The Sandwich Life

Looking Back and Reveling.....

This morning I got up late (it IS the week of sleep after all) and curled up in the living room with the laptop and my coffeemilk, Ernie across the room with the paper.  Later we went to the grocery store where I did my father proud and bought all sorts of things on impulse.  Ernie shook his head and paid for it all.  He took me to Fries and Peanuts for a drink and we sat and talked.  I mentioned that I'd been thinking about the past year, and as we talked, we came to an agreement that this is the best year we've had since 2003.

Wow.

Two thousand and freaking THREE.  That's coming up on NINE years ago.

2004 was the year that saw Ernie's cancer diagnosis and the beginning of his treatment, his mother's death and the beginning of my father's decline into Alzheimer's.  Two years of cancer treatment but by then we were thick into caring for my father and mother, the next year was Judi's diagnosis, the following year was my father's death (literally while Ernie was in the hospital), Judi went into hospice, the next year her death and my mother's miserable decline...the following year her death and trying to deal with all the various estate issues.  This year?  Well.....not so bad!  We certainly have our worries but Ernie's cancer seems to be under control and our boys---apart from normal concerns---are pretty freaking amazing.

May I saw WOW again?

Happy New Year all......

 

Favorite Shows of the Year off the top of my head----please add yours!

Fats and Kristi Rose, December, at our house

Jason Eady, December, at The Spot

Eric Brace and Peter Cooper, various evenings online at StageIt.com

Billy Joe Shaver, November, at the Rosebowl

Rod Picott and Amanda Shires, November, at our house

The Jans Project, October, at Cowboy Monkey

Tommy Womack, September, at our house

Ellnora Guitar Festival, September, at Krannert Center

David Olney and Sergio Webb, August and on Tuesday evenings online at Ustream.com

Rod Picott in Lubec, Maine, July

Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Wronglers, June, Castle Theater

David Olney in Nashville, June

Joe Ely in Nashville, June

Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, June, Watseka Theater

Eric Brace, Peter Cooper and Phil Lee, House Concert at the Bedfords in Springfield

Phil Lee and Tom Mason, April, at our house

Pat DiNizio, March, at our house

Martyrs with Matt Brandabur and Friends (Kenny Draznik/Jimmy Wald and Andrew Wilcoski, am I forgetting anyone?) at Highdive

Random Notes from the Week of Sleep

1.  Well, if you ask me what I did over break I guess I will say, "I slept and I slept and I slept...."  I managed to come down with whatever Leo had over Christmas.  Nothing horrific...just headaches and fever and aches....and sleepiness.  I missed a dinner with friends that I had been looking forward to but other than that it just knocked me out at a time when I had the free time to be knocked out so I can't really complain.  I had weird, weird dreams.....I feel as though my mind was kind of emptied of everyday worries and it was interesting what ended up popping up in my dreams.  Some unnverving things but it made me think about what I've pushed aside.  Hmmm.

2.  Our contractor has started working on our downstairs bathroom.  YAY!  So although I have not been at all productive this week I've been able to at least WATCh somebody else being productive.  We are WAY excited.  To have a washer and dryer again....sigh.....and not have to run upstairs to the bathroom upstairs that I dislike.  We are indeed spoiled but I can't wait for this to be finished.  I've been dreaming about paint colors.  I had been thinking chartreuse as per my beloved Sasha.  Oh, a funny aside:  one day I asked for suggestions for paint colors here on the blog---and I also posted a Clash video.  One of the responses was from Mel and she commented on the Clash video and then said, "definitely something yellow in the bathroom."  And I just sat there reading it over and over thinking, "what does she MEAN 'something yellow in the bathroom?"  I thought it was some phrase I didn't know.  I went so far as to google "something yellow in the bathroom" and of course came up with nothing helpful.  FINALLY I realized she was talking about our bathroom paint colors instead of using some unknown idiom to describe the Clash.....

However yesterday I sat down some of the various paint/room viewers and decided against the chartreuse, as much as I like the color.  I find myself drawn to quieter blue grays...  Something to happily obsess about....

