The Sandwich Life

Memorial Day: Chicken Stock, the Knights of Columbus and Driving Through the Water

Last night Ernie and I were snuggled up in the media room together watching Next Food Network Star (I can't help myself) when Jair charged in to say that Owen told him to tell us the dryer was leaking. We kind of stared at him uncomprehendingly but it seemed urgent so we followed him to the kitchen to find Owen putting a towel down on the wet floor. Leo, of course, was sitting at the computer...no mere flood can come between him and the computer. The water seemed to be coming from the dishwasher...but we hadn't been using it. You know that feeling when you just can't make sense of something? We stared at the dishwasher, then the sink, opened the door below the sink, perplexed. Then Ernie saw that it was all over the counter too and he started picking things up and moving them when he got to......the now almost empty plastic container of gorgeous chicken broth that I had made earlier. Yes...we flooded our kitchen with chicken stock. DAMN.

Earlier in the day Ernie had pulled a cut up chicken out of the refrigerator. We always save the backs and throw them in the freezer for chicken stock. I felt like fussing in the kitchen so I told him to go ahead and throw the back from that chicken into my pretty yellow Le Creuset. I sauteed the fresh back til it was brown while I pulled all the other miscellaneous bits of chicken ouf of the freezer---the backs, the necks and the wing tips that had tucked away. I defrosted them and dumped them in with just a sprinkle of salt, pepper and cold water. Nothing else. I simmered it all for an hour or two and then strained it. It was gorgeous, utterly gorgeous. After it had cooled for awhile I poured it into a plastic container and left it on the counter to cool completely.

Yeah, well. Evidently I needed to replace that plastic container....  The kitchen smelled pretty good bathed in homemade chicken stock, although Leo of course thought it smelled disgusting.

Damn but that was some good looking chicken stock. Sigh.

On a brighter note, Ernie grilled the cut up chicken and my blackberry chipotle barbecue sauce was WONDERFUL on it! I made a slightly unsuccessful pesto of kale, arugula and spinach. Eh, well....win some, lose some....sometimes recipes DO help....

This morning we went out to the cemetery where my parents and Ernie's parents are buried. I had looked in all the listings for Memorial Day services and not seen this cemetery listed. I was a little disappointed but we cut some flowers and herbs (my Dad loved lemon balm) to bring with us to put at their gravestones. When we pulled up however we saw the Memorial service...complete with ragtag school band, Knights of Columbus, high schoolers reading Flanders Field and the Gettysburg Address, etc......I was SO happy. The boys were not as thrilled. I whispered at them sternly though and tried to explain that this is something we do for Grandpa and that it meant a lot to him and still does to many others. They were pretty good and even let me put my arm around them and kiss the tops of their heads a lot throughout it. Afterwards we walked to the other side of the cemetery. We put the lemon balm and lavendar in the vases of my parents' headstone and left some stalks of lavendar and perennial hollyhock at Ernie's folks' stone. We stood there a minute and headed back to the car.

As we drove through Rantoul I tried to explain to the boys why I think it's important to be there for these ceremonies. I tol them it's not that I necessarily support the wars but I support wholeheartedly those that serve our country. I told them about how Grandpa's sister ship in WWII was lost and that he was haunted by the loss of those men for the rest of his life. He paid a price for his time in the war, and because of that those who loved him probably paid a price too.  Of course I couldn't explain it all to them but I said that Grandpa had worried that no one would remember those men anymore and so we go and we stand through the talks and the prayers and the 21 gun salutes...we go for Grandpa and for all those men that Grandpa remembered. They listened and blinked at me with their big eyes. Then I got sniffily talking about my Dad and we all started laughing.

We drove through the fields and the wind blowing the corn made it look like green water. Stopped and took a couple of pictures on the way home to the guys' great distress.

Happy Memorial Day. 

 

 

What I've Done on Post Rod Picott Day

Woke up. Stretched because I ached a little. The better the house concert the worse I sleep so I slept terribly last night. Too much happiness.

Got up, came downstairs. Looked at the computer while I ate one of Van's cookies. Ernie and I sat and smiled at each other and lazily talked about how incredible Rod Picott had been the night before and what a lovely person he is. Then we smiled some more.

Ernie made me my standard bagel with peanut butter. I took a bite and realized I could be having a leftover piece of Dick "Piecrust" Detzner's apple pie instead. Set the bagel aside, enjoyed the pie. That boy and pie....

Looked at some of the pictures from last night. Edited the curry powder off my shirt in the picture with Rod, Ernie and Owen.

Thought about writing a blog post but realized I wasn't there yet.

Thought about listening to music but realized I was still too full up from last night.

Went back upstairs and laid in bed, alternating between reading and thinking about last night.

