Dinner With Grandma

Holmes & Edwards ad from the
March 1947 Ladies' Home Journal

Patrick had soccer on Valentine's Day so we instead had a mini celebration on Monday, and on the actual Day of Hallmark's Emotional Exploitation, my good friend Anissa came over for dinner, desserts, and a lot of booze. It was all also the perfect excuse to initiate a very special gift I received from my aunts and my parents.

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to accept the most wonderful package from my Aunt Teresa, my Aunt Janice, and my parents: It was a completed set of my Grandma Price's silver.

My Grandma and Grandpa Price
in 1947.

Four days after she turned 24, my grandmother married my grandfather in 1947. At some point after that (whether it was a gift or something she collected on piece at a time, we're not sure), my grandmother acquired the Youth silver pattern from Holmes & Edwards. It was a very popular pattern, one that some baby boomers might recognize, and retailed for just under $70 in 1947. It's sweet and special and features little flowers that almost anyone with a preference toward the traditionally feminine would be charmed by.

It's a set that has seen decades of anniversaries and parties, family dinners and tea with the girls. Eventually my grandmother acquired another set of silver, her own mother's (my Great Grandma Steffler's), and that set was later gifted with much love to her daughter, my Aunt Teresa, in celebration and in honour of Teresa's wedding. It was a big surprise to Teresa as my Great Grandmother Steffler's silver set was something my grandmother still quite cherished, but Grandma Price felt it was time to hand it off. She wanted to see Teresa enjoy this little inheritance while she was still alive  - and it was a gesture that was met with many tears and hugs.

And that fall, my grandmother unexpectedly and sadly passed away - something that made the early gift of an heirloom that much more emotional and sentimental.

After the funeral, my grandmother's original wedding silver eventually went to my aunt Janice, but she found that she didn't get as much use out of it as she would have liked. She offered it to Teresa, but she, too, didn't use it on account of already owning her Grandmother Steffler's set. And so they thought of who in the family might appreciate it and use it more, and a certain someone with a vintage obsession and disturbing love for dining came to mind. Yay for being a Fatty '50s Weirdo!

My Grandma Price's Holmes & Edwards pattern was typical of a woman who had raised a brood of children (eight kids!) - there were a lot of incompletes. Once, when asked where all the teaspoons went, my grandmother joked (but not) that they were probably in a sandbox. With my Aunt Teresa's work and my parents' help, they filled in the spaces, replacing the pieces that had been lost to sand castles of the 1950s and '60s, and then sent the completed set to me, tagging the forks, spoons, and knives that had been newly bought.

And so, I naturally did what anyone would do with such a thoughtful and sentimental gift:

Image Source.

HAH. You guys have no idea how incredibly and thoroughly dead I would be if I wasn't joking. I'd be murdered so hard by my aunts that my lifeless carcass would actually make Kristen Stewart look like she had an emotional range. I don't even think there would be dental records left to properly identify me.

In reality, to "break in" this beautiful silver, I did something much nicer and life-preserving: I made a special meal that my grandmother might have served, using recipes from the Steffler Family Cookbook (which I've mentioned once before when I went on a bender for prairie foods).

For dinner with Patrick, I adapted my grandmother's recipe for Shrimp Puffs and instead used tuna, so as to not kill my shellfish-allergic husband:

I then made Crispy Parmesan Chicken, whipped mashed potatoes, gravy, and buttered broccoli:

Happy Hubby:

For my ultra romantic dinner with Anissa, I cooked up a vegetable soup and we enjoyed two of my Grandma Price's desserts: Pecan Pie and Almond Cherry Cake.

I know the Almond Cherry Cake looks suspiciously like the dreaded fruitcake, but I promise, it is really frigging amazing. Because Patrick likes chocolate, I added chocolate chips to the mix. Next time I make this, I might replace the candied cherries with sour cherries or maybe even dried blueberries just to see how it compares.

For me, food is a simple everyday way to share and show my love and appreciation for my family and friends, and there's no better way to do that than with the help of someone who was so caring and special, my Grandma.

