The night before Steve’s PhD defense, our little fam took a stroll through the neighborhood. For the past six years we’ve lived, learned and loved in Baltimore, but in the background, there’s always been a clock counting down. I’m happy to report that this chapter had a happy ending.
We lost power the night after Steve’s defense, along with millions of people in the Baltimore/DC area. More than 50 people were coming over the next day to celebrate Steve’s accomplishment and we didn’t have air conditioning or a working fridge on a 100 degree day. That’s when you realize that you can’t do it alone.
Luckily, we have generous and kind neighbors, friends and family. With their help and a generator (thanks, Dad!), we pulled together a memorable celebration. Guests traveled from all over the East Coast to spend the special day with us (some people hadn’t seen each other in over a decade!). And despite the mosquitoes, horrendous heat, stinky gasoline and noisy generator, I saw smile after smile. Looking back, the power outage shed light on the fact that we have so many amazing people in our lives.
The Fourth of July was blissfully uneventful. We went grocery shopping, book shopping, and did a whole lot of The Wire watching. One week post-party, I’m getting back to the kitchen as well. I’m amazed every time I realize how much happiness comes from opening a cookbook and making a meal for my family. On the fourth, we enjoyed some Curried Tofu (Veganomicon) brown rice and sauteed rainbow chard (while watching more of The Wire). Today, I whipped up some Un-Tuna Salad Sandwiches (Blissful Bites) for lunch. Double yum.
Back to normal, in photos:
Book-browsing babe.
A lovely reminder.
Curried Tofu with brown rice & sauteed rainbow chard.
Un-Tuna Salad Sandwich.
Green juice: romaine, celery, cucumber, pineapple.
And lastly, my vacation reset has stuck. Green juice every day (Steve is hooked too), lots of sleep, early mornings, and I’m staying away from the computer screen late at night. All of this adds up to more joy, more patience and more perspective.
Happy to have the power back to fuel that juicer, but also thankful for the many reminders the outage delivered. Those will stick with me most of all.
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I just have to say – better the day after than the day before! Congratulations to everyone for getting through this
Wow! Your cookbook collection is amazing! Thanks for stopping by:)
I must get up to Baltimore to see you, play with your adorable baby, and cook a delicious meal. Your blog always makes me smile.
Can’t wait to see you, Lammers. I’m sure we’ll cook up something wonderful in the kitchen this weekend. xo
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