It was a somewhat subdued spring break this year. My mother came to visit to escape Wisconsin's wintery last gasp. We didn't go anywhere except to my brother's for Easter in Sacramento. Last week we started a terribly difficult jigsaw puzzle. This week we finished it--right before school starts up again. We were all relieved, but plan to burn the damn thing so as never to be bothered by it again. R.I.P. crazy cat puzzle!
There's no way to stop it, so best to grab and hold on tight, guiding best as can. With a dab of fragrance remindful of the Bonnie Bell musk I used to swim in, my 12-year old is ready for her first middle school dance, thankfully wearing sparkly silver boots instead of Lip Smackers. She's going with Franklin, a friend, a boy who she asked to attend with her--as friends. They plan to sit by the punch bowl with friends, scarfing snacks--her words, not mine. And all I can say is if we weren't chauffeuring, there'd be no Franklin, that's for sure.
T’was the night before middle school and all thru the shack
Not a person was stirring ‘cept for mom gone all whack.
The backpacks were weighted, and all primed to go
In hopes they’d be loaded with lunches just so.
The kids were akimbo, all tousled in bed
As visions of terror unleashed in their heads.
As Papa in pj’s spotted my panic
while wobbling there on the threshhold of manic.
While searching the web, an idea she sought
And found one, behold, oh wow, what a thought!
just let her be, and surely somehow
she’ll work it all out, so sleep well for now.
Yes, he'd been laid off, completely unexpectedly.
Yes, they'd immediately reined in excess expenditures while she applied for a multitude of jobs, six on Wednesday, four more on Friday. As many as she could find, but there were only so many in less than a week.
Still, she had to have Chinese for dinner that Sunday night. Not take-out either because her favorite dish of salt and pepper prawns didn’t hold up too well when transported home in a carton. And no cheap-o fake-o joint even if it was close to home, with its just okay pot stickers, spring rolls, and chow Mein for the kids. It had to be their new favorite—that place in Alameda they’d gone to on his birthday, where they’d been the only non-Asians. Less than ten days ago, just before the fallout. It seemed like ages.
Catching her reflection in the side mirror as they sped through the Webster tunnel she noticed that with her hair pinned back and her lips painted she bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Wallis Simpson.
“Well why not,” she thought lifting her chin. “Wouldn’t Wallis assume a confidently serene disposition no matter the forecast?”
They couldn’t just cower in the house, they had to rally. Appearances matter almost as much as faith, all the more so when circumstances conspire against you. They had to go on, best face forward and all that, because anything was possible—bad, good, maybe it’d work out even better than before.
The point being, it was so much easier to be positive if she got her prawns.
Oona made me make a cake today, so we stirred up our old fave from our Portland hood bakery, Baker and Spice.
Here be the results, our own Pink Cake. It actually turned out pretty well. Now I've got to get the leftovers out of the house...STAT!
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/06/recipe_detail.html?id=8354
Oona has a birthday coming up, so we spent the day preparing. We cleaned the house, did the laundry and shopped for the meal. Our decorations are homespun and the cake is homemade. We shredded a plastic tablecloth for weatherproof ruffled streamers to hang outside. It's a yellow cake with fudge frosting, which will be made tomorrow. The recipe's from cake expert Jim Dodge and called for eight egg yolks. It's from a cookbook and not online. So sorry! Now I need a nap. Oh wait, it's almost time for dinner.
All-day field trip days combined with after school events means dinner has to be easy. So I compromised tonight with natural, nitrate-free mini hot dogs for the always popular pigs-in-a-blanket. These Trader Joe wraps are way better than the usual supermarket choices. I'm adding a pint of deli coleslaw for an easy peasy supper on the eve of our second last day of school!
She plays it often enough on the iPhone, but something tells me India Jane, all of 7, is bored with the electronic version. Hence this simpler version exquisitely rendered as only a child envisions.
Oona wore a bright blue wig to our monthly game of 'Luck of the Draw.' Who won? I don't remember.
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