Posted tagged ‘caramels’

“What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?”

April 17, 2017

Yesterday was wonderful. The weather was so hot short sleeves were the order of the day. The restaurant was filled, and there was a line out the door, but our reservations got us seated as soon as we checked in at the desk. Looking out the bank of windows from our table, we could see only the ocean glinting in the sun and tiny whitecaps cresting atop the waves. My friend noted it was like being on a cruise.

The Easter Bunny was good to me. Besides the traditional candy, I got a new coffee mug which held pansies, a great t-shirt with Nevertheless, she persisted on it, spring and Easter hand towels, and a giant package of chocolate sea salt caramels. I admit that last night I ate two Reese’s peanut butter eggs. I could hear them calling my name from the kitchen.

Right now we have 70˚. It will get cooler starting tonight but today needs to be enjoyed. I can see myself sitting on the deck stretched out in the sun maybe reading my book but maybe just sitting with my eyes closed to take in all that warmth.

The Ten Commandments was on TV on the other night. It got me remembering when it was first shown. It was around Easter. It was a huge event. The whole family sat around the TV watching. That the movie was in black and white made no difference. We were thrilled and amazed to see such an epic movie on TV right there in our living room. My mother made popcorn.

Today we celebrate Patriot’s Day which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, the start of the American Revolution. It is an official state holiday, and it is chock full of events. The reenactment of the battle was this morning starting at 5:30. The reenactors for both sides wear historically accurate clothes with the Red Coats in uniform and the minutemen in every day garb. When the guns are fired, smoke fills the air and it is 1775.

The Red Sox game began at 11 today. Right now my Sox are ahead 4-2, but it is still early innings.

Today is Boston Marathon day. The first wave of marathoners started the 121st running of the race at 8:50. Elite runners left at 9:30. The last wave left at 11:15. The winning woman just crossed the line on Boylston Street.

My day will be a quiet one satisfying my soul and spirit. I’m spending the afternoon on the deck. Maybe I’ll read or maybe I’ll just sit and soak in the warmth of the sun and with eyes closed listen to all the sounds around me: the swishing of leaves from the slight breeze, the spawns of Satan running on the thick branches and the songs of birds. I have hot dogs for lunch.

“But the adjectives change,” said Jimmy. “Nothing’s worse than last year’s adjectives.”

February 20, 2016

Gracie and I did some sightseeing yesterday. It was mostly to get us out of the house. We didn’t see much. I had brought my camera but didn’t use it. We made a few stops. One was at a candy store where I bought salt water taffy and a caramel, a soft outer layer caramel with a white center much like marshmallow but tastier. I then went to buy the bread I had forgotten on my last trip. Before I went into the store, I hid the candy inside a bag inside another bag. Gracie hadn’t ever touched stuff in my car, but I was being cautious. When I came out of the store, I opened the passenger side so I could put my groceries there. I noticed ripped pieces of paper all over the front seat and the visor was down. The paper came from the candy bag. I checked and found out Gracie had helped herself to a caramel. She must have eaten the paper as well. Nothing else was touched. I think the visor was her attempt to hide her activities. We then had a conversation, “Gracie, what did you do?” No answer. “Gracie, did you eat the candy?” No answer. She didn’t even look guilty let alone contrite. I was just glad it wasn’t chocolate.

The day is cold, windy and grey, uninviting in every way.

I never really concerned myself with the weather when I was a kid. I didn’t even have colorful, descriptive words. I went with sunny or cloudy, hot or cold and rainy or snowy. Every day fit one of those descriptions, meager as they are. I actually used nice to describe a warm spring day. I hate the word nice in the same way I hate good and bad. They say nothing: nice day, good movie, bad day and nice dress or shoes. I described food as good or bad tasting. My father described some people as good eggs. I knew what he meant, but I had no idea how he got there.

People don’t want a long winded description of a movie or a TV show. My sister used to say you didn’t have to watch the show, just ask Kat. Sometimes that was a compliment and sometimes it wasn’t. In my mind I usually put it on the compliment side of the ledger. Using DVR (or taping as some of my friends still call it) and On Demand have made me obsolete. I was great for the highlights.