Had dinner with good friends Elizabeth (Beth to the rest of the world but it's a long story) and Weldon at the Tokyo Cafe tonight. It's always too long between our visits. Elizabeth was a work-study student in my office some fifteen years ago, and we have remained friends ever since. When she began dating Weldon, I admitted him cautiously but a now as fond of him as of her, and they make each othe very happy. Elizabeth has developed a great careeer in specialized publishing (for accountants) and is now teaching yoga, including to me.We had a great visit, and I thank them for yet another after-the-fact birthday dinner. I tried to post the sushi on Weight Watchers and of couse the kind I had--Seattle Sunrise, with cucumber, cream cheese and smoked salmon in a soy wrap--wasn't listed. So I fudged.
Today was a top-down day--haircut, grocery, dinner--I put the top down on all my small trips, delighted that it now seems to work fine. (Please keep your fingers crossed.) I hate to leave it with the top down when it malfunctions because I'm afraid someone will steal my handicapped tag. Tonight when I got in the car, the temperature thing read 101--now I know that wasn't true! By the time I got home it was 89. A few minutes ago I started hearing a strange noise--looked out the window and it's raining, fairly hard. No thunder, no lightning, just plain steady rain. We have been blessed with first light rains early in the week and then an apparently violent storm that I slept through a couple of nights ago, complete with a tornado warning. We need it and welcome it, but Central Texas needs it worse. They're comparing this to the 1950s drought which prompted Elmer Kelton's award-winning novel, The Time It Never Rained.
Haven't down much constructive today, so I'm going to finish the cookbook chapter I stopped in the middle of.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Whew--retirement! And food, books, and friendship
Yesterday I was so busy I had no time for my daily workout or for blogging. I had to get up at 6:30--a real pain since I'm not used to sleeping until about 7:45. Went to the office, after hurried stops at grocery and pharmacy, for a 2-1/2 hour staff meeting--still can't believe it! Then I had to rush around to get things done so I wouldn't have to come in another day, took a lot of work home with me. Went to lunch with a visiting author who happens to be married to someone I knew a long time ago--delightful. I took them to Ellerbee's, my new favorite spot, and I had a tomato, lemon aioli, basil sandwich on bread that had some kind of cheese and flecks of prosciutto in it--delicious. Maybe my new favorite. Came home to emails that I hadn't looked at all day--Sisters in Crime, and their sub-group, AgentQuest, are most helpful sites but they can absolutely drown you in emails. It was four o'clock before I took care of all that--and a few business emails--and took a quick nap, waking up at five to realize I had company coming at 6:30. Fortunately dinner was easy--leftover chicken loaf, asparagus I would roast in the oven, and a salad.
Jeannie and Jim came because I had questions for Jim, my financial advisor--and he reassured me I'd done the right thing getting out of a money market fund. They loved the salad, which is so easy: you rub a good wooden bowl with garlic, then with salt and dry mustard. Put some blue cheese (I like quite a bit) in the bowl. When ready to serve, mash the blue cheese in vinegar, plain old apple cider viengar, with a fork and then stir in olive oil, sort of according to the traditional wisdom of 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. (Sometimes when Jordan does this, because she loves it too, she gets it so tart you sort of pucker when you eat it!) Then just tear up lettuce in the bowl and toss. I should have made twice the amount I did last night.
By the time I got the dishes done, it was too late for serious work, so I finished re-reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--I rarely re-read books but I found this as delightful as the first time. Next week I will also talk briefly to a TCU book group of The School of Essential Ingredients and Comfort and Mirth, a TCU Press title that I just adore, set in the early twentieth century in Austin, with a newlywed central character who is a herb gardener. There are threads in it of women's rights, racial discrimination, treatment of the mentally ill. Some of the story is told by a narrator but lots of it is in letters Camille writes back home to her mother. in Seattle The ending is truly a surprise.
Today was much less hectic--I cleaned out files in the morning, because when I got my TIAA-CREF (retirement) files out to talk to Jim, I discovered I had papers going back to 1985, clearly not needed now; then I cleaned out a file of Colins' early medical bills, etc. --when his Crohn's was diagnosed. But there were a couple of priceless letters from him, including a postcard when he first moved to Grand Cayman, in which he wrote, "I'm sorry I haven't written sooner but I've been busy with the ladies. I miss you. I miss my dog. Please give Cisco a hug for me. I'd send for him, but I spend all my money on booze." How to push your mother's buttons!
