This Reminds Me

Archive for September, 2010

Reagan High School’s Homecoming game was last night, and alumni Rachel treated Hannah, Lois and Julia to mums.  The girls wear them to school Friday, then to the game Friday night.  Multiple mums are not unusual.  Hannah told me the senior girls are often covered with mums, “even their backpacks.”

I really like NEISD’s feeder system for our neighborhood schools.  Every student in our local elementary school goes to one middle school, and that middle school feeds to only one high school.  School pride – both in your current school, and your next one – is encouraged.  Julia’s “Future Rattler” (high school) shirt was the envy of her classmates Friday.  No “splitting” elementary schools and junior highs as was the norm in Houston when Keith and I were students.  NEISD employees also get into the games free of charge – nice for Rachel, who works in an NEISD after school program.  Notice Julia’s new sneakers.  Her feet have grown – we are thrilled.   Got her some new Sunday shoes at our fashion center (Target) today, too.

Wednesday night – Lois drove us home from church, which allowed me to point my iPhone at the road.  It was a beautiful night….

…with a Harvest Moon, which Lois captured with my Nikon after we got home.  I love the layers of color in the clouds in this shot.

Now I must get downstairs and start some scalloped potatoes to accompany Keith’s meatloaf for dinner tonight.

Have a good evening!

Keith and I have always liked to cook.   Something sounds good?  Let’s try it!  Alton Brown can make it?  So can we!

But I dunno – lately – we’re just kind of bored with everything we cook.   The guaranteed daughter-pleasers haven’t changed:  hamburgers, Sloppy Joes, mac’n'cheese, tacos, spaghetti, pulled pork, baked chicken, waffles – but our enthusiasm for them has.   Somehow the “Joy of Cooking” has morphed into scanning the grocery ads and Food Network for what might give us an idea of something worth making.

Today I resurrected a dish I’ve not made since I was single – a rice casserole with Swiss cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, garlic salt, Italian seasoning and white wine.  I made it one night about 30 years ago when friends were coming over unexpectedly, and those were the ingredients I had in the fridge.   Everybody liked it, so I made it fairly often for pitch-ins and whatever.  But not since we’ve been married, as Keith is not a big casserole guy.

Julia and Lois would eat dirt if it had bacon crumbled on it.

I think when I was single, cooking was all about fun and friends.  I had the money for those unusual cheeses, and the time to prepare those complicated pasta recipes.

Today, it’s all about management and motivation.  Who’s home for dinner which nights?  What do I need to buy at Costco/Sam’s/HEB, and when do I have to have it?  How many room is in the fridge?  How long does it take to make, and will there be any leftovers for our lunches?  And am I “up” for lugging the groceries, fixing it and then walloping supervising the teenage clean-up crew?

You eat food, but you share a meal.  We’ve always found mealtimes the most enjoyable, informative and entertaining part of the day.  Keith and I love to hear about Rachel’s art class, and Lois’ Latin competition, and what new fact Hannah’s learned about the upcoming Twilight movie, and what Julia saw on the school bus.

So as long as that’s true, we’ll be cooking.  Something.

If you’ve got any recipe suggestions, send them our way.

We’ll be in the kitchen, scanning the HEB ad and thinking, “Maybe….ummm…maybe…..”

Tropical Storm Hermine blew through San Antonio today.

When the wall of the eye passed over – I ran outside with my waterproof Olympus.  Not the greatest video picture-wise, but listen to the wind.

Trash cans, tree branches, boxes – anything “loose” was blowing.   When we lived in Houston, everyone knew to “bring in their stuff” when the tropical storm or hurricane winds starting blowing.  Here in San Antonio – you actually have to tell people to do that.  Rachel works in an after-school program and said that after lunch, the students were forbidden to return to the portable buildings.  There was too much debris flying around.  They lost power at that elementary school, and at Julia’s school – plenty of others, too,  I’m sure.  Traffic signals are “out” all over our area.

Notice the missing screen on the far window and the near-the-top pond.  BTW – We lost Lois’ Chargoy last weekend – the biggest koi (20″) in the pond.  Between his morning and mid-day feedings, he jumped into the plants between the house and the pond.   Lois buried him and is going to plant a bush over the spot.  We had salmon for dinner that night, but I assured Lois it was no one she knew.

Facebook posts about Hermine are voluminous tonight in South Texas - here’s mine.

Friends chimed in on my Facebook status, set after I shoved the third beach towel of the afternoon under the back door.

And there’s the missing screen-  propped against the water-beaten back door – retrieved before it flew out of the yard.    Something bent it – likely the wind and/or the fence.  Several of our neighbors have fence damage.

All six of us are home safe and sound now.  It’s a good night for Labor Day leftovers, hot chocolate and listening to the rain.

Stay dry!