Everyday Life for Four Seasons

We had an ice storm on Thursday night and have had ice on the trees ever since. It's really pretty when I look outside now and see the sun shining through the icy branches. It looks like diamonds and crystals are hanging from every branch.


On the night of the storm, I didn't think it was so pretty. Jeff was in Chicago, and I was thankful he was in a safer place than I. 'A' came into bed with me in the middle of the night and we slept happily until I started hearing branches snapping outside the house. I got up to check it out (along with half of the neighborhood, judging from all the lights that were on). I did my quick mental check of the trees in our yard and remembered how they all like to lean, and decided that 'A' and I would be safest if we slept on the couches in the family room. There is only one tree, a white pine, that I fear may fall on our house in an ice storm, and it is right on the other side of my bedroom wall. It didn't fall, but it's sister, who stands right next to it and is the same size, lost the top half of her main trunk on Friday. It fell to the ground and was heavy as all heck to move. I'll know when the ice clears if we are going to have to have it taken down completely.



Today our minister read something about how the Christmas season can be special and meaningful even if you don't completely believe in the holiness of the story. I'll share it with you.

"Into the bright circle of life and light, which is the Christmas season, we have come.

Out of the routine ways of living, and the drab ruts of habit, we have come to warm our hearts and minds at the cradle of the child.

May something of the beauty, mystery, and promise of this lovely old story fall like silver rain upon the broken dreams, the hates and fears of all.

Once again may we pause, look up, and in the far-off distances hear that old, old music, the music of hope, brotherhood, sisterhood, and blessed peace."

Jeff suggested we print this out and do something with it during our celebration with my mother this weekend. Every year my mother, a Methodist (who by the way wonders if God is a woman, so she is open to alternative ideas about her religion) asks how Unitarians can celebrate Christmas if we don't buy the whole story. This is a nice answer to her question and some of my questions, too.


The sermon was about giving and sharing and remembering that the illusion of the "American Dream" - that we all have the ability to have what we want if we will only work hard enough - puts us all at risk, particularly during this time of economic uncertainty. If we believe that myth, then we can't help but blame those who are unable to find work and shame them for asking for help from either the government or their local charities. When we stop reaching out to those who need help and those who need it stop asking for it, all of us suffer.


We have even more flying squirrels living in our walls this year. Last night we identified a family living behind the mirror in one of our bathrooms. I'm calling the exterminator on Monday and agreeing to their extensive animal-control program. I don't mind sharing the walls of my home if the animals find that it's too cold outside, but I don't want them hanging out in the bathroom with me.

Both of my girls were born in the early part of the year, so by the time they "discovered" snow, they were well past the year and a half mark. They were too young their first winter to really understand what it was or notice if it was there or not. By discovering snow, I mean they realized that it was coming down, or that it had come down and the ground looked different, and they would point and squeal about it. When they walked in it for the first time, ('A' was outside at the Clifton Park mall in December 2006 and 'H' was leaving church last Sunday when the discovery happened) they both did the same thing: bent down and poked it, then really dug in. And they kept coming back for more, despite the fact that their little hands were red and wet and cold!

Here are some shots of 'H' on her discovery day last Sunday.


This time of year is a good time to try to articulate my spiritual path and my religious beliefs. Jeff and I were raised in different religious traditions - me, Protestant and he, Jewish, and every December we are thrown into a whirlwind of socially accepted rituals, some of which we embrace and some we don't. 'A' is old enough to ask questions and to start to understand the meanings of the holidays, and I've found myself thinking about how to explain some of it to her.

