BEANS, BRITS, AND BUGS

Yesterday, Sweetpea’s Mama had a day off, and it was an odd Monday, without Our Girl in the house.    I took advantage of the day a little bit, to get some tabletops cleared and polished, all the accumulated-out-here groceries stashed in the cool store-room, quite a few loads of laundry done, and as much clearing-out of the utility-room drain as a whole quart of Liquid Plumr would accomplish.

The cold of Sunday night and the bag of leftover-from-the-carving ham bits just called for setting a big pot of Pintos to soak for Monday, and so the house was filled all day with the scents of bubbling beans, savory, smoky ham, garlic and onion and a good little bit of L&P and some Louisiana Hot Sauce, just like Justin Wilson used to make.

Didn’t you just LOVE him?

Caro slept in late yesterday, for her nights leading up to that HUMONGOUS House-Party that was our city were filled to the brim with making three-times-usual of their output.   We set 4:30 as our time to meet downstairs for a glass of Peach Tea and Sunday night’s Downton Abbey---we’re both hooked.    It was just lovely, to have the supper done---I’d made the cornbread, and cooked a pot of rice, and she’d made up her usual five or six TUPS of her meals for the coming week, and we’re always welcome to sashay up the stairs for a serving of anything available.

She and I just sat and watched our show, with all those good scents wafting, and the table set for Chris’ arrival, and the beans still simmering on the big black Franklin.

Of course, the hour-long-program took TWO, for before we started, we immediately had to discuss who-do-YOU-think the unknown man IZZZ, and interruptions for “WHAT DID HE SAY?” and all sorts of questions and comments to each other, with whoever was driving the clicker pausing whilst we thoroughly discussed, re-wound, and/or went all the way back to Episode ONE to confirm a fact or conversation.   

Then, when Chris came home, we all sat down to bowls of beans, each fixing a bowl to personal taste (mine stirred with lots more L&P and hot sauce, then crumbled cornbread stirred in, a slice of crisp sweet onion on the side), Caro with hers taken out of the pot to cool a bit before we sat down, and Chris with separate bowls of beans (minced onion and cornbread), and a little rice with a tiny smitch of butter stirred in.  

The conversation was about her work, his work, my day, as always, segueing into one of our usual zany offshoots with everybody chiming in.   We reminisced about Sweetpea's first encounter with a frog last year, with Caro re-enacting SP’s caution as she headed out to work, with wide eyes and breathless voice imitated exactly:  "BE CAREFUL, Caro!!  There’s a FROGGGG out there!”

Then from there, it was all downhill.

Me:  “At least it wasn’t a bug---last Fall, she yelped and ran when just a FLY flew past her arm, and then I couldn’t even get her to watch Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch any more, because there are animation BUGS in it.”

Chris:   “But she still likes that one about the Stinkbug that goes to camp.   What was his name----HERMIE???”

Caro:   “No.    STANLEY was the Stinkbug.   Hermie was the worm.”

Me.   “I thought Hermie was the Love Bug.”

Caro:   “That’s HERBIE---a Volkswagen.   But somehow you’re making YOUR KIND OF sense.”

And on THAT hopeful note, moiré non.