Friday, J went to pick up the boys while I was at work. I savored the quiet time in the house to catch up on "American Idol." Poor Pie was simply horrified to arrive and discover me watching it. He said, "Daria, why are you watching this? Don't tell me you actually watch this!" I told him it was my aunt's fault while J told him, "It's not true! She has free will!" Boot doesn't dig the show, but he sat down for a few minutes, then said, "This is awful." I said, "Yeah, disco week. Woohoo!" He & J went to the grocery while I finished watching and Pie went to his video cave. When they returned, we made spaghetti. Pie was so cute, asking about what the kind of pasta we used was called. He's not interested in culinary school anymore, but he still has some curiosity about different foods. Whew! Both boys want to be cops, this week. I think either one of them would be really good at it, the good guy cops, but I'm not sure Pie would enjoy it. I think either that or being an attorney would be a great choice for Boot. It'll be interesting to see which careers they do choose.
Anyway, while we were making dinner, I managed to burn the crap out of 3 fingers on my left hand. I didn't know one of the burners had been turned on and I grabbed it to get something that had fallen into the burner pan. Yow! Boot and J immediately went into action prepping a bag of ice for me. Boot was amazed that I wasn't all tough about it. He had thought I was impervious to pain or something. He was so sweet, offering to make the key lime pie I'd been planning to make. He hung out with me while I made it, ready to jump in on anything I couldn't manage one-handed. I did manage it, though, even separating eggs one-handed! Not an easy task! But it was fun to have him to chat with while I cooked. When I finished & went to join J in bed, Boot also turned in for the night. I think Pie stayed up all night playing video games.
Saturday, I arose bright & early to go to my Art Gang get-together while J and Pie headed out video game shopping and Boot slept in. I hadn't been to a meeting since our December tea, so I was excited about seeing everyone and doing some art. The drive there, an hour out in the country, was refreshing in itself. I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to do with one hand, but it turned out we were sketching. We visited around a table on the porch for awhile, then moved our chairs over by the potting shed to sketch some pots, a butterfly house, some big jugs, the shed itself. I have never really sketched anything before, aside from a few feeble attempts when I was dating an artist, who told me not to try and draw the object, but just the lines I saw. I really have no patience for serious sketching and so much less experience with any kind of art than the rest of the women there, who are mostly older than me and have breathed art for years. Some of them even do art for a living and are featured in magazines like Somerset Studio. So, I often feel like my efforts look like a kindergartener's. But, it's so much fun and they are nice about my attempts. We sat & chatted & drew while Jan's husband made a fire for our luncheon weenie roast. I'd finished my sketch by the time we moved back to the fire to roast our dogs. We had some great dishes: an orzo and sundried tomato pesto dish, potato salad, a bright, lemony couscous dish, a gorgeous trifle, fat-free "Polynesian" pudding with fruit, my key lime pie and a luscious strawberry pie. After lunch, we returned to our sketching posts. It was fun to see everyone's different takes on the same scene! Some had used watercolors or watercolor pencils, some charcoal, some regular drawing pencils. I used Crayola colored pencils! I ended up loving the bright, cheery spring colors of mine, even if the rendition wasn't so hot.
After the day in the sun, I found myself pretty dozy by the time I got home. J and Boot were watching "American Gangster" while Pie explored his new games. I didn't want to jump into the movie halfway through, so after visiting with J and Boot (and having Boot nearly burn the house down when he randomly lit a paper on the fridge, which turned out to be a poem my mom wrote, on fire---WTF??? You don't just randomly light stuff on fire, especially when it's hanging on the fridge with a bunch of other papers! I was furious! And there was NO consequence at all-ugh!), I headed upstairs for a little nap under the swiftly-turning fan. It was a nice nap, after I got over the nasty appearance of dip in the toilet on my way to bed. Boot is not supposed to even bring dip with him to our house. Of course, he swears it wasn't his, but who else's would it be? Neither of us dip and I'm almost positive Pie doesn't. Plus, Pie only uses the downstairs bathroom. Personally, I think we should do a bag check to make sure they're not bringing anything we don't allow while we're still in the driveway at their house, but that will never happen.
