May 4, 2021 – Hungry? Not really …May 5, 2021 – The long arc of summer
A while back I saw this on Instagram …
and it resonated … a lot.
So I googled around and found enough similar images to make a stab at it … because “when you’re not hungry, but you eat because your mouth is lonely” is the best explanation I’ve ever found for why I find myself wandering into the kitchen … again and again.
The Long Arc of Summer patch was dreamed up on a Texas summer’s eve as we watched Griffin shagging high fly balls launched by his dad.
It may have been early May, but summer in Texas is a six-month affair, stretching from May to October, leaving a scant two months each for the other seasons of the year. If we’re lucky …
May 22, 2021 – Lots of JoyMay 23, 2021 – Deb G’s view
Yesterday it was my intention to write about National Strawberries and Cream Day. And about the skip rope rhyme that ran through my head all day …
🎶 Strawberry shortcake, cream on top, tell me the name of your sweetheart, A … B … C …
Thought about it, that is, until a better storyline emerged. And thus left it for the today’s patchplay.
My shortcake recipe has morphed over the years from biscuits to scones, the most recent version coming from my 1999 Joy of Cooking, one of three editions that I own …
the oldest is a 1946 edition that belonged to Don’s Nana, the other two were birthday gifts from my folks …
My mom was right, as I rarely use cookbooks, but they do tend fall open to the few recipes I consistently turn to: sponge cake for strawberry trifle, apple pie (preferably made with Granny Smith apples), and the aforementioned scones …
I do have a tendency to edit them a bit. Ahem.
So that’s how I arrived at joy, using a bit of Inktense dyed cloth loosely based on the 1946 Joy of Cooking cover.
The other patch was inspired by Deb G’s Bee Creative, which often features the best food photography accompanied by tempting “recipes” (which is to say, while Deb lists ingredients, she usually leaves quantities and procedures unspecified … my favorite kinda cooking) …
It reminds me, yet again, how very much I value the time spent each morning checking the Kindred Spirits listed on my old blog …
So I’ll see you all again tomorrow, bright and early, with coffee cup in hand 😊
May 20, 2021 – Beware of SignageMay 21, 2021 – Spicing up National Strawberries and Cream Day
As a child, I was given to overly long, highly detailed tellings … what my mom called “shaggy dog stories.” This is one such tale.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, Nana and PopPop picked up Griffin at pre-school one day a week to go on adventures.
Their destinations varied and many ended up as patches in the Remember 2016 cloth (click to see entire images) …
Sadly, when Parker was finally old enough to go on her own pre-school adventures, Covid happened. Suddenly there was nowhere to go, so play days took place at P’s house. And it was enough … it had to be.
But with the slow dawning of the After Times, Nana and PopPop remembered how they used to take Griffin out to play and decided to revive the tradition with Parker … Thursdays at Three.
So it was, while PopPop was in St Louis, Nana and Parker spent a Thursday at the Library … a totally new adventure for P, who had never experienced for herself the joy of picking out books to borrow and taking them home to read. Nana was so happy when they got back to Parker’s house that evening, until …
Griffin asked, “Did you get a book for me?”
Too late Nana recalled how she had always insisted that G pick out a book for Parker when they went to the Library during the Before Times.
“No,” Nana answered, as tears pricked at G’s eyes. How could she have been so thoughtless?
And so, on their next adventure to the Buda Soda Fointain …
and to the Library, Nana and Parker were careful to pick out a book for Griffin (tigers!) as well as a board book for Ellis. Not only that, after dinner …
Nana whipped up a small batch of chocolate chip cookie dough to bring home to P’s family because, well you know … forgiveness.
Which should be the happy ending to this long story, right?
But wait, there’s more.
Later that evening, Nana’s phone buzzed with this text message photo …
The next morning Griffin and Parker’s Mom described the giggling and whispers that accompanied the creation of their sign. She found it after tucking them in for the night, affixed to the container of cookie dough in the fridge.
“Too funny,” said Nana.
But their Mom got the last laugh, as this awaited Griffin and Parker upon their arrival home after school …
I'm Going to Texas (version 2.0) 