The week that was

 

Granddaughter Morgan with Sophie
She once tried to sneak Sophie to Houston, so
I keep an eye on both of them.

Spring break turned life topsy-turvy for me last week, and I almost felt like I was raising teenagers again, trying to keep track of where everyone was. Two families skiing in far-apart places in Colorado, another on an Alabama beach and then living it up in New Orleans (and making me jealous with meals at Antoine’s and Commander’s Palace). And Jamie here with me most of the week. A different but very happy week.

Jamie said he was going home Thursday after supper. At midnight, I told him I had to go to bed and said goodbye. Next morning, his car was in my driveway, but he came out at 8:30 and said he was leaving—we did our goodbyes again. He reappeared at 11:00, having gone to Ol’ South for breakfast, taken his computer, and sat there and worked—brought me corned-beef hash for my lunch, and we said our goodbyes again. This time I checked a couple of hours later, and he was indeed back home in Frisco.

I loved having him here. We both worked all day—he in the house, me in the cottage—but came together in the evenings. One lovely evening, he played his acoustic guitar while I fiddled on my computer, and another night, of course, we met sweet Eden for supper. I got to cook things he will eat that the Burtons won’t—our St. Patrick’s Day dinner with corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and sauteed cabbage was the big hit, but eggplant Parmigiana and chicken Divan weren’t too shabby. All in all it was a great visit.

Sophie enjoyed the visit too—wanted so badly to play with Kosmo, his Pomeranian. She did that growl-y thing with her butt in the air and her face down on her paws, and he’d just bat her away. She is, after all, about twice his size, and he is most fixated on Jamie. Still, Sophie had lots of extra attention all week.

My pasta concoction

I kept up the cooking after Jamie left—Friday I fixed Jean my “clean out the fridge” version of pasta primavera—artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, chopped green onions, a small can of salmon (the good stuff), and pasta with olive oil, lemon, and Parmesan. Saturday, Colin and his family stopped on their way home, brought lunch from Carshon’s Deli, and Colin gave me long lectures on Sophie's weight. Linda came for supper. I served her more of the eggplant, and she said it might be the best meal I’d ever served her. I wanted to protest—over the years I’ve served her a lot of meals. Surely some others stood out!

By last night, life was back on track—Megan and family in Midland where they will spend a couple of nights, Colin and family home in Tomball (where they had a water pressure problem), Jamie back in Frisco, and the Burtons safely back on Park Place Avenue. I’m ready to get down to serious work, more cooking, and a routine. Such topsy-turvy times are nice breaks, but I’m pretty much a routine person.

Beautiful sunny day today with just faint wispy clouds in the sky. Sophie has been sunning herself on the patio, looking so content. She makes me sleepy. I’m off to eat leftovers for lunch, take a nap, and tackle, once again, that neighborhood newsletter. Feeling so blessed by life.