Southwestern flavors with an eclectic flair!

If you’ve ever driven through Downtown Hudson, Wisconsin, you will know that if you blink, you will definitely miss at least half the town, lol!  Second street is the main drag with a combination of antique stores, bars, and a very good variety of restaurants.  One of the places I have recently discovered is the Agave Kitchen.  It is located right on the corner of Second and Walnut Streets; you notice it right away because of the tall windows, and the humorous message boards outside.

A friend of mine and I decided to go on a Wednesday night, and it was fairly busy.  The layout of the restaurant is very unusual, it has at least two levels that I saw, the upper level is almost like a loft of sorts and the kitchen is on the upper level kind of in the heart of everything.  You can see them making your food depending upon where you sit.  We chose a really cool seat with both a view out the tall window of the town and a view of the restaurant below, including the bar, which is something to see in itself!  LOVE the copper covering the bar surface!  You get a feeling of a very hip, fun place to unwind…not something overly stuffy or overdone.

Service… well, I have to say, I’m mixed on the service.  It’s kind of strange because several times I have immediately gotten the feeling that I was inconveniencing the waitress… she was short, she took forever just to bring us water…. it really kind of threw us off…. BUT then, it was like she warmed up, because by the end of the night, we were extremely happy with the service.  It’s strange, cause we have had a different waitress every time, lolol!

The food…. ah… the food.  If you like Southwestern food, even burgers with a more creative flair, you will like this place A LOT!!!!!   They have a WONDERFULLY extensive menu that ranges from Chips and Salsa to burgers, to seafood and steaks, and they have some kicked up traditional Southwestern faire as well, such as tacos and enchiladas.

My friend and I split a 1/2 size nachos with the pulled pork as our choice of meat.  I wish I had a picture of the nachos.  They were HUGE and we were relieved we only ordered the 1/2!  The salsa that comes with the nachos is very fresh tasting, the jerk seasoning on the pork was divine!  We quickly devoured the nachos and there was not a speck left on the plate!

Next came our main meal.  I ordered the Southwest Burger (shown above at the top of the page), keeping in the spirit of the theme, and my friend ordered the Memphis Style Pulled Pork.  (Shown below)

My burger had a perfect char grilled taste to it, and the guacamole mixed with the bacon and pepper jack cheese hit all the right spots for me.  It was exactly what I was in the mood for, and I am happy to say, it completely fit the bill.  The fries that came with it were really good too, hot, fresh, crisp, not mushy, salted just right.  I asked for the burger to be done Medium Well, and that’s exactly what I got, which is a big deal in my book.  It seems lots of restaurants can’t usually get it right when it comes to Medium Well.

My friend’s pulled pork was AMAZING.  He let me try it and was so good, I almost asked him to trade half and half with me, LOL!  The coleslaw was creamy and crisp and the added zip of the BBQ sauce on the pork made for a perfect combination!

We did order drinks as well, and those were kind of the basic, run of the mill, nothing more notable than any other bar, but I will say that they have a HUGE drink menu, so there is something for everyone.

If you ever find yourself in Hudson, Wisconsin, I would recommend checking them out.  For more information about Agave Kitchen, you can find them here:  http://www.agavekitchen.com/

FINALLY, the wait is over for the charming Kate!!!!

****Pictures for this post found via Google Image search, if you know who to credit, please comment and I will edit.  Thank you! 🙂

Well, I am sure I am one of the last people alive to write something about the impending Royal Wedding.  I really think that this will be a great thing for the British Monarchy, and I wish the couple every happiness.

There are, of course reservations I have, of which I am certain I am not alone.  There is speculation as to whether Kate Middleton can bear up under the pressures of living as royalty, being in the constant spotlight, the harsh scrutiny, and now, more than ever, the comparisons with the late Princess Diana.  It is my hope that she can and does…. I am sure however she choses to tackle these obstacles or bumps in the road, she will come out gracefully.  It is my personal feeling that she is indeed a good match for the handsome Prince William, they are so clearly in love, and are of the same mind about a large variety of things.

