The Husband is Home

Today has been stressful.

I slept late this morning. My cell phone rang at 9:30 am. It was the funeral home telling me The Husband's cremains were ready for pickup, as well as copies of his death certificate.

I brought everthing home and took the items upstairs to our office. I placed The Husband on a bookcase. I worked all afternoon reviewing various accounts/bills. This work is tedious, time consuming and emotionally draining. 

I had plans to meet up with good friends at a local restaurant. The time we spent together, the conversations about The Husband we had and the stories/photos we shared were just what I needed today, or so I thought.

I showed them the following picture of The Husband, which is the epitome of his love of the porch. The photo was taken several years ago. Notice the iPod in the Bose speaker dock, which means we were listening to his eclectic music catalog (4,000 songs). Also notice the cocktail glass next to the iPod. And, who could miss his head thrown back and his big laugh as he was conversing with our neighbors?

I returned home from being with our friends tonight and decided The Husband and I would have a cocktail on the porch, with music. See the iPod in the Bose speaker dock, the cocktail glass with Johnny Walker Red and water, as well as the box containing The Husband?

I sat there for a few moments, just the two of us with his favorite music and his favorite drink.

I started bawling.

I then asked the next door and across the street neighbors to join us, which they happily did. We laughed and reminisced about our numerous, informal porch parties over the years. The Powell house motto was, after all, "If we are on our porch, COME ON OVER!"

I'm thankful every day that I was lucky enough to be the friend of (and the wife of) The Husband.  

I am also thankful every day for all our friends and family that have helped both of us on this journey.

"I pooped and peed and have on panties and I'm dry!"

Today has been an extra good day.

The Husband and I:

* Went out for breakfast.

* Went for manicures & pedicures at the mall.  I'll never understand why he didn't have his toenails & fingernails painted purple, with multi colored glitter on top, like I did. He just NEVER wants to match! What's up with that?  :-)

* Bought new bed pillows.

* Stopped in for a short visit with friends at their home. Their adorable granddaughter was there. She proudly proclaimed, "I pooped and peed and have on panties and I'm dry!" Our response? "Yippee! Such an accomplishment!" Of course, we all aspire to that when we are very young and when we are aging rapidly. :-)

* Stopped in at a favorite local restaurant for a late bite of lunch and had a lovely visit with friends who were there.

* Had a 2 hour nap.

* Went out to another favorite restaurant for a light dinner and laughs with the staff.

It's important to appreciate the good days.  I hope your day was also good!

The Kiss

 20 years ago we kissed in The Husband's backyard, 

in front of family and friends.

20 years later we kiss where ever the mood strikes us!

Social Security & Medicare

The Husband and I went to a dinner party last weekend 

with folks he has known since high school.

A good part of the conversation was focused on 

when to "take" social security and how much Medicare costs.

When did we get to be this old?

I'm pretty sure I'm only 33 or 34.

Wait.

Perhaps not!

Rose Table

Just wanted to pop in and say "Hi!"  {{waves}}

We are having friends over for dinner tonight.  The table is ready!

I hope you are having a great summer!

Labor Day and Gooey Butter Cake

Hi. How was your holiday weekend? Ours was great. We were invited to cook outs on both Sunday and Monday. My contribution on both days was Mom's Macaroni Salad.

A few years ago, my sister-in-law started making Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. My niece had a piece at a family function and the rest is history. I believe the quote from the niece was, "I want to marry this cake, I love it so much!"

The cake was made today:

A happy niece!

Funny thing, when I googled "gooey butter cake" to find the recipe I found a Wikipedia page about the history of the cake. Very interesting!

The Sister also wanted to make Mom's Banana Pudding. She tricked Mom into standing and stirring it for her. (That's the B-i-L in the background.)

Finished product. The individual servings of pudding without the bananas or the wafers are for me and the little niece. We are picky.

This is a long standing family favorite.

Mom's Banana Pudding

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
dash salt
3 eggs
2 cups cold milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Nilla Wafers
4 or 5 bananas sliced

Mix sugar, flour and salt in a cast iron skillet. Blend in 3 eggs and milk. Cook, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Layer custard, bananas, Nilla wafers on the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart dish. Repeat layers twice.

Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with Nilla Wafers just before serving.

Road Trip - July 28-29, 2013

Yes, I'm posting about a trip from a month ago. Sorry, but my OCD does not allow me to skip it.

