Tag Archives: hard work

Summer Days: Week 3

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“One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.” ― Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

The summer days are gliding past, it is hard to believe it is Day 22. I’ve enjoyed the first twenty-one days and made them count and the past seven days of summer have been filled with up, downs, ins, outs, and a lot of rain at home as well as by the lake shore.

O and I returned home late Sunday afternoon for a quick visit home to grab a couple of things we needed before returning this morning for the Independence Day weekend.

Monday morning, Fern and I awakened to a very moist garden and yard. It had rained most of the previous week and W (our lawn service) had not been able to mow the lawn. The mid-June flowers were blooming and there was a closeness that only can be felt in the summer. It’s the point where you can feel the moistness of the air. It rained and was cloudy, but Fern and I ventured out for a walk and we both came home exhausted and thirsty.

And as the song’s chorus reminds me,

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility be the best day ever,)
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better.
So, make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

Making the Days Count, one day at a time, especially when it rains.

What was one of your ups (or downs) this past week?

remembering mom

Cooking, Family, food, growing up, Life in General, Science, teaching, Writing, , , , , , ,

Every time I roast a chicken, I think of my mom. Every time single time.

and after…

Friday night, I cooked dinner. Roasted chicken with rosemary and thyme, green beans, and a salad. It was just me, and Fern.

We are at the lake for the weekend, and it was just the two of us. I cut open the package and pulled the chicken out of the plastic wrapping, placing it in the sink and removing the neck and the giblets from inside the bird. I rinsed the bird and carefully patted it dry. My mom taught me that a crispy skin is because it’s skin is dry and light coated with olive oil. I placed the neck and giblets in a small saucepan, covered them with water, and placed them on the stove. Exactly like my mom taught me. I turned the burner to low and allowed the pan to slowly cook the contents – this part of the bird was for Fern.

I patted the chicken’s skin dry a final time before I placed it in a cast iron skillet lightly coating it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with black pepper and dried thyme and rosemary on the back, the breast, and legs of the bird pressing spices onto the skin. Then I placed it in the oven at 425˚F and waited.

Within a few minutes the aroma of a roasting chicken filled the cottage.

While it cooked, I fed Fern sprinkling some of the broth from her part of the bird and its some meat gleaned from the neck. Mom taught me that a whole chicken could feed a family and a dog. Every time I cook a whole chicken, I feed the dogs, too.

It took almost an hour in the oven and while it roasted, I busied myself with other chores and then prepared the salad and the green beans. I pulled the roasted bird out of the oven, checked the temperature, and then let it rest a few moments before carving off a thigh and a drumstick and plating it with green beans and a generous portion of the salad.

before….
and after…
dinner.

While I ate, I thought of mom and all she taught me to do and to be. Continue reading remembering mom →

W^2 – Irma and time

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, March 31, 2021

demolition is almost complete on this piece of ocean frontage. Key Colony Beach, Florida March 28, 2021 12:49 PM
a black and white version of the same photo, Key Colony Beach, Florida March 28, 2021 12:49 PM

Hurricane Irma came ashore on just east of this location on September 10, 2017. Irma was a category 4 hurricane with winds in over 100 mph and a storm surge of 6 to 10 feet. She left behind damaged homes, buildings, and this condominium complex in her wake. Most were able to rebuild, but for some the damage was too great to rebuild. Sometimes, it’s easier just to start over. Making the Days Count, even when I must press the reset button and begin again.

When was the last time you pressed re-set?*

*Full disclosure, I went back to ”play’ with Adobe Photoshop and decided to add a black and white version of the photo.

W^2 – shenanigans  

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, March 24, 2021

a whimsical monument to school by one of my 6th graders. Naperville, IL March 9, 2021 12:49 PM

We started with a few students coming back to school. The change was immediate. The change happened because our building became a school again where children’s laughter filled the halls and the classrooms. School isn’t school without a little bit of shenanigans and tom foolery, now and then. Making the Days Count recognizing that a little tom foolery and shenanigans boost the soul from time to time.

When was your last shenanigan? What did you do?

W^2 – ice

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, February 3, 2021 on Thursday. Ooops.

Ice covered topiary. Wheaton, IL February2, 2021 5:16 PM

We have had several inches of snow fall over the past week and we are expecting another few inches today. Fresh snow is pretty, but when it melts and refreezes it’s another kind of beauty. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, looking for beauty anywhere I can find it, beauty in the world makes my day count.

Where have you found beauty lately? Are you looking? Or does it just happen?

W^2 – herd

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, December 16, 2020

A herd of deer grazing peacefully, Spring Brook Prairie Forest Preserve, Naperville, IL. Sunday, December 13, 2020 3:42 PM

We all would like to gather this holiday season, but we are keeping our distance. Making the Days Count, one day at a time while remembering to look, listen and be cautious, always.

What good news have you heard recently?

W^2 – sweet tango

adventure, Family, Photography, travel, Weekly Photo Challenges, Wordless Wednesday, , , , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday September 9, 2020

a sweet tango apple plucked from sweet tango apples packed for sale in pecks, ½ pecks, and ¼ pecks Casnovia, Michigan – Monday September 7, 2020 – 2:19 PM

What fruits are ripening where you live?

1:14 or 15 AM, one year later

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The ringing phone woke me, but my B, my wife, answered it. It was Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

It was the phone call every parent fears and it was 1:15 AM.

I climbed out of bed and started getting dressed listening carefully as my wife listened and responded. She was serious locked in and her look and tone gave it away. The phone call was short, but it seemed like an eternity.

She hung up and shared details of the call. It was William our son, he’d been in an accident and it was serious.

We dressed and left for the hospital.

A lot of things went William’s and our way that night and in the days since. That was a year ago tonight. William’s accident happened around 11:09 to before 11:17. The accident report has the emergency crew arriving on scene at 11:17 PM.

We called William’s girlfriend on our way to the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital the fire chief for the fire department William had begun working for was waiting to greet us and share details of William’s accident. He asked us if there was anything, he, or the fire department, could do for us before the doctor came in to talk with us. It was a single vehicle crash William and the motorcycle had left the roadway and struck two mailboxes before coming to a stop.

When the doctor came into talk to us, the fire chief gave us his card and left.

It was serious, but William was stable. He had sustained a serious head injury even with wearing a helmet. He had a serious scrape on his left knee but no broken bones. Beth asked a few questions and the doctor shared it was early and William was being transferred to a Level 1 trauma hospital in Chicago.

We were able to see William briefly before he was transported. He was sedated and it was severely injured, but he was stable. Some things in life can never be unseen. At some point William’s girlfriend arrived and she was able to see him with us.

A lot of things went William’s way that night and, in the days, weeks, and months since.

William and I on a walk- September 2019

His accident was a year ago this evening and he is doing well and continuing his healing.

William spent a month in the hospital and a rehabilitation hospital. He relearned how to walk and talk and lot of other things we take for granted. After his release from the hospital, he then spent another three months in extensive out-patient rehabilitation.

William worked hard. We prayed and cried. He grumbled, he wanted to be exited early, but he stayed the course. In late December he was exited from out-patient rehabilitation services and cleared to return to normal activities.

A lot of things went William’s way that night and, in the days, weeks, and months since. Continue reading 1:14 or 15 AM, one year later →