It is my ferverent hope that living as a Princess does not adversely affect her.  She is such a beautiful and charming woman, by all accounts, and it would be a shame to see that bright light in her dimmed or extinguished in any way.

I found it very touching that the Prince proposed to Kate using the same engagement ring that previously belonged to Diana.  It was very meaningful and had this hopeless romantic a wee bit choked up.   🙂

I found the following pics of the newly engaged couple and thought I would include a  couple of Prince William’s parents’ wedding in 1981.  Enjoy!

The engagement ring!!!!!

A fairytale wedding…or so we all thought.  😦

Fun With Biographies!!!!!

I have been giving a great deal of thought lately as to the kinds of things I want to write about in my blog, and I have found that I very much love to read about people, Googling information, or reading biographies and then writing down my thoughts or my take on certain things that intrigued or interested me, along with offering points of view that maybe have not yet been presented.  I like to sort of try to get inside the head of my subject and try to put missing historical pieces together.

That being said, I also want to know what intrigues YOU, my readers… what you most want to read about, what you would most like to know…. ever been curious about what is fact or fiction?

Here is what I propose…..if there is something specific that you would like to read about, but can seldom find what you are looking for, comment here!  I am more than happy to look into things for others….it gives me some research practice!  It also gives me a chance to maybe write about something from a very unbiased point of view.

So, my readers, all two or three of you out there, lol…. fire away, and let’s have some fun with this!

***Picture found via Google Image search.  If you know who to credit for this picture, feel free to let me know and I will add it to the post.  🙂

My humble take on Anne……

In my other blog, “A Lion’s Share,” I have posted a couple of pictures of my humble homage to Anne Boleyn.  I have always wanted to dress up as Anne for Halloween and this year I just went ahead and did it.  For the purists:  It’s a little more glammed up version of Anne, of course, and it’s not historically accurate, but I was using what I just had in the house at the time.   Click the link tudorgirl75.blogspot.com, and let me know what you think!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!

Of poets and things…..

****Image of young Sylvia Plath*****

***The image above was found via Google Image search and is not my property or image, nor was it created by me.***

I have always been a fan of poetry, have been writing my own since the wee age of 5.  I remember reading a poem in front of the entire school when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade.  It has always held a special place in my heart.  It wasn’t until high school that I started to be able to appreciate poetry on a more profound and intellectual level.  My junior year in high school I started writing some very dark and desolate poetry.  And that’s when I discovered the work of Sylvia Plath.

Her poetry, while being dark at times, also has a way of illuminating colors, almost making things pop before your eyes visually and you can see what she must have been seeing.  The perfect example of this is in “April Aubade,” one of my favorite Sylvia Plath poems.   See for yourself:

April Aubade

Worship this world of watercolor mood
in glass pagodas hung with veils of green
where diamonds jangle hymns within the blood
and sap ascends the steeple of the vein.

A saintly sparrow jargons madrigals
to waken dreamers in the milky dawn,
while tulips bow like a college of cardinals
before that papal paragon, the sun.

Christened in a spindrift of snowdrop stars,
where on pink-fluted feet the pigeons pass
and jonquils sprout like solomon’s metaphors,
my love and I go garlanded with grass.

Again we are deluded and infer
that somehow we are younger than we were.

Like so many writers, you can often tell when the high points and low points of her life were by reading her poetry.

This one is so dreamy and fantasy like, and I feel it’s one of her “lighter” works:

Cinderella

The prince leans to the girl in scarlet heels,
Her green eyes slant, hair flaring in a fan
Of silver as the rondo slows; now reels
Begin on tilted violins to span

The whole revolving tall glass palace hall
Where guests slide gliding into light like wine;
Rose candles flicker on the lilac wall
Reflecting in a million flagons’ shine,

And glided couples all in whirling trance
Follow holiday revel begun long since,
Until near twelve the strange girl all at once
Guilt-stricken halts, pales, clings to the prince

As amid the hectic music and cocktail talk
She hears the caustic ticking of the clock.