Lunch with a good friend was a delight and I spent the rest of the day napping and working. Now going to give up and read.
Jeannie and Jim came because I had questions for Jim, my financial advisor--and he reassured me I'd done the right thing getting out of a money market fund. They loved the salad, which is so easy: you rub a good wooden bowl with garlic, then with salt and dry mustard. Put some blue cheese (I like quite a bit) in the bowl. When ready to serve, mash the blue cheese in vinegar, plain old apple cider viengar, with a fork and then stir in olive oil, sort of according to the traditional wisdom of 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. (Sometimes when Jordan does this, because she loves it too, she gets it so tart you sort of pucker when you eat it!) Then just tear up lettuce in the bowl and toss. I should have made twice the amount I did last night.
By the time I got the dishes done, it was too late for serious work, so I finished re-reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--I rarely re-read books but I found this as delightful as the first time. Next week I will also talk briefly to a TCU book group of The School of Essential Ingredients and Comfort and Mirth, a TCU Press title that I just adore, set in the early twentieth century in Austin, with a newlywed central character who is a herb gardener. There are threads in it of women's rights, racial discrimination, treatment of the mentally ill. Some of the story is told by a narrator but lots of it is in letters Camille writes back home to her mother. in Seattle The ending is truly a surprise.
Today was much less hectic--I cleaned out files in the morning, because when I got my TIAA-CREF (retirement) files out to talk to Jim, I discovered I had papers going back to 1985, clearly not needed now; then I cleaned out a file of Colins' early medical bills, etc. --when his Crohn's was diagnosed. But there were a couple of priceless letters from him, including a postcard when he first moved to Grand Cayman, in which he wrote, "I'm sorry I haven't written sooner but I've been busy with the ladies. I miss you. I miss my dog. Please give Cisco a hug for me. I'd send for him, but I spend all my money on booze." How to push your mother's buttons!
Lunch with a good friend was a delight and I spent the rest of the day napping and working. Now going to give up and read.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Rain and other good things
Most of Texas is stuck in a 50-year drought which is calling up memories of the drought of the 1950s and, for me at least, of Elmer Kelton's classic novel, The Time It Never Rained--if you haven't read it, you should. But in Fort Worth yesterday and today we've had intermittent slow drizzle and, nicest of all, low temperatures. Not enough rain to make a difference, but as I write I can hear it raining again. Granted, it's awfully humid, but tonight there was a nice breeze on the porch. I had dinner guests and one of them is a self-confessed "weather wuss," so we didn't even have wine and appetizers on the porch. But last night I sat out for a while--no wine, no book--and just enjoyed the drizzle.
Today I took an umbrella with me but only used it on the way to my garage--when it was raining pretty hard. Went by the office to pick up some files Melinda had put on a disk, and then Jeannie and I had lunch at a restaurant where we don't go often enough. I splurged on a half a pimiento sandwich. Oh, my big good news--I lost the weight I had gained when the kids were here and can now boast again of a 10-lb. weight loss. But it's taken lots of weeks to do it. Slow, they say, is best. Anyway, Jeannie and I went on to Origins so I could buy some cosmetics with my birthday discount and then to DSW where neither of us saw shoes we couldn't live without.
Tonight, friends Kathie and Carol came for supper to celebrate the July birthdays Carol and I share, albeit a little late for both birthdays. I fixed the seasoned hummus I did when the kids were here, chicken loaf (I loved it so the last time), roasted asparagus with goat cheese and panko (a waste--plain asparagus would have been better), and a fruit salad. It was a fun evening.
But what they say about retirement is true--you're just too busy to get anything done. I have several projects on my desk and just committed to another one--a contribution to a history of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine/University of North Texas Health Sciences Center. I'm to write about "The Beginning," which believe me, I was there for. So 3500-4000 words shouldn't be too hard, but first I have to finish this cookbook I'm editing.
And best of all, I can still sleep late, digress when I want, go to lunch (my social calendar is very full!), and I'm actually learning to slow down. When I get emails that would have required a director's decision, I gleefully pass them on to my boss, the interim director.
Today I took an umbrella with me but only used it on the way to my garage--when it was raining pretty hard. Went by the office to pick up some files Melinda had put on a disk, and then Jeannie and I had lunch at a restaurant where we don't go often enough. I splurged on a half a pimiento sandwich. Oh, my big good news--I lost the weight I had gained when the kids were here and can now boast again of a 10-lb. weight loss. But it's taken lots of weeks to do it. Slow, they say, is best. Anyway, Jeannie and I went on to Origins so I could buy some cosmetics with my birthday discount and then to DSW where neither of us saw shoes we couldn't live without.
