My Aunt Cissy rocks on

My darling Aunt Cissy died last night on her half-birthday - she made it to 92 ½! That would be more impressive if she'd been in good health the last 18 months, but several strokes took away that infamous "quality of life."

But, heck, there was Quality of Life to spare the previous 90+ years. Julia has been emailing from Chile as we process the news about Cissy’s death. She wrote:

"Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope she is at peace now. I will dearly miss her, and do already. I am in a small town on the Chilean coast and I want to say a prayer for her. … Let’s raise a toast (a piece of bread from our purse) for Cissy."

I enjoyed telling Cissy stories to my hairdresser today, including the one about the toast in her purse. I second Julia's emotion about missing her already--especially that twinkling eye and her off-color, out-of-bounds sense of humor (is that what it was?!). Cissy would toast Julia's latest adventure in South America.

Our famous connection to Cissy's toast came the night before Alan and I were married. She could barely restrain her glee waiting to speak at the Lobster House restaurant in Marina del Rey. When she rose to address family and friends, she opened her purse to reveal a much toasted piece of bread. She raised it in a toast to Alan and me, and announced she was thrilled Alan “knew how to use a hammer,” and didn't care if he could use “any of his other tools." At our wedding the next day, Alan's Grandpa Evan enjoyed getting to know Cissy, who also went by her childhood nickname of "Cippy." Grandpa Evan loved that name, and had fun calling her "Mrs. Cippy."

I remember the love she had for her son Marc-David and the interest she had in her grandchildren’s adventures. She talked with love of her first husband Art, and we got such a kick out of her delightful and often bawdy anecdotes about second husband Dick, the love of her life. It was from Cissy I realized love that was discovered in middle-age love could flourish in every way. She and Dick fixed up a Dodge van and drove all over the Southwest and into Mexico where they spent time making ceramics at an art colony of ex-pats. When they lived in Santa Monica, they would slip into my mother’s house and do repairs—we called them "vandals in reverse." On Dick's birthday one year they went to New Orleans to hear his favorite Dixieland musician, Pete Fountain. They went to France once for Cissy's birthday and a chance to ride in a hot air balloon.

The final Cissy story probably should be preceded by a warning—Not For the Faint of Heart. Cissy loved painting and took many classes over the years. Shortly after Dick’s death, she made a painting incorporating his photo. She proudly showed us this painting “with Dick in it,” at a Passover seder. As I reached over to touch the painting, her granddaughter Shannon called to me, “Don’t touch it, Lyra. It really does have Dick IN it!” It turns out Cissy had read an article about a technique to add ashes of loved ones to a painting so it could truly be infused with the essence of the departed. Always the experimental artist, she had added a “little bit of Dick” to her painting. A startling family moment…

My dear sweet Cissy, I hope you're reunited with darling Dick and having a ball.

Tomatoes, how I love thee

Our garden is bursting with delicious juicy tomatoes, one of summer's greatest gifts.
I have a new favorite recipe - Bread and Tomato Salad. Here's a simple and delicious recipe from Ann M. Evans and Georgeanne Brennan, two of my favorite food mavens of Northern California who happen to live near me.

This recipe was printed as part of their column "From the Ground Up," in the Davis Enterprise on Aug. 9, 2009.

Bon Appetite, baby!

Bread & Tomato Salad

A great use for old bread! Choose a coarse-crumbed bread. If desired, add chicken pieces rolled in bread crumbs and fried until golden.

Ingredients:
½ loaf of 2-3 day old, coarse-crumbed bread such as a baguette or olive or walnut bread
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
¼ to ½ cup small basil leaves, or torn if large

Putting it together:
Trim crusts from bread and discard. Cut bread into ½ inch cubes. Set aside. If the bread is still quite soft, put a little olive oil in skillet and sauté the bread until golden, turning several times. [I toast it.]

In the bottom of a salad bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and turn gently. Add the bread and basil, turn several times and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish.

Lyra’s notes: I have used any nice multigrain or wheat bread and a vcariety of olive oils. I toast the bread if it’s too dry. I don’t cut crusts off bread. I tend to use more tomatoes than the recipe calls for. And I eat bowls of this!

Our Travelin' Man...

Josh is here tonight en route to Santa Monica after attending a friend's wedding in Holland Lake, Montana. He and 2 friends drove there a week ago, and they returned early this morning with an additional buddy. Those Village Homes boys seem like cousins. He said the ones in the back seat slept, and we thought back on the days we worked with the same guys to make safe trips to snowboard in the Sierra back country. They look out for each other.

I can see from his smile and deep pleasure talking about the journey how much fun they had. It brought back fabulous memories of traveling with our kids on several big trips. The first was when Josh was 14 and Julia was 11. We headed east and north to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada, the Snake River and Laura Ingalls Wilder landmarks, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Vancouver.

We loved that trip so much, in spite of rain and 3 trips to Urgent Care, that we headed out again 2 years later, this time to the Southwest. Our first stop, though, was the X-Games to see wild wakeboarders do their thing at a sea park in San Diego. Then we hit the Grand Canyon, Monument National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, and finally Zion before a 3 hour stop in Las Vegas. Our dog Tam pooped on a resort lawn and Alan refused to pick it up, saying it was the only real item in the whole town.

When Josh graduated from college we took a memorable trip to to Alaska. We were guests of Alan's folks on a 52-foot boat and fished like we'd never fished before. The last few days of the trip the kids and Alan and I stayed together in a hotel room in Juneau, where the kids and I woke together to stare in disbelief to our beloved snore-machine as he peacefully sawed logs. It always makes me laugh to remember.

We took a long road trip with both of them 4 years ago when Julia was studying in Granada, Spain. It was like old times - they both fell asleep in the car when we drove, we played their favorite music, and Josh and Julia and I woke up to Alan's snoring all across Andalucia.

Julia is in Chile for 2 weeks right now! She'll be back 5 days before she starts graduate school in creative writing at San Francisco State. Guess we all have the traveling bug. I enjoy looking back as much as taking the next trip - it reminds me how blessed I am.

Rabbit, Rabbit...

My sister April used to talk about an "April fiscal year," with each successive month just being a higher number of "April" - May 2 would be April 32, etc. She also started a tradition of saying "Rabbit, rabbit" as the clock struck midnight on a new month. So "Rabbit, rabbit" a day late.

Josh & friends just headed out for Montana in his happily stuffed Scion, one of those hilariously boxy cars that looks like a slightly squished little railroad car on small wheels. What fun they will have! At first Josh was a little anxious when they left, but I mentioned I'd been reading dear Peggy & Jon Watterson's blog about their tandem bike trip across the U.S. (they've just crossed the Mississippi!)and we all laughed and realized how much fun the boys will have.

Julia leaves for Chile on Tuesday for a 2-week visit before grad school - meeting a dear childhood friend.

What a great time for us.