Seven Quick Takes -- End of April

Seven Quick Takes is hosted here by Jen.

1. I sat down to write these takes and realized that maybe I should be doing a Daybook, because for a change I have a great answer to I am hearing..... Kelson is in the kitchen with me, getting a snack, and he is listening to a song on his computer, beating out the bass line with his foot and drumming on the counter with his fingers. Definitely a percussionist (and probably a little ADHD, but not enough to make him more than twitchy.)

2. I just realized that I haven't given an update on the Quiz Bowl tournament we went to last weekend. Kelson's team didn't win any matches, but it was all right. Their first loss was to the team that eventually came in third (knocking the eventual winner into the losers bracket in the process) and their second loss was a well-played nail-biter that went back and forth repeatedly and eventually was decided by a question that our team had to acknowledge was correctly answered even though the reader's answer sheet was wrong. Final score 430 to 420, with a correct answer worth 15 points. A triumph or even a win would have been nice, but at least a good time was had by all. And the juniors get to try again next year.

3. Next week we will have our grandsons Matthew and Daniel here from Tuesday through Sunday, while Branwen and Larry take a well-deserved vacation. Larry is a top salesman for his company, and earned this trip. He earned one last year, too, but Matthew was still nursing and no provision is made for babies. (I would think this was a dumb rule even if my family weren't affected.) But this year they get the trip and we get the boys. I am looking forward to it, although I'm well aware that I don't have the stamina I had 15 years ago. Fortunately Miriel and Tirienne will be here from Wednesday evening on. I shamelessly admit that I might plug in the occasional Veggie Tales video if I get too tired...

4. As I sit here typing, Roger is burning the brush pile out by the side of the house. Because our new property was a foreclosure, the bushes and plants had been allowed to run wild. We've already done one burn -- of a pile that got so big the township cited us for breaking the brush-pile-size ordinance -- and this is a much smaller batch of branches and twigs. Roger would like, I think, to trim the pine trees on the other side of the house as well, but I'm not sure that will happen this year. Right now I'm enjoying the wood-smoke smell, and wondering if I'd still like it if I needed to burn wood for cooking and warmth. I think so, since I spent one winter in a situation where the thermostat was set at 55 and it was blankets and the fireplace if you wanted to be warmer than that. But then I didn't have to cook in the fireplace. Hmmmmm...

5. I just got some new shoes from Lands End. I ordered them several weeks ago, but they just arrived today because I forgot to update my online account. (Best I can figure is that I had in my head that this address was right for the things we unwrapped at Christmas here, not remembering that they were shipped to the now-non-existent old house. I'd have like to see the UPS man trying to deliver to a hole in the ground!) At any rate I am excited to have two pairs of shoes for such a good price, and can't wait to wear them the next time there is contra dancing. (The fifth point in the link is the relevant one.) Last time I had to wear my loafers, with socks to keep them from sliding on my feet, and I looked kind of dorky. But it was so much fun I didn't care.

6. For some reason I have gotten into a reading kick on food-related books. Right now I am finishing Knives at Dawn, about the US's 2009 team at the Bocuse d'Or competition. Very enjoyable, but the picture section gives away the ending. I hate it when that happens. The author is trying to build suspense, and the designer of the book messes it up by putting give-away photos in the center. But I won't tell you!

7. This weekend is first communion at our parish, and the kids are split into two groups for 9:30 and 11:30 mass. This really relieves the crowding of the church with proud relatives, but it means the choir has to sing two in a row. We make lemonade out of this by having a brunch in between. It's one of the few times in the entire year the choir is together but not singing. (We also have an ice cream social.) I am making a brunch casserole similar to the one in the link, except that I will also throw in the leftover bacon from tonight's BLT's and some ham that I froze after Easter. There will be fruit salad, and muffins, and... Yum.

And now my stomach is growling, so I've got to go.....