Mother's Day & Pretty in Pink

Friday night, we took the kids out to dinner at Carrabba's Italian Grill. J had the sirloin marsala with fettuccine alfredo & broccoli, I had the spiedino di mare (scallops & shrimp coated with Italian breadcrumbs & drizzled with lemon butter...spectacular!) with a salad & cavatappi, Boot had a kids' cheese pizza, & Pie had a steak with buttered spaghetti & broccoli. Funny how that kid loves broccoli & asparagus & things like that.

After dinner, we stopped at the grocery & waited in the car while the boys went in & shopped for our top secret, hush hush Mom's Day dinner. When we got home, they shooed us upstairs so they could set the table. We weren't allowed down again until they called us in the morning. One boy copied down my directions for frying an egg "with the oke" & that was all the direction they wanted.

In the morning, we went down to a beautifully-set table with Vivaldi playing on Pie's boom box. We each had a perfectly-cooked (if a bit cold) egg, wheat toast, bacon, and melon. To drink, we had coconut-honeydew-cantaloupe smoothies & white zin they found in the basement. LOL! They also provided a Starbucks Double Shot in a can for J's caffeine-fix.

After our special breakfast, I went to set up for the Mother's Day Banquet at church while J took the boys to the grocery. Then, I came home & finished polishing the script.

We took the boys shopping for, among other things, Mother's Day gifts & a tiny pink hula skirt. Once home, J started cooking for coffee hour on Sunday while I put together the last fashion for the evening's show.

I went over early to make sure everything was rolling smoothly for the banquet. The boys were servers, with white dress shirts & pink bow ties. J & I were joined by my grandmom & my second grandma. The men made ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, & salads for the dinner, along with cherry pie & pink lemonade.

The theme was "Pretty in Pink" & we had decided to do a pink fashion show with a twist. I emceed in a hot pink top, pink cowgirl hat, & pink feather boa. The show started out very straightforward, with a little girl in a pink poodle skirt. But, we quickly moved on to gag fashions (a tank top with toy army tanks on the shoulders, "bell" bottoms that were pink capris with bells sewed on the butt, a 10-gallon hat made of empty gallon jugs, a hula hoop skirt made of 3 held together with ribbon, etc). People laughed & laughed! The grand finale was a poodle skirt, a miniature poodle in the tiny pink hula skirt, led by the little girl in the real poodle skirt.

We helped clean up, then went home & cooked some more. Then, we headed to the after-party for the banquet subcommittee. It was cosmopolitans & a lot of laughter on the back patio of one couple's house. Then, more cooking back home.

In the morning, we went to church & hosted a Cinco de Mayo themed coffee hour, with sloppy Josés, bean dip, tortilla chips, all kinds of nacho toppings, chimichurri with bread, Mexican cookies, & orange slice candies. We visited with my grands for awhile afterward, then went home & NAPPED!

After our nap, we opened Mother's Day gifts from the boys. They got J a bracelet in amber tones & a sweet little book about moms with all kinds of pictures of animals. They got me a peridot & marcasite necklace, a box of Lindor truffles, & a box of chocolate-covered pretzels.

Then, we hit the road to Cincinnati to see J's mom. We stopped for burgers at Sonic on the way. Our visit was nice...we gave her framed pics of the boys & of all 4 of us. J's dad had goody bags for the boys & they chowed down on apples in the car on the way home.

Lunch at the Mill

Yesterday morning, I helped in the church office...very light duty, with only 2 calls & 2 stop-ins & no B to talk food & theology with. I rode my bike back home & waited for R to pick me up for one of our Monday lunches. He was amenable to eating at Clifton Mill, so we headed out there. We got a table right by the windows & were able to watch the water. There were 2 Canadian geese out there with 2 goslings, swimming upstream, trying to make it past the white water where the mill water enters the stream. I felt awful for them, but I guess they could just have gone the other way. There they were, saddled with non-flying babies, trying to get where they wanted to be & not being able to just use those magnificent wings of theirs.

