Category: Family

Rollerskating

With Meghan working at the Lego store for the afternoon, Alpha, Beta, and I decided to go roller skating.  I haven’t been since before I got married, Beta has only been once, and Alpha has never been.

We went to Roller World in Saugus, since Beta had been there once with friends and liked it.  It’s also not too far and had good reviews on Google.  They offer a choice of roller skates or -blades (for a few dollars more).  We elected to rent roller blades instead of skates, to make backwards tipping a little less likely.

Beta took off after a moment of getting used to the skates again, while Alpha spent a few minutes just trying to stand.  I had my own troubles but got going soon enough.

Alpha and Beta skating together
Alpha and Beta skating together

After a little while, the most amazing thing happened: the sisters started helping each other out.  Alpha was still a little unsteady on her skates, so Beta stepped up and tried to help her out.  They did a few laps around the floor together as Alpha slowly worked away from the wall.  I’ve seen the “sisters-against-the-world-thing” in other people, but I’ve had my doubts that these two would ever bond like that.  I’m glad to see that I was wrong.

After a couple of big spills (but no injuries) we decided to head out.  We were all surprised to find that we had been there for a couple of hours – even I could have sworn it had only been an hour.  Time flies when you’re having fun!  The girls spent the ride home talking about going back and buying roller blades for themselves.

Swimming in Beverly

On one of the last warm days in September this year, Beta asked me ever-so-sweetly to take her swimming.  Silver Lake smells terrible at the end of summer (and that day was no exception), and, though Beta insisted that she didn’t mind the smell, I refused to take her there.  The ocean was the only option!  Meghan had to work on a book and Alpha didn’t feel like swimming, so Beta and I piled into the convertible and headed out.

One the closest spots we can go to see the ocean is Lynch Park in Beverly, MA.  I picked it by browsing on Google Maps.  We’d never been there, and didn’t know what to expect.

Lynch Park Beach

The water was cold and a little dirty (natural dirt, not pollution) so I elected to stay out, but Beta (and some paddle-boarders) braved the water.  The park itself is gorgeous, with a spectacular view of Salem.  There’s an amphitheatre, a short walkway along the ocean, and a broad expanse of grass for people to plan on.

We spent a couple of hours there until the air started to turn chilly, and then took the long way home to avoid the traffic snarls on I-95.

Watching the Sox

To thank me for doing a great job on a gruelling project at work, I was offered tickets to see the Red Sox play at Fenway.  I don’t normally watch sports but hey, game on!  We live so close I should watch at least one game.  The game was played back on September 23.

I took my mother-in-law Joan, because she’s a fan-in-the-literal-fanatic-sense of the Sox.  It was also a way to thank her for all the times she’s helped us out.  She thought it was a hoot.

Fenway Park
Fenway, mid-game

I had an ‘oh-thats-so-quaint’ moment when I realized that the score board along the back of the field is updated by hand.  There’s a jumbotron too, but in between innings some dude goes out and hangs little panels on the scoreboard to provide scores for other games being played nationally.  The current score is updated by hand, too, but they stay inside to do that.

The Sox lost, in the end, but Joan and I had a great time!  I’m planning to take the girls next year for an afternoon game.

Jonesey’s Enchiladas

Quinn used to work at Margarita’s in Mystic. (Its a great place for pretty standard Mexican food. The stories that came out of that place are legendary.) He loves cooking Mexican food. I’m … okay at it. Tonight, we came up with something epic.

Ingredients:

  • hamburger (about a pound and  a half was pretty good)
  • two handfuls of cheese
  • two dollops of salsa
  • 12 tortillas
  • green enchilada sauce
  • sour cream and more cheese for garnishes
  • chilies for more garnishes

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Brown the ground beef. When it is cooked completely, remove it from the heat and drain the grease.
  3. Mix in the cheese and salsa.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the tortillas, rolling them and placing them in a 9×13″ pan. Keep going until the pan is full or you run out of filling.
  5. Pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil when there is about 5 minutes left on the timer.
  6. Scoop out the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese (and chilies if desired), and dump some sour cream on them for good measure.
  7. Eat!

Pirate Invasion!

Mystic, CT has an annual Pirate Invasion, where people dress up as pirates, the shops give away swag to the kids, and the Argia sails into the local dock and “invades” Mystic River Park.

My niece, whom I recently set up with email through jonesling.us, invited us down to enjoy the event.  She’s been so very excited about email, about chatting with me, and about the invasion, that we couldn’t say “no,” even though Megh had a ton of work to do by Monday.

Sadly, I didn’t get any photos of the event – I was watching all four Joneslings (ours, plus our nephew and the aforementioned niece) and Butter.

Email for Joneslings

At my brother’s request, I recently set up an email address for my niece through jonesling.us, just like our own kids do.

She’s so excited about email.  She checks it multiple times per day and sends me emails as fast as I can reply.  We’ve been having a very slow conversation for a couple of weeks now, which is really pretty cool because I didn’t get a chance to talk with her much before.

Now, if I could just get my own kids interested in email again.  They mostly ignore it, probably because the used to sign up for everything under the sun and they now experience the scourge of the internet: spam.

Pork Chops and Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups of rice
  • 3 cups of water
  • half a spoonful of minced/chopped garlic
  • half a spoonful of chicken bullion

Place all above ingredients in a rice cooker, and kick it off. It should be done in about 25 minutes

  • 1/2 inch thick Pork chops
  • 1 Tbsp butter for each chop
  • Italian breadcrumbs (about a cup)
  • Parmesan cheese (enough to add some yellow to the bread crumbs)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Heat a large, oven safe skillet on the stove over about low-medium heat.
  3. On a plate, mix the Parmesan and the bread crumbs.
  4. On another, microwave-safe, plate melt the butter
  5. Dip the pork chops in the butter on both sides, and then dredge through the breadcrumbs. Place them on the nice, hot skillet.
  6. Once they are all on the skillet, give them a couple of minutes, and then flip them all over. Cook them for another 3 or 4 minutes.
  7. Place the whole skillet in the oven for 15 minutes (for 1″ chops, 25 minutes).

Serve with the rice, applesauce, and some green veggies. Makes as many chops as you need.

Pasta Twists with Broccoli Sauce

From http://www.momswhothink.com/quick-and-easy-dinner-recipes/pasta-twists-with-broccoli-sauce.html

Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 medium stalks broccoli
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • ¾ pound pasta twists (about 4½ cups)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Finely chop the garlic and onion.
  3. Separate the broccoli tops from the stems, cut the stems and tops into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the red bell pepper.
  4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, or according to package directions.
  5. While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, warm of 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
  6. Add the garlic onion mixture and stir-fry until browned, about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the broccoli tops and stems, the bell pepper, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
  8. Stir fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
  9. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan and bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
  10. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
  11. Drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables and sauce. Serve with warm Italian bread.