Tonight, friends Kathie and Carol came for supper to celebrate the July birthdays Carol and I share, albeit a little late for both birthdays. I fixed the seasoned hummus I did when the kids were here, chicken loaf (I loved it so the last time), roasted asparagus with goat cheese and panko (a waste--plain asparagus would have been better), and a fruit salad. It was a fun evening.
But what they say about retirement is true--you're just too busy to get anything done. I have several projects on my desk and just committed to another one--a contribution to a history of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine/University of North Texas Health Sciences Center. I'm to write about "The Beginning," which believe me, I was there for. So 3500-4000 words shouldn't be too hard, but first I have to finish this cookbook I'm editing.
And best of all, I can still sleep late, digress when I want, go to lunch (my social calendar is very full!), and I'm actually learning to slow down. When I get emails that would have required a director's decision, I gleefully pass them on to my boss, the interim director.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Mysteries and food, Jacob
With my ongoing interest in food and mysteries or the use of food in mysteries, I'm reading Virginia Rich's The Cooking School Murders, which is said to be one of the pioneers in this particular sub-genre (of course, Nero Wolfe precedes her, but . . .) It's a good, if slow paced novel, perhaps reflecting its 1982 pub date. After the first night of a cooking school class, three people die--one by obvious murder, a brutal stabbing; the second of carbon monoxide poisoining in his garage with his car running, and everyone assumes it's suicide; the third of drunkenly plunging into a lake and drowning. Mrs. Potter, the amateur sleuth, sometimes called 'Genia,' doesn't believe either of the last two deaths were suicide or accidental. But what I find most interesting is that she writes up scenarios of what she thinks could have happened if various people, some lifelong friends, were the culprits, including her own nephew who is living with her. I can't tell you what happens--and wouldn't--because I haven't quite finished the book. But the cooking school disappears after one session--cancelled because of the deaths. And food appears throughout--the menus people eat, etc., but it it used to create atmosphere, not as an essential part of the mystery. I'm learning that's the difference in many food-related myseries, but I still have a lot of mysteries to read. Not a chore I mind at all.
I did work today on editing Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook. I am hampered by not having electronic files at home, although I should soon have access to the press files. Meantime I think I'll ask them to send me the individual files Monday. But one of the hazards of retirement hit me Friday when a woman called and wanted me to come help edit a book that either she or her husband had written--I couldn't understand her clearly but it was about Shakespeare, perhaps local productions of the plays. When I said I was retired, she replied, "All the more reason for you to come help me," as if I didn't have a desk full of work in front of me--the cookbook, and three books to review for a presentation August 5, plus planning a recipe for a cable TV live demonstration on July 31. No, folks, so far I'm not finding retirement boring.
Jacob is here tonight, having arrived in tears because his arm hurt--we had no clue what was wrong with it, and it was soon better. Then as Jordan left, her friend Addie came in, and Jacob once again dissolved in tears because he wanted Mama and Addie. After a bit, he deicded Juju was okay. It took him a long time to get to his dinner and he ate, I think, one piece of a chicken hot dog (the cat got two pieces), and a quarter of a banana. I ate his blueberries (no points on Weight Watchers if you eat a small amount). I was a softie and gave him strawberry ice cream even though he hadn't eaten much dinner (he really wanted a waffle but I knew he'd get that in the morning). He was cheerful and funny the rest of the evening, and we're making progress on potty training. Now at 10:15, I can still hear him moving about in his crib.
Last night I had a lovely dinner with Jay and Susan, my neighbors, at Chadra a local Lebanese-Italian resturant we all like. Susan says they only eat there occasionally, but the staff all greet Jay like a long-lost friend, with hugs, etc. It's his salesman's personality, the same thing I see in Jamie. Anyway, it was a pleasant evening and a good dinner, and I am feeling spoiled--my birthday lasted for an entire enjoyable week. Today is Susan's birthday, so it was a double celebration.
I did work today on editing Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook. I am hampered by not having electronic files at home, although I should soon have access to the press files. Meantime I think I'll ask them to send me the individual files Monday. But one of the hazards of retirement hit me Friday when a woman called and wanted me to come help edit a book that either she or her husband had written--I couldn't understand her clearly but it was about Shakespeare, perhaps local productions of the plays. When I said I was retired, she replied, "All the more reason for you to come help me," as if I didn't have a desk full of work in front of me--the cookbook, and three books to review for a presentation August 5, plus planning a recipe for a cable TV live demonstration on July 31. No, folks, so far I'm not finding retirement boring.
