B'Twixt and B'Tween

Our Life in the Dark Ages

Big T is sure his growth is being stunted, he will never be able to compete socially or function in an advanced society at all.  As his parents, of course, this is all our fault.  He is stuck in the Dark Ages with only the snowballs he can manage to form in his mittened hands to entertain himself and the dog to keep him company.

Because, obviously, we have no technology.

We have arrived at this juncture quite by accident and, admittedly, with very, very bad timing.

First, the home repairs began. After a summer filled with severe storms, we had the house inspected this fall and determined that yes, indeed, we are owed a new roof and about 3/4 of the house worth of new siding due to hail damage. We made plans to take care of these things back before the hint of snow began, about the time of Halloween, with full expectations that we would be completing the repairs around Thanksgiving time.  But, in accordance with the laws of home repairs, supplies were back-ordered and then winter began in earnest so that cold temperatures kept the workers from wanting to climb around on our snowy roof or spend their days tearing off metal siding in sub-zero temperatures. Go figure.

It began to dawn on us that schedules might collide so that the construction company could plan to be here while we were out of the country. Referring once again to the laws of home repairs, we quickly concluded that this was not a lucky plan.  Because home repairs often require Plans B, C and D with the decision to move between them made on the fly, we wanted to be at least on the same continent as the work was done.

Husband delicately told the construction company that they needed to either complete the work before Christmas, or wait until mid-January. All without specifying that we would be gone (so as not to shine the figurative spotlight over our house alerting all burglars). Or so we think. We came home to an undisturbed house, anyway.

So we were pleased when a dumpster was delivered and roofers showed up one sunny January Monday. They ripped off the shingles and replaced them, but on day two -- a Tuesday, Inauguration Day to be exact -- they finished the job. Which involved moving the television satellite dish very slightly. But enough that we have lost the connection and cannot receive a signal.

Plus, the siders started their work at the same time, and pounding can not only be heard throughout the house for most of the day, but it can also be felt on the roof, with the potential to repeatedly knock the satellite dish out of whack, incurring repeated service charges to point it in the right direction again.

We decided to wait it out and go with just one rooftop adjustment, which is scheduled for next Monday. We expect most pounding to be completed and are hoping for the best.

That timing, of course, means that not only did we miss much of the historic inauguration festivities (we don't yet know whether Tivo captured any of it or how much it still has in memory -- but we did see the actual swearing in ceremony itself and -- gasp! -- relied on newspapers and the Internet for pictures and descriptions).  It also means we will miss the Superbowl on Sunday.

To add insult to injury, we have finally reached the end of natural life for not one but two DVD players.

Hence Big T's complaint about being sent back to the Dark Ages. His Wii is, all of a sudden, "not fun." His electric guitar is in the basement, where it is "too cold." His PS2 system is "too old." And his DS is "too boring."

Which makes us "too cruel."

I must admit, I have rather liked this little interlude without the boob tube. Husband brought home a DVD player from his business, and we are once again able to watch DVDs.

We've reinvigorated our Family Reading Time, and Big T has made much better progress on his book for English reading class. We've been reading it together, taking turns. (Big T likes to read the quotes in character voice, adding to the entertainment value.) Husband and Big T have initiated the new chess set. We've had actual conversations.  Just like the Flintstones, that other Stone Age family.

All is not lost. Invitations have been received for Big T and Husband to watch the SuperBowl. I'll be enjoying a peaceful, non-sports evening. And we'll be back in the techno world again come Monday.

Must-See Movie

Go. Now. Or as soon as you can get a sitter. No wonder it has 10 Academy Award nominations.

Watch the story, then gently peel back the layers as you replay it in your mind.

It's that good.

Slumdog Millionaire.

Thrifty and Nifty or Just Plain Cheap?

Today's newspaper listed 19 tips from the Great Depression that could be dusted off for today's thrifty households.  Except.  I already routinely do five of them and food marketers do one for everybody.  How does your frugality stack up? 

I already:

- Save butter wrappers and use them to grease pans. (Thanks, Mom, for teaching me -- I thought I was just wisely using the little bit of butter and saving myself time and greasy fingertips.)

- Reuse tea bags to make a second cup. (Another pretty easy, no-brainer that I thought most folks did, at least at home.)

- Extend ground beef by adding oatmeal.  (Okay, that's because my meatloaf recipe calls for it, plus I like the taste.)

-Save bacon drippings and use to flavor other foods. (Husband freezes the drippings and then uses them in the omelet pan.)

- Use junk mail envelopes as scratch paper for grocery lists, etc.

The one manufacturers do for us: extend a pound of butter by softening it and whipping it. (The article also suggests adding evaporated milk.  Have you noticed that those tubs of butter are generally whipped, selling us on volume instead of weight? The evaporated milk would add back some protein, I would think.)

