Finally that homemade cinnamon sugar doughnut I was craving all fall. I had to get an old-fashioned style photo…
…and one in living color too:
YUM.
Blue Lollipop Road LOVES some Blue Benn Diner. (How many times have I written about this place? 🙂 I just had to add a review to the New York Times Travel Guide today too to spread the love.
Where’s your favorite diner breakfast?
The green mountains:
The good old country mailbox at the folks house:
Mom’s flowers:
Vermont in the winter? None of the above. In fact, the weatherman is talking some crazy stuff about -11 overnight this Friday night. (Yes, that’s negative.) I sure do pick a good month out of the year to go home for a visit!
Stay tuned for “Vermont in the winter” photos and me frozen in a snowbank.
Where is your winter wonderland?
Look what came back to me already! 4 to 6 weeks nothing, a week later- my brand new shiny passport came back in the mail today:
Indeed the world is mine for the taking. You know I love that!
I misbehave in these doors too and they’ve never told me I could use them. Poor kids.
Ok, so that sounds kind of gross. Maybe I should say my lunch is famous.
I was contacted by NY Schmap a while ago about this photo I took at at Cafe’ Habana in Soho. I wrote about my incredible lunch there back in July here. Of course you can use my photo I told them. Look what I just got notification of. Yep- that’s my photo!
Don’t miss out on Cafe’ Habana next time you’re in NYC. You will be one happy camper if you eat there. Especially if you have this to die for corn appetizer. I love yummy food and I really love that my yummy food photos can be seen by others. Thanks Schmap!
So now for the reveal of a big surprise and our BLR Saturday Team Building excursion:
A tattoo.
Long about the end of July when I left Madison Wisconsin and started blazing a fast trail through Canada, somewhere in the silence of my many hours alone driving, popped in my head from out of nowhere: I’m going to get a tattoo, yep, a blue lollipop and it’s going to be on my left arm on the inside of my wrist. I’ll do it when I finish this trip. Perfect.
And I never questioned my thought on the subject again. I also didn’t tell anyone for a couple months. Going into it, only 4 people total knew- including Intern Sarah who actually accompanied me to get branded for life and document it all. 5 months of me keeping a secret when I am excited about something is near monumental. Me getting a tattoo is really monumental. My response to the “Do you have any tattoos” in the past has been. “No way! They day I find something I want to have on my body for the rest of my life is the day I will get a tattoo. I doubt that’s ever going to happen.
Funny how things change eh?
So, after months of waiting, drawings made by a very special and significant person to the Blue Lollipop Road, 2 previous visits to scope the tattoo spot and chat with the artist, feeling like a preppy adolescent geek among older cool talented kids, lots of nausea when thinking about it, and a sleepless Friday night last week being totally freaked out and nervous about the whole thing- Sarah and I had our little field trip on Saturday. Us driving to my appointment feeling scared shitless:
Here’s my pure virgin wrist “before”:
Here’s me off in la la land because, um- yeah, it kinda hurts:
Here’s Sarah having fun filming me again and teasing me laughing: “Yeah- that’s blood Diane.” (Did I mention my head was in the clouds? It was all a bit surreal. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight, but yes- I was 110% sober!)
This is the final product. Whoa:
Naturally we had to get a milkshake after. Sarah had told me a few weeks ago when I was having a chicken moment: “It’ll be Ok, we can go get a milkshake after!” Who am I to argue that?
Chocolate milkshakes make me very, very happy. Of course Sarah had to get a treat too, but was grabbing the camera when I turned it back around on her:
As I stare at my wrist now, with my cool looking wound healing, I still can’t wrap my brain around it. I have had some freak-out moments, thoughts that it would come off in the water and feelings that an alien is tied to my body. Weird and odd are the two words that come to mind from these past 4 days. Not bad, just WHOA: like as in- forever? This was as far planned as it could’ve ever been, and I wanted it. You just never know how you’ll feel until it’s actually yours. I am risking moms out there rolling their eyes here, but the only thing I can think to compare the simultaneous feelings of permanence, pride, joy and fear when you finally “see” something that is so close to you, is what I would imagine having a baby would be like. A complete flood of emotions, then when the moment calms you say to yourself: “Ok, so now what the heck am I supposed to do with this thing?” When the roller coaster stops, you ease into normalcy and routine and it suddenly fits perfectly leaving you wondering what your life ever was without it before.
I didn’t need to get this tattoo to remind myself why I do what I do, or to remember anyone. Those things will always stick with me and be in my soul. I wanted to get this tattoo, because this particular blue lollipop has become part of my being, and now I’ll always be able to take one with me wherever I go. My weird/odd initial feelings have fast turned into giddy excitement- to a certain extent that is: I’m not planning my “next” one that’s for sure. Those already regular comments: “This is your first! Just wait, you will get addicted and want more!” – you must be kidding me. I’m laughing…
…or I could just punch myself in the face 100 times and call it a day right? That might hurt less. I think my one single tattoo and I are going to skip happily off into the sunset alone thankyouverymuch 🙂
WAHOO! I GOT MY BLUE LOLLIPOP TATTOO!!!
Where do I begin? Well, for one, it certainly gave new meaning to “Next gas 350km” that’s for sure. One of the few spots I fueled up along the way, Toad River Lodge:
Complete with a funny looking toad on the side of the building. Welcome to my pad? I’m sorry- but that cracks me up:
An old-school gas pump:
…and about 500 dusty random hats left from truckers and other over the years:
Not knowing what was going to be along the way, so I’d run into places like this is was perfect. I love unplanned surprises.
More to come from Alaska and beyond!
…how I miss waking up to this sun and warm from my little cottage on the vineyard in Napa:
Time for some hot cocoa!
It’s BLR Team Building Day!
Sarah and I are off for our outing of fun. I’ll share the surprise later. Well, I might make you wait for a day or two for the video, but it’s coming.
Just one thing to say: STRONG MOJO!
Last night I had dinner with friend and at my favorite restaurant in the whole wide world, Mamma Zu. I have only written about this place about 142 times. It’s that yummy to me. I love that they still don’t even have a website, or at least I’ve never been able to find one when I do a search. Great thing about a place that good and that busy? They don’t need one!
I was one happy camper when I looked up at the chalkboard menu and saw an appetizer that had seemed to disappear for years: polenta gorgonzola. Of course we ordered it. Here’s our serving:
The whole package at Mamma Zu makes me happy: Incredible food, good wine, reasonable prices, funky looking characters working in the tiny open kitchen, seedy neighborhood, dilapidated looking building with paint peeling off the front door next to the “pull hard” paper sign taped to it, and the graffiti on the bathroom walls. (That is just scratching the surface.) Of course I have participated in the allowed delinquency over the years, writing on those walls of the scrubby looking ladies room. This summer before I left for Alaska, I had to get my Mamma Zu fix. The bathroom wall 6 months ago was fairly bare, so I opted from some prime real estate to write my message. Guess what was still there last night? Indeed my message, with a “response” of sorts from a stranger:
In case you can’t read the message above mine, it says: “Alaska was here. Do what you like and like what you do!”
Hoorah to that Alaska…thanks! I left you a message back, so you’ll have to check it out next time you’re in my favorite little hole in the wall house of deliciousness.
To my dinner company~
Here’s to moving at the speed of light, no matter what your age, going to bed happy, and waking up even happier. Thank you.