Thanks again for this beautiful gift, Teresa, Janice, Mom and Dad. I love it.

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Are You A Model Mother? Take the 1950s Test.

I love how articles from the 1950s are like Germans: anti-semitic blunt. Sure, we have antagonistic headlines today that also present opinions as fact, but back in the 1950s, this was a rather hilarious norm. Right and wrong, good and bad - it was all often spelled out unapologetically, especially when it came to explaining what it meant to be a "good" mother, wife, woman, father, husband, or man. It's not so much the suggestions within the articles that make our eyes bulge (ok, sometimes it is), but the absolutism of it all.

Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about: "Are You A Model Mother?" This little checklist was printed in a 1959 edition of Best Wishes, a magazine that was provided to new mothers compliments of The Salvation Army. Best Wishes was sort of the gift-with-pushes (hee) that women would get in the hospital as they were coming out of their drug haze from having a baby.

The thing I find most interesting about this particular article is that it actually has very little to do with parenting and more to do with the kind of woman you are 'despite' becoming a mother. In short, if you live the "Mom Jean" lifestyle ("I'm not a woman any more, I'm a mom") and commit the sins that would get you a mention on STFU, Parents, you're not a model mother.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! See for yourself:

That last one is simply magical, especially considering that the woman reading this magazine was likely still in her hospital bed nursing a destroyed vagina newborn.

So, tell me, are you a model mother? Do any of these describe you or the mother you hope to be? Or can this entire article kiss your model mother ass?

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This Is Why You And Your Husband Don't Have Sex Anymore

Edited to Add: If you can't see the embedded video, you can watch it here.

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I Get That I Don't Get It, So Get Off It

Recently there was an article posted on Jezebel titled, "Oops, I Must Have Been Too Busy Bitching About Not Getting Any Sleep to Mention How Great My Kid Is." by Tracy Moore. The piece (which is conversational, light-hearted and an easy read, so go munch on it for a minute) is largely a response to a conversation she had with a childless co-worker, who, upon listening to the writer complain about some truly heinous child-related sleep deprivation, commented, "Whoa man, you make it sound like your baby ruined your life."

The article goes on to explain that she wishes all of us childless people could simply grasp the awesomeness of parenthood and how, while it's not always a ray of sunshine - in fact, far from it on some days -, that there's something just so marshmagically delicious about babies and being the proud maker of one, that we just can't possibly "get it" if we've never had a child of our own.

Uggghhhh.

You know, I get it. I get it that I don't get it.

I can quite plainly observe friends and family members who find their social lives radically altered, are elbow-deep in the grossest of bodily fluids (some of which aren't even their own!), who come over for a little break and end up sitting on my couch uncontrollably crying (and that's the dads!), who are on the verge of losing their minds over a kid who refuses to sleep more than an hour at a time, who see money spraying out of their bank accounts - like the projectile vomit they have become so accustomed to - on new furniture, clothes and daycare, and who have confided in me that they have moments where they just want to lock their toddler in the room, leave the house, and get wasted in the middle of the afternoon.

But you know what I also observe? That many these same people go and have another baby! Or light up when they see a picture of their kid. Or sit there with a truly enamoured smile long after they've finished telling you a story about their child.

So even though I am an ignorant, childless heifer (though I prefer "childfree" heifer), I understand that there's something - something huge and verging on magical - that counters all the shitty, horrible things about having a kid. It is the "it". "It" is the thing that is more powerful than logic or memory. "It" is individual with each child, "it" is hard to describe, and for most parents, "it" is the best thing that has ever happened to them.

I get it, even if I've never personally experienced "it". You don't have to sell me on "it".