Jacob is here tonight, having arrived in tears because his arm hurt--we had no clue what was wrong with it, and it was soon better. Then as Jordan left, her friend Addie came in, and Jacob once again dissolved in tears because he wanted Mama and Addie. After a bit, he deicded Juju was okay. It took him a long time to get to his dinner and he ate, I think, one piece of a chicken hot dog (the cat got two pieces), and a quarter of a banana. I ate his blueberries (no points on Weight Watchers if you eat a small amount). I was a softie and gave him strawberry ice cream even though he hadn't eaten much dinner (he really wanted a waffle but I knew he'd get that in the morning). He was cheerful and funny the rest of the evening, and we're making progress on potty training. Now at 10:15, I can still hear him moving about in his crib.
Last night I had a lovely dinner with Jay and Susan, my neighbors, at Chadra a local Lebanese-Italian resturant we all like. Susan says they only eat there occasionally, but the staff all greet Jay like a long-lost friend, with hugs, etc. It's his salesman's personality, the same thing I see in Jamie. Anyway, it was a pleasant evening and a good dinner, and I am feeling spoiled--my birthday lasted for an entire enjoyable week. Today is Susan's birthday, so it was a double celebration.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Getting the Big Head
After a "photo shoot" Tuesday, today I made southwestern tuna salad this morning for a video for the TCU alumni magazine and online program. I had originally said I'd make Colin's queso, but it has 1 lb. hamburger, 1 lb. sausage, 1 lb. Velveeta, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 1 jar picante sauce. Delicious, but my goodness look at all those calories. So I switched to the tuna, which is a great variation on standard tuna. Here's the recipe:
7-1/2 oz. can albacore tuna in water
Juice of one good, juicy lime
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. capers
1/4 c. chopped celery
1.4 c. chopped red onion
pinch of cumin (I used more)
either canned chopped chillies (1 can) or a jalopeno (I much prefer the canned chillies)
Mayonnaise to bind (but don't make it soupy)
The recipe is in Cooking My Way through Life with Kids and Books.
I was very much like Martha Stewart--had the cilantro, celery, and onion cut up ahead of time and all the ingredients out on the counter. When it's online, I'll be sure to post a link here. Later it dawned on me that I'd worn my Med-Alert medallion the whole time. I think the segment should be titled "Old Lady Cooks!"
Then Melinda came at lunchtime to install Microsoft Office 2007 and Filemaker so I can do my TCU work from home. We had tuna, fresh tomato (from her garden--there is no beating the taste of fresh garden tomatoes!), and hearts of palm for lunch. And it was such a lovely cool day we ate on the porch. She had to uninstall my old Microsoft program to install the new one, and while she and the tech person at TCU were laughing over the phone I was worrying about my files--but they all made it intact. Installing Filemaker was much easier and quicker.
Tonight Betty and I went to Winslow's, a fashionable and crowded wine bar--we had salmon cakes with gorgonzola remoulade and grape tomato salad--delicious! A lovely pleasant evening, so it's been another good retirement day.
My email has been down for hours--most frustrating!
7-1/2 oz. can albacore tuna in water
Juice of one good, juicy lime
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. capers
1/4 c. chopped celery
1.4 c. chopped red onion
pinch of cumin (I used more)
either canned chopped chillies (1 can) or a jalopeno (I much prefer the canned chillies)
Mayonnaise to bind (but don't make it soupy)
The recipe is in Cooking My Way through Life with Kids and Books.
I was very much like Martha Stewart--had the cilantro, celery, and onion cut up ahead of time and all the ingredients out on the counter. When it's online, I'll be sure to post a link here. Later it dawned on me that I'd worn my Med-Alert medallion the whole time. I think the segment should be titled "Old Lady Cooks!"
Then Melinda came at lunchtime to install Microsoft Office 2007 and Filemaker so I can do my TCU work from home. We had tuna, fresh tomato (from her garden--there is no beating the taste of fresh garden tomatoes!), and hearts of palm for lunch. And it was such a lovely cool day we ate on the porch. She had to uninstall my old Microsoft program to install the new one, and while she and the tech person at TCU were laughing over the phone I was worrying about my files--but they all made it intact. Installing Filemaker was much easier and quicker.
