Later, there will be
no reason to remember
this, so remember it
now: a safe day. Time
passes into dim history.
from "Small Talk" by Eleanor Lerman, 2010
Friday night! Start of staycation! I got home and had a hankering for Imo's. Luke brought a pizza home - black olives and mushroom. A combo safe from only the most hungry of poachers.
On Saturday I went to the 7 am CrossFit class and came home and made a Dutch baby, Josie's request. I took the girls to their tennis lesson and lunch at Garbanzo and picked up groceries at Dierbergs. I tried to get Josie to take a nap but I fell asleep instead! That evening Luke and the guys had a gig and the girls and I watched The Grinch. Clem popped up after the movie saying, "I have an idea for a Santa trap!" and set about constructing a trap.
Clementine explains the Santa trap (it's really more of an alarm):
Sunday: because of our now-daily thunderstorms and waning enthusiasm, we converted Sunday's float trip into a brunch at our house. Friends + Costco quiche, what could be better?
After brunch I went to Michaels to pick up some family photographs I'd framed. I started some short ribs in the slow cooker (I love all the Williams-Sonoma braising sauces I've tried!), made cookie dough for a skillet cookie, and went to Cyclebar - I wanted to work out every day of vacation.
Back home for the rest of dinner prep and the hockey game! Black truffle short ribs over creamy polenta with roasted green beans.
Skillet cookie from Cook's Country Cook It In Cast Iron.
Watching hockey / playing tic tac toe in a swimsuit
Monday was Clementine's first day of camp - I took vacation to take her to and from camp and spend some one on one time with her this summer.
Josie seems to show up in our bed around 5 am daily and if we're lucky we get back to sleep. She always does.
After camp, Clem and I went to Nordstrom for lunch.
I brought along a Highlights Puzzle Buzz for her to work on.
The crossword theme was dog breeds and she surprised me by reading "dachshund" perfectly ... how did she do that??!! When I told my mom about it she said they read the word in Margret Rey's Pretzel.
There were no other customers in the cosmetics department and the salesperson offered to apply some sparkly lip gloss and shimmering powder. She was so pleased when she got home she tipped her little face up to Luke, eyes closed, and said, "can you see my diamond dust?!"
On Tuesday I got up for the 5:30 spin class and took Clem to camp. While she was there I finally mailed a package to my sister I'd been meaning to for weeks and got a massage at Sole Shine. I picked her up and we went to the Central West End to shop at Eye Roc and pick up sandwiches at Straubs. I had heard of a kid craft space at the central library so we drove there. She was the only kid at The Nest!
She spent a long time working the artist-in-residence constructing a scarecrow.
We made a quick stop at my office and headed home. I originally planned to attend a member-only Tuesday night at the botanical garden but my day had begun at 5:05 am and we had done many things.
On Wednesday I went to CrossFit before the camp drop-off and spent the camp time going to Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma in preparation for the Game 7 dinner menu. I prepped dinner after camp and picked up Josie early so the girls could play at our friends' house. When we got home there was little to do for dinner: blistered shishito peppers, sauteed shrimp, LETTUCE STANLEY CUPS, and macerated strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. I love the Williams-Sonoma lettuce cup starter sauce!
Starter sauce+ ground turkey + julienne carrots + water chestnuts + cilantro for the cup fillings. Toppings: more cilantro, crushed peanuts, avocado, and chile crunch.
Thursday: CrossFit at the reasonable time of 6:15 am. I dropped off C and had a solo breakfast at First Watch while reading a new issue of Cook's Illustrated. It was the most gorgeous day - 70 degrees - so C and I went to the botanical garden. Spectacularly beautiful. Usually we don't get past the children's garden but this time we walked to the Japanese garden - I knew she would love feeding the fish.
There were tadpoles in this pool -- very interesting.
Planning ahead for the splash pad, I had her change into a bikini bottom and rashguard in the car. When we got there she took off her jeans and was ready to play!
She ran over to this bench and said, "take my picture like I'm a scolp-chur [sculpture]."
Another costume change for the next stop: a CrossFit kids' class that she enjoyed so much she drew this picture later and asked for kettlebells of her own - "two, so I can carry them like this [pantomimes farmer's carry]".
After her class we picked up Josie from school. Because Luke and the band were rehearsing, I took the girls directly to the movie theatre to see Aladdin. On the way home I asked the girls what their three wishes would be and they agreed:
1) unicorn
2) bunk beds
3) a carriage
Friday morning I had a tennis lesson and visited Clem's camp classroom for an exhibition of the art they created that week. Luke picked up Josie and we met up at Circus Flora (here's our 2018 visit) - the show was stupendous.
On Saturday morning, I went to the early CrossFit class and Luke's parents arrived before noon to take the girls to Michigan. We said goodbye and Luke and I went to Parker's Table for a sandwich. I got a pedicure and came home ... and I was in the mood to watch tv. I finished season 2 of Vida and Always Be My Maybe, making a loaf of brown butter cardamom banana bread in between. It felt good to be still for a while.
On Sunday, I had two hours of tennis clinic and lunch with Mom and Jenny. Remembering I needed to pay for the rest of my earring order at the piercing studio, I drove there, changed out my jewelry and what the heck got another ear piercing. I made dinner that night for the guys: chicken thighs + orange chicken sauce starter in the Instant Pot and roasted green beans drizzled with roasted peanut oil and crushed peanuts. I'm trying to bring more texture into my cooking.
whew -what a fabulous week!