Although Jeff and I come from different backgrounds, we both have a lot of questions and aren't interested in living strictly according to our own religions. One of the more interesting things about our relationship is where we stand on our own spiritual paths. I would say that at the moment, our paths are headed in a similar direction and they run fairly parallel, with similar questions and similar priorities. Speaking for myself, in a nutshell, I am not certain that Jesus was the son of God and I am not convinced that he rose from the dead. I would actually say that I am fairly certain about this but I don't want to close myself off to the possibility that perhaps the stories about God and Jesus are all true. I don't know where my path is taking me and I want to remain open to changing my perspective about spirituality and my beliefs. But for now, I don't believe, and since those are the two fundamental beliefs of Christianity, it's hard for me to celebrate Christmas in the traditional Christian way. I do believe that Jesus was a great person though and I am happy to celebrate a day in honor of him (I tell 'A' that we celebrate his birthday on Christmas Day even though I feel like a liar because we all know he wasn't born in December). I tell her what I believe, that he was a good person and we can be happy to honor him. I tell her about the Christian manger story and say that some people prefer that version. I tell her about nature and short days and the traditions of bringing a bit of the natural world and the bright lights into our homes. I tell her about the importance of giving to people who are not as fortunate as we are. I tell her that Santa Claus is only a small part of the Christmas story.

It's easy to list what I tell her, but so hard for me to get it all across when we talk. She's three. That's one part of it. But also, since my beliefs don't fit into the traditional ones, it's hard for me to follow the mainstream Christmas story and expect my kids to absorb it and love it too. I am still getting my story straight with myself. And now I have to tell it to two little people who think everything I say is The Truth.


I said that Jeff and I have similar goals relating to spirituality. Some of these are purely spiritual, meshing well with the mission statements of the Unitarian Universalist church, which I'll tell you about in a minute. Some of them, though, are things we want for our family that we both received through our religious upbringing. We would say that our parents were fairly active with their church and temple. My parents rarely skipped a Sunday morning at church. They held positions on committees, in the choir, as deacons, Sunday School teachers... you name it, they did it. Jeff's parents were active in their temple. Two things that came from that environment that we feel are important for our children are: #1, it is very comforting for children to know that every Friday night or Sunday morning, no matter what, they are going to be going to the same structured place where they are welcomed and loved by other children and adults. #2, it is highly beneficial for teenagers to have a group of peers outside of their jr. or sr. high school, outside of any other social group they belong to, to turn to for support and companionship. I firmly believe that my church Youth Group friends got me through some of the toughest years of my teenage life in one piece.

We attend weekly services at the Unitarian church. We haven't become members yet. Yet. We like to go, but something hasn't clicked yet where we want to commit to being members. OK, maybe it's a general fear of commitment, which isn't out of the question for us. It's also partly that the congregation seems older than us. Not by a lot, but enough to be older. As Jeff points out, the people who attend are asking serious questions about life and themselves and a lot of people probably don't do that until they are in their mid to late 30's (that's us), so it makes sense that we're some of the younger - and newer - attendees.

This is what the Unitarians believe, copied directly from the UU website.

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  


• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
  


• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
  


• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  


• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
  


• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
  


• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
  

Unitarian Universalism UU) draws from many sources:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

We're back from a fabulously relaxing week in Florida! A lot of really wonderful things came out of this week. #1 involves Erma, our 15 year old cat. Erma didn't get the chance to vacation with us. She stayed here and was tended to by Tina, a vet assistant from our local vet's office. I had asked Tina to keep an eye on the water dish because Erma sometimes drinks an average amount and sometimes drinks a lot more. I know all too well what it means when an animal drinks more than usual. When it's her time to go, I will let her go with dignity and grace, but until that time arrives I would rather not think about it or deal with it. Happily, Tina reported that the water level was normal during the eight days she was here. Woohoo! Erms is staying around a while longer. Good. She's a good girl.


One of the highlights of the trip - according to me and Jeff - was the quick getaway we made to Bonita Springs. The girls stayed with Jeff's parents for four days while Jeff and I relaxed in luxury. Thank you, thank you Shelly and Neal for making the entire experience possible! Good thing #2 came out of that short trip: I actually relaxed, which is something I usually do not like to do. I learned a valuable lesson about letting go and got a lot of insight into my inner workings.


