Thursday, November 24, 2005
Aaand I'm spent.
There is a cheerful buzzing from the other room as my daughters brush their teeth with electric toothbrushes that have the Hello Kitty motif. Teeth brushed, they're both in bed with books. Maddie is working her way through the Beverly Cleary books about Ralph, the mouse with the motorcycle, and Macy is reading a book of wacky illustrated poetry. Even though it's after 11pm, I'm letting them stay up as long as they like, what with this being a holiday weekend and all.
So, everyone who tried my alfredo sauce made moaning sounds of pleasure (my brother can't have dairy, so he was out). The same with the fried turkey and the French Silk Pie. I made fresh bread with my bread machine, but it sort of ended up not as big a hit as the other things.
My brother and his family showed up just about the time I was ready to take the second turkey out of the fryer, and we all scurried around with screaming/running/laughing kids and got food on the table. We chatted about gas prices, about work, about turbocharged engines and the benefits of freer-flowing exhaust systems. It was nice.
So, let me fill you in on the drama for the day. As you know, no family gathering is complete with some sort of emergency disaster. First, let's review some essential facts: the house at which we had our dinner used to be the one in which I lived. My former wife and daughters still live there. I helped install the very kitchen faucet that I broke. That's right, broke. I was lifting it just a tiny bit so that I could fit a pot under the water stream, and the damn thing just *pop* like that broke at the base. Oddly enough, there weren't any places open that sold replacement kitchen faucet fixtures. Luckily, the Acme (yes, really) Plumbing people advertised in the phone book that they are available 24-7/365. For an increased rate on a holiday, of course. So, this really nice, clean, pleasant plumber guy was there in probably less than a half hour and got to work under the sink. He removed the old stuff, and sold us a new faucet (because I'd demolished the old one, if you'll recall. Snapped it right in half). He was done in about an hour. I wrote a check for an amount that I hadn't intended to part with today, and we were able to have running water in the kitchen before the guests arrived. I still like this better than the Christmas Day several years ago when we had the entire family staying at the house and the pump for the well went out, and there was NO water at ALL.
So, everyone who tried my alfredo sauce made moaning sounds of pleasure (my brother can't have dairy, so he was out). The same with the fried turkey and the French Silk Pie. I made fresh bread with my bread machine, but it sort of ended up not as big a hit as the other things.
My brother and his family showed up just about the time I was ready to take the second turkey out of the fryer, and we all scurried around with screaming/running/laughing kids and got food on the table. We chatted about gas prices, about work, about turbocharged engines and the benefits of freer-flowing exhaust systems. It was nice.
So, let me fill you in on the drama for the day. As you know, no family gathering is complete with some sort of emergency disaster. First, let's review some essential facts: the house at which we had our dinner used to be the one in which I lived. My former wife and daughters still live there. I helped install the very kitchen faucet that I broke. That's right, broke. I was lifting it just a tiny bit so that I could fit a pot under the water stream, and the damn thing just *pop* like that broke at the base. Oddly enough, there weren't any places open that sold replacement kitchen faucet fixtures. Luckily, the Acme (yes, really) Plumbing people advertised in the phone book that they are available 24-7/365. For an increased rate on a holiday, of course. So, this really nice, clean, pleasant plumber guy was there in probably less than a half hour and got to work under the sink. He removed the old stuff, and sold us a new faucet (because I'd demolished the old one, if you'll recall. Snapped it right in half). He was done in about an hour. I wrote a check for an amount that I hadn't intended to part with today, and we were able to have running water in the kitchen before the guests arrived. I still like this better than the Christmas Day several years ago when we had the entire family staying at the house and the pump for the well went out, and there was NO water at ALL.
