yogurt of yogurts

Most yogurt is so thin and uninspired. Some have more sugar than Creme Brulee but the supermarket shelves hold a triumph, a yogurt of yogurts.
It is so wonderfully thick and creamlike. Its subtle flavor  is a joy on waffles or pancakes, on baked potatoes or tacos, topped with fruit or eaten spoon by deliciously cool spoonful.
Have the food police not heard of this guilty pleasure?
Oh the dairy aisle, the dairy aisle!!
Where would the world be without Balkan Yogurt?

lessons

I've been working on a lap quilt for a friend's "special" birthday. Sewing can be an opportunity to stretch and learn, although occasionally the stretch is over the yawning abyss of insanity. This project came with several lessons.
Lesson 1- Don't cut expensive fabric up willy nilly. Do the math.
Lesson 2- Letting a pattern "emerge" may be all well and good, but when gripped by a time crunch, have a plan.
Lesson 3- Don't hesitate to set the project aside to get your bearings, sleep, breathe into a bag.........
Lesson 4- Push through and finish. You must show your Panic Attack who's boss.

treasure

Carving fascinates me. I picked up a bag of assorted carved figures, hesitated and put it back on the shelf at MCC. Then I picked it up again and turned it over, mentally sorting and counting. Hmmm, two sheep or maybe goats; Two cows or maybe horses; Mary, Joseph, Wisemen one, two and three; and yes, little baby Jesus. An entire set. This would be safe in the hands of small grandchildren. Wooden things are wonderfully tactile. And the faces of the little people had such character, so ethnic.
A thrift shop treasure.

self cleaning

The smoke alarms piercing notes brought everyone on the run.
"Supper's ready," I sheepishly announced.
Laughter followed.
A self cleaning oven doesn't really clean itself. It is forced to toil away amidst the grime and ash like Cinderella, poor thing, until a fairy godmother waves her wand, or pushes a few buttons.
I once had an oven catch on fire during a self clean cycle and I've felt a little gun shy ever since. I suppose if I didn't wait until the fire department needed to be on stand by, it would help.
My grandmother and mother both used wood stoves to prepare meals. Self cleaning was an unheard of luxury. So was a dish washer for that matter, or a bread maker, or food processor. Women used to double as kitchen appliances apparently.
Now I just need to push a  few buttons and of course, have the fire extinguisher at the ready.

knight on a bike

My grandson the knight rode his trusty steed up the sidewalk, peddling furiously, while I his faithful companion loped at his side. My feet had briefly strayed onto the road as a car rounding the corner ahead turned and headed up the street toward us.
My knight sounded the warning,"Grandma, you should be on the sidewalk, a car is coming."
"Oh thank you. You were watching out for me. weren't you?" I warmly answered.
"That's what friends do my Lady," he gallantly responded.
"That's what best friends do."

there are moments

"There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion
That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble
Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret,
Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

reset

"Don't touch him," the doctor instructed. "Is everyone clear?" he asked briskly. We all stepped back. Kathunk!
"Ahh, a perfect sinus rhythm," the doctor crowed.

Heading for the emergency room late at night, we had braced ourselves for a weary wait with a ghastly assortment of sickly companions.
We reported to the front desk, endeavoring to remain philosophical.
Apparently there is something about a fifty-something man presenting with heart symptoms that causes hospital employees to spring into action.
We were ushered straight in to the inner sanctum and given an enviable spot next to the nursing station. An IV was duly installed and blood drawn.
A heart monitor was soon merrily blipping away and oxygen whooshing.
Arrhythmia are fairly common, the doctor explained. Jolting the heart with an electrical charge is like pushing the reset button.
We went for the reset.