Sunday Dinner - Epilogue

I am happy to report a successful re-launch of the previous meatball fiasco. Unlike last weekend, Sam and I spent Sunday afternoon making two trays of homemade meatballs, rather than using the frozen, apparently poisonous pre-made variety that they are selling at the grocery store.

We are currently on day 1.25 and so far, there are no ill effects - which is a good thing, since we ended up making a total of eighty meatballs.

Sunday Dinner

After however long it’s been, I still can’t get used to cooking for a smaller crew. Part of this is unconscious, part of it isn’t. I can’t explain the part that’s unconscious, other than to say that it’s either force of habit or wishful thinking - or more likely, some combination of the two.

But for the part that is conscious, I guess my thinking is that if I’m going to go to the trouble to grill/cook/bake something, I might as well cook a ton of it and make it worthwhile.

I think there’s a certain logic to this, though I’m not saying it’s always defensible. It works out great when one of the kids is visiting and I can send them off, fully stocked with food. And it works out well when I can mail them some baked goods that I know won’t spoil. And if neither of those are possible, it gives us a few extra meals during the week - and those are meals that I no longer have to plan for.

Every once in awhile, I'll be left with more food than I can use - even in a week's time. I try to wedge the overflow into my over-stuffed freezer. And there are those rare occasions where it doesn't work out at all.

This past weekend, Sam and I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs - largely because we hadn’t had it in quite a while. But we also happened to have a coupon for some frozen meatballs, so this seemed like a good time to go for it. Normally, we would make our own meatballs, but this was kind of a last minute decision, so we were taking a short cut. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

On Saturday, along with our other groceries, Sam and I picked up the frozen meatballs, and on Sunday, we dumped them into the crock pot, along with some sauce, some garlic that Sam had diced, and then we added some spices.

Later in the day, Sam sliced some mushrooms, which we cooked separately, and then we added them into the sauce mixture. Sunday night, I boiled two pounds of spaghetti and we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was delicious - for a while.

Later on Sunday night, it hit me - literally. I felt like I was getting a stomach bug. I was getting achy all over, and I was getting this vaguely queasy feeling- the kind where you can’t tell if you’re really feeling that way or not, but you don’t want to think about it too hard because it might make it worse.

Sunday night into Monday, I got maybe a total of four hours of sleep. I kept getting up, and while I wasn’t getting sick, I was in full body cramp mode. As I lay back in bed, I remembered that the last time I felt this bad was several years ago. Back then, I had bought some frozen mini-tacos - again with a coupon, and almost immediately after eating them, I felt pretty much the same as I did right now - maybe even worse. At least at this point, I wasn't breaking out in sweats. I tried to tell myself that I was lucky.

Anyway, I was pretty sure at this point that using those store bought, frozen meatballs had not been a good idea.

Little by little, over the next couple of days, the ill effects began to wear off -for the most part.

Today is trash day, so last night, along with filling our usual bags of trash and garbage, I added several quarts of meatballs and sauce, as well as the unused portion of frozen meatballs that were still in the freezer.

Before leaving for work this morning, I set the trash bags outside for the trash pick-up and I’m hoping that no animals are currently ripping them apart and spreading tainted tomato sauce all over my leaf covered lawn.

I’m not sure if there’s any lesson to be learned from all of this or not. But I’m kind of upset that I have just under two pounds of cold spaghetti sitting in my refrigerator right now, and my meal planning for the week is completely shot.

Today's Brief Comment

This friggin' fly has been driving me crazy all day.

Civics Lesson

I went online with Sam last night and helped him to register to vote. He's come with me before, but this November will be the first time he votes on his own.

The other day, we got a booklet in the mail which has a rundown of the various ballot questions, and I figure that between now and the election, we’ll be going through it together.

There’s also something I like about the idea that Sam’s vote carries exactly the same weight as anybody else's - including any of the candidates.

Of course, that’s true for everyone.

Fruits of Our Labor

Evolution of an apple pancake...

Tonight's Video Clip

I think it must be at least a couple of months since I last posted a Mr. Rogers video.

Maybe I've posted this before.

Maybe.

But it's worth posting again...

Last Weekend

Yes, I know, I’m falling behind on posting. Sorry. 

So, let’s see, what’s been going on...

I suppose I could tell you a little bit about how I’m now working on putting in the storm windows and how it is one of my three least favorite jobs around the house. But it seems to me, that sentence pretty much covers everything I have to say about it.

Instead, let me share a few photos with you, taken last weekend - which somehow seems like it was a month ago.

To begin with, I should mention that it was one of those all too rare times when everyone was home - for part of the weekend, anyway. Jake came home on Friday, Helaina came by on Saturday, as is her routine, and later Saturday, Rachael came in by train from The Big City (I had to check the date on the picture below, just to be sure I have the day correct. It was, after all, close to a week ago.) Sam, of course, was already home.

