Susiej

There was something about the way he stood at that window that I found odd. Ignoring tragedy is one way to deal with it, I suppose.  But was this really the right time to winterize the windows?  Nails were stuck between his teeth, his face grimacing as he struggled to get his shoulder underneath the window frame to hold it up while he fixed the splintered wood. These older homes never run short on projects.

In the kitchen, the table was covered with a bright, cheery, stripped fabric, with a dainty trim of tiny candy green apples. While he was busy sweating, she was making new curtains for the girls’ room. The fabric was carefully spread out, the seams perfectly aligned, the sewing machine set up to make the final stitch before she’d clear the table for dinner — the soup that was bubbling on the back burner.

In the living room, on the sofa, sat the apple of their combined eyes. The apple was sitting up, his color was surprisingly good, his eyes clear and he was beaming. Strange how a sickness can disguise itself so well under the simple flush of a cheek, tricking us into believing everything will be alright. Lately, it seems, all of their combined efforts to give help has bitten them back. They’ve worked hard; and there efforts seem to be fruitless. The cure,  if and when it comes, will need to come from someplace farther and deeper than the souls they carry within them.

She looks tired, and washed out. Yet, I see peace in her tiredness; but it is not a peace that has come without war. There is a crispness and clarity in her eyes borne out of long days and nights of prayer without ceasing; and probably some good clean living mixed in for good measure. I see a resignation in her eyes that I have never seen before.

Outside, as I turned to leave and say goodbye, I could still see him in his ragged t-shirt at the upstairs window, working away. This was his day-off from the office, and he had reserved this day to knock out projects like this one around the house. He can’t hear my words with the window closed, as he seals the gaps in preparation for winter’s winds.

I remember now a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. I see the fierceness in Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), when he wore that white buttoned-down shirt in the final scene, with nails stuck between his teeth and a hammer in one hand. He was searching the bungalow for every crack and gap. Then, he slammed the hammer down, and sealed each one shut.

When I arrived here today, I may have thought the man in the grungy t-shirt was simply doing his inappropriately-timed winterizing chores; but now I know he was sealing out something much stronger than winter’s winds; he’s busy sealing out tragedy.  And no, he doesn’t have a moment to spare.

Sunday Scribbling: A Winter’s Tale

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Filed under: Life, Tears, memories, sunday scribblings by SusieJ - 5 Comments →

First thing in the morning, to melt those extra holiday pounds. As always, there was a huge crowd of participants.

Here are a few of my Thanksgiving Guests.

May I just add here, that not all of us were smiling like this 50 minutes later, after our five mile run.

And lots of winners donated their pies to the soup kitchens,

And this year, I had some company. There were times, I will admit, when I leaned on the stroller to help pull me up that last hill at the end.

They really need to do something about that awful hill at the end of the course.

The boys keep saying they beat me, as they did, technically cross the finish line first.

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I’ll be the first to admit that I love to make concoctions. However, they truly aren’t needed for the care and feeding of your Christmas Tree. The secret to keeping your Christmas Tree fresh is not in the Karo Syrup, the vinegar, or the aspirin. All your Christmas Tree needs is water. However, there’s a catch — if your tree doesn’t get enough water, (like if you forget to water your tree) the tree base will quickly form a resin seal that makes it impossible for it to absorb more water. Then, your tree will simply dry out very quickly.

The year I did make the fancy concoction to mix the karo syrup and who-knew-what-else, was the year our Christmas Tree lost all of its needled in 10 days. Sadly, there was a disease in the tree farm, and we looked as though the Grinch had stopped by.

Still, there are a few steps to take to prepare your tree for it’s long stand in your living room.

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Not a waffle iron — a clothes iron. True life confession. While I do think I was ingenious to solve my problem, I’m no sure about you. What will you think of a Mother who uses an iron to serve her kids dinner? But, the kids were hungry, and that was that.

We traveled thousands and thousands of miles with a cooler packed with water, cheese, peanut butter, tortilla shells, and a Harry Potter book in the CD player.

Our first stop was a truly luxurious Holiday Inn (I kid you not! The kids had desks, and bunk beds, and we had our own private bedroom!) with a kitchenette, and a microwave. Vital ingredients when traveling with four kids with picky, and sometimes big, appetites.

