La Quinta, California: The grandchildren had a three-day weekend due to the Memorial Day holiday. Please, advertisers, stop saying HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY. There is nothing happy about Memorial Day.
As both families are basically still in lock-down (though all adults are vaccinated and Leo and Lucy are back to - real physical - school half-days) we did not leave the walls of our neighborhood for their three-day visit. If you have a pool, this is an easy situation.
Our family arrived late afternoon from Los Angeles Friday. Lisa brought home-made Challah dough and had it risen and braided before dinner. I roasted zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, red peppers, yellow peppers, red onion, mushrooms, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes in olive oil, garlic, Italian herbs, with salt and pepper. When the veggies were charred, they were transferred to a platter and two balls of creamy burrata where split-open on top of the hot vegetables, then drizzled with basil-garlic infused olive oil. No other course. We sopped it all up with Challah.
We all went to lunch at the clubhouse Saturday afternoon. Very social distanced, as the tables are very spaced and there were few customers.
Lunch dessert (chocolate ice cream) is a thing.
We spent hours a day in the pool, so the kids slept well (as did the adults). Saturday we grilled Impossible Burgers, turkey burgers and turkey dogs, enjoyed potato salad and watermelon. For dessert, I prepared Rose Levy Beranbaum's Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart. Please remind me to never make this again. So many steps! The kids loved it, but is was sooooo sweet. I cheated and used 1/2 cup cream and five ounces of dark chocolate (because I don't use milk chocolate... due to the fact I feel milk chocolate is only for babies/children... or s'mores... and not worthy of my calorie intake) for the top layer. Leo could have eaten the entire tart, but the rest of us had little slivers. Most of it is in our freezer for another day.
The kids wanted me to make a movie of them in the pool - in slo-mo. I'm an old lady, and this was way above/beyond my video skill level. One day I will remember to turn my phone to landscape-mode to make videos. Until then, enjoy my headless grandchildren:
35 seconds of fun.
Lisa and Lenn had a date-night on Sunday. The first time they have been to dinner alone in 15 months. They chose the near-by Lavender Bistro and enjoyed a nice dinner without children or parents. While the 'rents were away, we posed for photos:
Pretty in Pink!
Just off the golf course.
Leo and Lucy requested macaroni & cheese for their parent-free dinner (kid-friendly recipe coming soon) with garlic breadcrumbs. We also had steamed broccoli and fruit salad (nectarines, blueberries, strawberries). S'mores for dessert.
We had a super-great weekend with our family, and can't wait to see them again. (Someone needs to eat the rest of that peanut butter chocolate tart!)
Hopefully our bus will be repaired ASAP as there is big news (FINALLY) this week from Eugene, Oregon! The NCAA Championship track meet will allow a few spectators (and we qualify as season ticket holders), and the Olympic Trials will also be held at (the new) Historic Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus (and we still have tickets... that we purchased for the 2020 meet that was cancelled due to COVID). Our plan is to head north very soon (RV repairs finished?) and spend June in Oregon watching amazing athletes jump, throw, and run in circles - always turning left - for several weeks. Now that things are opening-up and we are fully vaccinated, using a motorhome is a great way to travel in a global pandemic. We can stay close to "home" on our trek north, and hunker-down when we are not at the social-distanced track. If it all gets too much, the meet is live on television... assuming I can figure-out how to get our DirecTV working after a 15 month hiatus. Good news: our refrigerator fired right up after being unplugged since July 2020!
I was able to get our Solis internet hotspot thingy working today. Only took 15 minutes, so maybe I have not completely lost my mind touch. Keep us in your thoughts this week, Dear Readers. It's like remembering how to ride a bicycle all over again... except this bicycle is 45-feet long... and has all sorts of electrical gadgets... and buttons... and switches... that we have not used since last year. Oh, and we tow a car.
Until my next update, I remain, your re-learning correspondent.
How wonderful!