13 Sep
On Saturday, I made applesauce with apples from Doug and Karyl’s orchard. I chopped the apples, and added a bit of lemon juice, sugar, water and a couple of cinnamon sticks. Then, I boiled the mixture for about 30 minutes.
I tossed the sticks, then coarsely mashed the apples with a potato masher. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to convince Bryan apple sauce was far better for him and his stomach than the Chinese food and Diet Coke he was craving.
I was unsuccessful.
11 Sep
Both Bryan and I have fallen ill in the last couple of days.
I have a sinus infection—or, according to nearly every person I’ve encountered in the past 48 hours, both in person and over the phone—SWINE FLU. Yet, I don’t have a fever. I do not have have flu-like symptoms. I do have what could possibly could be my 74th sinus infection—at this point in the game, I think I can self-diagnose. Nevertheless, here’s a bit of the feedback I received at my event last night from people who would normally be quite kind:
“You sound awful.” (Hand covering mouth, backing up.) “Are you contagious?”
“Do you really think you should be shaking hands with elderly donors?” (Answer: Only if they have a signed bequest.)
And, my personal favorite:
“My wife and I promised to immediately quarantine ourselves in our basement should one of us exhibit anything that remotely resembles a cold. It could be…..SWINE FLU!”
My response of, “Or it could be a cold…sniff” was met with a rather hasty retreat.
I went home looking for some sympathy, only to find Bryan hunched over the toilet, where he has spent the last 21 hours. One of my many faults as a wife is my own lack of sympathy during Bryan’s illnesses. I am aware of this shortcoming, and I am trying to be better. So, despite my own malaise, I stayed up with Bryan, fetching him whatever he needed and only occasionally thinking about how he always gets sick at the most inopportune times.
I drug myself out of bed this morning, and I went to work. Before I left, I stressed how important it was for Bryan to stay hydrated, and I explained the BRAT diet yet again.
When I got back this afternoon, Bryan reported that he wasn’t able to keep anything in his stomach. I really, really tried to be kind and loving, but then he informed me of his only solid intake of the day: two fruit roll-ups.
Sympathy is overrated.
10 Sep
A couple of weeks ago, I made this Mahi Mahi and cucumber gazpacho dish for dinner. I wish I had found it earlier in the summer, at the height of cucumber season. I loved it; the rest of the family—not surprisingly—was lukewarm. (Just like the gazpacho…)
8 Sep
Bananas are a staple in our house, but it seems we throw at least one in the freezer at the end of most weeks. At any given time, we probably have half a dozen in there, just waiting to be made into banana bread.
I use the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens—it’s quick and easy, plus the bread stays very moist for at least a day or two. I recently jotted the recipe down for Tom, and I thought I’d share it with you, too!
8 Sep
I only took one photo on our trip to Nebraska this weekend–I’m glad it was this one!
4 Sep
I made this strawberry lemon infused vodka for my sister-in-law a couple of weeks ago. As I was carefully stuffing the fruit into the bottle with the end of a wooden spoon, I realized she’d have to decant it and throw away the bottle–obviously, that fruit isn’t coming out.
I thought it looked pretty, but if I do this again, I’ll choose a wide mouth jar that would allow for discarding the fruit and storing the finished product.
3 Sep
Ava, lecturing her parents: “I need to have a talk with you two. You are not keeping the earth healthy. I just went upstairs, and I found the bathroom light on, and your bedroom light was on too.”
It’s hard to criticize her tone when she’s so right. I just hope she doesn’t learn about CO2 emissions any time soon.
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