TWMHTHS #2: Excellent 3 course meal from church friend is a big hit!

Pete: I know, I know, you want the story of the birth and more pictures! Trust me, we'll get there. Just not yet. It is a lot of work to maintain any sense of normality and earn some down time. One of the very fine things Victoria and I enjoyed before Charlotte was born was a nice evening meal together. Having to do so much every day, most of the day, it is not yet possible to cook as we used to. We'll get there again, we hope. But right now is recovery time.

Home is really the best place to recover. Victoria and Charlotte came home on Saturday November 7th around 3pm. Kati, Victoria's sister, made the trek north Saturday morning with her husband Erich and 1 year old Arwen in tow. It was great to see them as they were our first visitors (see photo). Kati and Erich were a good help till Monday morning when they returned to Austin. Kati made a very kind Rosemary Chicken on noodles dish. It was definitely a 2B but because it smelled so nice after being in the hospital, it earns a 3B. Great timing can bump an easy dish up just like in baseball, a player could turn an easy double into a triple on account of an unsuspecting defense. It was a nice first meal home for recovery. Thanks Kati! FYI she probably usually cooks HRs. This was on short notice and limited supply to what we already had at home for the most part. That's right she hit a 3B with one arm tied behind her back! My wife often gets advice from her older sister on meal prep and for that I am a thankful beneficiary.

Our local church, Community Bible Chapel provides a meal ministry to those in recovery from hospitalizations. This evening, our dear friend Charlene Graham, from church brought a very fine 3 course meal. I must say, right off the bat, it was a HR. She was energized to meet the baby (photo below) and made it to the third floor of our apartment building doing quite well. She greeted us warmly and spent a moment checking out Charlotte.

Charlene has a grand daughter named Charlotte who is getting married this weekend. Congrats to her and her soon to be husband.

Gordon and Charlene have a place on the Big Thompson just outside of Estes Park, CO. (and yes she was there for the dreaded July 31, 1976 flood where one of her dear family members died) We have gone to visit them and been their guest back in June of 2007 and August of 2008. They are so very kind to have allowed us the opportunity to enjoy some rest in their neck of the woods. I often look forward to visiting with them in the evenings over dinner there in CO after a day of hiking. It is so restful and peaceful with them and the kind dinner today was just the right medicine to continue Victoria's recovery here at home. Thank you Gordon and Charlene!

I'm no salad man, but her salad was sweet... literally. It consisted of candied toasted almonds, mandarin oranges and a homemade salad dressing that I can only describe as the sweetest one I've ever had.

The homemade chicken pot pie casserole type of dish was the second course accompanied by dinner rolls. It had a very cool flaky crust on the bottom (not on top) and was topped off with french fried onions. It turned out wonderful after following her instructions to bake it for 30 minutes. I imagine you can solicit her recipe for the salad and casserole type of dish by emailing a request for it (gramit-at-aol.com). The third course was a bundt cake. I just finished off the previously blogged cake today and now I have a new one to start.

Victoria mimics My Big Fat Greek Wedding line when the soon to be in-laws bring the desert to the Greek household for the first family gathering of both families and proceeds to pronounce: BUNNNNNNDT! Glad to see my wife is recovering well... her sense of humor is returning!

I added an enjoyable beverage on the side with the bundt cake: Woodchuck Draft Cider: Granny Smith. Excellent choice to celebrate any November day.

Gordon and Charlene also included a card that ministered deeply to me when she cited Psa 103:17-18.

Thanks to Kati and Erich and Gordon and Charlene Graham for their kind help recovering from my wife's first birth!