Women Are Like That

It may not be an exact translation…but it will likely increase the number of google hits on this issue of the blog.

Friday night we travelled to Cambridge to meet up with the Morris and Manz adults (I guess we are all getting to be adults...so the senior adults)—along with Laura Nassau (also a senior adult)—to see Thomas Morris (a less senior adult) perform in the Commonwealth Opera Companies' production of Mozart’s  Cosi Fan Tutte.  During the show the super-titles—opposite of sub-titles—showed ‘Women Are Like That’ as a loose translation of the title. Robert Morris (ibid on the whole less senior adult thing) also met us at the theater.

The basic premise of the opera is that Thomas (in the blue shirt) and his friend—to his right in this photo—are convinced that their fiancées will remain faithful to them should they be tempted.  The actor to Thomas’ furthest right bets that the women will not last a day.

Obviously a farcical comedy,there were twists and turns with many sexual innuendos, all brought to a more modern setting.  It was fun to watch and having the super-titles made it easy to follow the plot and just enjoy the music.  Thomas was, as usual, great.

Following the performance we all piled into our vehicles and headed for the Morris Estate in Standish, ME.  It was fairly late when we arrive, but that didn’t stop us from standing around the kitchen visiting.  Also, since James has a milestone  birthday in the offing, Dan and I—his partners in crime—went together to bring him an 18 year old scotch.

Since we had the bottle and some glasses in the cupboard, we did try a wee dram each to make sure it was passable as a birthday gift.  We guys commented on the smokiness, the buttery smell and the caramel finish…our wives made comments about the odor, but no where near as complimentary.

Below you can see James explaining the fineries of the scotch and Liz’s reaction to him; Dan’s studious and contemplative pose as he enjoyed a pre-scotch ale; Laura’s bemusement with the goings-on; and Stephanie having nothing to do with it.  Our normal type of get-together.

Although we didn’t arise as early as usual the next morning—James surprisingly beat us all and had a nice fire going as well as outdoor gear laid out for the morning—it was still a reasonable hour.  Our plans included the men heading out for some snow-shoeing while Cheri and Liz  did a nice run around the neighborhood.

There were no pictures of the ladies in their running attire, but suffice it to say they did get in a 2 mile run while we were out playing with Angus, the dog, in the snow.  We did arrive back at the house to find fresh brewed coffee and Stephanie had prepared a huge waffle and maple bacon breakfast for us. 

Following breakfast the ladies positioned themselves between the fire and the fireplace screen.  Effectively absorbing all of the excess heat before it leaked into the room and overwhelmed the rest of us.  Cheri also took the time to show off the sweater she just finished for Jess’ Christmas present (Jess did see it in major pieces on Christmas).

Too soon the Vermont contingency needed to pack up and get on the road back to the Northwest Shore of New England. Dan was scheduled to work Rescue Service Saturday evening, so they needed to be back in time for him to head to the station.

Cheri and I had already decided to maximize our time spent with friends Down East so we ran some errands and then met James and Stephanie at a local movie theater to see Avatar in 3D—if you have not done this, you should...a little over the top with the portrayal of the Marine Colonel, but a good story and amazing effects.

We made it back to the Morris Estate in time to have some of Stephanie’s home-made pizza and watch a little football.  If we didn’t have commitments to do the flowers in church and greet—Cheri in both cases—or sing in the choir—guess who—then we would probably have stayed another evening.  Even still it was only a 2 hour 45 minute jaunt back to Woodstock, CT (don’t bother doing the math; suffice it to say I was over the speed limit on some portions of the Interstate).

Cheri and I agreed several times on the trip home that this was an outstanding weekend and another great Adventure.

Some Celebrated New Year’s While Some of Us Labored in the Past

The picture above could go next to my profile…Swedish Fish, coffee, sailing and connecting with the kids, here and in Australia…kinda says it all.

Following the Swenson Family get-together on Sunday we headed back to Connecticut arriving late in the evening.  It was early to bed and late to rise (somewhat) for the three of us.  Then time to prepare for the next round of guests.

James and Stephanie Morris arrived at our house in the late afternoon on Monday along with James' brother Harold and his wife Nancy.  Once again the house was full…and it was wonderful. 

