Grandma's Kitchen Table

Sunday's Snippets

READING:  Ulysses S. Grant's Ulysses S. Grant: Personal Memoirs.  Yes, the one that Mark Twain published all those many years ago.  It's a wonderful read, Grant is a very good writer and battle after battle is recounted in a manner that keeps one interested and moving through the pages quickly, as well as the more personal bits.  I know, I know, you aren't going to probably read it, but trust me, it is worthy. I was able to get the movie called The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, that was based on the book I was reading last week about Mary Surratt and the assassination of Lincoln...the movie was good but did not follow the book very closely...told from the point of view of someone who was not featured greatly in the book.  The book is much better and truer to fact.
SWIMMING NEWS:  Plane tickets are purchased and swimmers are gearing up for another swim meet in the Grand Prix series with the Olympians, this time in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Matt swam in this meet last year as well, with his high school team, so now he will enter the meet with his college team.  A nice progression.  Until then, I believe they are just working very hard and training long course after all those months (August to March) of short course swimming. 
COOKING BYTES:  Caught up with my Wednesday with Donna Hay group this week...if you have not made any of her recipes, you are truly missing out.  Fresh ingredients, lower in fat and calories for the most part, no fake ingredients, simple, easy, and most of all, delicious.  Check out her website here and make something!  Don't be put off by the metric measurements as you can google: "how many ounces is 200 grams" and have it in a flash.  After doing it over and over you don't even need to google it sooner than you think.
FAV NEW FIND:  Mark cleaned out the mechanical room...I was always afraid to go in there as it was filled with guy stuff and there didn't seem to be any particular order to it, and it all looked scary and unidentifiable most of the time.  Voila...no more...all the old scout projects, home school projects, bits and pieces of project projects (or whatever) have all been hauled out of there and a trip made to the chemical wasteland place made.  Whew.   A favorite new thing around here indeed.
FAV THIS PAST WEEK:  A dear friend made something very special for me that she knew I would absolutely love and it arrived on my doorstep in a big box of most interesting proportions as she said she was sending me a little something.  It was definitely my favorite thing this past week.  
WEEK IN REVIEW:  A busy work week, some fun time this weekend, some working around the house this weekend, time with friends, a nice phone call from Alex who has a new job, and I leave you with a photo of Steve, Kiernan, and Matt at Xavier as Matt and Steve took a drive over to Cincinnati to visit Kiernan this weekend, to see the campus and where Kiernan hangs out these days, etc.  A fine time was had by all. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO:   At the Indianapolis Children's Museum:  I was talking to someone this week who had no idea that we have a permanent exhibit of the glasswork of Dale Chihuly called Fireworks of Glass, click here for information and go check it out if you haven't...it's all lovely.  This is what's happening at the ISO this coming week:  Vive la France! click here

Sunday's Snippets

 

       READING:  Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. There is a bit of a dreamer in me for all things historical, something magical happens when I read history or things of the past:  it transports me to another place, another time, another world.  I usually prefer reading factual (non-fiction) accounts of history as I enjoy the reality of it all. 

      Sometimes a book comes along that sounds intriguing that isn't non-fiction and I delve in with great enthusiasm, knowing that it will drive me insane with the inaccuracies and freedom of artistic expression that often happen with such books, but am sometimes willing to put up with all of that if the story line is well done.   Nicole was reading this book for her book club and while she wasn't actually enthusiastic in her endorsement, it intrigued me and I went to the library in search of this author. 

      I first read Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue which is rather fun as it traces a painting through its owners throughout the years from the 1600s to present, how the painting began, how it was sold/traded/acquired by the various owners, what it meant to them, etc.  Totally fictional, totally fun for me, so onward I headed to Luncheon of the Boating Party which fictionalizes the painting of that title by Auguste Renoir.
       It fictionalizes the artist, the people in the painting, and the time period in France.  Again, absolutely delightful. A good author to visit before I head back into more serious reading.

LISTENING TO:  The Indpls Sym Orch was performing Elton John and Billy Joel tunes this weekend, so certainly it is my duty to carry this over around here for a week, don't you think?  Good, I think so, too.
SWIMMING NEWS:  Matt went to Nationals (that's him left in the middle diving in for the start of the 4x100 Freestyle Relay and he and Daniel in photo below watching Harrison swim his leg of the relay)  out in California and had a great time, no real new gains in swim times.  There reaches a point in every season when that's all that season will net for a swimmer, so looking back in total, there were some great moments, new best times, and a lot of fun, all that one can ask.  

