Today is our wedding anniversary. Clif and I have been married for 37 years, and, yes, this makes me feel very, very old.
‘Tis more fun to celebrate an anniversary on a weekend than midweek, and thanks to the generosity of my brother and his wife, who gave us a gift certificate for Christmas, we were able to go to 18 Below in Waterville. As soon as I walked down the long stairs—they don’t call it 18 Below for nothing—I knew it would be my kind of place. I could see that many people were drinking cocktails, and I must admit I have a fondness for mixed drinks.
“I’m getting a cocktail,” I said to Clif after we were seated.
“I was sure you would,” Clif said, handing me the drinks list. “And they have plenty to choose from.”
I ordered a Vermonter—Gray Goose and maple syrup—and it was good and simple enough so that I am planning to try this at home sometime in the summer, when we can invite friends over for grilled bread, appetizers, and drinks. Clif also ordered a cocktail—I can’t remember its name—but it had the taste of a fresh margarita.
After drinks came the tasty food—pork for me and seafood for Clif—and the restaurant was full of happy people eating and drinking. There was even a birthday gathering, and after the birthday song was sung, we all clapped.
“That’s what happens when you serve cocktails,” our daughter Dee observed when we told her about the jolly mood at 18 Below.
Indeed it does, and although you wouldn’t want to make a habit of drinking cocktails on a regular basis, one now and then does add a splash of fun to an evening.
So happy anniversary to Clif and me. After 37 years of marriage, I can honestly say that we are true friends. We share so many of the same interests—biking, movies, theater, art, books, and food as well as a love of family and friends. I know this doesn’t sound in the least romantic, but it is my guess that nowadays most long marriages have this element of friendship that strengthens and sustains the relationship.
This morning, Clif and I had some fun outside. For over an hour, using metal shovels that are not only old enough to vote but are probably old enough to collect social security as well, we chipped away at a wall of ice at the end of our driveway and by the mailboxes. It’s nature’s gym, that’s for sure, when snow is followed by sleet and rain and the plow truck goes by and plugs the end of the driveway.
It is pretty outside, I’ll give it that. The dirty snow is covered up—at least for the moment—and the trees are frosted with white. As we worked, the dog had a blast jumping and barking, and after such exertions, he is taking a nap at his favorite spot by the door, where he can keep track of things as he snoozes.
After my exertions, I felt as though I deserved 2 cookies with my mug of tea, even though it was only 10:00 in the morning. Those cookies tasted pretty darned good, as my Yankee husband might say.
To look at the bright side…at least we didn’t lose our power, and April is only a few weeks away. To my way of thinking, April is not the cruelest month of the year. Not by a long shot. It is a time of warmer weather and awakening, when the water runs and gurgles in the ditch by the side of the road and the birds are in full song and they are telling us that spring is coming, spring is coming.
Let’s just say that a snowstorm in March is not exactly welcomed with enthusiasm. However, in Maine, we are used to them. We Mainers know that March is a temperamental month with a trick or two up its sleeve before it gives way to April. And right on schedule, here it comes, a snowstorm with wet, heavy snow where we might get as much as 18 inches.
At the beginning of the storm, the dog and I went into the woods for a walk. He came back with wet fur, and I came back with a wet hat and mittens.
Tonight, Clif and I will have a comfort meal of baked chicken, baked potatoes, and baked delicata squash, one of the few I still have left from Farmer Kev. I’ll start a fire in the wood furnace, and all will be warm at the little house in the big woods.
Outside, it will snow and snow, on the driveway, on the roads, in the yard, and in the woods. Winter is not over. Not yet. But if we are very lucky, this will be the last snowstorm before spring. If not, I have more chicken in the freezer, more potatoes, and least one or two more delicata squash.
Yesterday I went to visit Sara, Russ, and their new baby girl, Piper, and I came bearing gifts of homemade macaroni and cheese and homemade brownies. Piper is a little beauty with delicate ears, an equally delicate nose, and a wonderful smell. As Sara noted, that smell should be bottled and sold. Why do young creatures smell so good? It is the same way with puppies and kittens. Is it the smell of being new to this world? Whatever the reason, as I held the sleeping Piper, I just took in her smell as I admired that dear, little face.
Piper is Sara and Russ’s first child, and what a joy to watch them as they work together to take care of their new baby. For the most part, gone are the days when men went to work and had very little to do with childcare. Russ’s employer has given him four weeks of fully-paid paternity leave—a benefit all parents should have—and he is just as involved as Sara is with taking care of the baby.
As Sara noted on Facebook: “We gave Piper her first bath. And when I say ‘we’ I really mean Russ did. I was sort of the bath butler.”
“I could take care of Piper full time,” Russ told me, and he is so joyful and relaxed around Piper that I certainly believed him.
While I held Piper, Sara gazed at her child with that new-mother-totally-in-love-with-her-baby look, and she couldn’t resist coming over to kiss the baby’s cheeks and nose.