Harold and Nancy are both very gracious and enjoyable, and it was a pleasure to have the extended Morris family in our home.  As is usual when James and I get together we decided to open some good red wine—actually a separate white zinfandel for Harold…he’s a cheap date—but not before we tried some 21 year old Bushmill’s single malt Irish Whiskey to whet the palate.  Nancy, Cheri and Jess were first provided with Lemon Drop Martinis—which Liz Manz will tell you is her ‘new favorite drink’…and we commented on that observation—while we men-folk also tried a little tangueray and tonic…also to whet the palate.


The evening also called for some more red meat—NY strips and filets in this case—a simple salad of sliced tomatoes, onions, mozzarella and basil in a balsamic vinegar and water bath—an adapted Stephanie Morris method—and the remainder of the sour-cream hash brown potatoes.  Combined with the great red wine (except for the great white zin that Harold enjoyed) it was another great holiday meal.


Suffice it to say that with the food, the wine and some after-dinner experimenting with single malt Scotch—it was an international comparison to counter the earlier Irish offering and a separate request to prove that Remy Martin is actually made with twice distilled VSOP champagne—there were no pictures taken.  However, we, the guys, did watch some football and the distaff part of the crowd planted themselves in front of a nice fire to visit and relax after the meal.


The next morning was a leisurely start with coffee and omelets before sending the Morris family off to the home of Yankee Candle.  Separately, I had been having some issues with the Saab’s battery and decided that this was a good day to make the replacement—that plus the car would neither start nor hold a charge. 


Typically, this would be a simple take out the old, go to a auto parts store, buy a new one, replace and voila…done.  The problem in this case—the combination of battery location, rusted bolts holding the battery frame in place (it hasn’t been moved in six years), and a lack of the proper metric tools—made me decide to take it to a local shop and let them deal with it.  Fortunately, it was pretty much an in-and-out event that took care of the issue and we are back fully on the road.


Wednesday I was back in the office while Cheri made sure that Jessica made it to the airport in time for her return flight to Phoenix.  The office time was light and I was able to clear up some end-of-year items.  Jess was a little delayed in her flight, but she did arrive safely late that evening.


Thursday both Cheri and I headed off to spend some time at work. Around 9 am (Eastern Time) Sarah sent me an Instant Message wishing me an early Happy New Year—she was already an hour into 2010 while the rest of us were still at work on New Year’s Eve.   By 11 am I was ready to head home, and I wanted to watch first the Air Force Bowl Game and then the Navy Bowl Game.  Both Service Academies won, which was a great close out to the year!


I took advantage of the time at home to use up some of the leftovers from our holiday dinners.  The ribs from Christmas Dinner went into a pot with vegetables and herbs to simmer for ten hours and make a great beef stock.  Since there were a few football games on it was easy to get the stock started, watch some games, and then check occasionally to make sure nothing was sticking or burning.


We didn’t stay up late on New Year’s Eve.  Cheri was in bed before midnight and I did watch a game and then some of the festivities until just after midnight and then off to bed myself.


I did get up early and took the next step in using leftovers—and some new items.  Onions were sliced and added to my chef’s pan with a few tablespoons of butter and placed over a low heat to start carmelizing the onions.  Over the next few hours the onions went from being firm and white to flimsy and mahogany—the natural sugars in the onion browning up nicely.

As the onions started to stick…and before burning…it was time to add about a half cup of white wine and scrape up any of the sticky parts—the good stuff—from the pan.
 
After simmering for another thirty minutes it was time to add about four cups of the beef stock made over the last day.  A slice of toast, some mozzarella cheese and voila…our New Year’s Day dinner!

It’s a new year and tomorrow we will be up and off to spinning class once again (it is after all a Saturday).  Then errands and the Christmas decorations start to come down.  The trees will wait a bit…after all it isn’t St. Knute’s Day yet.

The Holiday Season was great and we loved having our house full so many times.  If you didn’t make it here this year remember you are always invited.

Happy New Year to all…and on to more Adventures.

Should You Eat the Yellow Part of Snow Pudding?

The week before Christmas weather blew in to make sure it was a white Christmas in Connecticut.  It was stormy enough on Sunday morning that churches throughout the area cancelled their Christmas Sunday services—although this never happened to us when we lived through many snow storms in Vermont we need to remember that this is the southern part of New England.

It stayed cold through the week so there was plenty of snow for Jess to see when she arrived on Wednesday.  She caught a red-eye flight out of Phoenix on Tuesday night and fortunately she was able to upgrade on the flight and able to sleep on the plane. Calvin was glad to see Jess and spends time following her around.  He also likes that someone waits on him and occasionally gives him some treats.

