Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

Today is day 20 of our month long stay in Florida. It is also day 7 of having grandchildren (and their parents) stay with us. Ah, the chaos of young children. A brief list of things I had conveniently forgotten about a 24-7 stay with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Your day starts early.  Good news--you will get to see the sun rise. Your day ends (relatively) early.  You watch the sunset at the beach, go home, have a snack, take a bath, read stories...you know the drill.  Bad news--you miss all those network television shows you follow.  Good news--this will force you to learn how to download the apps so you can stream them and watch them later. Noise, the ever lovely chatter of children, is a continual background stream.  Good news--there is no reason to turn on the television, so you can blissfully live without knowing what our President has done to make you not so proud to be an American (paid political comment). Your once pristine rental townhou...

A compendium of random thoughts 10 days into the month long winter break... Wednesday was the first day since we've been here that I didn't wake up with that deliciously frantic feeling you often have when on vacation.  The one where you are somewhat anxious about getting going with the day because after all, you're on limited time.  Each day you are here brings you closer to returning home and back to work.  You have to squeeze the most out of each lovely moment of vacation release. Sooner or later we do have to go home, but I don't have to go back to work.  What a concept!  What a feeling! I think I'll be able to get used to this. Some days the sky is so beautifully, clarified blue that it's almost painful to look at it. So far there really isn't a routine or pattern to the days.  We were blessed with company last week, our friends Jeanie and Bill.  My sister and brother-in-law come tomorrow, my niece Sondra on Thursday (they are staying wi...

We're in Florida. I'll admit to being somewhat apprehensive about a 3 day, 1064 mile road trip with spouse and beagle, more so for the spouse than the beagle.  Hank travels very well.  Put his blanket on the back seat, he settles in and does precisely what he does all day at home.  Sleep. Dan-o and I have predominantly traveled with others--children, relatives, friends.  This past fall we spent a few days on the road together and were both pleased to see that we 1) enjoyed each other's company and 1) enjoyed each other's company.  The same held true for this southern sojourn.  The first leg, Minnetonka to Arlington Heights, IL where we overnighted with my sister, is one we have done so frequently we probably could have driven with our eyes closed and not missed any toll booths or exits.  Once we got through the flatlands of Illinois and Indiana, we liked going through Kentucky and Tennessee.  Had Hank not been along, we would have been tempted...

We're getting ready for the first tick off the BIG list of retirement activities (cf prior blog entries).  Wednesday we're road tripping it down to Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, where we have rented a townhouse for the month of April.  During this time, we will have lots of guests.  Or company.  My sister refers to the family and friends coming to visit as our guests.  Which got me to thinking, because I seldom if ever refer to anyone who comes to our home as a guest.  I call them company. So is there a difference?  And if there is a difference, does it make a difference to anyone? Clearly I believe it makes a difference because I'm writing a blog post about it.  #helloCaptainObvious Being the member in good standing of POEM (Professional Organization of English Majors, from Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion), I turned to Webster's for the definition of these two words. Guest :  a person who is entertained, taken out to eat, ...

It's the morning you've been dreaming of ever since you announced your retirement. Your co-workers have gazed longingly on that date marked, probably in red, on your calendar.  LAST DAY OF WORK. The alarm does not go off. You don't have to haul yourself out of bed when you awaken. Now what? Here are a few things (that I can recall) those who were already retired shared with me about retirement: It's great. You'll never look back. You'll be so busy, you'll wonder how you ever worked. You can do whatever you want. Keep a list of all the things you say you want to do. Travel.  Travel.  Travel. It takes a while to get used to it.  About a year. You'll get to spend a lot of time with your grandchildren. You'll get into some sort of routine. Friends and co-workers asked me what I was going to do when I retired.  I sensed an undercurrent of, "You're not just going to be  retired , are you?" which I took to mean there wa...

Remember how I said I was going to follow the New York Times recipes to the letter ? Um, not so much.  At least not today, St. Patrick's Day of all days, for a traditional Irish meal. This morning when I opened the NY Times Cooking app on my phone, there was a lovely looking recipe for Guinness Pie .  My oldest daughter had invited herself to dinner (in fairness, we usually have dinner at their house on Friday nights); I thought I'd invite my son and his family, too.  All this on account of us watching the 3 Grandsons at our house because Friday is not only Flip Flop Friday (cf: my Facebook page), it's also Grandpa Dan-o Child Care Day.  So that recipe was calling to me. During the day, I recalled our trip to Ireland almost 13 years ago.   The first meal I had was a very yummy Guinness stew.  Actually, it was about the best meal I had the entire week we were in Ireland.  The Irish are know for their whiskey and beer, not their food.  S...

Yes, the above is a plate of deliciousness. For about the past year, I have been bringing dinner over to my daughter and son-in law's.  This conveniently coincided with the birth of my youngest granddaughter, Georgia Rose. While I was working, I would stop and pick up a meal on my way to their house from work.  We really varied where we ate.  Indeed Bucca was among our favorites, but we also tried different restaurants in St. Paul (since that's where they live).   But now, since I'm Cooking the NY Times, I'm able to either make the meal and home and transport it or cook at their house. Yesterday I used the chuck roast that another daughter turned down to make Stracotto:   https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1650-italian-pot-roast-stracotto?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page&region=pot%20roast&rank=0 Scroll down the list of ingredients and you will see red wine.  I believe the recipe calls for robust,...