Tonight Betty and I went to Winslow's, a fashionable and crowded wine bar--we had salmon cakes with gorgonzola remoulade and grape tomato salad--delicious! A lovely pleasant evening, so it's been another good retirement day.
My email has been down for hours--most frustrating!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A low-key birthday
This is me in the infamous DKNY pajamas Jordan and Megan gave me for my birthday, which I am forbidden to wear out of the house. It's okay, Megan, we had dinner at home. I think they're really cute and great lounging pjs for entertaining. I will probably wear them on the porch, but maybe I won't tell Megan.
You'll notice I have a glass of wine handy.
I am 71 today--hard to believe. My brother called today and said that made me six years younger than he is, but when he has his birthday in March, I'll only be five years younger. I explained to him that he had it backward. We are six-and-a-half years apart. Today was a low-key birthday. I was at the office by 8:15, after a hurried trip to the grocery and then home to drop off the groceries. Staff meeting and then I worked all morning. It felt different--I have been so relaxed, and I didn't truly feel that way this morning. But Jim, Susan and Melinda took me to Cafe Aspen for lunch, which was delightful. Came home, worked a bit, napped (I swear I'm sleeping off years of work), and Jordan and Christian and Jacob came for supper. We ate leftovers from the weekend, and I sent the rest home with them. I am not making tamale pie again for six years! I had ordered a size 10 pair of pants that came today and they are just an inch from buttoning--I'm not going to return them. My goal is to fit into them. Jacob arrived in the bad mood he often is after day care, but he brightened very soon. It was fun, they went home early, and I am at my desk with a world of work to do, so much so that I don't know where to begin.
In early August I am to briefly review three books for the TCU "What's On YOur Bookshelf" group, so I need to bone up on the three. Those I've chosen are: The School of Essential Ingredients, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (that book has done so well I can't believe there's anyone who hasn't read it), and Comfort and Mirth, pubished by TCU Press. Lori Swick, the author of the latter, was here this weekend, and we had a brief visit on Friday before all my family arrived. She did some signings, and there was a Bookish Frog potluck supper on Sunday night which everyone apparently enjoyed a great deal. I wasn't there, because I still had kids in town. But I love that book and recommend it--set in Austin, Texas, in the early 20th century, it is a gentle novel, sometims epistolary, that deals with women's rights, racial discrimination, treatment of the mentally ill, and through it runs a thread of herb gardening. I absolutely loved it.. And I found the author to be outgoing, a delight to visit with. Read it, please.
You'll notice I have a glass of wine handy.I am 71 today--hard to believe. My brother called today and said that made me six years younger than he is, but when he has his birthday in March, I'll only be five years younger. I explained to him that he had it backward. We are six-and-a-half years apart. Today was a low-key birthday. I was at the office by 8:15, after a hurried trip to the grocery and then home to drop off the groceries. Staff meeting and then I worked all morning. It felt different--I have been so relaxed, and I didn't truly feel that way this morning. But Jim, Susan and Melinda took me to Cafe Aspen for lunch, which was delightful. Came home, worked a bit, napped (I swear I'm sleeping off years of work), and Jordan and Christian and Jacob came for supper. We ate leftovers from the weekend, and I sent the rest home with them. I am not making tamale pie again for six years! I had ordered a size 10 pair of pants that came today and they are just an inch from buttoning--I'm not going to return them. My goal is to fit into them. Jacob arrived in the bad mood he often is after day care, but he brightened very soon. It was fun, they went home early, and I am at my desk with a world of work to do, so much so that I don't know where to begin.
