BLTs and the cat

Y'all, look at my cat. He kills me. Isn't his in-air action great? My friend, Emily, loves N and likes to play with him. She has the right touch with this wand, yes?

T is working from home today, and we just had lunch together, a lovely, quiet lunch of BLTs with truffle mayo and lettuce from our garden. Nice.

Thankful for a quiet morning

It has been so great having my parents, sister and brother-in-law here, but I'm starting to feel extremely pooped. We've been living it up like we're all 18 again which we are decidedly not. The rehearsal dinner, wedding, anniversary party, my anniversary, celebrations of being together, the boys! We have had so much fun, but suffice it to say that my body is telling me to draw the reins tight and slow this horse down. Dad left Wednesday, Mom and Michele leave tomorrow, I'm teaching in the morning - yay! hope to see many of you at Twins Ace Hardware where we'll be putting up a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Pie jam- and at some point, I really, really need to get a 4x batch of short ribs ragu made and frozen. I always find it fun to put life on hold for a bit, be it vacation, a self-imposed time out from the daily grind, or hosting family and/or friends. But after a week, I find myself coasting back down the bell curve of zen and in doing so realize that my unread email count has reached a troublesome apex, the pile of unread newspapers - forlorn with neglect - is too large to ever delve into and so must be recycled post haste lest it create "what have I missed" anxiety, I'm flying by the seat of my pants with regard to what's going on at school (did I pack what's needed today? did I forget something important? where is that sheet that needs to be signed?) and I've no idea what's in the inner depths of my fridge.

For me, this is no good, and so this morning, I am grateful that the boys are at school, Mom/Elia/Michele are at the Newseum, Percy is snoring, is Nutmeg in that box?, and T is working. I am thankful for quietude and peace and an opportunity to get my home back to some recognizable state. It's a cold, gloomy, wet day, but I care not other than that I worry for my veggies trying so hard to grow outside. Surely the tomatoes do not like being blown around in chilly wind, and I know the basil is miserable. The greens are going hog-wild, but I ache for summertime and all its attendant produce and wish to usher out my collards and kales to make room for peas, cukes and delicate herbs like chervil.

The dishwasher is humming, the wine glasses are upside down on a now-very-damp dishtowel, last week's tulips are dropping their petals with abandon, and the ever-present laundry awaits. For now, I'm going to stay nestled in my big, red, comfy chair, legs propped on my big, red, comfy ottoman, until I finish my coffee. Nutmeg, stop biting my toes.

Lovely morning, compost salad, dinner for the grands

El, Michele and Mom treated me to a wonderful anniversary dinner last night - shrimp risotto, seared turkey breast with sage, asparagus, lots of wine and champagne - which we capped off with that scrumptious pie. There were only 2 slivers left because I promised the boys I'd save them some. We sat outside, enjoying each other's company and laughter, and T made it home just as we were wrapping up. This morning, Mom, El and I went to Pilates and then to one of my dearest pals (a woman I met in this very Pilates class) house (with our Pilates teacher, also a great pal) for tea, treats and more fun. It is just the best to sit around laughing with a cool and beloved group of women, you know? Awesome. Then to the market and then home as I needed to get dinner ready for my sweet nonagenarians. Tonight they'll enjoy a zucchini, yogurt and beef casserole, roasted asparagus and a sweet pumpkin cheesecake for two. Doesn't this look yummy?

While it cooked, I made a good old compost salad. They never get old and I love that it enables me to clean out my crisper drawers. Oh dear, I'm about to be late to get Ol. More later.