in the recliner with a glass of wine, my crochet project and Lord of the Manor watching a movie or in the steamy summertime, discussing our plans for Sunday on his boat at Lake Monroe.

Now as one year ends and another begins, I look into the future and the 52 weeks of Saturdays ahead. Will the new year bring any changes? Change is always inevitable. But equally as cliche, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." I can only hope that's true for my favorite day of the week.

A Night at the Ballet. Christimas Can Come Now.

Let Christimas time in Bloomington officially begin. For some people,the holiday season begins with the flipping of the switch on the canopy of lights on the Bloomington courthouse square. But for me, it's the Mother-Daughter night at the yearly debut of the Nutcracker ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Last night was the ninth year my mother and I have seen the holiday spectacular and in some cases, watched the community young dancers grow from small candle fairies to important dancers in the company. We've also been fortunate to sit next to parents' from as far away as California who come to see their daughters dance on point to a complete, live orchestra with the direction of some of the world's finest choreographers, costume designers and stage managers.

But for me, its an evening and a holiday tradition my mother and I share like so many other mothers and daughters (and fathers) in the audience. Many times over the years, I've been tired from a stressful week at work, saddened by events out of my control or just wanting to be somewhere else. But then, once I see the towering Nutcracker in the theatre's lobby and see my mother waiting patiently, dressed for a night out, I realize, the evening is about the beautiful music, the wonderful dancers and most of all the Mother-Daughter holiday tradition. I'm so fortunate to be able to share it with my mommy.

Have you switched from cable to satellite TV to see IU Athletics?

Not to be harping on an old theme, but I'm taking an extremely unscientific poll to measure how many people have actually switched from cable to satellite TV to access to IU basketball and other sports not available on Comcast of Insight cable. The polling station is to the right of this post and it will be up for until December 1. Results will be published on the blog and possibly other places if I can interest the Bloomington newspaper.
Please provide any comments in the comment section below.

Insight to Direct TV

In my previous post, I described my parents' drive (literally and figuratively) to watch their beloved Hoosiers. Saturday and their inability to watch their team play Purdue and win the Oaken Bucket finally drove them to make the big switch to satellite TV. The law of supply and demand has taken the day. When you can't supply the big games, the consumer is driven to search for other avenues to satisfy that demand. It's an amazing phenomenon.

Based on the front page article in Saturday's Indianapolis Star, Mom and Dad aren't the only ones feeling the pain inflicted by Insight...Comcast or other Indiana cable TV carriers. Supply and demand has won the day. The free-market economy and the consumers' demand has spoken. But will the suppliers actually listen. More to come.

IU Sports: The Video or Lack Thereof

Thanks to the Big-Ten Network, the IU Athletic Department and our local cable provider, I've been able to spend Saturday afternoons with my parents. Unfortunately, they only have basic cable TV, while the daughter has satellite and the only way to see the IU football games on the Big Ten Network--and other obscure ESPN channels. I love my parents dearly and spend lots of quality time with them throughout the year. But its just damn unfair to them that they have to leave the comfort of their own recliners and my Dad's Saturday afternoon sandwich and beer to drive to my house to watch their game.

They love IU sports and it's one of the reasons they retired to B'town. My dad is a 50+ year I- Man and my mother loves sporting her IU sweatshirt or beads on game days. At 79, it's just too uncomfortable for them to sit for four or more hours in Memorial Stadium.. And even though they grew up listening to the radio, they want to SEE their Hoosiers, not just listen to Don Fisher's play-by-play on wireless.

We only have one more football game in the season (no bowl bids we're sure) and then comes world famous Hoosier hysteria and the promise of another winning basketball team. But like football, they won't be able to watch; those too won't be shown on cable. What's even worse is so many games are at night when Mom and Dad don't go out, so coming to my house will be difficult at best but likely impossible. I'm sure they aren't the only ones saddened by the reality they won't be able to spend their cold, snowy winter nights watching their Hoosiers. It's one of the few enjoyable things you can do in Liberalville in the winter.

For me, I think its absolutely disgusting that the Big Ten is so money hungry that they're depriving loyal fans from following their teams. It's even more sickening, since its based on pure greed. So to the IU Athletic Department and the Big Ten I say, rethink this money making scheme. Some day you might find yourself with no fans at all. You owe it to all the IU alumni who've followed you through thick and thin--good and bad times--scandals and evening the firing of Bobby Knight. How does your concsience let you live, knowing you're depriving so many of so much.

Seeing Blue in Liberalville

If you read my previous post, I revealed to the blogosphere my "red" politics. I really didn't go into much but let's just say I was the female Young Republican of the Year in Indiana sometime at the end of a former decade--oddly enough, my husband at the time was the male counterpart. He went on to be the GOP state chairman in Indiana so suffice to say--I've lived and breathed politics most of my adult life--except for now.

