Mission Complete

Poppy and I have been going to all the far-flung churches in our very spread-out parish for the past year. She wanted to see all of them. Most of them are quite old, some are very beautiful, all of them only have Mass once a month.

This past Saturday, we went to the final church. It's not that far from our house--about thirty miles--but it's in quite a dramatic location.

After turning off the paved road.

It's an adobe structure that was sheathed in local cut stone.

This is the only church in our parish that is privately owned. It is also the oldest church in our parish. The family that owns the ranch takes care of it.

Some of the older owners of the ranch are buried right under the church. Their tombstones are under the statue of Jesus there in the center.

Poppy and I climbed up to the rear choir loft, from which we had a good view of the giant pieta at the entrance to church.

Most of the grave markers in the surrounding old cemetery were hand-carved sandstone.

It was a good thing we had time to look around the cemetery before Mass, because this was what was coming towards us as we were going in to Mass.

Dramatic.

The storm hit during the Gospel reading. It was mostly over by the time we left, thankfully, and the dirt road was still passable.

And that's it. Our tour of the parish churches is concluded. It was fun, but I appreciate only having to drive ten miles to our regular church.

Snapshots: Looks Like Summer

Now that summer has arrived with its warmer overnight temperatures, I have to put my bread dough in the refrigerator overnight. And then I have to warm it up in the morning.

Putting it on top of the electric kettle after I've boiled water for my coffee works nicely, if a little precariously.

I cleaned my car out very thoroughly after our roadtrip to Arizona, including wiping down the interior and vacuuming everything. Vacuuming necessitated pulling the front seats all the way forward so I could get at the floor in the backseat. I was amused at how far forward my Honda's seats will go.

This must just be for purposes of access.

We have started getting good rain and everything is greening up, but it was too late for most of the wildflowers. There are some now, though, and I've managed a few small arrangements.

Yellow clover, silver nightshade, and whatever those small pink and white flowers are.

A. has been feeding our friends' menagerie again this weekend, so he brought me some below-the-hill flowers, too.

Despite our early drought, a couple of the rhubarb plants have been growing nicely, and I got a very nice harvest of rhubarb from just those two plants yesterday.

With which I made a rhubarb crisp before freezing some.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Wrinkly Potatoes

Friday 

Short version: Cheese pizza, ranch dip, raw bell pepper

Long version: The older boys were still gone at their FFA convention, so I only had three people eating pizza. That meant I could get away with just one half-sheet-pan pizza. It was just cheese.

Saturday

Short version: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green peas, mango-coconut popsicles

Long version: The quintessential Mom Meal to welcome back our weary travelers.

How you know Mom loves you.

The popsicles were a departure, and were solely the result of my getting an entire box of ripe mangos from commodities. They were very good mangos, but some of them were starting to get black spots on them. 

I used several of them to make the popsicles, which handily also used up the last half cup of coconut milk I had frozen after making Poppy's First Communion coconut cake. The recipe I quickly consulted called for two and a half cups of mango to one cup of coconut milk. Because I didn't have enough coconut milk, I made up the difference with milk, cream, and coconut extract. And then I added maple syrup until it seemed sweet enough.

Popsicles are very easy to make, but there is no way to cut up mangos that doesn't make a huge, sticky mess.

Juice everywhere.

They were very good popsicles, though.

Sunday

Short version: Leftovers, chocolate pudding with cream

Long version: I had leftover Italian sausage, meatloaf, and the brisket my mom had sent home with me. I let everyone choose which meat they wanted, and then I portioned out leftover macaroni and cheese from a previous lunch, as well as leftover mashed potatoes. Plus some frozen peas.

I still use this recipe for chocolate pudding, but I double it, use half a cup of heavy cream and the optional cocoa powder, and split the chocolate chips between semi-sweet and dark. This makes a very good pudding. Sieving is also not optional for the best texture. This is unfortunate, because I dislike sieving anything, but it's worth it for pudding.

Monday

Short version: Cheeseburger casserole, leftover peas

Long version: A. came home with a bag of wrinkly potatoes from our elderly neighbor. I put them immediately in a big pot and boiled them whole, figuring if they were cooked, they would get used more readily.

They did. I used about half of them this night in a casserole that also included diced leftover meatloaf, grated American cheese we got from commodities, milk and cream, onion and garlic powder, and all the condiments for cheeseburgers. So ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.

This sounds suspect, but it was actually delicious and everyone loved it.

Tuesday

Short version: Pork, fried potatoes, green salad with vinaigrette, rice pudding

Long version: I put a big pork shoulder in the oven early in the morning, along with the rice pudding, and let that cook most of the day. I just broiled the pork with rendered lard and spices, and the fried the rest of the boiled potatoes in more of the lard.

You'd never know they were sad, wrinkly potatoes to start with.