And, last, but NOT least, this is one of my very top favorites.  It emotes a gutwrenching sadness, and I believe this was written in reference to her husband at the time, writer Ted Hughes.

Burning the Letters

I made a fire; being tired
Of the white fists of old
Letters and their death rattle
When I came too close to the wastebasket
What did they know that I didn’t?
Grain by grain, they unrolled
Sands where a dream of clear water
Grinned like a getaway car.
I am not subtle
Love, love, and well, I was tired
Of cardboard cartons the color of cement or a dog pack
Holding in it’s hate
Dully, under a pack of men in red jackets,
And the eyes and times of the postmarks.

This fire may lick and fawn, but it is merciless:
A glass case
My fingers would enter although
They melt and sag, they are told
Do not touch.
And here is an end to the writing,
The spry hooks that bend and cringe and the smiles, the smiles
And at least it will be a good place now, the attic.
At least I won’t be strung just under the surface,
Dumb fish
With one tin eye,
Watching for glints,
Riding my Arctic
Between this wish and that wish.

So, I poke at the carbon birds in my housedress.
They are more beautiful than my bodiless owl,
They console me–
Rising and flying, but blinded.
They would flutter off, black and glittering, they would be coal angels
Only they have nothing to say but anybody.
I have seen to that.
With the butt of a rake
I flake up papers that breathe like people,
I fan them out
Between the yellow lettuces and the German cabbage
Involved in it’s weird blue dreams
Involved in a foetus.
And a name with black edges

Wilts at my foot,
Sinuous orchis
In a nest of root-hairs and boredom–
Pale eyes, patent-leather gutturals!
Warm rain greases my hair, extinguishes nothing.
My veins glow like trees.
The dogs are tearing a fox. This is what it is like
A read burst and a cry
That splits from it’s ripped bag and does not stop
With that dead eye
And the stuffed expression, but goes on
Dyeing the air,
Telling the particles of the clouds, the leaves, the water
What immortality is. That it is immortal.

Gathered from Wikipedia, I think this first paragraph sums it up pretty well about Sylvia Plath:

“Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer. She married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956 and they lived together first in the United States and then England, having two children together: Frieda andNicholas. Following a long struggle with depression and a marital separation, Plath committed suicide in 1963. Controversy continues to surround the events of her life and death, as well as her writing and legacy.”

******Image of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath found via Google Image search; image is not my property nor was it created by me.*****

Here is my own take on Sylvia Plath:  I believe her life became very sad and troubled for her starting at the age of 8 when her father died.  She lost her faith in many things and just sort of existed.  During her college years, she was recognized for her writing, but she was losing faith in herself despite her successes.  She attempted suicide for the first time and was admitted to a hospital for treatment.  Many speculate that this fueled her inspiration for her later work, “The Bell Jar.”  Sylvia also had a very tumultuous marriage with accomplished writer Ted Hughes.  She found it difficult to both work and have the energy or time to write.  It eventually started to take it’s toll on her, as did her husband’s many infidelities.  After many bouts of depression and suicide attempts, Sylvia Plath finally succeeded on February 11, 1963.

Gwyneth Paltrow played Sylvia Plath in a movie based upon her life in 2003.  I thought Gwyneth did a fantastic job of playing her.  It was gut wrenching to watch what Sylvia went through, but it also gives you some perspective on things, how she truly was gifted and how we most likely only witnessed a small tidbit of what she actually could have been capable of.

*****Image of Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath from the movie, “Sylvia”  Image found via Google Image search and is not my property, nor was it created by me.******

If you would like to learn more about Sylvia Plath or her poetry, please check out these links!

http://www.sylviaplath.de/

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11

http://www.sylviaplathforum.com/

http://www.sylviaplath.info/index2.html