Recipes | Peaches Prattlings

{January 25, 2025} No real apples, I promise!

Tonight we went to the weekly LVMC meeting and I brought two pies. Two mock apple pies.

Yes, I said mock…apple pies! I was supposed to bring them last week, but I was in NYC with dad, and I honestly couldn’t remember when I promised to make them, so…I wanted to make up for it this week and I made two mock apple pies.

Back to the pies. I found this recipe a few months ago, I honestly don’t know how I found it, what I was looking for, none of that, but I found the recipe and I couldn’t believe it, so I thought…why not! I can’t eat real apples and this doesn’t have any apples in it, so…here we go!

The recipe calls for water, sugar, cream of tartar, 30 buttery round crackers, c’mon, we all know what those are! and yes, 30, well, 30 for the filling, and 1 cup crushed for the topping, cinnamon, lemon juice, and a pie shell. I know it sounds crazy, but those are all the ingredients.

Here is the history of the mock apple pie, it actually dates back to the mid-1800 when fresh fruit, apples specifically were scarce, inventive cooks would use salted crackers or stale bread. In the 30’s Nabisco started putting the recipe on the back of the box.

Why does mock apple pie taste like real apple pie? “Mock apple pie tastes like apple pie because it uses ingredients that mimic the flavor and texture of apples. The acidic qualities of crackers, combined with other ingredients like lemon juice, cream of tartar, and cinnamon, create a flavor profile that’s similar to apple pie.” Works for me!

So…a few months ago, I bought a box of Ritz Crackers, lemon juice, pie crusts, and cream of tartar, the rest I had in the cabinets. I set about making the pie and unfortunately, the crumble top got a little burned, but….I pulled off as much of the burned pieces I could and I cut a slice for PSM and I.

Let me tell you… two things happened…One: IT TASTED LIKE APPLE PIE!!! and two: PSM said “I might have to have another slice!” That doesn’t always happen! Not because he doesn’t like what I make, he does, most of the time, and i will admit, not everything I make is great, but he’s not a huge sweets guy and…he’s not really a pie guy!

For our wedding, neither of us wanted a cake, and when I mentioned pie, he quickly said no, he doesn’t like pie, which I happen to la la la love! So…when he said he’d have another piece, and he had one… tickle me…well, tickle me pink!

So…I knew I wanted to make two pies to take to the club tonight, all food is sold and the profits go to the club, what could be better?! Share some sweets and help the club? Score! I started making the first pie, PSM brought me another pie crust when he got home.

The first pie I made in our Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven thing, I had the pie on the top rack, too close to the top, so it burned the crumble on top, part way through I moved it to the oven and kept it on the lowest rack possible.

Second pie, I made in the oven, lowest rack possible, top still burned a little, and interestingly, both pies had the same amount of filling, one was fluffier than the other, hmmm….either way I made two pies, wrapped them up in tin foil and we headed to the clubhouse.

They went to the kitchen, we went up to the meeting and after the meeting, while we were all hanging out, people started to have some pie, $3 a slice, very reasonable! One guy, JB, told me he made the same pie last week. Someone else, who happens to be a fabulous baker, asked me for the recipe! Can you imagine! Then a few other people had a slice, even PSM bought a slice!

I kept having to tell people, ‘no!’ there are no apples in this pie! Don’t ask me how it works, it just does! PSM said I shouldn’t sell it as a mock apple pie, but I completely disagree, I want people to know what it is and how great it is! And it was so great! they asked me to make some for the clubhouse when we have bingo night! I was tickled… pink, like a pink lady apple! HA HA

I was in a good mood when I made the pies, which you really have to be in a good mood when you bake or things just don’t come out right, and I was in an even better mood when people told me how much they liked it and asked me to make it again! I’ll come down off the cloud soon! Best part…there was a little pie left so guess who got to take it home! Y U M!!!

If you make it, let me know how it came out! And if you could believe your tastebuds!

