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Icicle of Sleet
Jan. 21st, 2024 09:48 pmHad a good, but very intense two days of visiting. Mr. and Ms. Science arrived shortly before noon on Friday. By then, the dried Dapple Grey beans that the guy at the farmers market assured me would be great in a role designed for cannellini beans were finally softened to the point of being edible. They still were just a bit more chewy than I like. I think if I make this recipe again, I'll make sure I have some canned white beans. I had softened some onions, leeks, garlic, and collard greens in olive oil, then added the beans and chicken stock and chopped rosemary and red pepper flakes, and simmered it until ready. Then I finished it with grated cheese and lemon juice. We also had a charcuterie platter with salami etc. and cheeses and smoked fish. I carried the wood in, and the Sparrowhawk lit a fire in the fireplace. When everyone had talked their head off for a couple of hours, we had soup and flourishes. And then talked some more. And then went out to one of our favorite restaurants and had dinner, plus the unexpected bonus of a classic jazz ensemble. My brother and sister in law love live music, so this added extra enjoyment.
In the morning, they planned to visit Dr. Music and Dr. Nurse for brunch. Then, to my immense delight, they suggested that "we" might all get together again in the afternoon. Apparently "we" included the Duchess and Duke. I was very pleased to hear this. After what Mr. Science circumspectly communicated about their visit on Thursday--that the Duchess seemed very tired and did not encourage them very hard to stay for supper--I thought it might be better to invite them here. I enjoy having people over, and I'm not always sure that she does. So they all came over mid-afternoon. Alas, Dr. Nurse and Dr. Music were not able to join us, because they were scheduled for an event with Dr. Music's family. Mr. and Ms. Science brought some more takeout, mideastern this time, to add to the remnants of the charcuterie. We had another warming fire. I was deeply touched that the Duchess made me a birthday cake! It was incredibly gorgeous and delicious. It looked like something from the Great British Bake-Off. I told her that, but then realized she might not know what that was. It was chocolate orange cake, decorated with orange marmalade and layered with cream cheese. Holy smokes, it was good. (Later on, when my siblings started retelling the famous story of how my brother lost his shoe in the swamp in the fall, and in the spring, we found it, and our mother washed it off and put it on baby Duchess, everyone had a different version of what the shoe looked like. I said it was the Rashomon of Shoes, and they didn't know what I meant. We are all know-it-alls, but our areas of knowing it all are different.)
To say it was a "good" visit is true but also inadequate. I was so glad to see them, especially Mr. Science. He seems to be maintaining his state pretty well, and still walks, although with difficulty and many falls. He now thinks he may not have ALS of any kind, but rather an autoimmune problem with symptoms that mimic ALS but may have been caused by covid demyelinating his nerves and killing off some of his muscle tissue with microclots. He's researching this, because of course he is, darling. I hope he's right. My problem is that when my heart is so full of love, it is a great joy, but also deeply painful. When people start to review the past, and I join in, I always wish later that I hadn't. "'Alas! There are some wounds that cannot wholly be cured,' said Gandalf." I don't wish it to be so for any of us, but there are conversations that make me wonder.
I got hours of intimate contact in one intense rush, and then the same the next day with the addition of yet more people, and then I was left with so much reawakened grief and memory, and so many revelations left hanging, and so many conversations I wish I could continue under more relaxed circumstances. And now I get to feel sad that my brother and sister are elsewhere again. Both nights, I felt as if I'd been hit by a truck once they left. I still do! I really hope I feel normal tomorrow, but since I have to debrief with Queenie, whose absence was a shadow on the feast, that is dubious. It was absolutely freezing cold all weekend, and tomorrow it's supposed to warm up, so maybe that will help.
Oh, and I forgot to say that yesterday morning we discovered a leak in the ceiling in the family room. Just to make everything hunky dory. We have a bucket underneath the plink, plonk, plunk, and a roofer coming to look at the problem on Monday. I doubt he can do anything right away, since the roof is covered with solid ice topped with piles and piles of snow.
In the morning, they planned to visit Dr. Music and Dr. Nurse for brunch. Then, to my immense delight, they suggested that "we" might all get together again in the afternoon. Apparently "we" included the Duchess and Duke. I was very pleased to hear this. After what Mr. Science circumspectly communicated about their visit on Thursday--that the Duchess seemed very tired and did not encourage them very hard to stay for supper--I thought it might be better to invite them here. I enjoy having people over, and I'm not always sure that she does. So they all came over mid-afternoon. Alas, Dr. Nurse and Dr. Music were not able to join us, because they were scheduled for an event with Dr. Music's family. Mr. and Ms. Science brought some more takeout, mideastern this time, to add to the remnants of the charcuterie. We had another warming fire. I was deeply touched that the Duchess made me a birthday cake! It was incredibly gorgeous and delicious. It looked like something from the Great British Bake-Off. I told her that, but then realized she might not know what that was. It was chocolate orange cake, decorated with orange marmalade and layered with cream cheese. Holy smokes, it was good. (Later on, when my siblings started retelling the famous story of how my brother lost his shoe in the swamp in the fall, and in the spring, we found it, and our mother washed it off and put it on baby Duchess, everyone had a different version of what the shoe looked like. I said it was the Rashomon of Shoes, and they didn't know what I meant. We are all know-it-alls, but our areas of knowing it all are different.)
To say it was a "good" visit is true but also inadequate. I was so glad to see them, especially Mr. Science. He seems to be maintaining his state pretty well, and still walks, although with difficulty and many falls. He now thinks he may not have ALS of any kind, but rather an autoimmune problem with symptoms that mimic ALS but may have been caused by covid demyelinating his nerves and killing off some of his muscle tissue with microclots. He's researching this, because of course he is, darling. I hope he's right. My problem is that when my heart is so full of love, it is a great joy, but also deeply painful. When people start to review the past, and I join in, I always wish later that I hadn't. "'Alas! There are some wounds that cannot wholly be cured,' said Gandalf." I don't wish it to be so for any of us, but there are conversations that make me wonder.
I got hours of intimate contact in one intense rush, and then the same the next day with the addition of yet more people, and then I was left with so much reawakened grief and memory, and so many revelations left hanging, and so many conversations I wish I could continue under more relaxed circumstances. And now I get to feel sad that my brother and sister are elsewhere again. Both nights, I felt as if I'd been hit by a truck once they left. I still do! I really hope I feel normal tomorrow, but since I have to debrief with Queenie, whose absence was a shadow on the feast, that is dubious. It was absolutely freezing cold all weekend, and tomorrow it's supposed to warm up, so maybe that will help.
Oh, and I forgot to say that yesterday morning we discovered a leak in the ceiling in the family room. Just to make everything hunky dory. We have a bucket underneath the plink, plonk, plunk, and a roofer coming to look at the problem on Monday. I doubt he can do anything right away, since the roof is covered with solid ice topped with piles and piles of snow.