The ones that made me go eeewwwwww:

- Save barely dirtied paper napkins and use them for wiping out messy pans or cleaning up spills. (Instead, we just made the belated switch to washable cotton napkins.  Really don't want to think about using the 'barely dirtied' ones from the dinner table.)

- When bedsheets are worn thin in the middle but good at the edges, cut them in half lengthwise and stitch the "good" sides together. (Who wants that seam down the middle?  But maybe, if this recession drags on long enough, this will start sounding good.)

Does this make me a cheapskate? Or maybe I shouldn't even have admitted to these little routine savings? I think I do likely splurge on lots of other items that could be cut back, so maybe it just evens everything out. In any case, I can definitely do better at the last tip in the story: Always lend a helping hand.

Soup's On!

Care for a Brace of American Birds with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes, anyone? Maybe you will be more tempted  when you see that this was the second course for the President's inauguration luncheon.  Thanks to the folks at the Cabot Cheese blog, I grabbed this link to the official menu, complete with recipes.  Actually, the Molasses Sweet Potatoes and Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake do sound good...

But I suspect more of you had a Tuesday lunch similar to mine.  The table was overflowing with abundance for the potluck gathering.  Because I couldn't stay long, I had a couple of dabs of yummy guacamole with chips, a cocktail bread with smoked fish spread and a small helping of a particularly good and creamy wild rice soup.  Our hostess also offered chicken noodle and a third soup.

Which brings me to reflect on the renewed popularity of soup.  Not sure if it's just me, or the recession, or what... but I have noticed more interest in soup than I can recall from the past. 

Last weekend, Sister hosted our family's January birthday celebration (there are three this month!) with a homemade minestrone and crusty bread.

Last night's dinner at our house was a meatball soup made in the Crock Pot (no talent needed -- just dump in 12 frozen meatballs, 1 can of beef broth, 1 can of Italian style tomato pieces, chopped onion, a handful of pasta (whatever you have on hand is good!) and a few shakes of lemon pepper; cook on low for 4 to 6 hours; just before serving, add half a pound of frozen mixed vegetables and heat through). We rounded it out with cheddar biscuits. 

Wonder if they'll be serving more soup at the White House?

Where Were You When...

I was watching at a friend's home with a host of friends, neighbors and new acquaintances.  We raised a champaign toast, wiped away a few tears, listened closely to poetry and prayers and cheered for the new President.  It was an optimistic lunchtime break for me, a morning-long party for others.  We all felt joined with the rest of the nation in looking forward. (Special thank-you to Julie Z.!)

It was Inauguration Day.

As Big T and I discussed, it was that odd day when he went to school under one President (Bush) and returned home under another (Obama).  He looked forward to the change, and dressed for the day in his Obama tee shirt (again!) .  He was happy to find out that the class watched the Inauguration too; no missing out on history for this boy.

You might know that the symbolism of change and renewal of hope had special meaning in our household, not exactly the same as for others, but closely captured in this poem written by a letter to the editor right after Election Day (I'm sorry that I lost track of the writer and the newspaper):

Rosa Parks sat

So Martin could walk

Martin walked

So Obama could run

Obama ran

So my children could fly.

We'll remember where we were when the flight began. I was in the company of friends, raising a champaign glass, wiping away a few tears, listening to poems and prayers and cheering. Where were you? (No really, I'm interested! Hit the "comment" note below and let me know!)

Husband & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

With apologies to Judith Viorst...

I had the luxury(?) of traveling to Kansas City yesterday. Because I had not spent enough time on airplanes in the past couple of weeks (flights to Detroit, Tokyo, Saigon, Hanoi, Tokyo and home). But enough about me.

While I was gone, I pictured Husband and Big T getting ready for school, spending a quiet day in class or working at the computer and then having a genial dinner.  But noooo... As soon as I walked in the door, I heard about the day from Husband's viewpoint:

• I thought he said the washing machine overflowed. Twice.  What he actually meant to say is that the floor drain is frozen and it overflowed. From two loads of laundry. Which flooded the cedar closet, where the suitcases from all of those flights had just been stored, and where excess moisture is most definitely not needed.  He mopped up water both times and put a big fan in the cedar closet. It's still running 24 hours later.

• Our garage door openers and remote key pad are frozen and won't work in this 20-degrees-below-zero real temp environment.  Apparently the tropical breezes we tried to smuggle in from Vietnam did not make it past Customs. Although we can press the opener button inside the garage, no dice with the in-car remotes. Good thing we still carry those old-fangled keys; we will spend the next few days closing the garage door from inside the house, then leaving and entering through the front door. And waiting for a thaw.

• And worst of all, a copper water pipe in the basement bathroom froze and burst, sending water through the drain tile, dropping water pressure throughout the house and causing consternation until Husband was able to figure out where the leak occurred.  There was concern that the frozen patch and subsequent burst pipe might be between the house and the street -- never a good thing and doubly so in the deepest part of winter.  The good news: it actually happened in a pretty accessible area, and it didn't happen while we were gone.  Husband spent last evening tearing out drywall and capping the bad pipe until he can fix it properly. We also got a peek at construction that need to be changed, including the need for more insulation.