Lunch was not that hot. R's reuben was fine, but my spinach squares were dull as dishwater & the carrot sticks were dried out & the peach pie they brought out was revolting. The crust didn't even seem to have been baked at all. It was all white & gooey & pasty & just disgusting. SHUDDER! I so very much want to give them a good review, but I don't think I can for lunch. Now, breakfast is another matter. Good thing they serve it all day!

After lunch, R walked around the yard with me to look at the plants. We have a couple blooms on the lilac bush (to my surprise) & R thinks the dogwood is going to bloom just fine, too. He says that since it's just starting to leaf out now, it will bloom soon. He took a look at the hydrangea bush & is of the opinion that we should have some blooms from it in June. I hope so. I love hydrangeas, especially the blues. He says I should put acid on it in the fall. When we can get legally married, I want hydrangeas.

After he left, I came upstairs & wrote the script for the Mother's Day Banquet fashion show. I think it will be fun! Now, if we can just get the models for it! Once the script was done, I spent some time cleaning the bedroom & laundry room as I looked for library books. I am missing one book & one cd. Ugh. I forgot to use my system for not losing them. But, they'll turn up, so I will hang onto the receipt & get my money back when they do.

I made another good dinner last night, my Oklahoma friend B's spaghetti pie, big salads, and garlic bread. Pie was grumpy because his brother was working on his science project & wouldn't play with him outside. I was busy with dinner & J was too cold to go out in the frigid twilight. She offered to play inside with him, but he went in the yard by himself & pouted, trying to play wiffle ball all by himself. I do remember when I was never too cold to play outside, so I feel for him. He just doesn't get that our bodies change as we get older & we can't just run around in the chill like we used to.

After dinner, we helped Boot finish his project & listened to him present it. I hope he practices more before he has to present for class. After they went to bed, we watched CSI & went to sleep ourselves.

Boundary-Stretching & Baby Shower

We had a delightful weekend! Friday evening, when we got to the movie theater, not only was B there with our 2 boys, but she had also brought along all 4 of hers. I was glad to see her teenage daughter there-I always think it's good for teenage girls to spend time hanging out with good strong adult role models. I thought Bride & Prejudice was really fun, with lots of beautiful color, humor, a good love story. It made me really want a sari & one of the pants & tunic outfits, in some luscious color like hot pink or lime green. B & her daughter liked the movie a lot, too. It was probably a bit long for the 7 y.o. & all the boys soundly hated it. But, it's good for them to stretch their boundaries & experience things outside their usual realm of interest. As for J, she loved the colors & the costumes, as well as the pretty girls, but thought the singing & such was a bit surreal & a bit much. It was a bit a of boundary stretcher for her, as well. Now, I want to see Bend It Like Beckham. I need to watch the two Indian movies I have out from the video store!

Since J & I hadn't had time for dinner (the boys had chicken pot pie at B's), we further stretched the boundaries by dragging the boys to The Winds...only because Boot said "I'll go to The Winds" when we told them they were lucky we weren't taking them there. They have not one iota of appreciation for that place. I wonder if they'll like it when they're older or if they'll insist on taking their dates to McDonald's & Steak 'n' Shake. Oh, our dinner was wonderful! We got the Greek Meze Salad (fresh beet salad, chopped kalamatas, grilled haloumi, and warmed pitas), a cup of Provençal fish stew, and the rotollo di spinachi, which is always delicious. Pie simply ordered dessert, ice cream with "dirt & worms", and was happy. Boot ordered a grilled bacon & cheese. He grudgingly admitted to liking the bacon (Nueske & fabulous), but complained about the bread (homemade white) and the cheese (white cheddar) & said he wanted a "real grilled cheese". I explained that he had a real grilled cheese, just not the style he is accustomed to. He didn't like the $6 piece of peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake he ordered, either. Luckily, J did. I had a piece of the black forest cake & need to remember that I never like their cake as much as their pie or other desserts. I should have had the cherry-rhubarb pie!

