A cooking weekend

Seems like I spent most of the weekend cooking--and I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend. Friday night, with two little boys for supper, I fixed hot dogs, canned corn, and potato chips (okay, that's not really cooking)--neither boy ate well, and it turned out that both had slight colds. By the next morning, Jacob was really sick but that's another story.
After Max went home and Jacob was settled I made peanut butter cookies, the old recipe that my mom handed down--gosh but they smell wonderful fresh out of the oven. And made myself salmon cakes for supper--have enjoyed them all weekend and am sad to say I was piggy enough to eat two for lunch today so they're all gone.
Saturday's big project was coq au vin made the old-fashioned way, so that it simmers a long time in the sauce. There's much reduction of sauces involved--something that my impatience usually makes difficult, but I did it right this time. One of the tedious things about this dish was chopping--carrots, celery, onions and eventualy mushrooms. But I got it all together, cooked it and put it in the fridge.
This morning I woke with the jitters--can't explain it, but I was just plain anxious. Cooking is often a good antidote, so after I talked to Jordan, found out Jacob had a 102 fever, and they weren't going to church, I finished off the coq au vin. Fished the chicken out, sauteed the mushrooms, reduced the sauce once again and put it all back together. And then back in the fridge. Spent the rest of the morning wrapping Christmas gifts. I'm way ahead of the game--not unusual for me.
Tonight, Jordan and Christian came with Jacob--now 102.9, though medicine took it down and he felt okay but not great. Did eat dinner with us, and Elizabeth came in from her yoga classes in time for supper. Chicken was so tender it fell off the bone--one piece (I had used thighs) literally did fall apart and got lost in the sauce, which was rich and good the way only a sauce cooked for hours can be. It was also chock full of  veggies--carrots, celery, onion and mushrooms. Christian of course wanted nothing to do with the veggies but the rest of us loved them.
My neighbors put new flickering white lights on the arbor outside my dining room window, and we lit the Christmas lights inside the house for the first time this season. I used my red-and-green plaid china, and we felt festive. Lovely evening--so nice to have family around and so nice to have Elizabeth as part of the family. Counting my blessings once again.
Tomorrow is a babysitting day, though he requires little attention. I shudder to admit I'll park him in front of the TV, but his parents will bring some movies, and maybe we'll do a puzzle or two, but, please Lord, not Spiderman again! Jacob can't go back to school until he's been fever-free for 24 hours.

What a Day!

What a day! is how I've wanted to begin every post this week. It has been a hectic week, mostly with house repairs.But today Jordan called in the morning to say Jacob was sick. I told her I had a longstanding date to go to Keller for lunch and couldn't keep him until I got back. Linda from Granbury picked me up and we went to Keller for lunch with Connie Jenkins--Linda has known Connie since she was a child, and Connie's late husband was my ex-husband's senior partner--over the years Russ and Connie were both so good to me, kind of watching over me and the kids. We had a pleasant lunch at an Italian restaurant--veal piccata, which means I limited myself to tuna tonight.
But Keller isn't as far as I thought, and I was home by 1:30. Jordan and Jacob arrived shortly thereafter, and he greeted me with, "I'm sick." So I settled him on his bed with a warm blanket and turned on the TV. Jordan asked him if he wanted to pee or wanted a diaper, and he said no. When he came to me and said he wanted me to turn the TV off, I didn't think to bring the diaper matter up again--big mistake. As soon as he as headed to sleep, I crawled into my bed for a nap. After about an hour, Jacob came and climbed into bed with me--and I realized he was soaking wet. When I wanted to take him to the potty, he said, "I have to show you something." Big wet spot on his bed. So the comforter went into the wash; then the mattress pad and sheets. I stripped my bed and remade with other sheets because I knew I would't want to change it late tonight. Jacob by then had 101 temp--yes, John, I used a thermometer--but he wouldn't take Ibupofren, said he'd take it at home and he wanted his mommy. Between taking care of Jacob, feeding the dog, watering  the plants, and eating a bite of supper, I wasn't even dressed when Elizabeth arrived for class.
My class tonight was a joy--only six of us instead of the usual eleven, but we had a really open evening of sharing--some very lighthearted, funny pieces, some in which people really revealed themselves, their pasts and their weaknesses. Eliabeth and I talked afterward and couldn't decide if the openness was a smaller group or because the women are getting used to each other and used to sharing. We decided if some women continue in a new class in the fall, having a mix of old and new would be good and would encourage sharing. After class discussion,  we visited over really good snacks and all agreed it was an exceptional evening. Interesting to me--some women are writing for others, particularly grandchildren, and their work is happy, sometimes sentimental, based on memories; others are writing to explore themselves, and their pieces are sometimes dark, often amazingly open. All of them spark discussions. It's a neat group.