Last night, in lieu of that longed-for calamari & movie, I prepared a simple supper of frozen fish sticks (I cooked them first) and picked up this DVD at Blockbuster to watch solo while my husband worked.
May I just say that fish sticks are a sad replacement for the calamari at that cozy Italian restaurant just up the road, (though better-tasting, in my kids’ opinion), and that Philip Seymour Hoffman is so not a suitable stand-in for Brad Pitt.
And so it went, last evening.
By way of a special dessert for my hu’band, I prepared (for the first time ever in our 13 years together) one of his very favorite treats.
Here it is, then, presented with love and humility from my kitchen to yours:
Banana Cream SoupIt’s very easy to make. All you need to do is take your recipe for banana cream pie, as I did, and then screw it up. Any suggestions as to what I did wrong? Any words of consolation? Barbara? Anyone? 3 cups of half and half, 1 cup of sugar, and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch…you’d think that’d be enough to set the filling, wouldn’t you? Nope. Delicious, creamy, banana-flavored soup is what we got.
This dessert is not the reason for the title of this post, however, though with its inclusion of 3 cups of half and half, it might well be a contender. The reason for the title came after the meal, when we’d cleared away the dishes and were preparing to say our evening prayers.
John & Jem began lighting the candles on the hearth, and I did a quick head-count. All were present and accounted for, except for that cute-but-impish 4-year-old. “Angela!” I called up the stairs. “Come for prayer!”
No response.
I followed through with an actual trip upstairs—which, ordinarily, I avoid because of my massive berth—and continued to call out Angela’s name. Still no response.
This might not seem like a big deal to you, but our Angela is the most extroverted of little girls and can never resist a reaction of some sort. Instead, I was met with an eerie kind of quiet—no sign whatsoever of my beloved little blondie.
I was fearing the worst—and I hate those fears—when for some reason I opened the linen closet…
And there she was.
My long-lost daughter.
The little imp.
Some of my more organized blogging friends—and that’d be, what? Like all of you?—will note the disordered state of my linen closet. Look. I’ve tried to be the kind of mom who lays the law down. “No playing in the linen closet, now! I mean it! I really mean it!” I’m afraid that my dictates just don’t…stick.
(This is probably because I played in closets when I was a little girl, and once put my parents through the same kind of heart-stopping search that our Angela did last night.)
I’m going to close with one last photo that has nothing and everything to do with our anniversary. Here it is:
The Gratuitous Pregnant Belly ShotIf that’s not heart-stopping I don’t know what is.
With love & blessings & as much humility as I can muster,
Heart stoppingly beautiful belly dear. I can’t wait until you bust those buttons.
We had a similar anniversary last month. These things will happen in 60 or 70 years together.
Angela looks so sweet. What a funny little imp all cuddled up in the linens.
So sweet your little one in the closet! And I am so excited for your baby!
And then I suppose you lifted her and carried her to her bed. I’m guessing your father is going to yell at you. I guess it’s some comfort knowing the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I’m loving the pregnant belly. Pregnant belles are always cute no matter how big they get.
PS Usually one tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of liquid is adequate. I’m guessing something else went wrong — it didn’t reach boiling or it didn’t chill long enough. I bet it tasted good though!)
I have to say first, that belly brought beautiful tears of love to my face!!! (and a big smile)
Closet? Shall I take pictures of my closets for you? (very cute Angela by the way, I wonder how long she “played” night night? to fall asleep! Wish my 4 year old would spontaniously fall asleep somewhere!)
In my Confession on Saturday the nice young priest explained how I can discipline with love, not impatience and anger…”but, but, my 4 year old is different, nothing works…OK Father…I’ll try, I’ll try…) Margaret I think you are the only one who understands that one!!
Pie: Did you maybe put more 1/2 and 1/2 in than you thought? Looks like 1/2 was eaten, must have still been good?
What a wonderful post to wake up to(a second time – it’s been a long, rough morning)! Love the preggers belly pic! It has definitely put my heart to rights to see that.
God bless,
Sarah
Oh margaret, you crack me up!! I’d eat your banana cream soup any day of the week! You are too adorable in that glorious baby belly sweetie, love and hugs :))))
BEAUTIFUL baby picture!! Margaret, that shot just made my day a happy and grateful one. Gloria in Excelsis Deo! +
Love that belly pic, Margaret. Makes me smile to see it 🙂
And we just had one of those frantic searches for the baby (11 mos) the other day. He ended up being under the coffee table eating a magazine very quietly!
I hate when they do something that makes your heart stop for a moment and then thump painfully every second until the situation is resolved!
