Having fallen asleep before 9 p.m., Jacob woke birght-eyed and bushy-tailed at 6:30 this morning. I did not share his enthusiasm for the day. I got him to cuddle for half an hour, but he's a pretty restless, wriggly cuddler. At seven, I thought, okay, I'll turn on the TV for him and feed the cat (he kept telling me Wywy wanted food!). I did and got another 45 minutes of dozing, which brightened my mood considerably.
Our good weather continued today, and we spent a lot of time on the porch (I had to convince him he could not go out in his underwear). We tasted and talked about the various herbs in my porch garden--I think he liked chives best. We watched squirrels, and I sent him on a hunt for geckos on the brick of t he house. He moved his precious rock collection for me, so I could put the plumbago in a spot where it got more much-needed sun. With the nicer weather, my porch has come back to life--the basil no longer droops, the plumbago and impatiens are blooming. It's like a green sanctuary. On our second trip to the porch for the morning, Jacob thought he saw a bee and nothing would do but that we go inside. Then, inside, he spotted a spider and insisted I "get it," when my inclination was to let the poor creature go about his business. Still, I decided when it came to a standoff between Jacob and a spider, he won hands down. Goodbye, spider.
I told Jacob to take a body rest after lunch, and I had what I'd call an interrupted nap--he kept appearing at my bedside with some new announcement. When I finally got up, he lay still as could be and watched TV. I was still trying to persuade him to put his clothes back on when his mom arrived. We did sit outside, and the new neighbors wandered over for a visit. Jacob and their two-year-old played sweetly--a pleasant encounter.
I fixed a dinner of lamb burgers, wedge salad with a pumped up ranch dressing, and feta bread--the latter was the centerpiece of the meal. You heat an oven proof skillet (my reliable iron one) in a 500 degree oven for five minutes, the pour in 2 Tbsp. olive oil and a batter of flour, baking powder, salt, water, olive oil, and vodka (not sure why the latter), spread it around quickly because it begins to cook immediately, and top it with feta and dots of butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, still at 500, and remove carefully. The directions were so full of cautions for dealing with the extreme heat and the need for speed that I was intimidated, but it really wasn't hard at all--and it came out great. Like a pizza with a really thin crust topped with feta. Christian immediately wanted to open a pizza parlor and serve variations of it, until I asked if I had to do the cooking? If you're interested in the recipe, try to find a Web site called "the meaning of pie" and scroll back to older entries--it's worth the chase, believe me.
Jacob was an angel all weekend--well, okay, a couple of mis-steps, but nothing serious. For some reason when his parents arrive, his behavior deteriorates, Jordan gets impatient, and confusion results. I'm not sure how to handle that.
Back to the workaday world tomorrow after my nice lazy weekend. I dreamt I was getting ready to be at the office at 8;00 a.m. and then I thought, "Wait! I'm retired. Why am I going in at eight?" And tomorrow I can sleep past 6:30.
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