1. Today I turned 67 years old. Unsure what to make of this fact, I turned my attention toward a couple people whose lives took a turn toward rejuvenation at age 67.
When Debbie turned 67, just six months later the school district in Eugene offered her a job as a long term substitute teacher at the school she used to work at, reuniting her with colleagues she hadn't worked with for several years. The move to Eugene reignited her life as a musician and singer. Living in Eugene again meant spending regular time making music with Laura Kemp and Peter Wilde, forming a new performing group, and gigging from time to time again. The teaching work was challenging. Debbie met the challenge and, from my point of view, she seemed rejuvenated by living in Eugene again with its great beers, widely available fine food, vigorous music scene, proximity to Patrick and Meagan, and other invigorating possibilities. Then, starting in October of 2019, Debbie became vitally involved in helping care for Adrienne and Josh's newborn, Ellie, and, now, for the last four months, upon returning to New York, Debbie has contributed to Ellie's care, helped Jack with his schooling, and become central to helping the Langford family make its way through the pandemic.
Then I thought about Everett. He turned 67 years old in 1997, the year he and Christy got married. He lived another twenty-three years with Christy, joined with her in a happy marriage. They combined forces to beautify the country property they lived on outside of Kettle Falls, make trips around the Pacific Northwest, especially in Washington State, and camp. Everett became an ardent Zags basketball fan. He and Christy surrounded themselves with dogs, cats, chickens, and rabbits. They moved to Kellogg where Everett enjoyed the last years of his life living in Kellogg. He and Christy continued their life of gardening, home improvements, caring for dogs and cats, local travel, devotion to the Zags, and, for about two years, giving attention and care to Mom.
For the time being (and who knows how long?), I will continue to live meaningfully within the restrictions I've placed upon myself during the pandemic. Up to this point, it's been astonishing to me how much I've enjoyed my life staying mostly at home -- it's been years since I've read so much and enjoyed such variety in my reading; I write in this blog for a couple of hours every morning; I've continued to broaden my life as my own cook and as a contributor to Sunday family dinners; the internet has helped me keep in daily contact with friends I've known forever from Kellogg, helped me deepen friendships with friends from Whitworth, kept me in touch with Eugene friends, provided ways to enjoy live music, especially performed by Bill Davie (and some others), and opened up the world of poetry to me in expansive ways. I've enjoyed watching movies, watching college basketball games, listening to podcasts, finding new music to enjoy, and completing word puzzles.
I'm not a restless person. I'm not chomping at the bit. I take each day as it comes. All the same, I look forward to being out in the world again -- I want to dine out, drive to Canada, go to Eugene, visit the Oregon Coast Range and the Pacific Ocean, rejoin my breakfast pals at Sam's on Saturday mornings, hang out at the Lounge, enjoy beers in tasting rooms and tap houses, return to live music concerts, go on local road trips and join up for food with Stu, Byrdman, Ed, and others, and get together with Mary, Kathy, and Linda again, whether we return to trivia or do other things.
I'm patient. I'm content with life in my bubble. I'm very happy that Christy, Carol, Paul and I have family dinner on Sundays. Moreover, I'm open to the hope that, having turned 67, my life might move forward in energizing ways I haven't yet imagined.
2. I started a new, very small scale project on my birthday today. Carol and Paul gave me the spirits and the bitters needed to make a classic Sazerac, so this afternoon I opened up my mixology lab and practiced mixing this delicious drink.
Carol and Paul also gave me a book entitled, Sazerac, and I studied the recipe it included for a Classic Sazerac, but I didn't understand it completely. So, found a helpful video on YouTube and then I got it. Making this cocktail requires both a mixing glass and a separate glass for the drink itself. Once I figured that out, the drink was pretty simple to make.
First of all, the glasses for the drink itself should be chilled. So I put Old-fashioned glasses in our freezer.
To make the drink, I started by dropping a sugar cube in the glass and I shook about three or four dashes of Peychaud's bitters over it and smashed it with my muddler. I then measured out an ounce and half of cognac, poured it in the glass and added ice cubes. I stirred this mixture for about twenty seconds or so.
I took a chilled glass out of the freezer and measured about a quarter ounce of Absinthe and rinsed the interior of the glass with the Absinthe for about ten to fifteen seconds and disposed of what didn't attach to the glass.
Then I strained the contents of the mixing glass into the drinking glass.
I had cut strips of lemon peel. I squeezed the peel, yellow side down, over the drink and then rubbed the rim and interior of the glass, above the drink, with the peel, and discarded it.
It's a short drink, but a potent one. It combines the aromatic pleasures of the Absinthe, bitters, and lemon with the layers of flavor provided by those ingredients in addition to the Cognac and the sweetness of the sugar.
Just to make sure I was well-practiced before I mixed his drink for Christy, Carol, and Paul over at the Roberts' house later, I went through this process twice.
I think I got it down.
3. Christy, Paul, Carol, and I like to enjoy a prime rib dinner at some time over the holiday season. In the past, we've enjoyed this dinner on New Year's Eve, Christmas Day (when Mom was with us), and, I think, on New Year's Day.
This year we didn't have our usual big Christmas Eve dinner focused on the food of another country and had a light meal on Christmas Day, so we decided to have our prime rib dinner as our last Sunday family dinner of the year -- and, coincidentally, my birthday was on Sunday.
So, technically, this wasn't a birthday dinner (at my insistence), but it sort of was.
But whatever it was or wasn't, there's one thing that cannot be disputed: it was awesome.
Carol prepared the prime rib perfectly. She also made a batch of velvety Yorkshire pudding, the perfect side dish for prime rib. Christy made an awesome creamy, pillowy, and cheese-y potato dish called slow cooker loaded mashed potatoes. Carol and Paul broke out a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir. Its light fruitiness complemented the richness of our meal perfectly. For dessert, Christy made a Paula Deen trifle featuring brownie bits, peppermints pieces, and light and fluffy whipped cream (and probably more, but I was falling into a food coma and may not identified everything!).
We had started dinner with the Sazeracs I mixed. I think everyone enjoyed them. I'll find out for sure when we have another get together and find out whether people say yes or no when I offer to mix a Sazerac again!
Thanks to Christy, I returned home with two wonderful gifts: the recent biography of Adrienne Rich entitled The Power of Adrienne Rich and a sampler pack of Jameson's Irish Whiskey miniatures. Cosette made me a ziplock bag of Nuts and Bolts (also known as Chex Mix). Earlier in the day, I opened a gift from the Langfords and now I can sport a T-shirt representing Jack's elementary school. I also opened my third gift from Rob and Kathy Harper. On our anniversary, they gave us a martini glass, for Christmas a bottle of Crater Lake Distillery's Prohibition Gin, and today I unwrapped a second martini glass and a jar of plump green martini olives. I see both dry and dirty martinis in my near future!
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