1. Debbie arrived home last night around 8:00. Until she arrived in Seattle, she'd had good fortune with flights departing as scheduled, but her Seattle to Spokane flight was rescheduled, was delayed. Debbie's trip to Michigan was terrific and, in a good way, intense what with many reunions packed into a short period of time. Debbie had enough energy to tell me some great stories about the ceremony, about seeing Adrienne and Brian, and about seeing five of her step-siblings and members of their families.
2. Christy isn't feeling well this weekend and on Saturday she decided to cancel the family dinner she was scheduled to host on Sunday. I was happy she decided to forego dinner and give herself more time to rest and recuperate.
Upon receiving the cancellation message, I took out two thick pork chops I had been thawing, knifed holes in them, and put them in a ziplock bag with Mojo Curillo marinating sauce.
Late this afternoon, I took out the pork chops, dumped the marinade, and let the pork chops reach room temperature.
I sliced an onion into thin rings, peppered them, and cooked them and, when they had softened, added a container of leftover jasmine rice to the pan.
I heated the cast iron skillet, poured some vegetable oil in it, and seared the pork chops.
Once seared, I removed them long enough to add Mojo Curillo to the pan along with some dried rosemary.
Then I cooked the chops, and every twenty seconds or so, I spooned the combination of marinade sauce and rosemary over the pork chops. I flipped them, continued to baste them, and when they cooked to a point where there was a little bit of pink in the center, I removed them from the heat and let them rest for several minutes.
I'd never tried this method of basting before. I was eager to see how the pork chops came out.
I put a bed of rice on a plate and plopped the rested pork chop on top and dug in.
I was really happy.
The meat was moist, shot through with flavor from the sauce and the rosemary.
I'd put some of the marinade over the rice when I removed the chops from the skillet.
That worked!
The basted pork chop worked!
My simple pork chop dinner worked!
3. With Debbie having returned home, she and Gibbs went to bed upstairs and, for the first time since Thursday, Copper and Luna roamed around the living room and kitchen.
When I finally went to bed myself, Copper did something he's never done in two and a half years he's been with me.
He jumped up on the bed and got close to my face. Usually he positions himself near my legs, but Luna was occupying a the bed's northeast quadrant and Copper surprised me my coming so close to my face and head.
Maybe he came to that spot because he could more easily swat pairs of glasses off the nightstand.
Or maybe he wanted to be close to me in a unique way.
I don't know for sure, but I do know that Copper has become gradually more willing to get physically close to me in ways that seem bolder than ever. He's not like Luna. He's not a jump in my lap cat.
Who knows, though?
Maybe that day is coming.
I'd sure enjoy it.
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