weekending

The sunrise this morning was a splendid spectrum of pinks. The slightest shade of purple teasing around the edges too. A sky to impart the wonder of a new day and the potential of a new week. I felt it. Teddy was tune master as we made our way to the first morning bus. A ride early enough he can make it to Madison for his first class of the week. He switched out Kayne for Biscuit knowing that I would rather welcome my day with softer words and a happy beat. Mike texted from the runway just before we made it to the station. He's on his way to Dallas this week. I stopped home in time to get Lily to school. She observed that the boys came home and left at the same time. It will be another girl's week. And it will be good.

We had a whirlwind of a family weekend most of which was spent at Windmill Beach where the 2020 Winter Olympics were hosted. Ted took gold, Mike silver and Brad bronze. The ladies are already staging a staggering upset in 2021. This year's events were Wizard at Lily's request, putting, floor shuffle, Nerf target shooting and pong. We also spontaneously celebrated my sil's birthday. Lily was the first to call it a night Saturday as the clock struck twelve.. She crawled into our bed and was lulled to sleep by the  boy's poker fest just outside her door. It reminded me of being a kid. There were countless parties I would sneak away to steal some sleep soothed by the party going on outside the door. I didn't have the heart to rouse her so we swapped rooms and I slept fast and sound in her usual twin bed next to my husband in another. I woke to bird's song not waves cresting. All good.

Sunday morning looked, smelled and felt like spring. The light is changing. It's more luminous. Radiant. Vivid. I opened the door and was met with a whiff of fertile air. Fecund. Heavy, yet fresh. The world is thawing and coming back to life. It's an assault on the senses.We opened windows. We didn't need jackets. Ted ran in shorts and then dipped his seven mile sore feet in the biting lake running barefoot across the melting snow to the house where I greeted him with a bowl of hot water to clean the sand from his feet. At that point it was too cold for the hose.

I opted out of a walk and instead tucked myself into a comfy reading corner with a cup of my brother's vigorous brew ladled with extra cream. We eventually switched to mimosas while we put together our much talked about brunch. Ted and I got busy making his famous banana pancakes, Truly I was only there for company and sous chef support. I learned all about Cloudy Cakes. It's this week's summer venture dream. Brad smartly put the bacon on the grill and his favorite fried chicken in the oven to reheat and then scrambled up a dozen eggs with the most beautiful orange yolks. They were almost too pretty to eat. And btw fried chicken for brunch is a Windmill Beach thing, but it should be a thing everywhere. I cut a pineapple just for good measure. Simply to offer the illusion of health. It could have been our only meal of the day and we would have been blessed.

We ended our time at Windmill Beach with one last Wizard competition and made it home scarcely before sunset. After laundry and packing and a quick steam, Ted and I tag teamed Sunday night dinner. He had a hankering for Chicken Parm and we served up the best yet from this kitchen. Somehow we all managed to enjoy a serving despite declaring after brunch that we would fast the rest of the day. I love how he comes home and doesn't only want to eat...he wants to cook. We didn't have enough energy for a goodnight game. Well aware we all were of this morning's fast looming approach.

If only weekends could last a little longer. But they end and too soon.

Grateful for the evidence and remnants of all the fun we had.

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

I'm not going to lie. I'm celebrating that this week is over and also the fact that shitty things happened and I felt like crap, but I survived thanks to a flexible work schedule, a self-sufficient daughter, Netflix, tuna casserole and Benadryl.

I showed up at the salon for a haircut this afternoon and Kathy looked like she saw a ghost. My appointment is next week. That right there defines the week I've had. The bright spot was that I had time for a much needed nap.

I answered the door tonight. We often ignore the doorbell when we aren't expecting anyone. I was just post nap with bed head and in comfies, but something told me to answer the door. It was an old friend who stopped by to see Mike, but he stayed for a visit with me. We caught up, reminisced, talked about a date for the near future. It was a nice. He's one of my oldest friends too. The best man in our wedding. Married to one of my oldest friends.