Kitties joined me and I dozed until J woke me when it was time to start grilling dinner. She & Boot (now in responsible mode again-what a roller coaster) made burgers, hot dogs, baked beans & mac & cheese for dinner. It was some interesting dinner conversation. Pie talked to us about his new game and whether he should be a blacksmith or a craftsman in it. He also told us about how the Nazis' victims weren't just Jewish people, but also gypsies, artists, gay people and others the government didn't like. Meanwhile, Boot was doing a running monologue about peeing on a bonfire and getting paid $22 to roll down a hill and all kinds of stuff like that. Oy. It's like he has deliberately decided to be as anti-intellectual as possible. Probably because allowing his smarts to show also makes him vulnerable. He was giving us advice about being invulnerable, telling us just to stuff our emotions until we found someone to take them out on. Just keep them inside all the time, he recommended. Pie told him that if he keeps doing that, his internal injury is going to cause him to bleed out. Interesting insight from Pie. All we can do is try to steer him in the right direction by word and example. I hate feeling so helpless. We tell him that decisions he makes now will affect him far into the future, but I don't think he believes it. Or he simply doesn't care. Sigh. After those conversations, the talk moved on to Pie's new girlfriend, with Boot trying really hard to annoy or embarrass his brother, while Pie simply put on his selective deafness. She sounds like a nice girl and I think Pie will talk more to us about her when his brother isn't around to ask inane questions. She's his first girlfriend.
Sunday, I went to church while J immersed herself in "Elvenbane" and the boys slept in. Yes, Pie finally slept! After church, I went to the sloppy joe luncheon and stayed for the talent show. That was great fun! It was MCed by one of the youth and he told great bad jokes between the acts. My favorite was "Why shouldn't you take a shower with Pokemon in the room? Because they'll Pikachu!" There were several acts: a small brother & sister doing "Yankee Doodle" on piano & recorder, a fiesty senior doing a series of jokes, a trio of sibs---one twin boy somersaulting, the other singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the older sister singing a song about Peter Rabbit, the boyfriend of one of the college girls singing a Boyz 2 Men song and beat-boxing, a middle schooler playing Metallica quite well on his electric guitar, a dad doing magic tricks and a group of gals who call themselves "The Sisters" (who dressed up as nuns last year) getting all garbed out in 70s attire and singing "We Are Family." It was lots of fun and very funny and cute.
After church, I cleaned the kitchen and hung out with J watching Sci Fi while the boys slept (Boot had arisen to go to KFC with J, but Pie slept right through lunch). We roused the boys shortly before it was time to go. Since J was kind enough to do the driving, I read to her from "Elvenbane" and the boys didn't even complain once. Boot wanted me to listen to his newest favorite Enrique Iglesias song (he is always wanting me to taste his new soda flavors, listen to his music, etc...a lot of our tastes are the same) and Pie wanted to tell us about some of the stuff in his video game. It was fun. It was not so fun when Boot got bored and started trying to aggravate Pie. Lots of "Mom, Brother's touching me"s from the backseat. Poor Pie. He finally pulled his shirt over his face, put his feet on my armrest for petting & went to sleep. It must be exhausting for him to be around Boot's high energy prodding all the time. On the way home, J started to feel bad, so I made a quick breakfast for dinner and we went to bed. She'd hoped to sleep off the beginnings of a migraine, but ended up having to call in sick today. Poor baby. I am lucky I don't get them!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
O is for Olfactory
Friday night, we just relaxed at home with a fruit & cheese dinner. Nothing too fiddly, but very nice. I laid out Comte, Belle Etoile and smoked Gouda cheeses with some Pinot Noir salami on one board, a loaf of Tuscan bread on another and some Pink Lady apples on a third. I added a tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's and some deviled eggs with capers & ham. Dessert came from our Easter baskets. We were in bed fairly early and I arose early Saturday to get started with our O date.
I'd seriously considered O foods under the open sky and orangutans, but ended up using my aunt's suggestion for an olfactory date. I chose highly scented breakfast foods-vanilla coffee, fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and gorilla bread (which is monkey bread with cream cheese in the middle). We had breakfast in bed and J told me the gorilla bread was the best thing she'd ever eaten in her life. She said, "This is a food group all its own and it is elevated above all other food groups!" This made me giggle! Friday night, we just relaxed at home with a fruit & cheese dinner. Nothing too fiddly, but very nice. I laid out Comte, Belle Etoile and smoked Gouda cheeses with some Pinot Noir salami on one board, a loaf of Tuscan bread on another and some Pink Lady apples on a third. I added a tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's and some deviled eggs with capers & ham. Dessert came from our Easter baskets. We were in bed fairly early and I arose early Saturday to get started with our O date. I'd seriously considered O foods under the open sky and orangutans, but ended up using my aunt's suggestion for an olfactory date. I chose highly scented breakfast foods-vanilla coffee, fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and gorilla bread (which is monkey bread with cream cheese in the middle). We had breakfast in bed and Jeannene told me the gorilla bread was the best thing she'd ever eaten in her life. She said, "This is a food group all its own and it is elevated above all other food groups!" This made me giggle!
