Buttered Rum Meltaways (pg. 138) would be fabulous with a mug of hot cider. So it was a little odd to be baking them on the hottest day of the year so far. Note to self: excellent choice for Christmas cookies.
James was in Palm Desert for two weeks and is on his way home as I type. He's probably somewhere in the Portland vicinity right now (I asked him to moon downtown on his way through). In his absence, I've been flaunting the booze bottles, including the rum I used to make these cookies. Renee and I squeezed in two martini nights, and my vodka bottle served as a very able bookend for the past 12 days. I never did, however, crack the cosmo mix I got from the Safeway clearance display.
I guess it's one of those things; when given the freedom, we want to do all those things we normally never get to do. Hence the Absolut on my kitchen counter.
I didn't get to all the chores I said I'd do while he was gone. I didn't sort and print all my digital photos. I didn't go through the boxes of kids' artwork. I didn't work on my recipe collection. But I did savor every moment after the kids went to sleep, reading in bed late into the night. We turned off the TV early every evening and we didn't use the heat pump. Instead, we cooled the house the old-fashioned way, with open windows. We planted flowers and herbs. I washed my face twice a day. We sorted baby boy clothes for my sister's soon-to-be newborn. (It's a girl! No, it's a boy! No, we don't know what it is!)
It sounds like James enjoyed his break. He golfed, lounged, soaked, ate out and just chilled. I could hear the tension draining from his voice every day. I hope it stays that way.
Meanwhile, the boys are excited about his return. Christian just taped a note to the front door for him. Ian keeps asking when Daddy will be home. The dog and cat, I'm sure, are ambivalent.
I think he'll be surprised when he sees the yard. Things grow quickly in a two-week period in April. Especially the lawn.
The clematis, however, hasn't grown fast enough. I'll have some explaining to do there.
Other developments during his absence:1. The school is recommending the accelerated math course for Christian starting next year. That means more homework for him and more Xanax/deep breathing for me.
2. Ian finished soccer. He won a trophy and thinks he's God's gift to pre-k sports. Next up: t-ball.
3. I bought two new pairs of jeans, four shirts, a pair of bling sunglasses and a bra. And I got my hair highlighted. I needed all of those items (or so I tell myself) due to my whopping gain of 2.6 pounds of muscle and 1 pound of fat. Well, except the highlights and the bling. That was just vanity.
4. I've decided that making the bed is over-rated.
5. Speaking of beds, I've also decided I like the left side better than the right. We'll see how that flies at about 12:15 a.m. tonight.
Speaking of tonight, I should get the boys to bed. But they're playing so nicely out there. No TV blaring, no yelling, no hitting.
Yet.
I need to get busy enjoying my last few hours of reading leisure. Curl up on the left side of the unmade bed with a good rum cookie and a mug of vodka, with the lamplight shining on my blonder streaks and my new bra dangling from the ceiling fan.
Okay, so maybe not the bra part. But the rest, definitely.
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