weekend report

After overscheduling our long Memorial Day weekend, John and I made no plans for this past weekend. Sure, we did plenty, but with no obligations to anyone or anything. Well, okay, except for Winston’s Saturday morning soccer practice—which was, by the way, a blast. He is all over the ball in a way that thrills me to no end.

Saturday, May 31
Our one main house-related task was to put the screens on the dining room windows. Just three little windows, that’s all. Three little windows resolutely painted shut. I'm not at all embarassed to admit that in the nearly four years we've lived in this house, this is the first year we've attempted to open these windows. John had a bear of a time prying out the winter storm windows (ha! vindication!), but managed to remove two of the three. The wood frame on the third window wanted to break so we left it in place. We have been enjoying fresh air, cool breezes, and birdsong ever since.

Then, for fun, we took our inaugural family bike ride of the summer. Simon rode his tagalong behind me, and Winston rode with John. Riding my café cruiser, which has fat tires and eight speeds and isn’t meant to ride fast, is even tricksier with 75 extra pounds on the back. It is exactly like pedaling through molasses. Also, I get a little claustrophobic from the result not being equal to the effort put forth, i.e., I feel like I should be traveling a greater distance than what I’m managing. Still, we had a good time.

For even more fun, John and I took the boys to watch our soccer club’s U16 boys game at McMurray Field, near Como Park. It was a blast to see the older boys use their Brazilian-style foot skills and clobber their competition. We ran into Coach Rod and his boys, so hung out with them for a while. The plan was to stay for the semipro game that followed, but a huge thunder- and hailstorm moved over Como quickly and we retreated.

Upon arriving home, John and I poured ourselves tall G&Ts and “studied” while the boys had some quality time with the boobtube. This gave the storm just enough time to roll over. Then John fired up the grill as I made a spice rub—1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon each cumin, cayenne, paprika, and kosher salt—for the arctic char filet I picked up at Coastal Seafoods earlier in the day. Grilling fish was a first for us—well, mostly for John, who prepped the grill (oil), flipped the fish, and put out the flame flare-ups when the char’s fat rendered into the fire. The fish was phenomenal. The spice rub created a nice crust for the flesh side of the fish, and had a fantastic flavor (sweet, salty, spicy). We had sides of fresh corn and zucchini slow cooked together in butter and a barley-brown rice-toasted pecan pilaf, as well as a bottle of Mark West pinot noir.

Sunday, June 1
John rode his bicycle to the St. Paul Farmers Market, where the boys and I met him, by car, for breakfast bagels. Then we made our rounds, visiting our favorite vendors and shopping for the vegetables that will be the basis of our week’s menu. We bought ruby-red radishes for eating out of hand and for thinly slicing into tossed green salads, as well as asparagus, which I will serve as a side with salmon cakes, for a quick meal on a soccer night.

Since we first started dating, oh some eighteen years ago, John and I have had a Sunday ritual of watching sports. Back in the day, we mostly watched tennis and football—in fact, John proposed to me between quarters of a Bears game—but since have evolved our viewing to golf, X Games, downhill ski races, more cycling than you can imagine, and, now, soccer. I love that we can record sports events on the DVR and remain oblivious to the results. It really is like watching in real time. We haven’t missed a thing. Yesterday we were privileged to watch the United Champions League Final between Chelsea and Manchester United, which was held end of April. The first half was fast and tight with Manchester dominating. I look forward to watching the second half at my convenience!

Hope your weekend was restful.