In the Kitchen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS!!! Thanks for all you've given to and done for us who enjoy participating. Sorry I have missed posting the last 2 weeks scribblings. Between major computer problems, followed by our annual hiking spring trip away from any computer access, I wasn't able to get the prompts and/or write them in the posting window. Hope I am back in the groove now.

I am not much of a cook--don't do it very well, don't much like to do it. Lived most of my married life without doing much of it at all. That was quite easy since JR and I worked different "shifts" almost all of our working, married life. As a teacher I always worked days with weekends off. As a dispatcher for the police, then an ambulance company, then involved in direct sales, then for the postal distribution facility, he worked first rotating shifts then consistent ones determined by who had enough more seniority to outbid him for the most desirable ones. Much of our working, married life, we were fortunate enough to have Friday night and all day Saturday together; but the rest of the entire week, I ate dinner alone then graded papers. I hardly ever cooked for just myself; he didn't get home even close to a meal time, so he ate at work. And on our 2 nights together, I was darned if I was going to slave in the kitchen an hour plus before and after dinner so we could sit together for less than 40 minutes and enjoy what I had prepared; and that was if there was nothing on TV either of us wanted to watch.

One of my great regrets is that I raised a daughter who feels about the same as I do about cooking and, I say with some considerable shame and embarrassment, who has less skill at it, I believe, than I do. At least my mother, who was a home-ec major in college, did cook at home all my life and saw to it that I learned how, at least simplistically, and that I actually did the cooking sometimes. Occasionally, I would cook for my daughter and me, when JR was at work, but very, very seldom. The world of microwaves and quality, low cal, frozen dinners gave us each the divergent meals we preferred, with much less work; and, truly, with less food wasted or thrown out.

But the topic for this week is "in the kitchen" and, although, my own kitchen is not a favorite place or room; even I must admit that I believe the kitchen to be the heart of the home. Kitchens are warm! Kitchens are warm literally when something is baking or cooking, and the smells are enticing and yummy. When you want them to be cool---air conditioning and lemonade weather--- they are still warm in their enveloping welcomingness. Many of my happiest memories throughout my life are set in a kitchen. It seems when families and friends gather, eventually the largest number crowd into the kitchen, whether it is just to talk or to drink (tea, coffee, soft drinks, or even hard drinks) and talk, or to work together preparing food or cleaning up after eating. Warm fellowship and laughter emanate from kitchens.

Inspiration

Am I inspired to write?? Sometimes I do feel inspired, by a particular topic or a line of connected thought that topic leads me to, or even a particular special memory, or sometimes a particular "soapbox" issue. However, most of the time, composing to a specific prompt requires quite a bit of thought and effort and re-writing. Then, sometimes I feel really good about the product, but often I am still not fully pleased. I wish I felt insprired more often. But then everyone really needs to learn to be able to create even when not inspired and to take the steps necessary to build and refine a writing project. Sunday Scribblings motivates and disciplines me to work at simulating inspiration when it doesn't come naturally.

Dream Journey SS #50

I love travel!! However I was amazed to discover about 5 years ago, how much the wonderful experience of travel pales for me when the trip is not shared. I simply do not enjoy finding and seeing new and gorgeous places alone. For me, more than half of the amazing delight of travel is in sharing the experience. So, my dream journey is to see some of the places I have discovered and loved with groups of friends, now with my best friend, the love of my life, my husband of 38 years who has not seen Europe at all.

I would really love to take him some day to revisit almost all the places I have seen there. But if I must select just a few for a dream journey, it would have to include: several days in Paris, plus brief visits to Chartre & Strausberg in France; Zermatt & Wengen , Switzerland; Saltzburg, Austria; a number of places in Italy, especially the little places: Orvieto, Assisi, and Rapallo, a tiny little town on the Italian Riviera; of course, Florence, Venice and Pompeii . I'd really like to include a Greek cruise as well, including Corfu, Rhodes, Santorini, and with a stop at Kushadisi, Turkey to visit the ruins of Ephesis . We'd come back home through England so I could take him to Stratford upon Avon and York. Finally, before coming back home, we would swing around through Hawaii, to revisit Kauai where we spent the closest thing we ever had to a honeymoon.

Superstition

Just about the time we are feeling proud of our independent stature and self reliance, many of us find ourselves, really without thinking about its silliness, knocking on wood after making an affirmative statement that we don't want fate to suddenly reverse, or muttering "Bread and butter" under our breath as we drop the hand of a loved one so we may pass one on either side of some obstruction in the street. But asked if we are superstitious, most of my friends and I would, I believe, say "Of course not!"

I really cannot think of any superstition that I truly believe. My beautiful, wonderful, intelligent daughter was born on the 13th and so was my wise, witty and remarkably brilliant dad. How then could I ever be superstitious about Friday the 13th? Every day of the month, of every month, must sometimes fall on Friday. How frustrating and silly to think because of that happenstance, those would be bad birthdays. And black cats--posh!! Three of my four grandcats are black. Should I love them less, or fear them?? I don't think so. And in spite of my decades long love of drama and theater, I really don't see that wishing actors "Good luck" really brings them bad luck. But lest there be some among the cast and crew who do believe, I shall continue to wish them, truly always with the tiniest bit of trepidation, to "break a leg." Also, I have been a part of good dress rehersals and bad dress rehersals and terrible dress rehersals. I think for the most part the dress rehersal does indicate preparedness and actually suggests what one may expect of opening night. I must believe that the only reason for the silly superstitious saying that a bad dress rehersal means a great opening night is so that the actors will not be frightened into a worse disaster, sort of a self fulfilling prophesy or a bumbling snowball effect.

Superstitions keep us mindful that we are not entirely in control of our own fate; keep us aware that almost all of us keep trying to have that control.