The boys are home.

Well, actually they are at the club working out right now. They both arrived home tonight and are enjoying a little father son time.

Tig's taken over Ted's bed. It's his go to spot right now.

Tomorrow night is The Windmill Beach 3rd Annual Winter Olympics. I'm looking forward to a little tradition and time out of time.

My friend's second surgery in a week went very well today. He is now on the road to recovery.

My iphone is fixed.

Making pie crust. It's so intentional. And worth it.

Take a look at this beaut.  

Cooking with my valentine. 

A boy and his banana. It's stuffed with catnip, of course.

Fresh squeezed orange juice.

Yacht Rock. Tonight it's Kathy's playlist.

A long overdue catch up call with my uncle this week.

This debate night dinner. It's the only meal I cooked all week. Lily and I tuned in to watch the row. It was wildly entertaining.

My new cuppa.

This stack. It was a challenge to read this week with my ailments and so I really didn't. But I finally picked up All This Could Be Yours yesterday and got right in. It's just what I was in the mood for. 

It actually felt like winter this week. I wore all my wool sweaters and socks. This weekend will be unseasonably warm and then winter and snow return next week. It's all good. That being said I did have a momentary longing for open windows and birdsong and dinners al fresco.

Oy Vey

So Mike left at 4 o'clock yesterday morning. A few hours later, I woke up to an iphone that wouldn't make or receive calls and a black eye swollen shut. Lily said I looked Asian. I felt miserable and was certain that my dental work a week ago sparked a virulent infection very close to my brain. Lily also said that she is now a firm believer that situations occur when Mike leaves home. I've learned to expect them. I no longer whine, cry, rant or rage. I laugh like a crazy woman while I put on my big girl panties and forge ahead. 

That meant setting up a follow-up appointment at the dentist and stopping at the Apple Store yesterday afternoon. Stopping in for three hours. It looked like Christmas. There wasn't a seat at any of the tech tables. The only good thing was that I felt so punky I couldn't be jerky. Truthfully though,  Danny and Joseph were rock stars who  recovered all of my pictures and sent me home with a loaner. My phone repair is covered. Most of the customers around me were not getting such good news. I thought I may be a witness to a Apple user uprising. The woman next to me had her Mac Book, Apple watch and I pad set out before her all with there own glitches and problems. It made me pause to consider what slaves we have become to technology and what an insane amount of trust and dependence we place in the all mighty Apple.

For the first time in my life, I didn't have a book in my bag. That being said, I don't know I'd have been able to read with my blurred vision, my teary eye. Instead I tuned in to the class that was going on at an adjacent table. The topic was making videos and it was quite informative. Interesting.. The only problem...I have a 7. It doesn't have the shiny technology. I'm pretty sure I'm ok with that. 

I was not ok with having to make another stop at US Cellular to activate my new for a week phone. At least I was the only customer in that establishment.

When I got home, I heated up a bowl of my mom's tuna casserole. It is for me the epitome of comfort food and I just happened to make one Sunday afternoon. I spent the rest of the night on the couch watching The Bachelor and I didn't feel the least bit guilty.

I just returned from the dentist and she's pretty sure I had an allergic reaction to the anesthetic used during my procedure last week. My symptoms were much improved today and now my mood is too as I don't need a root canal or further intervention. Next week, she plans to change my meds when I return for more work. I knew in my gut that it was a reaction. Well intentioned people tell me to seek treatment, but I know that I have to give my body time to adjust...to heal. An over active histamine response causes me to be allergic to anything...everything without rhyme or reason. It's fun to be me.

On the way home, I stopped at Trader Joes to get some wine, almonds and a bag of Lily's favorite Mandarin Chicken, which just may be dinner tonight. Then I picked up a stack of books from the library and I voted in the spring primary. It's drink wine day. After the week I've already had, I'll definitely have a glass tonight.

