WHAT DAY IS THIS?

We spent almost all of yesterday outside, save for the couple of hours for her nap. We blew lots of bubbles, exhausting two wands and starting on the third, plus emptying a pint bottle of the bubblestuff in the flat pan with the big wand shaped like those rug-beaters Andy Hardy used to beat the family’s rugs out on the line for Spring Cleaning.

We whizzed countless small pebbles toward the big bell with my Mothers’ Day slingshot, cheering “YaaaaaY!” as we heard the PING of the hit. Our shoes got thoroughly sogged as we watered the hostas and petunias and the outdoor ferns and philodendrons---those things have taken off and GROWN!

I did a little writing whilst she napped, getting so into the RACE story that I could feel the tension and excitement, and I swear, that hot sun on the back of my neck.

And after the nap, we went back out, visiting with our dear Neighbor for a while in the shade of her porch, and taking a tour to admire all the shiny clean leaves and the much-brighter aspect of all those flowers nourished by their morning drink.

And so, when Chris arrived home, all I had to show for supper preparations was a pan of chicken wings, brined in a salt/sugar ice water pan. My intentions are always SO good, and then as the day winds down, my cooking gumption grows thin. And I HAD been out of the kitchen for a bit---we ate at Our Girl’s birthday dinner on Friday, the hotel picnic on Saturday, and stopped at Jonathan Byrd’s on the way home Sunday.

Then Monday night they all took me out for my birthday, so it was practically a week since I’d put pan to fire. After everyone had gone their way and it was just us two, I headed for the fridge and cupboards and freezer, in search of WHAT QUICK GOES WITH FRIED CHICKEN?

(According to Chris, if you START with Fried Chicken, you can put ANYTHING else on the table. Or Nothing).

As the chicken sizzled,

I came up with a bag of frozen peas, to put into nests of mashed potatoes---the instant kind, but quite the most delicious ones we’ve ever tried---they come two little packs in a box---Betty Crocker Homestyle Butter ones. Just a little milk and water in the microwave to boiling, a quick stir, and they have that true burst of REAL potato on your tongue. Peas---microwave, ditto, under two thicknesses of Saran tightly over the bowl, a little sugar and seasalt stirred into the frozen peas.

This one's an Internet picture, just for demo---we didn't have gravy.

AHA!! A big can of pear halves in the fridge, put two to each little bowl, a teensy dab of mayo in the pear-divot, and a good finger-pinch of Kraft finely-grated Extra Sharp atop.

Internet photo---much fancier than ours, and we like the proportions of mayo/cheese inverted.

Two big red tomatoes peeled and cut up into a bowl for him, and that was it, take it or leave it, in thirty minutes.

I stuck the bowls of potatoes and peas back in the microwave to stay warm, dished up the chicken to cool for a minute, then got a quick shower and fresh clothes. As we sat down (collapsed is more like it) in our chairs and turned on a TIVO of Antiques Roadshow, it hit me:

We were having the perfect Sunday Dinner in the South.