{January 25, 2025} Sold Out? Already? Wow!

We got up leisurely, gotta love Saturdays! Took the dogs for a walk and talked about where we would start our day….Why, the Whirling Dervish, of course!

I say of course because one…it’s Java Journey time! and two…their hours are limited. Thursday and Friday, 7a-1p, and Saturday 8a-12p. I think I told you last year, it’s not the main business for the owner, there is a real estate office in the front of the building and that’s the main source of income.

We got there, along with everyone else! There were four people in there when we opened the door, well, four customers, and it was crowded! There was one person working behind the counter/register and three people in the kitchen, don’t call the fire marshal! That’s how small this place is, just saying! They had a steady stream of people in all morning and their baked goods, almost out! And we were there about 830/9am!

PSM got their signature drink, The Jittery Gnome, don’t you just love it?! I opted for a hot tea, the loose tea smelled sooo good! I only get a hot tea from them, I didn’t care for the tea I had last year made with almond milk, just wasn’t for me. Just being in there can overwhelm some people, it’s small and jam packed with gnome knick-knacks, but I love it! Besides, I really enjoy their pastries. We got a pastry to go, our drinks were ready and we headed out, five more people came in as we were getting our drinks! crowded!

Oh! I forgot! When we got our passports stamped, they gave us two gnome stickers! Squeal! Guess where one of them is going?! Yup, we need to differentiate between my cup and PSMs and gnomes just aren’t his thing!

I held the door for an older woman and we started chatting about the Whirling Dervish and the Java Journey, and places to explore in Pennsylvania. A lot of the places she mentioned were already on my list, but I did get to add one or two more! Love talking to people!

After the Whirling Dervish we headed to the next destination, we try for at least two stamps per weekend day, why not?! We went to Caffeination Station, the place that is set up like a train station! They have a train that normally runs above the cafe, it wasn’t running today, not sure why, neither did anyone working there, go figure!

PSM got their Winterspice Latte, we asked what it was like, “Imagine if Christmas had a flavor, that would be it!” well, then, let’s! I had a chai latte made with eggnog, eggnog! Almost no one has it, especially after the end of the year! Don’t ask me how, but eggnog has never bothered me when I have it, I’ve been told that something about the ingredients mixed together counter the agent that isn’t good for people with a dairy intolerance and until it does, I’m having it! There is non-dairy eggnog, which is great, and I drink it every year! I have found it made with almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, no matter which, it’s yummy! And go figure, while I was searching for a link, I found a recipe for diary free eggnog, enjoy! Let’s just say… it was de-lic-ious!!! Happy me!

To go with our yummy drinks, we ordered breakfast sandwiches, and they did not disappoint. We sat at the counter, there really wasn’t much room at any of the tables, not complaining, most of the time we prefer to sit at the counter! While we were at the counter, we started chatting with the owner and staff, and apparently we looked like we needed a cookie! We were gifted a chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips. I loved the chips! It was a good cookies, I had to try a piece! The combo was great!

As we were talking, someone called to ask if they had any of they had any of the Java Journey travel mugs left over, nope. The person that answered the phone suggested the Whirling Dervish, we didn’t see any when we were there, but who knows. Then the owner told us everyone was sold out! What?! It was only a week and everyone is sold out, wow!

It kind of makes sense, this year, they chose travel mugs, which is definitely more desirable than the ceramic mugs last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love the mugs from last year, they are ceramic, but look like old school metal camping mugs. I was really lucky when I called the Timeless Cafe and they held two for me! Apparently there was a gift basket that came out right after Thanksgiving, those were gone faster than you could say Java!

The owner told us to call next year and see if they can hold a basket for us! Apparently the businesses order a certain number of baskets, and mugs, of course, and people will call and order them weeks ahead! That, of course, isn’t the spirit of the event, but hey, whatever works for people…But…hopefully next year, we’ll be two of the lucky ones who get a basket! And we are definitely not waiting until the weekend to get our mugs!