Once I figured out how to relax and let go, it was easy. If you can believe it, I didn't miss my kids at all during those four days. I am normally with them all day, every day, so this was pretty amazing. In the car on the way to the resort I reviewed some of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings. Some of them, those regarding letting go, were similar to other Buddhist teachings I had encountered in the past and oddly similar to some things Dr. Phil had said on one of his shows a while back. I know, I know, a lot of people make fun of Dr. Phil, but his in-your-face style appeals to me. You would never use the word "subtle" to describe either me or Dr. Phil. Anyway, the gist of all of the lessons is that it's important for us to recognize when our ego is getting in the way of a situation.


When I first started learning about putting aside my ego, I didn't understand what it meant at all. So during this trip, I decided to stop analyzing the teachings and do what I was told to do instead. Everyone who listens to a lesson is told to practice mindfulness, live in the moment, and meditate, and eventually you will begin to learn.


So I did that. When we arrived at the resort and I started to wonder how the girls and Jeff's parents were doing, I decided to sit and notice my breathing. It was tight in my chest and my back. After focusing on breathing for a few minutes, I took note of the fact that I wasn't pining away for my children at all. In fact, I was very happy to just sit and observe my breathing, thinking of nothing else at all.


How does this relate to my ego? After a few days of noticing my breathing and focusing on the little details around me, I finally started to get it. I had stopped spending my energy on thinking about my girls and things that were beyond my control (you know the thoughts: "are they OK?" "are they safe in the car without me?" "are they behaving?" "are they sleeping well?" etc, etc....). I understood that they were in a safe place and so was I. They would never know if I thought about them or not. It didn't make any difference in their situation. But it did make a difference in my situation. This is where my ego comes into play. If I had thought about them, I would have found myself trying to get some control over the situation, as if thinking about them allowed me to be there, instead of where I was. My ego would have been doing the talking. My ego and its need to control the situation would be in charge. By removing my thoughts about the girls, my ego had nothing to control. And at that point, peace and relaxation began to come.

I started choosing to be present in the moment.


My ego doesn't pop up only when it comes to thinking about my girls. It pops up anytime I think about something that isn't related to this very moment. When I wonder how the family holiday celebration will go, or what the dentist will say about my teeth next week, I'm telling myself that I don't trust my ability to react responsibly and fairly in the situation and I am "preparing myself" by thinking about it in advance. But really, all I am doing is wasting my energy on trying to get control of something I have absolutely no business controlling, and no hope of ever controlling.


Okay, now that I've gone philosophical on you, I'll give you some space to be mindful and appreciate your moment. If you're wondering what Dr. Phil has to say about egos, I believe it was something to this effect: the people who think most about what other people are doing, feeling or thinking, the ones who seem to have the smallest egos because they are always thinking of others are actually the ones with the largest ego issues of all. That really struck me. It gave me a lot to think about.

These are some of the soft trees I have been making. I used Christmas fabric for these sets and I am going to box them up tonight and mail them to my sister Emily and her fiance Harry. They are hosting Christmas this year and I can't imagine they have many holiday decorations yet, so this will add a little something to their home this season. Jeff loves them and I am going to keep sewing more of them so we can have some to enjoy too. I'm going to use some non-holiday fabric so we can keep some up until the spring comes, and maybe even beyond.


Emily is a very natural person with very simple taste, so these should be right up her alley.

Here is 'A', nursing her baby today.


Speaking of nursing, 'H' is just about ready to wean. She nurses before her nap and before bedtime now. I had gone back and forth on whether I should encourage her to wean or let her make the decision on her own. I decided to let her be the one to initiate weaning. It seemed to mesh better with our parenting philosophy that way. Jeff and I lean toward a wait-and-see approach to parenting, letting our girls decide when they are ready to try certain things. For instance, we let 'A' potty train when she was ready, the way she wanted to do it (I'll never forget when I started a sticker reward chart and she informed me that she didn't want to use a reward system and asked me to throw it away). She still isn't potty trained at night and we're going to let her decide when she wants to be. We don't even talk about it that much with her. It's the same with everything else. If they want to explore something, they let us know. If they don't, they don't have to.