In early August I am to briefly review three books for the TCU "What's On YOur Bookshelf" group, so I need to bone up on the three. Those I've chosen are: The School of Essential Ingredients, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (that book has done so well I can't believe there's anyone who hasn't read it), and Comfort and Mirth, pubished by TCU Press. Lori Swick, the author of the latter, was here this weekend, and we had a brief visit on Friday before all my family arrived. She did some signings, and there was a Bookish Frog potluck supper on Sunday night which everyone apparently enjoyed a great deal. I wasn't there, because I still had kids in town. But I love that book and recommend it--set in Austin, Texas, in the early 20th century, it is a gentle novel, sometims epistolary, that deals with women's rights, racial discrimination, treatment of the mentally ill, and through it runs a thread of herb gardening. I absolutely loved it.. And I found the author to be outgoing, a delight to visit with. Read it, please.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thoughts on Retirement
I know one week is a little soon to comment on retirement, but so far I am so enjoying it. I had lunch with an old friend today (like 50 years) and she said I seemed so much more relaxed than I did the last time we had lunch. And I feel that way--sort of like I'm floating through my days, and yet my calendar for the next week and a half or so is full. Today was pretty much what retirement should be, except with one unusual incident. A photographer sent by the Star-Telegram came to take pictures of me (do I dare call this a photo shoot) for a piece they'll do on my cookbook, probably for Panache, the once-a-month insert for middle income families (I found out recently there's a high class insert called I think Insight for people whose homes value at over a certain price--talk about distrimination!). Anyway the photographer was a nice guy who, it turns out, knows my neighbor Sue. Then I had lunch with my friend Georgia and spent the rest of the day at the computer and editing recipes for Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook. Some sound delicious and some are really weird like a "Japanese Bean Pie" made with mashed pinto beans but sweetened with sugar and meant for dessert. Or mock chicken croquettes made with ground veal and oyster--wouldn't it be easier to use chicken?
I did do laundry loads five and six today--only have the kids beds in the playroom to strip and wash, have put the linen back on the guest room, and have the linens all clean for the guest house--a chore I dread. Maybe I can talk Jordan into helping me. I also mopped the kitchen floor and feel quite righteous about having reclaimed my house.
Tomorrow I actually have to go to work--bummer. They moved staff meeting from 10 a.m. to 8:30, which means I'll have to get up--plus I need to do a grocery run first. But tomorrow is my birthday, though I feel I've already had the celebration this weekend. Jordan and Christian will come for leftover flank steak, and one of the items on my grocery list is a potato to bake for Christian and Jacob to share. I'm back big-time on Weight Watchers--plain meat or fish and a vegetable, with no butter, etc. But after staff meeting we're all going to lunch for my birthday--I feel very feted since I thought lunch last week was a combined birthday/retirement lunch.
I did do laundry loads five and six today--only have the kids beds in the playroom to strip and wash, have put the linen back on the guest room, and have the linens all clean for the guest house--a chore I dread. Maybe I can talk Jordan into helping me. I also mopped the kitchen floor and feel quite righteous about having reclaimed my house.
Tomorrow I actually have to go to work--bummer. They moved staff meeting from 10 a.m. to 8:30, which means I'll have to get up--plus I need to do a grocery run first. But tomorrow is my birthday, though I feel I've already had the celebration this weekend. Jordan and Christian will come for leftover flank steak, and one of the items on my grocery list is a potato to bake for Christian and Jacob to share. I'm back big-time on Weight Watchers--plain meat or fish and a vegetable, with no butter, etc. But after staff meeting we're all going to lunch for my birthday--I feel very feted since I thought lunch last week was a combined birthday/retirement lunch.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Peace and quiet, and alone--a mixed bag
Everyone's gone. Megan and family left at 7:15 this morning--I barely dragged myself out of bed to say goodbye. Colin spent the morning doing chores--tacking my rugs down with double-stick carpet tape (so I don't fall again), hanging pictures, and cleaning out the air return duct on my furnace--enormous amounts of cat hair. I do change the filter regularly, but this is before the air hits the filter. We had an early lunch, meeting Jordan, at Carshon's Deli--no trip home is complete for Colin unless he goes to Carshon's. We made an earlier run to the local hardware store, and he said in a kind of dazed manner, "I grew up here." It was a rainy, cool morning, and Lisa and the children and I sat outside a lot. Really nice slow, easy rain, after some early thunder which amounted to nothing more than to scare Scooby.
After they left I caught up on emails, paid some bills and generally piddled, though I will say I have done four loads of laundry today--folded all the linens to go back out to the guest house, folded and put away my personal load of pastel clothes and underwear, probably won't make the guest bed tonight, though the linens are in the dryer. I have two more sets of bed clothes to do, plus kitchen towels, dinner napkins, etc. For some reason one of the chores in life I don't like is making beds! I have to grit my teeth and do it.
Tonight Jay and Susan came to help me eat leftover tamale pie--it costs such enormous points on Weight Watchers, I want it all out of my house. Susan took some, but I still have almost a whole casserole full--will send it home with Jordan and Christian Wed. night. We also finished the bean salad and Black Forest cake, though I ate small modest amounts. I had thought at noon we could eat outside but Jay vetoed that saying it ws really humid. The downside of this weekend is that I gained over two lbs. Fun, but . . . .
And, yes, I'm tired. Going to read one cooking essay and call it a night.