After yesterday's sweeping blue victory here in Liberalville, I'm burrowing my head in a pile of limestone dust and forget I ever knew anything about life in a free-market society...a place where people were encouraged to work, support themselves and their families and spend their own money rather than letting the government do that for them. Life in a community where the people knew that roads, highways and transportation were a necessity rather than a hated and unneeded evil.

So we private enterprise, pro-business folk will forge ever onward--not upward--just onward trying to dodge the obstacles local government throws in our faces for another four years.

Homecoming at Delta Delta Delta

Homecoming and fall at the Tri Delt House in Bloomington brings back special memories--like 1973 when we and the Sig Eps won the grand trophy for best homecoming display. (I was so stressed, worrying about tripping in the middle of the football field at half time when my Sig Ep counterpart and I accepted the trophy for the brothers and sisters.) Sadly, there weren't any lawn displays this year--just painted sidewalks and steps.

You can come home again

Last Saturday was IU homecoming. Even though I'm already "home," homecoming weekend still feels like a special day and time with a holiday aura. B'ton swells with returning alums anxious to show their children, mates or significant others where they guzzled their last collegiate beer, the exact booth where they drank it, and any other sorted details they can remember that could be associated with that particular ritual. The lines at the Steve and Barry's collegiate sportswear outlet curl out to the street and the community sees red (actually cream and crimson) for at least 48 hours. Nicks is standing room only with as many as three generations of IU alumni. (Its a good thing, we know where to find it, since its historical neon sign is nearly unnoticeable due to the concrete fire wall of the apartment construction next door.)

Homecoming 2007 events started Friday afternoon with the customary parade down third street and ending at the Sample Gates. That evening was the annual homecoming concert at Assembly Hall with Bob Dylan the headliner. We've gone from Bob Hope to Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. It's too much to imagine that Dylan was originally popular with most of the current co-eds' grandparents. Yup. The times, they are a changin'.

Even nature contributed to the festive atmosphere. In spite of the lack of rain and drought conditions, the trees on campus put on a spectacular light show in all imaginable colors of crimson, gold and pumpkin.

And the roads to Brown County and French Lick were bumper to bumper with pilgrims seeking fall color magnificence. They were not disappointed. So with that, I'm glad to share some wonderful images of fall in Bloomingtown.

Pirates of Monroe Revised: Au Revoir Tiki Bar

The established Bloomington grape vine announced last week that the owners of the Inn of the Four Winds will have the hotel demolished in November. Was it the Tiki Bar or the blog that convinced them it was time to for a redo.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, already!

According to the calendar, summer officially left last month. By now our favorite IU sweatshirts and sweatpants with INDIANA across the bum should be the dress of the day. Not when its STILL 90 degrees in Ol' B'town. Central air conditiong bills continue in the mega dollars and Indian summer is just a continuation of Indiana summer.

The heat's also making some people do crazy things--like throwing their support to the Republican candidate for Bloomington's mayor. Eighteen local dems must have had been suffering from heat stroke when they put their names on a mailer saying they're turning their backs on the incumbent and supporting--dare I say it--the REPUBLICAN. That word just sticks in the community's throat like a wad of sour apple bubble gum. And I'm lovin' every minute of it!

Having only voted for one or two donkeys that I can remember, I've always been in the minority around here and have had to swallow hard , grin and bare all the sarcasm and verbal abuse from what I refer to as the "dark side." This is great. Now they're cannibalising themselves--with no help from the right. So if the weather wasn't hot and steamy enough, the election certainly will be.

We can only hope that the temps cool off sooner rather than later and the heat in the kitchen continues to rise.

West Baden: Indiana's 8th Wonder for the World

I am a self-proclaimed "lobbyist." To me, hotel lobbies are some of the best communicators of history, drama, glamour, fairy tales and alternative lifestyles that a person can discover. As a child I loved having my grandmother read me the latest the tales of Eloise at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Then actually going to the Plaza and seeing her life sized portrait in the lobby caused a little girlish giggle. I was mesmerized by the stories of murder and intrigue at the Del Coronado in San Diego and learning that was the spot where the Wizard of Oz was penned, and where Edward, Prince of Wales first met his future lover Wallace Smith, the women who would cause the abdication of the King of England. I was even barred from entering the Ritz in Paris due to improper attire. It seems my jeans were not appropriate for tea at the Ritz.

But I truly believe the lobby of the West Baden Springs Hotel in southern Indiana is the most spectacular lobby I have ever experienced. It's towering, cylindrical shapeand domed ceiling are a testament to 19th century engineering. Before Houston had its Astrodome, the hotel had the largest dome in the world. As so many of those magnificent resorts of the early 1900s, it fell to ruin and barely survived its multiple reincarnations.

Having reopened as a grand dame hotel last May, West Baden's towering, circular lobby is bathed with natural light and shadows from the sun gleaming in through the glass dome ceiling. The entire property has gone through a total metamorphosis. The gardens are once again filled with flowers. The sounds of water fountains have returned. All is well in French Lick and West Baden, Indiana. But take time to see and discover it for yourself.