Came downstairs and sat here listening to Leo and Jair playing some video game in the next room while Owen convinced Ernie take him to the hardware store so he could spend some of his money on purchasing more drawer pulls to create hidden blades a la Ezio. I just luxuriated in the soft air and the slightly messy house....the living room floor filled with pillows and blankets from the boys' sleepover...

Admired the Gerking poster that Rod signed. Found the spot where he signed the big guitar.

Realized that I'm not going to get a damn thing done today....at least in terms of productivity.

Decided I'm fine with that.

Yet again I wished that I could fully articulate to people the strength and heart and beauty of Rod's music. I love all his cds but Welding Burns is well, for lack of a better word, it's a masterpiece, and good God but Rod brought it to life last night.

My Father's Tattoo has never sounded better than it did last night....same for Sheetrock Hanger....same for all of it....

Thought about what damn nice acoustics my little house has.

Thought about Rod's stories about his parents. Thought about how much I love Maine accents.

Looked at Owen's guitar and was pleased that he decided Rod should sign it in the spot he'd been saving for someone special. Marveled at Owen's ear for a song.

Thought to myself that the fact that Leo has listened to a particular Pendulum concert 86 times is pretty damn special too. 

Thought to myself how thankful we are for all the friends, new and old, that came and shared this with us last night.

Decided to go back upstairs and finish my book.

 

loved watching Dick busily sketch as he watched and listened to Rod

 

 

Nice to know that Annie was not going to let a pesky house concert get in the way of her favorite window.

me and my beloved Peggy

me and my guys, and no curry powder on my shirt....

 

 

 

 

Best

Some days feel full of worries. I worry about the guys for various reasons. I worry about Ernie for obvious reasons. I have the everyday worries about work, house, yard, school.....and sometimes I worry about myself for god only knows why reasons. But yesterday....there was not a worry in sight and it will most likely go down as the best Mother's Day ever.

They let me sleep a whole half hour later than usual (gee, thanks) but I couldn't complain because I woke up with a boy on either side of the bed smiling at me and giving me kisses and hugs. I went down stairs and partook of Ernie's Sunday biscuits and looked at the computer and the newspaper. Later Ernie took me to Prairie Gardens so I could get a couple of plants for our windowbox. I did the unfathomable and only spent a little over $6. I know...I don't understand it either. We got back home and I puttered with my windowbox and made the boys move mulch for me. I can not begin to tell you how much I love watching the two of them do yard work. They were quite amenable although they did give their standard response when I thanked them: "why thank us when you forced us to do it?" I just roll my eyes at them and thank them anyway. 

Watching them do stuff like this is pretty entertaining. Leo shovels mulch into the wheelbarrow and most of it actually makes it into the wheelbarrow.  Owen....not so much....he has great enthusiasm...but the only about 1/4 of the mulch makes it in....about 1/4 falls short and about 1/2 goes too far. It's like watching them swim. Leo is straight and efficient....Owen seems to have an extra limb or two and there is great splashing....  

Then there was a lot of kindle reading on my part and playstation conniving on their part. I took a NAP and enjoyed it greatly. Then the boys explained their plan for the rest of the day. Ernie was to take me out for a drink so Owen could prepare dinner in private. After dinner they would be escorting me to the media room for family movie night and I, yes, I, got to pick the movie. They just stood there grinning at me and I told them how absolutely wonderful that sounded.

We obediently vacated the premises and Ernie only took four phone calls during the hour we were out. We came home to the most divine smelling smoked/grilled chicken ever. I retired to the front yard with my kindle while Ernie assisted with final preparations. I came back in and Owen, in full waiter regalia and a slight English accent, explained that he would be waiting on me as well as cooking. He explained that he had duct taped a blanket over the kitchen door so I wouldn't have to see a messy kitchen while I ate. Then Ernie and I were served the greatest grilled chicken ever (he uses smoked paprika and wood chips to make the fire particularly hot and smoky...that boy is a masterful griller) corn on the cob (he cooked it absolutely perfect in the microwave....huh) and sauteed swiss chard.

Leo scurried in and out of the kitchen during the meal and after we finished he produced his world famous brownies, fresh and warm, on my favorite blue willow plates. After all that I was escorted to the media room where we all watched one of Ernie's favorite movies that he had just picked up, Waiting for Guffman. Owen and Ernie howled throughout. Leo and I enjoyed watching the two of them watch it. At one point I said to Leo, "I think this is the best Mother's Day ever" and he tried not to smile but then he couldn't help it----he grinned and said quietly, "I'm happy to hear that." They traded off sitting next to me and even put up with me hugging them a lot. When the movie was over lo and behold it was almost 10:00 and Leo said, "well, why don't we go up?" and so we did. I hugged them and kissed them and told them it was the best Mother's Day ever. I told them as much as I loved my mother I wasn't sure I'd ever given her such a wonderful day and that I so appreciated all they had done for me. They smiled proudly. Lord....I just can't tell you how much I adore those boys. I will savor the memory of this Mother's Day always.

