Lovely Rita
22/05/11 07:36
Buenos dias, laddies. It's been a soggy week to be sure. I put a little seed down just a week ago to see if we can't get some grass to come in near the fence in the front yard. It may just be that the road salt from the winter has rendered the area infertile. It may never return to the once-lush spot it was but we remain optimistic. I need some of that genetically altered seed that grows anywhere and resists insects of every kind. I've been picking up seed as well for the vegetable garden and hope to get that planted this week. I've always wanted to plant lettuce so I'll put some of that in. Got me some beets and you have got to love beets and beet greens. I'll have to refresh my memory on how to prepare the greens but that will be a good thing. Betsi gave us some pole beans so we'll put some of those in as well. What else you got, dude? I do think the soil is just right now that I've dumped a good load of manure on the garden and the rain has washed it in over the course of the last week. Now we just wait for the sun. And to the baby Jesus I pray, give us a bountiful garden so that we might feed our children over the winter to come. Give us tomatoes for our salads; beans for our plates; lettuce for our bowls; onions for our salads; and gourds for our children to play with when the wicked winter winds keep them indoors. Oh yes, one more favor, if you please. Give my darling Nancy her sunflowers so she might enjoy them as she dearly does year in and year out. As for me, give me a good pair of gardening gloves so I don't get a mouthful of dirt when I bite my nails.
It was a pleasure to sit in Popover's in downtown Portsmouth yesterday afternoon. It was an even greater pleasure to be there with my darling wife and using a gift certificate that has been doing nothing more than gathering dust in my wallet over the last couple of years. It was a cool and cloudy afternoon with a slight mist in the air and Popover's offered warmth and protection from the elements. They also offered a hearty fare for those interested and that we were. Nancy had a nice tomato bisque served piping hot with a small popover to dunk at her leisure. I ordered a cuban sandwich of sorts stuffed with shredded pork and other niceties which I thoroughly enjoyed. I could have done without the chips but there were few enough on the plate that I didn't suffer endless pangs of guilt in consuming each and every last one of them. Seeing as it was late afternoon, and seeing as I had not had my afternoon coffee as yet, I order a machiatto which is a fancy term for espresso and steamed milk. It was more bitter than I prefer and I found myself wishing I had given more thought to ordering a coffee drink. Oh, yes. We had a nice house salad as well since I thought Nancy might enjoy that with her soup. My only criticism was that I thought the cafe might be better off having servers instead of counter service. I spent an inordinate amount of time at the counter ordering my food and waiting while they processed my payment using the gift card. Nancy thought there were one too many patrons enjoying what she thought were pastries and desserts that they hardly needed. Despite the wonderful selection of pastries available to us, we ordered none and returned to our car before the meter ran out. Lovely Rita, meter maid, where would I be without you. Give us a wink and make me think of you.
Glad to hear that Deb approves of Exeter over on yonder. How is it exactly that the mum doesn't understand after all these years the difference between zero and one? God help us. She must be a her wits end with children with unspecified ailments and daddy's with known infirmities. Maybe it just fills her day. Mothers tend to fret and that is an inescapable aspect of their nature. That too shall pass although one can only hope that it ends well. That is to say, ailments are treated, pockets fail to form, energy's return to normal, jobs remain intact, and boys like ours take a little more responsibility for their actions as they muddle their way through the maze of adolescents. As we lay our heads down to sleep last evening, we did so with one eye open and wondered aloud where Evan might go when he goes off to college one day. The concern is that he will go too far and his mother will never be able to fill that void. Not with gardening; not with her doting husband; and certainly not with anything else. My darling took solace in the fact that she loved her son as much as she could when he was growing up and that is certainly true. He couldn't have asked for a more loving mum. He may not realize that but he will carry her love in his heart until the end of his days. He just needs to look there from time to time to realize it.
It was a pleasure to sit in Popover's in downtown Portsmouth yesterday afternoon. It was an even greater pleasure to be there with my darling wife and using a gift certificate that has been doing nothing more than gathering dust in my wallet over the last couple of years. It was a cool and cloudy afternoon with a slight mist in the air and Popover's offered warmth and protection from the elements. They also offered a hearty fare for those interested and that we were. Nancy had a nice tomato bisque served piping hot with a small popover to dunk at her leisure. I ordered a cuban sandwich of sorts stuffed with shredded pork and other niceties which I thoroughly enjoyed. I could have done without the chips but there were few enough on the plate that I didn't suffer endless pangs of guilt in consuming each and every last one of them. Seeing as it was late afternoon, and seeing as I had not had my afternoon coffee as yet, I order a machiatto which is a fancy term for espresso and steamed milk. It was more bitter than I prefer and I found myself wishing I had given more thought to ordering a coffee drink. Oh, yes. We had a nice house salad as well since I thought Nancy might enjoy that with her soup. My only criticism was that I thought the cafe might be better off having servers instead of counter service. I spent an inordinate amount of time at the counter ordering my food and waiting while they processed my payment using the gift card. Nancy thought there were one too many patrons enjoying what she thought were pastries and desserts that they hardly needed. Despite the wonderful selection of pastries available to us, we ordered none and returned to our car before the meter ran out. Lovely Rita, meter maid, where would I be without you. Give us a wink and make me think of you.
Glad to hear that Deb approves of Exeter over on yonder. How is it exactly that the mum doesn't understand after all these years the difference between zero and one? God help us. She must be a her wits end with children with unspecified ailments and daddy's with known infirmities. Maybe it just fills her day. Mothers tend to fret and that is an inescapable aspect of their nature. That too shall pass although one can only hope that it ends well. That is to say, ailments are treated, pockets fail to form, energy's return to normal, jobs remain intact, and boys like ours take a little more responsibility for their actions as they muddle their way through the maze of adolescents. As we lay our heads down to sleep last evening, we did so with one eye open and wondered aloud where Evan might go when he goes off to college one day. The concern is that he will go too far and his mother will never be able to fill that void. Not with gardening; not with her doting husband; and certainly not with anything else. My darling took solace in the fact that she loved her son as much as she could when he was growing up and that is certainly true. He couldn't have asked for a more loving mum. He may not realize that but he will carry her love in his heart until the end of his days. He just needs to look there from time to time to realize it.