THE GRAND POOPAH

Last night we hosted a dinner party for fourteen--our "small" group from church. There wasn't much praying but a lot of good eating and conversation. It was a pot luck with everyone pitching in to help. We cooked a ham. When it was done I looked for Jon to carve. He deligated the job to Bill, who along with Joann his wife is the master of the kitchen. Bill deferred at first to Jon, saying since he was the "Grand Poobah" he should have the honor. That phrase brought a smile to my husband's face and he assimilated the role wearing the honor of "grand poopah" (as he pronounced it ) with honor. No disrespect to my husband intended. He has a great sense of humor, but he is going to have to live with the consequences. He shall now be known as the "Grand Poopah" --Lord High of Everything Else. I am not sure if all this titling is good dogma for a group of Christians but I think the Lord has a sense of humor too. Grand Poopah is will be.

Today I had to Google it for the history behind the real title.

""Poobah" comes from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado," which debuted in 1885 and skewered the then-current rage in Britain for allthings Japanese. Set in the fictional small Japanese town of Titipu,The Mikado tells the storyof Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, Yum-Yum, his fetching ward, andNanki-Poo, a wandering minstrel who is actually the son of the Mikado(Emperor) in disguise. The plot of The Mikado is far too baroque torelate here, but one ofthe other characters is, you guessed it, Poo-Bah, who holds theexalted offices of Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Buckhounds andGroom of the Back Stairs, as well as the handy catch-all post of LordHigh Everything Else."Lord High Everything Else" was such a brilliant summation of theself-important puffery of bureaucracy that "Poo-Bah" (and its variant"poobah") immediately became a popular mocking synonym for someone who holds a number of offices, wields ultimate power, or exhibits aninflated self-regard. "

In Memoriam of Momofuko Ando

Today's Sunday paper has a 200 word obituary for Momofuku Ando who died at age 96. His claim to fame? He invented Ramen noodles which is credited with keeping many college students alive during lean financial times. Andy's bags are packed and he did find some room for Ramen noodles.
Andy is allowed 100 pounds in his two pieces of luggage and fell short of that weight. That is why he added the Ramen and some Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup. These foods also sustained him when he was a picky eater as a child. I am not sure I did my job well as his mom keeping him in junk food when he was a kid but our firstborn was also a picky eater and at age 40+ I didn't have it in me to have food fights anymore.
If he is accepted he will return from Europe in May and leave for China two weeks later. He wants to experience the culture and said he expects to "eat outside of his comfort zone". He told a funny story told by another SJU student who lived in China last summer. Not wanting to offend, he ate what was served. One meal was a bowl of broth with a whole chicken foot. He ate is all. His Chinese hosts did not eat the foot.
I remember getting email accounts my nephew Peter sent while in China on business. He also wanted to eat like the locals and once had a large bullfrog in his broth. Peter, did everyone else there eat that amphibian? Peter wrote of many other culinary delights such as wine with a dead snake in the bottle. That makes the Tequila worm more tolerable. Better to drink the wine without seeing the container it camefrom. I told Andy if he goes to China to eat slow and glance at to see what the Chinese are actually consuming. I just might sneak some Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup in his luggage on that trip too. Official sie for Ramen which includes recipes you probably don't want to collect ://mattfischer.com/ramen/

Advice I Never Thought I Would Give My Son

Our youngest will leave this weekend for a study abroad semester in London. He has had some reservations about his choice since finding out how expensive London is. Housing costs will be what he would have paid at his college here--a bargain. The apartment is across from Hyde Park near Imperial College where he will take classes. Kensington Palace is about a half mile walk. Madonna and Hugh Grant live in the neighborhood. This is a high rent area where he wouldn't be living if it were not arranged for foreign students. But, there is no meal plan. Eating out is expensive with exchange rates close to 2:1 for pounds to dollars. Estimates he has heard is everything costs twice as much as here. That means double what you would pay in a large city like New York.

Now the advice I gave him is: Pack some Ramen noodles in your suitcase if you have room and find a McDonalds to eat some inexpensive meals. (It won't be 45 cents for the All American Meal.) I am less concerned about him eating a healthy diet for a few months than coming home ten pounds lighter. Has there ever been a mother who told her son he should eat at McDonalds more? Doubtful.

