Mac 'n Cheese

The long weekend is starting to wind down and I hope that you had a beautiful Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet, just Bill and me. I sometimes miss the huge family dinners we would sometimes enjoy when I was a kid and then there are times that I am happy for the solitude. This year was quiet because we are all eagerly awaiting arrival the baby, sometime in the next few days now.

In the time we have been in Delaware we have come across what is to us an oddity, macaroni and cheese served very frequently and always as a side dish. At first I thought it the potluck nature of a couple of events we attended and then we noticed it showing up at buffet dinners we were attending. After a while we started noticing it with great frequency on restaurant menus not as a main dish but as a side dish.

My history is one where mac 'n cheese is a main dish. It has always been a family favorite and has been elevated to a "special dinner" status. It is always fun and, of course, very fattening. We serve it with salad and a beverage.

That's not the case when we go to other places here in Delaware. For example, it is most often the case to have turkey or chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, mac 'n cheese, corn, a sweet potato dish, rolls, and dessert. Often, there is a dish of canned peas and dumplings. These are a thin, almost clear, noodle like concoctions that are smaller but resemble won tons. So many of the dishes served here are traditional. But, I sure would like to know how the tradition of so many starches came to be. It kind of takes that joy out mac 'n cheese.

The good thing for me is that Bill does not request macaroni and cheese as often as he did. But, there are times that hot, sticky dish can't be beat.

Channeling Mom

My mother has been the focus of many posts. She passed away two years ago this month. Not a day goes by that I do not think about her and my dad. Sometimes as I remember them I just ache because I miss them so. There are the times I am filled with joy because they are always with me. And, then there are the times I just shake my head in wonderment. Take the day in September when I went to Dover to purchase flannel for receiving blankets for our soon to be grandchild. I wanted to make sure that Erica and Geoff had some of these over sized, double thickness blankets. My mother made each of my siblings and me several of these when our children were born. They were especially useful as the baby got bigger. Erica used her for her dolls, her pets and covered herself when she took naps. We still have a couple of those originals around here.

I waited to start this project because Erica was hesitant about whether or not she wanted them until one of her friends told her she need LOTS of swaddling blankets. I had originally thought I would purchase fabric on-line until I realized that shipping costs would make the whole process unreasonable. So it was off to a fabric store. Dover is 30 or so miles away and is the closest area for a fabric store. While there I found several really cute boy possibilities and some very sweet girl possibilities. The problem I was having making my selection was that we do not know the gender so I had to select viable gender neutral pieces. I found several that I liked and selected them making sure that I had a complimentary piece for the other side. This is where my mother comes into the story. My mother was a very good seamstress. My mother had a taste for outrageous fabric. The louder or busier the better as far as she was concerned. While I selecting fabrics I was in a section where there were several pieces of the same color palette and I was trying to pair two or three pieces. Anyway, I made my selections and came home.

When I got home I eagerly showed them to Bill. The problem was that I could not effectively match the fabrics as I remembered them when I purchased them. In fact, I got home with at least one piece I do not remember selecting. There was one piece that was of the color palette of a couple other pieces but it just did not match. I tried several different combinations and after a few days decided that I needed to match that piece and another with other fabric. This trip was to Salisbury where I found a few more pieces I liked and a solid to match my strange piece still at home. It was while I was selecting new matching fabrics that it dawned on me what happened earlier. My mother had selected that fabric and put it into my cart. I remember selecting another but do not remember it getting into the cart.

Well, after all of that I ended up having to get a new sewing machine (my old one just pooped) and finally finishing 10 large receiving/swaddling blankets. A couple of them are very sweet, one is very wintery with snowmen one side and snowy trees on the other, a couple feature many of the animals that seem to be making up the theme of the nursery as it progresses, one has a nursery rhyme theme, some have fun patterns, and then there is one that Erica proclaimed, "Oh, my gosh, that looks just like what Grandma would have done!"

This photo taken by Erica using her i Phone shows all of the blankets over the edge of their bright blue crib. If you look closely to the right you will see the channeled blanket. It is not the prettiest by far but it will be used with lots of love and remembering. Mom will be in the nursery looking over another of her great grandchildren.

Our Own Saturday Night Disco

"Happy Labor Day" is the Message

In the last post I mentioned we had spent the weekend in Arlington for a baby shower for Erica and Geoff. It was great fun and would not have been possible without the incredible hospitality and hostessing (my word) job of Anca and Alexandra. Thanks also to John and Kiki.

Erica & Alexandra -- Fast Friends.

Wonderful, wonderful Anca

Erica has always marched to a different beat and this shower was no different. The disco theme brought out the "ham" in her and Geoff's friends and family. Erica covered her baby belly with a shimmering silver fabric to indicate a disco ball and Geoff donned a truly awful leisure suit. It is hard to believe they were ever in style. Most of the attendees wore something reminiscent of the late 70's.

Disco Baby

Leisure Suit?

Instead of regular shower games we had one where the invitees had previously (some brought Saturday) sent me photos of themselves "Then and Now." These were placed on a board and then the trick was to match "Then and Now." It was much harder than expected. Winners were given CD's of disco music.

This post is to show some of the fun and frivolity.

Enjoying the Company

Then & Now

Radiant Mother-to-Be

Showing the Gifts

Oh, yeah!!

Resting Today

The past few weeks have been very busy ones for us. Today, I am mostly doing nothing before I get everyday things done that have been pushed aside for the past few weeks. Lord, what happened to the energy of days past?

For some reason, probably traditions developed over harvesttime, there a tons of activities planned by almost every civic group in Delaware and Maryland during October. Bill and I belong to the Milton Lions Club and it seems like there is no time to breathe once October 1 arrives until November 1.

We had commitments with Lions and I was fitted with a new brace which required several trips to Salisbury, Maryland during the past month. We went to Arlington one weekend for Erica's band concert. The following weekend we went to Philadelphia to visit an old friend Blackfoot, Idaho. She opened her home and provided a quiet lovely time. Then, this past weekend we went to Arlington for a baby shower for Erica and Geoff. This was a major event and I had a project that had to get done as well as finishing some items I made for the baby. The shower was great fun. Our thanks to Anca, Alexandra, John and Kiki for all that the did. It was wonderful and beyond expectations.

Erica and Geoff had breakfast for Geoff's parents and us on Saturday morning. Geoff took his parents to a museum, Erica took Bill off on errands and I finished my shower project. Yesterday, Erica, Geoff, Geoff's parents, Bill and I had a brunch in Palisades area of D.C. From there, his parents headed back to NYC and Bill and I went to get Bentley before heading back to Delaware.

Now, I am wondering just when the baby will arrive. I am thinking, sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Vote

Whatever you do today, make sure you voted or have voted. This privilege of our democracy carries with it the responsibility to exercise that privilege.

Complacency is not an excuse. The strength of the republic is in the hands of the voter. So, please exercise that vote.