Category Archives: Daily Life

Daily Life, Daniel, Recipes/Food

French Dinner with Daniel

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As part of his French class, Daniel must occasionally engage in the production of special cultural projects, to enhance his understanding of French culture. Past projects have included:

  • Making a map of our neighborhood, with all the landmarks labeled in French
  • Watching a French movie — Les Choristes
  • Taking a picture (and labeling it in French) of our living room
  • Writing a report on how Christmas is celebrated in France

This month, Daniel was given the opportunity to do some French cooking. My suggestion of French Fries wasn’t received favorably, for some reason. Daniel looked over the list, and settled on crepes.

At first, I was inclined to sneer a bit. “It’s just a pancake with a French name,” I said to myself. But when he started to add the Strawberry Jam, Nutella and Cool Whip, I changed my tune.

Some school projects are a lot more fun than others.

“Say, Daniel,” I hinted, in my best wheedling voice. “Do you need me to try that, just to make sure it is OK?” No, for some reason he didn’t need my help — I had to make my own with the dregs of his batter.

It was a delectable dessert, and I took back my sneering. Of course, not many things aren’t made delicious by way of a liberal coat of Nutella. Well done, Daniel!

As the day wore on, David asked me, with his characteristic tact, “So, Dad, what are we doing about supper?”

I haven’t scored a lot of points as a short-order cook this week. “Fend for yourselves,” has been my rallying cry, as I headed off to work in the city. We’ve gone through all the Chimichangas and most of the burritos. Happily, I was able to report that one of Kathy’s dear friends was bringing dinner. The cheering was a bit deafening, and rather insulting.

We were all still hungry enough to devour Michelle's delicious beef stew, in spite of the crepes.

The stew that was provided was mostly steak, with a few token carrots and potatoes thrown in for color — just the sort of stew that a houseful of boys appreciates. Kathy’s friends sure are good to us — thanks, Michelle!

I decided not to display the Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake because, well, we haven’t finished it yet. Besides, we’re not accepting any visitors until we do a little cleaning in the kitchen.

Tim

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Daily Life, Kathy

Potatoes of Compassion

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Whenever Kathy goes out of town, I find myself in a conundrum.

On the one hand, I don’t want her to worry about us. She doesn’t leave us without good reason; I don’t want her to feel that she can’t leave us alone for a couple of days. Also, I am vaguely proud of my survival skills. I married at 26, and before that, I lived off the land (as it were) for many a year. Although you might not guess it from watching me now, I can do laundry, cook (after a fashion) and I frequently dress myself in clothes that don’t violate international fashion treaties.

On the other hand, I want Kathy to feel that we miss her. If we are able to thrive in her absence, it follows (at least in her mind) that we don’t need her. She seems to overlook the way that she makes our house into a home, adds fun and beauty to our lives, and loves us in ways that I cannot even fake.

But then I remember: if we exaggerate our competence, then no one feels sorry for us, and no one makes us meals. As it is, Kathy’s friends look after us when she is gone — shaking their heads at me and muttering to one another, “Those poor children … ”

We're always pretty hungry on AWANA nights.

Tonight, for example, we feasted on creamed corn, mashed potato casserole, a tasty meatloaf and a fruit salad, handed to us by kind friends after AWANA.

No, there’s no profit in being anything other than pathetic.

In any case, I do not begrudge Kathy her travels. Today is the one-year anniversary of her Papa’s passing, from this world to the next. As the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:8:

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

For a year, now, Bill Moore has been with the Lord — one wonders how he has been using that time. How many of his questions have been answered, how many bookshelves has he built, how big is his garden? I do know that we miss him greatly, and look forward to the day when we also can be present with the Lord.

Until then, we’ll eat the potatoes of compassion, and wait for Kathy to come home.

Tim

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Daily Life, Grandparents, Kathy

President’s Day

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Today was one of the 8 annual holidays that my company recognizes. It is always a little surprising to me that President’s Day makes the cut of Federal holidays, while Veterans Day does not.

As we talked about possible celebrations, Joshua suggested to me that people should honor the day by quizzing one another with Presidential Trivia.

“Who was the 23rd President?” he challenged, abruptly.

“Um, Martin Van Buren?” I hazarded, wildly.