This kid was the fussiest eatier I have ever encountered when he was younger. At six he finally started eating pizza and then only plain cheese. He took a cold lunch to school everyday. It was usually a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He also liked yogurt, fruit, and bagels but not much more. He learned about Ramen noodles at day care and wanted to eat them often. He had a short list of foods he would eat. He never ate meat until he was a teenager. Peer pressure at that age loosened him up a bit. He was 18 and dating before he came anywhere close to a normal diet.

Things have changed. He is now careful about what he eats and considers what is good for him. At least he can cook and probably will balance his budget by doing some of his own cooking in the UK. But, I think I will sneak a few packages of Ramen noodles in the side zippered pocket of his suitcase. Hopefully the British will not judge him harshly if he is seen eating at McDonalds.

Link to a funny take on eating at McDonalds abroad: http://travel.news.yahoo.com/b/rolf_potts/rolf_potts5166

Uno, Dos, Tres Deja Vu

I am trying not to be superstitious. Day one of the new year started with the snowblower needing repair work and the floor drain backing up. My husband said, "I wonder what number three will be". We have been conditioned to think bad news comes in threes. This morning when I woke up he asked me if I wanted to hear the "good news or the bad news first". Not much of a choice. I chose the bad news. He replied, "Well , the third thing broke but it is the coffee maker. " I guess we were relieved it wasn't a car. It was 7:00 AM and where could we find another Bunn-o-matic NOW?We found our small espresso pot that brews by using a burner on the stove. That got us the first jolt of caffeine for the day. Uno, dos, tres..no more bad luck for a spell.

P.S. I made the Bulletin Board again today. Click on today's Bulletin Board and scroll to The MOM in Stillwater. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/people/

Amazing Grace

I found out something interesting this am reading my newspaper's Bulletin Board column. I read it daily and occasionally send in my comments as "The MOM in Stillwater". My sister Carolyn who lives ten miles down the road from Lady Bird Johnson also shares her birthday. They were born on December 22nd, but years apart. Recently someone had written in the Bulletin Board about electronic billboards being enough to make Lady Bird Johnson spin in her grave. Many rose up to say "She's not dead"! Lady Bird still hosts an annual birthday party on Lyndon's birthday and invites the neighbors. Since I barely know the people on my block, I am chagrined by her hospitality to include people from miles around. I missed her face among the former first ladies yesterday at Gerald Ford's funeral. She has had a stroke and her health is diminished.

If you have ever visited Washington in the spring you probably noticed the mature azaleas blooming all over DC. Her project while first lady was beautification of the environment. She spearheaded flower planting projects and promoted legislation to decrease views of billboards and junkyards. I understand she loved the Texas wildflowers and was involved in replanting of those at home in Texas. Belated 94th birthday greetings to Lady Bird who has lived as a widow for over thirty years on the banks of the Pedernales . And to my sister who also has a love of Texas wildflowers, is a gracious lady like our former first lady, and faithfully teaches Bible study classes at her home encouraging everyone who comes to her with their problems, I'll dub you LBJ too (Lady Bringing Jesus.)

Link to Bulletin Board: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/people/16369974.htm

2007 - Day 2

Winter started a little late this year with the inch and a half of snow we got on New Years Eve. Other places in the metro area got up to 10 inches. We got enough snow to blanket everything in white--not enough to immobilize us or make it problematic. It is almost 40 degrees today and the snow is receding in the bright sunshine. Maybe winter is going to end a little early

On January 1st, my husband used the snowblower for the first time this winter (a record) only to find out it did not work right. I am trying not to remember that things break in threes. Last night we had problems with the sewer backing up the floor drain. It was noticed before it much of a mess and Jon got his first fix-it job of the year. Today the snowblower was job two. We are hoping for nothing else to break down. This does raise the question I pondered a few months ago. Do things break in threes because we group things after the third mishap? Probably. I will be happy waiting a long time for the next problem.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Can you use one more Happy New Year electronic card?

http://www.icq.com/img/friendship/static/card_16961_rs.swf