Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
celebrations

the tuxeudo disaster that wasn’t

Suffice it to say, you don’t want to hear the boring tuxeudo story. Though, this weekend has caused me to rename my medication to “Lawbrax” (“Law” being the generic term for any of Brian’s relatives). We’ll just chalk that experience up to the fact that weddings make everyone crazy and leave it at that.

That said, Jacob was in Brian’s cousin’s wedding yesterday. He did a great job, thankfully. He was the ring bearer. The wedding was nice and so was the reception. It was held at a place called the Willow Room in Belle Vernon. The food was really good and the wine was excellent. I like it when you go to a wedding and they actually have something good to drink. That happens surprisingly infrequently.

Unfortunately, I was the designated driver, so I only had one glass of wine. But, after not eating for eight hours, it did the trick. And, we were there late enough that the effects wore off before I had to drive us home (of course). I have become the official wedding designated driver because normally there’s nothing worth drinking at these affairs. Yesterday was a definite exception.

Brian and his mother took a bunch of photos of Jake, so I’ll be posting at least one of them once they are made available to me. Keep watching…

jake

first day of school

Ever.

Jake’s first day of kindergarten was today. Brian managed to work at home so he could see him off. I was already working at home. Pappy Law also stopped by. The bus was 15 minutes late, though I was warned that the buses tend to run late the first two weeks. Neither Brian nor I were sad to see him go to school. Maybe it’s because he’s been in daycare for the past few years. I’m not sure. I do know that now we’ll be able to take all of that money we’re saving on daycare costs and buy gasoline with it. Good timing.

Here is a picture of the happy kid waiting for the bus. He wasn’t so happy this evening. Brian asked him if he had an assigned seat to sit in at school. Jacob didn’t understand the question. Brian rephrased it and asked if he had to sit in the same seat when he goes to school tomorrow. Jake was like, “But, Grammy is watching me tomorrow.” Brian told him yes, but that he still had to go to school in the afternoon. After a few rounds of this, Jacob’s response was, “Oh.”

miscellany

nola

The hurricane and consequential disaster that has taken place in New Orleans and the surrounding area really saddens me. This has the potential to be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. While it pales in comparison to what happened to the tsunami victims last year, it has really hit home with me.

Back in 1998, Brian and I went on vacation to New Orleans. It was the best trip either of us have ever been on. It has become a measuring stick for all other vacations. I don’t know what it was about the place, but we felt at home there. I think that’s the most relaxed I’ve been in the past seven years (maybe it was all the alcohol). Brian is always threatening to move to New Orleans, even now (well, up till the hurricane, anyway). One of the highlights of our trip was a ghost tour. We had this cool tour guide named Bloody Mary. We got to cruise the above ground cemeteries and check out a voodoo museum. I was delighted to see her on a Discovery Channel special about New Orleans a few years ago. The trip frequently comes up in conversations between Brian and me.

Anyway, if you have the means, please help these people out. Make a donation to the Red Cross or The Salvation Army. These two organizations seem to be doing the bulk of the work down there–throw them some cash so they can continue their good works.

gardening & landscaping

mary had a little lamb

And two helpings of corn.***

After years of trying different varieties, I finally got some good corn from my garden. This evening, I was pondering what vegetable to make for supper when I remembered that my corn looked like it was ready. So, I picked a few ears and was pleasantly surprised that it appeared to be edible. I cooked it up and we had it along with some grilled leg of lamb and couscous for supper. Dee-licious.

I guess this means I should plant the same corn again next year so I can determine if this year was a fluke or not. Conveniently enough, I am currently plotting next year’s garden, so I guess this was a good time to find out about the corn. I was figuring this year was going to be a wash, so it looks like I have some rearranging to do. In case you were wondering–yes, I do like to plan ahead. I used to wait until winter to plan the next year’s garden. But, I like to do it at the end of the gardening season now–while everything is still fresh in my mind. e.g. Under no circumstances do I want to plant two zucchini plants again next year. This thought may have been forgotten if I waited till January to do my planning, you see?

*** paraphrased from one of my favorite The Far Side cartoons