No, seriously. Gluten free pasta...I thought it would pretty bad - I've had whole wheat pasta, which is as tasty as eating cardboard with red stuff splashed on it...but was pleasantly surprised!
We stopped at Viro's today (and had a surprise, drive by visit from Angie!), to have lunch, say our goodbyes before we head to the coast Saturday and have them fill the bambini up with gelato and pastries! I bought some Divella brand, gluten free pasta, to try out for dinner, as we were having Casey Rudzena, Aut's 5th grade and, thank the good Lord, soon to be 6th grade teacher, over...
"The trick is to not over cook it..." Vito wisely told me. The package does not give you a cooking time, so, based on experience, I let it boil for about 8 minutes and started to taste test the penne pasta I was cooking...9 1/2 minutes seemed to be the magic time...
Casey arrived and her and Autumn sat down to play Kerplunk and Clue while I prepped the salad and pasta (homemade marinara, Kimmy's recipe!)...they were having a great time, but, alas, it was time to eat...
I served up the bambini's, and Casey and I exchanged a look...would they notice?? NO!! They did not! Good stuff!!
Casey and Autumn settled in to watch Little Fockers after their meal....What a blessing, for Autumn to have Casey in her life, to help her along her new journey and to teach and mentor her...
We leave in the morning for California. What time is anyone's guess - in fact, it might make a good office pool. Cody asked me, and I told him between 5 and 6. He said, 'How about 4?'...I am not a morning person, I'd be happier with 9 or 10, but, I told him I'd set the alarm for 4 and see what happens...I'll be counting on him to be my co-pilot. To keep me awake. Look for cool things along the way. Pop the top on my Rock Star so I can navigate that dreaded purgatory between Gila Bend and Yuma...and to put in the address of our hotel into his phone GPS app thingy, too. And be 'snack boy'...it's a lot of responsibility.
I haven't had to plan or pack for a vacation in 14 years...Kim handled all of that once we had kids. I used to be good at it, when we were dating, and then married with no kids...or at least I thought I was...but Kim always had a way of finding the best deals on line for hotel room and events. She'd always put such thought and care into packing and we'd never run short on anything and rarely had too much of anything. And she'd make it all fit so nice into the suit cases.
My Dad emailed the kids a nice checklist so they could help pack...as soon as they saw his email last Sunday, they raced to the garage, grabbed suitcases and got packing!!! Autumn nailed it, Cody was close, just a sweatshirt shy of a full suitcase and Tonio did pretty damn good, considering his wiggliness. I even used it. I've always been that guy who says "OK, we'll be there 5 days, so, one pair of shorts, couple of t-shirts, and a hoodie should cover it.'
Of course...I forgot to shop for road snacks...oh well, that's what 'convenience' stores are for...and the people watching at the stops along the way will be entertaining...
Anyways, we're heading to Laguna for a couple of days...we'll spread some of Kimmy's ashes there on Monday morning, the 13th, 6 months after her passing...all she wanted to do was get back to the beach, that she loved so much...it's going on 4 years now, since we last hit the coast and it will be bitter sweet for us...But, if you think of it, please say a prayer for Kimmy on that morning...
Thank you,
Love,
Dave
PS And I'll leave you with one of Kimmy's favorite songs "Ride to California" by Paper Tongues...again, she had a wide and varied taste in music - she loved to sing this one to me 'cuz it makes sense to go to California', she'd smile as she sang/asked me to take her to the beach...We'd been on beaches from Maine to Miami, Fla, but her all time favorite was Laguna...it's so nice with the high cliffs, coves and tidal pools...I'll be glad to make it to Mission Beach...
We stopped at Viro's today (and had a surprise, drive by visit from Angie!), to have lunch, say our goodbyes before we head to the coast Saturday and have them fill the bambini up with gelato and pastries! I bought some Divella brand, gluten free pasta, to try out for dinner, as we were having Casey Rudzena, Aut's 5th grade and, thank the good Lord, soon to be 6th grade teacher, over...
"The trick is to not over cook it..." Vito wisely told me. The package does not give you a cooking time, so, based on experience, I let it boil for about 8 minutes and started to taste test the penne pasta I was cooking...9 1/2 minutes seemed to be the magic time...
Casey arrived and her and Autumn sat down to play Kerplunk and Clue while I prepped the salad and pasta (homemade marinara, Kimmy's recipe!)...they were having a great time, but, alas, it was time to eat...
I served up the bambini's, and Casey and I exchanged a look...would they notice?? NO!! They did not! Good stuff!!
Casey and Autumn settled in to watch Little Fockers after their meal....What a blessing, for Autumn to have Casey in her life, to help her along her new journey and to teach and mentor her...
We leave in the morning for California. What time is anyone's guess - in fact, it might make a good office pool. Cody asked me, and I told him between 5 and 6. He said, 'How about 4?'...I am not a morning person, I'd be happier with 9 or 10, but, I told him I'd set the alarm for 4 and see what happens...I'll be counting on him to be my co-pilot. To keep me awake. Look for cool things along the way. Pop the top on my Rock Star so I can navigate that dreaded purgatory between Gila Bend and Yuma...and to put in the address of our hotel into his phone GPS app thingy, too. And be 'snack boy'...it's a lot of responsibility.
I haven't had to plan or pack for a vacation in 14 years...Kim handled all of that once we had kids. I used to be good at it, when we were dating, and then married with no kids...or at least I thought I was...but Kim always had a way of finding the best deals on line for hotel room and events. She'd always put such thought and care into packing and we'd never run short on anything and rarely had too much of anything. And she'd make it all fit so nice into the suit cases.
My Dad emailed the kids a nice checklist so they could help pack...as soon as they saw his email last Sunday, they raced to the garage, grabbed suitcases and got packing!!! Autumn nailed it, Cody was close, just a sweatshirt shy of a full suitcase and Tonio did pretty damn good, considering his wiggliness. I even used it. I've always been that guy who says "OK, we'll be there 5 days, so, one pair of shorts, couple of t-shirts, and a hoodie should cover it.'
Of course...I forgot to shop for road snacks...oh well, that's what 'convenience' stores are for...and the people watching at the stops along the way will be entertaining...
Anyways, we're heading to Laguna for a couple of days...we'll spread some of Kimmy's ashes there on Monday morning, the 13th, 6 months after her passing...all she wanted to do was get back to the beach, that she loved so much...it's going on 4 years now, since we last hit the coast and it will be bitter sweet for us...But, if you think of it, please say a prayer for Kimmy on that morning...
Thank you,
Love,
Dave
PS And I'll leave you with one of Kimmy's favorite songs "Ride to California" by Paper Tongues...again, she had a wide and varied taste in music - she loved to sing this one to me 'cuz it makes sense to go to California', she'd smile as she sang/asked me to take her to the beach...We'd been on beaches from Maine to Miami, Fla, but her all time favorite was Laguna...it's so nice with the high cliffs, coves and tidal pools...I'll be glad to make it to Mission Beach...
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