Breakfast with Grandpa

Ev and I loaded up early and headed up the interstate to the Boondocks. We were meeting Grandpa Ray for breakfast. He pulled in right behind us, so even tho we were late, he was technically later.

I wanted to see Dad, but I could tell he really wanted to spend some time with Evan. I excused myself to go to the restroom and wandered around the attached convenience store. When I returned they were talking about teaching. Evan was asking my father such thoughtful questions about his experiences as a teacher. Dad's first teaching gig was in Ida Grove, IA in 1951. He was hired by the superintendent because he played basketball for Primghar High and he was willing to coach in addition to his appointment as high school math teacher. I remember a time when he refereed and even drove the school bus to the game!

Evan was eating it up. I left again a little later, just so they could talk alone some more. This was one of the first times in a long, long while that both Ev and I sat entranced listening to these new stories.

After enjoying a great breakfast with Grandpa, it was time to part. We said our goodbyes, enjoyed hugs all around, and loaded into the Mini. I asked Ev if he wanted the slow trip home or the fast one on the interstate. He shook his head, "Mom, do you even have to ask?" We headed west, over to the state highway. We made one stop along the way at an old junk shop. We shopped together for awhile, then apart, then together again. Ev found a old picture for his new digs, an old tin box, and a valentine written from Virgil to Lorraine Luppes in 1929. I am sure Ev must have a young woman in mind ;)

On our way into town, we found a local grower who was selling his sweet corn out of the back of his pickup. One dozen ears of Peaches 'n Cream, please. I am a woman hungry for corn....

Me vs. Mom vs. Me

Well, I am back to being Mom again. I rousted the youngsters about 10, then we headed out for dental appointmets, grocery shopping, ping-pong table assembly at Yia-Yia's, lunch at a favorite cafe, drive-up banking, and a quick stop at the library.
SOLO on August 10th!

I have to be honest. Two weeks without family was nice. They went to Greece. I went to Chicago and St. Louis, with a few day trips here and there. I made a list back in April: Things to Do on My Summer Vacation... and I pretty much nailed it, with the exception of a few odds and ends. Like paint touch-ups on the house before school starts and the neighborhood garbage sale Aug. 7-8th.

Tess starts swimming camp on Monday. She'll finish up her clarinet lessons, then start girls' swim season at Ames High School. Oh, and the biggie is that she will start driving on the 10th of August. She got her school permit this summer, so she is legal to drive BY HERSELF! to and from school functions. Yikes!!

Ev will go back to Iowa City this Monday. He said, "Early", so I am holding him to it. By the time we arrive, it will be close to lunchtime; we'll go eat Pad Thai, then I will drop him at his new digs. He claims his roommate will help him move from the storage unit, so I am off the hook! I should be done with him around 12:30 and then it's just Me again, not Mom, for a few more hours...

Postcard Friendship Friday

One Down, Two to Go.....

Tess, Paul, and Evan have been vacationing in Greece. This is my husband's mother's homeland and he wanted to take the kids there to experience the Angelos family ancestry.

Like chickens coming home to roost, my family is slowly circling, making their way back. Late Monday morning, my husband called and spoke in his usual, calm demeanor. The news was anything but. He had just been pick pocketed and wanted me to call the bank and two credit card companies to report the theft. I am thankful I was home and by the phone to receive his call. He reported that they would be home in two days, and that Ev had his debit/credit card. Could I please transfer $$$ into Ev's account? They could get home on that.

Their fight was to arrive at the Des Moines International Airport Wednesday night. I had their flight numbers, so throughout the day, I followed their journey from around the globe. Early evening, the phone rang. It was Evan reporting that they had arrived in Atlanta and would be home before midnight.

An hour before I was to leave for the airport, another call. Even tho they had these plane reservations for 3 months, the plane was overbooked. Only one of the three of them could get on the plane. Paul stressed that he was putting Tess on the plane because "she needed to get home", i.e. she was having a meltdown! No sleep in 24 hours and being marooned in Atlanta, GA was more than she could handle. I could hear just a bit of the edge in his even tone. He needed to get her on that plane!

Twenty minutes passed, and the phone rang again. He wanted me to find his itinerary for his Thursday flight to Dallas for a one-day business meeting. The original plan was that he would get home from vacation late Wednesday, fly back out early Thursday morning for the noon meeting, then return on Friday night. Now things were getting jumbled. He was traveling to an important meeting with no credit cards, very little money, and dirty laundry. This was not my husband's style, but what a trooper.

Number 1 is home. I retrieved Tess late last night. She was sound asleep by 1 AM this morning and just got up for some peanut butter toast. She offered that her dad had mentioned he had one clean white shirt, but only dirty khaki shorts to wear to his meeting. Somehow, I know my husband will pull it off.

Paul was able to reroute to Dallas from Atlanta, leaving Ev in Atlanta. This is the son who traveled solo on bike, train, and bus throughout India last semester. With a taxi voucher to and from a hotel, three food vouchers, AND a $400 voucher for any flight within the US, he was in Seventh Heaven! But there was another glitch. Ev was placed on standby for a noon flight. If he could not get on that one, he would have to wait until 3 pm to catch another. His luggage came home with us, so the poor guy did not have any toiletries or clean clothes. He did have his backpack and I know for a fact that it is always loaded with books!

This is turning into quite the little adventure. When I checked the flight status this morning, his standby flight was delayed for 2 hours. But just minutes late, the phone rang and it was my son, sounding wonderful and cheery. He got the last seat, they are on the tarmac, and he is heading home! I leave for the airport in an hour and will gladly welcome home Number 2.

