What's to eat?

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "National Shredded Wheat Day," "Avocado Day," "National Spam Day," "National Raspberry Cake Day," "Cotton Candy Day" and "Jump for Jelly Beans Day." If that doesn't give you food for thought I don't know what ever would.  I was a little disappointed to learn that it wasn't also "National (or maybe International) Dark Chocolate Fudge Day."  It certainly should have been. I'm happy to report that the fudge my spouse made yesterday did firm up and was very well received by his cousins when we visited with them at Marble Lake today.  In fact, it was so well received that not a speck of it was left for us to bring home.  But that was ok.  It was a fair exchange for the excellent lunch they served us which included hamburgers, corn on the cob, potato salad, baked beans, chips and dip, and shrimp with cocktail sauce.  Sadly, neither my husband or I can eat shrimp but it looked delicious.  Nothing on the special days list was included but that's alright.  Cake, cotton candy and jelly beans would have been just too much with the fudge and the Cookie Cottage cookies which were also on the menu today.  There's one thing from today's list that  we do have to look forward to though.  As we were discussing the route we will be taking on our trip west in September with one of our sons, he said that since we will be going through Austin, Minnesota, we must stop and see the Spam Museum.  Who knew there is a Spam Museum? I have always liked Spam but I haven't  had it for some time.  Maybe we'll have Spam sandwiches for lunch while we're there.  If all of this talk about food is making you hungry, go make yourself a snack.  It's the reasonable thing to do.  

Oh, fudge!

 Among his many other talents, my wonder spouse is an amazing fudge maker.  He uses powdered dark Hershey's chocolate and an old family recipe handed down from his mother.  I do not help make the fudge but I do assist where I can.  For instance, today I held the pan  up off the stove burner so he could clean the bottom of it because the chocolate goo that would eventually become fudge had boiled over and messed up quite a bit of the stove top.  Of course I do more than just occasional emergency pan holding.  I am right there when he needs me to help 'clean' the pot and spoons and beaters.  It's a tough job but I'm happy to help. Sadly, not every batch of fudge comes out exactly right.  Today's batch, for example, while tasting absolutely delicious, has been very slow to harden.  We've had to keep taste testing pieces to see if they have firmed up enough.  We obviously must eat what we test because it isn't nice to pick up a piece of fudge to feel it, and then put it back on the plate. That just isn't very hygienic and nobody wants a piece of fudge with somebody's fingerprints on it. Happily, this batch of fudge will be going with us to a gathering of my husband's cousins where the rule is "no fudge, no entry."  I guarantee you that, soft or not, this fudge will be enjoyed down to the last crumbs.  I will do my part to set a good example.

4 eyes...

 Today I had my eyes examined and found out that I do need  stronger lenses for close work. Since I started wearing glasses at the age of seven, this is a process I've gone through many, many times.  There was a time in my life when I wore contact lenses, but I gave that up when I started to need reading glasses over my contacts.  It got to be a bother to be taking glasses on and off while lecturing to a class.  Today then was a fun day for me, but while I was trying on frames, trying to decide which ones to select (a lengthy process), I overheard a little boy, about six maybe, and his mom.  She had him trying on frames and he found something wrong with every pair. Too heavy, too light, wrong color, they hurt his ears.  Excuses made in an increasingly teary voice.  You get the idea.  Finally he told his mom that he just didn't want to wear glasses.  The other kids would make fun of him.  I must admit I was surprised.  I thought wearing glasses was so common-place that no one even commented on it these days.  I guess I was wrong.  The incident reminded me of my wonderfully patient spouse's experience tutoring a fifth grader last year.  This boy couldn't read beyond kindergarten level and one of the reasons was that he needed glasses.  My spouse sent messages to the teacher and other administrative types that this boy needed glasses but nothing happened,  Evidently the parents wouldn't or couldn't buy him glasses.  My husband even gave him a pair of drug store reading glasses which really helped while they were working together but by the next week's session they had disappeared with no good explanation.  He tried this two or three times with the same results.  In my mind I have been vilifying the parents for not getting him glasses but now I'm wondering if teasing by siblings or classmates was part of the problem.  If so, how very sad.  Happily, the clever mom in today's incident began naming off sports figures who wear glasses and by the time I walked out she and her son seemed to be making progress.  And yes I did order new glasses but you will need to wait a week to see those.

dusty dolly...

