Signs, News, and Daydreams

Writer’s block.

I feel better now that I wrote that. Because I wrote it.

I sometimes get this way. I don’t write for a day or two and then I have a build-up of ideas and I can’t sort through them and choose what to write about so I don’t write anything at all. And then I feel worse.

I’m tempted to write another Splat post. Maybe I’ll start a series of splats. Just every once in a while I will write down everything and anything that comes to mind—a brain-purging exercise. Then I would, hopefully, be able to breathe easier and, for a period of time, at least, write posts in a more calm and rational manner.

But I’d feel bad for you, my poor readers, who’d be left to sift through the riff-raff of my brain. Making you struggle through the murky mire of my mental state just wouldn’t be right. Or fair.

So, as a compromise, and in a superhuman act of self-restraint, I will exorcize myself of only two or three thoughts. The rest I will write down on paper and then burn, if I feel the need.

1. After three different tries over the past several weeks, I finally, just yesterday, tracked down the person who was “selling” political yard signs. After a semi-complicated game of phone tag, we finally got to talk to each other directly and he gave me directions (yes, I was talking on the cell phone while driving) to where I could meet him. He was waiting in his sticker-covered pick-up truck when I pulled up. I bought two signs; one for now, and the other for when the first sign gets stolen.

2. I don’t normally like to talk about things I’ll be doing in the future because there is always the chance that I won’t do it and I don’t like to disappoint, but I’m breaking my rule to tell you this bit of very exciting news: One of the political candidates, who’s sign is in my yard, is coming to town this week! Yo-Yo, Miss Becca Boo, and I are going to go midday and camp out all afternoon in order to get good seats. I figure this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, as well as our history/current events lesson for the year.

3. The other day when I was putting The Baby Nickel down for a nap, I had this following daydream: The aforementioned political candidate’s entourage was driving to town and one of the staff members called me to say that they needed a place to stop for dinner and could I please feed them? They would be there in fifteen minutes.

Oh dear! What could I possibly feed them?

I quickly ruled out fancy stuff—lack of time. And no meat—it would take too long to thaw and cook.

And then I realized what I would do: I would pull out a bag of last year’s Roma green beans, a bag of my parents’ white sweet corn, some fingerling potatoes, a quart of the canned Lodi applesauce, some homemade jam and a loaf of bread. There is still chard in the garden, so I could cook up a big skillet of greens. For dessert I would turn to the freezer again for red raspberries and strawberries, and I could open jars of peaches and sweet cherries.

What could be better, and fancier, than just the simple stuff from the garden, cooked up and served in its most basic form? Now that would be worthy of a king, er, president-to-be (hopefully).

9 Comments

  • Anonymous

    Busted! Mom found out from your husband that it was Obama that was coming you said that no one would find out who you wanted to be President unless you got 20 guesses from twenty different people. Ha! Ha! Ha!

  • Anonymous

    So did you get into the convocation center? If I’d known earlier I would have called, but Obama landed at the airport by our house. Jer and Eli saw him there. The other three and I waited — ALONE — on the corner by the Carilion office you go to, holding an Obama sign. The motorcade slowed by us b/c it’s an intersection, and he was right there at the window of the second vehicle, smiling and waving at the kids. Pretty cool. – MAC

  • Zoë

    Done for…I have to admit that I didn’t even taste it. It smelled so bad. The kitchen smelled like I had been cleaning it with straight vinegar. Even though I love vinegar, for some reason I couldn’t put a piece in my mouth. So it’s now residing in the garbage pail.

    (Mom, don’t get mad I didn’t save it for the chickens. I’m not even sure they would have approved.)

  • Jennifer Jo

    Oh Zoe, honey! You are so FUNNY—not stupid! Maybe you just discovered a new food group—you could title it the vinegar/flour food group.

    And CP, I will take it under advisement.

    -JJ

  • Zoë

    Well JJ, I broke down and made that apple tart…and I made a huge mistake! I copied down 3/4 CUP of vinegar. I thought it sounded like a lot but I dumped it in anyway…and I got a mess! So I added some more flour. Not sure how it’s going to taste…probably nasty. It’s still in the oven. I’ll let you know what the results are.

    Boy, do I feel stupid…

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