High Ho, High Ho, High Carbs

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​High Ho, High Ho, High Carbs

     Ours being I suppose what you could call a vintage suburban neighborhood, the sidewalks in some spots are beginning to show their age: a little crooked, a little uneven.
       Such were a couple of sections of sidewalk in front of our house, which my mate Tom was finding vexatious and took a notion to repair himself if he could round up a work crew. To this end he put out a call to our son Tommy and nephew Randy to ask if they'd be up for being his sidewalk repair crew. Turned out they were indeed up for the job.
      And so yesterday morning, it being perfect weather for rearranging an 800-pound concrete slab, Tommy and Randy arrived and soon it was off to work they went with their shovel, pick, and cheerful attitudes.

     The first part of the job involved digging up the margins of the sidewalk.

     After the digging was done came the more arduous task of lifting, maneuvering, and repositioning the slab.

     While the men labored on the sidewalk, my job was in the kitchen putting together lunch.
      The plan was for lunch at 1pm, at which time Randy's and Tommy's wives, Anusha and Emily, would come over and join us. However I received word that Randy's parents, Mary Jane and Ken, had decided to drive down from from Cleveland for a visit on this beautiful fall day, and so I invited them for lunch, as well. That would be eight for lunch.
        I had decided to keep the lunch menu simple: Spaghetti, salad and hot rolls, fruit salad for dessert.  
       But of course, this meant making a pot of meat sauce for the traditionalists,

...and meatless sauce for the vegetarians.

      Then there was the spaghetti for the pasta crowd,

...and spaghetti squash for gluten-free folks.

     And, for the sake of variety, a pot of mac and cheese on the side,

...along side of which I made a couple of pans of fresh, hot rolls,

...and a couple of bowls of salad.

        Around noon Mary Jane and Ken arrived, and they  jumped right in to the work, Ken helping the guys finish up the sidewalk work,

...and Mary Jane pitching in with the kitchen work,

...as did Emily and Anusha when they arrived.

       By lunch time the sidewalk was about finished and the hungry crew came in to eat.

     As I looked at all the food set out on the table, I thought, Hello, this is a whole lotta carbs.

      But the hard-working crew, as well as the not-quite-as-hard-working among us, were all happy to dig in.

    For dessert we had the fruit salad accompanied by a bowl of "dessert popcorn,"

...which I made by mixing microwave kettle corn with Candy Pop. 

      The dessert popcorn went over surprisingly well with everybody.

       After lunch the sidewalk crew finished up outside while the kitchen crew went to work on the voluminous pile of dishes, pots and pans. But, fortunately,  multiple hands lightened  both jobs.
        When the jobs were done and the others had left, Tommy stayed for a while for a little post-job recap with Tom.

      The sidewalk looked good now, nice and even and no longer a potential tripping hazard,

...much to the approval of the neighbors.