3.  I love the sunny side up egg snowflakes on Merry Ann's diner!

4.  One of my best dicoveries of the holiday season: chocolate covered beer nuts!  I will admit that I discovered that at Boltini.  I tracked them down at GFS and Good GOD they are good!

5.  And last but not least....a couple of pictures from an afternoon drive a day or two before Christmas....

Happy New Year all!

The Christmas Miracle

ahhhhhh.....

The last bit of my mothers' estate......SO HAPPY!

Christmas Laziness Continues

We got to see some dear friends yesterday for lunch (hey Kurt and Sheena!).  I couldn't believe when they said they figured it out and it's been five years since we saw them.  Man.

They gave the boys a wonderful present----I wish I could capture the scene of little tracks running from the living room mantel into the media room----crossed by another set running from the coffee table to the stairs....Owen jumping up and down in delight....Ernie trying to sneek under them to get to the bathroom without destroying the set up....

You are wonderful friends guys---Merry Christmas!  And I can't believe I brought the camera specifically to get a picture of all of us and then forgot....damn.  Travel safely back to California guys....

And somehow on that same note....this is one of my FAVORITE Christmas songs.  It's from a ZE Christmas record that came out in the 80's...the one with Cristina's Things Fall Apart and the Waitresses' Christmas Wrapping....oh, and Auguest Darnell's Christmas on Riverside Drive....  This one is my favorite though, and me being me, it always makes me cry.  Leo just complained bitterly because I played it twice in a row....but I can't really complain....I've been tormenting him with choral versions of traditional Christmas carols off of Spotify for hours now.   It's so much fun to torment him!

 

Speaking of Christmas music....what I REALLY want to find is the Readers' Digest set of Christmas music that we had when I was a kid.  I found it online but it was $30 and seemed a bit pricy for what it is...whaddya think?  One day though.....

AND.....I woke up to snow!

I told myself we wouldn't be lazy today....we'd clean the living room up, no more lolling, reading, watching movies, listening to Christmas music......watching the fire....

And yet again......this feels pretty good. 

Merry Christmas All

We had absolutely nothing planned for Christmas Eve day.  Leo had a fever and felt relatively lousy so we all curled up and watched two, count 'em TWO, Hallmark Christmas movies.  We giggled throughout and tried to explain to the boys that when we were kids it was a big deal when there was a Hallmark special on TV....and they were always good----or at least we thought so.  They frolicked like puppies together happily fighting over the little basketballs that Brian had sent home with them the night before.  Then Owen brought in lots of wood so we had a fire and listened to Christmas music while Owen vibrated with excitment and Leo commented thoughtfully about how LONG a day Christmas Eve was.  I had told them that once it was dark they could exchange their gifts (just as my sisters and I did every Christmas Eve) and they wore me down at late dusk.  They were overjoyed with their gifts.  I suggested to Leo that he hug his brother but he chose to shake his hand.  Owen gave him a hug though after opening his.  They are good brothers.

Santa Yoda from the Lego Advent calendar:

Ernie building me a fire:

Owen couldn't stand it and went to bed a little after 6:00.....I kid you not.  Leo went up not much after 7:00.  I went up with him and kissed a sleepy Owen goodnight.  He was slurring sleepily but just kept saying, "I WISH I could fall asleep."  Leo still didn't feel great so he tumbled into bed and I wrapped him up.

Ernie and I feasted on our Meat Pie (tourtiere) by ourselves and good lord it was good.  Homemade pickled beets were great, napa cabbage slaw with cumin seeds, and the meat pie was heavenly.  I may have underspiced it a bit but lately I've thought sometimes I go too far with the spices so I'm seeking balance (as in everything, huh?).  We did our Christmas stuff and watched Its A Wonderful Life on and off.  It was a lovely day and a lovelier evening.

This morning the boys (with Owen in the noisy lead) burst into our room around 5:30.  Yeah.  And I hadn't slept well----waiting for them to wake up.  It's all well worth it of course.  They loved their presents. 

