Do you find that dozens of ideas for your blog pop into your head when you are doing something that keeps you from writing them down? I thought I had the solution to that with a hand held tape recorder. I could use it in the office, or in the car. But there are times when your hands are full, or you’re in the middle of shaping hamburgers, or in the shower, when that won’t work for you.
So, we’re relying on my incredibly inept memory today. Let’s see….
It’s almost time….
This coming Saturday, my husband will again make me a boat widow. The ARR!! will be banded into the Chicago river and will motor it’s way up river to sailing freedom.
This year, my niece and her husband will be making the trip with Dear Husband, and Sister #1 is also going to go! Despite the fact that he’ll never get me on that damned boat again, I hope for them that the weather is exceptional so they have a good time.
DH was at Strictly Sail in Chicago this winter and found a catering company that specializes in catering for boaters. It must have caught his fancy, because he bought home a laminated menu attached to a floating key chain holder. The boat could go down, but the menu will survive!
He’s actually ordered a meal for the first excursion. I’ll miss the meal, but I won’t miss the trip. Nothing he could do would entice me back on that damned boat!
This is the menu for the day:
Tuna Nicoise Stuffed Baguette
Antipasto Stuffed Focaccia
Beef Tenderloin, Parmesan, Arrugula on a Ciabatta Role with Balsamic Dressing
Farfalle Pasta with Olives, Roast Tomatoes, Asparagus and Black Pepper Vinagrette
Kettle Chips (seems mundane after the last four entries)
Cookies
Virgin Mary Mix (add your own Vodka)
Now, if you should sail with DH in the future, you’ll be lucky to get a sandwich from the deli and a bottle of water, but the trip up the river he does with class! Sign up to the right———>
Celebrating Mother’s Day
A number of years ago, as my siblings and I began to age, it became apparent that they had a problem. We now have four generations of family who range from new born (April 26) to 87. THere are mothers in three of those generations, and it won’t be too many years before there is likely to be a mother in the fourth generation.
At some point my sisters announced that THEY were mothers, and they were planning on staying home and let their families celebrate their Motherness.
So, time passes and their daughters grow up and have families, and somewhere along the line THEY announce they are mothers, and THEY are going to stay home and let their families celebrate their Motherness. (Sound familiar??) Where we had one generation miffed because they were being ignored, now we have two.
I’d like to have a little sympathy, but it’s hard to dredge up. I’m not sure where we got the idea that because one is a mother, one can ignore the fact they they HAVE a mother. Since I am the one who has never had children of my own, I’m the one who always celebrates Mother’s Day with my mother. We have a standing date now to go to the brunch at Pappadeaux’s for Cajun food. My step-children spend the day with their mother, and DH, my mother and I go out to brunch.
I have no idea how other families handle this little problem. It seems to me that they could all go out to dinner. Or….they could sleep in late, gather later in the day and let the men cook a casual meal. Or, they could spread the celebration out over a couple of weekends or days. There must be some rational way to celebrate the day without leaving anyone out. Right??
If you know how, share it with us!
Happy Mother’s Day, all!
Mother’s Day
I received a Mother’s Day gift today. I was lured out to the kitchen by DH to see a beautiful basket, wrapped up with shiny paper and a big gold bow. He told me it was a Mother’s Day gift from Ed and Defer.
Ed and Defer are the cat and dog.
Each year, I get sweet notes from them with paw prints and a bit of doggerel (what else??). Frequently I get flowers, but this year they filled a beautiful basket with things their mother would enjoy: unusual cheeses, flat breads from Trader Joe’s, English Toffee, and WINE!!! They managed to find a full-sized bottle of Frog’s Leap Vinyard Zinfandel! What sweethearts!
It isn’t every Mom who’s furry kids treat her so well. *S*
I hope all of you who are celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend are as fortunate, and that you have a great day!
Mother
Update:
I wonder what happened here? I was sober when I posted!
I’m sure it was the best post ever written, an astounding entry of great virtuosity about life with mother, or motherhood, or something along those lines.
My apologies to those of you who missed it.
Lists
I can’t resist. I need to bable about my gardens.
Responsibility
I’m pooped!
I moderate a YahooGroup for herb growers, and this week the editors at YahooGroups have featured us as one of their weekly picks. We’ve been inundated. Before the deluge, we had 498 members. I’m not sure of the count at the moment, but we’ve easily added another 200 members in two days.
Last year we were overrun with spammers and we’ve had to put restrictions in place to protect the membership. Every member now has to be approved, and they are on moderated posting for a period, so we have to approve each post. Let me tell you, this is a group that likes to SHARE!
So, I’ve been doing housekeeping duties at the Group rather than blogging. But, if I was blogging, I’d just be talking about my gardens, so you might not have missed anything.
I just wanted you to know that I miss visiting your blogs, and I’ll be back soon.
Wolverine
Dear Husband and I have been watching a program called “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” It’s shown on the Bravo cable channel, and we tend to catch it on Sunday evening. Last week the host, James Lipton, interviewed Russel Crowe. I was surprised to find that I liked him better than I would have guessed. At the end of the evening they announced that they would be interviewing Hugh Jackman tonight.
Sunday morning
Dear Husband let me sleep in today. In good weather, usually I do that service for him on weekends, but somehow we swapped roles. I think it must have been about a quarter after seven when I rolled out of bed and dressed. I made the bed, unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded it, started some laundry, folded laundry and moved it to our bedroom, bleached the counters, watered the houseplants, feed the birds, had some toast and read the funnies and then ironed the curtains for the garage and hung them.
By then, Defer’s eyes were beginning to roll with the need to go out for a quick visit with the grass, and I was ready to get to my gardens. There was too much to do to accomplish all of it in one morning, so I started with the gardens that edge the sidewalk to the front door.
Last year I planted several collections of lilies on either side of the sidewalk, near the front door. Several of the lilies in the bed on the north side were killed off, either by ground squirrels, raccoons, or by a heavy footed dog or cat. I planted easily a dozen lilies this morning, and 6 crocosima, and then I started the first weeding of the year. I got MOST of the beds at the front of the house done. I deadheaded the daffodils, and pulled thistles. I plan to paint the thistles with Roundup this year and be done with them, but I’ll have to catch the next batch that come up. By then we will be in drier weather, and the Roundup will work more effectively.
It looks like we may have lost two tender rose plants that made it through the winter. I uncovered the roses about a month ago and they looked fine, but since then, they have faded to dead twigs. I’ll wait to see if there is any new growth as we get into warmer weather, but things don’t look good.
I’ve ordered my first hydrangea, and I plan to buy a buddlea to join the one I wintered over. We enjoy attracting butterflies and hummingbirds, so my goal is to keep planting things that will draw them in.
I worked for about three, maybe three and a half hours this morning, enjoying the heat of the sun on a chilly day. The sky was a deep blue and cloudless. We expected a storm this evening, but it may have by-passed us.
Tomorrow, if it’s not raining, I’ll take Mother to the nursery, and pick up the first round of plants. We’ll make several visits over the next six weeks. My goal is to get everything that I buy into the ground! No waste this year! Our frost free date is May 15, so for the following thirty days, it’s plant, plant, plant!
Home is the Sailor…
Requiem
UNDER the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850