If we don’t get a basket, which comes with two mugs and passports, and gift cards, one of us will be at one of the participating coffee shops when the doors open on day one! This is fun! I think I told you, they added three new shops, one of them being a mobile coffee truck! It’s just a fun way to explore new things, chat with all the other people on line with us, some of them have their travel mugs, but we can spot each other at least with the passport! It’s like a secret club we joined!

Ooh, where to tomorrow?! The game is afoot!

{January 16, 2025} It’s date night!

I don’t know when your date night is, we don’t have a set date night either, but tonight was date nite!

PSM texted me earlier today and told me his trainer wasn’t feeling well, so the gym was out, and he was thinking about going to the Apple store to get a new iWatch, and would I like to go with him, we could grab some dinner while we’re out. Who am I to say no to a night out with my hubby?!

Well…what sealed the deal…the Awful Waffle, to be exact! Yes, you heard right friends, Waffle House!! You know me and you know I love Waffle House! There isn’t one near us, the closest one is in Lancaster, which is also where the closest Apple store is! Bonus!

Funny thing is, we were just at the Apple store over the weekend, and we threw in a trip to Costco, bonus there too! Lancaster, specifically Costco and the Apple store are about 45 minutes from us, so it’s not like we’re going every week. We make a Costco run, isn’t it funny that people call it that, a Costco run…well, we make one every few months, not even that soon, mostly when we run out of dog food for Ruby, we get the giant bags there, there’s also a PetSmart nearby for Bee’s food.

While we’re there, we get veggies to make our bucket ‘o salad, their fresh fruits and veggies can’t be beat for freshness and how long they last, it’s better than anywhere else we’ve been out here. I know, I digress.

So…I finished work, fed the dogs, got them settled in the crate when PSM called to say he was on his way, put on my hoodie and headed out into the snowy evening to jump in the jeep and off we went! It’s been snowing all day, the roads weren’t too bad, was this a bad idea? Too late now, we’re committed, or should be!

We got to the mall, went to the Apple store, deliberated over the different options, for both the watch and the band, and he made a decision, then it was time to eat. Plus, by the time we were done purchasing the store was closing, time to go!

We were about 7 minutes from Waffle House, got there and we were the only ones, besides one server and one cook. Allstar Special for PSM, that’s eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, scattered and burnt, thank you! cinnamon raisin toast, and hold the waffle, he even learned the lingo! I’m so proud! I had an egg sandwich with grits no extra butter.

The server was nice, so was the cook, and she was super chatty, it made the time go by quickly, I can tell you that. I think we may have heard her life story! You never know who you’re going to meet at Waffle House!

After dinner it was home again to play with the dogs and chill out. I would say that was a very nice date night, Apples and waffles, what more could you want!?

{May 11, 2024} A little puppy love, a bike ride, breakfast, a coworker/friend adventure, a new place for food!

Another normal Saturday, right?! Today was a lot of fun!

Got up stupid early, well, not completely stupid, but why was I awake at 530a?! Seriously? It’s Saturday! Well…I refused to get out of bed until at least 6am! We did need to get an early start, but not that early! I finally got motivated about 6am, got the dogs and took them for our morning walk. When we got back DH and Tequila were up and I fed the dogs, then took Tequila out to do her thing.

I came back in and attempted to feed her, as I discovered last night, she does not scarf her food like our dogs, she is a grazer, I’ve heard of that in dogs, but I’ve never experienced it in person! She still hadn’t finished the food I gave her last night! I grabbed Ruby’s bowl from the studio and fed the girls. When I tried to feed Tequila she wasn’t interested, so I left it in a bowl in the studio and unfortunately, DH left the door open and Ruby had a second breakfast! Oh brother!

I took all three dogs outside and the ground was very wet, so…we had a damp beagle and a damp golden retriever…um. They had fun in the yard, very excited the dogs got along, I think if they had more time to play it would have been better, but we kind of threw them together and for that short amount of time, they did great!

