The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

Routine, Schmoutine

August 4, 2008

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. Things were quiet around here as the kids spent the weekend in Wisconsin up at the cabin with my dad. I imagine they spent a good four days in the lake. Happens every year. Takes the better part of an evening getting 'em all packed up and they don't wear much of anything at all. Not that I'm complaining. One of these days, though, I'll get my act together and send 'em off with a change of socks and underwear, a toothbrush, and a book to read along the way.

And then there's Mr. Sundberg who said to heck with routine and headed up to Alaska with his buddies for a week of fishing. Now this is not typical of Mr. Sundberg. He's a homebody and would much rather spend an afternoon in the basement or a weekend in the garage than venture out on a trip somewhere for pleasure's sake, with his motivational speaking calendar as it is. So when he said, "Well, I believe I will," to Al and Rog and Willy, I about jumped for joy. Not because I want to be alone, but because Mr. Sundberg is going to get some rejuvenation, and I had, at last, a reason to give him that strap-on head lamp thing-a-ma-bob with red and white lights I picked up at Gander Mountain a few weeks back.

Just for the heck of it, I looked up the word "rejuvenation." I found definitions like "greening" and "the phenomenon of freshness and vitality being restored" and "the process of rendering young again" and was telling Mr. Sundberg about it as he examined the head light. Rejuvenation, I said, you know, kind of like a second wind in life. A renewal. "Look here," he said, "there's a switch so you can make the light flash on and off. In case I run into some kind of trouble out in the boat." He pulled the strap over his head and slid it down so it rested comfortably over both ears, the light a bit to the right on his forehead. "And look at this." He flipped another switch on the side of the light, which he'd aimed directly at my face. "Red, now white, now red, now white. Isn't that great?"

As I was saying. Rejuvenation. Rejuvenescence. Revivification. Palingenesis. A pruning of sorts. The greening. A hot, humid stretch of August days, and it's just me and the porch swing. Been awhile since I've let the phone go to VoiceMail, or napped on the living room floor, or eaten stewed apples with ice cream for dinner. Routine, schmoutine. Life ought to be a trip now and then, wouldn't you say?

For those of you who'd rather not wait for fall to indulge in an apple-based dessert, here's something light you can dress up or down depending on the guests and the meal.

Stewed Apples

Peel and core and slice 4-6 apples.

Place in a Dutch oven with 1-2 T sugar.

If you want to go traditional,

throw in some red hots.

Turn heat to medium until bubbly, then down.

Simmer uncovered for a while.

Do nothing. When the apples are kind of

translucent, they're done.

Serve with ice cream or whipped topping or

a bit of cinnamon or just plain.

Enjoy!