Friction

After 102 degree heat yesterday, a front blew through.  I heard a loud snap through my hermetically sealed heatproof windows and doors.  I went out back to take a look and found it was gusty like Kansas.  A  perfectly live branch from our ash tree just snapped and was dangling precariously from the power lines.  I'm sure the summer drought makes branches more brittle, thus more vulnerable.  Patio furniture was being tossed around like little leaves in the grass.  Before I could take down the umbrella, a gale-like gust of wind sent the whole table sailing.  When it landed, the glass tabletop was shattered in what seemed like a million shards across the lawn.  I just stood looking at the mess sort of paralyzed.  The only thought running through my mind was how it only takes a random instant for havoc to be wreaked.  It's a realization that makes me really feel just how small we are.

Then I snapped to it, put on gloves, grabbed a garbage can and started to pick up the larger pieces of debris.  With every piece I discarded, those left only seemed to multiply.  As I sifted through the grass, I was thinking about how this is nothing compared to what some people are facing.  People I love. Nothing.  Nil.  Nada.  In that moment, the smashed to smithereens tabletop was the trope for life.  It was an unsettling allusion to just how fragile it is. The million little pieces were blunt evidence of life's frailty...this quickness to crack and then shatter proof of each day's delicacy.  Uncanny simply because the twiggy, tenuous march in and through each day has been weighing heavily on me.  Mother Nature's timing certainly got my attention. 

Coach and I got much of the glass gathered and the electric company came to untangle the branch.  We never even lost power, and forgive me for seizing on this opportunity...but I still felt powerless. And I think that's just the point.  I am powerless.  We are powerless.  All of us without power on so many levels.     

Yet there was some relief.  There was a palpable reprieve from the heat.  The temperatures dropped 25 degrees in a matter of minutes.  There was a load off in declaring we would head out for pizza at my favorite parlor, which is really a joint.  An extra large with extra cheese.  We drove home along memory lane with the windows open.  Miss Bit and I curled up together to look at old pictures before bed...pictures of her when she was 2 and 3 and 4.  I was so exhausted that I slept like a baby.

This morning it's sunny and it's thundering.  This weather paradox is another illusory metaphor for my mood.  I want to see good and live hope, but there's a rumble of fear I just cannot quiet.  

We Love You Lake Lenwood

Today was p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

I'm quite convinced that I could pull out the Webster's and look the word up only to see July 13, 2012 as the definition beside flawless.

We've got this day at the beach rodeo mastered.

We're pros.

It's old hat.

We have long since realized we don't need much.

Un poco es todo.

A friend is nice, but frogs will do.

Miss Bit proved that today.

Not to mention showing oneself to be a fearless, fine frogger makes one quite a big deal on the quaint little lake.

The boys need a ball, and all I need are my books.

I read Mary and about Mitt.

We stop for subs to order which satisfies every swimmer's appetite in just the right way.

Today they were not soggy and I considered that an extra bonus.

A nice, sunny day is ever appreciated.

This day could not have been prettier.

Clouds gathered overhead for a time and distant thunder rolled, but it didn't force us to run for cover or shorten our stay.

Miss Bit really fell for her last frog despite the fact that he was no prince.

His name was Small.

She also caught Medium and Extra Large.

Extra Large ate Large right before the frogger's eyes as he chilled on a lily pad.

She still loved the little carnivore and wanted to bring at least one frog home.  

Ah...no.

There's a DQ in just the right spot to ensure the kids are finished with their blizzards by the time we pull in the driveway.

Today's feature film; The Bad News Bears, wrapped up just as we dropped off  T. Bone's bud. 

Perfect (per fekt') adj. complete in all respects; without defect or omission; flawless.
synonym: today.

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

My brother and SIL joined us for an impromptu post softball game supper last night.  I think they enjoyed leftover Thursday.  The spread included meatball grinders, pasta with asparagus, parmigiana and poached egg, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

It's been a beautiful week here.  Warm days, cooler at night and cooler near the lake.  Today the heat returns so we are returning to our favorite little lake to keep cool.

We made a pit stop at Whole Foods this week.  The back story is this: I was telling my friend this weekend that I love the store, but no matter what it is $50 a bag and I always manage to leave with 2 bags.  T. Bone took that literally.  So when we moseyed through the store only managing to pick up a lavender plant, a pint of heirloom tomatoes and a bar of Rose scented soap, he was incredulous that I would pay $50 bucks for 3 items and deny him a bag of gummy worms which most certainly would fit in our $50 bag.

A bike ride along the lakefront with my kids this week on a beautiful afternoon.  We worked off some of our burgers and fries lunch.  Coach joined us at the snack bar.  It was a treat in numerous ways.

The kids played board games several times just the two of them this week.  Yesterday, I had to play on Miss Bit's team during Clue.  T. Bone out-strategized us, but no one was reduced to tears.

Polar bottles.

Homemade ice cream cookwiches.

Miss Bit lost 2 teeth twice this week.  The Tooth Fairy apparently trusts my girl because she delivered not just cash, but nice smelling bath gel too.

I'm on vacation for the week.  Well, I'm on staycation and that suits me just fine.  No big plans just possibilities.

