Suzy Says

I had a busy weekend planned, but Fate had other plans…

We were going to have family dinner on Saturday at Rio’s place. It would be the first time we had gotten together since our belated Thanksgiving, and the first time this new-ish year. But Megan picked up a virus at work – the hazards of working in an emergency room, with all those sick people* – and didn’t want to share her cooties with us. The weather chimed in, smacking us with a storm which made the prospect of driving over the rivers and through the woods to Rio’s** house both unappealing and inadvisable. So we called off family dinner, or at least rescheduled it, probably until the first weekend in February.

Coincidentally, the cancelled night would have been Burns’ Night, and I had a poem all ready to take with me and have my brother read out loud. It was especially perfect since it was January. Given the drive, we wouldn’t be sipping whiskey with our poetry, but we would have had handmade cider, which is a British tradition and could be an acceptable substitute. If we do have family dinner on the first Saturday in February, we can celebrate Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday instead of Robbie Burns’, and homegrown, home-made food and cider will be just as appropriate for that.

It’s harder for me to tell how rainy it is outside when I’m inside the house now. My old place had no insulation, and its Quonset hut shape made the roof and the walls the same thing, so the rain was everywhere and it was really loud. It was also, like a horror movie villain, inside the house. When I look back, I’m a little surprised by how I just took it in stride that there was a merry little brook in the laundry room/pantry in the winter, the puddle by the Christmas tree, the one in the foyer, etc. Here I have stepped outside and been shocked by the fact that it’s hot outside or pouring with rain.

So when Megan texted me on Sunday to say that it was raining so hard that the roads would probably flood and close that day, we decided it would be wiser not to go to Point Arena to see the ballet. We were both disappointed, since we were looking forward to it so much. It was Raymonda, a grand ballet from the 19th century which we had never seen before (and still haven’t). The next one is in March and is Giselle. I think we made the right decision, but we were both sorry to have missed it.

It also meant that I had no Sunday dinner, since I was naturally planning to get Thai food in Anchor Bay. I always have pizza dough in the freezer, so I thawed that and looked around in the refrigerator, where I found salami, an onion, and capers to substitute for the olives I didn’t have. I also always have a tube of Italian tomato paste in the refrigerator, so I put that on the dough first, then everything else. Finished it with Asiago and parmesan, and it was very good indeed. Not as glamorous as ballet and Thai food, but still good.

*Years of this have given her a kick ass immune system. It takes a particularly nasty bug to make her sick. I appreciate her not sharing with us. Sometimes not sharing is caring.
**She is, and always will be, the only grandmother among us. Grandson Number 4 is scheduled to arrive on March 10!

A YEAR AGO: We actually made it to the ballet. And it was wonderful.

FIVE YEARS AGO: Making bread.

TEN YEARS AGO: Glitz and glamor at the Legion of Honor museum.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Getting ready for a road trip to Florida. Or at least thinking about getting ready.