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The One Where My Husband (Almost) Loses His Plumber’s License

July 19, 2010 in Family, Food, Friends, Home, Marriage by Sara | 4 comments

Our kitchen faucet had been broken for months. At first it was just a little bit broken. By that I mean that the little thingy on the top that tells you which direction to turn for cold and which to turn for hot kept falling off. Not really a problem as I still have all my sensory capacities in my extremities and had memorized “left for cold, right for hot” a while back. Then the pull down sprayer started acting wonky. It would suddenly just stop working and would only begin again after you punched the little black buttons on the side about a million times and said a few cuss words (out of the children’s hearing, of course). Then it wouldn’t turn off unless you shut it off and then pushed down on the middle of the turner offer thing. Then there was the constant explaining to guests on the proper off and push antics required each time you used the crazy thing.

And yet we let this go on for MONTHS.

Mostly because the thought of buying a new faucet did not bring me great joy. I’d frankly rather buy another pair of pajamas.

In the end, I took my friend Betty to Lowes and we picked out a new faucet. (Not before I’m sure she was ready to kill me for agonizing over the decision for so long.)

JD replaced it last weekend. Works beautifully. Simple to turn off and on. Delightful.

But you do remember this, right?

JD and the girls were at his folks for the weekend, leaving me alone in my house for about 4 days. So I threw a little girl’s only party Friday night and we had a wonderful time. We all brought cold or room temperature salads and they were yummy. The last gal left abut 10:45, I quickly cleaned up the kitchen using my new faucet and trusty garbage disposal to get rid of some excess arugula from one of the salads. I headed downstairs where I watched a couple of shows I’d DVR’d and then headed off to bed thinking of the wonderful Saturday I had ahead of me where I could do anything I wanted. A long walk/run with Lucy. A visit to the farmer’s market. Perhaps even a movie in the afternoon. The day was mine……..

Oh, what’s that? The light in the laundry room was on. So I opened the door, stepped inside and

SPLASH!

Right into 4 inches of arugula strewn water.

And so I did what all good southern women have done since Scarlett O’Hara set the example. I decided to think about it tomorrow and after making sure it wasn’t getting any worse, I went to bed.

The morning found most of the water gone but bits and pieces of salad from last night’s dinner stuck firmly to the floor.

I then made a decision which shall haunt me the rest of my days and is sure to give my family ample opportunity for mocking me.

I put a load of sopping wet towels in the washing machine and turned it on.

Wait. It gets better.

I then put Lucy’s leash on her and we went for a nice one hour walk around the neighborhood.

I KNOW!

What in the world?!

It will come as no surprise to you, gentle reader, that I arrived back home to 4 more inches of water in the laundry room. Luckily, while on my walk I ran into my neighbor who gave me the number of the best sewer and drain people in town.

The very nice man on the other end seemed so pleased that I had interrupted his Saturday morning with my pesky drain problems. And so to teach me a lesson he gave me a lecture on garbage disposals. His speech went on for several minutes. I’ll condense it for you. Basically it boils down to this.

Garbage disposals are from the devil. They should never actually be used. If you do feel you just MUST use the devil’s machine, you must feed it carefully only one tablespoon of food at a time. You must then follow this with copious amounts of water, ice cubes and perhaps a cup of bleach.

And then he says, “You know I’ll have to charge you time and a half to come out today and fix it.”

Exactly what was I supposed to say to this? “Oh no thanks, then. I’ll just leave water and rotting food in the basement til Monday.”

If he had attempted to extract a promise of my firstborn, I probably would have agreed.

Two hours later a nice young man named Michael (who appeared to have crawled through many sewers and drains already that morning) made a lot of noise and cleared out the drain.

Turns out it was sludge, food and lint from the dryer causing all the problems. Not a thing to do with JD’s recent plumbing job.

So he shall keep his plumbing license for now. He’s going to need it.

Somebody’s got to get rid of that darn disposal.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

June 30, 2010 in Friends by Sara | 5 comments

You should start planning your trip to Dayton right now. I will show you such a good time that you might never want to leave.