Sunday was to be our annual “Let’s Go Pick Apples” day. We’ve been doing this for several years now and in the past, we’ve been pretty lucky, weatherwise. I don’t ever remember a day of bad weather. In other words, we were due.

We woke up on Sunday to rainy weather, which then changed to kind of rainy, before eventually changing back to more rainy.

After much indecisiveness, we decided to say the heck with it and go apple picking anyway. I was pretty sure that we would be the only customers there, which would normally be the orchard's busiest weekend, and since we would be the only customers, we would thus be treated like royalty.

Surprisingly, the apple orchard was pretty packed. 

Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who thought picking apples in the rain was a great idea. Go figure.

Although we were less focused on things like climbing the apple trees and riding the tractor - and more focused on getting on apple bags crammed full and getting back to the dry house, we had a great time. Plus. we’re now the proud owners of a bushel or two off fresh apples.

Sunday afternoon, Jake headed back and Rachael headed back on Monday. That left the skeleton crew.

So, rather than rattle around the house, on Monday, Sam, Helaina and I went to the train yard, where we watched the trains for a little bit before walking the bike path.

Sam and I had gone to the train yard and discovered this bike path on a rainy day back in June - which I may or may not have written about - but we haven’t made a trip back since. And since this day was turning into a beautiful, bright, fall day, it seemed like a good time to visit once again. That, plus Sam had mentioned going again earlier in the week.

Even though it was a long weekend, with Monday being a holiday and all, it went by awfully quick. Here are a few of the pictures I took of the all too brief festivities.

Enjoy.

I did.

Rachael walking back from The City.

The gang, ever eager to pick apples!

On the hunt.

Remind me again, why are we here?

Amazingly, Sam found the only perfect apple in the entire orchard.

Mission accomplished. Time to head back.

Watching the trains roll in.

Photographic proof that trains still exist.

Down the bike path.

Further down the bike path.

And yes, you guessed it. Still more bike path.

Sam and Helaina on the approach to the iron bridge.

Strawberry fields beyond the trees.

Let me take you down ...

The iron bridge.

Another iron bridge in the distance. On this one, foolish people such as myself, actually drive over it - and pray that we don't fall through it.

A view of the river from the other side of the bridge. The low water level reflects (no pun intended) our lack of rainfall - despite the rain of the day before.

Helaina and Sam along the path.

Heading back.

Sam in the wild.

Empty field leading to the strawberry "patch".

On the way back.

On last shot.

Today's Brief Video

I try to avoid posting political stuff because a) it makes me sad and depressed, and b) there's too much much of it everywhere else and I'm getting pretty sick of it (which, by the weay, leads me back to "a". It's a vicious spiral.) That said, I'm posting this anyway...

One More Thing

Laura and Ellie

Ellie passed away last Friday, about 4 or 5 hours after I left from visiting her. I was lucky that I got to see her before we went our separate ways. I was lucky that I got to tell her that I love her and that I always looked up to her. And I was lucky to be able to tell her some of the reasons why.

She was one of those people that occupied a unique place in my life - which I guess, when it come right down to it, everyone does, one way or another. But with Ellie, it was a little bit different. It was always kind of special when we got to see her. And even though she lived further away than most of my other relatives, I had always felt close to her.

Maybe it was because, when I was little, we would spend so many summers with her and my grandmother. Or maybe it was because of the Christmases we shared together, many, many years ago. While I’m sure that’s all a part of it, the reality is that those times could have been difficult if they had spent with someone I didn't care for.

Many years ago, when Ellie was preparing to move out of her home and into a retirement community, she had to deal with giving up a lot of family heirlooms that she she couldn't take with her. These were things that that had been in the family forever and they were special to Mom too.  So, Mom flew down, and I followed a few days later, and we loaded up a truck full of memories for Mom to take home with her. 

In the very early morning, as Mom and I were about to leave, Ellie took me aside and in a hushed voice, she thanked me for my help and she told me that she hoped I knew "how very much this means to your mother."

I had almost forgotten about this, but it has come to mind in the last few days. And as I think back to it, what strikes me about it is that it wasn't so much about thanking me for whatever it was that I was doing. That was part of it. But what really seemed to be important to her, was knowing that Mom was happy.

For some reason, in ways I can't articulate, what she had to say, and especially the way she felt comfortable saying it, says a lot, at least to me, about Ellie.

Eleanore, Mom and Ed

Back

I got back from my trip on Friday night. It was a difficult, but important visit with my dying aunt - who has since passed away. Maybe I'll talk about this in the coming days and weeks. Or maybe not. I'm still digesting all of it.