They (D's parents and youngest brother) arrived Friday afternoon in my car, which they kindly drove from Little U., saving us enormous shipping costs and eliminating their need for a rental on their tour of national parks en route. D's aunt flew in from Chicago yesterday morning as well. The plan for the next week: day excursions with possible overnights around the Olympic peninsula. D and I won't be going, but we'll spend evenings with the family in the new house.
Cooking for six instead of just two has worked out well so far -- we had soy-ginger barbecued chicken with a field greens salad the first night and broiled halibut steaks with stir-fried zucchini, summer squash, and broccoli yesterday. Tonight, we'll have a pork loin roast with red pepper gravy. That calls for a little more prep, but it is Father's Day. So while the crew is out enjoying the Fremont Fair, I'm going to get that ready along with individual meringues to go with the fresh berries we picked up at Pike Place Market. This works out well, as there are only five seats in the car, and I'm frankly in need of some alone time. Being the primary cook is a lovely excuse not to venture with everyone else into the throngs that will surely await them.
I haven't had a moment to write about the thesis reading I've done so far in the last month, but the ideas are in notes form somewhere with my partially unpacked Boston luggage. I'm hoping to have some more extensive thinking time Monday and Tuesday while also figuring out where to get my driver's license changed and what gift to get for my cousin's wedding, which is the next big trip on the horizon. Why does summer somehow feel less restful than the regular academic year? It must be the constant interruption of routines. I do like the occasional break from the usual grind, but everything gets accomplished in fits and starts with so many special summer activities stacked back to back. I think I'm becoming thoroughly convinced that everything in moderation really is my preferred way of living.
On a completely unrelated note before I head off to the kitchen, a big thank-you to Sherlock of Sherlock's Stuff for the One Lovely Blog award. Such a nice surprise to come home to -- and even after such sparse posting from me in recent weeks!The rules for accepting this are as follows: (1) Accept the award and post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award as well as his or her blog link. (2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
There's no way I can nominate 15 blogs in one round, so I'm going to do a few with every post till I hit the mark. So at this time, I'd like to share this award with Mrs. Whatsit of I Love Science, Really. She's just been reunited with her husband after doing the long-distance thing for what, I imagine, felt like an age. Props for all the effort that went into that experience as well as the decision to move back while still working on a Ph.D. She writes with a candor I love.
To the ovens ...
3 comments:
I feel very pleased for you playing hostess for the first lot of visitors to Your New Home. I'm so with you on the cook being legitimately able to avoid excursions and just relish being alone in the kitchen - it's a role I love to take. That chicken recipe sounds lovely - do you marinade it first?
Clue about the thesis subject please - or would you rather not say.
So glad you're enjoying the family visit and the break from routine. It is difficult to get much done in fits and starts. I've found that in situations like this, good ideas pop into my head and then I forget about them later. So I've started keeping a small notebook handy so that when I think of something and can't get to it right away, I just make a note and it jogs my memory later. Enjoy the week!!
FF -- I do use a marinade, just liberal amounts of soy sauce, minced ginger, and green onions. I add salt and pepper as well, but only a little of the former since soy is already salty and just enough of the latter to give each piece of chicken a dusting.
Thesis subject in my next post :). I've been meaning to write about it for a bit but haven't been able to pull together my thoughts till recently.
Sherlock -- the notebook sounds like a good tool. I'll have to give it a try. As it is, my food log is usually with me, so maybe I'll just have it serve dual purposes. No one else (for example, my doctor) sees it, so it won't cause any confusion :).
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