Slow Foods

The past couple of days I have been indulging myself with slow foods. We're talking home-grown veggies and fresh-from-the-oven bread that I made with these two hands. A little fire, and voila, there is real food to nourish this old body.

Yestermorning, I got up around 7 AM. I made my bed, checked my email, then headed downstairs for coffee. My counter was overflowing with fresh veggies that I brought home from a friend's garden. There were tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, peppers, sweetcorn, basil, cukes, and beets. Yum!

I got busy and started to put things away. The potatoes are hiding in a open basket in a dark, cool cupboard. The garlic is hanging in the garage to dry. My pot for simmering ears of corn was filled with water and put on hi flame. I was going to have sweetcorn for breakfast. We eat cornFlakes, cornPops, and cornChex. Cornbread and cornmeal pancakes are a favorite. Cornmeal mush is the 'other oatmeal'. These days all I can think about is sweetcorn!

The basil got my attention every time I bumped the bag it was in, so pesto was next. I hauled out the food processor, the olive oil, cheese, roasted walnuts, and seasonings. Pesto is such a lovely concoction. So versatile. So delicious.

And then, the hummus. Without cleaning the bowl or blade of the processor, I continued to make the hummus. And it rocks. Today for a late breakfast, I sliced a small yellow cuke and used it to dip hummus. I put several small cups of both the pesto and the hummus in the freezer for later use.

For lunch, after the lawn was mowed, I made a salad using a handful of spring greens mix from our local, food co-op, Wheatsfield. I sliced an avocado, chopped a green-stripe, and orange tomato, sliced a red pepper, and some cuke. I had an extra piece of corn in the fridge, so I cut corn off the cob and added it to the salad. I set the salad bowl aside to let the tomatoes lose some juice for the dressing.

Earlier, I had decided I would roast some root vegetables to put on the salad. I added sweet potato, along with all the beets from the bag. I crushed a clove of garlic and sliced some new onions from my garden. Add a drizzle of olive oil, some splashes of balsamic vinegar, S&P, and a hot oven for 35-45 minutes. Boy, were they good on my salad. Absolutely devine!

Just thinkin'...

about a tomato sandwich with a smear of mayo...
calling my estranged sister...
riding my bike up to the Design College and delivering a small book Handbook of the Larger British Fungi that I purchased in a STL used-book store for a professor/friend whose passion is fungi
about the traffic on the I-55 heading out of Chicago. How do people do it?
about that very first bite of sweet corn in July...
about the Michael Heizer landscape art along the Illinois River, Effigy Tumuli
about CityGarden in downtown STL
about the tow boats on the Mississippi River

All My Love...I think

Tonight I made a quick trip to the post office to send off some thank you notes for my wonderful hosts on this most recent road trip/vacation.

I ran up the Post Office steps, two-at-a-time. I knew the mail was going out within minutes and I wanted to make the cut. As I entered the building, I noticed a man pacing in front of the mail drop. In his hand was a large, yellow envelope, one that would hold a greeting card. I wanted to drop my letters in the slot, but this man was stationed right in front of the chute and in such deep thought, I hated to budge.

The careful penmanship aligned on the face of the envelope caught my eye. This man, obviously unsure about whether or not to drop the card into the slot, looked to be in his late 30's. He was well-groomed, from head to toe, but he carried his anxiety in a tight slouch. Maybe this card was an invitation for a first date...a card sent to a new, or potential, lover...maybe a birthday, or simply 'thank you for being you' card. Regardless, the big envelope held a card that was an important statement coming from this man.

I wanted to step up to him and whisper, "Mail it!" all the while thinking, "What have you got to lose? You will regret it the rest of your life if you don't. The what-if's will drive you crazy. Just mail it. Go for broke - she could be the love of your life. What is the worse that could happen? Drop it in and walk away and be confident that this is the right thing to do."

I mailed my letter in another slot down the way and left the lobby. As I sat in my car, belting myself in, I glanced up and saw this man from in front of the mail slot, empty-handed. There was a bounce in his step that was not there a few minutes ago. He was smiling....

Something as Simple as Salad

Tonight as I was unpacking all the beautiful veggies that came home with me this vacation, I decided to try Panzanella, or Italian Bread Salad.

Looking over my stash of garden green {and red, and yellow, and purple!}, I decided this would be a perfect summer evening meal. Tomatoes - check!; onions - check!; basil - check!; sweetcorn - check!; cuke - check!; goat cheese - check!; rustic bread - check!

Cube tomatoes and add the rest of veggies to a large bowl. I grilled the bread and onion slices to add some crunch and that special roasted flavor. Toss cubed bread, goat cheese, and veggies. Sprinkle with a little red wine vinegar, an equal amount of Balsamic vinegar, some Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper. The juice from the fresh tomatoes mingles with the vinegars and seasonings to provide a light, delicious dressing for these just-picked veggies.

Come to think of it....I should have roasted some of the beets to toss in! Next time. Now I am off to make Pesto with a full bag of pungent basil, fresh from the garden.

Home again, home again....

Just walked in the door, back from my trip to Eastern Iowa, Western Illinois, downtown Chicago on Lake Michigan, and St. Louis along the Mississippi River. Saw some fantastic landscape driving the road between here and there.

Lots of fish stories to tell, but that is for other days. Just wanted to check in to say that I have arrived home safely and still feeling like I have been to the Spa, sipping Dr. Mile's Restorative Nervine.

Just one story. My friend and I raided a neighbor's garden -collecting home-grown food to take back with me. She also sent home a large slice of tomato pie. We prepared it last night, along with fresh sweetcorn, and roasted veggies. As I was unloading the car and putting away its cargo, I found the tomato pie and just finished a cold Corona and that extra-delicious slice. Thanks, gardening was fun!

Out of the office....gone fishin'