Monday Musings

The Fall equinox occurred on September 23rd at 02:50 AM EDT (in the Northern Hemisphere); it is now officially Autumn. On a drive through the North Carolina mountain towns of Boone and Blowing Rock last weekend, we noticed the faint beginnings of leaf color change: the brush of red on non-indigenous maple tree plantings, a scattered tinge of yellow.  Peak leaf season is predicted to be during the second and third weeks in the Appalachian mountains, but optimal dates for leaf viewing vary across the nation. The  2023 Fall Foliage Prediction Map  lets you see the best dates for your location. The site also gives a brief scientific refresher on how leaves change colors from summer green to vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. As a gardener, I am intimately connected with the seasons. This is the time when harvests are nearly complete: I dug up Yukon Gold potatoes yesterday, the tomato plants are producing their final fruits, and I’ve begun the fall garden cleanup in preparati...

I was first alerted to this event by an  X  post: “McDonald’s, $MCD, is selling 50-cent double cheeseburgers for National Cheeseburger Day today. Wendy’s, $WEN, is giving them out for a penny (per CNBC).” Another source informed me that Burger King was giving away a “free” cheeseburger with a $1.00 purchase. Immediately, my Pavlovian response was initiated, and no was bell required (just the photo of the juicy beef and cheese on a toasted bun); the saliva started to flow, and my brain began to think of reasons to head to the closest burger joint. With my mountain home, the journey is not a short one. I elected to remain at my domicile. Wow! What a deal…maybe not, because once you are at the drive-through window or in line in the fast food restaurant, you likely will be tempted to add fries, a drink, and meals for all the other occupants in your vehicle. Suddenly, your “free” cheeseburger has turned into a $20++ cost. It’s a cross-sell/possible upsell deal for the establishment...

 In memoriam...

[Disclaimer: I am a Type II diabetic, so I hope my Primary Care doctor doesn’t see this blog post. LOL] The stem word for “dessert” is “desservir” [French], which means “to clear the table,” indicating that the table is cleared after the main meal and then dessert is served. Since this holiday coincides with Labor Day this year, dessert will be an excellent culmination of your BBQ meal. If you miss your opportunity to consume more dessert today, October 14 will be National Dessert Day. Some people don’t limit their dessert intake to the end of a meal but like to indulge in a sweet (or salty) treat at other times of the day. Ashure, the oldest documented dessert in history, a sweet pudding consisting of grains, fresh/dried fruits, and nuts, is of Eastern Mediterranean origin. Sugar trade spread from India (where usage was noted before 500 BC) over the next thousand years to China and Macedonia. Sugar arrived in Europe by the 12th century. Dessert took off after the development of food p...

Today I am thinking about seeds. As a gardener, vegetables begin as simple seeds. As an author, writing ideas begin as kernels and either blossom into successful work or fail to grow into a completed piece. In both instances, one must have the foresight to recognize what is within the seed. Just as a gardener plans her plot, an author sees not only the night sky but a vision beyond. [above poem published on Cold Moon Journal 5/26/23] But for either, the hard work must be done. The gardener tills the soil and plants the seeds, waters, and weeds. An author must be ever alert for inspiration, jot thoughts in an omnipresent pocket notebook, and sit for hours and days on end, writing on paper or inputting line after line in a word processing program. This summer has been incredibly hot and dry. Despite nurture and watering, some plants have failed to thrive, other hardier specimens are prolific producers. Despite buzzing bees, neither my zucchini nor squash have fruited. As an author, I mus...

Hello Readers! The last two weeks have been hectic with travel preparations, unexpected emergency vet visits (I wrote the previous blog in the vet parking lot; fortunately, the pups are now OK), and the actual trip. We had a wonderful visit with family in Omaha, but as always, it’s good to be back home. We were blessed to have a family member, Doug, stay at our home to care for our dogs, Plato and Paris. Especially since they recently had a long weekend at the kennel. We enjoyed time with our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters. The girls are ten and twelve and growing up fast. One morning we attended an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony with an informative server. She flame-roasted fresh beans, ground them, and steeped them in a traditional clay Ethiopian pot.  She poured the coffee into small cups over sprigs of rue (note the herbs floating in the cups) and served the drink with raw brown sugar. We each received three pours, every pour was a bit different in flavor than the previous...

Summer is the perfect time for a road trip. We had the opportunity for a long weekend drive from NC to Maryland when we traveled for a family wedding. The journey en route to the event had to be accomplished on a timetable to ensure we arrived on time for the festivities, but the return trip was leisurely. Fortunately, we avoided any automobile mishaps but had prepared by getting our vehicle serviced beforehand. Neither did our trip end in a drive off a cliff like Thelma and Louise. There was no college debauchery or zombie horror crisis. And Chevy Chase and the Muppets did not make an appearance. We passed Harpers Ferry, where abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the US Armory in 1859. Traveling requires refueling not only the car but also the occupants. Rather than consuming a steady diet of fast food, we took the time for a sit-down lunch at the iconic Pink Cadillac Diner. It was indeed a typical greasy spoon replete with kitschy 50s decorations. I had the “Happy Waitress,” a grill...