 Reminiscing yesterday about my son and the family next door naturally got me thinking today about my daughter's role in all this.  The same little boy who lived next door had two older sisters, about eight and ten when my son was born.  While I was getting the nursery ready for my firstborn, I had the window open and while painting the walls a soft yellow (we didn't know the baby's sex ahead of time back then) I was able to listen to the girls playing on their back patio with their Barbie dolls.  Their mom had sewed lots and lots of outfits for those dolls and the girls delighted in dressing the dolls and acting out stories with them.  As I listened, I thought "Oh, if my baby is a girl she will love playing with dolls too."  Well, my first child was a boy so that didn't happen, although he did like his Dapper Dan doll. My second child was a daughter though and my hopes revived that she would love playing with dolls.  Nope, she was much happier chasing after her brother and his friends.  As she grew older, my stepmother, who was an expert seamstress, gave my daughter several China dolls for which she had sewn beautiful outfits.  They sat on shelves in my daughter's bedroom, never played with.  Little girls are also supposed to be fun to dress.  There are much cuter clothes available for girls than boys.  Right. By middle school she was into grunge, mostly black and army green, comfy but not at all girly, but you choose your battles in middle school.  In high school she did wear stunning dresses to her two proms.  She looked so beautiful.  Her wedding was also lovely, but that was pretty much it. After college, where she played rugby on a co-ed team, she joined the military and became a helicopter mechanic, not at all girly.  Later, she built and loaded bombs.  Always in uniforms.  Then she became a chaplain's assistant, still in uniform, mostly desert fatigues.  Now she is retired from the military but a few years ago started a new civilian career, as a surgical technologist.  You guessed it. Now she wears scrubs to work all day, every day. Very comfy and practical but not very feminine.  Ah well, how can I criticize while I sit here wearing jeans and a t-shirt? I was probably a bad influence.

always experimenting...

 When my children were very young (a one year old daughter and a three year old son) we lived next door to a lovely family with a son, Phillip, who was also three years old.  Naturally the boys played together, sometimes at our house, sometimes at theirs.  My son was a very mellow child, while my red-haired daughter was not.  In fact a dear friend told me at the time that I deserved my daughter because my son was such an easy going child.  So imagine my surprise one day, when my son came home from playing next door, quietly laid down on the floor on his tummy and started softly hitting the floor with his fists while kicking the floor gently with his toes.  "What are you doing?" I asked.  "I'm having a temper tantrum." he replied.  "Why?"  "Because Phillip did it."  "Oh, ok."  I think he just wanted to see what it felt like.  A couple of years later, when he was five, I watched him walk out the front door carrying a little suitcase. "Where are you going?" I asked.  "I'm running away from home."  "Why?'  "Because Beaver did it and I want to see what it feels like." "Ok, but you mustn't cross the street." I watched him carefully as he walked down the sidewalk to the corner, then turned around, came back and took the suitcase up to his room." He was evidently satisfied with his experiment. Later I peeked into the suitcase to see what he had packed for running away from home.  Only his teddy bear,  I am happy to report that this desire to experiment has followed him through life and through several STEM related jobs.  These days his most recent experiments involve research balloons that soar 80,000 feet into the sky carrying experimental pay loads.  He is in his element.  

it's relative....

 Or relatives.  Today is "Aunt and Uncle's Day" which got me thinking about relationships.  When my spouse and I married, back in January, we each had two children and two children-in law.  But he has six grandchildren to my four.  But two of my grands have serious significant others which brings me up to six.  However, until we were married, my spouse had never been an uncle.  Now, by sharing mine, he has three nieces, three nephews, and the relevant in laws, and four great nephews and two great nieces.  His family has expanded by leaps and bounds.  Happily, many of these nieces and nephews and greats are children and grandchildren of my west coast brother and we will get to see them in September when we travel west.  But much closer to home, this evening we attended a graduation ceremony for my husband's oldest granddaughter (ours now).  She has her bachelor's degree but this additional year of study qualifies her to be a hospital lab technician specializing in working with blood types.  She already has a job lined up, starting in two weeks, at Parkview Regional.  It was a very nice graduation, beginning with hors d'oeuvres and cake, followed by a brief ceremony and presentation of diplomas.  She received a special honor. Then lots of picture taking and a tour of the labs where many of the students will be working.  Then out to dinner and more cake for our family celebration.  I'm loving this new enlarged family of mine and I think my spouse is too.  

Eat up....

 Are you hungry?  According to my west coast brother, who knows about food, today is "National Chili Dog Day," "National Hot Fudge Sundae Day" and "National Wine and Cheese Day." I don't know about you but any one of those gets my mouth watering and my mind wandering to a favorite restaurant.  For instance, the best chili dogs in Fort Wayne are at Coney Island on Main Street, while the best hot fudge sundaes are probably at Culvers although they may be tied with Zesto's.  Personally I like my hot fudge sundae with chocolate and caramel sauces.  As far as wine and cheese are concerned, that's a tough one.  We ate at Hideout 125 last evening and they had my favorite wine, Moscato.  But then so does every other good restaurant in town, so take your pick.  Fort Wayne is blessed with good restaurants.  I know, I know, Moscato is a sweet, dessert wine, not at all sophisticated, but it's what I like.  And yes it's good with cheese. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, today is "National Culinarians Day."  As you may have guessed, a culinarian is a person highly skilled in cookery.  Yes, cookery is also a real word.  As you probably have gathered by all my references to restaurants above, I don't dabble in cookery much, but, lucky for me, my Wonder Spouse is an experienced culinarian.  He excels in all forms of cookery, but one of his finest creations is excellent dark chocolate fudge. As a side benefit, if he happens to make a batch that doesn't set up (it can happen to anyone) it makes delicious hot fudge sundaes.  I think he might be making some next week. Yummmm...

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