Sunday Somethings

Sunday.
Sunday.
Sunday.

I slept in
(thank you, sweet bed, I'm forever grateful).

I'm wearing my glasses,
not my contacts,
& still in my night clothes at 10am.

I love having a slow-paced Sunday morning.
Especially after the week I've had...
With my new manager promotion, I'm busy trying to learn lots of new duties,
as well as keep up with my old duties,
because we don't have anyone new to replace me yet.
And, I don't want my team to get behind with their work,
so I need to do my part to keep up.



Have I mentioned I'm so glad today is Sunday?

I could spend today a myriad of ways.


I could spend it getting more familiar with Excel,
because in my new managerial position I have to use Excel a LOT.




I could use it reading up on training & my notes from the week...


I need to write three blog posts for UpTake.
I need to write one blog post for United Credit Source.


I could clean & organize my closet.
I have lots of laundry to do.



I could read a book...for work or pleasure.




You know what I've decided to do today?




First, I'm going to take my boys swimming...

I'm going to meet up with my grandmother to get pedicures...

and then I'll try to do all that other stuff.

Flan de Leche

I was given this recipe in 1962 by Senora Diaz, a Cuban refugee who was my neighbor when I was at University of Florida. It’s been a favorite for our family ever since – and I always double (or triple) it. Last night I took it along (a triple recipe) to serve as dessert at a pizza party out in Shelton Laurel.

1 can condensed milk (sweetened condensed, NOT evaporated -- there's a real difference) (I use one can nonfat to two cans regular when I triple the recipe)
Water
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl mix the condensed milk with an equal amount of water, using the empty can as a measure. Beat the eggs and add them. Mix all together thoroughly. Add vanilla and mix in well. Set mixture aside.

You will need a lidded ovenproof container (I use corning ware) to bake the flan in and you will need a larger pan. Put the container in the pan with a few inches of water and heat on top of the stove.

In a heavy frying pan, melt the sugar over high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Sugar should begin to foam and smoke. Take from heat at once for a sweeter, less bitter caramel coating or let darken a bit according to your preference. (we like it darker – kids usually prefer it lighter.)

Now pour into your heated mold and turn to coat sides. Return mold to water bath and pour in egg and milk mixture. Cover mold (foil works too), then cover water bath, put in oven and bake till a knife comes out clean, 45 minutes to one hour or a good bit longer for larger quantities and depending on the type of mold you have used. Test frequently because the lovely silky texture will be lost if you overcook (though the flan will still taste good.)

Best very cold, therefore make it the day before and chill overnight.

Almost everyone loves this stuff and it is really, really easy!!

Weekend Miscellany

Friday was devoted to proof-reading THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS, lips moving and carefully reading aloud in my mind. It's the very best way to make sure I have the dialect right, that I am making sense, that I'm not repeating the same word in a sentence (a common failing of mine), and that the words flow easily when read aloud.

I got as far as page 147 (out of 401) and have been charmed to find that I keep wanting to see what's next.

Since I spent most of the past year working on the novel in a very different configuration, the story I am reading now is almost new to me, as those major changes were made quickly and there was no time for me to read and reread again and again till the story was fixed in my mind.

Now, with a bit more distance between me and the previous version, I can really appreciate how right Herself was in having me pare away that other subplot.

The pictures? Just odds and ends. The yellow sedum at the top is called Hundred (or is it Thousand?) Acre sedum because one small plant, given time and rain, will spread over vast areas.

The second is a picture of the pond with raindrops dancing on its surface. And the third is a tiny box turtle that Justin found while weed eating and brought in to show us.

And last? Bobotie, made from a recipe Eleanor posted over at Thatchwick Cottage. An Indonesian dish finds its way to North Carolina via South Africa and we agree, it was lekker (tasty)!

Thanks, Eleanor!

6:15pm on a random Tuesday

This child gives me five hugs in the morning before I leave the house for work.

Then he follows me out of the house to give me one more hug at the car.

Remy really loves his mama.

This photo makes me smile.
Because Texas Homeboy and Donny are both wearing Longhorn burnt orange...
and watching Remy play baseball.

Donny is 12...and just as tall as I am.
His feet are bigger than mine.
He beat me at chess the other night...which has NEVER happened before.

