“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel, at one’s fingertips, the possibilities of a new season.”
“The Forgotten Garden”
By Kate Morton
I really tried to get out into the yard to plant the whiskey barrels on Sunday but I kept getting washed away from the barrels by the torrents of rain. I will have to let the soil in the barrels dry out somewhat before I can do any planting. … I hope that you went outside last Friday just after sunset to see Venus and Jupiter extremely close together in the western sky. Ch. 4’s Barry Burbank kept referring to the phenomenon during each weathercast that evening. It is Venus that is more spectacular than Jupiter right now.
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Last weekend, Hubby and I were very busy with family matters. My cousin Bill came to Boston so that he could introduce his wife Tricia to the family. It was “a good stretch of the legs” to come, as it says in “The Quiet Man,” because they live near Memphis. Bill had contacted our daughter Sue to meet on Friday. Bill grew up in Randolph so Sue asked if he’s like to go to Town Spa in Stoughton. Of course, he’d love to go there, he said. We planned to meet at noon. What we did not anticipate was terrible traffic that early in the day. Thank goodness that Sue had just shown Hubby a new way to get there so Hubby used her directions. We arrived at 11:59 a.m. Bill looked great and we were happy to meet Tricia. Sue was unable to come but she would see them the next day.
Town Spa was busy even at that time of day. Hubby and I had only eaten there once before but we thoroughly enjoyed the pizza. So, of course, we ordered pizza once again. Tricia is a tiny lady and asked Bill if she could have one or two of his small slices. While we were waiting, they told us why they had come to Massachusetts. Tricia knew that she had been adopted and they were both thrilled that Massachusetts now allows the adoptee to see the adoption papers. Tricia was able to locate her sister and more of her relatives, whom she had already visited on this trip. One of the relatives was going to give her a family desk. (I think it was her grandfather’s.) Bill was so glad that they had room for the desk in their good-sized car because they didn’t bring too much with them on their visit.
By the time they told us all about Tricia’s family, the pizza had arrived. It was just as good as I had remembered it – positively delicious. The pizzas are about the size of a small dinner plate and are cut into six pieces. Tricia ate two pieces from Bill’s pizza and Hubby and I ate three pieces from each of ours. We took the rest home and had them about 8:30 p.m. (That evening we cooked them in the toaster oven and they were still delicious.) When we finished our lunch and went outside, we were amazed how warm it had become. We wished “the kids” well on their return trip to Memphis.
We then decided that we would go on to Market Basket to do some shopping. Thank goodness, Hubby had brought his map of the area. Market Basket was not near the restaurant. It was quite a long ride, and on this typical Friday afternoon, very busy. We just took what we needed – bread and milk – and hurried back home before the weekend rush.
When we arrived home, we discovered that Bill’s sister Mary had contacted Sue and invited the three of us to come to her home in Randolph to attend a cookout for Bill and Tricia the following day.
We had thought that we would be attending the Pope’s Hill Block Party on Saturday, but family came first, so we went to Randolph. I must mention that my cousin Mary is a gourmet cook. (She must have inherited the gourmet genes from our Aunt Theresa.) Mary’s husband Chuck was also there with cousin Bill and our new family member Tricia. A few minutes later, my cousin Philip, Bill’s brother, and his wife Louise joined us. (Bill is Hubby’s godson and Philip is mine.) We had a great time talking with each other while Mary was cooking just outside the downstairs kitchen. (She loves cooking and can handle the whole meal herself.) We spoke about BC High and what a great school it is. We spoke about the horrific church shootings in South Carolina. Tricia told us about her family when she could get a few words into the conversation. (Our family all loves to talk.) Chuck told us how much he enjoys being retired (since April). He took Tricia on a tour of his big yard and lovely garden.
Then Mary called us up to the food. She had smoked a turkey, made pulled pork, cooked shrimp, and worked up a rice dish and a pasta salad. There was soda and water. I stayed up the hill with Mary because I didn’t have a chance to chat with her. She was speaking about her work. She had told me how she was using her Mom’s kitchen on the first floor of the house as the annex of her outside cookout area. That way she didn’t have to keep running up and down the stairs. I took one of the rolls on the table and put the turkey, which was scrumptious smoked, into the roll with mayonnaise. It was wonderful. I was just about to ask her if the roll was an Alexia Roll, which, according to cousin Rock, is the best roll to buy. Much to her credit, Mary told me that she had made the rolls herself. Mine was wonderful.
We sat and chatted during the cookout while Hubby was keeping an eye on his watch. We were going up to daughter Jeanne’s home in Rockport for Father’s Day and so we had to get to church on Saturday and then go home to make the potato salad. We also had to make two containers of onion dip, made with Knorr’s Leek Soup. We told everyone that we were so sorry to leave such a pleasant afternoon. Mary then said, “ I haven’t put out the desserts (plural.) I could only imagine what she made. She first laid out chocolate-covered strawberries. I took two of these; so did Hubby and Sue. We didn’t dare look at the other desserts or we would have taken some of them also. We hurried back to Boston and made Mass just a minute before the priest came to the altar. After Mass, we hurried home because the cold potatoes awaited us. I had cooked the potatoes the previous evening. Both Hubby and Sue tasted the hot potatoes at that time “to make sure they were not poisoned.” Sue had the hard job that evening of cutting potatoes into small cubes and mixing them with Miracle Whip, a little salt, pepper, and minced onion. All I had to do that evening was mix two containers of sour cream with two packages of Leek Soup. I lined 10 bottles of various types of soda in the front hall, all ready to be put into “paper and plastic.” Sorry to say, all our preparations were for naught. We did not end up going to Rockport for Father’s Day; Jeanne had come down with strep throat and had to cancel the dinner.
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As I mentioned, I was sorry that I was not able to attend the Pope’s Hill Block Party on Saturday. Pope’s Hill President Phil Carver gave me an overview of the afternoon. There were the most people ever, probably 300. I heard the food was wonderful. The kids had a great time with all their activities. The association gave out two awards. Mrs. Paula Skalinski was our 2015 Jack O’Connor Memorial Person of the Year. (It is quite an honor to be given this award.) The association was also delighted to give to the Phillips Family Hospitality Group our 2015 Business of the Year Award. There is such a nice group of people working for Phillips businesses, both then and now, some for many decades.
President Carver announced the officers who had been elected at the May meeting: Hel was re-elected president; John Schneiderman, vice presiodenty; Chris Whittemore, recording secretary; Janice Schneiderman, corresponding secretary; and Judy Burke, secretary/treasurer. I will tell you the names of the executive board in next week’s paper.
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I was saddened by the death of my longtime friend James “Jimmy” Cawley Jr. on June 26. I enjoyed speaking with Jim, especially at the Board of Trade meetings. He told me so much about his job at WORK, Inc. I especially loved hearing about Jim and Elisa’s wedding and honeymoon plans. I send my sympathy to Elisa (Birdseye), and to his children Christina and Kevin. I also send my sympathy to his siblings: Patricia, Kathleen Connolly, Geraldine McGee, Michael, and Marianne Pick. Jim touched many lives.
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It is terrific that the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday this year. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend with your family. Happy birthday, America!