************************************************************************

Sunday, July 28th we took the train out of Chicago to the western suburbs. We visited the daughter of some of The Husband's oldest Connecticut friends. We met her adorable twins and spent a pleasant couple of hours visiting and playing with the babies.

The Husband was very happy to meet the babies. When he moved back to Oklahoma from Connecticut, their mother was about the age they are now!

We returned to Chicago by train and started walking. It was a glorious day.

I love these iconic Marina City buildings.

Beautiful flowers.

*********************************************************************

Monday, July 29th we slept late, walked Chicago streets again and then took a train to Wrigleyville for a Cubs game!

We had a great time in Chicago, but it was time to the head home the next day.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a great day today, whatever your plans may be.

I whipped up this appetizer to share with friends poolside this afternoon. It's not red, white and blue, but it sure is pretty!

Crescent rolls, cooked flat
Covered in cream cheese
Finely diced peppers (red, yellow, orange) sprinkled on cream cheese
Finely diced cucumber sprinkled on cream cheese
Finely shredded colby/jack cheese sprinkled on top
Cut in bite size pieces

Yum yum!

Dinner With Friends

I started to title this post "Friends for Dinner," but that sounds a bit cannibalistic doesn't it?

Good friends of ours have recently relocated from Albuquerque, NM back to Tulsa. They joined us for an informal "welcome home" dinner tonight. A good time was had by all.

Welcome home friends!

Funerals

We seem to be in one of those phases of life where every time we turn around, someone we know has died.

We've attended three funerals within the last few weeks.

Yesterday we learned that one of The Husband's high school friends had passed away after a long illness. That funeral will be next week.

To top it all off, I opened the obituary section of the paper yesterday and saw that one of The Husband's earliest childhood friends (pre-kindergarten) had passed and his funeral is today.

I'm ready for this phase to finish immediately!  I want to move on to the life phase where we celebrate weddings and babies and such.

Do you find funerals come in multiples in your life?

Grape Salad

The Ladies Of The Night book club met recently and my contribution to our feast was Grape Salad. It was a big hit with the ladies. I am so adding this to my summer recipe file.

I found the recipe on The Midlife Guru's blog. (Visit her post to see photos!)

Grape Salad 

2 pounds each red/green grapes (washed, stemmed, dried)
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix sour cream, cream cheese and vanilla together by hand. Pour over grapes and carefully combine. Mix brown sugar and pecans together and spread over the grapes. Cover and chill overnight. Just before serving, stir in topping to grape mixture.

Enjoy!

Tablescape for Friends

We recently had friends over for dinner. I used the same tablecloth I used for my family the week before.

Instead of red accents for this tablescape, I went the green route.

The green glass chargers were purchased 15+ years ago from a Crate & Barrel outlet. The color perfectly matches my Forest Green Depression glass collected over the years.

I layered on Fitz & Floyd's every day bone china, Nevaeh White.

I love these English Ivy plates. I blogged about them here.

A complete place setting. Note the glass knife rest. I picked up 8 of them at an estate sale. The linen napkin is from my extensive collection of napkins. (I've got napkins galore!)

Araglin Waterford wine glass paired with a Forest Green Water glass. I love the little footed salts. I have six of them, with spoons, from an estate sale.

We had grilled steaks, twice baked potatoes and salad with home grown tomatoes and cucumbers. Yum!

Road Trip 2012 - Day 10

Tuesday, April 24th - Charleston, SC

We were awake at 8:00 a.m. and had the continental breakfast in our room as we prepared for the day.

We decided to walk to the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center at Liberty Square. This was a much longer walk than the previous day's trek to the Charleston Visitor's Center.

We purchased our tickets for the 30 minute boat ride to Fort Sumter. You are allowed 1 hour at the Fort, before re-boarding the boat for the 30 minute ride back to the Education Center. While we waited for our designated departure time, we examined all the exhibits.

Finally, it was time to board the boat. The Husband, who is so mannerly, told me to let all the older folks board first. I told him, "Honey, these people are retirees. They are aggressive and brutal! We'll never get a seat. Let's go!" Reluctantly he followed me. Even so, we had to sit on the top level, exposed to the elements because all the protected seats were taken by "The Retirees!" It was cold and windy on the water. Very cold and windy!

The Husband with the Fort over his left shoulder.

On land, just before entering the Fort. 

The actual cannons used during the seige.

Over The Husband's right shoulder is Fort Johnson. The first shot on Fort Sumter was fired from there, beginning the Civil War.

