Peace.
A satisfying meal of zucchini soup, Brussel sprouts roasted with prosciutto, and truffle-salted grilled pork.
Wes Anderson's whimsical and romantic Moonrise Kingdom enjoyed from beneath a warm furry blanket entwined with my best friend.
A Westie wrapped around my feet, snoring gently
Two fingers of Balveine Peated-Cask single malt scotch, bitter and smooth like burned leather
The hunter's moon pouring its pale blue light through a newly bare forest and landing softy onto my face.
Warm glow of recessed lighting flowing over maple paneling and a pine floor
The soft crackle of cooling embers in the fireplace, just awoken from its long summer hibernation.
When the temperature drops in the Midwest, we don't complain or feel sorry for ourselves. We change out our wardrobes, dig in the back of the closet for our gloves, and bring out the extra blankets. The end of October brings with it the baring of trees and nighty freezes. What we consider a warm afternoon is classic "Midwestern brisk", and still requires a sweater and hat. It is the time to finish cleaning the yard, get the bulbs planted in the ground, and change the oil in the tractor. We will be withdrawing into our homes, firing up the slow cooker, and making a fire in the hearth.
We faced the first very cold night of the season tonight. But rather than complaining, we celebrated- with delicious seasonal food, s'mores over a blazing fire, and watching a romantic movie while huddling under blankets.
The next day was spent raking the yard while the crock pot churned out a batch of tomato-fennel soup. We also planted over 150 bulbs in anticipation of Spring, seemingly an eternity away. We worked hard to get the chores done- there's football on!* Fortunately the best games were shown at night, after a cold, hard day of work. The way we like it. And the soup had plenty of time to cook.
Hawaii is coming too, only 14 days, 22 hours, and 25 minutes.
Fight on,
Hans
*PS. I can't let this column go without mentioning the results of those games. The cozy impressionistic description above belies the insufferable pain I endured Saturday. Iowa has always had trouble with Northwestern, and yesterday was no exception. I was terrified of USC playing at Arizona a week before the biggest game of the year (home against Oregon next week). Sure enough, Kiffin's inability to adjust his offensive scheme and the Trojan's incomprehensible excess in penalties ruined Marquise Lee's record performance. We Trojan alums have an expression: A Perfect Trojan Day. It occurs when USC wins while UCLA and Notre Dame lose. Yesterday was a rare opposite: the Bruins and Irish both won! At least by picking the Irish and betting against the Trojans I got 17.5 points to show for it . . . .
PPS. What you doing on Jan 7th? I'll be free.
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