Posts by Jonah

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. Berck’s dad joined us for the weekend, buying us a ton of stuff and enduring being cooped up in a tiny apartment with two excited crazy people. Blockbuster was one of the few things open yesterday, so we ended up watching four DVDs.

Berck’s mom had come the weekend before and bought us another ton of stuff. And my mom sent a big box of packages tied up with string to be opened on Christmas morning. So we racked up quite well. (And I hear there’s more stuff in the post!)

Berck cooked a mess of the best chili ever for Christmas Eve (a Brenner tradition he apparently didn’t know about). Unfortunately, Jim got the habenaro planted in there for flavor. Berck also tried his hand at pate, which after several incarnations ended up tasting just like chopped liver. We had French toast on Christmas morn made from the bread I baked to accompany the ill-fated pate. And Christmas dinner? We ordered out from Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant!

Tonight Berck made the most amazing Tex-Mex I’ve ever had.

When we were in school, ever couple of weeks or so he’d start whining, “Jooooooonah, make us pizza.” But then I taught him how, and he makes pizza better than I ever have.

Now he’s taken away quesadillas from me.

Of course, I’m sure it has something to do with the ingredients. Start with some grated Tillamook Special Reserve Cheddar. Saute some sweet onions, yellow bell peppers, pickled jalepeneos, and roasted chicken. Yes, roasted chicken. Then toss it all on a flour tortilla happily coated in olive oil. Serve with sour cream and D.L. Jardine’s medium salsa. Oh, my goodness. It was so good, it almost made me cry.

Berck’s mom came in this weekend to celebrate his birthday. We had a lovely time.

Berck cooked his own birthday dinner: standing rib roast, asparagus, roast potatoes. I baked a chocolate, chocolate cake and French bread, and made artichoke dip (which had to go in the toaster oven because there was no room in the inn). There was much beer and wine and rejoicing.

Berck’s mom bought us a mattress! We tossed Berck’s old futon mattress in the dumpster. It is sooooooo nice to sleep on a good mattress. We drove all over Norman in Arthur reclining on mattresses, then ordered one to be picked up later that night.

My folks sent Berck a check for his birthday; it came tonight via UPS while we were eating. He’s terribly excited that he has some money that he can spend however he wants. After supper he jumped up and immediately started pricing car and computer parts.

So. It’s official. My new social security card says my middle name is Elise and my last name is Nachzen.

Now I’ve just got to wait until I have get off early some Friday and get a new driver’s license. But we get the next two Fridays off. I wonder if the tag agency will be open on Christmas Eve. Not a chance, right?

Finally, a company that sells Berck’s kind of socks. If not his size.