Monday Musings

I’m eating lunch while searching for an idea for today’s topic: a sandwich and a banana that is past its prime. As I scroll, a yummy photo catches my eye, and so it is, National Banana Split Day. This delicious dessert was invented in 1904 by a pharmacist’s apprentice, David Evans Strickler, at Tassel Pharmacy in LaTrobe, Pennsylvania. In the soda fountain era, many counters shared locations with pharmacies. Banana splits were an immediate hit with the college crowd who eagerly paid 10 cents, double the rate of a regular sundae, for this tasty treat. The split became all the rage in ice cream parlors. The  ideal banana split recipe  includes a banana split in half, topped by 3 scoops of ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry), fudge sauce, whipped cream, and chopped nuts; crowned with maraschino cherries. You don’t have to stick with the mundane, tried-and-true presentation: be creative. Change up the bananas by carmelizing them like Bananas Foster; dip them in chocolat...

  We are well into the Atlantic Hurricane Season: June 1 — November 30. The peak time is September. The official list for 2025 is posted. In addition, the severity predictions have been announced. Erin is now brewing off the Atlantic Coast. You can follow her current status at  Weather.com . As of this writing, she is a Category 4 storm. Several online sites offer suggestions for  Hurricane Safety Checklists . Generally, it is recommended that individuals gather these supplies and make plans before the hurricane season. However, if you have not yet done so, now is the time to do so. If you have supplies, check to be sure everything is in a preplanned location, you have fresh water and batteries, and that nothing is outdated. Sometimes gear and items “wander off” during the year: it's time to round them up. Supplies are essential, but one should also identify their personal evacuation zone, consider evacuation routes, and alternative routes. The  map in this link prov...

  Mid-August: my garden has reached its peak. We have enjoyed the fruits of its abundance: crisp salads, tasty sauces, and grilled produce. Now, it is time to store up for the cool fall and cold winter months ahead. Over the last couple of weeks, I have blanched and frozen excess green beans and freezer-bagged beautiful blueberries. I cooked up a large pot of pasta sauce, its ingredients gleaned from my raised beds: four types of tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil, oregano, and parsley. We feasted on a portion, and I placed the remainder in the freezer. Last weekend, I tackled the start of the root vegetable harvest. I began by pulling up the four rows of carrots: two of Nantes carrots, the other two mixed color. Four large buckets of carrot greens topped off my rotating compost bins. I  packed the carrots, layered in fine pine sawdust, into wire bins lined with burlap . They will overwinter in our unheated basement. The red and white onions were prolific, yielding dozens of plum...

  As citizens of the United States, we live in  America , but the  Americas  are a vast continent which includes North, Central, and South America. Peter Kulkkula  founded this theme to encourage travelers and explorers to visit all of the Americas. If time and budget don’t permit you to expand your vacation plans as broadly as the entire continent, there is plenty to do in the USA. August 4 is the fifth anniversary of the passage of the  Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) , which funds critical infrastructure improvements. Today and every year, as a result of this legislation, there is  free entrance to the National Parks , a great budget-friendly way to explore our national treasures. Or perhaps in the style of Jack Kerouac, in his classic book,  On the Road , you would like to embark on a cross-country road trip. Other authors have penned descriptions of their journeys.  Atlas Obscura  cartographers outline these excursions. Another i...

  The adage  “show, don’t tell”  is a linchpin of writing. A reader will get bored if an author blathers on with a long-winded set of details. If I inserted a paragraph of dull information here, where a sentence of activity would do, you would close the page. There are circumstances when it’s appropriate to “tell” for short lengths of description. However, a chapter is more intriguing if action is portrayed rather than described by terms. If a writer can immerse a reader, rather than telling them what is happening, a story becomes more exciting: it draws the reader in, causing them to want to read more and learn more about the outcome. Do you have a favorite author? Do they “show” or “tell” in their writing style? You can follow the Author on her  Website  or  X . [Note: due to technical difficulties I was unable to publish last week's blog for July 28, 2025. Here it is as a belated post.]