Happy New Year to you and yours, Margaret! That closet shot brought some joy to my heart (as mine looks about like yours ~ sans the sleeping beauty &:o) ~ But that last "gratuitous" shot was sheer joy!
Oh, my heart is happy to see two little ones safe and sound!!
Thank you for the belly pic, so good to see you bloom with new life:)
What a wonderful picture!(at the bottom). Blessings to you and your family. As far as closets go.. your is way neater than any of mine! Have a blessed New YEars!
This absolutely cracked me up this morning. We would always play in the linen closet too. And it was far messier than yours. What a sweetheart!
Oh Margaret….you definitely don’t want to see my linen closet!!! I’m to the point now where I just shove everything in and pray the door closes! I worry about opening it….well…not until I need to open it!
Since I’m not much of a baker…I have no idea what to say about the pie…except..you get an “A” for effort!
And…as for that pregnant belly….beautiful! If you were here (or I was there), I’d pat it for good luck!
Pregnant bellies are gorgeous!
At least you had the presence of mind, like a good blogger, to grab the camera and make a funny post out of the missing child.
That picture of Angela made me smile – but the one of your belly made my day. 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us!
~Jenny
You are one funny girl!!
That is an adorable picture of your daughter!
I love the belly, and I laughed out loud when I saw her in the closet. And WHY would anyone look in there?! I don’t know, but I do know that we moms always seem to do the unlikely thing just when we need to. Must be all those angels whispering in our ears. 🙂
Great pictures! Worth a thousand words — but you tell the story so well, I’m glad you use words too!
Love the picture of the sleeping beauty. Also very creative shot of the baby belly. So very very sweet.
Oh, I am so happy for you! I keep praying that all is well with your pregnancy. And what an adorable shot of Angela.
Blondie in the closet–too cute!
Lovely belly shot too!
When my brother was about 3 or 4, he decided to play “hide and seek.” The problem was that he didn’t tell anyone he was playing! My mom searched the house and eventually had neighbors going up and down the street! He was ever so quietly hiding in Mom’s closet! I don’t remember if he eventually came out or she finally looked there — I was only about 5 myself. But that’s a story that lives in the family! I can imagine how heart stopping it can be — just from short times of not being able to locate mine. Although they aren’t generally quiet enough to hide for long!
I have to admit concern when I first saw the post title. Thanks for sharing the wonderful pregnant belly with us!
I haven’t made a banana cream pie, but I have to think that it either didn’t get hot enough long enough for the cornstarch to set OR it got too hot too long and it “broke.” Glad it tasted good at least.
Banana cream soup? Call it nouveau gourmet. Lovely, lovely pregnant belly :), and Angela did look so very cute in her little nook ;).
And what did hubby think of the banana cream soup? That looks like something that would happen to me, with my extremely limited cooking skills.
baby!
The banana cream soup looks yummy . . . as a kid, I used to be responsible for making the banana cream pudding and I never could resist eating a few spoonfuls when it was just warm and far from being set!
Absolutely, love the belly photo!
That is just too darn cute.
And Angela in the closet is pretty cute, too. 🙂
Your belly shot made me smile, smile, smile. I’m so happy for you.
I want to kiss that belly! And here are three things that will make you feel better, because I am sorely lacking in the organizational skills department:
1) My linen closet is too small for my kids to play in, and I have been meaning to organize it since we moved in over two years ago. Hasn’t happened yet.
2) I attempted to make chocolate truffles for my brothers as their Christmas gift, mostly because it was a simple recipe. Semi-sweet baker chocolate and some cream cheese. After two failed attempts, I trashed them and made boxed brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Don’t ask me how I screwed up something that called for only two ingredients, rolling them up in a ball, and sticking them in the fridge for 15 mins. I feel ya…
3) I want to kiss your belly. 🙂 Would it make you feel any better that on certain days my belly resemles yours and I’m not pregnant?
Love you!
I agree with Elizabeth M about the pie. The mixture with the cornstarch should simmer for a minute, and you should notice it thicken while cooking. It will thicken more as it cools.
It is also possible to cook it so long or at so high a temperature that the structure breaks down and then it will never thicken.
You’ll just have to try again–yum!
Continued congrats on the big belly.
We lived in a old house that had big walk-in closets when I was growing up and my sister put her bed in hers and made a “suite” out of her room.
Sleeping in the linen closet… Well, why not? There are sheets, blankets, pillows — it’s quiet, and dark. :o)
That pregnant belly pic is beautiful!
My grandma taught me this: Whenever a pie/jam/candy doesn’t set properly, it becomes ice cream topping. I bet that banana cream soup would be *yummy* on some vanilla ice cream… :o)
I liked all the other pics but I really like that last one best.