Last week I saw The Engineer holding a plate of delicious-looking breakfast--eggs with fresh spinach, tomatoes, and cheese. It looked fantastic, and I commented on it.
"Yeah," he said, "I was going to make an omelet. But I put the eggs on the griddle (which is totally flat with no edges) and it started going everywhere, so I turned it into a scramble instead."
I looked at my highly-intelligent husband, my Engineer who does design work for water and wastewater treatment plants, who is an expert at water flow (but apparently not egg flow), and started to giggle.
"Why in the world," I asked, "did you use a griddle for an omelet?"
Thankfully he laughed too. "I don't know," he admitted.
We got a good laugh out of his plate of scrambled eggs (that tasted just as good as an omelet would have.) And I decided that while I'd be happy to trust my drinking water to him, maybe food engineering is best left to me.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A merry mess
For the first couple of days of our vacation last week, we stayed with The Engineer's nephew (only a year younger than him) and his family. They are a busy family! His nephew, J, is a teacher, and he works at a family jewelry store. J's wife, P, works as a nurse and teaches nursing at a college. Add in a six-year-old daughter and a five-month-old son, and I'm not sure how they do it all!
Yep, they're busy. And when I went into their house, I could tell. It was cluttered, with toys all over the place. When the kids made messes, P encouraged me not to worry about it.
Before we left, I said to P, "I'm going to tell you something, and I hope you don't take it wrong." That's probably not the greatest way to start a conversation, but I quickly continued. "I'm glad your house isn't perfectly clean. I feel like I can relax, without worrying that my kids are going to mess anything up."
P expressed relief and said she'd been concerned we'd think they were slobs. I'm actually glad they didn't stay up until all hours of the night trying to get the house "ready" for us.
In less than 20 years, their kids and ours will be grown, and we can give our homes the white glove treatment if we really want to. But until then, I appreciate J & P reminding me that a welcoming atmosphere has a lot more to do with how you treat your guests than with how organized your home is.
I haven't spent a lot of time with J & P, but I thoroughly enjoyed it last week. I'm looking forward to the next time our families can get together--whether it's at their messy house, or mine.
Yep, they're busy. And when I went into their house, I could tell. It was cluttered, with toys all over the place. When the kids made messes, P encouraged me not to worry about it.
Before we left, I said to P, "I'm going to tell you something, and I hope you don't take it wrong." That's probably not the greatest way to start a conversation, but I quickly continued. "I'm glad your house isn't perfectly clean. I feel like I can relax, without worrying that my kids are going to mess anything up."
P expressed relief and said she'd been concerned we'd think they were slobs. I'm actually glad they didn't stay up until all hours of the night trying to get the house "ready" for us.
In less than 20 years, their kids and ours will be grown, and we can give our homes the white glove treatment if we really want to. But until then, I appreciate J & P reminding me that a welcoming atmosphere has a lot more to do with how you treat your guests than with how organized your home is.
I haven't spent a lot of time with J & P, but I thoroughly enjoyed it last week. I'm looking forward to the next time our families can get together--whether it's at their messy house, or mine.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Funny name, serious game
When we got home Sunday night from our Thanksgiving trip, I was tired. Monday I had to take a nap.
Why? Because of a card game called Pinochle.
Pinochle can be played in any number of ways. Of course, the only right way to play is the way I learned from my parents and my Mamma and Papa (maternal grandparents.) The right type of pinochle is played with four people (two teams.) Beyond that, it gets too complicated to explain in a blog post...though I will tell you that pinochle decks are made up of 9s, 10s, jacks, queens, kings, and aces (two of each card in each suit), and if you're playing the right way, you'll use two decks, with the 9s removed. I guess the 9s are only there for people who play in one of the wrong ways. (I know this sounds terribly closed-minded, but this is pinochle--I can't be open-minded about something so important!)
As you can tell, I'm passionate about pinochle. It's a game that requires a lot of strategy, but there's also a whole lot of luck involved. That's one reason I enjoy it. I've been playing for about 20 years, and I feel like I'm finally getting better at the strategy part of it...but the game has always been fun, because being dealt a great hand is thrilling whether or not you're good at strategy. And having a partner makes winning more fun...and losing more bearable.
I don't get to play pinochle very often. Our way (the right way, remember?) requires four people, and because most people don't know how to play, so I usually play when I'm spending time with my mom's side of the family. We were staying at my great-aunt's house Friday through Sunday, and my grandparents were there too. So both nights, my aunt, grandparents, and I stayed up until after midnight both nights, playing this game. I got home tired...but oh, it was worth it!
I think it's time for me to find some friends here in town who want to learn the right way to play pinochle. I found myself quickly addicted again this weekend, and I don't want to go into recovery! I'd prefer to share the addiction with others. (Local readers...let me know if you're intereste
Why? Because of a card game called Pinochle.
Pinochle can be played in any number of ways. Of course, the only right way to play is the way I learned from my parents and my Mamma and Papa (maternal grandparents.) The right type of pinochle is played with four people (two teams.) Beyond that, it gets too complicated to explain in a blog post...though I will tell you that pinochle decks are made up of 9s, 10s, jacks, queens, kings, and aces (two of each card in each suit), and if you're playing the right way, you'll use two decks, with the 9s removed. I guess the 9s are only there for people who play in one of the wrong ways. (I know this sounds terribly closed-minded, but this is pinochle--I can't be open-minded about something so important!)
As you can tell, I'm passionate about pinochle. It's a game that requires a lot of strategy, but there's also a whole lot of luck involved. That's one reason I enjoy it. I've been playing for about 20 years, and I feel like I'm finally getting better at the strategy part of it...but the game has always been fun, because being dealt a great hand is thrilling whether or not you're good at strategy. And having a partner makes winning more fun...and losing more bearable.
I don't get to play pinochle very often. Our way (the right way, remember?) requires four people, and because most people don't know how to play, so I usually play when I'm spending time with my mom's side of the family. We were staying at my great-aunt's house Friday through Sunday, and my grandparents were there too. So both nights, my aunt, grandparents, and I stayed up until after midnight both nights, playing this game. I got home tired...but oh, it was worth it!
I think it's time for me to find some friends here in town who want to learn the right way to play pinochle. I found myself quickly addicted again this weekend, and I don't want to go into recovery! I'd prefer to share the addiction with others. (Local readers...let me know if you're intereste
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