Wednesday

Short version: Ham and beans, rice, garlic bread, carrot sticks

Long version: The very large ham bone left from Poppy's First Communion meal was taking up a lot of room in my little freezer. And we had gotten three pounds of dried pinto beans from a couple different places. It was quite cool in the morning, which meant I could simmer all those beans with the ham bone comfortably.

This ham bone had more ham on it than most, which made for better beans, of course. I also added already-cooked onions, garlic, and tomato paste to them. And then I cooked the rice in some of the ham and bean broth. This made for a very flavorful meal.

Thursday

Short version: Pork fried rice, un-staled cookies

Long version: Leftover pork and rice, plus eggs, already-cooked onion, frozen peas, garlic powder, ginger powder, soy sauce, vinegar, and a bit of maple syrup.

I used all the rest of the rendered lard from cooking the pork in this, which was a lot of fat. Predictably, my family said it was the best fried rice I've ever made. 

Edited to add because I forgot to explain: The cookies were the chocolate chip ones I made before our trip to Arizona. I had thought the boys at home would eat the ones in the cookie jar, but I guess they didn't know they were there. They were a little stale, but perfectly fine after thirty seconds in the microwave on a plate under a damp paper towel.

Refrigerator check:

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

Room to Roam (and Park)

Although there are many things about the place I live that are markedly different from mainstream America, one that I am always reminded of when traveling is parking. 

Parking, you say? How can that be much different?

Well, let me ask you this: Do the places you park frequently have enough room to pull through in a crew-cab truck pulling a livestock trailer? No? Mine do.

Where I park at the bank.

Most places here--including schools, municipal buildings, and everywhere in the village--are set up that way because many people are driving such a set-up at any given time. That sort of thing can't be easily backed and turned, so pull-through parking is pretty much always an option.

I don't ever drive trucks with trailers, but I appreciate having parking set up for them. Back when I drove our 12-passenger van daily, I hated going into town and having to park in a small parking lot somewhere. So nerve-wracking to back that thing up in a tight space with cars hemming me in. But it's not something I have to worry about here.

Wide open spaces for cattle, people, and cars. Just the way I like it.

Snapshots: Desert Living

Of course these are all from our trip to Arizona. Because that's where I was most of last week.

I didn't have a chance to go to the grocery store ahead of this trip, so I didn't really have any particular traveling food. I made a completely ridiculous statement to A. that I could just stop for lunch at a fast food place. There were only three of us, after all. It wouldn't cost that much; it would be so easy; I wouldn't have to bring a cooler . . .

Yeah, sure. I was definitely fooling myself.

That was our lunch stop. We had egg salad sandwiches to use up the last few hardboiled eggs in the refrigerator. I also scrounged up the last of some deli ham, cheddar cheese, Triscuits, half a bag of tortilla chips, carrot sticks and radish slices, and all the candy the kids got on the last day of school. Oh, and the chocolate chip/oatmeal/peanut butter cookies I had made the day before.

It's always interesting to stay in rental houses. I encounter things I don't even know exist.

This is the microwave. It is a pull-out drawer. I was not a fan.

The first morning, I brought my coffee out by the pool.

Warm enough for bare feet, but still cool enough for jeans.

Then I got tired of listening to the humming of the air conditioning units and the frequent burbling of the pool as it cleaned itself and went back inside.

A good coffee spot.

After we got to my parents' house in Tucson, I actually went for a walk before I even had my coffee, so as to take advantage of the only time of day when I wouldn't have to walk in the merciless sun.

Light enough to see, but still no direct sun. Perfect.

Then I moved around the house to the various patios, searching for the best coffee spot.

This was the front patio, but it didn't have a particularly interesting view.

I eventually ended up on the patio right outside the back door, which has a view of the mountains. No picture, though. Sorry.

We spent much of our time swimming in four different pools. And when I say "we," I mean my children. 

Synchronized cannon balls with the cousins.

I don't actually like to swim, and I only got in my parents' pool once, for about five minutes. That was after I accepted a challenge to sit in my dad's cold-plunge tub for a full minute. The water in that is fifty degrees. That is very unpleasant. I did it, but I don't want to do it again.

He also has a sauna, which I also have no interest in.

Our last day in Tucson, we had many exciting events. First, my mother insisted we had to bring my car through a carwash. She said it was because the children would love it. I know it was because my country car covered in bug guts and dust was making her twitchy.

This is the first time I have ever gone through a car wash. It was an experience.

Next we went to play mini golf at a place that has been there since I was a kid. This was also my children's first time playing mini golf.

Golf 'n' Stuff has not changed in thirty years, God bless it.

And for one last new experience for Poppy and her brother, we went to a movie theater.

They were thrilled by the escalator.

And they loved the movie.

