The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

Something you've always wondered, and now you know.

October 6, 2009

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. I was a bit surprised I made it through the whole show, as I've been falling asleep halfway through everything lately. I watched that series on the national parks last week but saw only half of it because — yep, you guessed it — each night I fell asleep about an hour into it. I've fallen asleep folding clothes on the couch in the late morning, reading in the afternoon, and eating popcorn while snuggling with the kids after the dinner hour. I nearly dozed off while talking with my friend Angela late one night, though I did a decent job of pretending I was thinking about something deep and philosophical.

It's not that I'm not getting enough sleep, though I probably could stand a bit more. It's not my age or my diet or a head cold. It's simply that the year has turned a corner and the days are darker now. The sun sets earlier and rises a while later, and shadows fall long and slender on the walks and driveways about town. Leaves are falling, too, and things are turning brown and gray, and I'm craving foods like stew and dumplings and potpie and hash.

The fact that it's rained for six days in a row now hasn't helped much, either. Something about gray-shaded skies and a steady rain and the way the drops hit the puddles makes a person's eyelids heavy. It's cool outside, and damp, and the heat is on for a while in the evening, and I've been baking banana bread and cinnamon coffee cake and apple muffins and a pie here and there. You throw all of that together with an early sunset and a soft-lit lamp and you're bound to doze off on the couch well before bedtime, feet up on the ottoman, afghan draped over your legs, head tilted back and slightly to the side, mouth open a bit — enough that the kids notice and giggle and poke their fingers in it and wake you up and then do for you an imitation of you sleeping with your mouth open so you know what you look like when you're asleep. Something you've always wondered, and now you know. Another mystery of the universe solved on a rainy evening in October.

German Hotdish
When you come from one place and live in a town where everyone else comes from another place, you feel a bit compelled now and then to give a little shout for the homeland.

3 lb sauerkraut, drained
12 oz egg noodles, cooked and drained
1-2 lb pork sausage, cooked and drained

Mix above ingredients. Pour into a 9 x 13 cake pan or large casserole. You might want to throw some cheese on top if you have a hankering. Heat thoroughly and serve with rye bread and a mug of beer.

Enjoy!

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