After everyone was put together, our dogs went into the crate, Tequila and DH got in PSM’s jeep, the vehicle he was driving had 2 car seats in the back that were too hard to dislodge! PSM and I got on our bikes and we headed to Hernley’s to drop the bikes off for their Spring service. It was cold, but a great morning for a ride! It’s been raining, so not much riding this past week, so this was great!

After the dealership, we all jumped in the jeep and went to breakfast at Heisey’s, a place we really like, I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about it before, if not, I’ll tell you another time. A great breakfast place that we introduced DH to, one of the things we’ve loved about moving here…all the fabulous breakfast places we have discovered!

After breakfast, we headed to the house and said goodbye to DH and Tequila, let the dogs out, I went up to take a shower and get dressed, and then I kissed everyone goodbye, that sounds so final! and I got in the car, dropped the top, and I was off to Philly for the day!

The weather was perfect for a convertible, it was supposed to rain, that’s why I took the car. I have to tell you, the weather was fabulous all day, it didn’t actually rain until about 8pm when I was driving back home, so score one for the bug-a-boo! I drove into Philly, only hit a few spots of traffic, but made it in under 2 hours, not too shabby.

I was meeting my co-worker, NO, oh my goodness, I just realized her initials are NO! I LA LA LA LOVE that! And now…she will forever be NO in my posts! ha ha! Anyway…she is in Philly, from Chicago to teach class last week and this week and we get along really well and I had asked when she was coming in if she would like to get together this weekend…oh yeah! So…I got to Philly, texted her that I was downstairs and she would see me when she came out…”red car, blue hair!” my exact words and I wasn’t lying!

She jumped in the car and we compared lists of what we both had researched, she had a great and healthy list! First…a nosh, we were both hungry, but not full meal hungry, so she told me about this place called Goldie. Goldie is a vegan, Israeli-style falafel shop serving fresh-to-order falafel, French fries and tehina shakes, and gluten free! We were both set!

Fries…yes! Cabbage on top…yes! Schwarma seasoning on the fries, a little spicy for me, you know I’m a wimp, but it worked for the fries! And falafel on top…oh yeah! And the falafel was delicious, tender, and definitely not dry, thank goodness. Next…tehina shake, what? Yes! A vegan ice cream shake with tehina…the sesame paste you use to make hummus and baba ghanoush, among other things! And did it work as a shake? you bet your sweet bippie! Oh my word! Delicious!

After our snack, we walked back to the car and we decided to go to Valley Forge. It is he encampment site of the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. It was great, we started at the visitor’s center, spoke with a very nice park ranger who gave us some pointers on what to do. The park closed at 515p and there was a 10 mile encampment driving tour…sold!

We jumped back in the car, top down, and started off on our adventure. We saw the barracks where the soldiers would have lived, the barracks where the officers would have lived, quite a difference! We also climbed into the bunks and got some pictures, not very roomy, I can tell you that!

We went to each site and along the way we would dial a number and enter the stop number and a recording would play telling us about where we were, what we were looking at, and the history of that spot.

You may be asking, ‘But JJ…why Valley Forge is so important? and I will tell you friends ‘Valley Forge was a naturally defensible plateau where the army could train and recoup from the year’s battles, and the wet and cold winter weather, muddy and impassable roads, and scant supplies made major battles less likely.’ Isn’t amazing?!

We learned that when enlistment was up, many soldiers decided to stay on, they taught themselves, the made their own clothes, found food, they had a purpose and a mission and that is what won the war. I was so impressed.

We even got to got o George Washington’s headquarters! It had offices, where much planning took place, a dining room and bedrooms that housed about 30 people, that was the Washington’s and their staff, both free and enslaved. It was amazing to see what it was like. We got to speak to another park ranger and get her opinions on some things and a little background, as much as she could give us right before she was locking up! We were definitely thankful for her time!