      Speaking of "all that one can ask," here's another photo of the 4x100 Freestyle Relay team at Nationals, again, Harrison is in the water swimming his leg of it.  The guy adjusting his swim cap is the person who makes it possible for the boys to have a National entry in this relay, Coach Chris.  Since CSC did not have four boys able to qualify in the last couple of years, Coach Chris (who happens to be 36 and definitely able to keep up with these 18/19 year olds) trained and was able to qualify with his times to swim so that the boys could have a fourth man for the National relay.  Not sure how many coaches would do that for their team, but we are awfully happy that this one does.  It started last winter at Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and who knows how long it will continue!  It's been a great ride for the boys to have Chris swimming with them.

      Now they have two weeks off from formal swim practice, a time I like to characterize as "when Mermaids and Mermen grow legs and feet and traverse the earth for a bit before returning to their watery world."  Next up:  college swimming for IU!

COOKING BYTES:  Rebecca and I are having Pickle Up Weekend this weekend...she mentioned on Twitter that she was going to make pickles, I had seen a couple of recipes here and here and am a huge pickle fan, so I decided to join in and she sent me a recipe she was going to use as well.  Since I haven't a clue how to do processing/canning, I made refrigerator pickles that don't require that.  I might get around to posting them this week.

FAV NEW FIND:  I found an interesting little melon at the market today, something called a Lemon Melon.  It's rather smallish, smaller than a cantaloupe.  It is cantaloupe colored on the outside and light green on the inside, sort of a honeydew color but doesn't taste like a honeydew melon.   It tastes like citrus (lemon), hard to describe, but very lovely.  Just perfect for a lemon-lover like me!

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  It's been rather fun having Matt around to enjoy these summer days before he heads off to college...no practices or real commitments when he returned from California, just so nice to have him hanging around doing silly kid-like things like making smiley faces on his burger bun with the ketsup bottle...it's the little things I'm going to miss the most.  

WEEK IN REVIEW:  Mark and I did great with Empty Nest practice...we were married 14 years before the boys came along, so I guess we have that part down pretty good actually, so maybe it will all be fine and I will adjust quicker than I imagine.  Maybe. 

PRAYING FOR:  Bill and Jim, two great guys whose gals are depending on them to recover quickly.  I know I mentioned this last week, but keep praying, we have a ways to go yet.

 

Happy Easter!

      Happy Easter!  We've been in an Easter kind of mood around here this weekend.  It started off with a lovely bouquet of yellow tulips for me from Reyn...not sure which is prettier, the flowers or Reyn, both are gorgeous and such fun to have around.
      Reyn's family does not dye Easter eggs, Matt's family does, so Reyn came on over to help us color the eggs...Matt, Reyn, Mark, and I sat around the table coloring eggs...one is never too old to enjoy coloring eggs.  The first photo is proof that 18 year old boys are sometimes like 8 year old boys...here's a photo of Matt and Reyn holding their eggs up for a photo....
...and here's a photo taken a second later when I heard, "Oh, no, I dropped my egg!"  Some things never change.
      All Mark's siblings were at his parents' house at the same time as that only happens about once a year.  Worthy enough for a photo.  Mark, Philip, Brian, and Alan in the back; Mark's Dad Emil and his mother Dorothy in the front with Nancy and Luke.
      And Grandma and Grandpa with five of the grandkids...Matt, Alex, David, Jonathan in the back with Steven in the front.  It's definitely a guy-oriented family. 

     Easter Goodie Bags and Baskets after Mass.  Reyn was thrilled with a new cupcake cookbook...maybe we will have another guest post soon.         Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and weekend in general.  I can't believe the boys are 18 and next year, although maybe home from college, our little nest will be empty for the most part.  Yikes, time flies.  Kids or not, there will be Easter egg coloring here again next year...it's something I look forward to each year.

Sophie (May 28, 1994 - January 15, 2011)

      Goodbye, Sophie.  In all of her 16.5 years, Sophie was never ill, never needy, never made a single mess of any kind, was always a sweetie, and held reign over those those two Tibetan Spaniels that showed up when she was ten.     

      In November we found out that Sophie had kitty cancer and there was nothing to be done about it, that we could bring her home for a bit, but when she started showing signs of suffering, it would be time to say goodbye.  

