Friday, July 10, 2020

When COVID Hands You Lemons...

OMG, I MISSED YOU. I just...I don't know. At work I was processing 6000 words a day, and I think I needed a vacation once I was laid off. So I've knit and I've sewed (masks, of course, what else?) and I've deep-cleaned the house and weeded the yard and generally recovered from a whirlwind 17 months of never, ever being quite on top of anything.

It felt good.

I like how this looks all seamstress-y

This month we shelled out the big bucks (well, all right, $6.99) for Disney Plus and watched Hamilton with the rest of America. I was worried I wouldn't like it because every time I tried to listen to the soundtrack on Spotify, my brain would get tired. I mean, there are A LOT of words in there, people. But we all ended up loving the movie (or whatever you call a play that is filmed, I don't know), it was fun family-bonding time, and (unfortunately) Hamilton will always remind me of this stupid pandemic.

Bonus: now I can listen to the soundtrack and understand it, just like all the cool kids.

Remember all the bread-baking (and eating) that was happening here March through May? That bread was our butter-slathered emotional support food through the early months of the current health crisis. So, as it turns out, our summertime emotional support food seems to be lemonade, a half-gallon carafe that sits in our fridge and is constantly replenished (by me, of course, who else?).

Did I ever mention that when the kids were younger, I would only make lemonade if the temps hit 90 or above? I wanted it to be a special treat and not have the kids begging for it every day, is why. So this is what the pandemic has done - it has made every day a Special Treat Day. YOLO. Carpe diem. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may be dealing with COVID and having to wear masks in the house.

Lemonade, anyone?
I spent almost 30 years of married life without owning a nice pitcher or carafe (Larry and I eloped - I understand that those who have normal weddings possess many of this type of item). Instead, I've only had those ugly Rubbermaid pitchers which are, let's face it, totally function over form. What's more, if I wanted to make lemonade, I'd often have to go outside to locate the pitcher because we also used it for watering plants.

All this to say, I have spent years pining for something nicer, more festive, to put lemonade in. Being indecisive, especially when it comes to buying things, I never did find the perfect pitcher (i.e., pretty but unbreakable), but when I was in Harris Teeter the other week, I spotted the item pictured above and thought, Bright-colored lid! Fun shape! Good enough! and brought it home.

This purchase represented the culmination of my long-held dream to (somewhat) elegantly pour liquid refreshment into the waiting glasses of my family, so as I placed it on our kitchen counter, I felt an unwonted sense of housewifely fulfillment. "Look!" I said to Susie, who had just walked into the room. "A nice pitcher!"

Whereupon Susie said, and I quote, "THAT looks stupid."

Discuss.






12 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 10, 2020

    I like it! It's a very nice shape, and the blue lid reminds me of a propeller beanie hat and altogether I enjoy it thoroughly. (and one could take the blue lid off to have it be a plain glass carafe for Ultra Classy Dinner Parties and such)

    That said, I think someone who has never seen a carafe before would think it looks really weird; the first time I saw a carafe I thought someone (in the hotel or restaurant? I can't remember) had messed up somehow, and I was embarrassed for them. Because it's totally not the Shape Of A Pitcher, and here someone had put the *water* in a glass jar for holding spaghetti noodles or something, how mortifying. So it may be partly an experience/generational thing?

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  2. Oh my goodness ... we did the SAME THING in subscribing to Disney+ just to watch Hamilton. Now, I've seen the production live at the Kennedy Center, but I was DETERMINED that my boys watch it too. So subscribe we did.

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  3. I am in awe of your seamstressiness, your breadbakiness, and your absolutely awesome lemonade carafe. It is splendid. Pay no attention to the comments of the forthcoming generation.

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  4. Your carafe is perfect...something Susie will realize after she grows up and she will realize the wisdom of her mother.

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  5. It holds lemonade and has a lovely shape. Works for me. I'm still laughing over using the Rubbermaid pitcher to water plants. I have over 20 containers, it would take forever to water using that.

    Take care and stay well!

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  6. Susie clearly doesn't appreciate the finer things in life yet. She'll get there.
    Raising my glass to you, Hamilton, freedom and lemonade. Glad you're enjoying some sweetness in life!

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  7. So surprising that you took a vacation and spent it sewing and knitting. Glad you had some down time to spend as you wanted.

    I would like to watch Hamilton. Coach is very stingy with the streaming services we pay for. He researched. Dropped direct tv. Got you tube tv and just got an email that you tube is raising prices. Ugh. I want netflix but I think I better wait a bit.

    I love your new lemonade carafe. Cute shape and a different look without the lid so multifunctional. What do youngsters know anyway? I do the same thing, pine away for some kitchen item but hesitate to buy anything . . . too many choices, or question if I really NEED it, etc.

    Nothing like lemonade on a hot day!

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  8. LMAO kids! I have resisted Hamilton but my friend is obsessed and watches it every day. I might just have to watch it and get it over with.

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  9. And 20 years from now, in front of her children,you can say "Susie, please pass me the stupid-looking carafe with the cranberry juice."

    If you see the flaps on top as a browline, with dark little eyes underneath, and the rest of the lid as a duckbill, it looks like a mean bird -sort of stupid but mostly mean.

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  10. Ugh kids! It's a beautiful carafe and lemonade sounds really lovely right now.

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  11. I'm envious of your shiny new lemonade pitcher! 🤩
    My oldest son, the married family man, put their Disney+ and Netflix on our TV because his parents are too frugal to buy it. I've watched Hamilton three times so far.❤️ Thank goodness for subtitles!

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