I Love Sundays

I've never been sure whether Sunday is the end of the week or the beginning. For me it has always felt like a free day sandwiched between the last week and the next. I think that's why I love Sundays the way that I do: earnestly, endlessly, eagerly. Today is no different.

I have happily spent most of the weekend at home. I'm not happy that I contracted a probable case of pink eye or that my three year old oven isn't heating beyond 100 degrees, but I have resisted with all my will the urge to say why me. I got to thinking that when good things come into our lives with abundance, we don't question our fortune. We lap it up, revel in it, come to expect more. I actually said why not me. The good with the bad. This is life. It is what it is.

With that in mind, I set out to put together a care package for my friend who will be taking care of her husband. He just had surgery last week and will have more this week. I made stock and then turned that rich goodness into the most comforting pot of chicken with wild rice soup. Eating this soup is like getting a hug. I also made my favorite banana bread and a spinach pie that are the most comforting of eats. I am thankful for the counter top oven we bought for our remodel and then had they foresight to keep. I got my exercise yesterday running up and down the stairs with goods to bake. When I finish here, I'll make a loaf of pheasant bread because what is a bowl of soup without a hunk of crusty bread? Blasphemous is what it is. And this is the way I show my love. I feed you. I am my Grandmother's granddaughter.

I thought of Rosie yesterday while I was juicing some oranges. They were no longer lookers. Lily was sending them back uneaten in her lunch at the end of the day, but I couldn't bear to throw them out. I was juicing and Lily was making a quesadilla for lunch and I heard myself prattle on about there being no need to, no excuse for wasting food. I must have lived a past life in less abundant times. I've never been a clean your plate advocate. Instead I wrap it up for later. Someone, something will eat it I say. Rosie would be proud. She lived through the depression and have five children to feed. Her providence rubbed off on me.

And speaking of which, Lily went thrifting with a friend Friday night. When I was her age, many a Saturday was spent that way. We'd go Brady Street in search of wool college sweaters, men's blazers and funky jewelry. Once in awhile a structured hat. Something to wear out that night.Then we'd stop at Exclusive and buy records with any leftover money.

As much as things change, they stay the same. You know there's some comfort in that too.

Ah, but I digress. Today will be a healthy mix of want tos and need tos. Most days are. I want to bake and read and keep my title as Wizard champion of the weekend. Gin champ too. I need to do laundry and get some exercise and thoroughly wash my kitchen floor. I'll do it all with a grateful heart because I can and because I love Sundays.

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

A week filled with the extraordinary ordinary. That is exactly as described. Nothing special. All things special. It comes down to approaching the everyday with gratitude. It helps to say thank you out loud. Thank you for this life, this day, this moment. Try it.

Thank you for this spectacular end of day sky. I call it Ribbons in the Sky and yes, I heard Stevie Wonder singing There's a ribbon in the sky for our love when I snapped this photo.

Thank you for the sky just after sunup spotted during an early morning walk. Thank you for the will to get up and out. It's the very best way to start the day. The day's onset sets the tone for all that comes after. I approach them with intention.

Thank you for a much needed Sunday snow day. It was the perfect day to stay in my pjs all day and indulge in cozy endeavors. 

Thank you for turning my yard into a post card. I love the way a wet snow paints all the twigs and branches.

Thank you for this responsible young woman who was beyond anxious to get her temps. She drove for the first time in snow and she did just fine. In 6 months she'll be ready for the Indy 500.

Thank you for a bowl of beautiful strawberries in the middle of winter. The girls devoured them after a Friday night sleepover. They left plenty of pancakes, but not a single berry.

Thank you for low key nights. Cat naps after work, family dinners, time to catch an episode of Outlander with my guy and read a few chapters before going to sleep in my warm house that makes me feel so safe and comfortable.

Thank you for fresh flowers and new plants that make me excited for spring.

Thank you for longer days, the warmth of the sun and Tigger who is a big fan of the light and radiant heat.

Thank you for squats that make my thighs burn, cream that makes my eczema itch less and Novocaine that numbs my mouth so I can endure a 4 hour stint in the dentist's chair.