I can claim exhaustion because I'd just finished working a 12 hr day.
More on that later...

This photo captures my family in a normal moment.
Remy packing up his bat bag after baseball practice,
Texas Homeboy chugging his Gatorade,
and Donny checking Annie's collar.

And me at the camera.

Sweet Annie dog loves her boys.
And we try to take her wherever we can.
She's a full member of our family.

A slobbery, hairy member of our family who snores.

NO, not ME!!

ANNIE.

Try to capture a normal moment in your routine...it's fun!

Did I tell you that I made manager at work?!
more on that later...

ACTING KOI

Koi pond at Penang Restaurant, Kennesaw.

Anyone who thinks of a koi pond as something Zen Buddhist-like - something ineffably relaxing, a source of quiet contemplation - hasn’t walked past a koi pond filled with hungry fish who think it’s Feeding Time.

It's BAA-ACK!

. . . all 401 pages of The Day of Small Things came Fed-Exing back into my life yesterday afternoon.

I'd just returned from a trip to town -- P.O., bank, recycling center, grocery, and a cup of coffee with the blogger known as estaminet -- who is in the area visiting family and is as charming as her blog.

Before I'd even unloaded the groceries or fed the dogs (it was past the sacred four o'clock chow time, they kept telling me), I had to get into the package and flip through the pages, in shameless search for Herself's words of blue ink praise.

There were a gratifying number of them -- as well as some very nice comments from the copy editor (in red pencil). And evidently, no major changes called for, no more of those 'Flat!' warnings or exhortations to 'Milk it!' -- meaning to stretch an exciting moment even farther.

Now I have to settle down to the painstaking task of reading every word as if I'd never seen it before in an attempt to catch typos and the like. I have to consider carefully if I've phrased things as well as I might, if Miss Birdie sounds like Miss Birdie, if Calven sounds like a modern day teenager.

I have to polish this baby till it shines and I have to get it back to Herself by June 22. Very doable, since as I said, there don't seem to be any major changes called for.

Oh, I know a few places where I'd like to insert a paragraph or two but on the whole, as I buzzed through the pages last night in search of every last blue ink comment, I kept thinking, "Hey! This is pretty good! Ooh, that was a nice bit there. Wow! Did I write that? Cool!"

Now, a few weeks past the major re-do of the story, I'm able to appreciate the new shape of the novel without thinking about the part I removed. And I can honestly say -- "Yep, I'm right pleased with Birdie's book!"

FRIDAY RANDOM TEN -REUNIONS EDITION

Ready to reune. SWMBO shows off her Tiger Toes, complete with Class of ’74 logo.

It’s Friday, time once again for the Friday Random Ten, that insufferable feature in which I put up a list of Miscellaneous Melodies, horked out at random by the iPod d’Elisson.

This weekend, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are on our way to Princeton, New Jersey, there to attend my thirty-fifth class reunion. It promises to be a Grand Old Time. There, the music will be coming from live bands, not little white boxes... and there will be hordes of people in varying states of bibulosity, gyrating to the best of their ethanol-fueled abilities. Joy!

But all that comes later. Right now we want to see what’s on that little white box. Here ’tis:

1. Act I, Scene 2: “You Know We’ll Meet With Your Confrère” - John Adams, Nixon in China
   
   
2. Grace - Mooonraker
   
   
3. The Cold Part - Modest Mouse
   
   
4. Father and Son - Cat Stevens
   
   
5. Boodle Am Shake - Dixieland Jug Blowers
   
   This song, recorded in 1926, was written by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams.
   
   The 1926 version could frequently be heard on Jean Shepherd’s radio show... and years later, it was covered by Jerry Garcia, playing with Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions.
   
   Boodle am, boodle am, boodle am, boodle am, boo
   Toodle am, toodle am, toodle am, toodle am, too
   Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling, now
   Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, wow
   
   I know this song don’t mean a thing
   You just do that plain old Charleston swing
   When you sing
   Toodle am, toodle am, toodle am, toodle am, too
   Boodle am, boodle am, boodle am, boodle am, boo
   
   
6. Marie’s Wedding - Van Morrison & the Chieftains
   
   
7. Moggio - A Tribute Band for FZ
   
   
8. Rum and Coke - Professor Longhair
   
   
9. Act III: “I Have No Offspring” - John Adams, Nixon in China
   
   
10. P.S. I Love You - The Beatles
    
    

It’s Friday. What are you listening to?

