Author Archives: Janell

Ding Dong

01 Sunday Feb 2009

Posted by in Prayer, Soul Care

≈ Leave a comment

My friend Dianne called on Tuesday to tell me she was coming to town on Friday.  Her daughter Lara would soon be working and living in OKC, so it was time to find an apartment.  And, while they were here, Dianne was hoping to see me and my old house and introduce me to Lara.  She thought Lara might just like to have a “second string mom” in her new OKC life.  Perhaps I could fill that niche?              

For the next three days, I relished the thought of Dianne’s visit.  I thought about Lara and her upcoming move, and hoped she would feel comfortable enough to call on me if local “mom” services were needed.  But I also wanted Lara to hold no false impressions – if she were going to call on me, she needed to know the real me — a person still getting comfortable with self, who’s not afraid to admit she’s a dreamer and who easily loses track of time.   

As I prayed to wear my real self in an everyday comfortable way, I wanted my house to shine in its Sunday best.   Windows needed to be cleaned, wood surfaces needed to be dusted and my floors needed to be mopped.  But being a born procrastinator, I kept putting it off until postponements ran into Friday morning and my planned spa day for the house had to shrink to more realisitc proportions — a quick bath and dressing up for friends with some nice steaming potpourri on the stove.  As I finished my last bit of poofing, I glanced out the window to see — oh no I thought…. it can’t be….but, no….there they were — Dianne and Lara were pulling up in front of my house.  Oh, well.  It seemed that my unfortunate tendency to stuff ten pounds of life into my five pound sack had once again caught up with me — and the evidence was now standing on my front porch, wearing smiles on their lovely faces.  In a way I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams, Lara was getting a chance to meet the real me.  As the door bell rang, all I could do was shrug at my attire and steel myself for the riotous laughter I knew would follow.   Exposed and vulnerable, I opened the door.  And as I reached out to hug Dianne, still wearing my pajamas and robe, we both began to laugh.    

They say our first impressions of a person are lasting.  I pray this is so.  Because with the benefit that comes only with hindsight, I see it was me wearing my Sunday best, as the guise of nightclothes in a late morning light shined faint with exposed humility.       

 

No Place Like Home

31 Saturday Jan 2009

Posted by in Life at Home, Mesta Park

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

I love pulling family together to celebrate life around a dinner table.  In my best dreams, it happens every Saturday night here in my Mesta Park home.  But, in reality, where I gratefully live on mere scraps of my dreams, I rejoice whenever it happens – within those seemingly rare moments of time where competing schedules line up and opposing interests disintegrate.  Ever thankful for these rare times, I still long and hope for more.  So this mother-of-invention has set her sights on a new strategy that — over the next nine months — will move my family beyond the world of Mesta Park to a choice of restaurant spots across the metropolitan area.  As I consider the differing tastes and personalities of individual family members, I can’t wait to see where this dining adventure will take us.   

Last night we enjoyed our first moveable feast, thanks to my future son-in-law Glen.  We convened family around a large table at Benvenutis, a virtual slice of Italy that dwells on Main Street in Norman.  The food that was great was made even better by the company we kept – that circle of familiar faces that love you no matter what.  But the fact that all of this was happening at one of Glen’s favorite spots made it even better, because it was a place he loved enough to share with all of us.

I think I’m going to like family outings almost as much as having my chicks gathered in the nest at home.  But let’s wait until March to find out, because next month is mine.  And I want everyone gathered at home in Mesta Park, where together we’ll celebrate my son Kyle’s twenty-first birthday.    

So now, with the promise of my best dream awaiting me in February, I close my eyes and click my ruby slippers.  There’s no place like home.      

Just Because

30 Friday Jan 2009

Posted by in In the Kitchen, Life at Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Snippets of my grandfather’s life are keeping me company these days, ever since last month’s Christmas letter.  Tucked within the envelope was one of papa’s recipes — the same one I’ve shared below — with a note telling how he prepared this recipe both at home and in his restaurant kitchen.    

I wish I knew more about papa’s early life, but all I have are a few facts, like how he was born in Tripoli, Greece in the late nineteenth century and how he was the oldest of seven children born to a professor and his wife.  In the photo, he’s the man on the left in the back row.  I also remember a story being told of how papa immigrated to the United States in the early part of the twentieth century to join other siblings already living in New England.  He was a young man then, but I don’t know how young.  Papa himself never knew his actual birth date.  But whenever it was called for, like in completing a government form, he would specify it as New Year’s Day.  He thought any ole’ day would do, one being as good as another. 

This same line of thought did not apply to his grandchildren however.  Eveyone knew I was papa’s favorite, although no one knew why.  I was neither his first grandchild nor his last or even his first or last granddaughter.  And to this day, I would bet good money that even papa didn’t know the reason.  I was his favorite, just because I was. 

When it comes to my own cooking, this simple recipe is one of my favorites.  And I know the reasons why.  Because it’s quick, easy and tasty.   And because it’s part of who I am.  It’s a piece of my family heritage, a gift from papa’s life to mine…and from mine to yours.  friday-january-30-2009-2No reason.  Just because.          

 Papa’s Greek Pork Chops

Serves 4 comfortably                    Prep time – 30 Minutes

 

Ingredients:  8 thin boneless pork chops, 1 lemon, butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, dried thyme

 

Heat ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Season chops with a sprinkling of salt, pepper & thyme on both sides. Sauté chops until golden brown – 5 to 7 minutes each side.  Turn off heat.  Squeeze fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon over chops and leave in the pan to season pan juices.  Cover until ready to serve.