It's winter, all we do is eat, I guess.

The next morning, after the Super Bowl the refrigerator seems so full of food and for a moment I think it is a leftovers night. Here is the pasta dish Elena made last week but we'll cook that on Tuesday, not tonight. As I go through the leftovers I see the chop meat I need to break up and freeze. It brings to mind Teri saying she’d have to make a Yankee Tower meatloaf because of all the American cheese we have. I text her later in the day to see if that will go over well. It goes over like my cinnabon invitation on Valentine’s Day the following day (I’m sorry, not tonight, I’m tired, which almost sounds like I'm asking for something else.) Later Teri will suggest Koltetta, that lovely Russian type meatball (Damn Putin, he’s poisoned everything Russian for me, except the girls) I think it’s a good idea and I know we have everything. This is a trick the girls must learn when they cook. (more on that later) Kotleta is simple. Meat, bread soaked in milk, onion, maybe some garlic. Well whatever it is, it’s simple. I put it together in a short period of time. It is so short that when I’m just starting Nastia says she’ll help, but wants to shower first. By the time she is back, I’m done, cooked, everything.

I tell Nastia to get Pierogies and we’ll fry them. She offers to fry them and as usual it is a long distance relationship. She puts one in the oil, the ice melts into the oil,it sputters, spits and in its anger and rage looks for someone to burn. Nastia by that time is in the living room saying I should call her when it is done being angry because she will not put up with that. Teri gets home, sees all the oil on the stove and well, would you be pleased with the mess either? Nastia warms the vegetables and it’s dinner time. Elena is over Matt’s house. She’ll sleep over (mom, I’m 21 years old and I’ll sleep in his grandmother’s old bed, two points for originality, and two points for audacity and a point lost for denying something your parent’s know has been happening for a while and do understand.) She has Tuesday, Valentine’s day off and Matt will make her breakfast (Elena, “how does he not break the omelet?”). They’ll get wings from Rick’s Club American and eat leftover salmon for dinner. She’ll come home a little late Tuesday after trying to get permission to go to a 10 PM movie and be home after midnight and have to go to work the next day. She’ll be happy, relaxed and in a generally good mood. I envied her that night. Nastia gave Sean a cold over the weekend for an early Valentine's Day gift and she’ll spend it with us. Well back in August when she didn’t have a date for Valentines day, she did ask if she could spend it with us.