A Flowery Infinity

By Elizabeth Prata

Good Almost-March morning! Happy Leap-Day! I've got dueling roosters outside with a crisp morning dawning, and a snoring kitty inside with the gas fire popping and warming the place. And in my hand is this: hot coffee with chocolate caramel creamer and whipped cream!

RefNet is playing some good music as they always do on weekends when I wake up and put them in the background. It's Reformation Network, a ministry of Ligonier and a 24-hour channel that broadcasts online or with an App, sermons, music, news, devotionals, etc. Ahhh.

I'm so sensitive emotionally, physically, and autistically, that the right setting, ambiance, and background is critical for me to begin the day right. When i'm able by grace of God to create the above described setting, wave upon wave of contentedness washes over me and I'm just in a glorious state of being.

I have no plans for this weekend, just the usual: Saturday spend most of the day writing the essays for the week's blog, Sunday morning to prepare for Sunday School and church at 2:00 and 3:00 respectively, and small groups dinner and fellowship afterward. There are 4 weeks of normal school schedule and then the first week of April will be the Spring Break week off.

In preparation for upcoming nice weather I bought a Georgia State Parks pass! My goal is to go to a nearby State Park each week at least once, and walk around, photograph, just get out into nature. One of the parks is just 4 miles from me down the road. There are another about half a dozen near me within half an hour to 45 min away. I am a little scared because my car isn't the most reliable, but I do want to try and drive to these amazing places and enjoy the beauty that is rural north Georgia.

Pretty, isn't it? I took these about ten years ago when I used to go there more often. There are trails of various lengths and in different spots throughout the park. You are allowed to swim or wade in the river, and in the pond of the top picture there are paddle boats to rent or picnic tables to sit at.

We'll see how it goes. It is really hard for me to cut a new pathway in my brain and my life for a new habit.

The After-Valentines Day flower sale was on at Kroger. The sign said 'deep discounts, while supplies last' and the table was empty, with only a few leaves and scatterings of dirt on it. It looked wiped out like the marauding Visigoths had stormed through, but the cut flower stand was still full of flower bouquets of all sizes. I bought a bouquet of two roses with some lilies and greenery for $2.50.

Yes, I know that $2.50 spent on something that doesn't directly sustain me, like food, utilities, or gas for the car isn't a necessity, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE flowers. I enjoy having fresh flowers around the place. They are usually too expensive for me to buy regularly, but if they are on sale like this, a few times a year, I'll go for it. If I was ridiculously rich, I'd have new fresh flowers put in by my butler every 3 days.

I divided the bouquet into two, and put the roses with greenery into one vase by the teapots (natch!) and the lilies into my mid-century Lenox china bud vase on the stove. I have to remember to put them into the fridge at night because otherwise the cat will eat the flowers and leaves. Cats, huh?! I also know that the flowers are gone by and won't last but a day or two more, but oh well, meantime it's pretty! And pretty is what I am all about as the background and ambiance of my life. (Left, the vase, pattern, Wheat, gold wheat, gold trim, produced 1940-1982).

I hope you all have a marvelous day. Spring is in the air!

To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. ~William Blake

Food Prep this week: Feb 24-28

By Elizabeth Prata

What a morning this has been! Cold and clear, fading stars twinkling their last as the sun comes up in a blaze of color. Pinks, lavender, reds, dandelion yellow raining down in the air as the street was awash with a riot of hues and the stars said goodbye while the birds and the sun sang hello.

I enjoyed the birdsong this morning as I strolled outside. Through the winter some birds stay around, which I love. The dearth of sounds in Maine winters, except for creaking branches and occasional branches breaking under strain of ice, and the scrape of plows, was something I never really got used to. I love that there is some birdsong all through the year in Georgia.

