Monday, September 27 – Sunday, October 3, 2021
The Week in Saying Goodbye: This week my aunt Patti passed away, succumbing to an illness she didn’t share she had, until it was really too late to take action. I respect that stubbornness even though it’s rough for her children and closest friends. Our base family is very small. We’re all approaching elderliness and beyond. There’s is just one grandchild and he is the last of my Grandma and Grandpa’s (Minnie and Alvin’s) legacy. We rarely see each other but when we do all gather, we can all fit around the table at a Mexican restaurant, and we have the best time.
That’s what we did this week. We visited Patti in the ICU to say our goodbyes. Then we ate huge mid-west sized portions of Mexican food in a loud sports bar. Then we hugged it out and went about our separate ways. We’ll be together again a Patti’s wake in November. It’s weird having a family that actually gets along great, but never interacts. Maybe that’s why we get along great. LOL!
The Week in Hippie Music: My Aunt was a bit of hippie, at least compared to my Dad and their other brother. She was enamored with the Beatles from the get go, much to the chagrin of her Mom (my Grandma). I don’t think she saw the Beatles live, but she had all the albums and particularly loved Sgt. Pepper’s. The night before she passed, I listened to that album and then let Spotify take me into hippie sounds for the rest of the evening. Turns out, though I liked all the songs on Sgt. Pepper, I did not like listening to the album from start to finish. I don’t know why. I’m not the biggest Beatles fan. I like them and I appreciate them. But, I don’t know the Beatles catalogue, the deep cuts and that’s fine with me. And I do appreciate that Paul is still kickin’ it.
But I digress. I spent a couple hours in the 60’s/early 70’s and drank a toast of the good bourbon to my Aunt.
The Week in the Suburbs: I am a city person. I like being able to walk to places. I like the sounds and the close proximity of people. As for the suburbs, I like to visit. I like to park in a driveway of my friends’ houses. I like that the suburbs are darker at night than downtown. Also, semi-related, I like dogs, in the city or in the suburbs.
This weekend I got to spend the night with two suburban doggos while their owners went on an overnight trip. I treated it like a vacation. I sat on the suburban porch and drank beer. Because once I parked my car in their driveway, I didn’t want to go back out (see beer, above), I brought in a nice dinner. And when it was time to go to sleep, I relished in how dark the room was. Ahhhh. Nice. But in the morning, when there was no place to walk to get a cup of coffee, I knew it was time to go.
The Week in Semi-Poor Planning: I usually food prep on Sunday and this week one of my two meals was going to be a riff on a tradition Zuppa Tuscana. Great. Except I forgot the beans, cream, and broth I needed. I think I got too wrapped up in finding recipes and I must have blacked all of them out at the market. Soooo, I will make the soup tomorrow. Luckily, all the ingredients for the Italian Frittata, including some of the kale that will be in the soup, are in place. 50-50 on food prep this week.
By the way, I could have “saved” my food prep if, when I went back to the store to get beans and cream, I also picked up a package of chicken broth. But no. I’m very militant about making my own broth. The broth threw me off, but it will be ready tomorrow and the soup will come together quickly. As long as I’m the only one who is affected by this broth tantrum, I think it’s worth it. I someone else was waiting on soup tonight, you bet your processed box broth that I would have got it done!
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 