The Sandwich Life

Random Notes from the Sandwich Life

1.  Our damn cat Hattie scared us to death this morning.  Normally every morning she is VERY much in evidence; when I get up she's normally sitting in the bathtub awaiting my arrival.  This morning?  Nowhere.  And as those of you around here know, it was tremendously windy all afternoon and evening yesterday.  Our front screen door, which needs to be replaced desperately, sometimes flaps open in the wind....and Hattie has been known to make a dash for freedom.  So when there were only two cats wandering around meowing and chasing each other this morning....everyone feared the worst.  Even LEO spent some time looking for her and he is none too fond of Hattie.  Owen searched outside and eventually took off sadly for school.  Of course when Ernie walked back in the house there she was, calmly walking upstairs.  Ernie managed to catch Owen to tell him and there was great rejoicing in the land.  Me?  I feel wiped out.....the aftermath of that adrenalin surge.  Yeesh.  That cat owes me.

2.  Here is a somewhat blurry picture of Owen going to school on Wednesday....but I love it just the same.

 

3.  Leo turns twelve tomorrow.  I KNOW.  Freaks me the hell out.  My sweet, sweet pea.  Those little sideways smiles he gives just slay me.  The plans for the day include a giant birthday biscuit (he doesn't like cake), fries at Fries and Peanuts for lunch, and as he explains, "I'm totally in charge because it's my birthday."  He told me yesterday how odd it is that the days seem to slow down right before your birthday.  God I love him.

4.  Owen is VERY excited about Leo's birthday.  He advised us on some of the gifts.  There's one 'big' gift, another two small things and one I figured that Owen could give him.  Owen is SO excited about the 'big' gift however that he wants that one to be from him.  I pointed out that Leo would know that Owen couldn't have afforded that gift.  He countered, saying Leo would know he didn't actually buy the other one either.  He's right...so I shrugged and said that he could give Leo the 'big' gift.  The fact that the boys get so excited about giving each other gifts does my heart good so what the hell.....  His father and I will Leo the 'smaller' gifts and as long as my guys are happy that's all that counts.  Owen has already wrapped his gift and hidden it and is making elaborate plans to stay up late tonight and wrap the other ones.  Love that boy.

5.  I got caught up on my Sandwich Life House Concerts page on facebook and added the Rod Picott and Amanda Shires concert.  This is going to be a REALLY good one.  Well, they all are but you know what I mean!  Friday, November 18, 2011....the usual drill....potluck at 6:00 and music to follow.  I'm leaning towards something Greek for food but we'll see....obsessing over it is part of the pleasure.....

 

 

6.  Reason #256 Why You Should Have Kids When You're Young:  the miniscule...and I mean MINISCULE...font they use on the tiny little pieces of paper they send home with weekly grades in middle school.  It's these tiny little sheets of paper----just a couple of inches wide----and there's row after row of grades in font size 2 or something.  I back away and squint and nod approvingly depending on how pleased Leo seems.  Geesh.

 

Random Pictures from the Sandwich Life

After looking back at some September posts in other years it made me realize how lousy my garden was THIS year.  With fall here there are some new highlights however.

The kale really comes into its own:

The boys hated this blue salvia because it attracted the bees like crazy.  I loved it though---it was one of the biggest successes of the garden this year.  It got huge and added that touch of blue that I love so much.

And here is a bit of spring, summer, and fall.  My bronze fennel going to see with a few summer zinnias in the background and the seed head of a peony looking like a little bit of star anise....

And the Ernie's harvest of the day....a handful of serrano peppers and a beautiful maple leaf:

Swords and Lives and Cellos

I asked Ernie to pick me up from work a few minutes early the other day as I needed to drop something off at an office in downtown Champaign.  It was a block from Fries and Peanuts so I had thought perhaps we could sneak away for a quick drink but when he showed up he said there was major drama at our house.  About a month ago Owen had ordered these little Lego-compatible things so he could have a Link/Legend of Zelda figure.  It took FOREVER to get them which made for a lot of drama as well.  He got them the other day and they have to be painted so yesterday Ernie took him to get paint.  Evidently Owen got all set up to paint but spilled paint on the little sword and got hysterical.  Ernie calmed him down and rinsed off the sword.  Then....as he carefully dried it with a paper towel....it broke.

Yes.

Broke.

The tiny little Lego Link sword he'd bought himself and waited weeks and weeks for.

Sigh.

He dove into full fledged hysteria and began to berate his father.  Eventually this progressed to him hysterically telling his father that he ruins everything.  Ernie attempted to reason with him which is TOTALLY useless when he's in that mode so eventually HIS temper flared too and he told Owen that this couldn't be the worst thing in his life because he didn't even HAVE a life yet.

Ahem.

This did not go over well.

I fearfully entered the house only to find Owen sitting on the couch eating a bowl of rice crispies while quietly weeping.  He looked up at me and said, "Dad said I didn't have a life and I DO."  Oh Lord.  Leo was playing Minecraft in the kitchen and just shook his head over Ernie and Owen when I asked him how things had been going.  I eventually got Owen calmed down, apologies were made on both sides and he decided to work on painting the shield.  A few minutes later the howls began again.  Sigh.  He had spilled blue paint all over the dining room table.  My sister Judi's table that I tell everyone to be careful of.  I got the paint wiped off....all that is left is where the blue paint filled in a little cat scratch.

