Sunday, November 09, 2014

A busy but happy camper

An awesome weekend--nothing big, nothing outstanding, just pleasantly awesome. Saturday morning I rushed to the grocery fairly early, and Jordan met me there to pick up Jacob. She who has shopped with me since she was a child and knows that I have always shopped at Westcliff since the '80s(besides Central Market) went to Kroger and wondered where I was. Got that straightened out, and Jacob was off to a football game. Saturday night they went to the TCU game which was a biggie--Kansas State (#7) against TCU (#6). TCU's victory had a large margin, and they are now #5. I'm not a big football fan but when you live in the area and have such close ties to the university it's hard not to get excited.
While they were cheering, I was having an early, quiet dinner with a good friend at a local tapas restaurant--ham croquettes (well, however you say it in Spanish--jambon? jamon?) and a roasted cauliflower/leek salad with a red sauce. I fear it had red peppers in it but the taste was mild and I liked it. Good wine, a great and long overdue visit, and a lovely evening.
I was really a busy beaver this weekend--got sausage balls and a cheese ball in the freezer for the holidays, did my yoga, wrote 3,000 words,, and got in two long naps (why am I so sleepy tonight?). And tonight Christian got all my Christmas stuff--bags and bags--down out of the attic, so I have major chores: wrapping and decorating. Have to squeeze it all in between all the other things I do before December 6 when all but one of my kids will be here for the weekend. Since this year is not an Alter Christmas--they all go to their in-laws--that's a perfect time to deliver gifts.
Back to the present: tonight Jordan, Christian and Jacob came for supper, and Subie and Phil came for happy hour. I felt bad not to invite them for dinner but I served leftovers and wasn't sure there was enough. This was a clean out the fridge/freezer meal--leftover chili/cheese appetizer and last week's pot roast became this week's stew.
I defrosted the pot roast with its potatoes and carrots (love those mushy carrots in gravy). Made a roux and then stirred in canned beef broth to make gravy for the pot roast. That, plus the gravy it had cooked in, make a great stew. But I was right. There wasn't enough for company.
Sophie was so excited to have everybody here tonight that she raced back and forth in the house, and I feared she'd trip Phil. She loves his seeing-eye dog, Santiago, but Santiago is old and not interested in playing with her. Still, she thought it was lovely to have all those she loves around her.
Tomorrow is a school holiday. Jacob and I will co-exist except that he has to be able to identify the upper Midwestern states, give their abbreviations and capitals. So far, he's got a long way to go. I think we'll unpack the Christmas stuff and sort it. Goodbye to my dining table for a while.
In cleaning out my freezer, I found a new kind of ambrosia--amaretto-dusted pecans. Heavenly. I think they came from Central Market. Left them out for Jordan to try, and she promptly put them with the things she was to take home. I stopped that!
Going to sleep, full, happy and content tonight. Life is good.

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