But in February all the migrating birds come back! When I opened the front door today to view the sunrise, the riot of sounds was a delightful wave of bird songs and calls. The rooster next door of course was doing his cock-a-doodle-doo thing, and in the trees, alive with movement in the gloaming, were birds singing and calling. When it lightened up enough, I spotted this cardinal having a party of one in the highest treetop, singing to whoever would listen:

Friday is payday. I have a good amount of food left so I'm not going to do a huge shopping today. I'll cook what I have. This includes:

Proteins/Dinners:

Frozen salmon
Frozen shrimp
Leftovers. We're having dinner after church today and they allow us to pack some leftovers to take home. Usually it's chicken.

Lunches

Lentil soup
Crudite: radishes, carrots, celery

Veggies/Sides

Spaghetti squash is in the crock pot. It comes out pillow soft. And I don't need to mess with it prior to cooking which is dangerous. The rind is thick and it's hard to cut. I just poke a few holes in it and pop it in as is, cover, and set the crock to high.

Peppers. I got a great deal on some colored peppers. Red/yellow/green in a bag for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One pepper went into the lentil soup. The others are being sauted and will be mixed with quinoa for salads or mixed with eggs for dinner or breakfast.

Eggplant. I also got a deal of two eggplants for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One became a caponata last week. This week I'll do the same, and mix in some quinoa for protein. I can also mix it with the spaghetti squash.

Greens. I still have some greens and will make salad to go with the salmon or the shrimp.

Dessert/Snacks

Fruit. Grapes and Strawberries. And whatever else is on sale this afternoon when I go to the store after church

Edamame nuts, a high fiber, low carb snack that is pretty crunchy (mouth feel) and pretty filling (stomach feel).

Popcorn. I don't have a microwave or popcorn machine. I just make it the old fashioned way on the stovetop.

I'm deliberately not buying potatoes or gluten free bread this week. We'll see how it goes.

So... I broke down and bought a stepstool. I can't reach the top of the shower curtain rings to change out the liner, and I can't reach the curtain tops to take them down and wash. The days of climbing precariously on some stack of books or a rolling chair are gone. The days of standing on tiptoe on the tub lip are gone too. I'm not limber, I'm too clumsy, and I live alone. It's foolish to take chances.

I guess I really am over the hill and picking up speed on the downslide!

Enjoy your week! Meanwhile enjoy these pics of fresh wildflowers, just starting to bloom in the yard

And this unknown guy, hundreds of feet away, he looked pretty sizable but I can't figure out what kind of bird it is

Good Saturday Morning!

By Elizabeth Prata

It's a very frosty morning here in north Georgia. The rain has ceased for the moment and the day looks to be dawning clear, cold and bright.

Here are some photos I took of the frost at sunrise-

I'm looking forward to the day, even the cleaning I've put on my to-do list, lol. We had a hectic week at school, even though last Monday was a day off. But for some reason, shorter weeks are always harder. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we had half days for the kids, due to Parent Conferences. Again, the different schedule seems to make the kids a bit wild. And on Friday we had a two-hour school delay start tot he day due to black ice. Phew.

I went up to The Special Store, my favorite vintage store in all the world, for a little retail therapy. I had decided to buy some throw pillows for the classroom. On Fridays one of the small group reading groups I do is simply reading self-selected books. I tell the kids they can lay around on the floor or sit in any chair at any table to read for the 40 minutes. Other than school furniture, the room does not have anything soft in it. I'd like to get a rug, but for now, I decided to add some throw pillows to the room so the students that choose to lay on the floor will have something soft to lean against.

Of course, I needed to get the same amount of pillows of students that I have so no one would be left out, plus an extra or two in case I receive a new student. That's a lot of throw pillows, at least 8 or 10. Expensive. Where can I go? Yes, the Special Store.

Along the say I'd stopped at the Dollar General to buy hangers and lo and behold they had a 50% off sale on pillows. I bought some body pillows and a throw pillow. Then at the Special Store, 5 more for $2 each.

I also got a pencil sharpener! Wonderful! Mine broke 2 weeks ago and it's really inconvenient not to have one in the room. This rotation I have directions for both my reading groups to do a lot of writing. And there was a pencil sharpener for $5. How great.