By now, it’s closing time, so back to the car and onto the road, we were hungry, especially after seeing the kitchen and the food they may have prepared, didn’t matter that it was fake, we were hungry! We decided to go into Valley Forge, that meant going into King of Prussia, where we were was like an outdoor mall and we settled on Founding Farmer’s, cooperative-grower-owned spot serving farm-to-table-themed American fare in rustic digs.

It’s a farmer-owned restaurant, the food was fresh, and tasty, they even have their own distillery! And…we were both able to find something to make us smile and fill our bellies while we continued talking and getting to know each other. I definitely give this place two thumbs up and I would definitely go back! If I was back in the area, there are so many great places to try, do we go back or try something new? If it was NO and I, some place new, if it was PSM and I, which we will probably go at some point, I can see taking him there!

After dinner, we headed back to Philly, we talked some more, laughed, discovered, and just had a really nice time. It was fun to talk about work, and talk in person! The great thing…we talked about work…maybe 10% of our time together, the rest…getting to know each other, laughing, learning about Valley Forge, General Washington and his armies, getting lost on the roads, imagine that…two people directionally challenged using a map, g r e a t…

Before we knew it, we were back in Philly at the hotel. I put the hazards on, got out and we chatted a little more before I was going to leave and a police officer put on his lights and used his siren…at me! Was that my car, yes officer, just saying goodbye to my friend… a few more minutes, and we said another goodbye, have a great day tomorrow, talk to you on Monday and off she went and I drove home to PSM and the puppies.

And here I sit talking to you about my day. And now… g’night!

{April 21, 2024} It’s Sunday…let’s go!

Yesterday, after the Biker and Bike Blessing, I loaded up the convertible, kissed PSM and the dogs buh bye, jumped into said convertible, dropped the top and away we went! We being me and the cah! [I said cah because I was heading to Bahston!]

PSM gave me a way to avoid the traffic in Connecticut, that Connecticut is so famous for and makes people not want to go or drive through Connecticut. Ok, so maybe people want to go, I spent a great weekend there with CWB two years ago, but driving through it to get to Boston, not my favorite, or my husband, or my dad, or anyone else who has to do it. That being said, PSM gave me a route that would add about 100 miles to my trip, which meant about an extra hour, but I would avoid Connecticut, and it worked!

I arrived at my sister’s about 830p, eyes were slits, but I made it! After visiting for a bit, I was done! Down to the sofa in the basement, set up the blankets, jammies on, and I started talking to you and couldn’t sleep, really?!

I did not set an alarm for this morning, but lucky me…I woke up about 530a, fun! I lay there not thinking or doing anything, I just snuggled deeper into the covers, it was cold in the basement, but I was toasty under a few layers, works for me! Eventually I got up and wandered upstairs and my sister was in the kitchen with EJS, she was heading off with ACS, to do a father-daughter college tour and soccer ID clinic. Can you believe it…college tours! O M G!

MGS came down eventually, she had a soccer game in the afternoon, she was going to chill until then. GES and I started to cook some of the dishes we would need for the Passover seder tomorrow and Tuesday. She hosts first and second night. I’m always at first night and when I started dating PSM, we go to second night with his family. Their first night seder is usually held in a hall with a lot, when I say, a lot, I mean a lot of people! They’ve had up to 100 in the past! That would be something to see!

We have to strategize what we’re going to cook because there’s only so many good size burners and only so much oven space! We started with a matzoh brittle, y u m! This is one cup of brown sugar, one cup of butter, melted, then you put it on a tray of matzoh, which goes into the oven for 5 minutes at 350. When it’s cooled, you break it into pieces. Some people make it with chocolate chips and nuts, I’m a purist. You’re welcome, you’ll thank me later!

I started on the veggie matzoh ball soup, y u m! Then we made I lost count of how many hard boiled eggs, then the potatoes, we had gefilte fish to make too. This is where the musical burners comes in because there are only two large ones and we use large stock pots for everything!