YET ANOTHER TRIP...

...around the sun for Eli, hizzownself - my beloved Daddy - who turned eighty-four today.


I taut I taw a Tautology: Eli, father of Elisson.

Ya gotta admire a guy who celebrates his 84th birthday by going out and playing four rounds of racquetball... soundly walloping the Dreaded Opposition in the process. Yes, he’s in great shape both physically and mentally (keyn ayin hora). If he chose to, he could thrash me or most anyone my age on the four-walled court, through a deadly combination of physical stamina and Extreme Wilyness. Knows all the angles, he does.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I will, Gawd willing, get a chance to celebrate with the Old Man in person: He and Toni are the next stop on our Thirty-Fifth Reunion Tour.

Onward... to One Hundred Twenty!

TODAY’S VISUAL PUN

Kohanim!

TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS...

...but when you do so, be sure to wear your knee-high leather boots, in the event you should come upon one of these guys:



John - Donnie Joe’s brother - lives just a few miles north of us. He heard something rustling in the bushes and went out to investigate, and this is what he found. There followed a telephone call to Donnie Joe, paraphrased below...

“Hey, Donnie Joe - I found a snake in our yard!”

“Was it black?”

“No, it was brown, with a kind of pattern...”

“Holy crap - that’s a copperhead! It’s venomous - stay the fuck away from it!”

[Note: I have taken a few liberties here. Donnie Joe would never say “holy crap” or “fuck” in a telephone conversation with his brother. But if I had been on the phone... well, you get the idea.]

John is not the kind of person who willingly allows Dangerous Reptiles to make camp on his property. The landscape guys were working on his yard, conveniently enough, so he had one of them dispatch it with the edge of a shovel. The PETA folks may gripe, but tough toenails. You do NOT want the neighborhood kids stumbling upon one of these.

And besides, the meat’s tasty. Like chicken. Chicken that’s been crawling around on its belly all its life.

FUZZBALLS ‘R’ US

Cute for cuteness’s sake doesn’t usually fly here at Blog d’Elisson - after all, this is a place where I write about bowel movements and Taint Warheads, fer cryin’ out loud - but this was irresistible.

You’re looking at Thunder and Lightning, two dramatically-named kitties that were rescued from a dumpster by our friends David and Laurie. The Coke can is included to show scale.

David and Laurie’s dog Patches - a 75-pound Bandana-Wearin’ Dawg - has taken over the Mr. Mommy role. I’m trying to picture it...

Update: Friday Ark #245 is afloat over at the Modulator, with our Collection o’ Kitties in pole position.

If that’s not enough to satisfy your Kitty Jones, head on over to Three Tabby Cats in Vienna sometime after Sunday evening, where Kashim, Othello, and Salome will be hosting Carnival of the Cats #272.

Update 2: CotC #272 is up.

Tree Pimples

Did you know trees grew pimples?

And had toes?

And mouths...

And breasts...

And...well, you get the idea.

hehe

My Go-To Computer Guy

I call him my 'other' son. Cory's been a part of our life since he and Justin became friends at NC School for Science and Math. They were room mates through much of Chapel Hill and now that Cory and his girlfriend live in Asheville, they are out at the farm on many a weekend. And I am shamelessly taking advantage of his computer expertise.

Yesterday he helped me get set up with SKYPE so that I can have a video call next week with Karen B.'s bookclub -- in New Jersey. Such fun. Last night I did a trial run with Karen and she and I just sat there staring at each other on our computer screens and saying, "This is so cool."

Cory is also a terrific professional photographer. That's something else he does on his weekends out here. For some wonderful closeup shots of bugs and flowers, check out his website. There is a luna moth of such beauty . . .

His shots make mine (below) look pretty puny. (I'll excuse myself by saying that he has an MFA in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design, plus a really spiffy camera.)

When Cory and Justin were rooming together at Chapel Hill, Justin commonly availed himself of Cory's always superior computer equipment. But then came the terrible morning when the printer jammed as Justin was trying to print out the paper which was due in a class starting in about ten minutes.

Cory to the rescue! "Go to class," he said. "Sit by the window," he said and Justin took off on a run, sliding into a seat by the window just in time to answer "Here."

