Two good friends came for supper tonight. We meant to go out, but things got tangled--I thought one of them was too sick for supper--and I ended up cooking, which suits me fine. I fixed green noodles. Years ago, before I ever had children, my brother's then-wife told me that one night when he was coming to dinner and she had nothing to serve, she melted some butter and added lemon, cooked some pasta and coated it with the lemon butter, and that was dinner. I used to serve it to my kids, only I used spinach fettucine, and then I added sliced green onion and mushrooms--the mushrooms soak up the lemon and are delicious. The kids knew it as agreen noodles. In recent years, I've embellished it more. Since I've been making and freezing my own pesto, I add a cube of that and then, if I have it on hand, I add a can of quartered artichoke hearts (I had that tonight). Just before serving, I put a liberal amount of grated Parmeson (Parmigiano Reggiano, not the canned stuff--I keep it in the freezer, which probably freaks cheese gourmets but works for me). If I do say so, it was great. We ate in the living room, on our laps, with the fire going, and had a lovely relaxed evening. I had emailed Megan earlier and mentioned that I was going to fix green noodles, which is the way she remembers it, and she wrote back, "Green noodles--yummmm." I may fix it for them this weekend in Austin.
I went this week to have my hearing aids adjusted and boldly told the audiologist (a really nice man) that I wasn't a happy camper. I didn't like the way they sounded--it sounded like I was in a wind tunnel, and everyone's voice sounded hollow to me; I couldn't tolerate the aids in restaurants or small crowds, even in my own living room; in the car, I heard the road noise but not what someone was saying to me He disappeared with the aids, came back and said, "I don't like the way they sound either." He adjusted them, and they are ever so much better. So tonight, just for the three of us, I put them in--and lo! I could hear what the others were saying clearly, without having to ask, "What?" It was a great revelation.
I'm going to Austin this weekend to see Megan and Brandon, Sawyer and Ford, before Meg has to go back to work from maternity leave. Meg has been really pushing me about the hearing aids, so I'm sure she'll be glad of this new "hearing" me. I called today to make sure it was all right if I came on short notice--my good friend Jim Lee is driving down and I can hitch a ride. Brandon answered with, "We were just talking about you and when you were coming to see us." When I said how about this weekend, he said, "Great. Come on." It's nice to be genuinely welcomed by your children-in-law, and I'm lucky in that respect So I'm looking forward to a good visit--and the chance to cook for them.
My writing is at a standstill. I'm stalling on a book review I have to do, because I can't get a handle on the book; I'm stalled on Oprah because I'm waiting for interlibrary loan books--although I've got a good rough draft complete and am no longer in a panic about that project; I've got to think about the class in Texas lit that I'm to teach in February, but on the way to Austin, I'll pick Jim Lee's brain and take along the book I've chosen as text; and the mystery languishes, because I can't think about it until I've got the other projects off my desk. But the other day I drove by the house
that gave me the original idea--besides the configuration of my own kitchen--and the remodeling is now complete and the house is for sale. I quick called Christian--he's a vice-president of a title company--and he said it's listed at $349,000. I'm astounded--if you ever read the mystery, you'll know that it's not in that good a part of town, but it sure is lovely now.
I went this week to have my hearing aids adjusted and boldly told the audiologist (a really nice man) that I wasn't a happy camper. I didn't like the way they sounded--it sounded like I was in a wind tunnel, and everyone's voice sounded hollow to me; I couldn't tolerate the aids in restaurants or small crowds, even in my own living room; in the car, I heard the road noise but not what someone was saying to me He disappeared with the aids, came back and said, "I don't like the way they sound either." He adjusted them, and they are ever so much better. So tonight, just for the three of us, I put them in--and lo! I could hear what the others were saying clearly, without having to ask, "What?" It was a great revelation.
I'm going to Austin this weekend to see Megan and Brandon, Sawyer and Ford, before Meg has to go back to work from maternity leave. Meg has been really pushing me about the hearing aids, so I'm sure she'll be glad of this new "hearing" me. I called today to make sure it was all right if I came on short notice--my good friend Jim Lee is driving down and I can hitch a ride. Brandon answered with, "We were just talking about you and when you were coming to see us." When I said how about this weekend, he said, "Great. Come on." It's nice to be genuinely welcomed by your children-in-law, and I'm lucky in that respect So I'm looking forward to a good visit--and the chance to cook for them.
My writing is at a standstill. I'm stalling on a book review I have to do, because I can't get a handle on the book; I'm stalled on Oprah because I'm waiting for interlibrary loan books--although I've got a good rough draft complete and am no longer in a panic about that project; I've got to think about the class in Texas lit that I'm to teach in February, but on the way to Austin, I'll pick Jim Lee's brain and take along the book I've chosen as text; and the mystery languishes, because I can't think about it until I've got the other projects off my desk. But the other day I drove by the house
that gave me the original idea--besides the configuration of my own kitchen--and the remodeling is now complete and the house is for sale. I quick called Christian--he's a vice-president of a title company--and he said it's listed at $349,000. I'm astounded--if you ever read the mystery, you'll know that it's not in that good a part of town, but it sure is lovely now. 
No comments:
Post a Comment