We had a nice visit with Benjamin and Paula and the kids. Jasher was a busy boy. Two year olds can make you tear your hair out one minute and laugh until your sides ache the next! Our dog, Jaffa, learned how to very deftly avoid Jasher's attention. Jasher is so polite- he almost always says "Please" and "Thank You". And those big brown eyes- let's just say he could of been in a lot more trouble if he hadn't figured out how to melt people with them.
Althea will be 9 months old in a few days. She is SUCH a happy girl. She demonstrated how she can climb... and she is just starting to "cruise". She seemed to not mind CowGranny holding her, and would laugh and laugh with Umpaw. "heh-k-k-k-kkkkk. heeee hhhkkk- heh- kkkkkk." Her laugh is so funny!
We tried several new/ different recipes during their visit. Paula is working on some health issues by dietary modifications. I managed to make an edible batch of quinoa. I cooked a pot of completely unseasoned black beans, which we used in several recipes. We turned them into tortillas for enchiladas, and for fajitas. The seasoned mixture made tortillas that taste very much like the Frito-Lay bean dip I remember as a kid!
While making the tortillas, we thought of how much the tortillas resembled chocolate pancakes... so the next morning, we used some of the black beans as a base for cocoa pancakes. Different seasonings, different proportions- you'd never know the bean base was cooked in the same batch!
Paula brought her vitamix. Wow. From grinding grains to making ice cream- it is quite the useful tool! (I couldn't talk her into forgetting it when they left...)
Ben got to visit some old friends while he was here. He and Paula took the kids to the Wild Wilderness Safari Park. I hope he enjoyed his down-time as much as we enjoyed having them here.
Sam has started electrician school, four hours one night each week. He is working full time as an apprentice. He seems to be enjoying it. Daniel's last day of his current hike is today. The group heads from New Mexico back to Texas tomorrow, and he is due to fly back to Arkansas Sunday morning.
When the world wakes up and doors start to open for the business day, I have phone calls to make. Tom has been reminding me all week to call to get the ball rolling on finally having the carpal tunnel surgery. I have a couple of other calls to make at the behest of others. At some point today, I NEED to try to nap. I usually try to sleep in on Friday mornings, as I work 3 -til- after cleanup at the restaurant.... usually 10:30ish. Tonight is Chicken- Fried Chicken night... the monthly special that lands in my corner! It is one of the hardest nights on the carpal tunnel arm.
This morning I got up to see Ben and Paula off on their journey back to Texas. I had gone back to bed (5:35am!) and JUST dozed, when Mr C came in, flipped on the light and exclaimed, "SWEETY! You have gone back to bed!".
"Uh, yeah. I work tonight!"
He'd forgotten. I laid there another 20 minutes, and didn't even come close to dozing... so I got back up. He and Sam were soon out the door to their jobs. And here I am. The quiet, empty house. A couple of stray toys we keep here for when the grands visit are laying forlornly abandoned. An empty coffee cup, a skillet I never got around to washing last night.
I miss my kids. The hustle and bustle and chaos. The noise and messes. I COULD go clean the little finger and face prints from the sliding glass door. Give the dog fresh water (again) since those who had such fun in adding kibble to the water bowl are gone. It's sort of sad to wipe away the little reminders of their visit, though.
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