From Jezebel:

For us, it's not about whether a baby is "special" enough to take on all the shit that comes with parenting, it's about whether we are willing to deal with all that specialness, especially since we really like how our lives are now. Why the author thinks people who "get fucked up a lot" would make ideal parents is beyond me, but whatever. Do those people want kids? Because we're personally unsure. Call us "Team Undecided But Sorta Leaning Toward No". Neither of us has felt a big yearning for kids that wasn't fleeting, so to just go ahead and have a child in the hopes that we'd experience "it" and "it" would be worth the risk, is a big leap of faith for us. And since I'm an agnostic and he's an atheist, "faith" isn't exactly our forte.

What's irritating, is that articles like the one on Jezebel presume that everyone who has a child experiences "it", guaranteed, that "it" is what's missing in their lives, that "it" outweighs all other perks of a childfree lifestyle, and that once you experience "it", all those worries about whether you want a kid / would make a good parent / can stick with it until you're dead, will melt away.

And that's something I just don't buy.

I know, without a doubt, that there are people who regret having children. It's hard for them to say this out loud because it goes against, oh, everything, and people somehow derive great pleasure in pointing that out. Many of these people get called every name in the book for admitting what a "real parent" is never supposed to feel. But whether you like it or not, they're proof that "it" isn't universally appreciated. They're selfish monsters adults who discover that they'd be happier without kids - and I don't mean hypothetical children, but their actual kids - healthy, well-behaved little people with faces and names that they have feelings for. Children they believe are more burdens than blessings when it comes to achieving happiness in life.

And there's another nagging regret to the issue; the fear of "but what if I figure out I want kids and it's too late!" It's something articles poke at, although subtly. If we're too ignorant to "get" the obvious amazingness that is being a parent, surely we're also incapable of knowing how we'll feel about this in the future. How could we possibly know we'll be ok with a decision to not have kids in five, ten, or twenty years from now if we're too [stupid, self-absorbed, immature, goofy] to realize how crazyballs fantastic it is to make a small human being who loves you unconditionally?

Articles on this topic weren't always as cutely presented as the one on Jezebel. From an article by a woman simply referred to as "The Country Contributor" in the April 1911 Ladies' Home Journal (100 years ago!), this awesome opinion was splayed out:

In case you can't read that, the snippet says (to be read aloud in a ridiculously regal voice that I like to call "Lady Boddemboddem"):

No Woman Should Ever Marry Unless She is Willing to have a child or children. If you are not willing to institute a family you should remain single. It not immoral to refrain from having a larger family than you can support, or from subjecting a wife to child-bearing until her strength is exhausted; but on general principles it is immoral to marry with the positive intention of having no children, and it is very vulgar, too, as you will certainly understand some day when you awake to the plain realities of life.

Epic, no?

But beyond the part about being vulgar, isn't the message that "you will certainly understand [it] some day when you awake to the plain realities of life" all that different from "sigh. It's hard to explain till it happens to you directly."?

I think Tracy Moore's article is fine and cheerfully-natured, but I wonder if she realizes that it comes across a touch belittling. What's funny about all this, is that no real person in my life has ever tried to press me on the fact that I don't have a deep understanding of what it means to be a parent, nor the idea that having a child might not be for me. So maybe that's why I find it funny that articles like these keep getting churned out.

Do people really talk like that to one another, or did I win the friend lottery?

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Sew Excited!

Guess what I did yesterday?

Trimmed your moustache?

Yes.

But I also went to my first sewing class! Relearning how to sew has long been on my list of to-dos for a lot of reasons - capabilities are good, I've always wanted to try to make my own clothes and home decor items, and I don't want to be a total moron when I eventually take on the 40s War Wife Experiment (eeee!), whose mantra of "Make Do and Mend" involved far, far more skills than I currently possess (and I doubt my strongest ability - yelling at the TV during Bachelor Pad while ignoring the little voice inside my head that says I should read a book instead - will be of much use).

Yesterday's was the first of six 'learn to sew' classes I'm taking at The Make Den in Toronto and it was awesome! It's during the afternoon, so there were only four of us there; two of us were the self-employed type, one was a Masters student and another girl who had an employer that basically lets her work from home and on her own hours (if only all offices were like that). In other words, three out of four of us taking the class were modern-day bums. Hurrah!

