Free Weekend

We’ve loved having guests the past couple of weeks but it’s nice to have our home back to normal. Except that Jim thought we needed a nightlight for the top of the stairs (I agreed) so he and his folks walked down the way to find one and came back with five, that are all installed. Three are bright white directionals for top and bottom of the staircase and to replace over stove light for overnight, other two are for bathrooms and they emit an eerie green light.

Our master bath has about a 5/5 window into the bedroom (up high) to emit light into the bathroom. If I wake up during the night there’s this strange glow coming from the bath! And now that our guests are gone, all the doors are open, everywhere and when I got up last night it looked like aliens had landed! This will need to be worked on or I’ll have to get used to it. Probably the latter.

This morning I made ratatouille with my summer bounty. It’s almost finished. I had to take it off the heat. It’ll mature overnight in the frig and I’ll add tomatoes and finish it tomorrow. Jim’s mother bought some baby beets (roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper) last weekend and I cooked them but really want them for an endive, beet and toasted walnut salad with sherry vinaigrette. No endive, even at Whole Foods. Two weeks left of Park Silly Market so we’ll have to go tomorrow and check out the farmers’ market.

We went car shopping for Jim today (no luck so far but one dealer is going to look for what he wants) and got me an inexpensive keyboard for practicing for the guitar and singing. I don’t know anything about it yet but that it’s fun to play. I miss having a piano at home and a 61-key keyboard is fine for me. It doesn’t need to be tuned! Never mind that I haven’t had a lesson in 38 years….

I think this blog, the cooking and now music will get my brain ready for aging. I should read more, and not just online news. More news on the home front as it happens. We’re going to enjoy a very brief fall (the trees are already changing and were the last week of August) and a long winter. Stew and soup season are nearly upon us and we’d like to grill as long as we can! Cheers, Dee

p.s. The critter (ermine/stoat) is back today after going away for at least two weeks. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Jim heard the Greater Sandhill Cranes yesterday morning so they’re still around but hidden in the tall grass. I should park my iPhone upstairs so if I hear them I can get a recording because there’s little online except a cacophany of cranes. I’m on the case.