I stayed for a little over an hour, and we talked about Sara’s delivery, babies, children, and how it was perfectly all right that some women did not want to have babies. Truly, Russ and Sara are a modern couple who think there is more than one way to live a good life. For some, it is having a family. For others, it is not, and they are not judgemental about couples who choose to remain childless.
When it was time for me to leave, Sara said, “Come again!” and I certainly will.
As I drove to Augusta and thought about Piper, Sara, and Russ, I was so teary eyed that it’s a wonder I could see well enough to drive. I’ve known Sara since she was a little girl. Now, she is a young woman with a sweet little baby and a terrific husband who said proudly, “We’re a team.”
Congratulations, Sara and Russ! What wonderful, loving parents you will be and already are. And little Piper, welcome to this world!
Late winter. The cold is still with us, and on my office window, there is a beautiful leaf made of frost, which glitters in the sun. The driveway is icy, and the path to the woodpile is icy. I wear my grippers when I am in the backyard, but nevertheless there is a fine sprinkle of wood ash on the path. I hate the mess, but it would be worse to fall and break something. So grumbling a bit to myself, I spread the ash.
Despite the cold, there are signs of spring. The days are getting longer. It is light until nearly 6:00 p.m. now. And the other day when I was taking a walk, I heard a bird’s high-pitched call coming from an apple tree. A tufted titmouse or a cardinal? A cardinal, I decided, and I scanned the apple tree for a flash of red and a trim silhouette. I found it, and I felt a moment of triumph. It was indeed a cardinal, calling to attract a mate. Yes, spring is coming. The birds know it, even if we humans feel as though we are still stuck in deep winter.
As we approach spring, here are some late winter pictures to remind us of the cold beauty of where we’ve been:
BittersweetA cedar waxwingMilkweed seeds on the porch railingFeather in the snow
February has turned to March, yet the cold weather continues. This morning, the temperature was zero, and the windows are iced with frost. Last night’s sky was beautiful with its glowing sliver of the moon. The trails in the woods remain hard and frozen, which is good for the dog. He loves his afternoon walks in the woods, and the cold doesn’t seem to bother him at all.
However, his people are longing for warmer weather. This cold has gone on for quite long enough. The knees protest, as well as many other parts of the body. I can’t wait for the days when I don’t have to wear a hat—I am not a hat lover—and gloves are optional.
I will admit that this cold weather is good for one thing—staying inside and working on projects, and this is exactly what Clif and I have been doing. Since we had our yard sale last fall, we have begun the process of decluttering our house, a long overdue project. We have lived at the little house in the big woods for nearly 30 years, and we are not a family that throws things away willy-nilly. In truth, we hate to throw things away. We are very mindful of the fact that all of our stuff came from Earth, and we don’t want to add to the growing landfills that have become the norm.
There is, of course, the option to donate good but unwanted items to Goodwill, and this is exactly what we have been doing with the knickknacks and other odds and ends that have streamed into the house over the past 30 years. Full disclosure: I am someone who loves knickknacks, and when I go into a cute little shop with cute little things, my willpower is often as soft as warm butter.
But lately I have been feeling oppressed—there is no other word—by all the stuff I have. Every shelf, every closet, every nook is crammed full. Some closets are so full that the doors are hard to open. It is all arranged neatly—I hate a messy house—but man-oh-man do I have a lot of stuff.
This past weekend, Clif and I cleaned out a storage closet in our rec room, and now we have room for a small pantry. Oh, happy days! I have been wanting a real pantry for a long time.
For Goodwill, Clif found a box of books that had been cluttering his office. And I did something I have been wanting to do for a long time—I packed away all the little fantasy figures I collected when I was in my 20s. Into a bag went wizards and dragons and fairies. Ditto for the stray bunnies that had been hovering on the shelf above them. Then, to Goodwill we went with the books and knickknacks. Did it give me pang to part with those figures? You bet it did, and once or twice I even considered leaving the bag at home, just in case I changed my mind. But I didn’t. The bag of fantasy figures, along with the books, made it to Goodwill.
Someday, perhaps, Clif and I will leave the little house in the big woods for an even smaller house that is easier to heat and take care of. Or maybe not. Perhaps we will end our days here, tucked in the woods, with the patio to enjoy in the summer and our bright dining room in the winter.
Whatever we decide, it will be good to have an orderly house that is not bulging and stuffed with things we no longer use or care about.
Last night, Clif and I went to Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville for the opening of a photography show featuring the works of—ta dah!—Clif, as well as another very talented photographer named Alec Hartman. The title of the show is Portals, and to quote Clif, “Photography is always looking through a portal—the lens and the camera—and the photographer looks at the world through the portal of his or her own consciousness.” The photographs in this show capture many different aspects of this definition of the word portal—from trees to subway exits to doors and windows.
The event was catered by Barrels Market, and the food was so good. There were platters of cheese and apple slices; olives, toasted pita bread, feta, hummus, and tomatoes; and smoked salmon, sliced baguette, onions, and a dip. For dessert, there were brownie bits, amazing little nuggets that were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I ate far more of these brownie bits than I should have, and I could have one right now. Emilie Knight, the daughter of my friend Margy Knight, prepared the food for this event, and what a terrific cook she is.
