At The Close of a Sweet Summer

It has been a wonderfully busy summer with a bit of sunshine between the rains. But you know me, I don’t mind the rain at all, in fact I love it! There is something poetic about rain. It urges reflection, it’s God's way of cleansing and nourishing the earth. Besides, the drowned rat look seems to work for me in a quirky sort of way. At least, if I am having a bad hair day (which is most days), I can blame it on the rain (which is most days).  

As summer winds up, we begin to prepare our hearts and minds for the unthinkable….Quinn’s first day of school. Yes…I don’t quite know how to feel about it, but Quinn is ready and excited.  He has his backpack, lunch gear, and school supplies. Seems like a lot of stuff considering he’s only going for 3 hours a day to his little school. The other larger schools in the area require the kids to wear uniforms. I have to say after receiving the sales flyers from the local shops, that this is a brilliant idea and very economical.  A 2 pack of boys pants only €6 and a 2 pack of white polo shirts €3.50! And what little boy doesn’t look adorable in a school uniform? (I think I’m going to get those shirts even if he doesn’t have to wear a uniform.)  I’m sure we will soon post the pictures of our little man heading off to school….waaaaaaaa!!! Pray for me.

Have a Good Day Y’all!

One of the things I did miss this summer was celebrating the 4^th of July. The last couple of years I have watched fireworks in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Virginia and Illinois. I will say, however that the holiday didn’t go totally unnoticed in Ireland. There were Independence Day celebrations in Dublin, Limerick and Moneygall (ancestral home of Barak Obama...or should it be O'Bama) and there was a nice sale on “American” goods at the local grocery. I knew this because I received the sale flyer(again) and the very back page was decked out in red white and blue stars and stripes in honor of the American holiday. At the top of the page in big blue letters it read “Have A Good Day Y’all!” I wasn’t sure whether I should feel offended or just laugh. So I laughed.  It’s no different than Americans advertising everything they think is Irish with a leprechaun.  The sale in the flyer featured food items typically thought of as American. They included burgers, hot dogs, BBQ sauce, peanut butter, muffins, chocolate chip cookie dough, pancakes, maple syrup, and cola. They got that right.

My Oh My, Stick it in a Pie!

My actual leftover pies...lovely

With a smaller fridge than what we have had in the past, I have learned to manage our meals in a different way. Gone are the days of too many condiments and leftovers that take up valuable space. Does one really need 8 bottles of salad dressing and 6 mustard options?  Well, maybe but I am beginning to like this more streamlined system. I have no need to stockpile canned goods in case we get snowed in or for Armageddon and luckily, we aren’t Mormon because we would have no way to store a years supply of food in case of emergency. I am in the habit of cooking to have leftovers. With leftovers in the fridge I don’t have to bother with making lunch the next day. We just revisit and pay homage to meals from our recent past. Since we no longer have the space to do that, I have found a solution to leftovers. I stick them in a pie. It always looks impressive. It looks so good, who really cares what’s inside, right? Leftover stew is perfect for this. It is really hard to make the right amount of stew for a small family anyway. No worries, stick it in a pie! My new solution for everything! I am sure that soon Andy will be experiencing (but maybe not enjoying)  lasagna pie, chowder pie, potato soup pie, spaghetti pie, pork chop and brussel sprout pie, salmon and asparagus pie, Caesar salad pie, veggie burrito pie, stir fry pie…. I mean really, the possibilities are endless!

Ok, for a while there I started to feel like Forrest Gump. I’m glad I got that out of my system.

A Vision in Bacon!

I mean...come on...pretty close, yeah?

Speaking of food, we had a divine moment last week. No, we didn’t see Jesus in a piece of toast, or Mary in an egg yolk, but as Andy was preparing a bit of bacon for Quinn’s breakfast, something amazing did appear.  We realized as the bacon was shrinking and crisping up in the pan that it was forming in the shape of ….could it be? Ireland! 

Is this a sign that we are meant to be in Ireland?

 Oh yeah, we are already here….so that came a bit late. Well, all funning about signs and visions aside, Quinn enjoyed his crispy Ireland bacon none the less and we had a good laugh.

Cheeky Boy!

Quinn worked out a difficult puzzle recently. I told him what a wonderful job he did and asked when he became so good at puzzles.

“I’m a very clever boy, mommy.” said Quinn in a very matter-of-fact sort of way.

Good to know.