Along with learning how to thread the machine and checking out the different stitches, we made our first project - a headband with an elasticated back. Here it is modelled on moi - the girl who can't take a front-facing shot of herself to save her life:

Here's a shot that nine out of ten brooding teenage Twilight fans prefer:

Oooo. Can you feel the angst?

Before you know it, I'll be making other crafty headware, like the kind modelled on this lady from the I-shit-you-not-it's-actually-real cover of the July 1974 Women's Circle magazine:

If you thought the 50s housewife was a little nuts, I'm telling you, she had NOTHING on the 70s crafty housewife. The magazines I have from that era are full-on crazeballs (I'll scan some pics from those shortly. Total goldmine.).

I like to think that it's actually these women that got men on board with 'women's lib'; her husband would come home from work to discover his wife had spent the entire day making bizarre skunk hats, shitty teddy bears and a meal made with heaping amounts of 'healthy' margarine and Sweet n' Low.

"Honey, maybe you should get a job," he'd say as he'd bewilderedly stare at the growing collection of macramé owls and aluminium foil sculptures decorating the home.

"Oh, hush," she'd say, as she'd glue a googly eye onto her latest piece of art. "Do you really want a wife who works outside the home? I wouldn't have the time to do all these lovely things around the house. That reminds me, I made you a new vest ..."

Image Source: Handmade By Mother

I promise that this sewing class won't be the gateway drug into bad crocheted items. I hope.

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Things He Can Count On

Just received an "urgent" text message from Patrick:

Bunbun!!! Man U game is on now. RIGHT NOW! Can you PVR it? Pleeeeease?

I think a part of him knew that I couldn't be bothered to put on underwear today, and would therefore be available at home to handle this timely favour.

Reliability, people; that's the special thing that I bring to a relationship.

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When Not a Crazy Person ... #1

When I'm not being a nutbag in the midst of a housewife project, I (as of this very moment):

... spend my day doing things like this:



I'm on deadline and working on six projects between four clients ... busy. And you're spending this time blogging because ...? Shut up, voicey!

... while listening to things like this:

"Take on the World" by Wavves. Reminds me of that time between high school and being an adult.


"Don't Haunt This Place" by The Rural Alberta Advantage. (Transparency Alert: The lead singer of the RAA is a friend of mine. That said, this band is legit awesome. This particular song is couple years old, but the new album, scheduled for release in early 2011, will knock your socks off. Literally. You will need to buy more socks.)

Warning: The language on this next one is probably NSFW, unless you work in a really laid back office or on a boat.

"Homecoming" by Teenagers. It's like a totally vulgar, hipster version of Grease's "Summer Lovin'"


"Dogs of L.A." by Liz Phair. When I was 17, I wanted to be Liz Phair. I think she's still my teen idol.


"Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers. They were just shy pups in this clip! It may be ancient, but this song still kicks it. The music is a major reason why I loved immersing myself in the 50s.

... and taking breaks to read things like this:
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith. It's a book by a former vegan who found that adding some animal products (*not* factory-farmed ones) into her diet improved her health and even had environmental benefits that she hadn't realized through a vegan diet. I'm clearly looking for any intellectual excuse I can to still incorporate certain meats into my life. There were moments in the 50s Housewife Experiment where we were having bacon TWICE a day. It is very, very, very hard to break the bacon cycle, people.
Math Doesn't Suck by Danica McKellar. Your eyes aren't deceiving you - that is indeed Winnie Cooper on the cover. Every boy in my Jr. High class (and probably university dorm) had a thing for Winnie Cooper. It turns out that she's not only the brunette of every young man's fantasies but also a true math geek. This book is aimed at 12-year old girls, which is perfect, as that's about the age that I mentally clocked out of math class. I actually don't like being bad at anything (except skiing, I am JUST FINE leaving that one alone), so I'm attempting to improve my craptacular math skills under the tutelage of Kevin Arnold's girlfriend. STOP JUDGING ME.

