Friday-Saturday/End of June

FRIDAY
Freaky Friday : The knock at the door couldn’t have come at a better time. Alan was refusing lunch, crying inconsolably at the table, and I was at my wits end trying to figure out what to do next. In a last ditch effort to console him, I playfully exclaimed that maybe it was the mailman at the door, and tried to usher him out of his seat to check with me. (He normally loves the mailman). But he wouldn’t budge and clanked his fork onto his plate.

Having run out of strategies, I looked at my watch to see if naptime was approaching, and walked to the door praying that it wasn’t someone complaining to me about the noise level. (How ironic that would be).

I opened the door, and it was Jimmy, my next door neighbor. He’s a retired 67-year-old second father who always has great timing whether it be showing up with a bucket when the roof leaks, or a hammer to put in some drywall. This time, he smiled at me holding a toy fire truck in his hand as if a gentleman holding out a delicate boutique of flowers. Or better yet, he was more like Superman coming to save the day! Thanks Jimmy!

SATURDAY
Farmers Market Visit
Each year, our farmer’s market brings new vendors, expanding local offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables, desserts and breads as well as homemade gourmet food such as jelly, syrup and granola. Live music played (a bass player) while I visited each table. A former NYC advertising designer, who I worked with briefly when he was exploring a career in mental health, has established a baking business with his new wife. They had delicious pies and sweat breads for sale.

I found my neighbor, a videgrapher at a flight school, there as well. This was his first day in twenty years selling desserts using recipes he learned as a child. I purchased some pure maple syrup for making granola (there was a woman selling granola who adamantly told me to never use the sugar free kind). Plus, for $1.00, I bought baby spinach that I’ll sauté with some grape tomatos for lunch today. By far my favorite was the dried vegetables that are sprinkled with sea salt that you can eat like potato chips. I identified rutabaga, sweet potatoes, green beans, and carrots. I returned home via the backyard, and picked some glorious blue hydrangeas (which I had seen for sale at the farmer’s market). I put them in a blue glass jar placed them on the table.

Party Girl
Portia’s 40th Birthday Party: Surrounded by friends and food, I teasingly asked who was the next person to turn 40. As people shared their numbers (some in months), it never occurred to me that it would be me. Now mind you, one or two of those people had already passed that marker, but most of the attendees who were privy to this conversation were at least 5-6-7 years behind me. As the conversation shifted to sharing engagement rings and wedding stories while Alan darted down the hallway to explore the house, I suddenly felt older and wiser.