I meant to post this last night but forgot. Mr. Moon and the boys found that little anole outside on the front-door screen and rescued him from the cold and brought him in. We put him in one of the potted plants in the library and I filled a very shallow jar lid with water and settled it into the dirt and I think he'll live.
As long as Maurice doesn't get her teeth on the poor little thing.
August and Levon were good little fellows last night. Levon was very tired but managed to stay awake through supper.
They made me laugh so hard while we were eating. I can't remember one darn thing they said that I found so humorous but I'm sure it was all hilarious.
After baths which Boppy oversaw they brushed their teeth and got in bed. That room was chilly last night. We sort of desperately need new windows. But all was well. I covered them up with a sheet, two quilts, a down comforter, a cotton blanket, and two soft throws. Yes, it was overkill but they loved it. They cuddled up together and I'm sure they were warm as little puppies in a box by the fireplace. I didn't ask them if they wanted stories nor did I ask them what stories they might want. I just picked out two and read them and they were both quiet and seemed to enjoy them.
That's the tax for staying at Mer and Bop's and getting spoiled- you have to listen to a story that Mer reads.
I tucked them up tight and gave each of them a little kiss on the cheek and they were asleep within minutes. I'd told them that they were not allowed to wake up Boppy before 7:30 and were not allowed to watch TV until he got up. He reported that when he got up at 7:15, he went into the Glen Den to find them on the couch, NOT WATCHING TV but waiting for him like the two good kids they are.
Soon TV watching commenced and Boppy made them peanut butter and apple snacks with orange juice so that they didn't starve before their sloth of a grandmother got up and made them pancakes and bacon. I guess they were starving by the time that was ready because they ate an inordinate amount. They each ate more pancakes than I did and the same number as Boppy and was told that I needed to make more next time.
Noted.
After breakfast, we played a rousing game of Life. I have no idea why but I had never played a game of Life in my life until over a year ago when I played with August and Levon and Jessie. Of course I did not remember one rule or even one thing about how to play but August knows all and he shared his knowledge with us.
That was the most chaotic, stressful game I may have ever played and it took over an hour. If August wasn't sure about something I'd look it up because our game is so old there aren't any directions in the box and that became a thing because we'd often been playing it wrong and had to readjust. Mr. Moon got into it a bit more than perhaps he should have due to the game being about money and careers and so forth and Levon was the banker but Glen and August kept doing the actual banking and I was just sitting there doing my best to keep up.
August won to his great delight, Mr. Moon came in second, I came in third, and Levon came in last. He was a good sport about it. August has his grandfather's competitive nature, it would seem. I'm mostly like, "Aren't we done yet?"
Jessie came out and got her babies in the early afternoon. The roads are still icy in some places but she was very careful and all was well. The snow has not all disappeared by any means.
But here we are, cozy and warm. When Glen turned on the gas logs in the Glen Den, August pointed out that they are just like Bunsen Burners. He is right and now I will never not see that.
Two nights ago I cooked some of the redfish that Mr. Moon brought back from Louisiana and was absolutely shocked at how delicious it was. I made a panko and parmesan coating and air-fried it and if I've ever had a better piece of delicately-flavored white fish I can't remember it. The funny thing is, is that redfish was considered a trash fish for a very long time which means it was a fish that no one wanted to eat. People DID eat them but they were certainly not considered high up on the gourmet scale. In the eighties, the cajun chef, Paul Prudhomme came up with a cajun-seasoned version of redfish and that dish became so popular that they became over-fished. So I'd always thought that it had taken a cooking method that involved a lot of spice and blackening to make the fish more edible but boy, was I wrong. That is some sweet, sweet meat.
Tonight I'm going to make redfish augratin and I think it's going to be amazing.
Glen's hand is as big as Levon's head! Redfish sounds delicious! Orange Roughy used to be a cheap fish to buy until it became famous! It's another sweet, white fleshed fish!
ReplyDeleteMarcia do you remember the other name for orange roughy? I have forgotten, was it Tommy Ruff?
DeleteSorry, River ... I have only known Orange Roughy to be that and not by some other name!
DeleteAs soon as people figure out that a fish is indeed very good to eat, they suddenly become very expensive.
DeleteI looked at that picture of the boys with their Boppy for a long time. It’s such a moment, in surroundings so nurturing and real. So much love in that picture.
ReplyDeleteThey love their grandfather so much. And he loves them.
