There's no place like home

 

In a reversal of the ‘no room at the inn’ motif, My Guy and I booked ourselves into a hotel for the family weekend gathering in New Jersey (which was fabulous, by the way).

Making the moves

 

Tylenol for arthritis – check

CBD cream on my knee – check

A few limbering exercises before I leave – check

 

And I was off to try Tai Chi.

I’m ready to try anything since the Big A has muscled its way into my world this year, bringing all its luggage and showing no inclination to leave.

A History of Heat

 

The heat has finally broken. Not that I’ve been suffering unduly, living as I now do in the blessed world of air conditioning. My Guy and I are endlessly fascinated by recounting to each other all those years we lived without it, and not just in our childhoods. Our first house – a 1920s Dutch colonial – sat under massive oaks in a city lot. They helped a little, I suppose (except for the carpenter ants that fell from them onto our roof), but in the summer I often used to wish the entire back of the house could be hinged up like a dollhouse.

Heat and upcoming travels

 

The heat got the neighbor's "fried egg" 
tree off to an early start. 

Tuesday was predicted to be the start of mind-searing heat – 100 degrees - and what did I do? I hopped in my car and went off to play golf. Not the smartest thing in the world, but we were out there at 8:30 and rode around in carts.

From hot dogs to toilet plungers

 

         In the interest of continuing to grab the goodness of a Massachusetts summer before the tropical heat had fully gotten its shoes under the bed, we took off for another late lunch.

The Great Outdoors

 

Yesterday was a day to be outside, a day of mid-70s temps and downright dramatic winds. When you put aside the knowledge that those winds were blowing in a sledgehammer heat wave, you could really enjoy it.

Random observations/discoveries

 

Thank heaven I’m a relatively tidy person. Maybe not a dust-the-vents-every-week kind of cleaner, but the bed is always made, towels always hung up.

Running Amok

 

We seem to be entering a new phase.

Last week the grocery store had lobsters on sale. After discussion with My Guy, we decided to go crazy. I called up to order two to be steamed and ready for pick-up. Except at the last minute I had a “what the hell” moment and asked for the poundage above the chicken lobsters.

It all comes together

 

Do you remember ever being very little and squatting by mud, mixing in twigs or leaves to create mud patties?

          I remember being about eight and discovering an old chemistry set in our basement in Virginia. It was pretty sparse, and I have no idea who it once belonged to (a misguided gift for my older sister?), but it did have a few test tubes and mysterious ingredients to mix together. Very cool. Although I never did produce any results, never mind blow up the house.

          Due to general familial disfunction, I never had those Hallmark moments at my mother or grandmother’s elbows in the kitchen, but I’ve always been drawn to cooking. I mean, who wouldn’t be if you can stir up your own chocolate chip cookies?

          As a late teen, while visiting my grandfather after my grandmother had died, I fixed several meals for him. Not that I was exactly accomplished. The baking powder biscuits made with baking soda by mistake, which meant they tasted like soap. My sainted Grampy ate them anyway. Or the scalloped oysters that he said were wonderful. I later learned that he was allergic to oysters.  

          So many cooking stories.

Columbus, Georgia, dead of summer, no AC. My in-laws down from Massachusetts to see my husband of barely a year graduate from Officer’s Candidate School. I made a meatloaf the day before and almost poisoned everyone. Fortunately, as it cooked the smell from the oven made it obvious that we’d better stick to just the vegetables for dinner.

          But the years went by and I did figure out how to cut up a chicken, make bread, roll pie crust.

Last night: pork stroganoff on spinach fettucine

  

        Maybe it’s a control thing. Being able to

  choose anything in the world, combining the

  ingredients, and then a result you can eat.

        What’s not to like?

Egocentricity

 

Today being National Selfish Day, today’s blog is all about ME and what makes ME happy.

Friday

 

Today’s philosophy question:

Is it slothful to make the bed while you’re still in it (you know, straightening the sheet, pulling the bedspread back up to the top as you lie there) or do you get points for being so tidy?