Winter’s Last Gasp

Driving home from a meeting in Columbus this past Thursday afternoon, dark clouds were piling up in the distance.  Beautiful bolts of lightning ripped out of the clouds, though I never heard any thunder.  This activity must have been very far away for the sound not to have reached me.  It made me think that maybe Spring was here.

It was another week of focused, gratifying effort.  The later part of the week, a portion of my energy was focused on baking Freddie the birthday pie that he had requested, then delivering it to him in Cleveland before taking him out for a celebratory dinner Friday night.  Duty had called Lori elsewhere, so we drove into town separately.

By the time we sat down at L’Albatross, a French brasserie and bar located on Case Western Reserve University’s campus, I was ready to let my hair down, relax, and bask in the glory of my now 21-year old progeny.  Hearing him recount his comings and goings of the semester was wonderful.  So much of it whizzed smoothly over my head, beyond my ability (or desire) to grasp.  This young man is smart.  His capacity for knowledge and the voraciousness with which he is accumulating it is a joy to see.  I was too spent to even try and stay in-sync with some of the things he was enthusiastically sharing.  I’m just a pie baker, what can I say?  The point for me wasn’t the details.  It was the enthusiasm, and there was plenty of that.  My most significant contribution to the conversation may have been to offer “Dr. Frankenstein had a small lab, too.”

After dinner, Lori and I returned to Granville, each in our separate vehicles, connected via cell phone the whole way home.  We de-briefed on our respective weeks and reveled in what we had just witnessed over dinner.  Pleased as punch for how thing are working out for both of our boys.  We hit the hay later than usual Friday night.  I slept like a six-year old after his first day at Disney World.

Waking after sunrise (a rarity) on Saturday, I was surprised to see how much snow had fallen over night.  I immediately looked at the near-term weather forecast to see when temperatures would climb above freezing, and was glad to see I wouldn’t need to shovel.  Mother Nature made this mess.  We can let her clean it up.  I appreciate it when it works out this way.

Next week will be another busy one.  I have plenty of preparations to complete this weekend.  I’m glad that shoveling snow is not one of them.

Sunday Supper
I was pleasantly surprised to see pork and sauerkraut featured on the menu at L’Albatross Friday night.  It didn’t occur to me that the Alsatian region of France would produce cuisine that I associate with Germany, but it made sense once I thought about it.  This recipe for Choucroute Garnie à l’Alsacienne from Serious Eats will produce a very similar meal to the one I enjoyed Friday.  If you lack the four hours this recipe requires, these Maple Pork Chops, paired with this Braised Sauerkrautwill accomplish something similar in less time.  Wear your lederhosen while cooking to get the full experience.

Sunday Music
You probably know that I often lean on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series to uncover interesting Sunday music offerings to share.  Every year NPR welcomes open submissions from bands interested in performing in the series.  The submission deadline for 2024 was this past week.  It has become a normal part of bands’ promotion of their work that they share their submissions via social media.  So here are five such submissions for this year.  Let’s see if any of them get invited to perform at NPR headquarters in the year ahead:  REBBY, Scott Li, Blimes, Mumblebee, and Bandits On The Run.  Enjoy!

Have a great week ahead!  Offer support to others.  Make good use of this day.  And let me know how I can help.

Peace & Love,