THURSDAY

Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta  |  Skillet-Grilled Italian Sausages  |  The World’s Most Famous Tomato Sauce

 

I dropped the children off at school today & headed to Tiburon’s multi-use path that borders the Bay for a walk with our old, black lab…Duke.  His sister, Duchess, passed away a few months ago {I miss her so much} so Duke has become my constant companion these days.  We walked for almost two hours in the morning sunshine, the water beside us sparkling.  He was exhausted but so happy to be out & about, visiting with random canine friends.  When we got back to the parking lot, he eagerly jumped into the back of my SUV and looked at me as if to say…”I need a nap”.  He curled up on his bed in the back of my car and didn’t even notice when I closed the door behind me to enter the market for a few things…just a quick stop, I thought.  As I entered the store, these tulips caught my eye…

As I placed them in my small basket, a lovely woman {impeccably dressed} with a black patent-leather purse & and a list in her hand touched my arm and asked if I would help her pick out flowers for a very special dinner she was having with her great-grandchildren this weekend.  After speaking with her for a few moments I could tell she wanted roses {the peach-colored variety} but she was trying so hard to explore more adventurous species & colors…the purple hyacinths, orange lilies, etc.  She shared a few stories, we laughed & she settled on the peach roses.  I added 2 bunches of the yellow tulips & 2 bunches of the purple hyacinths to my basket.  She then informed me that she was new in the area and not familiar with this store and asked if I would help her with the rest of her list.  I happily agreed and we set off together to navigate the bustling aisles.  She handed me her list and I became the Captain of this mission…her hands were on the handle of her cart and I led the way.  As I ticked off the items on her list, she shared stories…of her late-husband {William}, her three children and several grandchildren.  I found myself drawn into her warmth, comforted by her experience & the wisdom of her years.  I felt so comfortable with her.  We made our way to the checkout registers…I unloaded her carriage and placed my few gatherings behind, asking the clerk to please hold my small basket.  I wanted to help my friend out to her car with her bags & then I would return to settle up for my things.  I pushed her cart out to the parking lot and she led me to a car with a waiting driver…the well-dressed man stepped out of the car and took the bags from me to load in the trunk of the car.  This lovely woman gave me a hug and bid me a wonderful weekend…and, as she drove away, I realized we never exchanged our names.  I went back into the store to settle up on my 4 large bunches of flowers & 2 cans of imported Italian tomatoes.  The check-out assistant informed me that my total was $10.47.  I assured her that was a mistake because I had over $40 in flowers.  She then let me know that the woman I was helping treated me to the flowers I had chosen.  I received such a beautiful gift, aside from the flowers, from  a person whose name I don’t even know.  I hope she has a wonderful dinner with her great-grandchildren…

I returned to my car {and Duke} over an hour from when I left.  I opened the back door to place my bags & Duke looked up at me as if to say…”You’ve woken me up”!  Here are a few glimpses of my gift…

After such a special morning, I came home to such an easy afternoon.  I needed to make minimal preparations for our dinner tonight, which was helpful because we {Max} had a basketball game this afternoon. The World’s Most Famous Tomato Sauce was left-over from last night’s dinner.  That left, simply, cooking sausages & boiling water for fresh pasta…

I knew I would not have time to make pasta from scratch tonight so I purchased a packaged of fresh pasta from Antica Pasteria, and cooked according to package instructions {fresh pasta only takes 2-3 minutes!}…

 

What a lovely day, today!  And, tomorrow is Friday!!!