A rather rushed, but fun day

Fennel, grapefruit, avocado, and pomegranate salad

In keeping with our family tradition of seldom having our birthday or Christmas presents ready on time, Ana and Becca gave me a little birthday party – only about six weeks after my birthday, but that was fine.  Better late than never, and even better than that – when you feel like it, rather than when you are obliged to.  Ana’s birthday is the day after mine, so we were celebrating that as well. 

I made us a squash soup, which turned out to be one of the best soups I ever ate.  And Becca made a salad which was one of the prettiest salads I ever ate.  I had my morning planned to the minute so that I could have lunch on time.  I had gotten a kabocha squash, per the instructions of Rebecca, who said it would be way more delicious than my usual butternut squash.  Well, as usual, she was absolutely right, but while more delicious, it also had a lot more air in it.  When I opened it up in the morning, I realized that it would be way not enough for my soup, and I would have to go to the store and get more squash.  As I was pondering this, Becca called and said could I come get her so she could do her laundry.  Sigh.  Well, I had to go out anyway, so I told her to get it packed up and I would be there soon.  We got the laundry and another squash, and as she was trying to unlock my door, she couldn’t.  She didn't have her keys.  We realized that with the scramble to trying get the bundles of laundry out her door while not letting Maria the cat get out, the keys were left in the keyhole.  So a rush trip back.  Then we realized that we needed to stop at the store again to get more ice cream.   Aaargh!  When we got back, I made my soup, but the hour for the guests was arriving (along with the guests themselves,) so I asked her to make the salad, as I wasn’t going to have time.  She informed me that I would have had time if I were more efficient.  Hmmmmmm.   She would have been more gracious about doing this, if not that she was, in true Ryan tradition, desperately putting the finishing touches on the scarf she was making for Ana’s birthday present.  That too, was finished in the nick of time, and like the salad, was beautiful.

The soup was a treat, the salad was beautiful, as well as yummy, the party was fun, and my present was great.  It was a kit I had tried to purchase a year ago, but it had gone out of print, so to speak.  Now it was available again, and Ana and Becca combined to get it for me.  So I have a bunch of fun knitting to look forward to, and I hope, a nice sweater as well. 

 Soup recipe to follow.