Many friends and supporters came to the opening, and we had a great time talking, eating, and looking at the photographs. The lobby was filled with the happy sound of engaged conversation, and many movie goers came over to nip some snacks and look at the photographs.
All of the pictures in this exhibit are for sale, with a third of the sale price going to support Maine Film Center and Railroad Square Cinema, two organizations that make central Maine a better place. The show runs until April 5, and readers who are within easy driving distance of Waterville should definitely check it out.
Here are some pictures taken at the opening of Portals:
The Mediterranean platterBrownie bits and wineClif and Rita MoranJoel Johnson, Clif, Mike Mulkeen, and Shannon MulkeenEmilie and Margy KnightCharlie Hartman, Karen Byrne, and Alec
A while back, as I was clipping coupons—yes, I am a coupon clipper—I came across a recipe called “One Skillet Tuna Noodles.” The basics were good—egg noodles, tuna, frozen vegetables, milk, and water. But then there was the problem ingredient—1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup. Granted, the canned soup makes the preparation extremely speedy, and for many busy families, in the evening all they want is to put together quickly a fairly decent meal, for heaven’s sake. I understand that. In fact, I’ve been there myself when I worked outside the home and still had five people to feed every night.
But, I wondered, could I make a cheddar cheese sauce from scratch and still have the meal ready in a reasonable amount of time, say, under an hour? I decided to challenge myself with this recipe makeover.
First, a qualification. I am very, very comfortable making a basic white sauce, to which cheddar cheese can be added. Clif and I like casseroles with cheesy white sauces, and I make them fairly often. My vision of this skillet dish was basically as a casserole in a large frying pan. For people who are not as familiar with making a cheese sauce, the process might take a little longer.
Second, a hint. For speedy preparation, get everything ready ahead of time, or mise en place, as the French put it. This will ensure no last-minute awkward fumbling for this or that, which can really slow down the process and sometimes even ruin a meal.
The following is step-by-step instructions of what I did.
1. Set a large stock pot of salted water to boil on the stove.
2. Measure 9 ounces of egg noodles into a bowl and set by the stove.
3. Measure a cup of frozen vegetables—I used peas—and set by the stove. (Next time I would use 2 cups.)
4. When the water boils, add the noodles and the veggies, set the timer for 10 minutes, and put a colander in the sink. While the noodles are cooking, start getting everything in place.
4. Take out skillet. I used a big electric one.
5. Open a 6 ounce can of tuna, flake it in the can, and set by the skillet.
6. Mince 1 clove of garlic, put it in a small bowl, and set by the skillet.
7. Measure 4 tablespoons of flour into a small bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. (Actually, I just scrapped some pepper into the flour.) Set this by the skillet.
8. Cut up 4 tablespoons of butter and put into the unheated skillet.
9. Grate a cup of cheddar cheese and set by skillet.
10. Measure a cup and a half of milk. In a separate cup, measure a cup of sour cream. (Or plain yogurt. Or add another cup of milk if you don’t have yogurt or sour cream, so that you have two and half cups of milk.) Set by the skillet.
11. Measure 1 teaspoon of dried dill into a small bowl, and, you guessed it, set it by the skillet.
12. By now, perhaps even earlier, the noodles and veggies should be done. Drain them into the colander and let them set while you prepare the cheese sauce.
13. Heat the skillet using a medium heat—350 degrees in an electric skillet. Keep an eye on the butter and as soon as it is melted add the minced garlic. Let it sizzle for about 30 seconds.
14. Add the flour, salt, and pepper, and stir, stir, stir until the roux is a golden brown. This will take a couple of minutes.
15, Add the milk and stir until the mixture is thick and bubbling. In a big skillet, this shouldn’t take long.
16. Add the cheese, tuna, and the dill and stir until the cheese is melted.
17. Reduce the heat to low, and add the sour cream or yogurt, if using. Heat slowly—you don’t want the sour cream to curdle—until everything is warm.
18. Add the noodles and the peas, and again, heat slowly until the mixture is very warm but not bubbling.
And there you have it. A skillet dinner with a cheese sauce made from scratch. The whole process, from beginning to end, took me 30 minutes. Not as speedy as opening a can of soup, but an acceptable amount of time nonetheless.
This could never be considered a company dish, but it is warm, tasty, frugal, and pretty quick to make. Clif had 2 servings and pronounced it “Not too bad,” which in Yankee parlance means good enough.
Here are some pictures Clif took of me as I made the white sauce and then added the rest of the ingredients:
Stirring the rouxAdding the cheese and tuna after the milk has been addedStirring in the sour creamAdding the noodles and peas after the sour cream has been added. The heat is on low, and everything is gently warmed.Suppa is ready
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Today is our wedding anniversary. Clif and I have been married for 37 years, and, yes, this makes me feel very, very old.
Notes From the Hinterland 