A rainy day

The Cap’n and I are suffering from allergies and Bill snuffled and kvetched for much of the night.  Today is cold, windy, and rainy. (Thank God for the last of those.) And the Cap’n and I spent most of the morning out in the wind and rain at a road safety class. (More on that in another post.)

When I sat down at the computer after that, I just couldn’t think of anything to write that anyone (including I myself) would want to read. With every idea I came up with, I found myself channeling J. Jonah Jameson, the editor of the Daily Bugle from the Spiderman movies: “Crap! Crap! Mega-crap!”

So, as usual when I have a nasty day, I try to think of good things. Here are a few:

1. Bill. It’s been a while since Banana was born, and I’d forgotten how liquidy-soft newborn cheeks are. Or how sweet is the sneak-preview of a newborn’s sleep smiles and laughs. Or how like movie popcorn a breast-fed baby’s diaper smells. (’Nuff information for ya?) And the fact that as difficult as the early months are with a new baby, they go by much faster when there are older children around to help and keep me busy. At 40, I was a little reluctant to push “reset” and start afresh with a new baby, but this baby is much easier than any of the previous ones. And while I miss sleeping through the night, it won’t be long before Bill will be old enough for both of us to enjoy that great luxury (again).

2. A warm bath with the Sudoku page from the newspaper. I don’t know if I’ll get one of these in today, but soon. Almost as good as a massage.

3. Books. The Cap’n and I read all the Harry Potters aloud to each other, and we’ve recently gone back to the seventh book to reread it together. (This is a really nice thing for couples to do. I love his Dobby voice, and he likes my Rita Skeeter imitation.) Cheaper By the Dozen, which was recommended by a friend in Beit Shemesh, was one of the funniest, most interesting things I’ve ever read; I can’t wait to read the sequel, Belles on Their Toes.  And I am taking forever to plow through a weighty biography of John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Its author, Jean Edward Smith, does not have the folksy flavor of David McCullough, but Marshall himself was such an engaging figure that despite the molasses-slow pace of my reading right now, I still don’t want to put it down.

4. Sweets. My friend Ilana Epstein had one of her monthly “Food for Thought” features in the Jerusalem Post last Friday. This month she writes about words and their meanings, and includes a mouth-watering candy recipe. The column is available on the Post’s website here, but the recipe was inexplicably not included. With Ilana’s permission, here it is:

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
Makes 30 candy cups

200 g bittersweet chocolate, broken up
140 g milk chocolate, broken up
115 g white chocolate, broken up
½ cup smooth peanut butter

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine bittersweet and milk chocolate.  Melt on high in microwave for 1½ minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir.  Stir until smooth.
In a second microwave-safe bowl, combine white chocolate and peanut butter.  Melt together in microwave 1 minute, stopping every 30 seconds to stir.  Stir until smooth.
In very small (size 1.5) baking or bonbon cups, layer a little dark chocolate, followed by a little of the peanut butter mixture, and top with dark chocolate.  Allow to set in refrigerator about 30 minutes.  Serve at room temperature.

Ahhh, I feel better already.

Advertisement