Making It Up As I Go Along #210 (Story)

Going to be shortish in the writing this week (and yes father, I know shortish isn’t really a word). I just find that a story written on a Tuesday can’t take an hour and a half of my morning.

Eating With the Edison’s

I sit here, not having yet eaten breakfast, with a house so full of food that the only way I won’t be throwing half of it away is if I go from the traditional three meals a day to twelve. Yes, I figure if I eat a meal or snack every two hours, I’ll get through the mountain.

Had I a girlfriend of wondrous appetite or a group of slightly fat friends who were inclined to drop by, the food problem wouldn’t be a concern. But loner me sits and peers into the mountain of sustenance every time I open the fridge door. And here I’ve been up for an hour after sleeping a good seven before that and none of the food as entered my mouth yet! I am falling well short of the job in hand.

It is a Christmas of food. Peanuts and seeds, for popping into the mouth, sit in the living room for TV time. Grapes lay on another table, already softening… hold on… be… right there… alright… Good, I just saved four grapes from the trash and dropped 1% of 1% of the total quantity of food in the house.

You know the irony of this? With enough food to feed a dozen, I’ve got to go to the grocery store! I’ve got about a day’s worth of milk and juice left. How odd the world is.

We’ve got a cake and a pie here… strawberries and yogurt and pineapple and bread. All priced to go! And sweet mother of God the turkey! Three meals of it in the fridge and another three or four in the freezer.

As presents under the tree signifies Santa had come, this country of food quite clearly shows that my mother has been by.

Food is what is expected at times of visits and gatherings. It has always been that way in Newfoundland generally and in the Edison (my mother’s maiden name) family specifically. And the Edison recipe book knows no serving sizes. You pretty well get the same amount whether it’s a weekend gathering of three or a week long visit of a dozen.

On Sunday, Melissa came over to help fight the battle and the four of us chowed down on heaping plates of a traditional Sunday Dinner. And when we all sat back and tried sighing some space in our bloated bodies, we waddled out to the counter to see that it appeared no food had yet been eaten. It was what myths are made of. The Horn of Plenty where any food taken is magically replaced.

For twenty minutes we worked at bagging some food and breaking out the Tupperware for more… and still the Horn remained full.

This is all a part of family. We share in good fortune and eat meals that our grandparent’s grandparents ate many a Sunday ago. And the leftovers are there on purpose as a welcoming snack when more friends and family happen to drop by to say hello. Keeping such a tradition alive here keeps a little bit of the Newfoundland mindset here in my Ontario life.

Now it’s time to eat. A day after a three day visit from my parents, four grapes just doesn’t get the job done.

Making It Up As I Go Along #210 (week)

With the parents in town, writing time isn’t too plentiful. So for now it’s the week portion of things done with a story to follow either late Monday (after evening shift at work) or on Tuesday morning.

MONDAY…
--- With several off for different reasons today, it’s four people in CNI (me included) to do the work. Pretty busy day.
--- Squash tonight is alright. I stink win/lose wise but feel like I’m a better player… who knows.

TUESDAY…
--- Work is alright although we have a meeting that talks about the promotional process which makes me shake my head at the way government organizations practice hiring and promotions. The main goal with all government institutes is to take thought and common sense out of the equation. Make some sort of formula that takes the human element out of the matter entirely.

WEDNESDAY…
--- Sort of busy and alright work day. Lunch across with Shannon, Mark Gray, and Carole. A bit of a nap after work, some phone time with the folks, and some baseball on TV end the day.

THURSDAY…
--- Pretty busy day at work… hotdogs for lunch is a nice change.
--- Squash tonight… I’m the best bad player I know. I rarely win and often don’t even keep the score close… but still I seem to play alright. Odd.
--- Some cleaning before the parents show.

FRIDAY…
--- Take the whole day off work but still get up just after 7:00 to clean the house up before the folks arrive. Pick them up a little late (they’re already there with their bags in hand) and we go downtown to walk around, check out some photography, and let mom shop while dad and I have lunch in a pub.
--- Supper is Chinese takeout and it’s a quiet night in front of the TV after that.

SATURDAY…
--- Some shopping with the parents. Clothes and an electric stove for the living room are my main things.
--- Cards to end the night is a nice change from my regular Saturday night in Ottawa.