My Amazing and Wonderful Auntie

Mother Goose will take some time today to honk about Auntie. I had a delicious dinner last night with Auntie and dear cousin Stacy at an excellent restaurant in Berwyn, Autre Monde. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before — it’s a epicurean paradise in a quiet suburban setting. Here’s us girls hamming it up for the camera.

Stacy, Auntie and the goose

Just a note — the reason we like this European cafe so much is because the chef is a special friend and coworker of Stacy’s. By night, he’s Chef Dan Pancake. By day, he’s nuclear engineer, Mr. Daniel Pancake.

The man is a genius in the kitchen.

But back to my story about Auntie…

She’s my dad’s little sister and grew up in the small town of Nimrod, Minnesota. (You may have read my posts about my Grampa Laurence who worked on the Alcan Highway and also in the South Pacific during WWII. That’s her father!) She’s been known to be silly at times during her life. In fact, Mother Goose cannot find a picture of Auntie without a mischievous smile on her face. Here are just two examples of Auntie’s sense of humor in action.

Auntie and Mom in the Ladies Room

Three clowns

Auntie makes it to all of my weddings. Here she is at my most recent wedding — to Mr. Mother Goose.

Some of my precious relatives.

I think Auntie has been to every wedding the family has ever had. Here she is at my brother Dana’s wedding.

Grandma Clara, friend Denny and Auntie

Auntie is the beloved matriarch of our family. She cares deeply for family and friends alike. She’s a real go-getter when it comes to business. She travels the nation and the world in search of Fun and Adventure — she always finds them. She loves to shop. She doesn’t mind driving eighteen hours from Minnesota to Alabama just to hug her grandchildren. Auntie always has time to listen when Mother Goose has a concern in her life. Auntie’s heart is bigger than the ocean.

Always having FUN

She’s our Queen.

Photo courtesy of Stacy Clare Sternberg...

Angels, Friends and my good dog Fran

I must say that this has been a very unusual week for Mother Goose. I have nearly been killed (or badly maimed) twice, and happily ate octopus in Berwyn. But wait there’s more — my dear old dog Fran has an aural hematoma in her right ear flap! Omigoodness Mother Goose is certainly ready for the weekend after all of that, but first, let’s just elaborate on these incidents.

Poor old Fran with her poor old ear. I have gone back and forth all week about taking her to the vet, and keep coming back to the rationalization that she’s doing better each day, but maybe she’s not. Her ear is puffed up and tender, but it’s not getting worse. Maybe Mother Goose is not a good dog mommy at all. And maybe Mother Goose should spend more time taking care of her pets and less time updating her Facebook page….

Carrying a basket of clean laundry up the stairs could have proven fatal on Tuesday. I lost my balance and I believe that for a time was hanging by a thread between heaven and earth — only angels could have been holding me as I struggled with gravity for several uneasy seconds. Lo and behold! I didn’t drop one clean sock out of that basket!

And the maiming could have certainly been a reality today as I was frying bacon for Mr. Mother Goose’s lunch. The black cast iron skillet was hotter than the blacksmith’s anvil. The hot skillet and its evil contents slid off the gas burner and into my mid-section, heading straight for my tender Mother Goose legs. Gravity again was repulsed and defeated as the angels helped me push the whole burning mess back onto the stovetop without even a splatter.

Thankful beyond words for the protection of these dear angel friends!

I would like to recommend Autre Monde Cafe. Those amazing little octopus legs with all their little suction cups were just three inches long, but they were VERY big on flavor. And they were lavender. If you can even believe that. It was served as a cold dish with some bright and exciting grape tomatoes who had their own marinade stories to tell. But lavender. Mother Goose kids you not, friends.

Please stop back tomorrow when Mother Goose tells you the story of her new friends and old friends.