So when it came to weaning 'H', I decided to let her make the decision on her own. I didn't know what I was in for, because when 'A' weaned, it was very sudden. I hadn't planned to wean her at a specific point, but when I got pregnant with 'H', I was very sick and when I nursed, it was much worse. I cut her off immediately and permanently. So this time around, I didn't have anything to compare it to.

Lately, 'H' will nurse for a split second and then ask to go in her crib for bed. It's nice that she's the one making the decision.


I had a very fulfilling weekend. I saw my friend Kristine, who is one of my best friends from my school years. I've been friends with her for 24 years and I've loved every year of it. Kristine is one of the most inspirational women in the whole world. She's a capricorn and she's as steady as a 100 year old tortoise. She has always seemed to know exactly what she wants in life, and she gets it through hard work, dedication, and a generous heart. Back when everyone was spending their weekends partying and enjoying lazy, selfish days, Kristine was volunteering as a big sister to two little girls who needed a positive adult role model. She is the most centered person I know and she is 100 percent dedicated to her family. Over the years I have looked to her for inspiration, and she's never failed to provide it. I think her core element is that she is so grateful for everything she has, and grateful for the opportunity to work for what she would like to have. She's been through a lot in her short life and she knows what it means to appreciate things. I love her and I am so lucky to have her in my life!

On Sunday I went to the Unitarian service and it was a very nice, community-based Thanksgiving service. I met a woman there who talked with me for a long time about what it means to be a Unitarian and how our beliefs affect our daily life and community relationships. We also spoke longingly about the Amherst-Northampton region, a place we both respect and hold dear. I really enjoy going to the services. The feeling of sitting in the same room with many other people who view spirituality and the world in the same way I do is wonderful.

The sermon was about eating locally. The minister said that sometimes local food doesn't have a smaller carbon footprint, but it's important to eat locally to nourish our spiritual selves, our community bonds, and our appreciation for all that nature brings throughout each season.

Have a wonderful and grateful Thanksgiving holiday!

My neighbor, Julie, gave me some soup she made. It's all vegetables and it's delicious. It's also good for you - Julie is on Weight Watchers and she has lost 25 pounds. It seems like it took her just a week to lose it, but I guess it's been a few weeks. She looks phenomenal. Anyway, I prepared the soup for my lunch today and both 'H' and 'A' sat next to me and ate every other bite. They loved it! I've been working hard at coming up with different ways to prepare vegetables so that they will eat more of them, and the soup definitely helped.


'H' grew up overnight. She's becoming such a big kid. Jeff and I noticed a few days ago the she underwent a transformation overnight. It's so amazing and weird to watch that happen to a child.


I went to a meditation workshop tonight and it gave me a lot to think about. It was a Buddhist lesson and guided meditation. It was really nice.

Look at this - snow flurries! Can you even believe it?

I'm trying to make both girls nap this afternoon. Today is my big cooking day. Tomorrow I have a MOMS Club new member tea at my home in the afternoon, so I'm preparing tomorrow's dinner today so that I can just focus on the tea tomorrow afternoon. And I'm preparing tonight's dinner today because I'll be at the gym this afternoon and won't have time to get home and cook it all in time. And I'm making some muffins for the tea. Whew! I suppose it would help if I were in the mood to cook today. At least the oven is warming up the house - I have the heat set at a chilly 62 degrees.


I'm still moving along with my soft tree project and I'll let you know how they come out!

I spent $96 at the grocery store yesterday. I'll probably have to go back for more fruit at the end of the week. This is what's for dinner this week:

Monday
Roasted butternut squash and shallot soup with basic beer bread and steamed broccoli

Tuesday
Roasted fall vegetables with olive tapanade and goat cheese in a whole wheat-cornmeal crust, served with salad

Wednesday
Pizza night: one with cheese and sauce for me and Jeff, and one with sauce and grilled zucchini for all of us

Thursday
Orecchiette with red sauce and rice-lentil balls (vegan version of meatballs), served with salad and steamed broccoli

Friday, Saturday and Sunday are still question marks.

I think I am finally coming out of the DTs from caffeine withdrawl! My headache is gone, I'm not exhausted anymore, and I have energy again. Goodness, caffeinated coffee is a stronger drug than I realized.