We had thumbprint cookies to make, coconut macaroons, matzoh apple and peach apple kugel, charoset for just the two of us, since we can’t eat apples. I think that’s everything. You know…I really need to give you our recipes for these dishes, they are sooo good! Other people would be bringing items tomorrow, so we don’t have to cook everything like we used to when we were kids.

About 1030am, we went over to a friend’s house to help them with the crafts for her son’s bar mitzvah, it’s a baseball theme and she needed a little extra zhuzhing it up [you just have to say the word out loud]. That was a lot of fun, there were glue guns, batteries, lights, baseballs, the whole nine yards! And she had a Cricut, so I had someone to chat Cricut, you know I was in heaven!

After the craft party, we headed back home to cook some more. When we got there, dad had arrived! The family is together! We chatted and caught up while we made a few kugels, then everyone left for the soccer field, I stayed behind a few minutes to get the kugels out of the oven, the off to the game I went.

Great to see MGS on the field, it was a lot of fun, she’s really getting so much better! This was her first game with this team, definitely a new experience! I’m so very proud of her! I hope she knows that!

Let’s just say, I had my top down on the way to Boston, today…I couldn’t warm up fast enough when I was back in the car after the game. I could not feel my feet or fingers, thank goodness it all came back to me! Back at the house, a little more cooking and then it was time for dinner. They brought in pizza and salads, I had a nice big salad, I had to go to the grocery store earlier and got some of my favorite vegan cheese, Chao Cheese, the brand is Field Roast, I actually never noticed the brand name before! I was always focused on the flavor. It is a full, rich, cheese, and melts nicely!

Dinner is always fun at my sister’s house, lot’s of chatter, banter, silliness, and laughter, what more could you want?! After dinner we did the last of the cooking we needed to, cleaned up the kitchen, everyone else went up to bed and GES and I sat on the sofa and relaxed! What a day?!

I know I nodded off a few times while we were sitting there scrolling through our phones and watching something on tv, I know this because I kept waking myself up! ha ha. After a bit, I went downstairs and here I am telling you about my day.

I’m going to say Bonne nuit (bon nwee), that’s french for good night.

{April 11, 2024} A New Lebanon Valley Experience!

Lebanon Valley is back with a new opportunity to explore. You went with us on the Lebanon Valley Java Journey and now…we are starting the Lebanon Valley Libations Trail! Yup, you guessed it, we went from coffee to booze!

And you also know me…two things I love…ha ha! Yeah right! They are both things that PSM loves, but I enjoy going along for the ride and…depending on where we are the libation…the more he drinks, the more stuff I get, a win-win, wouldn’t you say?!

There are 18 bars, breweries, and distilleries on the list. Some we’ve already been to because that is one thing I explore, new places to eat and drink, but this time, we get points for participating, no passport or mug to buy. The way it works is you download the pass, but this one is virtual, you don’t have to remember to bring it with you when you go somewhere, so that’s a plus! “Did you bring the passport?” “Crud, no, we need to go back and get it!” none of that! So.. you download the pass, when you go to one of the establishment you check in and enter the code and collect your points. You can put the points towards free stuff, some of the stuff you get at the bar itself and some you get might be mailed to you. Either way, free stuff, wahoo! Some places have discounts on food and merchandise while you’re there, score!

Some of the places we’ve already been to, and several of them we like, and some of them we don’t. We’re trying to decide if we go to those early and get them over with or leave them towards the end, but I don’t want to end on a negative for us, so…decisions, decisions. There wasn’t anything drastically wrong with them, they just weren’t the places for us, but…being slightly competitive, we’re going to do them all! We met someone last year who told us about the Lebanon Valley Libations Trail just as it was ending and gave us all the codes from the bars they went to, so we were able to get some free stuff, score! This time, we’re starting at the beginning and we’re going all the way!

