Free at last

Andy and I made our first trip off the property in close to seven weeks. Trussed up like turkeys we made the trip to Sam's pointing out areas of interest like we hadn't lived in Columbus for the last 64 years. It was surreal.  Sam's was not crowded and those who were there were also trussed and safe.  Some of the shelves were empty...like the fresh green beans that I buy for Bella had only one bag left.  But we managed to fill two carts with wonderful things.  There were no lines to check out and we were out of there in less than 25 minutes. I think I can now make it to the end of this virus having had that little break. I am sipping my iced capp from Tim Horton's as I write and this session is giving me great pleasure. Oh, Andy also got a set of five cans of Clorox wipes which we are very proud of...did I just write that???

I am now considering which delectable to prepare for dinner.  I will try to have something more interesting than pizza which was our Easter feast.  I can't believe I am actually writing that sentence, exposing myself to bouts of laughter from the Cincinnati Lechlers who usually come here for every holiday event. Well, I try to be entertaining and succeeded with the pizza story,

The wind is picking up after the nice little rain so I am hoping no trees fall.  The neighbors on both sides of us have some serious dead trees and they never fall in their yards, only in ours and of course, they knock down a portion of the fence each time. A couple of weeks go by and they finally get to the tree, one does a good job, one does not. Sigh.  Well, that's all I have to bitch about today.  I am off to the kitchen to prepare a little feast.  I think it will be with salmon today.

NOT SALMON:

One strange Easter

By now, in normal times, Many Branches would be jumping with people.  We usually have at least twenty and usually close to thirty.  Today we have five with only four eating the Easter feast which is pizza.  Yes, you read it right. Pizza. I decided to cook for people in crisis today rather than we who are not in crisis unless you count the pizza.  I simply have to get out of here tomorrow I am really getting rather strange, and, the freezer and pantries have let me down.  I can find nothing that I want to cook.

I usually start cooking and bringing out the finery a week ahead of a holiday celebration. Several tables are covered with antique linens and interesting old plates and combinations of colored glasses with matching flatware all in place, then covered until just before the guests arrive and the flowers need placing. Candy is scattered over the tables and little gifts to take home appear now and then. I line up the crockpot like soldiers appearing for duty.  I then begin to make the soups and stews for the first meal of the day on this glorious day.  I manage one or two canapes a day during that week as well. So around 11:00 the guests start arriving being greeted with flutes of Prosecco and we are off. After a couple of hours those items are taken away and the stage is set for a sit-down meal with at least two meats, several salads, and vegetables. Potatoes of many kinds take the stage as do deviled eggs and Pam and Chees' pies. I sometimes lose my mind and made a cheesecake or a trifle. We make plenty so there are left-overs to be taken home and enjoyed. After the second meal, things settle down with several tables of cards, and outdoor games, and chats under the pergola or the awning.

We never hurry.  It is meant to be savored and enjoyed because one never knows how long we are to be given the pleasure of being together.

Beth making a liquor run for we old folks.

Follow the fork 5

Are you stir crazy yet? We are still content as of now with the back yard looking like Easter.  Blue skies and green green grass and the Douglas Pear spraying white petals over the property ensure Easter is on its way.  The wind is kicking up this morning and I am grateful that the neighbors' cottonwood trees are not ready to 'snow' on everything yet.  A few more days of pristine property would be welcome. (Well, not pristine, but really pretty.)

In the oven today is a chuck roast surrounded by its natural companions of carrots and potatoes.  I am slow roasting the devil out of this well- seasoned gift from the freezer while longing for some fresh herbs to bury among the carrots and under the beef. Each time I do a stew now days I wonder if this is the last of the soup and stew season.  So far they are still welcome.

Andy is really enjoying ordering from Kroger on line.  You won't believe the wait, however, for pick -up.  He ordered on Monday and today, Thursday at 3:00, is his pick-up time. That is how backed up they are and yet they are doing as well as they can. I miss going into the stores but you won't catch me doing that for awhile. Andy may do the shopping on line from now on even after this disaster is done.

I have discovered something wonderful.  Escape to the Chateau is also on Tuesday nights at 7:00 on WOSU and they have started from the beginning and the first two episodes were new to me.  I was so excited when I wandered onto public television and there was actually something, that Tuesday night, that made me happy.  Now if the programmer does not go wonky and stick some other show on in that time slot to meander hither and yon, I will be a happy woman.