I'd seriously considered O foods under the open sky and orangutans, but ended up using my aunt's suggestion for an olfactory date. I chose highly scented breakfast foods-vanilla coffee, fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and gorilla bread (which is monkey bread with cream cheese in the middle). We had breakfast in bed and J told me the gorilla bread was the best thing she'd ever eaten in her life. She said, "This is a food group all its own and it is elevated above all other food groups!" This made me giggle! Friday night, we just relaxed at home with a fruit & cheese dinner. Nothing too fiddly, but very nice. I laid out Comte, Belle Etoile and smoked Gouda cheeses with some Pinot Noir salami on one board, a loaf of Tuscan bread on another and some Pink Lady apples on a third. I added a tarte d'Alsace from Trader Joe's and some deviled eggs with capers & ham. Dessert came from our Easter baskets. We were in bed fairly early and I arose early Saturday to get started with our O date. I'd seriously considered O foods under the open sky and orangutans, but ended up using my aunt's suggestion for an olfactory date. I chose highly scented breakfast foods-vanilla coffee, fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and gorilla bread (which is monkey bread with cream cheese in the middle). We had breakfast in bed and Jeannene told me the gorilla bread was the best thing she'd ever eaten in her life. She said, "This is a food group all its own and it is elevated above all other food groups!" This made me giggle!
After Phase 1 was complete, we moved on to the first day of the Farmer's Market! Yippee! We saw sheep being shorn (and got to pet them), got close to sweet-looking alpacas, ran into our former Associate Pastor and heard some great live music. Then, we strolled around the local outdoor mall. My first official stop was L'Occitane, to smell their goodies. Our hands-down favorite is verbena. Mmm! Then, we stopped in at 87W, a new wine bar, for a snack and a drink. We had a small plate called chorizo and chevre hanky pankies. They're like little tea sandwiches and are quite tasty. I enjoyed a glass of Riesling while Jeannene had a beer. We sat and people-watched as we ate. The wall-sized windows were wide open and the weather was just perfect for being outside! Our next stop was Rocky Mountain Chocolate for a whiff of their sweetly-scented air and a couple of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Our final stop for Phase 2 was the greenhouse, where we took in the smells of potting soil and hyacinths and feasted our eyes on all the spring flowers! Finally, we headed home for Phase 3 of our O date. I ran Jeannene an aromatherapy bath and let her read and soak for awhile while I planned our first Wild Mango Queens event for next month. Then, I returned to wash her back. When she was done, she had a little nap while I took my aromatherapy bath. It was a wonderful O date and a perfect day, all for under $25. We did some grocery shopping and some t.v. watching Saturday evening. Sunday morning, we went to church and then headed to the library so I could show Jeannene some children's picture books I'd just discovered & loved. Then, we had some potato cheese soup with ham before doing another grocery run. Most of the afternoon was spent simply lazing about. I put on a roast about 4 while Jeannene napped and read her "Elvenbane" book. After dinner, we got to bed early to accomodate Jeannene's 5 a.m. Monday wake-up.
After Phase 1 was complete, we moved on to the first day of the Farmer's Market! Yippee! We saw sheep being shorn (and got to pet them), got close to sweet-looking alpacas, ran into our former Associate Pastor and heard some great live music. Then, we strolled around the local outdoor mall. My first official stop was L'Occitane, to smell their goodies. Our hands-down favorite is verbena. Mmm! Then, we stopped in at 87W, a new wine bar, for a snack and a drink. We had a small plate called chorizo and chevre hanky pankies. They're like little tea sandwiches and are quite tasty. I enjoyed a glass of Riesling while J had a beer. We sat and people-watched as we ate. The wall-sized windows were wide open and the weather was just perfect for being outside! Our next stop was Rocky Mountain Chocolate for a whiff of their sweetly-scented air and a couple of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Our final stop for Phase 2 was the greenhouse, where we took in the smells of potting soil and hyacinths and feasted our eyes on all the spring flowers!
Finally, we headed home for Phase 3 of our O date. I ran J an aromatherapy bath rich with lavender and chamomile and let her read and soak for awhile while I planned our first Wild Mango Queens event for next month. Then, I returned to wash her back. When she was done, she had a little nap while I took my aromatherapy bath. It was a wonderful O date and a perfect day, all for under $25. We did some grocery shopping and some t.v. watching Saturday evening.