Take for instance the good time that I’ve shown my friend Betty today. I took her to lunch, then we went to Lowes where I agonized over a replacement kitchen faucet for way too long, then off we went to the shoe store and then wrapped up our exciting day with a quick stop at the grocery store.

We were so wiped out when we got home that I had to take a wee nap while Betty looked through some of my cookbooks.

I can only imagine the rest of Betty’s summer will pale in comparison.

Come on over. It’ll be the time of your life.

I promise.

My Non-Reality Weekend

June 14, 2010 in Bloggable Moments, Food, Friends, Travel by Sara | 3 comments

This weekend caught me several times shaking my head and wondering, “How in the world did I wind up having these experiences?”

My dear friend Julie from Virginia asked me about 6 weeks ago to join her and a few friends for a weekend in Philadelphia. I didn’t give it much serious thought because it was the first weekend after the girls were out of school, Katie has softball games EVERY FRIDAY night, etc., etc., etc.

But my dear husband said, “Why don’t you go? I can handle things here.”

So Friday found me boarding a plane from Dayton heading to Philly. I really hate the taking off part of flying but I thought perhaps this time would be okay since there was a nun boarding my flight and I just couldn’t imagine God letting a plane crash with a nun on board. I have actually been known to hold the hand of a complete stranger while taking off and this time it looked like I was in luck. A very handsome man sat down next to me. But it was not to be. A few minutes later a woman who smelled very much like stale popcorn booted him right out of that seat and took his place. So I settled for putting my ear buds in and listening to the Jayhawks and praying without ceasing.

Because Julie works in the hotel business, we were able to stay at the Ritz-Carlton without taking out a personal loan. It was mighty fancy, I tell ya. There were about six layers of sheets on the bed that were a bit of a puzzle to me at first. Finally I just slipped in between two of them and called it done.

We were also fortunate enough to get to see the final performance of the Pennsylvania Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet. Now, previous to this weekend my sole experience with the ballet had been a couple of performances of the Nutcracker at the community theater. So I was pretty much prepared to dislike the ballet. I was really wrong. It was so beautiful. The costumes were beautiful, the dancers were beautiful, the set was amazing. Best of all, Julie knew (because Julie knows EVERYBODY) the conductor, Beatrice Affron, from music school. They met when they were 6 and 7 years old, went to music school together for many years, lost touch for a bit and then in a very cool way reconnected. She was lovely and smart and was kind enough to take us backstage during one of the intermissions. There we were able to see the dancers close up. They were warming up for the next act and let me just say that if you or I attempted some of those stretches they were doing we would be in traction for the next six months. It was painful just to watch them. And the ballet guys in their tights up close. I felt vaguely like I should avert my eyes.

We were able to eat some amazing food. The food at Alma De Cuba was nothing short of spectacular. The flavors were out of this world. The downtown market provided breakfast the next morning with a variety of egg dishes, po boys, apple fritters and mac and cheese (I think it should be made an official breakfast food). We topped if off Saturday night with dinner at the Ritz whose chef just happens to be Jennifer from last season’s Top Chef. I had some baked halibut that came out of the kitchen looking like two fluffy marshmallows and tasted like nothing I’ve ever had in my life. (This was the only part of my trip that impressed Elena andyou should have seen how big her eyes got when I told her.) I have clearly passed my love for reality TV on to my youngest daughter.

So you can see why I call this my Non-reality weekend. It was about as far from my normal life as I could have possibly imagined. And I didn’t even tell you about the the Comic Con convention that made for unusually entertaining people watching, the part where one of our party crashed one of the many wedding receptions going on in the hotel and brought us all back pretzels to eat, the hostess that may or may not have been a man in woman’s clothing, or the Egyptian cabbie that I will be friends with forever.

Maybe it really was just a dream.

Hidden Talent ( But Not Anymore)

June 2, 2010 in Friends by Sara | 5 comments

I have some fabulously talented friends. I have friends who can cook like crazy, sing like a bird, paint pictures that should be in a museum and a multitude of other feats.

It’s a hard crowd to keep up with, I’m telling you.

I can do a mean Pap smear.

I’m just saying.

