Jeanne Warren
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I have fortunately been able to spend time with my new grandchild, Jeanne, and her mother and dad for the first two weeks of her life.
I have mentioned they live in New York City.
When Anne and Chris said they were expecting a baby, I said I had never seen an unhappy child in New York City; and since Chris is in the finance field, he is lucky to have a job anywhere … so New York is home.
Anne and Chris have adapted easily to parenthood. Tommy and I have tried to help them by washing clothes, preparing meals and doing our best to stay out of their way when they are together. Because I love to cook, I wholeheartedly took on the task of cooking. I planned many a lunch, dinner and dessert in advance. When we leave, Chris’s parents will come help for a couple of weeks.
Here are the notes I am sending to Dee Dee, Chris’s Mom, to prepare her for cooking in a kitchen with eight (!) square feet of standing room.
(1) Your first order of business is to get down on your hands and knees and take a mental inventory (possibly even photos) of the one cabinet (for pots and pans). They have wonderful cooking utensils (skillets, etc), but each has been assigned a certain spot, and if you happen to get them out of order, you’ll spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to fit them back in there; a veritable jenga puzzle of sorts.
(2) Try to wash dishes as you use them, because that one-half square foot section of counter space is all you have to work with and the dryer rack takes up lots of room. I finally learned to get the sink really clean and prepare food in the sink. If anything spills, you’re ahead of the task, and it’s actually a (relatively) pretty big spot if you think about it.
(3) Learn how to do things without a microwave.
To reach the microwave you have to get the ladder out, stand on the top rung and punch buttons that are hard to see. It was too high for me to reach, even on a ladder, and after I got something out the first time I realized it’s just too dangerous.
But you really don’t need the microwave. The top of the stove gets so hot when you’re preheating the oven that you can put what you want defrosted or thawed in a pan at the rear of the stove, and it will be ready for use before you know it.
(4) If you have preplanned meals in mind you want to make, bring as many non-perishable items as you can carry.
For their first meal, I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. The canned vegetable aisle of the local grocery store was only four feet wide and a 15-ounce can of green beans cost $1.89. I settled for some frozen ones; not as good, but it worked.
The meatloaf mix was on sale and was wonderful, but what a shock when I bought an 8-ounce “brick” of cream cheese. It was $2.67. Flour tortillas were $4.37. Now when I go into a market, I check the price of cream cheese. That is still the cheapest I have seen.
If you have your menu planned in advance, Anne can order from Fresh Direct and it will be brought to her door the very next day. Their consistent quality has been wonderful. EVERYTHING can be delivered to the door the next day. Now that’s a luxury!
Finally, if you get frustrated, take two steps backward and look to your right at the baby crib outside the door. You can look at the little gift from Heaven that sleeps there. It will make any inconvenience seems really not inconvenient at all.
‘Til next week. |
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