Having not one thing of interest to talk about, I decided to show you what my daughter put on Facebook that made my day.
Rachel Fierro is 
feeling peaceful with Donna M. Wood.
When I was growing up, this was what the word "cookbook" meant to me. It never occurred to me that any others existed. When mom cooked, this was open on the counter.
I got mine out to make gumbo today and memories came flooding in. Mom's cookbook was dirtier than mine. Not because I'm a more tidy cook (ask Kevin) but because she cooked every day, multiple times a day. I bet she's had more than a dozen editions, too.
She didn't make the processed stuff that I have often served for convenience, she made food with real ingredients and real care. The ingredients were often even grown in her crazy-large garden.
Thanks for the love of cooking, mom.
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One thing that made me smile was the several "likes" from some of her childhood friends from school, some of whom had eaten things I made at one time or other.
Unbeknownst to me, I was going to hear something a couple of days later that wouldn't be good news, so it was nice to have something like this to think about while I digest the bad news. We took my dog Gabe to get his usual yearly appointment yesterday. Our vet looked in his mouth to check his teeth and just happened to see something else in his mouth: A melanoma.
He said he wanted to remove it as soon as possible; there's a good chance that will be all he needs to live a long life. I scheduled that. I asked how much it would cost, and he said probably $250 to $300, which is doable for us. I took the news pretty well yesterday, but this morning I woke up at 2 o'clock and realized that there's a chance I'll lose my almost eight-year-old Schnauzer to cancer. I finally got out of bed an hour later.
He goes on walks with me. If I would allow it, he would sit in the chair with me 24 hours a day. If he lived to be twenty years old, it wouldn't be enough time to suit me. If I pet one of my cats, I have to pet him at the same time, because he's so jealous of them.
I just hope the vet gets it in time for me to have a few more years.
Hope Gabe is doing well.
ReplyDeleteI have three generations of that very book, my grandma's, my mom's and the one my mom bought me when I got my first apartment. All three are worn out but I keep them because I use certain recipes from all of them. I have even had a few paged laminated, holes repunched and added back in to keep them organized.
ReplyDeleteEvery pet I have ever owned has been expensive. But I guess when you consider the companionship aspect, it has been worth the price.
I have my ancient Betty Crocker which is coming apart in places. (the cookie section!) I hope for the best for Gabe. It's scary when our pets are ill.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about Gabe. I hope that your news is good.
ReplyDeleteThe Betty Crocker cookbook? Every time that I see one, it makes me smile. I had one, and it was set on an electric burner that was still warm. The black circles on the back made my husband mad every time he saw them. He got me a new Betty Crocker cookbook. My sister and I were cooking, and she set the book down on a too warm burner. She felt so bad, but it made me so happy to see it. A reminder that I wasn't as stupid as my then husband thought, that people get preoccupied when they are following a recipe sometimes. It also reminded me of a happy day in my kitchen with my sister.