While business travel can be a bit of a drag, looks like I got off easy.  Just to be sure I didn't absorb his bad karma, I told Husband to wait til morning for his goodnight kiss.  Wouldn't want his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad luck to rub off on me.

Taste of Viet Nam: Mango Salad

Things were a little hectic around here this evening. We're still a little topsy-turvey on our sleep hours, I was recovering from some technology glitches in the home office this afternoon, and time to prepare dinner was running seriously short. 

Still, I was anxious to try some of the recipes from my cooking class in Viet Nam. Plus mangoes are readily available right now. (Go figure -- it's umpty-ump degrees below zero outside but tropical fruit is 'in season.' In Minnesota. But I am not going to complain!) So here is my first attempt:

Mango Salad

Dressing: Mix together 1 Tbs. sugar, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, 1 Tbs. fish sauce and 2 Tbs. water.

Salad:  Peel one mango.  Using the vegetable peeler, thinly slice the mango fruit into long ribbons. Add sliced green onions and minced carrots (I used about 2 Tbs. each) and toss with mango ribbons. Pour half of the salad dressing over all and mix. Add 1/2 to 3/4 Cup of dried fish (optional; available at Asian markets) along with cut fresh mint and lemon chives. Pour off juice.  Add the second half of the dressing and garnish with chopped peanuts.

It turned out really well, although the mango ribbons were a bit wider than I had hoped they'd be. I served it with brown rice and this salmon dish (spice rub "stolen" from A Year of CrockPotting, although given the hectic afternoon, I did not do foil packets in a crock pot and instead used the George Foreman grill.  The spice rub still got raves from Husband and I will do this again.)

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

2 largish pieces salmon

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. crushed garlic

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. red pepper

In a glass dish or pie plate,crush all spices with brown sugar. Rub the top of each salmon piece in the spice mixture -- it''s okay to mound them up a little bit on the top. Preheat the George Foreman grill to 375 degrees and cook salmon until flaky and opaque and until spice mix is nice and melty/caramelized on top. Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!

Update on the Mango Salad:  I purchased fresh mint over the weekend and added it to the leftover salad; took it from good to great with a much 'brighter' taste. I also spoke with a colleague who grew up in Saigon; she recommended using shrimp instead of the dried fish, which sounds entirely yummy!

My Sister is So Smart

She's a Program Director at Tubman Family Alliance, an organization dedicated to ending family violence. Check out her interview about stalking from last night's news; she's the staff member, not the amazing woman who wanted to tell the world how glad she is to speak up and get out of a stalker situation. Kudos to both. 

(Here's more about Tubman Family Alliance.)

Where are the Palm Trees?

We are acclimating to Minnesota once again. Anyone who has wondered why posts to this blog were few and far between for the past few weeks may not know that we have been visiting Viet Nam.  We arrived back home yesterday after only(!) 32 hours of travel, including a long layover in Tokyo with some of our travel companions.  Thanks V, M and M for showing us the ropes at Narita!

I look forward to sharing a few new tricks and some of our favorite experiences. Meantime, we are celebrating our return home by drinking water straight from the refrigerator door spigot!, eating salad! and doing laundry In. A. Machine!

Big T was first to nod off at about 6:30 last night; after weighing pros and cons, Husband and I decided to let him sleep... and he slept right through the night. Husband and I nearly made it through one Tivo'd episode of viewing before I nodded off, too, around 8 p.m.  Off to my cozy sleep number bed, made warmer by flannel sheets.  I had not realized how stiff our Vietnam hotel beds were until I felt the velvet cocoon of my very own bed and fuzzy PJs and slipped off to slumber.

We had expected that Big T would stay home from school today to doze and finish homework, but he was rarin' to go. So he caught the bus and participated in a field trip to a physics presentation at the University of Minnesota before calling me mid-afternoon to say he was too sleepy to stay at school.

I have spent the day slowly getting back to work reality, checking email and figuring out what exactly we do around here.  The last time I had three weeks off, I was on parental leave!

But the truest reaction to returning home has been wonder at the temperature difference, which can be summed up with two questions: 1) What is this cold white stuff that has fallen steadily from the sky? and 2) Where are the banana and palm trees? Or, as Big T's travel buddies would say, Duuuude!?!

Big T's 'Best of' Lists

Here's Big T's roundup of the best books he read in 2008:

1. The Diary of Anne Frank

2. A Wrinkle in Time

3. Kickoff

 by Tiki and Ronde Barber

Best movies he watched:

1. Titanic

2. Superman

3. Spaceballs

Best TV shows he watched:

1. Drake and Josh

2. Hitler's Bodyguard

3. Back at the Barnyard