Great Grandma Brodock

 Erma Harriet Richardson Brodock

My Great Grandma passed away today.
Her birthday is November 11, 1909.

What did I learn from her? 

1) It's nice to have a blue sweater

2) Trust in the Lord

3) Develop a sense of humor

I'm still looking for a blue sweater.

Your Halloween

Psstt.....Over here... Yeah... jeez, keep your voice down. If this gets out, I could be in a lot of hot water. Here it is: I'm not going to the Halloween dance.

Yeah, that's right. I don't like Halloween dances. I don't really like Halloween parties, either. Mostly it is the expectation, the stress, and the pressure of creating and wearing a costume. I have gone to Halloween things without a costume, and then I have to deal with the judgments, the dirty looks, and the endless conversations about why I'm wearing regular clothes. I'm happier if I can just stay away from the masses.

This time of year is very stressful for me, because I try to keep this part of me a secret. This is the first year that I will not be participating in scheduled Halloween events, and for some reason, everyone keeps asking me about my attendance at said events. It's terrible. I'm just trying to be myself, and everyone is trying to get me to do something I don't want to do. Sitting there, reading this, you will say, "Oh, Myriah, it doesn't matter what people think. Do what you want to do. Forget about them."

Yes, that is my policy exactly, except that as soon as it gets out that I don't want to celebrate Halloween in the manner they want me to celebrate, everyone starts to get really upset, and tries to talk me into participating. They just can't understand why I don't like to party with them. But they don't need to know why. I try to come up with a reason, but nothing satisfies them. They should be happy just knowing where I stand on the topic, and go their merry way planning their own Halloween festivities. 

I just typed out my history with Halloween, to help you better understand how I got to be where I am today, and all the various things I have tried while I cope with this thing called Halloween, but realized that it didn't matter. So I deleted it. You don't need to know. All you need to know is that I'm not going to the Halloween dance.

I hope I didn't break your heart. Oh yeah, and if you haven't heard, I don't like cheesecake either.

Bongo Room Pretzel Pancakes

There is a brunch place around here that everyone freaks out about. It's called the Bongo Room, and they have da bomb pancakes. Stuff like Red Velvet Pancakes and Oreo Pancakes. Supposedly one of their most popular is the Pretzel Pancake.

When I went with a group of friends, one of them ordered the Pretzel Pancakes, so I tried a bite or two. They were very good. I studied my bites, and decided I could replicate them pretty well at home.

So I did. Start off making your favorite pancake batter. Mine comes from a box, and I just add water. Pour it out onto your skillet. Then, grab some pretzels, pop 'em in a zip lock bag and crush 'em. I can usually find a bag like this at the bottom of my purse, which works fine, but it is tastier if the pretzels are fresh. Pour the crushed pretzels on your pancake as it starts to take shape. Basically it's the same time you would add anything else, like bananas or blueberries. I like to press the pretzels down into the pancake just a bit to make sure they stick. When it is ready, flip your pancake.

The Bongo Room has some type of magical white chocolate sauce that they pour all over the pancakes. I don't particularly like white chocolate, so I chose Nutella and syrup instead.  (Also, I had no idea how to replicate it with minimal amount of work.)  I had all my roommates try out my dish, and they all felt that the Nutella and syrup gave a similar effect to the white chocolate sauce.

Hm, I think I'll go make some right now. Delish.

Sweetest Day

Today I was walking around Greek Town, and saw on the Walgreens sign, "Don't forget: Today is Sweetest Day". Naturally I thought "Huh, crazy. Whatev."

Then on the bus home some little girl said to her parents, "Are you going to get me a toy? Today is Sweetest Day." Naturally I thought, "Huh, crazy. Whatev."

Then, my roommate came home and she said, "Did you know that today is Sweetest Day?"

So, I guess it's a real thing.

Happy Sweetest Day.

Restaurant Adventures

I have no idea what anyone is saying. But it doesn't really matter, I suppose. It's just part of the excitement of living in this part of Chicago. Frequently, when I go into a place of business and need to communicate with someone, it's always a shot in the dark. Thankfully my active imagination and wicked-fast deductive skills help me out every time, and I can usually make do.

I went into a bakery today to inquire after chocolate croissants. After finding someone who spoke English, I came to the conclusion that they did not have any chocolate croissants. Whether or not they made them was a different story.

I went into three restaurants last week and had no idea what anyone said. It was all in a different language. The first was Polish, the second Spanish, the third Chicago. In most cases, if I'm just ordering, I let them make the decisions for me. Usually they format their questions so that I can just nod or shake my head, and they usually frame the series of questions so that they guide me into whatever they want me to order. I'm fine with that.

I have a few examples. In each example I have provided the key word, but that is usually the word that I don't understand, and in my brain is just gobleygook. So, when you read the examples, please insert your own gobleygook. Thank you.

Ordering a burrito:

 "You want. Steak right?"   Um, yes.  (I only found out it was steak after I started eating it.)

"No onions?"  Yeah, no. (Unfortunately I did want onions, but the lack of onions made me feel fairly confident that was the word in question. I count that as a victory.)

Ordering ice cream:

"Want Coke?"   Um, no? (I have no idea if he said coke. Why would I want a coke with my ice cream? Could there be something else I might have ordered on my ice cream? Like, nuts? Did he say nuts? Was it whipped cream? But it really sounded like coke...)

Half the time I have no idea what I'll end up with. It's kind of exciting.