The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

I feel pretty lucky, too

June 18, 2007

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. Dinner wasn't bad, either. You can't go wrong with fried chicken and corn on the cob, though the corn is early and not as sweet as I like. We had garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and some homemade biscuits laced with cheddar. Dinner was something of an event, which is what happens when it's too hot to be outside and there's not much else to do. We cranked the AC and the radio, and there was strawberry shortcake just as the show wrapped up.
And the wrapping continued. I asked Mr. Sundberg to disappear for a while so the kids could wrap his Father's Day gifts. He grabbed the paper and went upstairs to read, and out came the shopping bags from the pantry. Father's Day shopping was done in one afternoon this year. No ordering over the Internet or driving great distances. One or two stores took care of it and the kids did an admirable job with an array of the man's favorite things. There was Cormac McCarthy's new book The Road, and a book by Al Gore about Reason. A box of sterile face masks for working outside around the poison ivy, and two new water bottles because it appears someone has been chewing on the old blue one he's had for what seems a decade. A two-pound bag of peanut M&Ms, a pair of work gloves, a pair of new, pricey pens for his briefcase, and a package of new briefs- something I threw in for the heck of it. We wrapped two of his three watches, too, since I had them cleaned up and the batteries replaced, and I picked up a gift card to his favorite pizza place. (Something we can all enjoy.)
So after church and a light lunch on Sunday, we sat around the living room and watched Mr. Sundberg open presents. He oohed and aahed over every little thing, and gave me a sideways look when he opened the underwear. The kids leaned forward and clapped now and then, and said, "That one's from me! Do you like it?" at the appropriate times. He was pleased, I could tell, and told the kids he feels pretty lucky to be their dad, and that it's been an all-around good time so far and let's keep it that way.
I feel pretty lucky, too. When I was a single girl and looking around for someone to grow old with, of course I wanted someone with common interests and goals and dreams, and the whole chemistry thing had to be there. But more important than anything else was that the man I married would make a good father. And he is. In many ways like my own father, who, in my mind, is the greatest father there has ever been, and ever will be. He's the one who taught me (among a bazillion other things) how to set the hook properly while fishing from a boat, the Latin names of trees in the neighborhood, and how important it is, no matter how strapped you are, to save ten percent.

Frozen Lemon Dessert

This recipe is as good as it gets when it's too hot to do much of anything but flip on the air conditioning or peel off your clothes and put your body in a lake.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
Mix. Set 1/2 cup aside.
Press remaining crumb mixture into an 8 x 8 or 11 x 7 pan.

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 6 oz can frozen lemonade
Combine. Mix well and pour over crust.
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crumbs.
Freeze until firm.
Easily doubles using 9 x 13 cake pan.

Serve on hot summer evenings or after a spicy meal.

Enjoy!

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