After they left I caught up on emails, paid some bills and generally piddled, though I will say I have done four loads of laundry today--folded all the linens to go back out to the guest house, folded and put away my personal load of pastel clothes and underwear, probably won't make the guest bed tonight, though the linens are in the dryer. I have two more sets of bed clothes to do, plus kitchen towels, dinner napkins, etc. For some reason one of the chores in life I don't like is making beds! I have to grit my teeth and do it.
Tonight Jay and Susan came to help me eat leftover tamale pie--it costs such enormous points on Weight Watchers, I want it all out of my house. Susan took some, but I still have almost a whole casserole full--will send it home with Jordan and Christian Wed. night. We also finished the bean salad and Black Forest cake, though I ate small modest amounts. I had thought at noon we could eat outside but Jay vetoed that saying it ws really humid. The downside of this weekend is that I gained over two lbs. Fun, but . . . .
And, yes, I'm tired. Going to read one cooking essay and call it a night.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A truly happy weekend
My truly happy weekend continues. Usually when the kids are all here, I let them go off wherever in the afternoon while I read, nap and fix supper. Yesterday Colin woke me from a sound sleep to say, "Your house will be full of people in 30 minutes." Luckily we were going to the Star Cafe--all 16 of us. That's a nostalgia trip for us--good friends Betty and Don own it, Colin worked there once for about three months, Lisa pitched in a few evenings, and all of us ate there a lot. And I used to work the cash register every Saturday night for six or seven years--they paid me in steak and wine and I had a good time. But I quit my Saturday night routine and haven't been back in a while--the food is delicious but not for one on a diet (I had 3/4 of a bacon cheeseburger along with guilty conscience), and the kids had gotten my favorite Black Forest cake for dessert. We had a noisy happy dinner--luckily the other patrons in the back were an equally noisy party about as large as ours, though they didn't have little kids running around. The grown children gave me a memory book--they had solicited letters, comments, etc. from as many of my friends as they could think of and said I'll have to help them think of others. I had a stash of letters and printed out emails to add to it, and today was going through deleting emails and found more I should print out. It's truly a treasure, and I am flattered by many of the things people have, near and dear, long-distance friends, and casual acquaintances, have said about me and my professional career. I will be writing thank-you notes but it may take me a while.
Then we came home--Megan and Jordan gave me a DKNY pair of lounging pajamas. I thought it was a really cute outfit that I could wear to the office when I run by or to Central Market or to have a porch drink with the neighbors (I'll definitely do that anyway) but Megan had giggling fits trying to explain to me they were pajamas and were to be treated as such. (Maybe I'll get one of them to take a picture of me in my new pajamas.) If we had gone to Jordan's house today, I would deliberately have worn them (Megan said, "You are so bad!") but instead that crew came here combining their leftovers with mine. Yes, I was still wearing the pajamas and probably will at dinner tonight.
Now they're off to ride the zoo train, meeting their father's brother-in-law (of whom we're all fond) for ice cream and then to go to the community swimming pool. I am quietly at home doing a load of dishes, followed by a laundry, reading, napping, and finishing the dinner that I started this a.m. They'll all be back for supper, except, I think, the Frisco Alters will head for home. Mel didn't realize they weren't leaving when Jamie got back from his run this a.m., so she had left their dog in. Poor thing made an 80-mile round trip to let him out. I wouldn't be surprised if they stay for supper--two tamale pie casseroles with polenta instead of tamales. The Austin branch will leave after dinner, but the Houston Alters are staying another night. Morgan, almost four, said when she arrived, "We're staying three whole nights!"
10:30 Sunday night: You can never count on the Alters to be predictable. Today they were talking about a plan for our family trip to Breckenridge at Christmas, and I finally said I didn't want to hear a plan until it was the final one. Megan agreed that was good. Tonight Mel never came back from Frisco, so Jamie and the girls left just before dinner. Megan and her family were staying for supper and then heading out; but after supper, she announced they were spending the night. So I have two families tonight--the Austin Hudgeons and the Houston Alters. I am not worrying about cleaning the house, any of that. The Hudgeons are leaving very early in the morning, but the Houston Alters are staying for lunch--and Colin is going to hang some pictures, replace an air filter, etc. for me. We'll lunch early at Carshon's and then they'll be on their way. Tomorrow night the neighbors will come for leftover tamale pie--a whole casserole of it!
It's been a great weekend--and I am bone weary!
