Memories: Sad, But That Is Life I was born on Comey Avenue in Los Angeles in 1944, and we had many neighborhood friends. Depicted below are Diane Perkins and Olivia Gillick, and yours truly on a Sunday morning about to go to church.
Diane, Olivia, and me circa 1952?
In the 10th grade, after getting home, my other sat me down and explained that Pete, Diane’s brother, was killed when a bus ran him over on the way home from school. Pete took the same route we did but got out about two hours earlier. While attempting o cross the street, the bicycle somehow went off the curb and landed in front of an oncoming bus, and he passed instantly.
Someone at the gas station on the corner knew Pete’s mother and called her, so she saw what had happened a few minutes afterward. After that, Diane was never the same, and she dropped out of school. She stayed inside her home, and the last I heard of her was living in Playa Del Ray off Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Olivia was three years younger than Diane and me and went to a Catholic School. We briefly saw her after high school, but she went to Harvard and was silent for many years. Her mother, Marion (who I liked), passed in 1992, and I got a call from Olivia, and we asked her to join us on Thanksgiving that year. Since then, we have talked once a year or so.
Last week, I got a call from her adopted son (she was never married), and apparently, she had Alzheimer’s disease very bad and was in a care facility in Santa Monica.
It’s funny when one looks back almost eighty years to see how lives have changed. I am blessed and look forward to my future years with Dr. Mary.
It’s Monday morning, and that means PT! We did a quick promenade through the garden making mental notes of what is needed at OC Frmer’s Supply, our first post-PT stop! After that, we will stop at the post office for Mother’s Day cards, Ralph’s for milk, and CVS for my meds.
During our meandering in the garden, we spotted an SBBP! In aerospace, SBBP is a Small Black Bell Pepper, which will grow and either be tossed in a salad or be stuffed.
The plant is called am “Indogo Bell Pepper.”
We continued our journey and loaded up on goodies from OC Farmers Supply. We had a new tomato, 24 yellow corn plants, and several other miscellaneous items. By then, it was 11:00 am, and we had to go home and meet with the fence/gate contractor.
He was right on time, and we spent about an hour with him, and in about a month, we ought to have a white fence along the top of the front brick wall. The gate will allow Mr. Scout to go into the front yard when we are out there instead of having to stare at us through the security screen.
We had lunch, and Mary made a fantastic burrito using her chili. It was terrific, plus it had a surprise in it1
In the car we go and off to the market! I needed additional supplies of beer; the non-alcoholic beer disappears quickly these days!
In the checkout line
As we checked out, I attempted another in-line picture, and the guy behind us dropped a photobomb. We all laughed. We have friendly neighbors!
Someone stacking shelves in aisle eight dropped a packet of alphabet spaghetti on the floor. That could have spelled disaster.
I Remember During COVID: It was about 7:45 am, I was in a long line at a grocery store that opens at 8:00 am for senior citizens only.
A young man came from the parking lot and tried to cut in at the front of the line, but an old lady beat him back into the parking lot with her cane.
He returned and tried to cut in again, but an old man punched him in the gut, then kicked him to the ground and rolled him away.
As he approached the line for the third time, he said, “Look, if you don’t let me unlock the door, you’re never going to get in there!”
His kids thought that was funny!
When we returned home, I carried in the bags and put away the beer. Mary headed to the kitchen to make dinner, and I went VFR to the garden to plant the new corn. The corn is 4 x 7, meaning we have 28 plants now underway. If all goes well, it should be about a month after the white corn.
We may have to assist in the pollination since it is only four rows wide, but Mary is a doctor and understands these things!
We had a visitor from Chuck’s event planning organization as we are planning a birthday and anniversary party on the 29th of July. Colleen will be out here, and we will recreate a smaller version of “Dancing Under The Stars” on Colleen’s birthday and our second anniversary! He now have the dance floor, lighting, bar, and band locations established for the party.
Meanwhile, Mary is cooking in the kitchen, and I am slicing and dicing. Finally, we are going to use the Fava Beans!
The scallions and garlic from our garden get heated up!
The Fava beans will be added to the cheese ravioli while hot.
The Fava Beans taste mild and are loaded with good things for us.
I was summoned to Master Chef and assigned to get scallions for the meal. Out to the garden, I galloped with my broomstick pony between my legs and my trusty dog at my side. Scout pointed out the scallions and sniffed each one pointing out the best!
Green onions and scallions are the same thing! They are either harvested very young from the regular bulb-forming onions we are familiar with, or they can come from other varieties that never form bulbs. Scallions are long, with a white stem end that does not bulge out.
We let the scallions say goodbye to each other before we plucked four beauties from the ground.
Now that Mary has a built-in sous-chef, she loves to cook. I love to eat; a match made in heaven! I do the prepping and cleanup; Mary does the magic.
Did You Know What “Sous Chef” Means? The word “sous” is French for “under,” and “chef” originally translates as “chief” – so a sous chef is second-in-command to the executive chef or chef de cuisine. Large hotels, convention centers, and high-volume restaurants will have many sous chefs working a line. In contrast, smaller restaurants usually have one kitchen lead and one sou chef operating between that lead and the rest of the staff.
The brigade de cuisine is a hierarchical system that Georges Auguste Escoffier originally invented, and it involves collaboration between many moving parts. The sous chef de cuisine is essentially the second most important job in the kitchen.
The ingredients are about ready!
In about 45 days, we will replace these store-bought tomatoes with those from our garden! The ones from Albertsons were pretty good.
The red color was perfect for the ravioli!
Mary shipped up (excuse the pun) a Ricotta Cheese topping.
Did You Know? Ricotta cheese has been around for centuries and is believed to have originated in central Italy sometime in the 13th century. Back then, it was made from leftover whey, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process that is high in protein and calcium. These days, ricotta cheese is made from A2 cow’s milk.
It is also full of protein but has much less fat than other cheeses—a true superfood, and Ricotta has been a staple for generations of Italian cooks.
The Ricotta sauce is carefully added to the ravioli and then topped with the onion/tomato mixture.
The results were terrific. After the initial plate was complete, I heard this sound which went something like “Oink Oink.” I was up and refilled my plate. Low on calories and high in protein, and even higher in taste, it’s a new favorite.
Amazing!
We watched two movies. The first was “Vanquish.” Summary: A retired cop forces a former drug courier to do his bidding by holding her daughter hostage. Armed with guns, guts, and a motorcycle, she must now take out a series of violent gangsters — or never see her child again.
We then watched a movie entitled “12 Strong” Summary: 12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban. The True Story of the Army’s Special Forces “Green Berets,” who within weeks responded to the 9-11 attack. With the help of the 160th SOAR(A), Green Berets took over the country and allowed other Special Forces and the rest of the conventional military to begin the more publicly visible war.
We crashed at 10:30 after having a small piece of mincemeat pie I made last night. I was sore from the gardening activity, so I asked Mary to rub my back.
