Day 155, self quarantine:
Sunday, August 16, 2020
My four day birthday extravaganza continues with a surprise package that arrived yesterday from Julie and Katie - Fremont Chews from Theo’s Chocolates in Seattle.
Theo’s Chocolate = so good
And yep, that’s how many candy bars they got me, or as Julie said, “We got you a week’s worth!”
That’s about right. I tore into the first one as soon as I unwrapped the box.
As a vegetarian, I don’t eat marshmallow because it’s made with gelatin (a new level of gross - gelatin is protein made from boiling the skin and tendons of cows and pigs) but this remarkable, chewy candy bar is gelatin free and it’s so good I’m already looking at the clock this morning to see when I can eat the next one.
Hey, it’s my birthday weekend.
It’s also pouring outside so now I have to change my dinner plan, though I think Gary already did that.
I was going to have a chopped salad with grilled mushrooms.
“Grilled mushrooms? As in using the barbecue?” Gary asked, with kind of an alarmed look.
“Yeah. What’s wrong? Are we out of charcoal?” I could see outside from my perch on the sofa. Nah, that wasn’t it. We had almost a full bag.
“No, it’s not that...”
Well, it couldn’t be weather related. Gary has barbecued every Sunday throughout the year since the kids were little, even in snow.
Gary looked really distressed.
Wtf?
“So why don’t you want to barbecue?” I honestly had no clue.
“Remember last Sunday when I grilled?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember how loud the birds got?”
Wut? Omg. Seriously?
“Um, yeah? Sooo...you think the smoke bothered them?”
“No, it’s not that. I think... I think...” he trailed off miserably.
“What? What do you think?”
“I think they thought I was going to barbecue them.”
Omfg.
“Ew, Gary! That’s horrible. Why would you think that?”
“Georgette flew right over my head and gave me such a look. It was like HOW COULD YOU.”
“Were you grilling chicken?” I asked innocently.
That didn’t sit well.
But hey, I’ve been trying to get Gary to go vegetarian for ten years. Maybe this was a giant step in that direction. I decided not to crack any more jokes.
“So you’re not going to barbecue anymore?” I put on my “very concerned” face.
“No!”
He said it so loudly and authoritatively I actually jumped.
Woo, it’s the end of an era, kids.
Papa Slick and his grilled burgers are legendary.
But...that era ended over ten years ago when Julie and Eric stopped eating meat, grew up and moved out, so we’re putting a fork in something already long done.
I’m fine, I adore my mushrooms roasted in the oven in the house and now we can free up space and get rid of that ugly barbecue grill in the garden 😜
More passages at Casa Slick.
In other news, I broke my promise to myself and peeked in on Donald yesterday and suffered such a wave of depression I had to fight back tears.
Everything is really terrible.
I’m not going to ruin my birthday weekend or your Sunday by giving you an itemized list.
I’ll save that for next week.
Luckily I had sixteen chocolate bars to cheer me up.
I’ll be needing something extra for the next two and a half months.
Oy.
Well, all I can say is, somebody better do something about everything.
And on that note, I’m going to watch Chopped Sweets. I had no idea there were new episodes of anything on the Food Network since the pandemic, but my DVR apparently taped two shows so I am out of here for some fantasy dessert competitions.
Happy Sunday!