Thank you for all the love in my life. Today and everyday. Thank you for hugs and kisses and chocolate.

Thank you to my love who came home with lobster tails and a nice bottle of pinot noir.

This Week

I woke up to snow this morning. I may be one of the only truly happy residents of this state to feel such warm joy over the cold inches accumulating. The only thing happier than all day snow is when the storm hits on a Sunday. Today is Sunday. I will be a guilt free shut in making Valentine treats to send to Ted (brownies, blueberry muffins and banana bread...I don't think it's wise to send a French Silk Pie) and a pot of soup (broccoli cheddar), reading books (onto book 6 of 2020...Olive Again), watching the Oscars.

I am oddly into the Oscars this year. Not because I'm rooting for any particular film. I saw and liked a couple. Marriage Story was very well done and I love me some Adam Driver, but I don't see it...him scoring an award. Little Women was delightful, but it's a classic that's been done so many...too many times before. Mike and I went on a movie date late yesterday afternoon to see what I think will win best picture. 1917 was very well done. Surprisingly, I liked it more than Mike did, but we were both unconvinced that it was Oscar worthy. The way the studios turn out films these days, I don't question why so many are good, but not great. That being said, it was a treat to see the WWI film on the big screen and to have a tub of popcorn for lunch.

We came home and watched Joker. We were on a roll. A mission. Joaquin's performance was 100 percent Oscar worthy. Hand's down he deserves to win tonight. I fell asleep during Rocketman. I don't think it stands a chance when held up to last year's winner. Bohemian Rhapsody was one of those now rare, truly great films. We'll fill out our ballots and stay tuned tonight.

Friday we were tuned to Lizzo and her Tiny Desk Concert. Lily had some friends for a sleepover and I had a friend for Happy Hour. I guess you could say it was a girl's night plus Mike He's a sport. Lily has such a nice group of friends and for that I am truly grateful. After a quick breakfast Saturday morning, the girls said goodbye so Lily could get her driver's permit. In 6 months, she'll be on the road. She is very excited and she's also a pretty good driver.

Ted seems to be settling back in at school. He was home for 12 hours this week to deal with the speeding ticket he got over winter break. The speeding ticket he got the very first time he drove his car after months. It was well worth the trek home. He requested calzones for dinner. Mike and I took that as a sign to do our weekly shopping at Gloriosos. That is a treat. I chose the wine that night with The State of the Union in mind. The four of us were interested to hear the speech. Lily made me record Friday night's debate. Folks, she's 15 and informed.

I look forward to the week ahead. Not because there is anything exciting going on. Quite the opposite. It will be another week of simple joys, ordinary bright spots and the little things that matter big.

Winter Inventory

Reading:

When posed with the question of the best book of 2019, I really couldn't answer definitively. Nothing I read seemed worthy of the shout out. That being said, I read plenty of books and several of them worth noting.

I can't even recall The Last House Guest and that obviously speaks volumes.

 

I sped read The Rosie Effect much to my dismay. The first book was charming. The sequel was painful. I didn't like Rosie or Don the second time around. These once quirky characters weren't funny, they were disturbing. I would never have picked it up and certainly would have put it down, if not for the fact that it was a book club selection.

I picked up Heavy after listening to Laymon's story on a podcast and it was indeed weighty. I wanted to connect with his story on a human level, but it was difficult because I was constantly reminded of my otherness: as a woman. As a white woman.

American Fire was interesting, but not suspenseful.  You pretty much know who and why from the beginning. All it really succeeded at for me was making local law enforcement appear inept.

Ask Again Yes also started out  strong, but the characters I liked in the beginning all wore on me by the end.

Wild Game was my last read of the year. I was anticipating Brodeur's memoir since spring when the publication date was set. I probably shouldn't have listened to her on Dani Shapiro's Family Secrets Podcast because I knew all the secrets before page one. That definitely dulled the read and made me approach the story from a more critical angle. That being said I devoured the book in a few cold night hours.