Owen sobbed in my arms awhile and told me he ruined everything.  I assured him he didn't and that everybody has accidents.  We decided to put off painting for the evening.  I walked into the kitchen and said to Leo, "huh...I've only been home 20 minutes....and yet it feels so much longer."  He just grinned at me.

Here is Owen off to school with his cello this morning....

Looking Back

This blog has brought about many unexpected benefits....a few unexpected disasters as well...but primarily benefits.  One of them is the comfort I find in rereading old posts.  I don't know that comfort is the right word....but I find it very...mmmm...centering.  Looking back at where we were a year ago, two years ago.....it helps to put things into perspective.  Today is my mother's birthday.  She would have been 82.  Last night Owen asked me if I missed her a lot.  I told him I missed her every single day and he apologized for making me sad.  I told him it was o.k. to be sad because it just showed how much we loved her and we were very lucky to have had that love.  He nodded seriously and patted my arm.

As he often does, he made me think.  I thought back at how our lives have changed.  I reread some entries from September of each year here. As I read them I could see the path that has led to who I am right now...this age, this person, this philosphy, this life.  Me.

A year ago we were starting to get back into a more normal schedule....dealing with Ernie's cancer returning but without the weight of worry and caring for my parents and my sister.  Two years ago we were dealing with my mother's decline and the accumulation of vehicles and other things we had inherited. Three years ago we had just found out that Judi's cancer had returned and that she was not expected to go into remission again.  Four years ago I was beginning the trips to South Carolina as my sister was diagnosed with bile duct cancer.  Five years ago we were seeing my father really start to move into the cloud of Alzheimer's and were worried about caring for them.

Five pretty long years....although they have gone by quickly in other ways. 

Thanks blog....you've helped me through them....and Happy Birthday Mom.

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Personal, Kindles and Ian

What fun.  The delightful Meg Dickinson, of the News-Gazette, is asking bloggers (or others) to respond to the News-Gazette's weekly Getting Personal questions.  Ernie and I did this a while back and had fun doing it.  I can't wait to see what other people post.  Head on over to Meg's blog to check this out.

Oh...and I just found out I can borrow books for my Kindle from the library.  WOO-HOOOOO!  This may even make up for missing Ian Hunter at the Old Town School of Folk Music last weekend.  Well, not really but I'll pretend it is. Honestly, it breaks my freaking heart but I know, I know.....put in perspective....sigh....  Focus on the free books for your Kindle Cynthia!!!

 

 

The Sound of Rain, Sweet Boys and Tommy Womack

Pleasant evening last night.  The boys were in good moods.  I cooked a pretty lackluster dinner but didn’t really care. It was just a nice evening.

When I got Owen’s midterm grades there was a note that said he was doing well, just to continue having him work on his words and read every evening.  I thought, “shit…I really gotta be better about that” so last night I reminded him that he needed to read the book he brought home for this week.  He airily told me he’d read it twice already.  So I suggested we work on his words.  He sighed, grabbed the list and read them off lightning fast.  O.k….so I asked him if he knew what they all  meant.  He sighed again, climbed onto his father’s lap and defined each and every word for me.  When he got to the word ‘beautiful’ he of course flung his arm toward me and said, “well and beautiful….that is of course YOU.”  Ernie buried his head in Owen’s neck and tried not to laugh through the whole thing.  When Owen was done he gave me a satisfied smile and asked his father to tickle him.  Smartass.  He is doing well but I don’t think he always slows down and focuses enough when he’s tested.  I think if they asked for dramatic interpretations of what he was learning his grades would shoot up lol.

Leo spent much of the evening curled up reading (a boy after my own heart)…with a little Minecraft time on the computer for good measure.  When I went up to bed to read I didn’t play music because the rain sounded so wonderful.  It was a nice day, as Tommy Womack would say....

  

Random Notes from the Sandwich Life

1.  Why are bagels hotter right out of the toaster than bread?  I'm thinking density.  Or am I just crazy and they're exactly the same temperature?

2.  The other day Owen woke up Ernie by saying, "Dad, I know you've lost your mojo because you're not getting up as early."  Ernie sleepily asked him what time it was and it was almost 6:00 a.m.  Geesh.  I told him his mojo was just fine.  Ernie and the boys often get up around 5:30.  I, ahem, do not.

3.  We let Owen sleep with us on Friday nights.  During the night Ernie got up to go to the bathroom and told Owen he should get up and go to.  Owen started yelling "MUSH MUSH" at Ernie.  I guess Ernie was supposed to pull him to the bathroom.  Mush?

4.  Yesterday afternoon the boys went to a birthday party in Rantoul with a friend.  Even though I completely trusted the person that was taking them I was beside myself by the time they got home.  I missed them ridiculously.

