Shorts in January

Shit. Blogger in Aruba is in Dutch. I think I just posted to Channeling Bunny by mistake. So here I go again. . . Oh my god. . . it's good to put shorts on in January! Aruba is great so far. . . though too. . . I don't know. . . American. I was expecting more European, like Antigua was 25 years ago. We're on the Marriott reservation. Very, um, New Jersey. I say that, knowing that Cape May is my favorite place on Earth, but I expected something different here. Our goal is to find some good local cuisine tomorrow. This afternoon was good for scouting for snacks to stock the kitchenette, some wine, some gin, some vermouth. . . then dinner and cigar. A good cuban for the Man. Even tasted good to me, I must admit. Beautiful sunset. Will let you know what the beach looks like in the early a.m., when I'm at my best. The Man is tuning the guitar and I'm admiring the anniverary bling (pictures in a future post). Life is good.

Second Honeymoon

This is the before. Leaving tomorrow for the second honeymoon, twenty-five years later. Will post a more recent photo if we can manage to focus the camera, or at least talk somebody on the island into doing it for us. Bon chance in the next couple of weeks.

:-)

The Quiet After the Storm

I love that my son comes home for the holidays. I have two, a twelve-year old who's always home, and who loudly exclaims that he has ZERO opportunity to leave the Eastern U.S. time zone, and a 20-year old in his second year of college out west in Colorado.

The hubster and I are leaving in two weeks for a 10-day second honeymoon to the Caribbean celebrating our 25th anniversary. The 12-year old is still speechless that we aren't taking him. My bff of 15 years is coming to stay here to care for him and the 12-year old Dalmatian, Molly. Comedy ensues. Bff has a son in college too, a year ahead of mine, who wants to be a math teacher. My Troy doesn't know Joseph, but if he's HER boy, he'll be o.k. with Troy, and Troy could use some tutoring in math. I'm sure that will be the least popular activity whilst we're abroad. That said, Troy is going to be spoiled when we come back-- it's what makes me feel good about leaving him with her. We all have our different styles, but Troy will be very comfortable with her and I know she'll probably take better care of him than I do in general. For example, when my kids lost a tooth, the tooth fairy (if she remembered to visit) deposited a quarter (or if she were feeling really guilty for having forgotten on the actual night the tooth came loose, a dollar). This bff used to host the occasional sleepover for the older boys. My older son lost a tooth one night over at her place. Instead of just deposting a coin after collecting the tooth, at her house the tooth fairy actually left behind footprints in baby powder left in a path from the window sill to the bed, and wrapped the coins (yes, plural coins) in ribbon, and made a special breakfast so that every lost tooth was not only memorable, the remaining ones were in peril of the dentist's tools.

As for tonight, the boys ordered pizza, and I've got a greek salad with grilled chicken on the way. Seventeen-year old C'mon Baby truck is home ($1,400 later) with a new gas tank and fuel lines, and I've just had a conversation with Zack (college boy). He told me the stacks of CDs (more than 200 all over the living room) he had to reload on his laptop are in alpha order. After we had a good laugh over that one, we went through all the other things he's left behind, messes and otherwise, necessitating another box to be shipped out west. It might be my imagination, but I think he's getting it. What I really mean is, he might just be learning how to say, you're absolutely right, I'm so sorry, I'll do better next time, blah, blah, blah. . . Pretty simple, right? But I would rather he said that now, but next time picked up after himself. Hey, I can dream. . .

Now it's more homework for the middle-schooler. When's the bloody dinner coming??

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to the faithful followers. I'm such a slacker about the blogging, but I've decided it's because I haven't found my voice. I'm so impressed with others whose writing I read on line (favorites listed in my regular haunts to the right), but I love the idea of sharing with anybody who's interested. So, I resolve to be better about writing, and I'll let my voice find itself.

My late great mother-in-law always served black-eyed peas and pork roast on New Year's Day, to bring good luck to the new year. She also cooked her green beans to within an inch of their lives; some traditions don't need to continue. Tonight's menu? Pork loin wrapped in pancetta; hearty black-eyed peas; rice (so I can mix it with the leftover peas for tomorrow's lunch); and some sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion topped with shredded mozzarella because it's Troy's favorite. And because anything green Troy says he'll eat is golden with me.

I hope your holidays have been wonderful. Two more days off, then back to the salt mines. And Troy told me yesterday that he has a book due Monday. Fucking homework over the holidays? Bastards.

UPDATE: it's going to be broccoli. No mozzarella for the zucchini, and that's key. At least according to Troy.