Saturday morning, J had to go in to work, so I caught up on e-mail, then worked on organizing the study. She got home just in time to go to the birthday party of one of her co-workers. That was a great deal of fun. Our boys had fun playing with all the other kids there while we chit-chatted inside. They have an old farmhouse & it was fun to see it. They have it painted in the same green our hallway is. We also got to see their baby girl for the first time, and to visit with their 2 goats & 15 baby ducks. All were precious. They had quite the spread prepared. Appetizers were crackers with beer cheese dip or cold spinach artichoke dip, olives, & pickles. Then, they had made a chicken bouillabaise, potato soup, and pulled beef with buns. I had to sample a little of each. His birthday cake was a yellow cake with raspberry filling & chocolate ganache to ice it. They are foodies...in fact, J will often leave him voice mails about what we're having for dinner. It's really funny. I ran into foodies there, too. One was a French teacher, an old friend of theirs. She found out my name & what I do & said, "I read you!!! I read you!!! You have my dream job!" & told me how much she likes my writing. That was fun. We talked restaurants & food for quite awhile.

After the party, we went baby shower shopping...had a grand time picking things out for little RR. I can't wait until he's here! I decorated plain blue bags with white rub-on baby words & stickers with baby-related words & their definitions. We got him a bouncy seat that was on her registry list, a set of bathtime finger puppets, and some little outfits. My favorite is one that has a sea monster on it. He is going to look so cute in that.

Sunday morning, I ran out & got some things for coffee hour & dropped them off, since no one signed up to host. Then, we grabbed some Dino's & headed to the shower. L's folks' house has really been fixed up since I was last there (probably in the early '90s!). It looks gorgeous! They have added on a sunroom that looks right out on the pond. C had all her heirloom china & linens & crystal out & it was so lovely & girly. We visited for a bit, got to meet B's mom & sister & grandma. They are all so nice. It's easy to see where B gets it. I am so glad L is with him now.

They had a brunch, with C urging us to go first in the buffet line. Wow, was the food delicious!!! She does a lot of organic gardening & preserves her fruits & veggies. She made 2 beautiful quiches, one asparagus & one red pepper with caramelized onions. The crusts were homemade & really interesting. Tasty! There was also the best potato salad I've ever had, marinated broccoli, and fruit salad with poppyseed dressing. Dessert was a chocolate bundt cake sparkling with sugar & served with cherries from her trees, along with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream. We sat with B's best friend's mom, 2 women L taught with, and a woman who worked with L's dad for 20 years before they both retired. They were a pleasant bunch.

Before the gifts were opened, J participated in an adventure. We'd been hearing this odd animal noise. Some sort of creature had gotten caught in the duct work & couldn't get out. J & another woman went to investigate. The other woman reached in & grabbed the animal by the scruff of its neck. It turned out to be a tiny baby raccoon! It was darling! L's dad (who had just got back from running a marathon!) said that there has been a big raccoon hanging out in the barn, so they took the bitty out there. Then, L opened her gifts, with the eager assistance of her nieces. It was the most wonderful shower I've been to. I like L's mom so much. I invited her to join the book group. I hope she'll come. The more smart, fun women, the better!

After the shower, we headed out to my grands' to make May baskets. I took along construction paper (along with some of the art paper I got through Freecycle), stickers, trinkets, etc. J & I had a blast making them. The grands observed, as did my ex-stepcousin C & his friend, who came to visit, bringing the gift of a new bird feeder & shepherd's hook. We had coffee, tea, Oreos, and Breyers ice cream (coffee & strawberry) as we visited. C is such a pleasure to be around, jokey & kind. He has turned out to be such a neat grown-up. He was telling us about the old barns he is rescuing wood from & about the blues band he plays in. His friend played sax for 2 years with the Glenn Miller Band. In our May baskets, we put butter mints, lilacs, dogwoods, & violets. On the way home, we made deliveries to both sets of B&L we're friends with. The not-pregnant set were playing a video game that cusses & he had beer on his breath, so they were happy to see that it was just us. They were having a relaxing Sunday evening, making a pizza & enjoying themselves. I think they were touched by the May basket. B asked me if we sang the Internationale as we were making them. LOL!

