My Experience with Pistachios & Salmonella

Reuters June 23, 2009 FDA: Salmonella risk seen in California Pistachio brands ........

Last week, I had a morning appointment with my new doctor, who is wonderful by the way. Afterwards I headed over to our local Walgreens to fill my new prescriptions. While I was waiting, I filled up my basket with a few bathroom articles, and a bag of pistachios. Actually, I picked them up because I was thinking about Grampy Bigelow. He loved the red shelled pistachios. I picked up a bag of fire roasted Deerfield Farms California naturally opened pistachios with the Walgreens quality guaranteed symbol. Best of all they were two 10 oz. bags for $7. I only bought one bag.

It was just before dinner when I opened the bag and started to shell the pistachios popping them one by one in my mouth. Later that evening, I started feeling queasy. I mentally took an inventory of what I had for dinner and couldn't think of anything unusual I'd eaten. Perhaps it was my new medication. The doctor did say it might make me feel dizzy or drowsy, that's why I had just taken it before bedtime. Before I knew it I was sweating and feeling chills, vomiting, and not myself. I went to bed hoping I'd feel better in the morning.

Next morning, I still had queasiness but instead of vomiting, I had severe cramping followed by spastic bowels. This went on for seven days. I ate very little, but drank lots of water. What little I did eat, made me feel nauseous and immediately was purged by my body. I thought I had a stomach or intestinal virus. I took only one day off of work, hoping that each day would get better. I didn't until the last two days, even then......I was hungry, but when in front of the meal my stomach did flip flops.

Finally, knowing that I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor, I asked her about my symptoms. After we discussed my meal, the medications, etc. on the day at Walgreens she heard me say pistachios.

"Ahhhhh! The culprit" she said. Since, I was back to my regular appetite and free from my symptoms I didn't need to worry. However, she told me about the pistachio recall and salmonella poisoning and was very lucky it hadn't progressed since my immune system is compromised by Diabetes.

Salmonella poison symptoms start 6 to 72 hours after exposure and can include:

Watery diarrhea
Fever
Cramping abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Chills
Headache

These symptoms usually last about four to seven days and often go away without treatment. Some children, younger infants and toddlers, and those with compromised immune symptoms may develop more severe, life-threatening symptoms and may need to be hospitalized.

Little Italy in Delaware? Mrs. Robino's Restaurant

When I was 18 years old Jim took me to Mrs. Robino's Restaurant on Union Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It is located in the heart of Little Italy. It was my first real genuine Italian meal and restaurant. It was his families tradition to dine here since it's opening. Matthew tasted his first clams here. I love the traditional paper placemats that have the "old time" classic cocktails listed (stinger, manhattan, creme de menthe frape). Best of all, I still remember trying wedding soup for the first time! To this day, Jim still loyally orders the wedding soup followed by linguine with red clam sauce and two meatballs! Isn't it great when some things never change.

A family tradition since 1940s, this truly authentic Italian restaurant is located in the heart of Wilmington’s Little Italy. Mrs. Tresilla Robino not only looked after her husband and family but also cooked for many husbands and fathers who were on there own in America waiting for the rest of their families to immigrate. Tresilla always had company at her house at dinner time. Someone suggested she open a restaurant and it was then that Mrs. Robino’s was established. At 1903 Howland Street with only a few tables set up in her basement, lines of people started to form out her front door! When her home on Howland Street became to small to meet the demands of the business she and her husband bought 520 North Union Street where the restaurant is located today. Her family moved upstairs and the business was set up downstairs. Looking around the room, you will see many of the same features from 1940s.

When Mrs. Tresilla Robino passed away in 1967 the restaurant was taken over by her daughter Josephine (Pina) Robino Minuti and her grandson Joseph F. Minuti. Josephine and Joseph worked hard to expand the business and over the past 30 years bought the properties where Mrs. Robino’s Restaurant sits today.

When you enter the restaurant, there is a wall completely covered with photos of family, friends, famous entertainers, and patrons that are always happy to come for a delicious plate of homemade pasta, friendly service, and always good hearty meal!