The wind on Fort Sumter was brutal and cold. You felt like you were being beaten, it was so strong. We opted to return to the boat a few minutes early, but we could not beat the majority of "The Retirees." They were already on board, seated at tables in the enclosed areas of the boat. No cold, windy return for them! We climbed to the open deck of the boat and it was even colder and more windy on the return trip to the mainland. Did I mention it was cold? and windy?

After returning to the mainland, we took a pedicab ride from the Fort Sumter Vistor Center to the City Market area, thus avoiding the long walk back.
This guy was a lifesaver! 

We lunched at Magnolia's Restaurant. A couple of appetizers and a drink and we were good. We walked back to the B&B and took a nap in anticipation of a big evening with our friends.

The Friend and The Wife picked us up at our B&B and drove us the few blocks for a pre-dinner drink at the rooftop Pavilion Bar. My feet thanked them profusely! The Pavilion Bar was hip and trendy and full of glamorous people, just like us. We enjoyed the rooftop view of Charleston, a good cocktail and pleasant conversation.

After the drink, we repaired to the restaurant immediately adjacent to our B&B, Husk. On our first night in Charleston we had our first drink there with The Friend and then returned late at night for a sandwich. This night, however, was special because The Friend had made dinner reservations in the restaurant. Husk was named Bon Appétit magazine's 2011 Best New Restaurant in America and we were looking forward to the experience, to say the least!

I started with the "Buffalo Pig Ear Lettuce Wraps with Sweet Vinegar, Marinated Cucumbers and Spring Onion." The combination of tastes was divine. Salty pig ear, sweet and spicy flavors combined with crunchy cucumbers and lettuce was an interesting taste sensation. For the main course, I had "Cornmeal Dusted NC Catfish with Smoky Tomato, Spring Courgette and Sweet Corn." It was melt in my mouth delicious! The Husband, The Friend and The Wife also thoroughly enjoyed their dinners.

If you are planning to travel to Charleston, SC, I encourage you to 1) visit Husk's website and read about the Chef and his food philosophy, as well as his approach to sourcing ingredients for his creations and 2) make a dinner reservation!

After dinner, we returned to the Husk bar for an after dinner drink.

We can't thank our friends enough for making our first visit to Charleston so enjoyable. Their knowledge of where to stay and the restaurant scene made our visit stress free and delightful!

Thanks, guys!

Road Trip 2012 - Day 9

Monday, April 23 - Charleston, SC

At 5:30 a.m. we were awakened by truck noise. Lots of loud truck noise. Not only was it trash day, but there were also huge dumpsters full of construction debris that were being emptied. Joy! Joy! Joy!

We finally rolled out of bed at 8:15 a.m. At 8:30 a.m., the phone rang advising The Husband our breakfast would be delivered soon. It was very nice to get advance warning before the knock on the door!

After breakfast, we opted to walk to the Visitors Center. Silly us. The walk was longer than we anticipated. The Visitors Center was very busy. Lots of people in line waiting for information and tour tickets. We waited in line at least 30 minutes, perhaps longer, to purchase our tickets for the 2 hour Gullah Tour, conducted by Alphonso Brown.

We both enjoyed this tour. Alphonso is a funny, informative guide and we learned so much about Charleston's history. We also developed a keen appreciation for Philip Simmons, Blacksmith. He was the maker of many of Charleston's iron gate works of art. If you ever visit this fine city, we recommend you take this tour. You will not be sorry.

The tour ended at the Visitors Center and we caught the free trolley back to The City Market. I was more than a bit disappointed by the majority of the vendors in the market. I thought it would be primarily hand made, locally grown or vintage items. Unfortunately, it was primarily new tourist items. There were, however, a number of Sweetgrass Basket vendors, who were friendly and happy to educate us on the time honored craft. We did not purchase a basket during this visit to the market, but I knew I would not leave Charleston without one!

We had a quick lunch at Toast and repaired to our room for a short rest.

After our rest, we walked through the graveyard at the Circular Congregational Church, two blocks from our B&B. I love graveyards. I think they are places to remember and celebrate the people who have lived before us.

See the large tree in the background?

Here we are at the base of the tree. A sweet, older couple took our photograph and told us on their guided tour they were told that experts believe the tree to be 350 years old. They could take a core sample and determine the exact age, but have opted to refrain for fear of killing the tree. A good decision, in my opinion!

After visiting the graveyard, we continued our walk in the neighborhood and came upon a couple of basket creators. (We were told on the Gullah tour that they do not "weave" the basket, but prefer the term "sew.")