So Sayeth the Sweet Pea

Owen got a little nervous during a thunderstorm recently and told me didn't want to die until he was at least 26 or something like that.

I assured him that he would likely live much, much longer and he said, "well, I just don't want to die until I'm an adult because being a kid is freaking SWEET."

 

 

Sunday Night at the Sandwich Life

Good Lord I am tired this morning. Just could NOT sleep last night…it was hot and no matter what combination of bed, pillow and sheet I came up with, none of them were sleepworthy. I tried reading for a while and then the power went off in our room which it does sometimes. I nudged Ernie, who was sleeping, and told him the power had gone off because usually he can get it to go back on….but he just said sleepily, “sorry hon” and turned over. Sigh. I tried to sleep….waited for the Unisom to kick in….took one of the melatonin Unisoms on top of the others….no go.

I was having weird dreams about Johnny Thunders and photography books and I don’t know what else when the thunder woke me up this morning.  Blegh.

We had a pretty nice weekend overall. Last night after dinner Owen and I were making shortbread in the kitchen. We realized we’d left the salt dish in the media room so he ran to get it and somehow knocked over the 1870’s goblet that Ernie had been using. Hysterical tears.  At first Ernie and I looked at each other and thought “oh no, he’s broken the salt dish he bought in Maine” so we were actually relieved when we realized it was a goblet. Owen, though, was inconsolable. I tried my best to explain that things get broken and when we use antiques we’re taking a chance, but the pleasure of using them makes it worth it. “But that was Dad’s favorite goblet,” he sobbed.  I told him it wasn’t Dad’s favorite and that we could find another one. He finally calmed down a little and we were trying to finish the shortbread.  We continued talking about how things break and blah, blah, blah. Then I came up with the bright idea of telling him that the original salt dish he had bought in Maine had actually gotten broken but we’d found another one and replaced it and kept it a secret from him. I thought it would make him feel better.

It didn’t.

At all.

Very bad idea on my part.

Sigh.

Stupid mother.

Eventually both Owen and I were crying and I think Ernie and Leo wanted to shoot us both.

We pretty much recovered and let the boys stay up late while we watched Mad Men. Owen watched it with us (except when he left because he thought it was ‘inappropriate for him.’). He brought me a piece of shortbread. It was pretty good.

Sigh.

And I found a goblet on eBay just like the one that was broken. It should arrive in a few days.

 

A couple of pictures from the morning's drive:

 

 

Clubs, Sea Turtles and Cheetahs

I was not in the mood to go to the Cancer Center yesterday.  What a stupid thing to say….who in their right mind EVER wants to go to a Cancer Center?  Because, as lovely as the people are, as big as the windows are, as good as the magazine selection sometimes is….it’s the club nobody wants to join. Sometimes though there’s a certain rhythm to the monthly infusions and our routine that feels comforting. We pick a chair near the windows, Ernie puts at least one puzzle piece in one of the jigsaw puzzles in honor of our friend Karen Darr….I go and make him a cup of tea and get myself some ice water….I check out the magazines and grab a few and a nurse comes over to get the IV going and we all marvel at the fact that a month has passed already.

For whatever reason we just didn’t want to be there yesterday.  We just sat quietly and didn’t really talk.

He took me out for a drink at Fries and Peanuts and it was nice but then it seemed too loud to me.  So we went home and had a battle with a certain son that I just wasn’t in the mood for either and it all made me sad.

I felt hostile towards everybody.  I watched American Idol and it just made me more hostile. Although Steven Tyler did come out with a line I liked---something to the effect of "the only thing that gives experience a run for its money is a 16 year old.”

Owen worked on his book on cheetahs for school.  Leo had to do this in fourth grade also.  He chose sea turtles.  Sea turtles and cheetahs.  There’s a contrast…perfect metaphor for my guys in some ways.

Owen printed out some pictures and glued them into his book but then he started really enjoying drawing the illustrations himself.  On the page where it says something like “Female cheetahs are territorial” he drew a picture of a cheetah sitting there…and at the edge of the page you can see another cheetah just extending one paw onto the page….and in the thought bubble of the main cheetah it says, “don’t even THINK about it.”

Man I love those boys. They get me through.

And we saw a peregrine falcon sitting on the traffic light pole right outside the chemo room.  That was nice.