H-O-M-E

The phone rang at 3:00 this morning stirring me out of a deep, cavernous REM sleep.  When the phone rings in the dead of night, quickly foggy disorientation turns to palpable fear.  T. Bone's quivering, still so small for being so big voice came traveling through the phone lines crystal clear.   I could see him trying to stifle tears and shrug it off nonetheless.  He said apologetically, defeatedly, "Mom, I can't sleep.  I'm homesick."  A few more words, none harsh, were shared between us before I ascertained that my longing for home son had the whole longing for sleep W. family wide awake at such an unGodly hour.  I threw on some clothes and made it driveway to driveway in a 7 minute record without speeding.  (Mind you there was no traffic.)   I was surprisingly calm and a little tiny bit glad that my son would rather be tucked in his own cozy bed in his own safe house surrounded by his loving family.

I never much liked sleepovers as a kid.  As an adult, 9.99 times out of 10 I'd much rather sleep in my very own bed.  So I get it.  T. Bone came home relieved I wasn't angry he woke me to come fetch him when I should have been fast asleep, and also so happy to see his own humble bed.  He slept until noon today soundly.

He had an invitation to spend the afternoon with friends, but he declined.  He just wanted to stay H-O-M-E.

Life...in pictures, for now

Disclaimers: The hammer was not used in the making of meatballs but rather mosaic tiles, the Old School is all you want or need in a burger and please know the bun is almost as important as the beef, no one under the age of 16 was allowed to actually drive the bike cab as far as you know and we sure didn't cross any streets, neither T. Bone nor Miss Bit went swimming in lake or lagoon, only geese and ducks went fishing, episodes of Chopped have most certainly inspired Miss Bit's woodland kitchen, and bright neon (back in from the 80's) abstract garden art is the genius handiwork of our generous friend, Sweeney.  It's been a boondoggle of a week and it's only Wednesday.

On My Mind Monday

Great meals rarely start at points that all look like beginnings. They usually pick up where something else leaves off. This is how most of the best things are made - imagine if the world had to begin from scratch each dawn: a tree would never grow, nor would we ever get to see the etchings of gentle rings on a clamshell... Meals' ingredients must be allowed to topple into one another like dominos. Broccoli stems, their florets perfectly boiled in salty water, must be simmered with olive oil and eaten with shaved Parmesan on toast; their leftover cooking liquid kept for the base for soup, studded with other vegetables, drizzled with good olive oil, with the rind of the Parmesan added for heartiness. This continuity is the heart and soul of cooking.”

― Tamar Adler, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

This quote motivated me to make this pasta for last night's delicious, yet simple, dinner.  If only I made my own pasta, grew my own asparagus, and then collected eggs from my very own coop.  What I find so beautiful about this meal is the way a few ordinary, quality, healthful ingredients can combine to feel so satisfying and even sinful.

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper

3/4 pound linguine or fettuccine (we use whole wheat)

1 large bunch thin asparagus (1 pound), ends trimmed, halved lengthwise

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1/2 ounce), plus more for serving

4 large eggs

Directions

1.In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions, adding the asparagus in the last minute of cooking. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid; drain pasta and asparagus and return to pot along with butter and Parmesan. Toss until butter is melted, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta.

2.While pasta is cooking, in a large straight-sided skillet, heat 2 inches water over medium until a few bubbles rise to the top. Crack each egg into a small bowl and gently pour into skillet. Cook until whites are set and yolks are runny, 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

3.To serve, divide pasta among four bowls, top each serving with an egg, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Enjoy!

2 day pass

i'm sitting here in my quiet house at the end of what has been a chill weekend.

chill in temperature and tempermant.

coach is picking t. bone up from a friend's where he has spent most of the day.

miss bit is at movie night at the pool with a friend.

sublime.

surreal.

hubby and i will finish the movie we started during dinner when the boys get home.

it's cia....all intelligence, close gun battles and closer car crashes and oddly just what i'm in the mood for tonight.

today was a day of lounging for the ladies at casa wags.

our activities included nail polishing, reading and laughing over too many episodes of some silly practical joke show.

again, oddly entertaining.

i picked up tamar adler's an everlasting meal.

the few chapters i read inspired me to make what has become our favorite pasta for tonight's dinner.

well the book and the hunk of excellent parmigiano reggiano that made it's way into our cart yesterday despite the fact that it was $12 per pound and not on our list.

tonight both coach and i were happy about that.

it's all about the cheese...all.

last night we enjoyed the gorgeous night with good friends and great food.

we ate a delish mexican themed spread in honor of our many trips to mexico together over the years, played croquet and lingered long over old photos and bottles of wine.

it's the sole reason today was so low key.*

hats off to coach who cleaned up the kitchen and surrendered his spot in bed so miss bit could rest in peace.

miss bit surrendering to slumber means we all can sleep.

*well all the fun and the fact that peanut woke me up very early this morning when he was climbing around my bedside table, knocked my alarm clock off and then fell between the table and the bed.

stellar.

not stealth.

my brother called this afternoon on his way from lake winnipesaukee.

it made me a little nostalgic that we are forgoing the lake vacation this summer in lieu of a beach trip this fall.

and i sure don't want to start looking forward to that yet since it would feel like wishing my summer away.

believe me i am in that happy place where i wish summer could last forever.

better yet...imagine if summer weekends could last forever.