Aunt Gail

My Uncle Rob and Aunt Gail are two of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Rob is my Dad's brother and we are very close. Gail is my second Mom, always giving advice, always telling me to take care of myself.  I used to visit them in North Carolina but then they moved down to Florida and it's a little bit harder to get there but I have been down there a couple times to visit. I miss them being in North Carolina. Hickory, Winston-Salem, Hendersonville, Shelby all have special places in my heart. Rob is a retired radio engineer who is whip smart and quite the woodworker hobbyist. Gail can do everything. She is a kindred spirit in thrift shopping which we could never get tired of and she sews, quilts, crafts, paints - really amazing.

I was down to visit them in November for Thanksgiving. My Aunt had just had hip surgery so she was struggling to get around and I decided to go down there and wait on the two of them so she wouldn't have to do anything and give them both a break. We had such a nice time. I ordered a spiral ham to be picked up when I got there and had gone to Zabars on the upper west side and bought a ton of goodies to ship to them so we wouldn't have to go to the grocery store too many times. Chocolate rugelach, vodka sauce for pasta, cinnamon babka, bagels and all sorts of goodies.  I cooked, we sat out on their back porch and talked, met their two new cats, did some garden clean up, watched Jeopardy and their favorite sit-coms, walked Rusty their dog.  It was a really nice weekend.

I got an email from my Uncle yesterday morning. I called him and he told me that my Aunt had been having respiratory problems the day prior, by morning she was in distress, they called an ambulance. Because of COVID, my Uncle could not go to the hospital with her. He was told to call the hospital in an hour. He called and was told that Aunt Gail's heart had stopped in the ambulance ride to the hospital. They revived her once but the second time it happened, they could not revive her. I was shocked. My poor Aunt and my poor Uncle. I can't imagine a situation worse then this. I was in shock all day. I will truly miss my little co-conspirator, my secret addictive thrifter, my advisor, my friend. I love you.

COVID

It's going to be a long spring.  Sookie and Atticus look out at the bird feeder in the back yard.  I flew back from San Antonio on March 3rd.  I had work to do in the city on the 4th and then I told Tim - we really needed to get out of the city and head upstate. The Covid virus was going to hit the city and hit hard and we just needed to be in a safe place. We grabbed our two cats and some things and headed upstate.  It is now April 11 and we are going on being house bound for a month and a half.  We shop every couple weeks and go to the post office and the dump but haven't ventured out at all beyond that.  Both of us are working remotely as our offices are closed.  I feel like I am on a perpetual Ground Hog Day reel.  Get out of bed, work on the computer, cook dinner, watch Netflix, go to bed, repeat. We have not done much at all. The news has been awful with the daily Covid cases increasing by the thousands and deaths as a result of this horrible disease increasing as well.

The dysfunction and chaos that is happening on the Federal level is outrageous.  Thank God for Cuomo who rises to the occasion every time. New York is the hardest hit state but Cuomo's leadership has been amazing. I just don't know what the outcome of all of this could be?  What will our lives look like in a few months?  This administration showing absolutely no plan or leadership.

Meanwhile, we just work, watch Netflix and Amazon Prime, occasionally go outside but it's so early to be outside or we go down to the basement and work on projects. Sookie and Atticus have acclimated to being in the guest room indefinitely.  We had to cat proof it as they can be quite destructive. I moved a feeder pole out in front of their window and they watch the birds feed all day. They seem comfortable.

2020 Class Reunion

Class Reunion San Antonio Trip.  Such an awesome week. Flew down for Class reunion celebration and it truly was a celebration. Seeing some of my closest pals from high school and college. I haven't been back to San Antonio in 5 years since I brought my Mom back to live with us and it was bitter sweet. I felt sad because my family is gone but spent quality time with some very good friends and felt like we re-kindled our affection and love and support for each other. Lots of laughs and lots of tears.

Happy Birthday Tim!

Tim's birthday weekend. Nice day - We went to a new restaurant in Pine Hill called Titos. The food was awesome - after hearing mixed reviews - the Mexican food experts had to go for themselves. The pineapple cucumber guacamole, the lamb tacos, chicken Tinga enchiladas, Santaria margaritas - all awesome! They need to work on their salsas, and the queso. Ramikans look thrifty and should never be used for things like rice and beans or salsa for that matter. Otherwise, we will definitely be back. Came home for a little homemade birthday sheet cake and an evening of indigestion. Happy Birthday Tator Tot! 

Love Notes to Mom

Mom, how quickly a year goes by.  After four years of filling every waking moment with you mentally and physically, I still can’t seem to get my bearings without you and don’t know how to fill my time.   I think about you every day.  I have taken to writing letters and cards to you whenever I want to talk to you and put them into my journals.  Just like you used to send me thank you cards all the time that I saved, I save this correspondence to you to remind me of how much I miss you.  Last weekend, I had found this baking recipe of these pastries that I decided to make for Valentines Day. Pastry dough shaped envelopes filled with strawberry jam sealed with a heart also made of pastry.  Tim and I made them last Sunday so we could have them for this weekend.  I know you would really have liked them. So much of my time with you was worrying about what to feed you and making sure you had all your favorite things to eat.  As I made them - I thought of you - the pastries are called Love Notes and that is what I decided to call these letters that I write to you. To remind me of how much I miss and love you always. 

Love Notes

It was cold, snowy and messy outside. We just stayed in and worked on projects and cooked and baked.

Love Notes

INGREDIENTS:

2 refrigerated pie crusts

Flour for rolling out dough

1/2 c. strawberry jam

Egg wash

1/4 c. Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

DIRECTION:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 pie crust. Using a paring knife, cut out long diamond shapes, about 4" on each side. Transfer diamonds to baking sheet. Reroll extra dough to make more diamonds. (You should have enough dough to make about 6.)
• Fill the center of each diamond with a very small dollop of strawberry filling. Fold three of the corners into the center so that the dough looks like an open envelope. Press down lightly on dough to seal. Use a small heart cookie cutter to stamp out remaining dough into hearts, and place a heart in the center of each.
• Brush envelopes with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until envelopes are golden, about 15 minutes.
• Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I grew up with King Ranch casserole.  Tim had never heard of it and was dying to try it - so this is what we made for the weekend. I hadn't had it in a very long time and it was so delicious. I kept sneaking to the fridge to take secret bites.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomato and green chiles
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

Sauté onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and next 7 ingredients; remove from heat.

Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces; layer one-third of tortilla pieces in bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with one-third of chicken mixture and 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.