      Although she kept the suffering part from us, she was visibly slowing down, neglecting to eat, sleeping most of the day away, walking very slowly, etc.  So it was time we said goodbye to Soph.  I thought I would just post a nice photo of her taken today because she was one really great pet for all those years...that's a long time to live with someone, and she did it so nicely. 

      Sophie arrived when the boys were two years old, Matt summed it up best when he said, "I don't remember a time without Sophie being here."  (She wasn't feeling the greatest, so she looks a little grumpy, but otherwise these are nice photos of her.) 

      The two Tibbies?  Well, frankly they are looking at us all a little accusingly as apparently they know that Soph is not coming back.  It's a little disarming to have to address the accusations as they keep searching throughout the house for her.  She will be missed by all of us, she was just that loved.

Merry Christmas!

      Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!  Hope your day is Merry and Bright...we definitely have the Christmas White taken care of here in Indiana.  We are enjoying the day, hope you are as well.  Holiday cheer to all of you. 

Friday's Favorites Fare (on Saturday)

Matt and fellow CSC swimmer, Lauren J, during half-time at IU Homecoming football game today.  No, not a date, just good friends, Matt was at game, Lauren was down at IU on swim recruit visit, and the two had a great time at the game with others. 

READING:  The Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather (Quebec 1697-1698) and One of Ours by Willa Cather (WWI 1914-1920).  These are the last two novels of Cathers that our library didn't have available before when I was reading the rest.  I'd read them both in high school, so it was good to revisit them as an adult. 

LISTENING TO:  ...and watching the IU/Arkansas State football game on television, getting ready to watch the Iowa Hawk/Michigan game next.   

COOKING BYTES:  The season is changing...welcoming soup week straight ahead.  I love soup, could exist on that and salad and never be bored.  It's a simple thing, I am a simple person at heart.

FAV NEW FIND:  The changing leaves, the cooler weather, the return of Orion in the night's sky.   

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  We have had a wonderful week enjoying Matt's decision to commit to Indiana University for college swimming.  We tried very carefully not to express our preferences so that it was his decision and not ours.  That was incredibly hard as we are such IU fans.  You would have been proud, and astonished at our ability to display impartiality.  He flew all over the country for recruiting trips, looking at this college and that, getting offers from here and there, but in the end, it was IU who had his heart.  He got off the plane one Sunday and said, "I'm done with recruiting trips, etc. I just want to go to IU and swim there."  Absolutely music to our ears!  He will be going to college 90 minutes away from here and swimming where we can go and watch the meets.  Don't think we aren't excited.  IU's business school is ranked 10th in the nation, he loves the campus, the coaching staff (one of the coaches was coaching at CSC when Matt was 10-11), the team, and the city of Bloomington.  So excited!!!  You will all appreciate this.  We said, "Are you sure?  We want this to be your decision and not ours."  He responded with, "Yes, I'm sure...I tried to have it NOT be IU, I tried to NOT want to go in-state, I tried to have it be somewhere else, but it didn't work, I just love IU and want to go there."  This is the swimmer who won state last year with a swim he didn't want to swim and was determined to go to college out of state like most of his best friends, but in the end, home is where the heart is in this case, and about that swim, coaches can see further down the line than swimmers...we do what we need to do!  He has been just delighted since the decision and we are all looking forward to him being a Hoo down in Hooville.

GOING TO:  October 15th marks the day that NCAA college basketball teams can commence formal practice so Matt and Mark went down to Bloomington for the opening tip of practice, etc. (along with over 13,000 other people who attended) on Friday night, they stayed over for the homecoming game and festivities today, also taking in a swim meet at the IU pool, Matt hanging out with the swimmers and enjoying some friends who are down there this weekend on swimming recruit visits of their own. Besides that, there is choir rehearsal, etc. for Matt and some time for catching up around here with things that need to be done and enjoyed during fall. 

PRAYING FOR:  Please join me in praying for Bill, Margaret's husband, newly diagnosed with cancer who is undergoing all sorts of procedures and treatments now.

After Dinner in Elwood

       Last evening after dinner in Elwood at the in-laws home, the daughters-in-law lined up all the usual suspects and had a photo shoot with Dorothy and Emil and their six children, as well as various other combinations.  Here is one of those photos with everyone's eyes open, everyone looking in the same direction, everyone acting appropriately, and everyone showing their ages, sort of.  This is a family where men keep their hair their entire lives.

      In order of appearance, from left to right:  Mark (56), Luke (53), Alan (45), Nancy (54), Philip (51), and Brian (49). 

      Happy Easter!