It certainly feels like November here, what with the suddenly blustery, overcast days we have started to experience. Steve dutifully rides his scooter into work every day, but I honestly don't know how much longer he can do that. It's dark by 5:30 or earlier, which adds a bit of melancholy to the long evenings, I must admit. We are doing our best to keep ourselves entertained as a family at night, but it is harder without a TV--it just feels like the time to curl up in front of a brainless sitcom or an old movie. Stephen has taken to reading long passages from books to the boys. Actually, he sits on the floor, perhaps holding the baby, while I clean the kitchen and the boys run around like banshees. They don't really understand being read to quite yet, even though we have been doing it since they were cozily curled together in my tummy. His intentions are good, I assure you.
Fall days like these make me want to cook thick, hearty meals that warm me to my bones. Yesterday I was preparing a new crock pot recipe, Hearty Lamb (or Beef) Stew, that needed to be put together five hours before dinner time. I was so proud that I was preparing such a healthy meal--I was even going to make a cauliflower mash to go with the stew! (Take that, picky eater boys!) I had all of the stew vegetables, including a stubborn butternut squash, cut and ready, and then I reached into the fridge for the lamb stew meat I had bought not two days prior. Imagine my horror upon finding that it had already gone bad and was well on its way to turning a sickly shade of green. (Best By Date: yesterday.) Yuck. I was tremendously disappointed and had to set the vegetables back in the fridge for another night. So we feasted on macaroni and cheese and hot dogs (which I don't normally have but had bought at Stephen's request) and managed to survive. The boys were happy, at least. Hopefully tonight we will have better luck with some new stew meat Steve picked up this morning.
I hope that you find some time to curl up with a good book and a mug of hot tea sometime today. Seek out a fireplace, relax, and enjoy this time of change as we prepare our hearts for the most joyous season that approaches. (I, for one, can hardly contain my enthusiasm, and my husband must use bodily force to keep me from hauling up the evergreen and the mistletoe. For now I will get my fix listening to a scratchy holiday record.) Enjoy these blustery days.
2 comments:
I know how you feel about these cool evenings, Christine. It is now so dark very soon after Bill and I get home from work that all I want to do is put my pajamas on and crash! But it has been such a beautiful autumn and we had our warm Indian summer this past week. We still have some lovely color.
Well, we have to hit the road very soon to see you and Stephen and my adorable grandchildren!
See you soon!
Once again, I love your writing. I lvoe how descriptive you are.
And for the record, I'm FORCING my husband to pull out my Christmas boxes tomorrow. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is too short in my opinion. We'll also be out of town (near Stephen's aunt and uncle JIm and Vicky actually) for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible. Also, I've been listening to Christmas music since the beginning of September.
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