Nana and Papa also arrived on Wednesday so the house started to have the fuller feeling of a holiday.  Sarah obviously couldn’t make the trip from OZ but we were able to have some video calls with her—using Skype—over the past few days.  Not the same as being here, but it sure was great to see and speak with both Sarah and Andrew.

On Christmas Eve morning Nana and Papa woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  So they stayed up and made the oyster stew for us to enjoy later that day.  Jess and I also got up early and headed to the gym for a core-strength and stretching class.  Much of the rest of the day was spent doing last minute errands—picking up the beef for the Christmas dinner—and putting together the last touches for Christmas Day.

The Christmas Eve service—not enough cold or snow to stop this service—was very well attended.  We took our normal balcony seats—we sit up there so we can see Cheri ring bells—and it is nice to look down over the congregation, particularly when everyone lights their candle and sings Silent Night.

Following the service Nana and Papa headed back to the house while the rest of us went to Jamie and Martha’s house for a Christmas Eve celebration.  There was great food and company and we ended staying well into Christmas morning playing games and visiting before heading back home.

The next morning we were not up as early as when there were younger—much younger—people in the house.  While some final breakfast preparations were made, some of us also took some time to catch up on events in the newspaper.  Then it was time to move in by the fireplace, make sure Nana was warm enough and open stocking gifts.  Santa was able to make it to Connecticut overnight and the stockings were overflowing.  Although some coal was expected in some of the stockings we must have been just nice enough to avoid that fate.

Following stocking time we moved back into the kitchen for one of our family Christmas morning traditions…eggs benedict.

It was a team effort getting breakfast ready.  The hollandaise sauce was made up fresh, english muffins toasted and smeared with cream cheese, the Canadian bacon heated and eggs poached—to the runny yolk stage…which is the best.  A fruit salad was made up the day before (and refrigerated…just in case you are concerned) and as everything was plated the presentation was very festive.  The black specks are fresh ground pepper and the orange specks are Aelea Sea Salt from Hawaii.

A couple of us acted as elves—Santa’s Helpers—in getting the presents out from under the tree.

After satisfying ourselves with a great breakfast we took the time to set up the gorilla tripod and get a group picture before getting the presents out from under the tree. Of course this meant that some of us got to wait for the gifts to be delivered…one of those benefits of being the ‘senior’ members present.

It wasn’t much longer before the Whitney family arrived and we extended the celebration through the afternoon and into the evening.


We were also fortunate to be able to Skype with Sarah and Andrew while everyone was at our house.  There were some comical moments with the video call since Sarah was receiving the video with about a 90 second delay.  So although they could hear us in real time and we  could both hear and see them in real time, the video from the US followed a delay.  That meant we could tell her what to expect in the video or—as Tim did—someone could dance along behind Cheri while she was talking and then Sarah would start laughing more than a minute later.  Even with the technical difficulties it was great to see the two of them during our Christmas Day (it was already Boxing Day in OZ).

We had a great Christmas Dinner of prime rib, glazed carrots, sour cream hash-brown potatoes, and jello salad.  There were also a few bottles of wine enjoyed with the appetizers and the main meal. 

Too soon it was time for the Whitney Clan to head off to New Jersey, but fully understandable since they had been with Scott’s family since Tuesday.  It would be good for them to get home to spend some down time as a family.

The day after Boxing Day…

We were on the road to New Hampshire on Sunday to spend some Christmas time with the extended Swenson Family.  Bill and Sheila hosted this year’s event and a great smorgasbord was set out with contributions from many.

With so many family members around we did take some time for group photos (without our Sarah…but we did get a chance to talk to her and pass the phone around the gathering).
Of course some of the time was spent visiting, [more] cooking, knitting, or laying around having a ‘healthy swing’—one of Sheila’s Christmas gifts that we all lined up to try.
It was a wonderful evening and—not that we need it—a great reminder of family being together at Christmas.  A great Swenson Adventure to [almost] finish the year.

Dancing in the Streets

Winter weather is now fully with us.  Time to put out the bird-feeders and provide a little help to the animals now scrounging for food…except the squirrels…we are not encouraging the squirrels (see my earlier blog about squirrel bowling).

As a parting gift at our party last weekend we gave each guest a small bag of seed similar to the one above.  Just like tomten we can play our part and possibly bring ourselves some luck in the new year.  We have our niece Karin to thank for bringing this tradition to our family.