And, just like last time, I’m going to share our experience with you, because if I didn’t, what type of friend would I be?! A few of the places I’m really excited about because they’ve been on my list of want to try for a while, score!

Tonight, we went to the first place, not the first place on the list, just the first place. PSM called me to ask me out to dinner, it’s been a beautiful day and turning into a beautiful evening. He rode the bike to work and said let’s meet somewhere! He didn’t want to go to one of the places close to the house we go to regularly, so we decided on the Blue Bird Inn. This is a place our realtor took us when we were house hunting and it seemed so much farther away! At the time we were in a hotel about 40/45 minutes from here, so it was. Now…it’s about 15 minutes from us, score!

The Blue Bird Inn was built in 1859 and renovated in 2009. It’s a classic pub, big indoor seating area, actually there are several rooms, a very nice bar, then an outdoor seating area that is actually indoors, if that makes sense, it’s all windows, but it’s not inside the main room. Then you go outside and there is an upper level deck with a bar and a lower level, no bar. The outside decks both have tables for outdoor seating, it’s quite nice.

The atmosphere is great, the staff is great, the ambiance is great, the drinks, from what I’ve been told, are great, and yes, the food is great. I’ve enjoyed all but one trip there, they have great vegan options for me, but this one time, I’m not sure if the chef was mad at my veggie burger, but it came out hockey puck style! Yup, beyond repair, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so! But…my broccoli was great that night, saving grace!

As I mentioned, they have vegan options for me, they make cauliflower wings, tasty, but even better, cauliflower steak! If you’ve never had it, don’t knock it until you try it! A cauliflower steak is when the cut the cauliflower in a thick piece and grill it, fry it, pan sear it, whatever you do with a steak, you do with a big slab of cauliflower, except put gravy on it, that would be weird, for me anyway, but if you want to try it that way, go for it!

It was a loverly evening, we sat, talked, drank, laughed, rounded out the meal with some very good bourbon bread pudding, I recommend it highly. Yeah, we’ll go back! After we ate, and talked, and laughed, and had a great time, it had started to get a little chilly, so back on the bikes we went, stopped for gas, and then, home sweet home.

And that was our first stop on the Lebanon Valley Libations Trail, not to worry, we have until June 15th, and you know us, we’ll do it! Maybe one here and there, another day maybe two or three, or more! Who knows! But you know I’ll tell you all about each one!

And now…I say to you…Buona notte (bwona nohteh) [good night in Italian].

{March 3, 2024} A pahty, dinner with dad, drive home

I…am…beat…yeah, I’m done! I just got home from Bahston and dinner with dad, I’ll tell you about my day, then I’m crashing!

Got up, the pups had slept with me, they love that treat, I’ll admit, I love it too. It really is a treat because it doesn’t happen every day. I let them on the bed sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday morning, but spending the night on the bed, now that’s a treat. Ruby did her thing and turned around twice and laid down, Bee turned around twice and then dug herself into my side, it was soooo cute. She moved once or twice, but settled into the crook I made and it was warm and cuddly, sigh.

We got up, went for a walk, thank goodness the rain finally stopped! Oh my car window…we came back, they had breakfast, I took a shower, then we headed to J&A’s for Uncle A’s 80th birthday bash! I got there, asked if I could do anything and A said she completely forgot vegan stuff, and there was a gluten-free person coming, so I said I would go to the grocery store and get some, easy! GES is going dairy-free for a while, I wanted to share some of my favorite options with her too.

Ruby just came upstairs to tell me it was time for bed!

I went to Wegmans and picked up some vegan and gluten-free options. I forgot how much I really like Wegman’s and what a great vegan selection they have! And how expensive some of that stuff is! I know it’s expensive, but usually I’m only buying one or two things along with our other groceries for the week!

I headed back to the house and people were starting to show up, including my hubby, PSM! I hadn’t seen him since Friday morning when he headed towards Vermont, very nice to see him, the girls thought so too!