Reason #63 why my sister Emily and I should not be in charge of planning family holiday functions:

She called today to talk about Christmas (she's hosting part of it).

Me: "Do you think we can make it vegan this year?"

Emily: "Sure. But do you think the others will mind?"

Me: "Of course not. What's not to like?"


Emily has been an on-again, off-again vegan. When she's off, that means she's eating cheese and eggs, but not animal meat. She's very health conscious and socially aware, and that is where her vegan/vegetarian viewpoint comes from. Funny, because when we were little, I didn't care for meat and she couldn't get enough of it.


Jeff and the girls are napping. It just started downpouring here and it's nice and still in our home at this moment.


I just found a local meditation group that I'm going to try out. It meets once a week in the evenings, and now that Jeff is back full-time, I will have the opportunity to go. Emily introduced me to meditation years ago. She was part of a meditation group on Cape Cod. They met regularly and then they all went to stay at an ashram in the northern part of India. Emily went twice for an extended stay.


I'm looking forward to carving out some meditation time.


Movie night tonight with the girls!

This is where I took my kids today:


You can see that this house is inhabited by adults, and only adults. Children don't come here often...

...and this is what they did while they were there:


It's my neighbor's house. Blanca and Stanley just did a lot of work to their house because they are planning to sell it and move closer to their son and grandson in Arizona. She invited me over to see what they had done. So, the girls and I rushed home from 'A's gymnastics class and gathered up the cookie bar/bread thing I had made for Blanca (it's another made-up recipe, another "not bad tasting" snack that I made yesterday). We walked down the street and spent some time visiting. Blanca is the sweetest woman in the world, and I bet if I had a few more hours to kill, she would have kept me there talking all afternoon. They were really great with the girls and we had a good time.

On the way home we walked past this "bird house" mailbox, as 'A' called it. Pretty.


I learned a valuable bit of information today: I don't have to stay in the gymnastics room while 'A' has her class. That means I can drop 'H' off at the child care, drop 'A' off at class, and run upstairs to work out for a few minutes! I love it!

This is where I want to be right now - in my cozy, feathery, oh so comfy bed.

The first time down the slide today caught Little L by surprise! Those slides are fast and the kids always land with a bounce.

'H' chose not to go down.

I talked with my older sister Jennifer yesterday and as a result of our conversation, I tried something new today. Jennifer is a wonderful and very energetic person. In some ways, she is spontaneous and loosey-goosey, but in other ways, she is very structured and highly organized, in an almost rigid sort of way (yes, Jennifer, it's true). Jennifer has always organized her daughter's clothing into pre-defined outfits. At the beginning of every season, she picks out the outfits, hangs them on hangers, and when her daughter gets dressed, she just pulls out a hanger and the whole outfit is on there. The outfits never change. All season, the same shirt goes with the same pair of pants. I have spent some time in the past making fun of Jennifer for this rigid system. "What happens when you have a shirt that looks great with two different pairs of pants? Can't you mix and match?" "No!" "What happens when the pants get dirty in the middle of the day?" "She would have to change her entire outfit."


Fast forward to yesterday, and I finally decided to listen as she described her "system." And something about it made sense. It might be that Jennifer has a quality about her that makes me want to say, "me too! me too!" Heck, I do everything she tells me to, including marrying the man she picked out for me.

Today I pulled out all of 'A's clothes and matched and rematched until I came up with the perfect combination of outfits. How liberating it felt! Now I don't have to worry about digging for clothes that look good together, or negotiating with her after she has already dressed herself in an outfit that doesn't match. As Jennifer puts it, "Do you really want to end up with a whiny child who gets stressed out over what to wear as she gets older? There are so many other important things to stress about."

I have to wait until Jeff gets home and puts up a lower closet rod so I can hang everything on hangers. Until then, I put everything in big Ziploc bags. I love this system!


