Welcome Home, Shawn - April 10, 2014

Tuesday night, my oldest son, Shawn Smith, who is with the USAF Reserves, landed at the 
Sacramento airport, with part of his squadron of the AFRC 945th, based at Travis AFB,
California.  Shawn, who is a master sergeant, has been a reservist almost twenty
years now and had been deployed with his group to Kuwait for six months.  I
hadn't seen him in nearly a year, though, since I went to India in June.

We often miss each other like that.  In fact, Shawn, who was supposed to be best
man at his brother, Alex's wedding, was deployed to Germany one week prior and,
since the whole unit had to fly together, he wasn't allowed to delay for that special
occasion.  That's life, however, in the military - and he has spent a lot of his reserve
life on active duty - not that he's complained.  He likes the Air Force and has
enjoyed his years there, moving up the ladder to his present rank.

This is a photo of all three of my sons taken a year ago the night

Harper Ann was born.  Shawn, who some think resembles George

Clooney, is the shortest of the three.

I didn't get any pictures Tuesday night as they landed about 10:40PM.  Alex picked them
up at the airport while I stayed home to fix one of his favorite cocktails - also, my
favorite from New Orleans nursing school days: the Sazerac.  Before I moved out
of the house we shared when my job ended, it was often enjoyed when we weren't 
planning on driving anywhere.  One Sazerac is best when one doesn't have to 
drive and a good night's sleep is soon to follow!!!

Laura made chocolate chip cookies which were a perfect accompaniment to the
drinks and Shawn presented his niece with her gift from Kuwait:  a stuffed camel!!
Harper Ann woke up when she heard all the commotion.

For those of you who have never had a Sazerac, I am including the recipe I use.
One should really use rye whiskey, NEVER bourbon

I've adapted several recipes to my taste and this is how I make my Sazerac.  I
normally use Old Overholt Rye Whiskey ( 4 yr old ).  Another good rye is 
Rittenhouse.

-1 teaspoon absinthe or more, or Herbsaint (a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur)

  Two good absinthe brands are St George, Kubler from Switzerland and St.

   George from San Francisco.  Avoid absinthe from the Czech Republic.
-1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar) -

  I prefer the simple syrup since it dissolves completely - 1-1/2 parts of sugar to 1

  part of water brought to a boil and cooled - can be stored in the refrigerator for

  future use )
-4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
-1 small dash, a scant drop, of Angostura bitters (extremely optional; some feel it 

 helps open the flavors, but traditionalists may leave it out).
-2 ounces rye whiskey.
-Strip of lemon peel

Fill old fashioned glasses with ice to chill.  Discard ice and swirl absinthe in glass to

coat completely, then discard.  Blend with whiskey, bitters, simple syrup and an ice 
cube and stir.  Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that lemon oil cascades into the 
drink, then rub the peel over the rim.  The twist should NOT be put into the drink or as 
Stanley Clisby Arthur says, "Do not commit the sacrilege of dropping the peel into the 
drink." ( funny, but, most of the time, when I get a Sazerac in a restaurant, the lemon
peel is IN the drink! ).  Remember that the flavor of the absinthe should be there, but in 
the background.  It should not dominate.  If mixing ingredients in a cocktail shaker, stir 
gently but don't shake!!!

We enjoyed a couple of rounds of these and sent Shawn on his way back 

to Travis AFB, with a designated driver.  I had no problem sleeping Tuesday

night and dreamt of long ago student nurse days, Dixieland jazz, raw oysters,

and good times in New Orleans.

The following morning, Harper Ann was up bright and early, enjoying her Kuwaiti

camel from Uncle Shawn.

Good grief, Nana, isn't that enough pictures!!!

A Few Days With Family - December 15, 2012

I drove up to West Sacramento on Tuesday, December 11 because my sweet
daughter-in-law, Laura, had invited me to go with her and Alex to see her
ultrasound the following day.  It was a pleasant two hour drive and I enjoyed
listening to Patricia Cornwell's "Red Mist", another Kay Scarpetta crime novel
on tape,  It certainly made the time pass quiickly.

The Christmas tree was up and we had time for a few pictures before heading
out for a sushi lunch.  Since sashimi and sushi were one of the things I would
NOT eat in India, I've been really craving them since my return home. so I've
been indulging myself.

My two sweet granddogs, Bucky and Taffy

Laura and Alex before we left for the ultrasound

At the doctor's office, we were joined by Laura's lovely mom, Christine 

who is already a grandmother twice

We got into a lively discussion with Alex about what we want our grandchild to call us.

Christine has already chosen a name...I'm still working on one.  Alex told us not to 

bother, "You're both going to be grandma," he said.  That boy!!

The ultrasound technician was really nice and didn't seem to mind having an audience.  I

must admit to having a tear or two at times...and there were a lot of ooohs and aaaahs in

the room.  I know better than to post any pictures of Laura's little baby bump in my

blog - she's only gained seven pounds at five months and she is still barely showing.  She

looks terrific and, of course, she is so beautiful.  Lucky folks to have such a pretty and

sweet paramedic show up when they call an ambulance.

This was one of the baby's best shots...great face pic and I think

he/she might be sticking that tongue out at us!

Of course, I was all smiles!  Whoops, time to color my

hair - the gray is showing and I'm not ready to be a gray grandma.

The next afternoon, while poor Laura had to work, Alex and I drive down to Vacaville 

to meet my oldest son, Sahwn, and his girlfriend, Dawn, for all-you-can-eat sushi at

Hisui Japanese Restaurant, near Travis Air Force Base.  It was the first time I'd seen

Shawn in uniform since he was promoted to master sgt.  I am so proud of him.  He

celebrates his 42nd birthday on the 17th!

Shawn is 12 years older than his brother, Alex, 14 years older than Jeremy.

He had been an incredible role model for them.

Wish Jeremy could have been with us.

Strange lighting in this shot...but Dawn is still beautiful.

The sushi was great...I like saba ( mackeral ) which is too fish for some.

Hamachi pleases nearly everyone.

Just getting started!

A great selection

The sushi chef

Shawn and Dawn

US Air Force Master Sergeant Shawn Edward Smith

My son, Alex's nice West Sacramento neighborhood

Cloudy skies and some drizzling rain going over the 

Oakland Bay Bridge back into San Francisco

Stopped at Manivanh Thai, my "family" restaurant where my dish, the "Carmen's special"

now appears on the menu.  San, the fiance of Ann, the owner's daughter showed up with 

this cake for us to share.  A piece of this and scoops of rum raisin and pumpkin ice cream from Mitchell's of San Francisco were a great end to my three days away. After the New

Year, it's back to sensible eating or I'll gain back all that weight I lost in India!