We started a bit of a whirling dervish on Friday evening.  As a fund raiser UMass Memorial has begun a Winter Ball and this was the kick-off event for our weekend.  This black tie event—Christmas red tie in my case—was held in the restored Mechanics Hall in Worcester.  Cheri looked gorgeous—as usual—in an evening dress and we tapped our way through the evening. 

The Ball included a VIP Reception into which we tap-danced our way.  Then it was on to a great dinner, live music, dancing, a silent auction and a live auction.

The evening was fun and we stayed fairly late considering we needed to get up early on Saturday to head off to America’s Game…

We are fortunate that Scott’s continued involvement with the Naval Academy Athletic Association gets him access to great seats.  So we were on the Club level with seats right in front of the Press Boxes.  Being in the last row of the Section was great since we could stand when we wanted without bothering anyone behind us.  The Brigade marched on—three hours before game time so the stands were not anywhere near full—and we stayed outside to watch that and then went inside to have some lunch prior to game time (while the Midshipmen and Cadets sat outside in the stands—go figure). From Winter Ball Football Weekend 2009 The end result was the same as the last eight years with Navy coming out on top.  Although Army seemed to make it a game going into half-time with a 3 – 0 lead; Navy came out firing for the second half and won 17 – 3.

We headed out from Woodstock at 6 a.m. with a quick stop in New Jersey to meet up with Papa, Scott and Deb.  Cheri stayed with Nana and Laura in the warm house in NJ while the rest of us were chauffeured by Scott to Philadelpia for the game.  It was a sunny but cool day with the temperatures in the high 30’s at game time and heading down…although it wasn’t too bad out of the wind. From where we parked we had to head through the forming up of the Brigade and the Corps to enter in to Lincoln Field.  We were able to find Tim in the formation (who was attending his final game as a Midshipman) and then we went in to find our seats. Also on the Club level we had access to a large indoor area with food stations and restrooms which allowed us to stay warm prior to the game and at half time. To see a little of the pre-game pageantry  you can double-click on the photo to the left and to see the football team coming on to the field double-click the photo below. From Winter Ball Football Weekend 2009 Following the game there was once again the moving tradition of singing the alma-maters with the teams standing respectfully in front of the other’s student body.

We met up with Tim following the game and headed out to Roy’s restaurant for dinner with his “friend” Kayla’s family.  It was a wonderful meal and the company was great for the victory dinner.

Scott drove us all back to NJ for the evening and it is back to Connecticut on Sunday.  Another successful adventure.

Foraging for Nuts, Fruits, Grains and Berries in the Mid-Winter

 
As long nights and short days set in we realized that it was time to celebrate the turning point of mid-winter—Lucia Day.  It wasn’t exactly the right day or mid-winter, but we needed to make do with holiday schedules.

Invitations went out to about thirty people a few weeks ago, and we ended up with twenty-one showing up.  Cheri had the last three days of the week off so she was able to spend time cleaning, decorating and cooking to get ready for the party.

We set out a buffet with Swedish food as the theme.  There was sillsalad (herring salad made with apples, beets and walnuts), roasted pepper cheesecake, Swedish cheese, and Swedish kottbullar (meatballs) for appetizers.  Then it was on to spiral cut ham, smoked salmon, (with a mustard-dill sauce), more meatballs (this time with a beef-sour cream gravy), cucumber salad, potatoes stewed in cream, Janssons Temptation (potatoes, Swedish anchovies, onions and cream), Holiday Fruit Soup, and glazed carrots.  All of the appetizers and buffet were accompanied by berry liquids (grapes in particular), glogg and punch. 

Card tables were set up in the large Keeping Room and one of the Front Rooms—the Scotch Room—so guests wouldn’t have to try eating out of their laps.

Guests ate and visited for a few hours enjoying the food and the company.

Then it was some clean up before moving on to Snow Pudding with custard sauce, along with pepparkarkor and candy-cane cookies for some dessert. It snowed a bit during the party and overnight so we woke up to  a wintery setting and the winter sun glowing through snow and ice covered branches.

Of course a Swedish theme would not be complete without some aquavit.  A couple of days earlier I set the bottle in a container with some holly, berries, baby’s breath and boxwood and then filled with water and set in the freezer.  The result is in the picture to the left. For those of you in warmer climates—and there are several of you—here is how nice the dusting of snow looks on the trees and in the front yard.  It was a cool crisp morning and a sign of what is coming when the days begin to lengthen again. ‘Tis winter now; the fallen snow Has left the heavens all coldly clear; Through leafless boughs the sharp winds blow, And all the earth lies dead and drear.                               - S. Longfellow