On a separate note, I have been sick for over a month now. I have a cold and it's traveled from my sinuses to my ears and now it's reaching my lungs. I've been laying low, just resting for a few weeks, napping when I can, but it just won't go away. On the bright side, all of my focus on myself, my health and my family has had some tangible benefit for me. My blood pressure has dropped significantly in the past 6 weeks. For most of my life, it hovered around 90/50. Two years ago, it went up to 120/80, which is normal for most people but high for me. It stayed up there until I made the few recent changes. Now it's back down to a normal level. I feel good. I can tell my heart feels good too.

BTW, regarding the squash cookie recipe below, Jennifer says that if I have to describe a cookie as, "not bad," it must be disgusting. They're not gross, but they definitely aren't the best in the world. They're not bad. They taste healthy.

I did a little cooking experiment today and it came out okay. I *still* have some of that leftover squash, so I decided to make a batch of squash cookies to bring to Fondue Night tonight. I used my vegan-ized chocolate chip cookie recipe and instead of using 1 cup of Smart Balance, I used 1/2 of it and 3/4 cup of squash puree. The cookies are not bad. They're a little moist, a little cakey, but they taste good and they are significantly better for your heart than regular chocolate chip cookies.

When I used to give out my recipe, I would tell people that I use the recipe that you find on the backs of all of the chocolate chip bags with just a few substitutions. Now my substitution list has grown so long that I think it's time for me to write down my recipe and stop substituting every other ingredient listed on the bag.

Heart Healthy, Butternut Squash Love Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 c. Smart Balance
Scant 3/4 c. sugar
Scant 3/4 c. brown sugar
(I use a little less than 3/4 c. of each sugar because the chips are sweet enough that it doesn't need that much sugar)

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 c. butternut squash or pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons water (this equals 2 eggs)

Mix together in a separate bowl:
2 1/4 c. flour (I would try using whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, it may stand up to the squash a little better)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Scant 1 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour mixture with the squash mixture.
Add 1/2 package chocolate chips and 1/2 package butterscotch chips (Price Chopper's chips are dairy-free and I'm told Walmart makes dairy-free chips as well)

Bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet until they are light brown around the edges.


If you're interested in learning more about flaxseed, here's some neat info that I copied from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking site.

1. Just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal delivers 4 grams of fiber, as much fiber as 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal! Studies prove that when this is added to the diet, harmful LDL cholesterol drops, while good HDL cholesterol stays put.

2. Flax seed contains high levels of lignans, a natural antioxidant, which can maintain breast and colon health by binding circulating estrogens that might promote unchecked cell growth. To get the lignans that are in just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal, you’d need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli.

3. Flax seed is a mega-source for the plant version of omega-3 called Alpha-Linolenic Acid. The oil in flaxseed is about 50% ALA. One serving (which is 2 tablespoons) contains 2400 milligrams of omega-3.

If you've ever wondered why my butterscotch-chocolate chip cookies are called Love Cookies, it's because they have a proven aphrodisiac effect on people when they eat them. I've documented it, it's true.


'A' played around with my camera today and snapped this photo of me.


Today is Veteran's Day. Years ago, when I lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, I worked for an organization called the Veteran's Education Project. Veterans would talk with school kids about the effect of violence on their lives and encourage them to manage their lives and relationships using peaceful strategies. That year, Saving Private Ryan had come out in the theaters and we showed it on the big screen at the community center in town on Veteran's Day. After the film, a panel of WWII veterans talked about how the violence they experienced during the war affected their lives. They then took questions from the audience and I will never forget when a woman stood up and started yelling at them for being a part of the violence and asking them how they could live with themselves. It was a sad moment for many of us in the room.

This Veteran's Day, I am thinking of those who have served our country and I am wishing that they all have the opportunity to talk to the community about the reality of violence and the reality of the work they do. They are underpaid and underappreciated and the expectations of who they are and what they do does not always match up with reality. Thank you, veterans, for your service.

We played at home this morning with Jeff. He left this afternoon. Somehow, I'm swamped with work this afternoon, but I am taking a quick break to relax and look at the photos I took of 'H' playing.


Jeff and I enjoyed a New York State Cabernet Sauvignon on Saturday night. It paired well with his chili and rice dish.