Delaware All-State Theatre at the DuPont Theatre

A new tradition for Matthew, Jim and I, including our friends Walter and Joanne Moore is seeing a Broadway musical performed by local students Dupont Theatre. Before going, we enjoy a dinner at Mrs. Robino's on Union Street in Wilmington. More on Mrs. Rubino's in my next blog. .....

Last year, the students did Les Miserables. It was the first year they held tryouts for high school students. This year, the theatre group accepted a Smyrna High School performer. Both Jim and I had a student we worked with previously. He worked with her in his summer theatre program and I, in Once Upon a Mattress at the high school.

The Delaware All-State Theatre was created to give elementary, middle, and high school theatre "geeks" the unique opportunity work on a large-scale musical production in partnership with the world famous DuPont Theatre. Full-time students (up to age 19) from across Delaware and the immediate surrounding area are eligible to participate either as a performer or behind the scenes in a technical capacity. They got the chance to work with industry professionals from the Director down to the Props Mistress.

Six performances were presented of this beloved Broadway musical performed entirely by students. From the first notes to the final breath, WEST SIDE STORY was performed with every bit of energy as seeing it on Broadway. In fact on many occassions during the performance, we all agreed we simply forgot that they were high school students.

As I grow older, I appreciate the young adults even more as I watch them dream and perform with passion. To truly see them at their best, doing what they love to do is truly a blessing for me. They inspire me!

Relief Society Event-Nemours Mansion & Gardens

This past cool, rainy, cloudy, Saturday, June 20th, about 30 sisters from the LDS Relief Society Smyrna Ward carpooled up to Wilmington to see Nemours Mansion & Gardens. We first stopped at the visitors center where we viewed a film about the life of Alfred Irenee duPont. Also a wonderful timeline of history including his families births and deaths was stationed along the glass walls which allowed the viewer to enjoy the natural surrounding woodlands. We were wisked away by a tour bus to the estate. Inside the three floors of the estate were so many beautiful and exquisite art works, antiquities, and amazing views of the property. You really see what it was like to live on a grand scale at the beginning of the 20th century, including the estate's billiard room and bowling alley, and necessities like the ice-making and bottling rooms. The tour took about 2 hours and also included a bus tour of the amazing 300 acres of formal landscaped gardens, and 800,000 gallon reflecting pool and fountain.

Nemours, the former 300 acre estate of Alfred I. du Pont, is named after the du Pont ancestral home in north central France.The Mansion is an excellent example of modified Louis XVI French château. It was designed by Carrere and Hastings of New York City and was built between 1909 and 1910 by Smyth and Son of Wilmington, Delaware. The mansion has 102 rooms and is furnished, as you would expect, with fine period antiques, rare oriental rugs, tapestries and paintings dating back as far as the 15th century.The gardens, their design influenced by Mr. duPont's many trips to Europe, are beautifully landscaped and include a working carillon tower, natural woodlands and extensive formal French gardens.

After the amazing day of culture, we gathered our troops and headed back to our church. We had a nice light luncheon complete with salad, sandwiches, and fruit. It was a day of fellowship and friendship that I will cherish.

Bad Wheel Jonny and the Broke Spokes

Finally, after several years of talking about performing, Matt's guitar teacher and my friend, Craig Koska, is presently in a band and is having a great time! The band consists of lead singer on guitar (Jonny), Craig on Tenor Guitar, and another fellow on harmonica. Matt and I went to see him perform at Dover's Friends of Folk events. Craig is playing acoustic guitar on far left in picture.

Delaware Friends of Folk is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of folk music and folk musicians in our area. They stage coffee houses, concerts, and monthly pick-ins where people gather to play music together.

Matt had heard an earlier recording of their music, but has become a big fan and wanted to attend and give him support. The music they play in Craig's own words....."We are kind of eclectic, but I would classify us as....Old Time, Appalachian Delta Blues....which is really a joke since there ain't no "Delta" in the Appalachian Mountains.

