The Chicken Never Stops

On Sundays, we go to Mimi's for lunch, unless Mimi has something else to do. Mimi, my mother, frequently has a lot to do. There are so many of us, that there are almost always at least a couple who go for lunch. Lots of days there are flowers in the middle of the table. A centerpiece in Mimi-colors, which run to luscious lipstick-rich peach and melon colors. She cooks a big dinner-style lunch, after church. (Take note of the very clean kitchen, with the tureen lid arrayed decoratively on the wall.) Today, we didn't even go to church and we still got the big dinner. Mimi says "dunnuh." Think Doris Day with Scarlett O'Hara's accent. Only more. Mimi never cooked like that for Sunday-after-church when we were young, we had swiss cheese on white bread, with a home made pickle (bread-and-buttuh pickle). She didn't even cook a big Sunday dunnuh when my children were young. When they got all mature and mobile (in other words, now that I have absolutely no say-so in what these people do), she cooks a stop-in-your-tracks lunch, to lure the young ones in. Mimi's house is so different from my house. She sets the table with placemats. I am not sure I OWN placemats anymore, though I distinctly remember the trouble I had picking some out when I got married.

At my house today, we were planning to try a little veterinary medicine on the kitchen table, since Trina the Mama-cat recently had significant abdominal surgery to render her kit-less. Trina did not want any part of that. If you are comparing, note the fingerprints on the fridge, the cat on the table and the lack of china tureen lids arrayed on my wall. Also, it's not the color of lipstick.Our Young Son has been watching TENNIS all weekend. Lots of cans on my table, no cans on Mimi's table, if you're keeping score. We had to make a run for Mimi's and then a precisely timed run home, to insure that we missed no critical moment of Nadal v. Federer, match for the ages.

To mix things up, Emma sometimes joins our Young Son, when she's bored. No need to run anywhere during that tennis match, between the rain delays and the late finish.
It's really hot around here. The babies want Mama Cat to hurry outside, off the kitchen table, because they are STILL NURSING. They look old to be nursing. The cat in the back is alive. I think. There used to be two of them, and they looked exactly alike. We aren't sure what has changed. We never see them together. Are there still two of them or has one found another home? Because of their unique dispositions, we call the pair the "Devil Cats." Is it possible that they just simply merged into one very devilish cat?The Young Son is not the only one doing some serious "nothing" today. The Sophisticate is probably preparing for student teaching or something serious like fantasy baseball. No, that's BigB. Maybe WebMD? Maybe waiting to go to "dunnuh" at Mimi's? Oh, Facebook? You're kidding! Buckshot is going nowhere. He's miserable in the car. I mean, WE are miserable when he is in the car. He's delighted in the car, anticipating a walk in the park with a lot of ball-throwing.I love it when Mimi laughs. She closes her eyes and really, really laughs. And THAT is why the picture is a little blurry. To get the whole laughing effect. Today, most of us went to lunch at Mimi's. Impossibly out of all the things in the whole universe she might have chosen, she cooked....wait for it....barbecued chicken. Yes indeed. The ONE SINGLE THING I might have possibly cooked this whole long weekend. And PPP - the family hero making the big cake? Mimi made a cake too - only with chocolate icing. Conversation ensued about whether or not I got a crystal or glass cake dome when I got married. I can't find the placements. I am willing to put a cat on my kitchen table. Seriously? A cake dome?

So there you have it. Our house - cats on the table, fingerprints on the fridge and no shirt on the boy during tennis. Mimi's house - placemats, cake domes, and gold jewelry. Both houses - barbecue chicken. Same recipe, a variation on Miss Essie Mae's baked chicken. No complaints at either house. Thank you very much.

Someone please take this baby home. And its sibling. Not the devil cat or devil cats, whichever. Chili? Are you listening?