Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Chili on a cold, rainy night


Day three of being housebound by the weather. Today was one of those cold wet days that chills you to the bone—seems like I’ve said that a lot lately. But even my cozy cottage was chilly, and I went around in a sweater all day. And it rained all day, sometimes a drizzle but other times steadily. Praise be that we missed the ice storm to our west though in some areas surrounding the Metroplex the rain was so steady that flooding was a problem. I do hope this nasty winter means a beautiful spring.

I found I can be quite social staying at home. Yesterday, Jean came for a most welcome coffee visit, and I cancelled any thought of dinner plans—too nasty to go out. The same reason caused me to cancel tonight’s standing Wednesday night dinner with Betty. But Lewis, the contractor who keeps both our houses in running order, came to install my new kitchen shelf and provided some human company this morning.

When you have limited space, as I do, a new shelf can be cause for rejoicing. This one is over my butcher block/cutting board/rolling table. The shelf let me clear off a lot of junk from the cutting board—sugar, salt, pepper, garlic keeper, etc. Looks ever so much neater. The picture above it is deliberately off-center, at my request. But the picture is original artwork from my friend Barbara Whitehead for the cover of The Gilded Cage. When we used the InstaPot the other night, I realized the art was about to get steamed into oblivion and quickly moved it.

Lewis’ visit—and we did chat a bit—was followed by John, the landscaper who is going to put in my tiny, tiny garden for lettuce and onions. We chatted a bit too, mostly about wilted lettuce and the salad his mom made that sound similar but with cabbage instead of lettuce. I’m waiting to hear an estimate from him. I’ve no doubt it will be the most expensive lettuce I’ve ever eaten, but once installed, I hope I can keep the small space full of vegetables, even after the lettuce dies out in June.

This morning Jordan said it was a day to have chili for supper. I volunteered to cook, but Christian wanted to do it. A little after five, Jordan came out with a basket of groceries—Christian would be late and couldn’t cook. So we made hurry-up chili. She makes a great sous chef.. By 7:30 we served a credible pot of chili, but I laughed at the “service” and told Jordan her grandmother would have thrown up her hands in dismay. Saltines in their wrapper and sour cream in the carton. I think I’m a casual person, but sometimes my mom comes to mind reminding me of manners. When I was a kid, we had linen tablecloth and napkins for dinner, and nothing ever was served in the store contained. Ah, but it’s only one of the many ways life has changed—and a minor one at that in the overall scheme of things.

I anticipate one more housebound day, and I’m almost looking forward to it. I’ve got my routine down. But I will be glad to get out of the house and into the world. Friday, grocery shopping. Saturday, a funeral. Sunday, church. Life is pretty exciting.

Jordan said today she had a moment of reflection and thought how lucky she was to have such a good husband who, when it seemed necessary, uprooted their lives and moved into my house—and believe me, it was a big upheaval for all of us. Then she said, she thought about the scary days when my kids feared I’d never get back to being myself, and she realized how grateful and happy she is. All of us are well and flourishing. Her question was, “Now who can I reach out to and help?” That’s my girl. And a big hug of gratitude to Christian for being who he is.

I too am blessed…and happy.




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