Back on the Ranch
Friday, February 4, 2011
Back on the ranch…
Linnea was all set for the day in brown leggings, gray track shorts, black The Bravery t-shirt, and multi-colored striped toe socks. She took right after her two older sisters in manner of around-the-house dress.
Francis had just returned from his Friday-ly breakfast with Henri and the boys.
Rose was hard at work refurbishing the basement bath, including using Collette’s and Carrie’s old children’s bookshelf as new shelving which was festooned with an additional ornament that nearly fell on Collette’s wellies: the feared brown recluse. Rose successfully smashed it with a plastic hanger.
Joe was off to portfolio class after his usual morning coffee.
Mom had festooned the house with vintage valentines from Barnes & Noble and glass hearts.
And Puck was being loud.
Later, Collette caught Puck pressing a keychain ring around Trooper’s eye.
“Puck, you can’t do that,” she told him.
“I’m just weighing his eye,” Puck explained innocently.
In the afternoon, it was time for a reunion trip to Costco.
The minivan was piled with evidence of their recent road-trip: buttons and piles of embroidery floss, curly fries, and bottles of hand lotion…
And first to drop off Francis at his madrigal rehearsal.
On the way, Carrie introduced Puck to his first-ever piece of bubblegum. The little chap did surprisingly well, and managed no disaster with it from start to finish for a full half hour, his chubby shiny cheeks chewing away until he was ‘tired of it’, as his Sun had instructed him.
Costco was packed.
Apparently it was Super Bowl Sunday in two days. Collette had forgotten about that…
When they returned…
Joe was next entertained by his dental appointment which he had finally scheduled after months of pain in his jaw. The result: all four wisdom teeth had to be pulled. And soon.
Dad was out for the next hour and a half to run on the Katy Trail. His contract was to wrap up within the next three and a half weeks, so his daily hours were beginning to wane.
Francis and Puck were out for some drifting in the go-cart, Puck wearing a pair of Linnea’s floppy green socks as mittens.
Rose was still hard at work in the basement.
Carrie was preparing dinner: veggie burgers and sweet potato fries.
“Francis is going to be so mad,” she said, with a grin of sinister glee.
‘Old Carrie’ was coming back. She had been busy in the kitchen once again, and had even made a batch of plum-cardamom-oatmeal cookies that had vanished in a flash.
Puck watched a little more of Jules Verne’s Five Weeks in a Balloon…
“You like watching Six Weeks in a Balloon?” Dad had asked him.
Puck thought about this for a moment.
“Actually, it’s four weeks, Grandpa.”
And Linnea was busy discussing with Cherry the youth camp in Florida that both of their churches were attending over the Fourth of July.
“We get to watch fireworks on the beach and go parasailing,” said Linnea happily.
Later on..
Joe amused himself by spraying a pattern of a rocket ship on the old ratted 25 year-old carpet in the hallway. The result was pronounced bleach stains on his favorite corduroys. And on Puck’s sweatpants. And a rather faded pattern on the carpet. Incentive to replace.
Even Mom was laughing at the outcome.
Dinner was a hit. The burgers were made from scratch with beans and onions, etc. Leave it to Carrie to make a veggie burger taste better than the real thing. And delicious curry sweet potato fries with a cool mascarpone dip. Even the boys liked everything.
But Mom and Dad were leaving, instead, to go out one evening early for Dad’s birthday.
That evening was for a belated comedy night. Magnus was added to the mix. And a mess of chocolate chip cookies to boot. During which, OLeif taught Magnus the ingenious method of shaking someone’s hand without allowing one’s own fingers to be crushed. Magnus was amazed.
“It’s all about forward thrust,” OLeif explained.
And there was one to three more inches of snow due that night.