Sunday morning, we went to church and then headed to the library so I could show J some children's picture books I'd just discovered & loved. Then, we had some potato cheese soup with ham before doing another grocery run. Most of the afternoon was spent simply lazing about. I put on a roast about 4 while J napped and read her "Elvenbane" book. After dinner, we got to bed early to accomodate J's 5 a.m. Monday wake-up.
After Phase 1 was complete, we moved on to the first day of the Farmer's Market! Yippee! We saw sheep being shorn (and got to pet them), got close to sweet-looking alpacas, ran into our former Associate Pastor and heard some great live music. Then, we strolled around the local outdoor mall. My first official stop was L'Occitane, to smell their goodies. Our hands-down favorite is verbena. Mmm! Then, we stopped in at 87W, a new wine bar, for a snack and a drink. We had a small plate called chorizo and chevre hanky pankies. They're like little tea sandwiches and are quite tasty. I enjoyed a glass of Riesling while J had a beer. We sat and people-watched as we ate. The wall-sized windows were wide open and the weather was just perfect for being outside! Our next stop was Rocky Mountain Chocolate for a whiff of their sweetly-scented air and a couple of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Our final stop for Phase 2 was the greenhouse, where we took in the smells of potting soil and hyacinths and feasted our eyes on all the spring flowers!
Finally, we headed home for Phase 3 of our O date. I ran J an aromatherapy bath rich with lavender and chamomile and let her read and soak for awhile while I planned our first Wild Mango Queens event for next month. Then, I returned to wash her back. When she was done, she had a little nap while I took my aromatherapy bath. It was a wonderful O date and a perfect day, all for under $25. We did some grocery shopping and some t.v. watching Saturday evening.
Sunday morning, we went to church and then headed to the library so I could show J some children's picture books I'd just discovered & loved. Then, we had some potato cheese soup with ham before doing another grocery run. Most of the afternoon was spent simply lazing about. I put on a roast about 4 while J napped and read her "Elvenbane" book. After dinner, we got to bed early to accomodate J's 5 a.m. Monday wake-up.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Easter Fun
The weekend started early, with J's plant actually being shut down for Good Friday. What a delight! We started the morning with a cup of Starbucks courtesy of a gift card as we waited for a table at First Watch. Then, a great brunch (J had a superb waffle while I chose a breakfast burrito) followed by grocery shopping and a trip to Michael's to look at their spring flags. Then, we headed home to do some housecleaning before picking up the boys. When we did so, we discovered that Boot still has an enormous knot on his head from more than two weeks ago, thanks to his brilliant "fight club" idea. I swear if this child makes it to 30, it will only be because of hard work on the part of his guardian angel! Apparently, the other boy has a matching knot. That's some bonding activity! Once home, J made an andouille and Monterey Jack pizza for supper. Then, she and I colored eggs while the boys did their thing-Boot went to bed early while Pie entered his video game cave, not to emerge again until he was hungry for a brownie.
Saturday, J made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We all spent some time doing our own thing-Boot and J were immersed in t.v., Pie in video games, me online and on the phone with my mama. Then, J and I hit the library and grocery before coming home to hang out. She found an Anne Geddes book for a dollar in the book nook, where discarded books are sold. She also picked up a Cleveland jigsaw puzzle and a mystery novel, while I found a Martha Beck book and a book on creating a women's spirituality circle and a couple other books. All that for $5! I love cheap indulgences. Even cooler was finding books I wanted on the free shelf. I've been curious about Jennifer Crusie romances because she worked at the same bookstore I did, just a year or two before I started there. However, I haven't been able to commit to buying one or even checking one out from the library because they're romances. Silly, I know. I also found Gustavo Gutierrez's classic volume on liberation theology on the free shelf! We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. J made a delicious chicken pot pie for dinner and we even had an extra to share with our neighbor. When I took it down to her, I invited her to Easter dinner but she was planning to cook a dinner herownself and hang out with her Vizslas. She was very surprised and pleased with both the pie and the invite, though.