It was pretty funny. I enjoyed it, too.

One last lunch on the road . . .

Brisket sandwiches courtesy of my mom.

And we were home again.

There you have it! My Arizona life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Mostly Arizona

Friday 

Short version: Grilled chicken, rice, salad, cookies

Long version: This was the day I left with the younger two children to drive to Phoenix. We arrived around 2 p.m. to the house my parents had rented. My mom and dad made dinner. It was simple, but delicious.

This house had a truly giant kitchen island.

The cookies were like a store version of Girl Scout Samoas that my mom bought because Poppy loves coconut. They were not as good as Samoas, but no one had any trouble eating them.

Saturday

Short version: Hawaiian barbecue, cake

Long version: This was the night of my niece's graduation party, which was the whole reason we were in Phoenix. The graduate's favorite food is Hawaiian barbecue, so they got takeout from a restaurant for the party. I was not familiar with this food, but it was very good. Both beef and chicken in a sweet marinade of some kind--kind of like teriyaki--rice, pasta salad, and Spam and rice rolled up in seaweed. Oh, and Hawaiian rolls, which my children had never had an predictably liked.

Sunday

Short version: Reuben sandwiches, leftover vegetables, potato chips, ice cream

Long version: We went to Mass in Phoenix at 11:30 a.m. before starting the drive to Tucson to stay with my parents.

St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix is beautiful.

My mom had leftover corned beef, so she made Reuben sandwiches or just grilled cheese, depending on preference.

We had eaten party leftovers with my brother's family for lunch, so I just had some of the vegetables from the corned beef for my dinner. Plus whatever was left from my children's sandwiches, because there's always something.   

Monday

Short version: Cheeseburgers, broccoli salad, oven fries, spinach

Long version: We went to see A.'s family this day and swim in the pool at his dad's apartment complex. 

My children get all their swimming for the year into the week or so they spend in Arizona every year.

My father-in-law's wife fed us a huge lunch, so for dinner, I mostly ate the broccoli salad and fries. Very good it was, too.

Tuesday

Short version: Brisket, roasted vegetables, leftover rice, ice cream

Long version: My mom made an entire brisket, like eight pounds of meat. We ate about half of it this night. Both children had multiple helpings. They certainly burned enough calories with all the swimming and running around we did.

Wednesday

Short version: Jiggety jig soft tacos

Long version: Home again, home again. We arrived home at 4:15 p.m. A. had been eating hamburgers pretty much exclusively since the older boys had left for their FFA convention, and there was still a little ground beef in the refrigerator. There wasn't enough for all of us, but I added a can of pinto beans to it, plus salsa and spices, and that was enough in corn tortillas with cheese. 

The children had eaten large quantities of raw vegetables and fruit in the car, so I didn't bother with anything but the tacos.

Thursday

Short version: Italian sausage links, roasted potatoes, canned peas

Long version: A. had defrosted some Italian sausage, which I put right on the pan with the roasted potatoes.

Is this what they call a sheetpan supper?

We got a few cans of peas from commodities. I grew up with canned peas and loved them, though I haven't had them in many years. None of the rest of my family has ever had them. I found, to my surprise, that I still like them. A. liked them well enough. One child ate them. The other refused.

Refrigerator check:

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

Oops

Lately I've been getting Poppy into older, longer* books by starting to read them to her. After several chapters of me reading, she'll get interested enough in the story that she'll start reading them herself. 

We did this with The Secret Garden and Heidi, and then we started Little Women.

She took over reading herself in Little Women after maybe five chapters and was happily zipping right along.

Then she came home from school and said her friend told her Beth dies in Little Women. "She doesn't die, does she, Mom?"

Uh. Well. Dang it.

Beth does indeed die. I had forgotten that. 

There was no way out of answering this question. So I asked her one of my own first. I asked her if she really wanted to know.

She did. I told her. She cried just thinking about it and then declared that she was not going to read the book anymore.

Fair enough. She can try again when she's a little older maybe. She's only eight years old. She has plenty of time to read the rest of it.

The next book I was going to read with her was Anne of Green Gables. I looked up if anyone dies in that book, because obviously my memory for these things is not to be trusted. Matthew does towards the end of the book. So now I have to determine if that death is going to be as upsetting to Poppy as Beth dying. I don't think so, since Matthew is an old man, not a little girl, but still. Maybe we should wait on that one for a little bit.

Anyone have any suggestions for classic children's books where main characters don't die? You'd think that wouldn't be so hard, but I guess not.

*This works well for older books because they tend to have longer and more complicated sentence structures. When I read them aloud, I can pause to break up the sentence with my voice. I also often have to define words, because the vocabulary in older books tends to be much more advanced, which is one reason I like them. When Poppy reads them on her own, she frequently calls out to me for definitions.