Remembering Bo

A Year Ago

 

A sad anniversary for me today. My godfather Bo passed away a year ago. I miss the heck out of him. I miss the way he answered the phone in his sweeter than sugar 'hellllllooo'. I miss sitting at the kitchen table talking to him. I miss the way he said things just for laughs like Pedogie, instead of Pierogie.  Garrett and I sing 'you say pierogie, and i say pedogie....let's call the whole thing off' everytime we cook pierogies now.  I miss his character and boy was he a character.  I miss watching him sit at the patio table with my husband, while they solve the world's problems over a couple of beers. Luckily, he pops up several times a day on my computer slide show, and I say, 'Hi Boski'. I know he's with me, but I'd give anything to hear him say Pammy again.

 

Here's my post from a year ago.........

 

My Godfather

I'm a sad girl. We're a sad family. We lost my godfather today. Robert Belenchia. Uncle Bob. Bo. Boski. He put up one helluva fight against pancreatic cancer.

They really broke the mold when they made this guy. Boy did my parents pick the right godfather (and godmother) for me.

Well, actually, first they picked the right guy for my godmother. When they met Bo, they gave him the thumbs up and the rest is history. Friends for life.

A few things about my godfather:

He could have been a professional singer, but my godmother nixed that. Family came before singing. But boy oh boy could my godfather sing. My father and him would sing anywhere and everywhere they got the chance. My father would set people up, 'hey, my friend Bo is up from NY and he'd like to sing a song. He fancies himself a singer'. Then Bo would get up and belt a tune like there was no tomorrow and he'd bring the house down, every time.

He could dance as well as he could sing.

He was a veteran, teamster, father, son, brother, uncle, friend.

He loved lobster.

Loved lobster bakes.

Enjoyed a beer (or two...trust me he didn't drink all of those himself) or a scotch.

Loved to laugh.

Was the life of the party.

Loved to just sit around the table and talk.

Enjoyed being a grandfather.



Liked to talk to Gar in his version of an Irish accent. Aye laddie. And they liked to solve the world's problems.

Was the best godfather a girl could ever have.



Here's to you Boski. I love you.

Freeform Friday

I wish I had a video of my godfather singing, but I don't. In his honor, here's a little Jimmy Rosselli. If you're reading by email, click here.

La Cena di Mario e Pamela and Freeform Friday

Sometimes It Pays To Take a Lunch Break

On Wednesday when I was eating lunch, I had the TV tuned to The Chew.  It was Mario Batali's (love him) turn in the kitchen and he was preparing a baked tortellini with asparagus and spring onion. I knew right then and there that I was going to make it for dinner. This is an easy to remember, easy to make recipe.

Here's Mario's recipe

* 5 tablespoon Butter (I used two in the sauce and one to grease the pan)

1/4 cup Flour

3 cup Milk

2 teaspoon Salt, dash of crushed black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg (freshly grated)

1 cup Marzolino Cheese, grated (I'd never heard of Marzolino, but according to Mario it's the first sheep or goat's milk cheese of the Spring season. I substituted one cup of feta, and being the cheese lover I am, I threw in another cup of sharp cheddar too.)

2 packages Store-bought Tortellini (Mario said you could substitute ravioli which I did....I used 3 packages of frozen rav)

Parmigiano Reggiano (to garnish)

1/2 cup Blanched Asparagus, shaved  (I used more like a cup + of aspargus and didn't feel the need to blanche)

1/4 cup spring onions (thinly sliced)

Olive Oil

If you know how to make a bechamel/basellma sauce (which now you do), this is an easy, quick recipe to prepare. You could subsitute other vegetables if you're not keen on asparagus, like zuchini perhaps.  The ooey-gooey goodness of the baked raviloli, and the crunchiness of the fresh veg on top made this dish a little different and delightful. It was so good, we leftovers last night.

Thank you Mario for making my life a little easier this week.

Freeform Friday

In honor of the Italian 'la cena' or dinner theme we have going, here's a great tune from one of mine and Gar's favorites.....Rosemary Clooney. This one really makes me think of my godfather Bo for obvious reasons. It's been just a month since we lost him, and we really miss him big time. Salute Boski! Click here if you're reading by mail.



Hope you have a fantastic Friday and a Happy St. Patrick's Day which we are sure to celebrate in style as we usually do. Got any plans for the 'wearing of the green'?

Ciao for now,

PS- did you miss the shop and blog link up yesterday? Be sure to link up!

Some Good Out Of Bad

The Bright Side

Even though our last few days have been sad, there was also some good stuff mixed in. 

Here's a few.

There is finally a decent hotel in Yonkers. The Marriott Residence Inn was lovely, clean, and convenient.  The staff was very nice including Maria (with sister Di), who had earned 4 stars before we even arrived.

The rooms even had a nice sitting area (and a kitchen with full size fridge) where we enjoyed Cocktail Hour and a toast to Bo upon our  arrival.



The rooms also had a seriously comfortable bed.

We got facetime with Uncle Bobby (my Mother's baby brother) and Aunt Joan.

We had even more facetime with people we love including Tina and Gina......

..........Di and Choppy.

Jesse made us all laugh (like grandfather, like grandson).

We got to do google eyes with our old pal Gav. Don't ask.

We had a glimpse of the city from the GW.

There was blue sky above us on the upper deck.

Took a ride through the old neighborhood in the Bronx, past my off-campus apartment. 35-92 was still standing. The same couldn't be said for the Stella d'Oro's house which was now an apartment building.

Drove by Van Cortland Park where my Grampy Dignam used to play cricket on Sundays. Cricket or soccer? Hmmmm, now I'm not sure, but I'll go with cricket. It was probably both.



We miss New York and wish we were closer or at least got to visit more. We'll have to work on changing that.

Do you miss someplace special? 

ttfn,

A Big Part Of My Life

My Godfather

I'm a sad girl. We're a sad family. We lost my godfather today. Robert Belenchia. Uncle Bob. Bo. Boski.  He put up one helluva fight against pancreatic cancer.

They really broke the mold when they made this guy. Boy did my parents pick the right godfather (and godmother) for me.

Well, actually, first they picked the right guy for my godmother. When they met Bo, they gave him the thumbs up and the rest is history. Friends for life.

A few things about my godfather:

He could have been a professional singer, but my godmother nixed that. Family came before singing.  But boy oh boy could my godfather sing. My father and him would sing anywhere and everywhere they got the chance. My father would set people up, 'hey, my friend Bo is up from NY and he'd like to sing a song. He fancies himself a singer'. Then Bo would get up and belt a tune like there was no tomorrow and he'd bring the house down, every time.

He could dance as well as he could sing.

He was a veteran, teamster, father, son, brother, uncle, friend.

He loved lobster.

Loved lobster bakes.

Enjoyed a beer (or two...trust me he didn't drink all of those himself) or a scotch.

Loved to laugh.

Was the life of the party.

Loved to just sit around the table and talk.

Enjoyed being a grandfather.



Liked to talk to Gar in his version of an Irish accent. Aye laddie. And they liked to solve the world's problems.

Was the best godfather a girl could ever have.



Here's to you Boski. I love you. 

Freeform Friday

I wish I had a video of my godfather singing, but I don't. In his honor, here's a little Jimmy Rosselli. If you're reading by email, click here.

Peace out,