a good weekend . . .
by mulberryshoots
Today is Sunday and my daughter C. has been spending the weekend with G. and me, arriving yesterday afternoon with lovely yellow tulips and a large box of fresh groceries from a local organic farm. For dinner last night, we roasted a small chicken with fresh thyme and rosemary; a bread salad made up of a torn up ciabetta roll and fresh greens, asparagus and later on, some chocolate cream pie.
After dinner, we watched the Walt Disney movie, “Frozen,” for the first time together and were impressed with the radical themes and fresh approaches to life for young children (no, Virginia, Prince Charming is no longer the end-all, be-all savior of all damsels in distress; and yes, girls, you can find it within yourself to “let it go” AND also show true love to those whom you don’t understand, rather than waiting/relying on others to show love to you first in order for you to believe life is worth living!) A woman wrote the script, you can be sure. I kept waiting for the movie to deliver not only the song, “Let It Go,” but a message that would illustrate how this movie would justify the over 1. billion dollar worldwide gross it has achieved since it was released in late 2013. With the aforementioned radical shifts to “happily-ever” scenarios, I could see why the movie has caught on.
The song, “Let It Go” itself is not easy to sing, given the harmonic shifts and irregular meter–sometimes in four beats and then extending to six. Despite these challenges, the song seems to have taken over the world (winning best song at the Oscars.) Here is a link to a Youtube clip of “Let It Go” sung in 25 languages by 25 exuberant women vocalists:
This morning, (with “Frozen” running on replay in the background,) we made more of my home-style panko crumbs and C. prepared eggplant parmigiana to take home and bake tonight for supper. Afterwards (you must be thinking that all we do is cook and eat, which is pretty much accurate) I sliced up some huge fresh shitake mushrooms, sauteed them in butter with shallots, dressed with fresh thyme and rosemary afterwards.
I made tender scrambled eggs, still runny in curds, piled into a plate, the mushrooms on top as our lunch, eaten with leftover French onion soup, bread and taleggio goat cheese. Yum!
scrambled eggs with fresh shitake mushrooms. . .
The rest of the morning was spent leisurely reading the New York Times, side by side with our cups of tea and coffee. We skyped the Minneapolis contingent mid-morning and visited, catching up on our weekend and showing J. my canary, whom she has been waiting to see because I haven’t been as mobile with the laptop as usual due to my ankle injury.
Last night, C. massaged my occipital muscles at the base of my head and my shoulder muscles. I could tell right away that this kind of touch might allow me to sleep better than any of the remedies taken by mouth, herbal and otherwise. And sure enough, I woke up this morning after sleeping better than I have in awhile.
The afternoon air coming through the windows and back porch is refreshing as I finish writing this post. It’s been such a pleasure to visit together and to spend time chatting, watching movies, reading the Sunday newspapers, cooking and eating meals together.
Soon it will be Easter (next Sunday!) And soon enough afterwards, my cast will be removed (!) in favor of a replaceable boot if all goes well with my X-rays. Hope you have had a good weekend too!
mulberryshoots 
Sounds totally wonderful, from the tulips on through the weekend!
Thanks, Beth! Do you have plans for Easter with your grandson? Just two more weeks to see how things are with the leg and some mobility perhaps.
I’m glad your recuperation time is nearing its end! Your cooking stories have kept me entertained (and hungry) while you recuperated. So far, no big plans for Easter this year. Church on Sunday and then a family meal with Jello eggs, of course. I am still trying to plan the rest of the menu, but have time to think it through! Happy Easter to you and your family!
Oh yes, jello eggs! I remember when you told me about it last year. I sent the mold to my daughter but might try it myself this year since I’m a shut-in! What are your favorite flavors?
Mine is cherry (red), but the children love them all, especially the multi-colors I made last year.
I’d love to see a photo of them if you have a chance! Thinking about the jello eggs inspired me to think about making aspic and madrilene for Easter. Will see if anything comes of it! Happy Easter!