“Not even close,” Joshua told me. “… but not a bad try. I didn’t even think you knew who Martin Van Buren was.”

“Huh. Imagine, me, not knowing the ‘Red Fox of Kinderhook’? You must be joking.”

The Red Fox, himself

OK, I admit, that last line was added after-the-fact, thanks to the interweb. I’d be hard-pressed to name a dozen presidents outside the ones who have served in my lifetime, truth be told. It might be just me, but I don’t think Joshua’s idea will catch on.

Instead, we spent the day playing computer games, shaving one of our cats*, watching Courageous, reading The Hobbit, and scanning slides. Kathy’s going back to Michigan this week (with Rachel) to grieve with her Mama on the first anniversary of her Dad’s death. We wanted to do as much as a family, together, as we could, since we’ll be fragmented this week. Joshua was away visiting Union in Tennessee over the weekend — it was nice to have a day off when we were all home.

*Not out of cruelty, but for a good reason.

I did come across this photo of Kathy and her Dad on Prom night …

Kathy and her Dad

We miss our Grandad. Our hearts are with Kathy and Mamie as they gather with other family members to remember the passing of Bill Moore, one year ago this week.

Tim

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Daily Life, Silliness

Murder Mystery

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Kathy and I were invited to a Murder Mystery party this evening — strangely enough, I don’t think either of us have ever been to a party like this.

A chambermaid (Mae Flower) and a man of the cloth (Rev. Happ E. Day)

Usually, each guest has a role and a set of informational clues that only they know. At least one guest is the murderer; other guests try to piece together the clues, to discover who is the killer.

The party hosts spent the whole day decorating and setting up the party.

I was pleased to be among four guests who correctly identified the nefarious criminal. In retrospect, it was obvious that only one could be so cold-blooded and so evil, as to take the life of another human being (even one so universally deplored as Marv Ellis, saloon owner). Yes, the guilty one was my arch-nemesis, aka Dusty Rhodes, stagecoach driver.

Round up the usual suspects!

The jewel in the crown of the evening was ranch-hand Tony’s amazing ability to chug a cream soda in less than 4 seconds, while the rest of the contestants were still finishing their first dainty sips. Truly an enjoyable party — and I got to drive the cute chambermaid home in my personal coach.

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AWANA, Daily Life, David, Sarah

Blog Narcissism

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One of my favorite targets for mockery is Hollywood, when they make a movie about the making of a movie. There is just something sad about an industry so in love with itself, that it thinks the average viewer will be riveted by a ‘behind the scenes’ peek.

Alas, such blatant narcissism is not only found in Los Angeles. Some novelists write about the process of writing a novel, and photographers have been known to take pictures of each other, taking pictures …

Here at the Duckabush Blog, we’re above such crass and vulgar display. We would, however, like to take this opportunity to showcase some of our most celebrated readers.

David

  • At nearly eleven years of age, David is one of our most enthusiastic fans. His cheerful praise of each post encourages us to forge ahead in our fight to resurrect our blog. Lately, thanks to our “Related Posts” feature, he’s been going back over archived entries, reading up on our family’s history (as seen through the blog).

David wears that T&T shirt well - his is an AWANA superstar

Sarah

  • Self-styled as the ‘Queen of Comments’, Sarah has begun responding to each of our posts, with clever little one-line remarks in her distinctive prose. Also using the “Related Posts” feature, she’s been going back over blogs from years ago, giggling about events that are perhaps hazy in her memory. It is a pleasure to write for such a responsive audience.

Sarah and Kathy often enjoy a sneak peak of the AWANA skit of the day.

Strangely enough, this is exactly why we resumed our blog posting this year, after a few technical interruptions. It has been said, “Whoever tells the stories, defines the culture.” (I’m not sure who said it, whether David Walsh, George Gerbner, or possibly Aristotle.) But I think it is fairly true, and so Kathy and I are taking some effort to tell the story of our family — to define our family’s culture by the stories we choose to tell, and the way that we tell them. The virtues we praise and the events we highlight, help to establish what it means to be an Edgren in the memories of our children.

Thinking about some of the things I’ve written, it would seem that a key part of being an Edgren is being a little silly and weird. I guess I’m OK with that.

Tim

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