I admire writers who can weave words together to create verses that resonate with me or cause me to pause and reflect. Springtime did that to me. In poetry, verses rhyme and others don’t. Some have a rhythm and some don’t.  It can be a simple or complex form of expression, engaging, relatable, or it can open your mind to a world distant from the one you live in.

On Ash Wednesday, I resolved to remove the apps from my smartphone and immerse myself in the essence of the season. At the midpoint of Lent, I’ve made several observations. Here are my top three:

Three people confirmed we were going in the right direction. Soon the bronze monument dedicated to the slave revolt leader was revealed.

With all of the wonderful attributes of Charleston, South Carolina; the warm fall colors of the trees in the fall are not one of them.

Although my dream car was hot with this cool design, comfortable seating, and powerful engine, I wondered if they could have engineered a model with less technology. Would someone want and purchase a Ford Mustang with less technology?

For nostalgia's sake, I decided to make Peanut Butter Cookies. These cookies are my favorite. If I give you a batch of these cookies, you are special.

This 1963 cookbook includes useful information like a glossary of cooking terms, meal planning for hosting a dinner party, and a guide for storing and cooking different cuts of meat. But it is a reminder of a certain type of woman heralded in the 1960’s. For example, in a section titled, “Family Weight Watching,” a suggestion to mothers with teenage daughters reads:

remind them they ‘re preparing for marriage and motherhood. A girl who enjoys being a girl, who looks like a girl…stands the best chance of having a whirl.”

Okra is one of the main staples of the diet of South Carolinians. One of the many foods America inherited from the enslaved West Africans on the Middle Passage, okra is a thickener in many soups and stews, like gumbo. Okra is rich in vitamins C and K, fiber, protein, and antioxidants.

Okra can be prepared many ways including grilled, deep fried and pickled. I prefer to eat it sliced, tossed in olive oil with seasoning and cooked in my air fryer.

As I researched to learn more about the Mint Julep, the internet took me far away from the Kentucky Derby and recipes. It took me to the bartenders behind the roots of this cocktail. The two names that kept surfacing were Cato Alexander and Tom Bullock. Both were well-known bartenders of their day with connections to the beginnings of the Mint Julep. The most intriguing fact for me was they were both black.

In my last blog post, I wrote about my vintage cookbooks and my desire to explore recipes, prepare at least one from each book, and share my experience with you.

I started with The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Why? Because of all the cookbooks, this is the most fragile so I thought I would use it and get it out of the way. LOL

What I love about cookbooks is they tell a story. Reading the preface, the recipes and seeing pictures in these books, you are transported to the culture, setting and society of the times in which they were written.

When I moved from Ohio, I interrupted my weekly exercise routine of three days of Zumba with one day of strength training. I stopped so that I could create a plan of action to not lose all I had gained over the years.

Once I pick up the phone to use tools to help me write, I suddenly find myself looking at reels on Instagram to send the funny ones to the appropriate friend who appreciates good humor. In my quest to make a friend laugh, I have lost 30 minutes of writing time.

This day was my first experience with a cancer treatment appointment. Testing. Waiting. Testing. Hungry. Thirsty. Irritation. Waiting. Experiences with cancer treatment vary from person to person. Today, I learned a lot!.