I woke up this morning and starting getting things ready for my in-laws to come over today. We are celebrating Easter a day early this year, since they had plans tomorrow. The traditional main dish here for Easter is ham. I don’t get all that wound up about ham, but it’s ok. It’s an easy, low-effort meal that is quick to put together and always a crowd pleaser. For me, the best part of the meal is always the sides. Today we only had scalloped potatoes, peas and rolls. Other common side dishes might be green beans, roasted carrots or roasted brussel sprouts.
We got the ham in the oven around 10:00, then prepared a glaze and got to work making the scalloped potatoes. My son was feeling a bit under the weather, so he stayed in his room while my daughter stayed down and socialized with. Everything was finally ready around 1:00 and we set the table and ate. After brunch was finished, we stayed at the table and talked for quite a while, then watched a really weird Western on Netflix. After dozing off on the couch, it was time to clean up the kitchen and starting dishing up the apple pie for dessert.
After the table was cleared and dishes were loaded, we dealt out the cards for a game of Pinochle. Pinochle is a card game I grew up with and played as a kid with my dad and grandpa. It has lost its popularity over the years, but we have passed it on to our kids, friends and their kids. It is a three- or four-player game, so with six of us in the house today, two of us had to sit out.
Helpful Vocabulary
Here are some useful words used in this post:
| in-laws | a reference to the parents of your spouse. A very long way to say this is “mother-in-law and father-in-law”, but usually we refer to the set as the “in-laws”. |
| wound up | another way to say excited. The “-ound” in “wound” is pronounced like “sound”. This is different than the word “wound”, which is a noun that describes an area of the body that has been injured. This bodily “wound” is pronounced differently, like the “oo” in “moon”. |
| crowd pleaser | something that everyone likes. We use this to refer to a popular dish that we bring to or provide at a party. |
| under the weather | to feel sick. |
| Western | the word we use to refer to old-fashioned movies that usually take place in the South. Usually in a dusty area, and often involving an old town, Native Americans and/or cowboys. One of the most famous Western actors is John Wayne. |
Phrasal Verbs
Here are a list of phrasal verbs that can come in handy:
| doze off | to fall asleep, sometimes unexpectedly, for a short period of time. You can also say “to nod off”, which has the same meaning. |
| clean up | this one seems obvious, but “to clean up” can have a slight difference from “to clean”. If I “clean up” the kitchen, it might be a quick clearing of the counters and putting the dishes away. If I “clean” the kitchen, it probably involves a more thorough, deep cleaning. Maybe mopping the floor, or disinfecting the counters, stove, refrigerator, etc. |
| dish up | to put food on your plate. Often when dinner is ready we tell the kids that it is time to “dish up”. This can also take a direct object. “You don’t have any vegetables on your plate. Please dish yourself up some peas.” |
| sit out | to not participate in an activity. If someone asks me to play a game, for example, I can say “I’m going to sit this one out.” It means “I am not going to play this time. Maybe later.” |
