Sunday Morning, Father's Day

Cage and I have been up for two hours. Anna and Sam are both still asleep. Yesterday, Anna wondered why it's always "Daddy and Anna, Mommy and Cage". I said "That's not always true!", but things often do seem to divide along those lines: even our preferences for TV shows, restaurants, and music. And with Sam taking Anna to Japan for school next month, it really will be that way for a while. Cage and I will miss them, of course, but the choice of what to have for dinner sure will be easier.

I was cleaning off my desk this morning and found two letters addressed to Cage from the Orange County Boyscout Council. These are usually requests for money, so it's only mildly amusing that they are addressed to an 8-year-old. Today it was especially ironic because both letters were full of excuses and justifications for a Council executives trip to a Key West resort for which, it was recently reported in the Orange County Register, the executives were reimbursed for golf days, fishing trips, and an $11 chocolate martini, among other cocktails. BUSTED!

I can't help wondering how much of our dues and popcorn money it took to pay for those two mass mailings.


Recipe: Keema Style Curry and Rice - Sam's favorite for Father's Day
1. I dice 4-5 huge Costco-size onions and sweat them in the LeCreuset dutch oven for a long time--preferably several hours but today I had to rush it to try to get it done while Sam is at the bowling alley with the kids.
2. I throw in some diced carrots and then some garlic for the last few minutes of cooking the onions.
3. I add some browned ground beef, saute it all together a bit, then add water and bring it to a boil. This doesn't take long because I always pre-boil the water in the electric pot--our gas burners take forever.
4. Only then do I add some chopped potatoes, because the russets that I prefer for flavor tend to get mushy if overcooked.
5. Finally, I turn off the heat and add a random selection of different brands of Japanese curry roux: House, S&B, whatever I have. If I remember I throw in a dash of the secret ingredient--ketchup.

Omiyage: Gifts for Japan from Costco
1. Beach Boys CD: 28-track new compilation
2. Shrek the 3rd soundtrack CD
3. Quiksilver t-shirts
4. S'mores Kit in tin lunchbox
5. Eclipse gum - bonus packs