Here is Owen leaping so quickly toward another present that he appears as a ghost in front of the tree:

Owen commented that there weren't as many presents as usual and of course I was crushed.  He assured me it was fine he was just noticing.  Of course they used to have lots of gifts from sisters and grandparents....it made it different.  Later Owen commented to me that he was really glad they hadn't gotten as many gifts....that last year there were lots and some he just didn't even need....that it was much better this way.  Lord I love that boy.

The best part about Christmas morning though?  That in the midst of all their excitement....when we made our way downstairs a few minutes after they had thundered down the stairs (they had warned us last night to have our clothes close at hand), they had their presents for us waiting....and insisted that we open them first---before they opened any of theirs.  They touch my heart with moments like that. 

After that I did my standard....and went back to bed for a nap.  Ernie woke me later and said he had my friend's Boo's fabulous rolls in the oven.  I got up and ate (man I have friends who can BAKE) and laid down on the couch with my kindle while Owen assassinated people.  I know, I know.  I am weak...but he did turn off the blood---and there ARE all kinds of historical figures in the game.....  Now the ham is in the oven.  Leo just asked, "what is that HORRIBLE smell?"  "our food honey, it's our food," I told him.  I've got my scalloped potatoes started and I think we'll just have a nice crisp salad with it....oh, and some cranberry and dried cherry sauce because I love any excuse for cranberry sauce.

Merry Christmas all. 

Wishing You Were Here

Our favorite Christmas song of the year (Last Train Home's Home For Christmas) is playing, the fire is crackling and we just made a batch of Judi's Refrigerator Shortbread Cookies.  The boys are are on the computer but they sound happy and they're together so that's o.k.  We're thinking we'll go find a Christmas movie to watch pretty soon.  I think this is balancing out the last couple of days in which we were so cross with each other and everybody.  Balance....that's what saves us.

Merry Christmas to my baby.....and to all of you.

Merry and Bright

What's the best present a boss could give you for Christmas?  An extra day off---YES!!!

 

No big plans....a little shopping, a little cookie baking (hopefully in a supervisory role but we'll see), perhaps some Christmas light viewing in the evening.  Candlestick Lane anyone?

Owen is moving his Christmas tree from the media room to the living room so that Santa can easily leave presents under it as well as the other two trees.

 

So far the day is pretty damned merry and bright.

Crankiness, Edmund Gwenn and Cheese Wafers

Just to balance things out with the wonderful weekend---we had a relatively crappy evening last night.  Ernie picked me up from work, we…uh….got off on the wrong foot shall we say, and the evening kind of went down from there.  I attempted to cook dinner and burned the hell out of my finger on steam when I checked my rice.  Owen broke something dear to him and was devastated.  Leo just kept minecrafting but attempted to appear interested in family life when appropriate---I’ll give him credit for that.  It was just one of those evenings. 

Tonight we are resolved to have a MUCH better evening.  Owen and I need to go out for present shopping when I get home from work and  later I’m thinking perhaps pizza or Chinese for dinner along with a viewing of The Christmas Story.  We watched Miracle on 34^th Street the other night.  In fact, last night Owen was laying in bed next to me.  I was attempting to read a particularly good Regency romance on my kindle and listen to Kevin Welch.  Owen was attempting to calm down which substantially lowered the odds on me accomplishing what I was trying to do.  Finally he quieted a bit however and then out of the blue came, “I’m just thinking about Miracle on 34^th Street.”  I raised my eyebrows at him and he went on, “I just keep thinking that my mom thinks the Santa Claus in that movie is beautiful.  Huh.”  I told him that I did indeed think Edmund Gwenn was beautiful and he nodded and drifted off to sleep to Kevin’s singing.

I love that boy.

I think it was Val that asked for my recipe for cheese wafers.  It's a basic recipe---I got it from the Chicago Tribune about a million years ago when we lived there.  I love these things.  Sometimes I use different cheeses (a mix of white cheddar and parmesan is nice), sometimes I add fennel seeds or cumin seeds for some crunch, once in a GREAT while I roll them in poppy seeds or sesame seeds before I slice them...but no matter how I make them they're good.  Sometimes I slice them thin and bake them a few minutes longer, sometimes I slice them thick and bake them just til they're  shortbready.  It's so simple that it's foolproof.  I always think they're better if you let them sit in the refrigerator overnight at least....and sometimes we up the cayenne a bit too....

