Saturday Ben told someone that he was planning on crying the next day for the production of Finding Nemo Jr. because it was the last show. True to his word, when Phil dropped him off to prep for the matinee show on Sunday, he was weepy. We received a dispatch from his sister that he…
May Day!
No, not Mayday, the distress signal. I’m talking about the first day of May. Does anyone remember the May Basket tradition? When I was a kid, I remember making a decorative little paper cone on May Day, filling it with flowers I had picked, then hanging it on the doorknob of an elderly neighbor’s door,…
What Would You Change?
Friday we went to the Crooked Goose (hard to keep straight from the Crippled Bear – lots of wounded animal restaurants in these here parts) and it was perfect. We wouldn’t change a thing. Saturday I took Ben to a special prom in Lewisburg (the community where I teach) and we had a ball (A…
Waste Not, Want Not
This week, we have been all about using up the the last bits of foods that aren’t getting any fresher. We even managed to put away some in the freezer for an undisclosed date in the future (of course, in a container that has seen so many iterations that three dishes ago I Sharpied in…
Total Eclipse of the Tart
With all the hubbub surrounding Monday’s eclipse, I have been taking a stroll down memory lane. Stop number one: 1979. I was in seventh grade during that eclipse, and we made pinhole cameras to observe it. I didn’t really know what I was doing so I didn’t see much of anything, but we had been…
Benchiladas
Have you ever wondered, when you’re staring into the gaping maw that is your family’s ravenous hunger, what would Ben do? Well, wonder no more. This is what Ben would (and did) do. Benchiladas. If, like us these days, you aren’t quite up to doing all that, Benchiladas are the perfect solution when you need…
I’m Not Foolin’ Around
On Saturday, Ben got up before we did and made coffee. When I ambled downstairs, he heard me on the stairs and poured me a cup of coffee. Handing it to me, he said, “Here’s coffee. I’m not foolin’ around.” I surveyed the kitchen and realized that he had all ingredients for “special breakfast” out…
Onion Cake (and other improbable things)
This week, we were inspired by Ben’s Aunt Mary to try her recipe for zwiebelkuchen, a German dish which translates as onion cake, but is more like a cross between a savory tart, pizza, and quiche. So, while “onion cake” may sound like the last thing on earth you would want to try, we assure…
Shoot from the Hip
Let’s start with this: Ben is doing well. Hip shmip. Urological concerns meant he spent a week at home with a catheter, but now he is foot-loose and fancy-free. We even got to finally (fourth time’s a charm) visit my parents in Virginia, a trip that had been put off three times. We are striving…
Until Then, Keep on Traveling (Or not!)
This story has its start 30 years ago, when Phil and I went to his sister’s wedding in Amsterdam, and followed it by accompanying Mary and Rachid on a trip to Morocco, where Rachid grew up. Between Holland and Morocco, we traveled through Brussels, Belgium with them plus their friends who also made the trip…