I carefully selected a basket to purchase and here you see the sewer signing and dating it for me.

We returned to the room and prepared to meet The Friend and The Wife for dinner. She is just as nice and easy to converse with as her husband. We had such a fun evening.

We walked to the Peninsula Grill for a pre-dinner drink and then moved on to dinner at Hank's Seafood Restaurant. After dinner, we walked to Charleston Grill and enjoyed a drink along with the music of a live jazz combo.

If you ever visit Charleston, you want to have a friend like The Friend. He knows all the cool and happening places and is a great drink and food guide for the city!

This was a day we did not even see our car, much less take it out of the garage. Walking everywhere made for immediate slumber once our heads hit the pillows!

Road Trip 2012 - Day 8

Sunday, April 22 - Asheville, NC to Charleston, SC

We slept late again, not awakening until 8:45 a.m. We left the hotel at 10:15 a.m. with the odometer reading 36,069. We stopped for a fast food breakfast (which was not good) and filled the car with gas.

I thought it was a boring drive to Charleston, SC. It was treed on both sides of the highway, so there was no view of houses or towns as we passed through the countryside.

Here is our obligatory photo at the state welcome center.

We arrived in Charleston and checked into The Elliot House Inn at 3:30 p.m. The inn has an outstanding location, right in the heart of the historic district. Everything is within easy walking distance.

We took the opportunity to rest (nap!) because we were meeting an old friend of The Husband's for drinks. The Friend lives in the area and, in addition to recommending where we should stay, also made dinner reservations for us for the following two nights.

These guys had not seen each other in 35 years and just recently reconnected via e-mail. When they saw each other, it was as if no time had lapsed. They picked up where they left off with comfortable and enjoyable conversation.

The Friend and The Husband

The Friend took us on a stroll of the neighborhood, beginning with drinks at The Bar at Husk Restaurant. We loved that the bar is a freestanding building adjacent to the restaurant. The second floor is a cool cocktail lounge. The first floor is a standard bar.

After the drink, we took a walk "South of Broad" (as Charlestonians say). It was an amazing trek through blocks of historic, beautiful homes. Scattered amongst the homes are churches, many with small cemeteries full of ancient graves. The Friend shared tidbits of information about the neighborhoods, specific houses and the history of Charleston.

The turning point of our walk was when we reached The Battery. As we promenaded the seawall, we could see Fort Sumter in the distance. 

As we headed toward our inn, The Friend ducked into an alley and like magic we were having another drink at the bar at McCrady's Restaurant. With this drink, we each had a deviled egg as an appetizer.

They cost $1!
For a deviled egg!
Which was 1/2 of a whole egg!
Oh!
My!
Goodness!

Suddenly, we all realized it was late on a Sunday night. We hustled back to the area of our inn, only to find that the restaurant where The Husband and I had planned to have dinner was closed. Fortunately, The Bar at Husk Restaurant was still open and was happy to serve us a sandwich.

At that point, The Friend left us in the capable hands of Weaver, the bartender, and Darrel, the bar back. In addition, we met Jay. A nice young man who was in town for a conference and ended up at the bar for a cocktail.

After enjoying our split BBQ pork sandwich, we walked the long distance (50 yards?) to our B&B.

Our end of day odometer reading was 36,347.

We parked in a garage across from the B&B. It will be interesting to see if the car comes out while we are here, since this is such a walkable area.

How Well Do You Listen?

Do you really listen to what people say to you?

When you are with friends or new acquaintances,

is your goal to tell everything you have ever seen, heard, learned?

Do you care what your friends or new acquaintances

 have seen, heard, learned?

Do you allow the "give and take" of conversation?

Do you engage people in real conversation? 

The Husband and I have ended long term friendships 

because we felt we were not being engaged in real conversation. 

In fact, it was more than our feelings.

It was the truth.

It is amazing to us the number of people who don't really listen.

We experienced it, once again, this week.

It was so very frustrating.

Is it too much to ask for give and take in a conversation?

Saturday Night Dinner Party

We are hosting our dinner party group on this Saturday night.

Here's a look at the table.

A place setting.

A simple centerpiece.

The Menu

Our Favorite Artichoke Dip

with Crackers

Clearwater City Caesar Salad

(from Pol Martin's Supreme Cuisine © 1993)

Butterfly Leg of Lamb,

marinated in a dijon mustard sauce for 24 hours

and grilled on the Hasty Bake.