I had never seen a tenor guitar, but it only had four (4) strings and is tuned like a cello or a tenor banjo. Whereas the standard banjo is not considered a solo instrument, the tenor guitar is. The model he played was refurbished (by Bad Wheel Jonny himself) Slingerland Solo Model. This one was made somewhere between 1928 and 1935. I loved the "tingy" sound and the beauty of the instrument. We truly enjoyed the performance, and the Craig played the best of all!

His REAL job during the day is a Trainer/Educator III in the Public Health Preparedness Section. His areas of expertise are Avian and Pandemic Influenza and the medical effects of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Koska is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. He spent 5 ½ years at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine as a Master Instructor in the Battlefield Medical Operations Branch, teaching the medical aspects of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological weapons.

Throughout the years, Craig has taught many generations of Smyrna/Clayton Delaware aspiring pickers. In fact, he has taught five people that I work with and they are all different ages, and others that have had their children taught as well. When I tell people who is teaching Matt how to play, usually I'm informed that they either know a friend or had a relative take lessons from him.

Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day was full of love and fun. After church, I went over to pick up Matt at his Dad's house. As soon as I walked in, they had a singing card, a bouquet of colorful asters, and two large red beautiful potted begonias. Jim, bought me a Willow Tree sculpture of Mother and Son. I really love it. Afterwards, Matt and I went to have a late lunch and then to the movies to see the new Star Trek. It was funny and entertaining. We returned to Jim's house, where Matt and I danced to some Duran Duran, Moody Blues, and Hall & Oates. We played video rock band. He worked the guitar and I sang in the microphone! After our performance workout, we sat and watched a little TV together as a family. I'm so blessed to have such a creative, passionate, loving, intelligent, handsome, humorous, and fun son. He's growing fast (almost as tall as me as you can see by the picture) and becoming an amazing young man. Having only one son is great because you can put all your love and attention into one child. However, I know that soon he will be out of high school and making his own mark on the world. I never thought I'd be a mother! I'm so glad God gave me Matt to learn from and to love! I can't imagine having any other child like him. I'm definitely proud of him in every way and couldn't imagine my life without him.

Ballet Classics & More

Another, yet talented DNREC co-worker in our HR Section is a Benefits coordinator by day, and ballet teacher by night. Her name is Melanie Caffo. She teaches at the Ballet Theatre of Dover/Dance Conservatory. It is school that offers the highest caliber instruction in dance, with it's own performance wing for near-professional quality entertainment in dance. Not only do they perform the annual "Nutcracker" but also have seasonal performances in May and August which includes classical ballet and contemporary productions.

This is my second Mother's Day weekend year that I have attended their spring performance. The presentation was in their studio theatre, and they performed classical dances from "Paquita" and used the choreography from 1881. "Allegro Molto" by Bartok was the final dance. The contemporary dances were from Duke Ellington-Alvin Alley ballet "The River " which made it's debut in 1970 at Lincoln Center, NY. Although the music seems incomplete and fragmented, it includes seven (7) dances . The music is like a river itself starting with a slow, folk-song opening through the jazzy swing time to the spiritual and blues. The dancers used chair, stools, and benches as props in one dance. The song, "The Neo Hip-Hop Kiddies" was choreographed almost as if I was watching an excerpt from "Fame's hot lunch!" The costumes, music, and choreography was entertaining and exciting. I was so proud to see Melanie dancing among the young dancers that she taught.

April Showers and Baptisms

Instead of April being rainy, we've had more rain in May! However, this April there was no lack of water in the baptismal font in the Smyrna LDS Ward. Several of our 8 year olds were baptized. One of my new Bobcat cub scouts, Hunter Biang, was baptized. Also, i was happy to play the piano for my visiting teacher's granddaughter, Annika Burgoyne's baptism.