Even I am bored with this entire post.  Don't read it, it is simply not too interesting. I will try to do better the minute that something interesting happens...don't hold your breath.

 I am reading A Man Called Ove, by the way, and it is holding my interest so far. But, the book that I really liked that was given to me last evening called  Just Paint It Red and Forget About It by a Columbus author Gwynyth Lozier Mislin. It is so well written and done with humor.  She is doing a Bleuette book  and it is in the works.


   

Follow the fork 4

I had written Trader Joe's was closed much to my chagrin.  They are open it seems.  Who knew?  Beth was actually there and phoned to ask if I wanted anything and these carrots popped into my mind.  Roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper they are so addictive and I can probably eat every one of these on the tray.  They are ready to go in the oven to be caramelized and roasted to perfection. Bella, the dog, and I fight over carrots.  Go figure. She can take a whole carrot, raw, and chew  it down to a nub in no time...and talk about roasted, that's when she really gets excited.  Less work for her.

I am just starting the book A Man called Ove.  My niece is excited about this book. I read a bit and was hooked so I had it sent to my Kindle.

Follow the fork 3

It is a good thing the family in crisis did not need the ham and beans that I had prepared for them this week.  They have food coming in to get them through several days.  I'll do it when they need it.  Beth will let me know.  What happened to the ham and beans...Johnny's three guys came to give the property a bath.  The power washer went all day and when it came to lunch, they enjoyed the entire crock pot of ham and beans.  Now, this is not a tiny crock pot...it is my biggest one.  I watched from afar and I believe they each had 3 large bowls.  It was so much fun to see them enjoy the food outside on the glorious day that it was.  I had a tub of water with Lysol and they took care of clean up and then after washing the dishes one guy loaded the dishwasher. They declared this job was like a vacation considering the enormous roofing jobs that they do day in and day out.  Thank God they have work. Many Branches sparkles.

Yesterday was our 61st wedding anniversary.  We had Chinese take out and sat around the fire pit and talked.  Oh, we had Perseco too.  We enjoyed the evening with Beth, Mike and Nate. I am not sure how correct this is but I think I have been on this property for six weeks straight.

  (My last hair appointment was the first week of January and I look awful now!  I have a mullet!  Can you imagine?) This too shall pass.  I just want to warn you how scary I look in case you drop by to shout hello from 10 feet away.

Follow the fork 2

I've been cooking already this morning.  I have a giant pot of ham (bone) and beans burbling away for a family in crisis that Beth knows about. I could do this several days a week because I am soup girl.

The family is having pasta tonight and after some work, all I have to do is boil the pasta and put it all together.

Saturday Andy and I will have been married for 61 years.  We will be at home as we have been for five-six weeks.  I am losing count; not of the married years but of the in-home isolation. We will have Chinese take out.

I have to report about the pool opening after all the whining that I did last year at this time. It was almost perfect when the cover came off.  It was amazing after the two weeks of irritation that we went through last year. Andy is pretty excited about that.  (See, it does not take much to cause us to celebrate the little things now days.)  That and the fact that all five of us are well and healthy.  I hope you are too.  Have a good weekend.

Andy was driving past Oakland Park Nursery and noted the parking lot was packed. 

Follow the fork

How are you all doing? This isolation isn't so bad. Before long there will be beauty and planting and sitting in the sun.  Our pool opened beautifully this year and there is very little to be done with it.  Last year it looked like the creature from the black lagoon lived there all winter. We are looking forward to the house and building's bath this Saturday.

It seems like I am cooking for a crowd every day since Nate has started eating here again.  He has discerning taste and it is a pleasure getting a compliment now and then. Tonight it is fried rice and a bowl of 3 different sausages and two different beans in the soup.  There is a salad, but nothing to rave about there.

I am hearing from my friends around the world and I think they have it much worse than we do.  They are really scared. Alex and her new husband Kyle are both new doctors and really young.  They are on the front line at a Dayton hospital with 18 hour days. It is a real worry for the family.