We were in town for Uncle A’s 80th birthday bash and what a bash it was! GES was able to come over for a little bit, try some of the vegan cream cheese and smoked gouda, oh my I was happy, I love this Violife brand! They have such good dairy-free options! She was able to have bagel-lox-and cream cheese, with onion, of course! Not for me, thanks!

We ate some good food, got to chat with friends and family, laugh, hug, tell stories, and have an all around good time! It was so good to see everyone, I don’t think we’ve seen them since the Chanuakah party the weekend of Thanksgiving!

We bade everyone goodbye, PSM loaded the girls in the Jeep and headed towards home, I got in my car, programmed the directions and headed to my dad’s house. Let’s just say, no one likes driving through Connecticut! Aren’t they done with construction yet? Maybe that’s the national pastime in Connecticut!

It was a 4.5 hour drive with no stops, I had to get gas once and use the facilities a few times, and with traffic, it only added about 30 minutes, not too shabby. And…it got up to 70, guess what I did…dropped Annie’s top and we wer rockin’ down the road, that helped! I got to dad’s about 5p, we hugged hello, then loaded up in his car, I needed a minute not to be driving! We enjoyed Zara’s so much on Friday we decided to go back and even got the same meal!

We had the appetizer platter with babaganoush, hummus, tabouleh, eggplant salad, and sauted eggplant, it was so good! And we had a shepherd’s salad, the bread they bring out is fabulous and enough for the appetizers, I had a cup of turkish tea and we ended the meal with an order of baklavah! Sooo good! I’m ready for the next time.

Back to dad’s house, I helped him with his new timer light and then it was time to drive home. It’s only 2.5 hours, but when it’s been a long day and you’re tired, and already drove 5 hours, 2.5 can be tough! Especially after driving to Boston yesterday! But…made it home safe and sound, hello to the hubs and the dogs, unloaded the car, I’m talking to you and as soon as I click publish…I’m going to introduce myself to the back of my eyelids. Now…you know me, I know this, and you know this is just me talking a big game! ha ha

I’m going to give it the old school try! Night!

{January 11, 2024} Nostalgia

I was going to tell you more about our trip to USVI, but I ate something that sent me down another path. I know, you’re surprised…ha ha

What did I eat? A piece of celery with peanut butter, and it was so good…I had to go make another one to munch on while I talk to you! I can’t remember if that was something my mom or dad would make us, but it makes me feel good. Another one was apples with peanut butter, either slicing the apples or using one of those apple wedgers and serving the apple slices with peanut butter. How about this…celery with cream cheese and paprika, so good!

Some things may sound odd to you, but they were comforting to me. Noodles and cream cheese, if we weren’t feeling well, that was something she would make for us, I still do that to this day, but it has to be wide egg noodles, you can do it with almost any noodle, but it really has to be something that can pick up the cream cheese as it’s soft and melted, maybe add a little salt. I remember my sister telling someone that she knew ACS was the one when, early on in their relationship, she wasn’t feeling well and he made her noodles and cream cheese, it’s the little things.

I was just telling someone about my mom making her meatloaf with a hard boiled egg in the middle, most people have never heard of this, but it was a special treat that she did for us, and if there wasn’t a hard boiled egg…it wasn’t the same. Warm milk with honey if we were sick made us feel better and even if it was just in our minds…I’m ok with that. I know, milk with meat, ha ha. Not to worry, the meatloaf was a treat and the milk with honey was a remedy.

And the gems my dad taught me…I could never eat New England claim chowder without a pat of butter melting on the top; rice pudding, right out of the pot is really much better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, specifically Bryer’s vanilla, and the strange one that just works…those cheese crackers with peanut butter in them? Smear some strawberry jam on top, oh man, you will not be disappointed!

I’m sure there are others, but at the moment, those are the ones that are on my mind and making me smile. I wonder what some of yours are.

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What was I thinking?