I was gifted the Canal House cookbook for Christmas and I treated myself to Magnolia Table after loaning it from the library for 6 weeks and using it often. I am thinking about buying Skinnytaste's new cookbook. I've made a few recipes and I have others I'd like to try. I find them perfect for busy weeknights. Nothing fancy or putsy. I still don't own a Instant Pot cookbook and I won't until I find the one that suits me best. I love giving cookbooks a trial run by getting them from the library. When I hesitate to return them, I know they're worth owning.

2020 started out strong. I chose Yaa Gyasi's debut novel for my book club gathering and it was my first read of the new year. I am big on historical fiction set in Africa. This story was far reaching and important. I thought it was going to be one thing. it was another and even better. It's full of big questions, thus perfect for rich discussion. It was a club pleaser.

Then I went in for a little literary fiction. I was happy to get Patchett's latest much sooner than expected. Don't you just love the cover? I adored this book. I connected with the characters, the brother sister relationship, the dry wit, the heart.

Know My Name is my first memoir of the year. Memoir is my go to genre. It's a relevant topic that has me thinking that I have a daughter going off to college before too long and also remembering a few times (yes, few) in my life when I could have definitely pressed charges.

The other night I finished The Wives. It was a quick and compelling thriller...a 3 night investment. I am sure this will be made into a movie. It's a movie I'll likely see. 

Eating:

Lots of chicken...still. Working on 900 of 1000 ways to eat chicken. Recently made this chicken Souvlaki recipe and the healthier version of a gyro was family approved.

This Chicken Fajita Pasta was a hit. It was a tasty, quick  weeknight meal.

You never can go wrong at Casa Wags with a pan of chicken thighs in a honey Dijon sauce.

I thought  I would cook more for Ted when he was on break, but he was out and about a lot. Many nights Lil cooks for herself. Her go to meals right now are Trader Joe's Orange Chicken and her own Taco Salad.

I've made many pots of soup: Lentil, Zuppa Toscana, Pasta Fagioli (which I could eat every day), French Onion and Roasted Tomato just last night. You will never eat tomato soup out of a can after eating this simple, delicious bowl of freshness topped with grated onion and a cheddar cheese lid.

We baked a lot in December. We're on a break. In fact I have to bring dessert to a Super Bowl Party tonight and I bought pastries. Cannot remember the last time I did that.

Kristen's 51st bday Sunshine cake.

Rosie's Grasshopper Pie

My famous French Silk.

Ted's Crepe Cake.

Watching:

 'Tis the season of too much t.v. We worked our way through Messiah and You. Both very entertaining Netflix originals. Now we're pacing ourselves through Outlander. Lily and I saw and very much loved Little Women over break. She didn't want to go and then she was glad that I guilted her into it. We saw Just Mercy as a family and we all gave it the big thumbs up. Mike and I saw The Musical Parody of The Office this week. It was a lovely night, but the show was very disappointing. Some of the casting was questionable and distracting. Michael Scott was played by a woman who overparodied the character. She reminded me of a cross between Androgynous Pat and Sam Kinison.

Enjoying: 

Walks in the woods, a new striped wool sweater Teddy helped pick out for me on a mother son shopping date, story slams with my pals, dates with my guy, the way Lily smiles so brightly now without her braces, my new wine decanter (thank you babe), a new window I bought on a whim, happy vases of tulips, Belgian chocolate milk (sinful), cloudy days (it's true), the many faces of Tigger.

Thinking about:

These quotes from The Dutch House. Both touched a nerve.

"I'd never been in the position of getting my head around what I'd been given. I only understood what I'd lost."

"After years of living in response to the past, we had somehow become miraculously unstuck, moving forward in time just like everyone else."

How to live my best life this new year. My GF surprised me with this sweet bracelet after she asked me about my word last week. Her's is compassion. We're working on Lily's now. Empathy? Kindness?