Ohio

I had a terrific vacation last week, in which I did absolutely nothing of importance. That isn't to say that I was lazing around on the porch drinking iced tea. Instead, I did all the things I'd like to do with my family, if only I lived closer. My mother and I put in her garden, planting peppers, tomatoes, peas, beans, and herbs. I helped both my parents with a multitude of computer issues: while my brother the IT director is clearly more knowledgeable than me, he has less ability to sit on his hands and let people figure out how to do it on their own.

My mother is in the midst of landscaping her property, which was basically a big house plopped on 30 acres of field when they bought it. She had drawn up plans and I really wanted to help her with it while I was there. So I bugged her every day until she agreed to go out there and let us till the back beds. I had to utilize my best teenage annoyance skills, but she eventually acquiesced, and now the house is surrounded by dirt. That is progress, believe it or not.

I babysat my niece and nephew, who seemed to think that their aunt must not be wise to the ways of children, since she is childfree. Unfortunately, I used to babysit a lot. So their plans for an impromptu party after bedtime (with the lights on but the door closed) failed.

I also made brunch for the mothers in my life (well, those located in Ohio): my mother, my sister-in-law, and my sister-in-law's mother. I was looking to do something a little different, and so I was quite pleased when the Washington Post ran a whole series of innovative brunch recipes. The menu was: Eggs with fresh corn and mozzarella, Cottage pancakes (with grated apple in the batter) topped with strawberries, and orange-almond milk smoothies (links may require free registration). The clear crowd favorites were the cottage pancakes, but I'll be making the smoothies again for myself.