DeleteIt's odd how fish gets marketed so what was out is now the in fish. Yours sounds lovely. I think I'd have lost my way in that game and quietly sneaked away to knit!
ReplyDeleteI was wishing I could sneak away. Those boys were all far more excited about the game than I was.
DeleteAnd thank you for saving Benji -- all my son's anoles, one at a time, were named Benji or maybe Benjy.
ReplyDeleteHappy to do it!
DeleteLevon and August look very happy with you and Glen. The board game really was a big hit. For boys, the game of Life gets their competitive alpha juices running.
ReplyDeleteYour Red fish sounds delicious. I do like Panko encased fish.
The snow seems to want to stick around for a few days.
They are generally pretty happy here and they do love a rousing game. They get so excited. As does their grandfather.
DeleteSuch good fish!
My sister never cooked fish, so I had very little all those years. Now I have it twice of three times a week. Tilapia is the only one I pass on.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know if I've ever had tilapia.
DeleteMary, the minute I read pancakes, I knew I had to have some, so off I went into my teeny tiny kitchen and mixed up just enough batter for two cakes which I am eating right now. I am going to have to google refish and seeif it has any other names because I want to try some. I can easily imagine the boys burrowing into all the quilts and blankets and sleeping soundly.
ReplyDeleteRedfish does indeed have many names.
DeleteI love that you made pancakes.
The boys said they slept good. I hope they did.
I love your post today. Snow day! How long has it been since you had that happen? Or snow that stayed on the ground for days? These are strange times. It was 14 degrees here tonight when I took the recycling to the curb, and it actually felt noticeably warmer.
ReplyDeleteIt's been since NEVER that we've had snow like that or that any snow lasted longer than a day at most.
DeleteI wonder why redfish (which is the same as red snapper, right?) was ever frowned upon as an eating fish. Seems like people would have loved it.
ReplyDeleteI usually feel that way when playing board games: "Aren't we done yet?"
Nope. Redfish is not a snapper. It's its own fish. I have no idea why people didn't eat it.
DeleteYeah. Board games can be boring.
So the snow is still on the ground. I hope it's going soon. I remember a friend from somewhere south in the US telling me during a cold spell she spent in our guest room, so that's what electric blankets are for.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I've never owned an electric blanket but i know a lot of people like them. And the snow is STILL on the ground. In some places.
DeleteSounds like monopoly which I used to hate playing. Sorry, dislike playing. When you mention Redfish I think of red mullet which is extremely bony and requires careful dissection. I suspect your redfish are beautifully un-bony. Love your kitchen and I-spy the array of spice jars on the counter. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteYeah, redfish aren't mullet. We love mullet and if you know how, you can pull all the bones out at one time. But youre right-- is is bony. We didn't find one bone in that redfish. They were well cleaned.
DeleteI have a lot of spices and oils and vinegars...
This post made me smile. But I’m fixated on that final photo. Lucky boys. Lucky grandparents.
ReplyDeleteYes and yes.
Delete36 hours and the snow is still there. Made me kinda laugh and smile. Up here in the Great White North called Canada (not the 51st state) we see snow in Nov and it is still around 6 months later. I know , I know , it's Florida it is not suppose to snow. I really laughed , my friends left last Fri for Florida to rid themselves of cold and snow . Barb
ReplyDeleteYour friends may have been out of luck, depending on where in Florida they went.
DeleteA good time was had by all. I love that photo of Glen and the grandsons, too beautiful. Stay warm my friend.
ReplyDeleteI took the dogs to the offleash this morning so that Charlie could run in the paddock and it was so fucking cold. It was only -2C but the wind was howling and the snow was blowing. I only lasted ten minutes but the dogs seemed okay with that.
Looks like a successful sleepover. It's a delicate matter playing a board game with my grandsons sometimes. If one wins, they need to be a good sport and not rub it in or the loser will get upset. If one loses, you got to keep their spirits up so they don't get sad. It's a walking a tightrope sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI never liked the game of Life as it always seemed too complicated to me! ;)
August and Levon do love to crow about winning but they don't go overboard with it.
DeleteIt is a complicated game.
i remember that game. We had one here when my kids were young. And then the grands played it too when they were young. I've given all the games away now that they're all grown. No more snow here.. There were only a very few patches left in yards under live oaks facing north by yesterday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the sound of snow melting and dripping is going to be with us forever.
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