Sunday morning, I got up and put together J's Easter basket and then put on my Easter bonnet and headed to the church brunch, leaving her to handle the other baskets and the cooking. After the brunch, I visited with one of the youth group members for awhile before the service started. It was nice to catch up with him. Senior year has left him with very little time to attend church, so it's been nice to see him there the past couple of worships. He sings beautifully and has helped to bulk up the choir. The service was a lovely cantata. It was so good to hear the music, see all the people dressed in their Easter best (especially the little girls in their pretty dresses), smell the hyacinths and lilies and reflect on God's nature as pure love and cause for hope. After church, we roused the boys and did Easter baskets. J found a bunch of fun little stuff for me (coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, a couple of rubber stamps, a Hello Kitty puppet, a Tinkerbell egg filled with stickers and candy butterflies, stuff like that). What fun! Then, we had our Easter dinner. J made a ham (which she found on sale for $7!), potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and rolls. She also went pie-mad, baking an apple pie Friday night and making a peanut butter pie in an Oreo crust and a lemon icebox pie Saturday. I'd been planning to do either cut-out cookies or a lamb cake, but that seemed thoroughly unnecessary! After eating, Boot retired to his room for a nap while I joined J and Boot in the living room where they were watching t.v. I spent the afternoon coloring in my new Disney Princesses book. Pie was kind enough to pull up a picture of Aurora online for me so that I could make sure I got the hair color right. LOL. Before we knew it, it was time to take the boys home. I drove there (and greatly enjoyed Boot's acting as a tour guide through current music for me-"Boot, who's singing?" probably came out of my mouth 15 times in the course of the trip) and J drove back. I spent the 2 hours back reading Jill Conner Browne's hilarious new Sweet Potato Queens book aloud to her. Then, we settled in for a dinner of crustless quiche (bacon & feta, from Trader Joe's-delicious!), bacon, English muffins (mine with lemon curd, hers with strawberry preserves) and oranges. Yum! We watched "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" before retiring for the night.
Saturday, J made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We all spent some time doing our own thing-Boot and J were immersed in t.v., Pie in video games, me online and on the phone with my mama. Then, J and I hit the library and grocery before coming home to hang out. She found an Anne Geddes book for a dollar in the book nook, where discarded books are sold. She also picked up a Cleveland jigsaw puzzle and a mystery novel, while I found a Martha Beck book and a book on creating a women's spirituality circle and a couple other books. All that for $5! I love cheap indulgences. Even cooler was finding books I wanted on the free shelf. I've been curious about Jennifer Crusie romances because she worked at the same bookstore I did, just a year or two before I started there. However, I haven't been able to commit to buying one or even checking one out from the library because they're romances. Silly, I know. I also found Gustavo Gutierrez's classic volume on liberation theology on the free shelf! We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. J made a delicious chicken pot pie for dinner and we even had an extra to share with our neighbor. When I took it down to her, I invited her to Easter dinner but she was planning to cook a dinner herownself and hang out with her Vizslas. She was very surprised and pleased with both the pie and the invite, though.
Sunday morning, I got up and put together J's Easter basket and then put on my Easter bonnet and headed to the church brunch, leaving her to handle the other baskets and the cooking. After the brunch, I visited with one of the youth group members for awhile before the service started. It was nice to catch up with him. Senior year has left him with very little time to attend church, so it's been nice to see him there the past couple of worships. He sings beautifully and has helped to bulk up the choir. The service was a lovely cantata. It was so good to hear the music, see all the people dressed in their Easter best (especially the little girls in their pretty dresses), smell the hyacinths and lilies and reflect on God's nature as pure love and cause for hope. After church, we roused the boys and did Easter baskets. J found a bunch of fun little stuff for me (coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, a couple of rubber stamps, a Hello Kitty puppet, a Tinkerbell egg filled with stickers and candy butterflies, stuff like that). What fun! Then, we had our Easter dinner. J made a ham (which she found on sale for $7!), potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and rolls. She also went pie-mad, baking an apple pie Friday night and making a peanut butter pie in an Oreo crust and a lemon icebox pie Saturday. I'd been planning to do either cut-out cookies or a lamb cake, but that seemed thoroughly unnecessary! After eating, Boot retired to his room for a nap while I joined J and Boot in the living room where they were watching t.v. I spent the afternoon coloring in my new Disney Princesses book. Pie was kind enough to pull up a picture of Aurora online for me so that I could make sure I got the hair color right. LOL. Before we knew it, it was time to take the boys home. I drove there (and greatly enjoyed Boot's acting as a tour guide through current music for me-"Boot, who's singing?" probably came out of my mouth 15 times in the course of the trip) and J drove back. I spent the 2 hours back reading Jill Conner Browne's hilarious new Sweet Potato Queens book aloud to her. Then, we settled in for a dinner of crustless quiche (bacon & feta, from Trader Joe's-delicious!), bacon, English muffins (mine with lemon curd, hers with strawberry preserves) and oranges. Yum! We watched "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" before retiring for the night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)