Best laid plans

There is a reason I don't make plans far in advance. Most often they don't work out. In the past, plans and promises that did not come to pass taught me to not get really disappointed; but also taught me to avoid making plans or promises. That is why I seldom make plans more than a few days in advance, and why it is hard to get a commitment from me.

Another reason for me not to make plans is I want flexibility as it is hard for me to deviate from a plan. One lesson learned from my first bicycle trip is try to allow room for unexpected events. I still regret keeping to my plan to reach Spokane that evening instead of accepting the invitation to lunch from a young woman I met while touring Grand Coulee Dam. Who knows where that could have led?

Of course I can take flexibility too far as I don't make hotel reservations. A former girlfriend never let me forget that after most hotel rooms in Minneapolis were filled and we had trouble finding a room once we were downtown Minneapolis. With all the hotels in Minneapolis, who would have thought most of them would have been filled that evening? How about everyone else who attended the same concert?

Anyway, what triggered these remembrances is my latest plan didn't work out. My family and I had invited relatives over for food and conversation on Sunday. We had gotten together at their farm several years ago and last year weren't able to schedule a time for getting together again. This year, last Thursday, we settled on this past Sunday as the weather was forecast to be decent.

This short time difference should have overcome obstacles like unexpected events. What could come up in three days to derail the plan? How about an illness? My cousin Ginger got ill and they had to cancel. The weather was starting to change over the weekend and the wind was strong. My relatives live many miles out of town and the drive would be difficult over wind driven snow covered rural roads anytime, much less when ill.

Since I am not a cook and unable to cook something at the last minute, mom and I spent Saturday preparing food so we would be ready on Sunday. Even though Monica formerly lived in Texas near the Mexican border, and knows what 'real' chili should taste like, we still decided to try our hand making chili; something warm on a cold January day and different from the recent Christmas food. We hoped to make a passable batch of chili.

I still had some of my pumpkin paste left so I made a batch of pumpkin muffins and also a pumpkin pie. And we had cheese, crackers, and a salad. Enough food to delay one's post Christmas/New Years diet.



Sadly we ended up with lots of food and no company. Which may be just as well as I had gotten distracted when making my pie crust and mixed up a couple steps which meant I kneaded the dough longer than desirable. My pie crust ended up being somewhat 'firm'.

Well, I have more weekends left in North Dakota before I return to Montana. Even though this is January in North Dakota I have hope we can schedule another time. Next time I'll order pizza or Chinese food.

In the meantime, anyone hungry? Especially on a cold night where the wind is howling and driving the snow sideways...