By First week of 2023. Reduced schedule started. I drove Monday-Tuesday (a Lincoln-Des Moines run) and Wednesday (a quick Hastings turnaround) and had Thursday and Friday off. The rhythm is strange. My body does not know what to do with two days in a row at home. I cleaned the pantry Thursday. I wrote for four hours Friday. I napped twice. By Sunday I was starting to feel the contour of a new life. More time. Less money. More quiet.
Amber went back to UNK on Sunday. Eli drove her. I watched them leave from the front porch with a coffee mug in my hand and a quiet throat. She will be back in a few weeks.
Gayle came over for lunch Thursday. She ate slowly but she ate. She said, "Your father would have hated how slow I eat now." I said, "Ma, he ate in seven minutes. He was a savage." She laughed. She said, "I am going to outlive him by thirty years at this rate." I said, "Ma. That is not possible. He died at 65. You are 79. You are already four years ahead of him." She said, "I mean by years of being old." I laughed. Gayle is still funny. Gayle is still Gayle. She is slower and she is quieter and she is tired but she is still Gayle, and I am going to enjoy that for as long as I have it.
Made a pot of chili Saturday. Made bread Sunday. Wrote 1,500 words Sunday evening on the second book. The second book is slower than the first, and that is right. I do not want to write it in a year. I want to write it in three. Sarah agrees. Sarah is patient. She is also, I suspect, secretly eager, but she is behaving.
Dave had a good week — his back behaved. He worked three days at the truck stop and came home tired but not broken. He watched a movie with me Friday. He fell asleep in the first twenty minutes. I watched the rest. He woke up during the credits and said, "Was it good?" I said, "It was fine." He said, "Let's go to bed." We went to bed. Marriage is a collection of modest pleasures.
Gayle came for lunch Thursday, the first full day off in what felt like years, and I wanted something that required almost no effort but still felt like I’d made something real. A pot of chili was coming on Saturday, bread on Sunday — but Thursday belonged to something cooler and quieter, something we could eat slowly without any ceremony. This ranch potato salad was exactly that: straightforward, creamy, and the kind of dish that lets the conversation be the point.
Ranch Potato Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for boiling water
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 packet (1 oz) dry ranch seasoning mix
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives or parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes. Place potato chunks in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 15–18 minutes, until fork-tender but not falling apart. Drain and spread on a baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes.
- Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry ranch seasoning, apple cider vinegar, salt, and black pepper until smooth and well combined.
- Combine. Add the cooled potatoes to the bowl with the dressing. Fold in celery, red onion, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Stir gently so the potatoes don’t break apart.
- Add the finishing touches. Top with crumbled bacon and fresh chives or parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Chill and serve. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors come together. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 620mg