Hysterical conversation

This morning on the way to school I told the kids that Misse and Poppy (my parents) had landed in Istanbul. "Boys, try to find Turkey on a map in your classrooms. It's over an ocean and past Italy."

Oliver said, "Ooh, if we visit Chicken one day we can also visit Italy on our way home."

Swear to god he wasn't trying to be funny. Jack said, "Chicken??? Hah! Do you mean Turkey?"

Ol said: "Oh yes, I forgot."

We all laughed our faces off!

Urinecane Peetrina, Concords

Urinecane Peetrina roared across Ol's bed at 3:30 this morning, leaving him drenched and groggily up. He stumbled into my room like a ghostly stinkbomb, and after shedding his sopping PJs and donning new ones, we made our way to the basement when it became clear that he, T and I weren't going to fall back asleep if we stayed in bed together. This was a Category 5 situation folks; when I went to change his sheets this morning, four hours after the storm touched down, the bed was still overflowing. I will not miss bed-wetting peeps, not a bit. In any case, I do enjoy a good snuggle with my boys, and Ol still has enough toddler squish that loving on him is especially sweet. So we cuddled and snugged until we could fall back asleep and he told me "you're the best mommy in the world and also the best cook and I love you". I thought I'd die.

T left for NYC this morning, and I am grateful to have dropped the Guinness World Record Talkers at school for the day. Nutmeg is going apeshit on one of my chairs despite the fact that I just built him a 5 foot cat tree with four scratch posts, and Percy is on his hind legs, his two front paws on my leg looking both disappointed and hopeful. Good god, pets.

I'm now breakfasting on some pumpkin-plum muffins and hope to get some some cooking done today! A big highlight will be meeting a foodie friend -we met online via Food52 and email regularly and hilariously- today. She's in town visiting family, and I am so looking forward to an in-person meet. Also this means I get to go out for a lovely lunch which is a treat I don't often afford myself.

As you may know, Concord Grape season has arrived! I do not love Concords on their own; regular grape juice is the liquid equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Egads!! Horrors! But Concords love to be tossed with savory elements which results in divinely autumnal, sweet-salty dishes. I am definitely going to make a 2x batch of my Double Grape-Rosemary compote because it freezes well and then makes a stunning addition to our Thanksgiving table as well as a schiacciata con l'uva, a delightful Tuscan focaccia studded with grapes, rosemary and salt.

Male hullabaloo

The cat is chasing rainbows as Percy, tired after cleaning up the aftermath of the boys' dinner, snores on the couch. We have one of those solar-powered prisms in our window, and each afternoon, as the back of our house receives the setting sun's beams, the prism spins, making rainbows dance throughout the kitchen and dining room. I cannot believe how much the kids eat. They each had a quarter pound of grilled salmon with capers, peaches, edamame, and crackers. Oliver then had two oreos and a large glass of milk plus half of a granola bar. Jack finished his plate off with a small ice cream sandwich and two bowls of cereal and milk. Stinky and all crudded up, they're in the bath now, and I suspect I have just minutes before insistent cries of "I'm starving" reach me as I take two minutes for myself down here.

After a tough workout this morning, I had a great few hours of writing before running a couple errands and picking the boys up. Jack asked if we could "put a library in my [his] room" which I thought was a grand idea, so we bought a couple shelves at the Container Store and took down the old "pug orange juice" ad poster that's been on his wall since we moved into this house. He has a good plan for a corner nook in which he'll be next to a window and surrounded by books, all of which will be "organized and labeled by type. I'll use the label maker, Mom." A kid after my own heart.

I was all "woman, hear me roar" with the tools and plans, but I admit to getting gun shy when the instructions directed me to drill 12 1/8" holes except if I hit a stud and then there was some toggle bolt, and I just stopped and will wait for the troops-known-as-husband to come home and finish the job. Know when to fold 'em, I say.

I gotta boogie to a meeting. Back with you later or tomorrow. I did make a fresh batch of granola, and boy you should be in my kitchen right now. It smells to the nines!