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Hoagie's 87th birthday
Sunday, January 14 2024
It was a brutally cold morning outside and there was even a snow shower later while Gretchen was out walking Charlotte. So I made us a nice hot fire in the woodstove to create a pleasant environment for our nerdy Sunday routine.
I only have a little left to do on the split installation project, and most of that will involve filling it with refrigerant (which hasn't yet arrived). So I didn't do any work on it at all today. At some point this afternoon I was drifting off to sleep on the beanbag with Diane the Cat when my brother Don called from Virginia for the second or third time today (I hadn't been answering). It was our mother's (Hoagie's) 87th birthday, and he was calling from Hoagie's room at The Retreat, the old folks' home where she's been for nearly a year now. Joy Tarder, Hoagie's power-of-attorney, had taken Don there to "celebrate." I talked to Hoagie for awhile and she sounded the same as ever, though the fantastic things she matter-of-factly relates are even more fantastical. She told me that earlier today she'd been giving ice cream to "students." I asked where this had happened, and she said "Riverheads High School" (the last place I graduated from). But Hoagie's brain hasn't completely turned to mush. She remembered that Gretchen and I have a lake house, and she expressed the desire to come visit me there. When I asked what she was having for her birthday meal, she told me that it would be shrimp. I reminded her that I no longer eat shrimp, and this surprised her. So I reminded her that I've been vegan for a very long time. I then went on tell her that I was hanging out with Diane the Cat, who wished her a happy birthday. I also mentioned our new dog Charlotte.
Late this afternoon, Gretchen and I loaded up the dogs and went on an shopping errand out to Adam's Fairacre Farms on 9W to get the kind of groceries (particularly produce) that can't be found at Hannaford. Gretchen also wanted to see if Adam's had a vegan cherry pie. Gretchen had been poring over cookbooks last evening and had a comprehensive shopping list of all the things she'd need to buy to make the things that excited her.
When we arrived, Adam's was crowded with shoppers, as it always seems to be. We weren't there very long and we didn't buy all that much stuff, but we got all the things Gretchen wanted, including a cherry pie. I also noticed that the loaf of Lithuanian rye bread that had cost $14 when we'd bought it on a lark about ten months ago now cost $16.
While we were out, we made a rare stop at Staples to get a battery for our Bolt's key fob, which the dashboard display was telling us needed to be replaced.
Back at the house, Gretchen immediately started making a kind of tahini cream sauce for broccoli that she served with orecchiette pasta. Before we ate that, though, we busted into the pie and found it very good, perhaps a little better than expected.
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