Home cookin'

Morning needed to begin earlier than normal today. Kiel is going back to college. Last night he was allowed to select his "last meal" here in Rochester. He spent his time shopping for last minute needs, seeing friends, and gulping down pizza and wings. I gave up and went to bed almost midnight. He stayed up and dyed his hair a deep ruby red that only took around the fringes and roots. Not the effect he was going for, but somewhat intriguing.

I refrained from jerking him out of bed at my waking hour, and took care of a number of errands that needed doing (did you know that if you don't mail your plates back to Connecticut they will charge you tax?) and finished laundry, fed the dishwasher - all those things you want done when you are going out of town (and mostly out of self defence since you don't want to come home to a house full of dirty stuff).

My sister Jan had offered to drive us to ENC in her supersized van. I warned Kiel not to take his entire retinue of stuff, and he assured me he wasn't. But when we began packing things in the back where Jan had removed the seats I wasn't at all sure we would get everything in. 6 big bins loaded with important stuff, a mini fridge, a microwave, numerous suitcases and duffle bags, pillows, hangers - the list was endless! Somehow after pushing and pulling and ending up with stuff on the roof, we took off.

The trip itself was thankfully uneventful. We swung up to Lake George to have dinner at my parents. After a long drive, we were grateful for the coolness of the Adirondacks and the comfort of Mom and Dad's A frame nestled in the pine trees. Mom had put together a simple home cooked meal that really hit the spot. Chicken, baked potatoes, cranberry sauce, carrots, rolls and three kinds of fruit pie topped off with a cup of tea.

Even Drew, my fussy eater, dug in and had seconds. It was just the break we needed. Good food, good conversation, good family. Ah! What a great way to get rid of a son.