Then we came home--Megan and Jordan gave me a DKNY pair of lounging pajamas. I thought it was a really cute outfit that I could wear to the office when I run by or to Central Market or to have a porch drink with the neighbors (I'll definitely do that anyway) but Megan had giggling fits trying to explain to me they were pajamas and were to be treated as such. (Maybe I'll get one of them to take a picture of me in my new pajamas.) If we had gone to Jordan's house today, I would deliberately have worn them (Megan said, "You are so bad!") but instead that crew came here combining their leftovers with mine. Yes, I was still wearing the pajamas and probably will at dinner tonight.
Now they're off to ride the zoo train, meeting their father's brother-in-law (of whom we're all fond) for ice cream and then to go to the community swimming pool. I am quietly at home doing a load of dishes, followed by a laundry, reading, napping, and finishing the dinner that I started this a.m. They'll all be back for supper, except, I think, the Frisco Alters will head for home. Mel didn't realize they weren't leaving when Jamie got back from his run this a.m., so she had left their dog in. Poor thing made an 80-mile round trip to let him out. I wouldn't be surprised if they stay for supper--two tamale pie casseroles with polenta instead of tamales. The Austin branch will leave after dinner, but the Houston Alters are staying another night. Morgan, almost four, said when she arrived, "We're staying three whole nights!"
10:30 Sunday night: You can never count on the Alters to be predictable. Today they were talking about a plan for our family trip to Breckenridge at Christmas, and I finally said I didn't want to hear a plan until it was the final one. Megan agreed that was good. Tonight Mel never came back from Frisco, so Jamie and the girls left just before dinner. Megan and her family were staying for supper and then heading out; but after supper, she announced they were spending the night. So I have two families tonight--the Austin Hudgeons and the Houston Alters. I am not worrying about cleaning the house, any of that. The Hudgeons are leaving very early in the morning, but the Houston Alters are staying for lunch--and Colin is going to hang some pictures, replace an air filter, etc. for me. We'll lunch early at Carshon's and then they'll be on their way. Tomorrow night the neighbors will come for leftover tamale pie--a whole casserole of it!
It's been a great weekend--and I am bone weary!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Family weekend
No post last night because I had half my family here for supper--here's what happy kids look like drinking milkshakes that Uncle Colin (on the right, with Uncle Christian on the left) made, trying out my yoga mat, and snuggling to watch TV. They are all so adorable together and so close in age that they have a great time. They run through the house screaming and yelling but there is little if any fighting. Since we just saw Kegan, the youngest, last weekend, he was quicker to warm up to Jordan and me and we got hugs, kisses, and a chance to hold him on our laps.
We had a Greek meal--flank steak seasoned with Cavender's, hummus and pita chips, Greek salad, cucumber sauce, and dolma--but half the Greek side of the family didn't get here until ten o'clock, by which time others had either gone home or to bed. Jamie and Maddie snacked on dolmas dipped in hummus. I had "doctored" the hummus with a little bit of oregano, lots of lemon juice, and a tad of olive oil. Makes it, as Lisa said, addictive.
Today my horoscope said to do whatever I wanted to with loved ones, so I didn't worry about straightening the house or any of those things--okay, I did empty the dishwasher, put away last nights bigger things from the drying rack, and make my bed. But by 9:30 we were all headed to Jordan's house. It was such a wonderful morning, I drove with the top down and loved it. The children were all playing so happily, if noisily inside--joined now by Megan and Brandon's two, Sawyer and Ford, that we never went outside. Melanie and Edie also arrived a little after ten. Jamie had gotten up early to put pork loins in the oven, and that, along with a cole slaw based on the idea of the slaw from Austin's Salt Lick, was a delicious lunch. He seasoned two pork loins heavily with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and roasted them slowly all morning. Then, at serving, he shredded the meat and put barbecause sauce on most of it--some really hot habernero, some medium hot, and left some plain. I ate the plain and loved it. Megan complained that I had tricked her because the recipe I found online wasn't exactly Salt Lick's--it was someone's approximation, but it was delicious. She likes it because it has no mayonnaise.
Aftre lunch at least two kiddoes were headed for naps, and I came home for a nap and some computer, desk, quiet time. Tonight we will go out to dinner and no doubt end up back here to sit on the porch. The little kids love to ride the concrete lions in front of Jay and Susan's house, and all of a sudden the weather is so pleasant that it's nice to sit out at night. I think as part of retirement, I've learned to relax and enjoy my family more--and I did that today.
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