We stayed there for two luxurious nights, and then moved to an EVEN fancier HOTEL, the Marriott – the biggest in the WORLD, where the elevators are nicer than your living room at home. And everything is priced, a la carte. Everything.

• “Can you please send up some 4 spoons and bowls?”
• “We’ll be right up Susiej.” I swear, they even knew my name.

Total cost: $12, including the $1 insurance for carrying the items to our room.

The Marriott did give us a fridge, but no microwave. We arrived late; the kids were cranky and tired, and unfit for any restaurant. The take-out pizza place was closed, and because we were in the biggest Marriott in the entire world, getting the car required the Valet to fetch the car off some island, from who knows where. I did not have time for all of this fuss.

With no microwave, I pulled out all the cheese and tortilla shells for quesadillas, heated up the iron, and cooked. In five seconds flat (once the iron had reached its highest temperature setting) the sandwiches were done.  No waiting around for the slow entire minute for the microwave.  The quesadillas were delicious: the iron made them crispy on the outside, and creamy and delicious on the inside – kind of like a Panini machine. Next time I think I’ll pick up some Italian sandwich bread and make real Panini’s.

In case you ever need to try this, here are some tips:

• Wash iron with soap and water, before you turn it on.
• Put the hot iron directly on the tortilla.
• Do not use wax paper to buffer the heat – you want that nice crisp brown.
• I didn’t do this, but you might want to check to see if your husband has ironed his shirt for his business meeting, before you make his kids dinner.  Because, you really don’t want him to smell like a quesadilla.

Dinner is served, and I’ll tell you, it hit the spot.

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, eat, try this by SusieJ - 6 Comments →

Sometimes, I don’t know how I end up in the messes I make for myself. I don’t know how I moved from making dinner Sunday night to the point where I pulled out my Mom’s sieve that she used to make tomato juice with, to straining cranberries, but that’s where I was.

I read that this drink has been made by Moms for their sick kiddies; and and I have a couple of those right now and I thought, cranberries, being so full of vitamin C and antioxidants would totally rock that cold right out of them. I was hopelessly sucked right in to pulling out the sieve, churning cranberries and slaving over a hot stove.

The drink was delicious. It really, truly was worth the effort, which, in truth, while this LOOKs like a big production, really wasn’t that bad. The cranberries “PoP” while you cook them, which was kind of exciting.  I might make a batch to serve up for Thanksgiving, with a Captain Morgan Kick.

So, here’s the recipe.

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cinnamon candies
• 7 whole cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (You could substitute Ginger Ale for this.)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. In a saucepan, cook cranberries in 2 cups water until they pop. Gather the kids round to watch.
2. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving juice and discarding skins; set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, candies, cloves and remaining water.
4. Cook until candies are dissolved.
5. Add orange and lemon juices and reserved cranberry juice; heat though.
6. Remove cloves. Serve hot.

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Everyone knows a hand makes a great turkey. So, why not use the cornstarch dough we used to make ghosts to whip up a few “handprint turkey keepsakes.” Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 cup Corn Starch
• 1 pound (2 cups) baking soda
• 1-1/4 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon light colored vegetable Oil
• a hands
• waxed paper
• cookie sheet
• feathers
• red string
• glue gun

1. In medium saucepan stir corn starch and baking soda. Add water and oil all at once and stir until smooth.
2. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until mixture reaches the consistency of SLIGHTLY dry mashed potatoes. (Mixture will come to a boil, then start to thicken, first in lumps and then in a thick mass; it should hold its shape). If clay is overcooked, ghosts may crack.
3. Turn out onto waxed paper, on top of cookie sheet, cover with damp cloth; cool.
4. When cool enough to handle, dust surface with corn starch; knead until smooth and pliable. If not using immediately, store completely cooled clay in tightly closed plastic bag or container.
5. Roll into a flat disc, about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick on the waxed paper. Carefully, have your child place his hand into the disc — not too hard — just right.
6. Once you have your finished handprint, carefully, use a butter knife to cleanly cut away the edges.
7. Move cookie sheet to a high place — safe from the children — to dry for a couple of days.
8. When dry, label the backs of your turkeys with the year and child.
9. Use glue gun to put feathers and wattle in place.
10. Store un-shaped Play Clay in an airtight container OR heavy plastic bag in a cool place up to 2 weeks. Knead stored clay until smooth before using.

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