I hope you’re having a good day on this 2024 February 14th Valentine’s Day.
Unbeknownst ahead of time, Robert gave me roses, and I gave him a rose bush.
As I have mentioned before, he likes to give multiple cards on special days. (Which I thought was kind of weird at first but now love it.)
His Three to Me …
And mine to him …
So recently, Robert concocted some fancy-smancy recipe that required buttermilk. He only used a little of the quart container, so frugal that I am, I had to come up with some way to use the rest. “We CANNOT waste $2.19!!!”
And then it hit me… Buttermilk pie! Like my mama and grandma used to make.
According to mycountrytable.com, “Buttermilk Pie is believed to have originated during the depression. This was during a time when some ingredients were either scarce or too expensive, leaving home cooks to make do with whatever they had in their pantry. Home cooks found a way to make a pie with few ingredients out of desperation, hence the name, desperation pies.”
“Several pies originated during the depression out of pure necessity. These pies were all classified as desperation, depression, or make-do pies. Some of them include Buttermilk, Vinegar, Shoofly, Chess, Sugar Cream, Oatmeal, Mock Apple, Mock Mincemeat, Green Tomato, and even Water Pie.”
So, what is buttermilk?
“Traditional buttermilk is a thin, cloudy, slightly tart but buttery-tasting liquid that’s left after cream is churned to make butter. These days, however, it is more commonly sold as a thick liquid produced commercially by adding an acidifying bacteria – and sometimes flavouring and thickening agents – to milk.” bbcgoodfood.com
I went to work.
Not having the patience or the intelligence to actually make a homemade crust, I ran to the grocery store and bought a deep dish frozen piecrust.
Put all the ingredients together (in five minutes!) and voilà!
It was a nostalgically delicious taste of past family culinary lore.
And Robert had never had buttermilk pie before. So it was extra special.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. My steaming Ham Bone Pinto Soup from leftover holiday ham.
2. The ability to Breathe. To Simply Breathe.
I believe that breathing is the greatest and continual joy of being alive.
3. My preference for blurry pictures of myself as I get older.
4. This incredible warm spell we’re having here in Savannah.
We slept with open windows last night! In January.
5. The joy of the forest.
May your weekend be a lush forest of that which you consider good.
So Robert and I live in beautiful Historic District Savannah …
… about 20 minutes from Tybee Island …
… and the Atlantic Ocean.
Living near the coast is terrific.
But it does get on my nerves a teeny tiny bit that “Coastal” is incorporated into SO many businesses, organizations, etc. here.
My dermatologist is Coastal Dermatology.
My dentist is Coastal Dentistry.
My chiropractor is Coastal Chiropractic
Even my daughter Amy owns a local health care company called COASTAL Care Partners, for goodness sake!
https://www.coastalcarepartners.com
And she has a dog named (of course) Coastal.
Who may or may not be gay.
So yesterday, Robert and I sashayed over to the Telfair Museums here in Historic District Savannah. (Yes, it’s plural—there are three separate buildings and locations.) One of the joys of living downtown is its walkability. (Is that a word, or did I just make it up?)
I wanted to see one of the newer and smaller exhibits at the Jepson Center.
I have always considered birds to be the personification of elegance and upper echelon beauty.
I was enthralled.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. A beautiful Martin Luther King Day parade here in Savannah.
2. Truth:
3. Grandson Gabriel’s soaring pink basketball shoes.
4. The incredible luxury of owning a car! Which like many (most?) things I usually take for granted.
Here’s ours …
Kidding.
Here it is …
(With Robert texting or something in his skinny jeans.)
Ours may be little and a bit shy, but she takes us from Point A to Point B. And even sometimes from Point A to Point Z!
5. You in all your You-ness.
May You and your You-ness find Warmth and a measure of Joy this weekend.
So HR got me this cool and beautiful book for Christmas.
I love it.
From the intro: “Flowers are incredible. They have the power to calm, heal, and allow us to express our deepest emotions without saying a word. They can boost your mood, reduce stress, and improve well-being.”
“Choosing a flower for its traditional meaning, natural energy, or holistic properties, you can bring the benefits of the natural world into your home or workplace, and into the lives of loved ones.”
My birth flower is the carnation, so when I turned #{£%&@ on January 10, we picked up some pink and white lovelies.
Following the advice of philosopher of contemporary living and favorite author Alexandra Stoddard, we divided the bouquet into smaller arrangements and placed them around the apartment.
What a difference the addition of a few fresh flowers can make!
“Carnations have long been associated with love. Different colors of carnation have various meanings with the overall theme of love: pink carnations are symbolic of pure and romantic love; red ones signify ardent love, and white tell the recipient they are fair and beautiful.”
So the beautiful carnations coronating our little place helped to heal me of the shocked revelation on January 10 that I am now #{£%&@ years old!
Collards are probably my favorite winter vegetable. (Delete “probably.”)
Yesterday morning Robert and I went to our incredibly and beautifully diverse Savannah Farmers Market, where I grabbed a bunch of the green delicacy.
I rushed back home to clean them (the collards, not the farmers) and create my favorite part of the collarding experience— making the collard bouquet!
Isn’t she beautiful?!
Next, the chopping into manageable pieces. (Which sounds a bit too much like “Sweeny Todd” to suit my fancy.)
After placing the greens into an already-been-cooking mixture of broth and ham seasoning meat, and impatiently waiting for them to slowly cook …
DELICIOUS JOY!
Wait! Don’t throw those too-thick collard stems away, for goodness sake. Make homemade vegetable stock with them.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. January’s camellias here in Savannah.
2. I know I have expressed gratitude about this before, but isn’t it just such an incredible luxury to have Hot and Cold Running Water?!
3. This little fellow I met yesterday.
We chatted for a while. And he posed for a pic.
4. Simple sidewalk beauty.
5. A little bit of Christmas simply refusing to go away.
May weekend beauty find you.
NealEnJoy 