Also in April I witnessed the baptism of the Gibson family from Libya. The recently moved from Washington, DC. to Clayton, Delaware. George & Elsie have seven children. They have five girls named Mardia, Patricia, Montee, Brandall, Denise, and twin boys named George & George. The twin boys are just four years old and love to come and sit by me on the piano stool during our "Sunday School" time. The whole family was baptized one Sunday except for the twins. The spirit was ever present and powerful as each member slowly walked into the fount all in white, guided by their assigned Priesthood holder. I loved to watch as they were dipped back and brought back up. Each of their faces were filled with joy as they smiled and wiped the water from their eyes. Elsie, the mother, was so overwhelmed that she cried immediately as she came up from the water. We all cried along with her and congratulated the family. It was so special.

The following Sunday our meeting was again filled with the spirit as each baptized family member sat in the middle of 10 Priesthood holders who each put their hand upon the shoulder of the next until they formed a circle. Again and again reverence fell upon the congregation as a prayer for each new member to receive the Holy Ghost is shared by the Priesthood brother and all the men now placing their hands upon the members head. After the whole family received their blessings, they were confirmed members of the church by a vote of an uplifted right hand by the congregation.

When I receive such prayers, whether from my own baptism, church callings, or other blessings I immediately feel the spirit and energy from that person along with the spiritual intent. It is a powerful feeling of peace, love, and light. I feel inspired to do that which is right to everybody and everything. For me, I know this is God's influence!

Across the Miles

This is just a test!

Welcome family and friends. Welcome to an emailed version of what is posted on my blog. Mainly, I post what's been happening with Matt and I in our daily lives to communicate with those dear and precious to us across the miles.

To view the blog ~ and archived postings. Go to http://barbinde.blogspot.com. You can always the view comments or and leave one directly on the site by becoming a registered user at no charge!

Would love to hear how you and your family is doing!!

From Smyrna to DC and back again!

This past Saturday, Matthew and his best friend Chandler and I, went to Washington, DC to enjoy the warm weather (70F) and visit the Holocaust museum . Recently, Matt has been interested in World War II. To visit Mall in DC, we drive about 75 miles, park and take the closest Metro substation (about 1/2 hour ride) and take the escalator up to ground level only a two blocks from the Washington Monument. Just taking the trip is an adventure in itself. We look forward to the trip every year.

However, I was perplexed by the amount of people when we arrived. Usually you park, walk up, get your ticket and you wait - maybe 3 minutes? It looked like 10 buses had dropped off their passengers. What was going on? Nevermind, how long it took me to figure out how to purchase Metro tickets for 3 passengers and which ticket machine to use? After about 30 minutes, and one extra $30 ticket I need to send back for a refund - we still were feeling optimistic.

The ride was nice - with smiles from the boys. We walked a few blocks to the museum in 50 mph winds only to find out that the soonest we could get to see the permanent exhibit was at 2:45 pm. Matt and Chandler had to attend a priesthood session in Newark, DE by 8pm that evening. We did see two exhibits: Don't forget the children, Daniel's Story; and a Nazi propaganda exhibit. The boys were amazed and touched by what they saw. We spent the rest of the day walking along the mall enjoying the sun, the fresh air, and all the different types of people that were there for the festival. We didn't go near the parade or the festivities because I didn't want to lose the boys.

However, we walked probably close to 5 miles that day up and down the mall from the Washington Memorial down to Capitol Hill and along Independence Avenue. We spent a small fortune on hot dogs and soda and then decided we were ready to go home. As we headed towards the Metro we were told that it was now an exit for new people coming up from the subway. We had to double back and take the next entrance a few blocks from Capitol Hill (almost 16 blocks). After finding the 2nd level to our train, we were so happy to see the tram. While feeling our feet tingle, we agreed the day was definitely an adventure. Matt wants to give it another try in a few weeks.

We made it home in time for the boys to change into their dress shirts and ties. Amazingly, the night was just beginning and they were still interested in having their "young mens" night together. After they were picked up by a fellow "Brother", I went to usher at the Smyrna Opera House for the 2nd in a 3 series of "Smyrna's Got Voice" competition.

A great day of culture, art, music, spirituality and friendship/family! How was your Saturday?