A Sunday in Fall...

I woke up Sunday to a cold and dreary day. It will frost tonight in the outlying areas (but don’t tell my brother Carl – he’s sensitive about frost). I warmed up some of yesterday’s coffee and posted the Blog.

I was listening to Sunday Morning, Over Easy. I think they dropped Saturday Morning, Over Easy from the line up (at least it hasn’t been on the last few weekends) and that bummed me out. I was very uninspired and tired, so I spent a lot of time just sitting on the couch, listening and thinking.

Pam Rossi’s (the host) daughter got married on Friday, so today’s theme was love songs. It also bummed me out. It reminded me that I have had a lot of wonderful lovers over the years, but they all slipped away. I guess I’m just an *sshole.

Finally the sun started peaking through the clouds. It wasn’t any warmer (the high today was only 55 degrees) but it looked better.

I shaved and showered and got dressed. Then I got a call around 1:00 PM, letting me know my plans had been canceled. I understand, of course, but cider and doughnuts sounded good!

It’s a little late to make food and make it to the family reunion in time. So, I changed into my house clothes and started looking for my missing glasses again. This time I turned the couch upside-down and checked that muslin (or whatever that fabric is) under it. I thought since I can’t feel them anywhere in the cushion cracks, they might have slipped through and fell down.

Alas, no such luck. But, since the couch was out, I got the vacuum cleaner and took the cat hair and dust off the floor, baseboards, under the end tables, etc. Then I did the same thing to the loveseat.

Then I started my Sunday dinner. I peeled about six russet potatoes and, using the mandoline, cut them into 1/4 inch slices. I layered about half of them into my buttered one-quart casserole dish. I topped them with some onion slices, added the rest of the potatoes and seasoned them with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F.

I melted three tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. I added three tablespoons of flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. I whisked that for about a minute. Then I slowly added two cups of room-temperature milk. When it thickened, I stirred in 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese until it melted. I poured that over the potatoes, covered it with a lid and baked it for 1 1/2 hours.

I peeled some parsnips and sliced them. I boiled them in salted water until fork tender.

The last ten minutes, I put one of the foil packs of ham on a sheet tray and stuck it in the oven to heat up.

I plated everything up and went in to watch my Sunday shows. I fell asleep around 10:00 PM. I woke up in the middle of the night, turned the TV and lights off and went back to bed.