I’ve always known that my friend Kate has a way with words. She teaches writing at our local community college and I’d read snippets here and there of things she put to paper. She is funny as anything. Her facebook status updates almost always bring a smile to my face. She is quick witted, our Kate.

But my lands, I had no idea.

This past Sunday, our local paper published the results of it’s yearly fiction and poetry contest.

Guess you don’t really have to guess who won first place, now do you?

We couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Go here and read it. And if you’ve been married more than a couple of minutes, I dare you not to identify at least a little bit with the woman in the story. If you can’t…..

I want some of whatever you’re smokin’.

Short and Sweet

May 28, 2010 in Faith, Family, Friends, Holidays by Sara | 1 comment

Just a couple of things before we embark on a weekend filled with visits from dear friends, lots of good food and drink and an extra day tacked on to the weekend! Can I have an AMEN on that one!

Some of you may remember me asking for prayers for my friend Candy and her mother last year during a health crisis. True to form, her mom rallied round and did really well for another year. But Wednesday morning after a blessedly short rapid decline in health she died peacefully in her sleep surrounded by her dear family. And although the loss is certainly sad, it is also a time to celebrate her and a life well lived. Please keep Candy and all her family in your prayers as they gather in Virginia to do just this on June 3.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend surrounded by friends and family. If you are lucky they are one in the same. Luckier still if the friends feel like family.

Happy Memorial Day.

Perfect Midweek Dinner

May 27, 2010 in Food, Friends by Sara | No comments

Here is a foolproof recipe for a wonderful midweek spring dinner.

Get fresh asparagus from the farmer’s market.
Invite a couple of people over. Make sure one of them can pick out excellent wine.
Include people who have kids older than you do. You can learn a lot from their experiences.
Make this. Trust me. Make it now. (Come borrow the weird spices from me.)
Have mixed berries for dessert. Strawberries are just coming in. Delish.
Thank your lucky stars for such a blessed life.

Girl’s Night

May 13, 2010 in Food, Friends by Sara | 1 comment

I love my husband. Given a choice of who I’d like to be stranded on a desert island with, he’d win, hands down. I’m also very, very fond of my friend’s husbands. There isn’t a bad one in the bunch. We have a ton of fun when we all get together.

But every so often, a girl just needs to gather her women friends around her and have some girl time.

It’s good for the soul.

So that’s what we did tonight. Two of my long time friends and one new friend all came together for supper. I made this cobb salad which was very different but just as delicious as the one I made for the family a couple of weeks ago. We added some crusty bread and (I cannot lie) opened a couple of bottles of wine and had ourselves one whale of a good time. Fresh berries with a brown sugar/sour cream sauce was the perfect ending to a perfect night.

Treat yourselves to a girl’s night soon.

You won’t be sorry.

Our Weekend In, Make That At, The Hamptons

April 12, 2010 in Friends, Travel by Sara | 2 comments

I know that for many people the very pinnacle of everything wonderful is a weekend in the Hamptons. I mean, it’s where all the gals from “Sex and the City” hung out on summer weekends. It’s where all the “Real Housewives of NYC” (not that I’ve ever watched it, ahem) gather to see and be seen. And fight.

One of my favorite cooks of all times lives and works there.

It’s probably a really nice place.

But I wouldn’t have traded one second of our weekend in Michigan with these Hamptons for anything.

Elena, Tessa, Katie, and Sophie

You may recall that these are the friends we met a couple of years ago on a cruise. We’ve remained close and although all in all we’ve spent less than a month together, you would never know it. The girls are thick as thieves with nary a cross word between them. Paula and George feel like the kind of friends you’ve had forever. So comfortable to be around with never an awkward pause in conversation.

So I’d say those other Hamptons have nothing on the ones we know.

Recreation?

Sophie giving it a try

Tessa at bat

Elena sliding into first

Katie taking a swing

Coach Hampton and Coach Whitlock

We had a rousing game of baseball between the daddies and daughters that had everybody laughing and sporting grass stains on their knees.

Important people?