The New Kids in School

The news came yesterday. Our company was ready to begin a major expansion which meant that all positions (including mine) not directly related to manufacturing would move from CUI in Spencer, Indiana to our global corporate headquarters in Bloomington. "Park 48" (as it's called) is a beautiful facility with lots of extras including a fitness center and an on-site Weight Watchers meeting. It's also closer to home so gasoline money will be saved.

However, the move to Bloomington is bittersweet--especially for many of my coworkers. We have folks in Spencer who've been here virtually since its beginning 30 years ago. I've heard them compare our move to the home office like going to a new school and being the "new kids in class." Finding the men's room. Learning where to sit at lunch without infringing on some one's regular space. Knowing who has the keys to the supply cabinet. Searching for the assigned mustering point during a fire drill. It's all pretty scary and daunting and certainly takes each of us out of our CUI comfort zone.

After a while, new spaces and places will become familiar. What will be more difficult is the splitting of friends and families. This Spencer facility has a wonderful family-like aura . People think about and care for each other and treat one and other like extended family members--even the newbees. We have raffles and bake sales nearly every week to raise money for a cancer patient, support a little league team, or the Cloth-A-Child christmas drive. People in this workplace, a 400+ person community, truly care about and pay attention to each other. I, for one, have never experienced that type of camaraderie in the work place, but since that's the Cook corporate culture no matter what facility we're in, I'm sure we'll find it again at "the new school."

Pirates of the Monroe

Palm trees just are not indigenous to Indiana. No way. Nooooo. So then why in the world does the Inn of the Four Winds on the banks of the US Corp of Engineers-constructed Lake Monroe want people to imagine they've boated in to a Jimmy Buffet marina somewhere in the Caribbean. It's five O'clock somewhere--but not here. But what's even worse, the land entrance to the hotel has fake palm trees stuck in the ground around their welcoming water feature. Come on. Does anyone really believe those darn things are growing there?

The Margaretaville theme is further carried out in the so-called resort's interior. It's so overdone with cheap decorations and fake island stuff that it makes "Fiji Isle" at the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity House on campus look like a bona fide island paradise. The person who "designed" the Four Winds decor must has been a Tiki-bird pavilion reject at Disneyworld. Those Disney perfectionists wouldn't put up with such ugly, tacky stuff.

Not that it matters, but would the Four Winds please consider scrapping the decor for something a little more subdued and less like a sorority pledge dance or a high school prom run amok. And while you're at, you need to rethink the fish sandwich (or even the entire menu). The poor "san" could use some fish inside the four by six inch glob of deep-fried dough.

Boating season ends October 15. That gives you until April to sink that pirate ship into Davey Jones' Locker.

Truly Scrumptious. Trulli Flatbread

Even Truly Scrumptious, Caractus Potts and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang would love Trulli Flabread, one of the new restaurants in the shadow of the University's Sample Gates. Located directly across from the old Von Lee theatre on Kirkwood, Trulli specializes in locally grown produce, cheeses and meats and formulates them into delectable salads, panninis and the house specialty flatbreads, baked in Trulli's custom designed and constructed brick oven. Managed by the Chef, a graduate of the New England Culinary Insitute and his wife,the couple opened their first flatbread eatery in Mount Pelier, Vermont. It became the fancy of an Indiana University alum during getaway visits from his home in New York. The benefactor encouraged the couple to move to Bloomington and open a mirror image of their Vermont restaurant including an exact replica of the flagships' oven. Trulli Flatbread opened here in late spring/early summer of 2007.

I've eaten there three times now; twice for Saturday lunch and once for dinner and the food was consistently delicious. "Consistent" is the operative word, here. Most Bloomington restaurants are great the first time, just all right the second and by the third visit (or whenever the first flock of wait staff turns over--whichever comes first) both the food and the service usually suck. Trulli Flatbread is the exception.

During all three visits, I had flatbread, of course--each one with different combination of toppings. My favorite was the house special with shrimp, thin strips of jalapeno for heat, sweet red pepper sauce and italian cheese. The crust was wonderful with lots of flavor and crispy on the edges. My partner and I shared an order of the house special mussels which came swimming in a delectable broth, suitable for soaking the olive oiled crustini served along side. I could continue rattling on about all the different selections and the ingredients, but I'll just say try it for yourself.

I do have two minor issues with Trulli Flatbread. The first is it's lack of Sunday hours of operation. I mentioned same to the proprietor and "fingers crossed" Sunday will indeed be added to the hours of operation. ( I think I sparked her interest when she learned there was no Sunday evening food service on or around the campus.) My second point of concern is the noise level. While the restaurant is very simple and chic with loads of gorgeous oak woodwork, there's nothing to absorb the sound so the ambient noise is a bit much--especially for us older diners. The same is true for the upstairs wine bar. A quiet chat over a glass of Taval Rose just isn't possible in the current environment. Both issues are simple fixes and ones that management should "trulli" consider.

One last thing. If you're a lover of Gorgonzola salad dressing, theirs is one of the best. Bon apetite.