A not so typical weekend

Here we sit, snug and warm, survivors of the "Snowmaggedon" of 2010.  I just got back from Wally World and picked up supplies for a weekend with our grandkids.  I bought a new game which we can also use for Game Night with the adults too.  Picked up the requisite ice cream and soda flavors which were on sale thank goodness!  Stouffer's Lasagna, garlic bread and salad for dinner.  I also got bread, eggs and sausage for French Toast tomorrow.  Michael and Donna might join us around noon time before they take Jake and Jessie home.

I love having the kids over.  I love the fact that they are comfortable enough to be with us, sometimes more than just overnight.  I am hoping we can take a week down the Jersey Shore with them and the rest of the family.  All depends on whether or not we can get a place for only a week!  Used to be what we paid for a month at the shore is what we pay now for 7 days!  But due to the recession, it may be easier to find a place for a short period of time.

So, I shoved the frozen dinner in the oven, placed my thoughts into cyber space and will take to my room to read until they arrive.  I deserve a wee bit of "me" time!

The Countdown to 50

I will be extremely honest in saying that turning 50 is not the event I am expecting to treasure. The phrase, "It is only a number", has been thrown about carelessly by those that have either already passed the mark or really don't care about you anyway! Thanks to my 16 year-old son, I have been doomed to think about this as turning a Half Century. For some reason, I cannot get a firm hold on this. In my small experience, for these first 50 years, I have witnessed so much change personally and in the world.

Should I point out the obvious? Yeah, why not? This is my blog! I have never really blogged before. This is another change in the universe. People can write almost anything about every subject under the sun and feel important doing it. We can all feel like the one and only person writing about a particular theme. Our fifteen minutes of fame can continue as long as our fingers can tap out this dance of information. And like that tree falling in the forest, do we know if our words are being read or just silently taking up space on the Internet. I would hope at one person other than myself who is benefiting from my spew of of emotion and feelings.

I got off the track. I have witnessed the Space Race, Cola Wars, wars fought on foreign soil, dozens of Olympics some of which were too sad to remember, adding machines to personal computers, computers that talk back to you and my favorite: meals in minutes.

Being a foodie, I really love to cook and, to the detriment of my health at times, I love to eat what I cook. Modern technology can just keep to itself. Nothing replaces a slow simmering stew or soup, a beloved brisket, a flamboyant dessert or sumptuous buffet set out for family and friends. Entertaining can be so much fun and fulfilling when I hear the compliments and kudos bandied about. Fortunately, Larry loves to have guests too. And he helps to clean up which is the bane of my culinary existence. I just hate that part! So where does a microwave fit into all of this? I can melt a stick of butter or hunk of chocolate without burning. Quickly warming up the leftovers for late arrivals to the dinner table keeps them from burning in the oven. I am sure there are much more useful tasks for the white box on my counter than holding my recipe box and various travel mugs. So far, I do not see it as an integral part of my cooking in general. The worst of it is warming up a cooled cup of coffee...yuck!

So, this new half century will commence on Christmas Day, 2009. I am feeling nostalgic. I expect there will be many blogs devoted to days in the past. I am hoping to chronicle my foray into the Internet experience as I grow older and maybe wiser. I hope to avoid repeating my mistakes from the first 49 years. But I know me pretty well. I know I will!