Roll was taken; the professor spoke of this and that and at last began to go up and down the class collecting papers. On either side of Justin, classmates were raising their eyebrows, noticing his entire lack of a paper to hand in.

As the professor reached the desk just before his, Justin put his hand out the window.

And in one smooth flourish, retrieved the freshly printed paper from his unseen benefactor and presented it to the (no doubt) puzzled professor.

Everyone needs a go-to computer guy.

BOIL: A 100-WORD STORY

Stu Frogmore had lived in Charleston all his life, as befit someone whose family roots stretched back to the days when the Battery was first built.

He loved everything about his home town. While others might gripe about heat, humidity, and the occasional hurricane, Stu just smiled. When Northern transplants complained about the leisurely pace of life, he simply felt sorry for them.

And he loved the food.

Only thing he hated was the massive carbuncles that would grow ’twixt his scrotum and anus, owing to the sweltering heat. There were few things more painful than a Low Country Boil.

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS

Upstairs: Hakuna guards the top of the staircase against Unwanted Intruders.


Downstairs: Neighbor protects a comfy armchair against Unwanted Intruders.

No, it ain’t Masterpiece Theatre. Just our kitties, and their shaky Modus Vivendi. When one is upstairs, the other generally is downstairs... and vice versa. For when they find themselves in the same general area, complications ensue.

Servants and aristocrats would likely get along better than these two. Alas.

GOING BACK

1930 Wedgewood dinner plate featuring Princeton University’s Blair Hall - my home for two years. One of a series of twelve plates featuring Princeton campus landmarks.

Let’s go back to Princeton
At commencement time,
Sample each reunion:
That’s the life for mine!
Ramble round the campus,
Full of jollity,
Our location for celebration
Is New Jersee.

Going back, going back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.
Going back, going back,
To the best old place of all.
Going back, going back,
From all this earthly ball.
We’ll clear the track as we go back,
Going back to Nassau Hall.

(from Going Back to Nassau Hall - Kenneth S. Clark 1905)

Yes, beginning tomorrow, thousands of alumni will gather in Princeton, New Jersey for yet another massive bout of nostalgia, camaraderie, and drinkage. Reunions!

Reunions are held every year, but it’s been our tradition to attend every five years... and thus, we will get on the Great Silver Aerial Bus Friday morning and make the journey to that “one and only University, situated and celebrated In New Jersee” for my thirty-fifth Class Reunion.

Yes, Esteemed Readers - it has been that long. Gaaaahhh!

It’ll be different this year, because for the very first time ever, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I will be unaccompanied by Offspring. Elder Daughter attended her first Reunion in 1979 at the tender age of three weeks. From 1984 on, both girls accompanied us... until 2004, when Elder Daughter was unable to attend due to the demands of her job (!) It’s the inevitable result of the Passage of Time.

Highlights will include the one and only P-Rade, in which alumni and their families representing every class (up to and including this year’s graduates) march through the campus, each class attired in its distinctive uniform, and a fireworks show that is an out-and out extravaganza. But for me, the best part is seeing old friends... and getting better acquainted with classmates that I didn’t get to know as well as I’d have liked to Back In The Day.

Hey, I might even run into a blogger or two...

Garden Walkabout

Between rain showers yesterday, I managed to get out in the yard and garden for a while.

I don't know the name of this little coral-colored rose but it's one of my favorites.










It's been there in the bed by the green house for about twenty years, at a guess and, if past years are any guide, will bloom from now till frost.






















There is a nice flush of shitakes on the inoculated logs -- I foresee another asparagus/shitake stir fry in our future.

The spiderwort is blooming in the creepy garden.

The banties are happy in their chicken tractor.

In the herb garden, the sage is blooming and fat bumble bees wiggle their way deep into the blossoms.

The box beds were full of weeds which have outdone themselves with all the rain. I filled a tub to take to the big chickens and threw a wad of crisp green chickweed to the banties -- along with assorted slugs, earthworms, and wood lice.

Across the road from the garden I spotted a clump of Blue-eyed Grass.

This tiny (the bloom is about the size of my little finger's nail) wild flower is a member of the iris family and though not exactly showy is utterly charming.

A lovely find on a day in late spring.