.... and watch things like this:
Being Erica. One of the smartest and most heartfelt [time-travelling] shows on TV. Plus, it films in my neighbourhood!

Community. So funny, so quick. 30 Rock was my favourite TV program, but I think this is beating it. I don't think there's anyone out there who can deliver a line quite like Donald Glover can.

Top Chef (please don't tell me any spoilers! We're a couple weeks behind in Canada!). It makes me want to cook more ... or at least literally run around in my kitchen as much as possible.


... all while wearing things like this:


That last one was unexpected (and not really matchy), eh? I'm not sure what triggered the purchase this past spring, but I think those might be mid-life crisis boots. Dr. Martens + Liz Phair songs ... yup ... it's a mid-life crisis, people.

... and fueling myself with things like this (mostly veggie and vegan - except for a certain component of that first pic):
Breakfast: Pancakes with homemade strawberry sauce and my rationed two slices of bacon. Lunch: Tabbouleh salad. Dinner: Stir fry with wild grains, nappa cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, onion, basil, garlic, soy sauce, and a bit of tofu.

... and trying not to cry over things like this:
WARNING: It links to a photojournalistic piece about a young boy and his mother living - and dying - with his terminal cancer. It's not only heartbreaking but also disturbingly graphic.
It's just one more reason why donating to cancer research matters.

... but also enjoying a laugh over things like this:


Clearly, all the writers of Star Trek: The Animated Series *must* have been in on George Takei's worst kept secret. Otherwise, this is just horrible, unfunny, groan-worthy dialogue (and winking) - and I can't believe that could happen in a sci-fi animated series.

So, what does your day look like?

Image Source: Urlesque

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The Recent Stuff

While "The Wifestyle" (a modern housewife experiment) isn't officially on (but will be soon - must develop my "rules" and post them) - I have been attempting to keep two things up:

• Keeping the house semi-presentable
• Preparing more vegetarian and vegan homemade foods

As for the homemaking aspect, I haven't exactly been "50s Housewife good" with it, but the messes get knocked down a lot quicker than they did before. Our kitchen table has amazingly not yet reverted back into The Island of Misfit Mail, Purse Contents and Other Junk and the bed gets made each morning. If someone were to tell me they were coming over, I'd probably only need about 25 minutes to get the place guest-worthy (presuming I hadn't just made dinner. The kitchen seems to explode into a tremendous mess after each meal) . I think this is all pretty good considering I've been busy with freelance work for the last while. Hurray for me for finally acting like the adult I supposedly am.

When it comes to our meals, I've been a-ok about putting together a few things, although it could be better. The previous night's meal of veggie chips and candy during the True Blood premiere wasn't exactly a high point - but the rest hasn't been so bad. Some of these eats were served with a standard green / garden salad, but I really should try to keep more lettuce in the house to make it a given ...

A meal from last week included some wine from organic grapes, salad and homemade vegan / veggie pizza. Half the pizza had goat cheese and half went without. Dessert was homemade poppy seed cake (not vegan - it contained eggs) decorated lightly with icing and edible violets:

The next day, I made a vegan sweet potato and black bean breakfast burrito with homemade salsa from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Dr. Neal Barnard. This cookbook features primarily low-fat vegan recipes. Patrick mowed it down but didn't go for his usual second serving - I'm guessing because it was so dense and filling (and not just because he was indulging in his secret stash of Doritos that I'm not supposed to know about). Dinner was a vegan mixed-vegetable pasta and salad. Would have liked to have used whole grain pasta but didn't have any left:


By this point, I was feeling like we were overloading on gluten, so I decided to go for a raw vegan food day (I'll explain raw vegan eating in another post, but simply, it's gluten and soy-free fruit, veg, nuts and certain grains that haven't been heated above 105 F). I mainly had fruit in the day, including my first dragon fruit. On appearances, it's very cartoonish and reminds me of something you'd imagine Mario and Luigi throwing at King Koopa. The taste is similar to kiwi but much milder. As I discovered later, our bodies don't really process those little black seeds. To share in my experience, just imagine what the lovechild of Mr. Hankey and a strawberry would look like. Did you properly visualize that? Good - on with more tasty food talk! For dinner, I made Ani Phyo's raw pad thai salad using kelp noodles. Even though I told him it was a salad, Patrick was irked by the fact that it was cold and didn't eat more than a couple bites. Oh well. I suppose getting him to eat dragon fruit (which I did by literally spoon feeding him like a suspicious baby) was enough to ask of a picky, non-adventurous eater for one day:

For the first time since before the 50s housewife experiment, we got take-out the other night. We decided to try an Indian place called Veda. They specialize in "healthier" Indian food (lower fat) and highlight the vegetarian and vegan eats on their menu. We opted to try the Saag Paneer, Chana Masala, Butter Tofu, Vegetable Basmati Rice and Naan. I won't lie - I've definitely had better. While it was flavourful and packed with spice, I really do love the full fat yumminess of Butter Chicken Tofu. However, it seemed to improve the next day as leftovers, and as you can see from a certain someone's thumbs up in the pic, Patrick enjoyed it and that's all that matters.

Then, last night, we had leftovers along with some summer rolls I made with rice paper, rice vermicelli and veggies (carrots, red pepper, snow peas, and green onion) served with a soy-vinegar-sesame oil dip. They were very tasty, but next time I make them, I'm going to omit the vermicelli and use greens to fill it up.
Going forward, I'm going to try to make meals that feature more greens and a bit less gluten. Probably attempt some more raw dishes, too. We're also going to ban chips, pop and other junk from entering the house for the next little while. Basically, I'm creating Patrick's nightmare - and you're all invited!

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It Ain't Meat, Babe

Last night I decided to cook a vegan meal for Patrick (and myself, of course). It's from The Conscious Cook - and a demo of this recipe can be seen here.

Now, I'm not totally wild about using soy products - there's a fair bit of debate on whether soy is truly good for you - so this isn't going to be standard fare 'round these parts. Plus, there's practically nothing local or fresh about this particular dish - it's actually quite processed when you think about it.

Oh, but it's pretty. And a certain someone who announced he wasn't interested in vegan food hoovered this dish down at such a rate that it gave James Dyson chills.

"Is this healthy?" Patrick asked me in those rare moments between bites.

"Umm ... well, not exactly," said the wife.

"But there's no meat in this, right?" he asked. "Or dairy or eggs or anything?"

"True - but just because something is vegan, doesn't mean it's healthy. I mean, I bet Doritos are vegan but you wouldn't ..."

"DORITOS ARE VEGAN?!?" he squealed.

Ah, crap.

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Sneak Peak of the Modern Eats

To clean the pipes from the 50s Housewife Experiment and to get both myself and my husband to a healthier place, I'll be making meals throughout the Modern Housewife Experiment (which I think I'm just going to call "The Wifestyle" - thoughts?) that are primarily vegan or vegetarian, local, seasonal, whole and homemade. It won't be perfect - and I'm sure you'll see a few things that fly squarely in the face of everything listed (we be human) - but the overall intention is there.

Yesterday's trip to the farmer's market netted many a tasty item. Today I made a "slow supper" containing loads of locally-grown produce. It took me the bulk of the afternoon to do everything, but it was a nice, relaxing way to spend a Sunday - and we have great leftovers from this all as well!

First, I made Pistou Soup, using a recipe from the Food Network's Laura Calder (I like her, but everyone who's ever mentioned her to me talks about their HATRED for this woman. I think it all stems from her what-is-that / what-are-you-trying-to-be accent. Any thoughts on this, Canadian TV snarkers?). This is one of my favourite soups - and it's so basic and lovely. Since the veg was all organic and I'm lazy peels contain a lot of fibre and nutrients, I didn't peel the potatoes or carrots (just gave them a good scrub). I also used plain ol' water rather than vegetable stock and skipped topping the soup with Parmesan. I made a very simple pesto with just fresh basil and olive oil (didn't bother with adding pine nuts or cheese - which is often normally included) to dollop on top. The only non-local ingredients used for this soup were the white kidney beans, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Next up (or, actually, while I was doing the soup), I made the Fresh Rosemary Focaccia from the cookbook Veganomnicon. I opted to use half white and half whole-wheat flour. Really yum, although the only truly local ingredient in it was the fresh rosemary. Maybe I should look into an Ontario flour mill ... ugh ... effort.

