In our house, we have so many obscure quotes that we laugh at uproariously, that sometimes, a subtle one slips past, forgotten — for awhile — but when it resurfaces and we latch on? Forget about it. We can, and will, go the distance. One such quote, which we find endlessly amusing, is “You little…
Shopping Carts with One Bad Wheel
Phil is an avid reader of the local paper, in addition to several newspapers with national circulation. When we still got print copies of everything, Phil occasionally clipped something out (a well-established family tradition) and posted it on the fridge. There were two such clips that were there for so many years that they are…
A Date With Bacon
Ben and bacon. Can you think of a better match? I can’t! This week, Ben suggested breakfast for dinner: biscuits with sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. To his great delight, I beat him to the bacon punch, and suggested we add bacon-wrapped dates to the menu. On Christmas, his cousins made dozens of these for…
just make the boy happy
Ben was adamant this week that we make steak. I know, I know, I have started a dozen posts this way, but this week was different because he developed a new tactic in achieving his aim. By the way, for every time that we do have steak, there have been at least four rejections, lest…
Slant-Faced Sausage Eater
As my parents age, I increasingly ask about their early days, and a new story surfaced this Christmas. My parents both grew up Amish, my mom in Iowa and my dad in Kansas. My dad passed what I thought was a family trait to me, but I just learned it was a characteristic common to…
The Ramen Approximation
When Sophia struck off on her own adult life after college, I made her a cookbook including recipes I knew she loved. One of the recipes I included was something I called “The Ramen Approximation,” and it included notes for a new cook about the most efficient way to produce something ramen-ish that tastes way…
Present Tense
Phil, the historian’s son, could be said to be a man of the past, constantly accumulating knowledge and artifacts from earlier times. As a teacher, I not only plan for the future, I shape it. But, Ben? Ben is all in on the present. Sure, he remembers any good meal or time he ever had…
My Associate
The past week has been rough. First, I got sick and stayed in bed coughing, staring, and dripping for five days. Two days in, Phil succumbed. According to our tests, it wasn’t Covid, but it sure wasn’t pleasant either. While I was at the height of misery, Ben happened to be home due to weather,…
Church Pew
The yuletide season is upon us and I should tell you a lovely Christmas story. Instead, I’ll tell you what could be a chapter in a book called Ben’s Church Antics. It must have been about ten years ago that our family put on a spontaneous Christmas pageant of sorts, and it is time to…
Old Seoul
If you are waiting to see how the whole cannoli thing from last week worked out, skip to the end. If, however, you are interested in Korean, Mexican, Hawaiian, and Mennonite cultural appropriation (can one appropriate her own culture?), then you’d best read straight through. This week, Ben asked for Taco Tuesday. I confirmed that…