Cayenne Cheese Wafers

2 cups grated cheese (I just use a big chunk---sometimes it's more than this but I like the texture best when they're very cheesy)
1 cup butter (doesn't need to be unsalted for these---salted is fine)
1 teaspoon each cayenne and salt
2 1/2 cups flour

The easiest thing is to shred the cheese in the food processor.  Then you can just pull out that blade and put in the regular one.  Cream the cheese and butter until they are COMPLETELY incorporated (I must say the food processor is better for this than a mixer---it's good either way but I like them best done in a food processor).  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Shape into 2 or 3 logs, wrap in foil and refrigerate.  Slice and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

 

Warren Hellman: Well Lived, Well Loved, and a Hell of a Jacket

We had heard over the weekend that Warren Hellman, the financier and philanthopist that started Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, was very ill and I woke up this morning to see that he had indeed passed on, dying of leukemia at age 77.  My first thought was how sad that was, but then after more thought, I decided how happy it seemed.  Last week I heard of two deaths, one a suicide by a young man, the other was someone in the neighborhood that lived alone and was found by his landlord days later.  Here instead is a man who at least lived to be 77 (although that's sure not looking as old as it used to) and lived much of the last year of his life playing music, living out a passion.  When we saw him last June he was frail but he seemed joyous and had his grandson, if I recall correctly, playing with him ( as well, of course, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Wronglers!).  So it seems as though he was well loved and well lived.  Tonight Ernie and I will raise a drink to Warren Hellman and living long and living well and loving music.  And I hope the man with the gorgeous sparkly jacket, complete with Hebrew and the Star of David, rests well.

Here he is, showing us off his jacket to us, last June at the Castle Theater:

 

Afterglow

I feel too full of happiness to write articulately.  Random thoughts about the Christmas party:

1.  I adore Fats and Kristi Rose....for their music and even more for who they are as people and as friends.

2.  Fats played Ernie's favorite, Maloney Road....

3.  Fats and Owen share a birthday.  Owen is very pleased.

4.  I forgot to formally introduce Van to Owen.  Late at night, after everyone had left Van's name came up and Owen stopped, threw his hands in the air and yelled, "Van was HERE?"  Whoops.  He did that after the last party and I promised him that I would introduce him at the next party.  Your legend looms large Van....

5.  The Aquavelvet Christmas album is.....delicious....just delicious.  It's the only word I can think of that seems fitting. 

6.  People brought utterly fabulous food....

7.  Vickie and Greg are the best neighbors in the world.  Not only did they kindly host Fats and Kristi Rose but they also had a big gingerbread decorating afternoon for all the neighborhood kids.  Leo chose not to participate but still hung out there for three hours.  Owen came home triumphantly bearing his castle.  He even put a piece of ribbon candy on it for me.   The best part of this all?  The boys were out of the house for several hours as we got ready.  Woo-hoooo!

8.  A truly rare shot of a supine Ernie...relaxing with the Sunday paper....

9.  Richard Hill always takes great pictures.  I love this one in particular because it kind of captures the whole spirit....I'm smiling like a fool as I do throughout these parties, the faces of so many friends and even Baby Eva being hoisted high.  I love this.

My beloved friend Dick, aka Piecrust, sat next to me on the stairs during the first set.  Today he sent this drawing he did of me watching Fats and Kristi Rose, complete with one of my Uncle Misteltoe ornaments on the tree.  For some reason it almost made me cry.

It was a funny week...not horrid or anything, but a bit funny and the concert and the party and the food and the friends and the incredible music.....the spirit of the night---with old friends, new ones and ones met just last night......it all makes me feel....well, not like all is right with the world....but that a hell of a lot of things are indeed right with the world.   Thanks everybody. 

Merry Christmas!