MEAN, RAW and MISERABLE 09/26/00

Subj: mean, raw and miserable
Date: Tue Sep 26 22:28:33 EDT 2000

Starting yesterday and all the way through today, the weather has been mean, raw and miserable. Last night sort of perked up a bit, if for a not-so-wonderful reason.

Elsa had a disheartening day at work and called to ask if both John and I could meet her at Barnes & Noble/WG. When Elsa wants both of us to join her, it is a sure sign that the day has been rough.

John loaded "Barb" (my walker) into Silver Bullet and off we went to meet our gal.

The last time the two of us went over to meet Elsa it was raining - torrential rain, that time - and we had the great good luck to run into their dear friends, Hutch and Linda. We had the same great good fortune on this go 'round.

Hutch looked different, although I could not put my finger on why. No glasses! He recently had cataract surgery. It was good talking to someone else undergoing the same procedure at roughly the same time. We talked about how great it was to read again. For the first time in ages, I can read newspaper and magazine articles. Think how things will be after both eyes are done and I have new glasses. Amazing.

Back to today's weather watch. It was just plain nasty. It did bring to mind when the children were young, because it was just the type of day that I would have made hot cocoa.

Have any of you made hot cocoa from real cocoa, not from a mix? I had to be careful not to let it get too hot or it would get a "skin" on top.

Of course, we had to have marshmallows. Cocoa without marshmallows seems somewhat lacking, don't you think?

Another warm and toasty thought on a day like today is the smell of homemade bread baking. I loved to make bread for my family and they certainly enjoyed eating it. It seemed like an entire loaf could disappear in a matter of moments. We all loved the "nose" (the ends) of the bread. How we ever came to call it "nose" I knows not, but “heel” is not all that understandable either and lots of people call it that. What do YOU call the ends of a loaf of bread? I know that one thing I call it is delicious.

What interesting taste and smell memories to go off to sleep with. Toasted bread with butter and a steaming mug of hot cocoa topped with a coverlet of marshmallows. Yum!

Warm and loving thoughts on a raw and nasty night - Mom L.

reposted in sweet memory of its author, KATHARINE REYNOLDS LOCKHART, by her scribe/daughter, Elsa Lockhart Murphy aka Deev, in celebration of the 05/14 centenary of Mom L's birth