Quick Stop At The Lodge

Most of the brothers were at the district school last night so I knew that this was one of the few weeks when it was possible to have a very quick meeting at the lodge. So I reached out to the Treasurer a few days ago and coordinated a time to meet with him so that we could pay the bills and keep things running over the summer. Having both arrived in Ardmore at the same time we met up in the parking lot, walked through the front doors (after a quick stop at the mailbox of course), and sat at one of the tables in the back of the hall to get things done as efficiently as possible.

Since we usually aren’t able to talk much before or after meetings, it was nice to have a brief conversation, just the two of us, without any of the other brothers around and without any other commitments of my time. It was a conversation between brothers, between friends, as we sorted through the bills and signed the required checks (the third signature will come later). It is a great feeling having this time to connect and share the experience of the fraternity and of many common personal and family commonalities and coincidences.

Overall, it was a nice return to what I had become accustom to experiencing during my first year in office. Two seemingly opposite personalities, one gregarious and the other reserved, but by no means at the opposite ends of the spectrum. The difference is something that just seems to work as it has in the past but, more importantly, we are being ourselves and slowly building on the trust that we need to have with one another to be successful in our offices. And now with many of the obstacles behind us I hope that this partnership continues for many years to come… or at least until I step down in a few years. After all, I am in this for the long, six year haul, and I know that this Treasurer can succeed well beyond my limited years.

So, with the sun still bright above the horizon and no one else present, we turned off the lights, locked the door, and parted ways in the parking lot until the next round of checks need to be cut. Getting in the car I realized that we might have set a record for the shortest meeting at the lodge as the clock told me that only 25 minutes had passed since we arrived. Efficient, productive, but not rushed… seems like a good formula for any meeting.

Throwing Things Together

With my wife’s day booked with taking care of our baby and a myriad of other things, the usual routine when I get home after work is to spend time with our son and to get dinner ready. It is sometimes a difficult decision as to what to do first… should I hold my son for a little bit or get dinner in the oven and hold him afterward or do I hold him before and after? I am a sucker for my son so it is usually the third option.

Thankfully, I am able to throw something decent together pretty fast. This is largely because I paid attention (although it may not have seemed like it at the time) to my mom when I was growing up watching her pull together dinner when she got home from work. While I am not nearly as good as she is, I do my best to get things done quickly and everyone fed at a reasonable time. Given my work schedule, reasonable is any time before 8:00 pm.

My wife is still baffled at times by how fast I am able to get things done (not on chicken strip nights but other evenings) but it is something that I have become used to over the years. It all comes down to the simple fact of knowing what things go together and using as few ingredients and steps as possible. I know how to follow a recipe and still do on occasion, but that takes longer and during the work week I don’t have the extra time. This is also why I don’t bake.

At the same time, I guess that you could say that I do have a few ‘recipes’ as there are combinations that I use regularly using the measuring technique of shake, dump, sprinkle, and cover. So far, nothing has been really bad. Some meals are more unique than others but they have at least been edible. It is all about knowing what flavors go together and it works for me just don’t ask me for exact measurements.  

It is a routine and a way of doing things that continues to work for us. Sure there are nights when I pick something up but knowing what ingredients work well together gives us the option. Maybe if I enjoyed cooking I would spend those few extra minutes but at this point I doubt it as the more time I spend in the kitchen, the more time I am away from my smiling baby boy. So I am just going to continue throwing things together.

Time To Start Cooking Again

For some time, my wife and I had gotten away from cooking but we are starting to slowly get back into it. While there have been the quick meals thrown together on a number of nights I would really call it cooking. For many, they would consider what I do multiple times a week as making dinner, some would call it cooking, I just think of it as getting things done as quickly as possible while still making it taste pretty good.

I have always been a person who would throw things together without really following a recipe (the only exceptions being when I would be backing something). Directions just slow me down and I am a firm believer that as long as you know what flavors go together and the rough proportions needed to create flavors there is no need to go step by step. Everyone has their own method of doing this and, over time, you understand approximately how much your “pinch of salt” really is and what a “single” scoop is using a regular spoon.

I guess it is just something that I have picked up over the years watching my mom put things together when she got home from work. I have tried to show my wife this method and she has watched me many times but it is not something that is picked up quickly. However, my wife, regardless of what she says, knows what she is doing in the kitchen. It is a completely different way of doing things but it works for her.

The fact that we have completely different ways of going about things in the kitchen is a great situation. While many nights I can quickly throw something together, sometimes that can leave a limited selection of options given the usual time constraints. My wife, on the other hand, is rather methodical in her approach which while it takes her a little longer to make something it gives her greater flexibility in what she can make. Essentially, she has much more patience when it comes to cooking.

Now, everything that I have just written is something that you have heard me say before but I thought it was worth repeating. So, as we return to really cooking in the kitchen and making dinner on a more regular basis, I hope to record some of the successes, and some of the less successful, dishes that we make in the coming months. Maybe this would also help with my first resolution but we will have to see. Are there any dishes/meal, especially healthy ones, that you enjoy and that you would like to see us, read about our, attempt? Let me know in the comments below.

Quick Trips Are Rarely Quick

 

Have you ever noticed that a quick trip on a weekend never ends up being a quick trip? That was the case today as my car was due for its 10,000 mile oil change. In the past I have gotten lucky and it would only take about 30 minutes so I wound up waiting for it and killing time by either making a call or reading a bit. However, as soon as I called the Armen service department I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. So, what I was hoping would originally be about 30 minutes was now at least going to be 90 minutes (this is not a criticism just a reality).

Whenever you call a place to have any kid of service done if they hesitate before telling you that there is time today, it is almost definitely going to be a longer wait. Having been told that it would take about an hour and a half, my wife and I decided to go out for a lazy lunch to pass the time. And if we are going to head out for lunch we might as well have some company so I gave my mom a call to invite my parents to lunch. Just like many of my weekends, my dad was working so it was just the three of us who would meet up at Dujour after we dropped the car off at the dealer.

After an excellent time with my mom chatting over lunch we started walking back to the car when the phone rang to let me know that the car was ready. At least our timing was pretty good. However, going straight to the dealer would just make too much sense and since we were out we thought that we should take care of another errand by looking for some boots for my wife across the street from the dealer at DSW. I wasn’t going to stand around while my wife was looking at shoes so I headed to the clearance section to find a replacement pair for the shoes coming apart on my feet.

I found a nearly identical pair of brown shoes the only different really being that they were a different brand. When checking the price I was a little thrown off because the price tag was in yellow and not in one of the usual colors (i.e. red, purple, green, and blue). In another example of great timing, the shoes that I picked out (the only pair out which happened to be the perfect size) were on sale for 80% off the discount price. Perfect replacements for just under $12.

Of course, my wife also found a pair to pick up so after checking out we parted ways as my wife headed home and I walked across the street to pick up the car. An oil change, tire rotation, and a few dollars later I pulled out of the parking lot and, instead of heading home, drove over to the post office and lodge to check the mailbox and the office. Quick trip but one that is going to be a new part of my weekend routine. As I pulled into the parking lot back at my apartment building it was obvious that the quick trip today was anything but quick having taken nearly three hours to get back to where I started.