The Henry Ford Museum

The bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat

Yes, so our famous people where all dead. Made not one whit of difference. By the way, this museum was really, really fun. We spend about 4 hours there and there wasn’t one whine from any of the kids. (Except for the neglecting to buy a crazy straw, but that doesn’t really count). They even had the car President Kennedy was riding in when he was shot. That was both fascinating and creepy all at the same time.

Add to that all the good food, good drink, good conversation, a viewing of “The Blind Side” , and a beautiful bike ride through the park on Sunday afternoon and that’s gotta be one of the most perfect weekends ever.

Thank you, Paula and George, Tessa and Sophie for letting us descend on you. Your home was welcoming and comfortable and beautiful. We can’t wait to return the favor.

And we wouldn’t have traded our weekend AT the Hamptons for any number of weekends IN the Hamptons.

A Child After My Own Heart

February 25, 2010 in Food, Friends by Sara | 3 comments

Katie, Chef Lily and Elena

Lily is the child of two of our very dearest friends, Kate and Eric. About a year ago, she was sick and home on the couch. She started watching Food Network and her life changed forever. She became a cooking machine. I knew she had the food bug bad when her mom told me she had asked for a microplaner and a lemon squeezer for Christmas. Did I mention she is a sixth grader? And the story I love best is that on Christmas morning when she opened the box that contained her new grill pan, she actually hugged it to her chest.

Love that kid.

So when her mom told me about a new recipe Lily had tried that involved bacon, sausage and leeks, well you just bet your life I had to try it. So I asked Lily and her folks over last night and I gave the recipe a try. It was heavenly. Perfect for a gray winter day (so tired of gray winter days, by the way).

Lily said that mine was just as good as hers. But she wouldn’t have said otherwise.

She’s sweet that way.

Cassoulet Stoup from Rachel Ray

Ingredients

1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 pound chicken, pork or lamb sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained
4 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
5 to 6 slices stale crusty bread, like a baguette
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Place a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, 4-5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve on a paper towel-lined plate.

Brown the sausage in the same pan, breaking it up with a potato masher or back of a spoon as it cooks, 5-6 minutes. Add the onion, leeks, carrot, garlic, thyme and bay leaf to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the veggies are tender, 5-6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook until golden brown and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot, until reduced by half.

Add the white beans and stock to the pan, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer the soup until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, place a medium skillet over medium-high heat with the butter. While the butter is melting, grind up the bread into coarse breadcrumbs in a food processor. Transfer the crumbs to the pan and toast them in the melted butter until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the parsley and reserve. SKIP THIS PART AND MISS ONE OF THE BEST FOOD EXPERIENCES OF YOUR LIFE!!! (emphasis mine)

Serve the soup with some of the breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of the reserved crispy bacon on the top.

Home Again

February 22, 2010 in Friends, Time Goes By, Travel by Sara | 1 comment

Once upon a time, I wrote a little piece about time passing by in my old neighborhood. We were soon to be moving from DC to Ohio and I was feeling nostalgic and in a reflective mood.

I’ve moved enough to know that time does not stop just because we have moved away. Life keeps moving and the space that you once occupied is filled with new people and new commitments.

But if you are very lucky, (and we are), you can return to the places that you lived and for a short time it feels as if you never left. Friends welcome you back with open arms and cleared calendars. Dinners are planned and lovingly prepared. Children are gathered close and kissed on top of the head. Girlfriends gather and talk resumes as if it had just stopped the day before. Babies that were born just days to weeks after we left are cuddled and tickled. Beloved teachers are visited with and old school friends become reacquainted in no time at all.

We had a wonderful week (and yes, the snow DC had was just as crazy as you heard). We look forward to our next visit with great anticipation.

But a nice thing happened when we drove back into our neighborhood here. Each of us was glad to be home. The girls anxious to go back to school and see their friends, JD and I ready to go back to work and for life to resume it’s familiar routine. For while we would gladly gather up each and everyone of our friends from our time in DC and move them right next door, we were not feeling the pull to live there again. It was a wonderful experience, but the traffic and congestion are things that we gladly leave behind. It seemed like another affirmation that we made the right move by coming here.

We’ll keep talking it up to our friends left behind. Who knows, we may talk one or two of them into trying out the midwest.

Or at least coming out for a long weekend.

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