Once home, we made dinner. We had steak with homemade chimichurri sauce (a gorgeous green for May Day), baked potatoes, Tuscan bread, the sesame asparagus recipe that J&D gave me (back when J was still alive...I miss him & May always make me think of him, since it holds his birthday). For dessert, in bed, Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie. How decadent! Pie was too full for dessert, while Boot had brownie batter ice cream before bed. After they went to bed, I put out the plate for the spirits & some milk & honey for the fairies, as well as a rum & candy offering for St. Anthony. J was working on planning a romantic weekend for the end of the month, then we went to bed with our ice cream.

Kite Day

We awoke this morning to another chilly morning. It was still dark at 5, when we got up, but I could already tell it was going to be grey. I got J's coffee & Walker's all ready. She put them in her car, along with wallet & keys. She headed back in to get something else & we heard the sickening sound of her car door locking itself! The beast locked her keys in itself! I headed straight for my purse, where I always keep a spare, but it was not in its customary place. J was freaking out, needing to be at her meeting on time & muttering dire imprecations. I was frantically rooting around in drawers & tins for the key. Finally, I told her to take my car. She did, swearing that we'd never find the key & would have to call a locksmith &&&. The day was going to be horrible, she would get pulled over & not have her wallet...I assured her that everything would be alright & that I would find the key & spent the next half hour hunting further. I finally did find it, with a little help from St. Anthony. Whew!

So, after the boys got off to school, I headed out to take her car & wallet to her. I stopped at Dino's for a couple of his marvelous coffees. It is always best when he is in & he was this morning. I love how he reaches for the praline automatically when I tell him I'm getting coffee for J. He told me that my cousins are headed for a wedding in Mexico next week. Why don't my friends get married in places like Mexico & Puerto Rico??? I tried a vanilla mocha & found it much to my liking. I also picked up some McDonald's because J informed me that she was starving. So, I got to eat breakfast with her in her office, a nice treat.

On the way back from seeing J, I began the Great Kite Search. I think I found the last 2 kites in town, at Rite Aid, 2 plastic eagles. I had meant to have the boys choose kites while we were out & about, but all 3 of us forgot.

I walked into the school at about the same time as B & we all sat together for lunch. The boys are all such good friends, so it's fun. Her daughter sat with us, as did Mrs. P, while the boys took their own table. The hot dogs were fine, the apples actually crisp, and they had more crunchy snacks than just Cool Ranch Doritos. A relief! I chose Cheetos, real health food.

Since it wasn't raining, we all went out after lunch & made the annual attempt to fly kites with no expertise & little wind. We didn't have much success, but what fun we had! It was neat to see the sky filled with eagles, ladybugs, Spongebobs, biplanes, Barbies, monster trucks, box kites and everything else imaginable! Also, a flock of birds that were shaped rather like kites came around, swooping low like they were showing off how well they were able to fly. We ran into G, with her 1st grader, and chatted with her for a bit, too. The boys begged to be allowed to go over to J&M's. Since it was fine with B, I let them go with her clan. I am sure they'll have a blast. She is going to bring them to the movie with her tonight.

Kidless, I walked home & am procrastinating about writing my piece for next week's issue. I should start, though.

Indian Food Between Errands

With only a few minutes until Kite Day festivities start, I am typing a quick account of yesterday. Of course, with the chilly weather & rain, I highly doubt any kite flying will be done. But, I can at least go & eat crappy hot dogs & mushy apples & hang out with my dear boys. I think the Kite Day tradition is a lovely one & I am sad that next year, Boot will not be part of it. They're getting older. What a great elementary school they landed in, even if they don't fully appreciate it...what kid ever fully appreciates their school? Well, what Middle American kid, I should say! I bet kids in places where school is a luxury feel quite differently about it.

Yesterday, there was no school, so I took the opportunity to crawl back under the covers after seeing J off. Once up, I rallied the kids. Pie had my granddad's leftover pancake for breakfast & was in ecstasy. We took J's forgotten meds to her, then I took them to lunch at Ajanta India. They are not too fond of Indian food yet, but they are tolerant & we had a good time. I ordered chicken tikka for Boot, whose tastes are a little more cosmopolitan than his brother's. Pie had chicken pakora with plenty of rice & bhatura. I ordered an appetizer of tawa tikki, served with good yogurt sauce, then lamb biryani for my main course. I tried the khulfi for dessert...odd texture, but tasty. Boot discovered that he likes the candied fennel seeds that come with the check...he & I kept eating more of them.

