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Memorial Day Weekend

After a couple of very rainy weeks, getting the lawn cut was pretty critical. Last weekend there was standing water in the back yard, a little stream running down the side of the driveway and you could have floated a little boat in some of the culverts. But when we arrived on Friday the ground was still very wet in back so I looked forward to some warm and dry days over the weekend to help things out.

We heard on Tuesday that the Parres clan had decided to join us for the weekend and had started working out the meal plans. I was assigned breads and they really handled pretty much everything else. We were going to have chicken gyros, something I’d not tried before but sound like a good idea for a healthier version of a dinner Kathy and I both enjoy. So off to Global Food Mart before the trip here for pitas. Haven’t tried making those from scratch yet.

Over the weekend the kids focused on more cleaning at Jane’s house. Getting rid of the cigarette smell has become a much bigger task than I expected. Things are improving but still a good way to go. The boys focused serious time clearing areas with the Billy Goat. Now that all of the lawn care at MDF falls to them I think they better appreciate just how fast everything grows. One weekend you cut everything and it looks great when you leave. You return in 2 weeks and have to do it all over again. I must admit, being here a few days each week allows more time to simply enjoy the natural, and manicured, beauty of the area.

Saturday morning was muffin day. Dustin made some delightful blueberry muffins and since I made up a dozen pumpkin muffins. They made a good combination of sweet and savory and the family enjoyed them with other simple breakfast fair.

Beyond getting the grass cut at OMF, I wanted to redeem my failure making bread the last time everyone was here. So I adjusted where I put the poolish Friday night to keep it within the 65-67 F range and later that afternoon, voila, it worked! Seems I guess correctly that the last batch was just way over-proofed.

White bread with poolish.

On Sunday I decided to make a go of the grass with the push mower in the wet areas and for the entire front yard. This turned out reasonably well although even that left ruts in the back yard. After killing off a tank of gas I decided to finish the job and got out the Deere to take care of everything else. I also got the four maple trees mulched so they look a little more like they belong in a yard vs. the forest.

Monday morning was biscuits and gravy. I made the biscuits early so everyone woke up with the aroma of them in the air. After breakfast Vi, Cam and Zoey decorated the back walkway. It’s a shame it doesn’t stay past the next rain.

Everyone except us headed back to St. Louis in the afternoon. I didn’t need to be in the office until Tuesday afternoon so we decided we’d stay the one more night. Corona came out and enjoyed run of the house for the first time since he was here. We just enjoyed being together and reveling in the beauty of this place and a more simple life.

Good night everyone.