Hang in there.

week five

Outdoor workers are coming tomorrow, Monday (the 30th) one to give the house and buildings and bricks a power wash and another to open the pool. These are outdoor workers, of course, so we will have little or no contact.  It gives them work and it certainly helps us.  With the pool, everyone who lives here will give time to its spring cleaning over the week end...or whenever they have the time.  Our guys are still working outside too with little or no contact necessary.

Today I have a nice pork roast from Carfagnas.  I am out of carrots so it is with cabbage and potatoes and onions--slow roasting for several hours.  The guys finished off the soup today and so another pot is called for.  Thank God for soup. (I am thanking him for everything day and night.)

I am having fun entertaining myself and others, I hope, with pictures on Facebook from years back. 2011 is featured today.

I have also started a puzzle and wish my sister-in-law was here to help.  She's a whiz at puzzles. In between these activities, I try to keep the house in order and clean.  It's been five weeks since Monica and her crew have been here.

Stay positive and safe, my friends and family.

order food on line

We have just placed our first-ever order of groceries online to be picked up at Kroger.  Evidently, we just drive up and there are the bags of groceries in the hands of a happy worker. It will be interesting to see how much of our actual order is in the bag...and how fresh the produce is. We just don't want to take the chance of going in-store especially when they are saying on tv that if there are two respirators left and the contest is between us and younger persons then arrivederci to us.

I've started putting on happy pictures of the past to Facebook to cheer people up.  I know we are probably tired of news and doom and gloom. .. are you tired of soup stories?

Nate caught us having a drink at noon today.  He said to go for it.  By the end of this thing who knows how we will end up.  Right now we are very happy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Sun tan in March

Yesterday was lovely and I started a suntan while soaking up vitamin D.  The sun is out again today but does not feel as strong, maybe this afternoon will bring on the glaring rays.  I love the sun.

I have a lovely chicken pot pie prepared for dinner.  All I have to do is pop it in the oven. 

I am just finishing up a Bend in the Stars and have ordered (to Kindle) Fly Away by Kristin Hannah. I liked a Bend in the Stars but found it a little too long or maybe I am just ready for something lighter since I feel an end to this virus madness coming on. I could be wrong and we are not taking any chances but I have faith in America.

I have no faith, however, in finding any good television in the evening.  I never watch during the day but I do like a good evening of television.  It would not hurt them to drop some of the new episodes or new shows in this time of sheltering in place. The public television programmer is simply confused. It's annoying the interruptions in shows that we endure.

Remember the 80 pounds of rice that my son bought from Walmart?  We have yet to cook a grain of it. If we can ever have guests again they can be sure of a rice dish in the mix...

Week four

Well, how are you all doing? This has started my fourth week at home.  I have been reading up a storm.  My seat mate on the Italy bus tour is a real reader.  She went on vacation to the beach for a week and read five books while she was gone.  She is sad that her library is closed, but I am sure she will find a way to books. I just ordered Fly Away by Kristin Hannah.  I told you about some of her books that I had read so I am eager to start this one although I have one that is gripping me at the moment.

Nate, our grandson, has decided he likes my cooking after all the years he has lived here and I am finding it a challenge to keep up with his appetite.  He has restarted his business after traveling all winter and since he works outside all day his appetite is BIG. Luckily he and Andy like pasta and I have enough of that to last for several months.  Every time I see a bag of a different shape, I buy it and add it to the collection.  I even brought home two bags of miniature colored pasta from Italy that I was going to show off at the Easter party.  Sigh.  That's canceled too, so it will keep until we are all free once more.

I have been cleaning cupboards and drawers and the kitchen floor, a bit a day.  I shutter looking out the windows and cannot wait for the 30th to arrive.  Johnny comes to give the house a bath and all the bricks and cement  as well.  We leave the tennis court to Eric as well as the outside furniture.  The pool is to be opened this week because I wanted it clean and pretty for Easter. Sigh. Eric has extra work because vandals broken into the padlocked backyard's fence last night and then came near the front of the house and knocked over our gas meter.  I think they stood on it to heave themselves over the locked front gate.  There is nothing to steal here except daffodils, boys.

I have no inspiration for cooking dinner tonight. I usually like to get it going in the morning, but I am slow on the draw today.  Andy has gone for a whiskey run.  He is wearing a mask and rubber gloves.  I hope they don't think it is a hold-up