I let them go to the trading card store afterward, but they felt the prices were too high...Boot was checking out the Ben Rothlisberger cards. Then, more errands. Groceries, pediatrician for a prescription, dry cleaner, pharmacy, gas. Once home, I typed up Boot's report on Mars, then did some research on Indian food. Then, it was time to start dinner. I made a Weight Watchers recipe for snapper oreganata (but used mahi mahi since they only had frozen snapper at the grocery), baked potatoes, pea salad (L's with the peanut butter is superior...must get her recipe), and blackberry bread. The fish was terrific. The children had Van De Kamps fish stick/nugget things instead. I hope someday they will appreciate the wonder of good fresh fish, but for now, it's the breaded stuff.

We popped out to the grocery to get doughnuts for the morning, both for work & home, and then spent the evening watching CSI. I wanted to watch an Indian movie, but no luck. We will get to them one of these years.

Lunch with the Granddaddy

Yesterday after a long Bible study, I discovered that it was Retired Teachers' luncheon day. So, it was just me & my granddad for lunch. It reminded me of all the Wednesdays he spent with me when I was a kid, trips to the lake, to his table tennis games, to the airport to see the planes. We had lunch at Clifton Mill yesterday, a turkey sandwich & some bean soup for me, 3 gollywhoppers of pancakes for him. He couldn't eat all those, so Pie had one for breakfast this morning. They were plate-size, just enormous. They smelt of graham crackers...mmm. We maintained an easy chat the whole time. I just really enjoy his company. On the way back to my house, we saw some freshly-shorn sheep, white & gorgeous...and probably freezing!

Once home, I did some writing & some laundry & spent some time out on the ocean with Pi. J didn't know what she wanted for dinner, so we went up to the little grocery nearby. She decided to make cube steak sandwiches with cheese, onions, peppers, & mushrooms. We had tater tots (her suggestion, oddly) & corn with them, a good Middle American dinner. The sandwiches were terrific. The rest of the evening was spent watching CSI: New York, with J falling asleep on my lap a quarter of the way into it. Uneventful, but good.

Uneventful Day

I will probably have more than one entry with this title! Yesterday's uneventfulness was pleasant. I got the wife & kids off, then spent a little time reading Life of Pi on the couch. It's funny how much I am enjoying it, for the amount of reluctance I felt when the book group decided to read it! It's terrific, really. I must remember to recommend it to my mom...and to thank her for recommending The Time Traveler's Wife so enthusiastically. I loved that one, too. But, who would have thought that a book about a guy trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger could be so interesting? Not I!

I picked Pie up for his check-up, which took very little time but was in depth. I am glad they have a pediatrician who is so thorough & treats the whole person. After I returned him to school, I came home & did some writing & some cleaning & worked on May menus. Once the kids returned, we ran errands. I got a birthday gift for S at Hallmark, a dear little Boyd's bear with a bee body, wings, and a sunflower-bedecked hat. To that, I added a small Yankee candle, vanilla-scented, that matches the yellow on the hat. I hope she loves it. I love shopping for her because all I have to do is find something I would love. JH is different...I am really looking forward to his party, and to meeting his baby & his goats & his ducks, but what to get him?

Pie has been through another rough spot with getting his work done, so I pointed out all my areas of responsibility & how I don't always like doing those things. Then, we talked about what might happen if I didn't do each thing. I think he is starting to get it.

After errands, I quick threw together the meat & marinade for the kebabs. It was apple juice & vinegar with onions, garlic, a touch of sugar, some cumin, and citrus zest. I love my zester. Once that was tucked in the fridge, I tidied the kitchen & dashed off to the Mother's Day banquet meeting, leaving J with the menu. The meeting was productive. We segued right into committee night, starting with picture-taking for the directory...they oughta warn us! It was a long one and I ended up leaving before it was over.

When I got home, J had the kebabs all made, along with some pecan rice, and had fed the kids & put them to bed. I poured some olive oil for bread dipping & we watched a PBS show (Frontline, I think) on Wal-Mart. Those guys are dark. I'm glad we don't shop there.