This time last Sunday I was out for a walk with Rachael, about to come home and start brunch prep. The house was full of people, family here for the wedding. On Tuesday we got another house guest, a medical student here from Malawi for UW’s Global Health Institute that my neighbor who’s a pediatrician and walking buddy, helps to coordinate. This coming Sunday we get two more extra people, a visiting scholar and our first German exchange student. But this Sunday there’s no one here but us – both my kids, my new daughter in law Emma, me, and Mark.
At the brunch we served 2 kinds of egg bakes: what Epicurious called quiche sardou, that seemed appropriate because Al and his guys had their destination bachelor weekend in N’Awlins, spinach and artichoke hearts in an egg and cream batter – I made it crustless; and another one with potatoes and red peppers and Parmesan, topped with eggs and yogurt and whole milk. I made blueberry muffins and my Better than Stella’s cherry muffins, about 15 of each and I should have done more. There was whole wheat focaccia and Jen and Rach made gorgeous fruit platters. I envisioned lightly dressed salad greens and I had cleaned the lettuce and shaved in a fennel the day before, and bought a shallot – but I ran out of time to make dressing, so Jen tossed it with bottled honey-Dijon.
It was crush, almost like a cookie party, but a good time was had by all I think. My intention was to get all the parents, who had not necessarily been at the wedding, together, and the kids, and people who had held Al when he was a baby. A few times we delved into talking politics and how the world’s going to hell, but, as Heike so rightly pointed out, all we can do in times like these is what we were doing that day. Enjoy and delight in our families and friends. I think it’s becoming a meme – Heike is so prescient – NPR’s Sam Sanders even did a bright moments of last week, and it’s all family triumphs.
We put out the leftover flowers from the wedding and I can’t believe how well they’re holding up. These pics are from Friday and Friday night, so basically a week later.
I took Monday off after the wedding and brunch. Rach and I walked, and then I washed sheets and put everything back in its rightful places, and by about 1:00, I was able to say to Mark, “ok, we’re ready for the next onslaught”.
Next onslaught being in part the arrival of the visiting medical student. She was supposed to come Monday, but ended up staying at Ann’s that night because it got too late for her to come here. I was quite relieved, and falling asleep over my book, at 10:15 when Ann called and to ask if it was OK for the student to come on Tuesday instead. I made Unky Dave’s potato salad and a banana cake from All Cakes Considered for the Tuesday potluck, and washed some lettuce to add to what was left from brunch, and biked to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of fruit to cut up, all for the dinner at Ann’s which was to be on Tuesday. Also in the spirit of cleaning out the fridge, Mark, Al, Rach, and I were all home, and we ate broccoli fried rice for dinner, with fennel and cilantro and beet greens and bacon.
On Tuesday I had a PT appointment in the afternoon for my hip and shin pain. I saw a different therapist than the first time, and she determined that it’s nerve pain, which makes a lot of sense to me. To be fair I think the other guy also thought it was nerve pain, but didn’t explain it as well. I got a new, slightly different set of exercises, and they seem to be working.
After PT, I cut up the fruit and mixed up the salad dressing I wished I’d made Sunday. Ann came by and took the food to her place by car, which gave me time to go feed the neighbors the other way’s cat. Then I joined everyone at the potluck. After we ate, the party was still going strong, but I was still feeling tired and out of it so I told Ann I’d be back in a bit to collect empties and the student, and came home.
After all that it was kind of a normal but busy work week, with the addition of lots of site visits with my students in internships, f2f and on the phone, and the Distance Teaching & Learning Conference. I got comped, and Rach’s org had a booth – which made it extra busy for her.
Wednesday I had an online meeting with students, and then made cherry handpies for the food pantry potluck which was on Thursday. We had an extreme downpour on Wednesday – which was an insult after the heavy on rain on Friday when were all shop vac-ing the basement in our rehearsal dinner clothes. I was home and dry but Rachael was wrestling with the booth, taking it back to the office.
Thursday it was a lovely evening for biking over to the potluck. I thought I packed the little pies carefully, but the pies in one of the plastic containers, the one that was bungee-corded to my bike rack, slid around and got a little squashed and a few broke. Happily, rather than deterring people, it seemed to make them eat the pies faster, since they took pieces and probably ate a pie and half – or more! – each.
Finally it was Friday. Not too many appointments and everyone got home early, Rach fighting a cold. I made Marian Morash’s eggplant with tomatoes and cream, and served it with buttered pasta and salad and some foucaccia I found in the freezer. Unfortunately this preview doesn’t get to p. 101 where the eggplant recipes start.
The medical student accidentally broke off the handle of the drain in Mark’s bathtub. A big part of my Saturday was getting the part and getting it replaced. It’s all better now and it was a cheap fix. I had breakfast at the co-op while waiting for the plumbing supply place to open – they were opening unusually late for a Saturday because they had to attend a funeral. I offered my condolences when I got in, and the proprietor sold me the $7 and change part to fix the drain for $5 to make up for the wait.
I took the front plate off, so I could open the drain and the water could go down, so the shower could be usable. The handle broke right where that pin that looks like antenna is sticking out. Love that green mold color around the bottom. It’s all closed up and new and shiny now.
And, I’ve always liked the last line of the chicken song – which of course is now stuck in my head – and all that it implies, with the chickens talking back to the armed and intruding authority figure. I probably first heard it by Asleep at the Wheel, in the 1970s.
“Kindly point that gun the other way
And hobble, hobble hobble off and hit the hay””