The House Is Quiet

Every year, my boys spend a week with their Grammy in Connecticut. We call it Camp Grammy. Although I gave them homework and drilled them on how to behave - I really don't care what they do. They're out of my hair for the time being and I need a haircut.

Our first kid-less night, my husband and I went to the Blues BBQ at the Hudson River Park despite the pouring rain. Among the four BBQ restaurants that offered everything from ribs to pulled pork sandwiches, Dinosaur Bar B Que was the best. Why? Their Hot Sauce. My tongue was so retarded from the heat. But damn, it was good.

We stuck around for the band but something about listening to blues while being pelted by hurricane weather just takes all the fun out. So we mozied on over to the Brass Monkey. It's a really comfy bar with lots of nooks and crannies to hang out in. The bar spreads out to the back where the high ceiling gives it a Cathedral feeling. And the beer on draft was a beer drinkers wish list. We had the Radeberger, Chimay and Heffer Weissen - it more than made up for the $7 Samuel Adams at the Blues BBQ.

The second kid-less night, we explored the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. It's supposed to be the "real" Chinatown in terms of flavor - it hasn't been "Americanized." Although there's truth in that, the price is dealing with the blatant disapproval to inter-racially mixed couples. I'm not joking - some older men and women will eye me with disgust for being with a non-Asian man. The cashier at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao(phew!) actually picked his nose before he handed over my take-out order of soupy buns! Even worst, my order was waiting for me on the FLOOR behind his chair. It's too bad, they were tasty but I will never go back there again.

Fortunately, we already had a good experience and ate a very tasty bowl of Vietnamese style noodles at "Pho" just down the block. There, we weren't treated like lepers, the food was delicious and the price was cheap.

With all this eating out and the kids gone, you'd think our house would be immaculate. It's quite the contrary. I'm sorting out hand-me-downs and getting their school uniforms in order. By the way, Oxi Clean is an Oxi Waste Of Money. I soaked, treated and washed the white shirts and they still looked like shit. I threw them out - after all that. Good thing Billy Mays is dead 'cause I would've choked him.

So there are piles of laundry everywhere. And since there are not enough dishes to run the dishwasher  we're out of pint glasses - the preferred dish for Beer. We didn't have enough garbage to put it out this morning and since the kids aren't here to drink the milk, it's gone bad. So, there's none for coffee. I'm a mess without my kids!

Well...I'm a mess with them, too but at least I can blame them for it.

If there's one thing I can enjoy for the time being it's not having to listen to sword fights. In the morning, apart from the noisy-ass construction going on next door - the house is quiet.