 

 

Post Audrey Auld Glowing Laziness

Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL night last night.  Audrey Auld was truly great....beautiful songs, with some sadness and joy balanced perfectly by the witticisms sprinkled in between and in the midst of them. Gorgeous voice, charming husband (hope your eye is o.k. Mez) AND she brought me eggs from her chickens.

I know.

Could it be better?

Oh, why yes it could....because our beloved Carolyn Muller (State Champion of Poetry Outloud and on her way to the national competition) performed her readings for us.  She was truly amazing and then Naomi Jakobsson was able to announce that Carolyn had won the scholarship she presents to outstanding high school students (and mind you...this isn't a state funded scholarship but one that Naomi does herself).  Carolyn hadn't received the letter yet so it was a complete surprise. It made me so happy on a bunch of different levels.

Old friends, new friends, great food (loved the pickled shrimp and the deviled eggs and the cake and little chocolate chip squares and the salads and and and....). Thank you all.

I didn't take a single damn picture so anyone with some to share please send along....

I'm going to continue now with my Saturday post-house concert glowing laziness....

Oh, and I think Owen and Mez had a meeting of the minds....those two may have quite a bit in common....shoulda gotten a picture of them together....

Random Notes from the Sandwich Life

1. Good God....it's 11:32 already. Damn. Next thing I know it will be 3:00 and too late or to early to do anything we want to do. Thank you Sartre, and Ernie, for pointing that out.

2. Here are the flowers Owen bought me the other day. I put them on the bedside table so I can look at them as I read in bed. They made me love our new wall color more than ever.

 

3.  This is not rye bread:

THIS is rye bread:

4. Leo has been sentenced to a week of 2 hours of hard labor a day. We made him weed the other day. He stomped out into the yard where we were and said, "I opened the door and there was a bee just STARING me in the face.  I hate this...this....this OUTSIDE." God I love that boy.  Right now he's polishing our woodwork.  I asked him if he could misbehave more often as this is delightful. Ernie just asked him if he was having fun and he said, "no, not at all" and Ernie said, "yup, that's the point."

5. I broke a treaty and tickled Owen's armpits. He says this is war.  Uh-oh.  

6. O.k...I think the boys have cheered me up.  That and the smell of the wood polish.

 

 

 

What Was I Thinking?

What was I THINKING having sex without birth control?

I ask you.

Sigh.

Last night before bed Owen dreamily explained to me that Ernie was a Mangel (man + angel).  This morning he screamed at us for a lengthy period telling us that we don't understand him, are unfair and never believe him..and are jerks.  

I said, "uh, yeah....but you still have to go to school."

3 Hours and 15 Minutes

That's all it took.  Three hours and 15 minutes.  I got off work at 5:00 and Ernie drove me home, stopping to mail my sister's tax forms on the way....so I'd guess we got home about 5:20 p.m.

By 8:35 p.m I had said good night to the rest of the family and escaped upstairs and closed myself in my bedroom.

Geesh.

It made me think of the nights when the boys were younger and it was so crazy that when you finally got them to bed and it was quiet you just wanted to cry.  I'm happy to say it's not like that any longer (there IS light at the end of the tunnel for those of you still in that phase) but last night it felt like it.

From the moment I got home----well, actually it started with a phone call from Owen ON the way home----people just get kept asking things and wanting things and talking and being LOUD and it never STOPPED. The only one who didn't drive me crazy was my beloved husband although he did manage to char the rib tips he was doing on the grill to a fascinating degree of doneness.  They were black and practically fossilized. Huh. There were a few bits here and there you could eat.  I don't know what happened as usually he's a master but perhaps it was all the CHAOS of the evening....

There were lawn mowing dramas, there were playstation network dramas, there was homework drama... There was Leo LOUDLY skyping with three of his friends as they worked on a commercial for a new server one of them is setting up...so it felt like four boytweens were in the kitchen with their voices reverberating through the house.  Owen was hyped up and over hungry and over tired by the time he was working on his homework (bad planning I know) so he began to make NO sense.  I told him I couldn't figure out whether his brain was going faster than his mouth---or the other way around.  Either way---something was out of sync and he WOULDN'T SHUT UP!  It was as though he'd been gulping caffeine pellets all afternoon.  The TV was on, Owen was talking, talking, talking, Leo was skyping....  I finished my burned bits of food and finally said...."I'm going upstairs to read" and fled with well deserved glass of wine and my kindle.  And just like those long ago nights of deep breathing after I finally got the toddlers into bed, I just sat there for awhile before I could even begin to read.

Three hours and 15 minutes.

Good lord but I love my babies.....

Thank GOD I love my babies....  

And please notice in these pictures that Owen's mouth is OPEN in almost every one....