5.  I made eggplant parmigiana last night and oh good lord it was good.  When Ernie and I were first dating he would take me to Dom's and I would always get the eggplant parmigiana.

6.  In other food related news, the McDonald's that we drive by on the way to work has finally taken down their sign advertising a meal of 50 McNuggets with two drinks and two fries.  I'm still fascinated by that though.  25 McNuggets per person....REALLY?

7.  For some reason I am particularly unready for Monday today.

8.  Leo turns TWELVE YEARS OLD THIS SATURDAY.

9. That is all.

Random Pictures from the Sandwich Life

I took this the other day at work...on another foggy morning...

The Autumn Joy sedum seem redder than ever this fall.  What does that mean?

I've been wanting to try pork belly so we got a nice piece from Triple S.  I tried a recipe from Chez Pim...even made my own five-spice powder (although I didn't have the requisite sechuan peppercorns so just used black).  The flavor was fantastic but I was a bit turned off by the amount of fat.  The only other time I had it (in a China Grill appetizer with watermelon) it was much firmer....I don't know.... I will definitely use the recipe with a different cut though...and maybe with chicken as well....

the three blondes watching tv together....

I love September flowers....

Sunday Biscuits

I woke up to a foggy, gray morning....just the way I like them!  And because evidently all is right with the world...Ernie made his Sunday morning biscuits.  Due to overwhelming request (well....two people anyway) here is Ernie's biscuit recipe. 

 

Ernie's Sunday Morning Drop Biscuits

from the Joy of Cooking....one edition back I think....

2 cups of flour (he's a bit of a flour geek and prefers King Arthur....I don't know if it makes any difference but it makes him happy and one can't argue with success)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk dry ingredients together.  Cut in 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter until smaller than pea-sized.  Add a cup of skim milk.  Combine and drop by  spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet.

Bake 13-14 minutes in 450 degree oven.

The boys like them with just butter.  Owen likes  bit of bacon on the side too.  Ernie and I like them with a little cheddar cheese and mustard (Ernie uses Dijon, I like one with a bit of sweetness in it) and with a bit of bacon tucked in.

We spent much of yesterday online following a pattern glass auction at Jeffrey S. Evans and Associates.  Pretty addictive and we did buy a few things.  I really loved these two pieces.....but the blue bar bottle went for close to $1,000 and the compote went for somewhere over $1,700.  Our purchases were much more modest!

Nothing like a day of pattern glass to make me feel like myself.  And now it's Sunday and I have biscuits.  Even the fact that we got another bill from the IRS (they knocked $1,400 off the $12,000 bill...gee thanks) can make me feel too gloomy.

Happy Biscuit Day all!

 

Firefighter Hats and iPhones

Eh, I have a bit of a cold.  I woke up aching all over and couldn't believe it was morning already.  Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Cancer Center for Ernie's infusion.  The nurse who finished him up was talking about how long it had been since she'd seen him---giving him his Zoladex shot back at the old Cancer Center in Dr. Sapiente's office.  It was one of those times when it struck me how loooooong it's been since he was first diagnosed.  April 8, 2004 if I recall correctly.  Owen was only two years old.....Leo four.  A long time ago.

On the way to the parking lot the phone rang and it was the Memorial Company asking for directions to my mother's grave.  Yes, we are FINALLY having the final date put on the headstone.  And yes I know it's been a year and a half since she died.  Some things, even though they are little things, just seem so final that they are hard to do.  Yesterday evening we got some paperwork from our lawyer.  I was tired and sniffy at this point.  Ernie read the letter the lawyer had sent to the IRS (the IRS seems to think we owe them $12,000 from my parents' estate and we're trying to explain that we don't) and there was a line explaining that their estates had not been probated because they were nominal.  And I burst into tears and said, "their estates WEREN'T nominal."  I know, I know....I love our lawyer and I know she was just referring to the fact that their estates...well, they WERE nominal financially (hence no probate) but somehow it just seemed like such a sad word.  Owen came darting in and Ernie explained why I was upset.  He came over and hugged me and told me he understood.  Then Leo came in the room and hugged me, then came back and hugged me again, and then again.  I was so touched.  I love those boys so much.

Leo has a field trip at school today and has been chatting happily about it.  A happy Leo is a wondrous thing.  Owen, well Owen is trying to convince me that since Ernie and I got iPhones he should be able to buy a Iron Man Hot Toys doll for $170.  I have tried to explain that it doesn't work that way.  He just sighs and wonders why we get everything we want.  So then I explain to him that there are MANY things I want that I don't get.  He wants to know what and I swear to God all I could think of was a Le Creuset Dutch oven.  He wasn't impressed.  I came up with other things but I don't think I ever convinced him.  That boy will be the death of me but lord I love him.  Back when he was two all he needed to make him happy was his firefighter coat and hat.  I remember him trotting after me at the Cancer Center nibbling on cheerios and wearing his firefighter outfit....so confident that he looked just like a firefighter....

Here he is on Halloween that year....and Leo as a doughnut...yet again.  How many years was he a doughnut?  Had to be four or five.....  My sweet peas.