(The Husband's old, handwritten recipe from Nancy, 

a dearly departed friend from Connecticut.)

Potatoes Au Gratin

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

with

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

Tablescape Resources:

Tablecloth & Napkins: Jackalope in Santa Fe, NM. (I think!)

China: Nevaeh White, Fitz & Floyd Everyday Bone China, Bed Bath & Beyond

Wine Glass: Riedel 

Water Glass: Mikasa French Countryside Ruby Goblet, won in a BNOTP contest

Sterling: American Classic by Easterling

Salt & Peppers: Collected over the years

Candlesticks: Gifts

Ladies of the Night

I joined a book club more than a year ago and have really enjoyed getting to visit with new people and to read and discuss books I would not normally select for myself.

Book club met at my house last night and a good time was had by all. Everyone brought a dish to share and the drink of their choice. Last night's spread of food was varied and delicious.

We had planned to host local author, P.C. Cast, for the evening, but she was unable to make it at the last minute. We hope to reschedule with her soon to discuss her wildly popular House of Night series.

One of the newer members of the club asked if we had a name. The club has been in existence for years and evidently had a name at one time, but it's use lapsed long ago. Suggestions were made and a unanimous vote resulted in the adoption of a new name, "Ladies of the Night."

We selected A Visit From The Goon Squad as our next book. Have you read it?

Are you a member of a book club?

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

The Husband and I just spent 3 days with Albuquerque friends enjoying the 40th annual Balloon Fiesta. There were 600 balloons registered for the event.

The pilots had weather to contend with during fiesta, but they did manage to ascend on the last Saturday and Sunday mornings for us. Yes, I did say just for us!

Here's how you "do" Balloon Fiesta, as explained by our friends. You wake up early and turn on the local news to see if the balloons are launching. If launch is a go, you put on your clothes (no breakfast, showers, make-up, etc), get in your car and chase the balloons, in which ever direction the wind blows them. Chasing:

STOP! We see balloons! Our friends T & V checking their pictures.

We've gotta move, the balloons are drifting. T & V at our second stop. Balloons behind us and balloons in front of us.

Stagecoach!

Third location of the day. Action shot of T helping a balloon land safely.

Here's a great shot of the inside of this balloon as the pilot was firing the gas to keep it inflated and upright.

The Husband says "I want to do that!" Here's an action shot of T and The Husband walking away from the balloon they just helped land. Look at that grin on The Husband's face!

Time to move again. Fourth location. The Husband, T & V waiting for balloons to land. We were in the field across the street from T & V's neighborhood.

Here's a shot of the balloons in the sky. See that flag balloon?

It ended up on the street 1/2 block from T & V's house. They live in a gated community, so T had to run across the parking lot to open the gate to give the chase crew access. Chase crews get clearance just like emergency crews. I never realized how important it is that people are on the ground when a balloon lands to stablize it so it does not tip over. Here are crew members running to assist.

Of course, once it landed and the pilot kept firing the gas to keep the balloon inflated and upright, the neighbors all came out of their houses. Yes, it is okay to wear your pajamas, as long as you bring your camera!

The chase crew encouraged the neighbors to help them deflate and pack away the balloon. They started by showing us how to spread out the tarp the balloon is laid upon. The Husband and V are helping.

The tarp is ready and I am awaiting instructions.

We didn't get a picture, but there is a line from the top of the balloon to the basket that they use to pull the balloon down onto the tarp. Here's a pic of the balloon ready to be deflated. That's one of the chase crew talking to T.

We didn't get a picture of how the balloon is deflated, but we do have this photo of me and The Husband holding the deflated balloon waiting to shove our part into the storage bag. Look at our grins!

After we finished shoving our part into the storage bag, we snapped this shot of everyone else in line. See, the tarp is still laid out.

The deflating of the balloon is much like what needs to be done when the tarp is folded up, because the air has to be pushed out of it. The woman on her hands and knees is doing that. There's The Husband again right in the middle of the action!

Once the balloon and tarp are deflated and folded into their storage bags, one of the last important steps is that everyone has to sit on the bags to get the very last bit of air out of them!

And the bags are then loaded into the truck and the balloon pilot thanks everyone.

Afterwards, you must get breakfast. After all, it's still early and you've been been chasing balloons since 7am!

Let me just say, this was a FANTASTIC experience. Our friends, T & V, did a great job of showing us the exciting Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We were thrilled to be able to actively participate and had so much fun.

Thanks, guys! We'll be back next year. (har de har har)