Making Progress

Yesterday had its ups and downs, but much progress was made.

The first outing was to the Union Square farmers market, near our old digs in Somerville. They didn't have a market when we lived there, but the past few years have obviously been good for it--the place was packed and obviously thriving. After the disappointingly tiny Medford market, with its two whole farms present, I was dizzied, not sure where to start. Amid intermittent meltdowns from L we provisioned ourselves with summer bounty, bolstered it with a few staples at Stop N Shop, and headed for home. Lunch was one of those minimalist summer market meals--a focaccia round sliced up and halved, filled with tomato, hand-made mozzarella, and basil leaves the size of my hand. Not to wax rhapsodic or anything, but it was damn good. I don't even like fresh tomatoes normally.

After lunch, Mom and I took the kids to the park, which is only about six blocks from our new place. Everything went fine, despite a disappointing absence of other kids. It was a perfect afternoon, sunny, warm, and breezy--I hope for their sakes they were all at the beach or otherwise outdoors, because anything else would have been a horrid waste. Every few minutes a jumbo jet would cruise overhead on a landing trajectory.

The kids played happily for a couple of hours, got thoroughly filthy, and seemed content when I announced it was time to head home. I carried J on my shoulders while L and Mom followed along. We were nearly home when L found a rock in her sandal, took off said sandal, then ran to catch up with me, and, one-shoed, tripped, skinning both her knees. She was quite fine about it until she we got to our driveway and she realized that she was bleeding, at which point the hysterics started. One would think Bactine a tool used by the Spanish Inquisition, but a Band-Aid and ice cream sandwich were soon applied.

The kids settled down with a movie, and Mom and I went to work attacking The Pile (mostly Mom, I must confess). We found a half-dozen boxes that can go right into storage--clothes that will await the next child to grow into them, CDs that I've ripped, but find myself reluctant to get rid of, just in case my laptop and external hard drive both spontaneously combust on the same day.

One major triumph: by dint of much box-shifting, Mom unearthed the remainder of my baking supplies--the actual ingredients. As soon as I put the flour away, I realized that I was going to have a storage problem. I just have too much stuff, even for a kitchen this size. Some consolidation and perhaps thinning will have to take place.

The next task was to give the kids a bath. Much as I like our new whirlpool tub, it's difficult in my present condition to do much leaning and bending, which means that the only practical way to bathe the kids is to get in with them. Fortunately, it's big enough to accommodate all 3 2/3 of us. The bath was the occasion of the day's second trauma, when L headed upstairs for fresh clothes, slipped, and split her lip open on one of the steps. Further hysterics ensued, but were short-lived.

Dinner was a simple dish I make in the summer when I don't have any better ideas: onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil, add squash, broth, and your protein of choice (chickpeas for this occasion, but I often use those Al Fresca chicken sausages), serve over pasta.

Today, Day 2 of Mom's visit, we have some shopping to do, and I hope to finish getting this kitchen sorted out. Perhaps I'll even bake something, and post a picture. I've been reading many wonderful food blogs lately, and am envious of the degree of photographic skill shown off on many of them. My little point-and-shoot hasn't gotten much exercise lately.

It's 5 a.m., I've been awake for ages (though my sleep was solid while it lasted), and I think I'll try to get some writing done.