Finally, I got cracking on the 'fill' for the sandwich. It contained my homemade pesto, eggplant, roasted red peppers (done in the oven super easily - I also keep their skins on when serving them), sauteed mushrooms and sauteed leeks.

I "made up" this sandwich, but for the eggplant, I used a cooking method that I found in Vegetarian Times's Farmer's Market Cookbook (which is really just a magazine, but whatev). This is their trick: After you let the sliced eggplant 'sweat' a little (set the slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave them for 45 minutes), pat them dry. Then with a really, really minimal amount of olive oil, lightly brown one side of the eggplants in a large frying pan over medium heat. You then flip them, pour some white wine vinegar on top, pop the lid on, and let it cook until all the vinegar has evaporated. Done! Yummy pan-fried look and taste without a lot of added fat.

Throw your fill ingredients all together in the focaccia (layer your veggies or mix them together - whatever you want!), broil it a bit to warm everything and you have dinner! The only non-local stuff used to make the sandwich stuffing was olive oil, vinegar and salt (used in the cooking process).
For Patrick's sandwich (not pictured), I gave him a generous slice of mozzarella cheese made from the sheep at Bestbaa Farm (their farm is 100 clicks NW of the city but they sell their milk, cheese and lamb at the St. Lawrence Farmer's Market on Saturdays). Patrick is on board with vegetarian foods, but giving up cheese, milk and eggs is going to be a bit tougher for that boy. I figure as long as I buy products from happy, healthy, local animals - and we don't use loads of it - we're still eating conscientiously (that said, I'll be seeing how he feels when he eats dairy-free - sometimes he gets stuffed up all of a sudden and I wonder if it's a milk thing).

In any case - he loved it all as did I. The meal was really filling and earthy with great flavour. While he enjoyed the mozza on the sandwich, I think feta cheese would have been really nice too. Might pick some up from the goat farmers next week...

Off to enjoy the last hours of the weekend ...

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Why I'm The Best Wife Ever, Reason #7891

Here's the conversation we had today:

Patrick: Hey, I'm home!

Me: Hi. Did you get it?

Patrick: Yes - yes I did. Your special Star Trek DVD, coming right up.

*He pulls the purchase out the bag and hands it to me.*

Me: Ummm ... you bought the Blu Ray version.

Patrick: WHAT? AHHHH. Crap. Uuuugh - I'll go back and return it.

Me: Or ....

Patrick: Or?

Me: Or instead of exchanging it, we just buy a Playstation 3. It has Blu Ray.

Patrick: ....

Patrick: Really?

Me: Go for it. Merry Christmas!

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Things Your Shouldn’t Do While Your Husband Is Working From Home And On An Important Conference Call

• Burst out of the bathroom with the sound of the toilet running in the background and proudly exclaim, “That took three whole flushes to go down!”
• Pick up the line in the den and start breathing heavily into the phone.
• Yell, “Hey, did you ever get around to asking your jerk boss if he can finally give you some time off? I bet he won’t give it to you – those idiots you work with probably can’t handle it without you!”
• Blare Goodbye Horses in the next room.
• Grab his junk.
• Loudly ask, “Hey, mister, where did you put my pants?” in a child’s voice.
• Carry your laptop into the room and, just out of his reach, start watching Michael Richard’s finest moment on YouTube.
• Flick the lights on and off a dozen times really fast. Later explain you were checking to see if he had epilepsy.
• Pick up the other line in the den (again) and try to figure out the Beverly Hills Cop Theme with the button tones.
• Take his picture:

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