1. Mom had had a couple of tough days Wednesday and Thursday and reading what Carol wrote about Mom's difficulties distressed me. I turned my distress into busy-ness and did five loads of laundry, including our bedding and the bathroom and kitchen towels and washcloths. I crated the dogs and vacuumed the living room.
Later, I challenged myself to fix the Deke and me a dinner salad using what I had on hand. I roasted sweet potato chunks, topped with the taco seasoning I made last weekend. In a large bowl I combined leftover jasmine rice, a can of drained black beans seasoned with cumin and oregano, a package of corn (after I cooked and cooled it), leftover cilantro, chopped leftover red onion, and then mixed in the sweet potato bits. As a bonus, since the Deke asked me to pick up some beer at the store, I seized the opportunity to buy an avocado, chopped it, and added it to this salad.
The salad worked two ways. As a salad it was superb and it also worked as a taco filling. I fried a few corn tortillas in canola oil, rid them of excess oil, and stuffed them with the salad. I loved the layers of flavors in each bite: the sweetness of the corn and the sweet potato, the zestiness of the cilantro, the buttery creaminess of the avocado, the earthiness of the cumin and oregano, and the mild heat and spiciness of the taco seasoning.
While I was assembling this salad, Christy sent me and Carol a text message reporting that Mom was having a much better day on Friday. This news came as a great relief and turned my kitchen project from therapy into fun and joy.
2. While the Deke and I were at Old Line on Thursday, the Orioles game was on the screen above the bar and upcoming games flashed on the tv. The O's have a matinee tilt with the Red Sox on Sunday and I surmised that this would be a perfect day to go to Camden Yards for the first time and take in a baseball game. Since it's a one time deal, I splurged a little and bought a ticket up a bit and behind home plate, below the edge of the press box. I spent time figuring out how I can get to the ballpark on public transit, using my SmartTrip card once I get to the Greenbelt transit station.
3. While we relaxed for the evening in our apartment home, the Deke asked me to put a movie on my Chromebook that she could listen to while I watched. Suddenly, I wanted to see All the President's Men for the 9000th time and so I rented it and watched while the Deke busied herself online and with knitting and listened. One of the many pleasures of watching this movie again is that I am becoming more and more familiar with places in Washington, D. C. where certain scenes were shot so my recognition of those places is getting sharper. I hope that whenever I'm back in the D. C. area, whenever I can come back from Kellogg once I'm there, one of my return visits will coincide with a walking tour of the movie or of the events surrounding the Watergate break-in and the cover up. I would very much enjoy walking this movie and this history directed by a learned guide.
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