I splurged and bought a book, yes a book, for $1: a first edition Agatha Christie from 1959, "Cat Among the Pigeons." I started it last night and I love it. It's not worth anything. I just like saying "first edition Agatha Christie" because I am a book snob.

I also love the dust jacket art:

The cookbook is part of the aforementioned in previous essay a freebie. You get a free piece of art or a free cookbook with a purchase. Last time I'd gotten the "Classic French Cooking" from the famous cookbook series "Time/Life Foods of the World" series. The original hardcover cookbooks in the series contain fabulous photos, I'm told. I read through many of the recipes last night and they are wonderful.

These spiral books are like an appendix to the hardcover main series, with supplemental recipes. The Provincial French Cooking has apparently risen to the top in the series in terms of belovedness and enduring fame. It's written by MFK Fisher and was the first to be published in the series in 1968.

Here's some chatter about these cookbooks:

This has been called the cookbook series that any cookbook collector MUST own, or they aren’t a real cookbook collector! The reason these are so highly sought after is the amazing depth and range of recipes in them, extremely remarkable and noteworthy for 1968. They were discontinued in part due to complaints that ingredients were hard to acquire for the home cook. Not so anymore. And these recipes are just fantastic!

Another woman wrote that these recipes never fail. This article extols the cookbooks, too-

Published in the late ’60s, Time-Life’s Foods of the World cookbook series was a good 50 years before its time. Truly from the golden age of publishing, these books were intended to educate and entertain. Today, the authentically ethnic and American regional cookbooks have a certain charm as the “exotic” ingredients introduced are readily available in supermarkets today—things like chorizo, tahini, hoisin sauce, fresh bay leaves and jasmine rice.

Since the ingredients are available today more and more people are turning back to these old cookbook standbys and a new generation is enjoying them all the more. I don't plan to make many of the recipes, but I like seeing the write-ups, the photos, and the nostalgia factor. My mother had the set, or at least, most of them that I remember.

I hope you enjoy your day whether it's cold or warn, in or out. Whatever you're doing, remember, time goes quickly and soon the kids will be grown and gone, the day will end, the bad circumstance will resolve, the Monday will come! Capture every moment and enjoy in the Lord.

Resetting the Room

By Elizabeth Prata

I enjoy being productive. I enjoy knowing I'm using my time and resources well. I always have. After I was saved and became a Christian, I learned the importance of shepherding our resources wisely. This is because all that we have is given to us by God, and when we use our resources well (time, space, money, energy...) then it honors Him, the Giver.

I listen to a podcast and read the blog of Reagan Rose called Redeeming Productivity. In the latest podcast, he talked about 6 tweaks to habits he is trying out. One of those he called "Resetting the Room."

Goodness, I already do that one! I love it! I just didn't have a name to call it, except "normal." LOL.

It's when you leave a room for the day or the night, and you take a moment to put everything back into order the way it was when you entered. You put the sofa pillows back into the corners. You collect the coffee mugs or soda cans and bring them to the kitchen. If the kitchen is your main go-to room, you wash the dishes or put them into the dishwasher, lay the towel over the hook. Make it look organized for yourself or the next person or the next time you enter it.

I enjoy when I walk into a room and it's orderly. It is restful to walk in and be calmed rather than be aggravated. It's why I make my bed every morning. I pick up my clothes and either put them into the hamper or hang them in the closet. When I walk into a room I don't want to have my stomach clench up or grimace because I see all the things I have to do to get the room ready for use instead of being able to come in and just enjoy the room.

When I was growing up, the adult in my home had a different idea of orderly than I did. My love for orderliness comes from that and the opportunity I have now to make my place exactly the way I want it. I know since I live alone it's easier to maintain its tidiness. But even for a married couple or a mom of a busy family, it doesn't take long to re-hang the dishcloth, to put the dishes in the sink, clear off the table of accumulated stuff, put away the laundry.

I think resetting the room makes sense. What do you think? Do just abandon it all and head to bed, and it doesn't bother you? Do you pick up? Obsessively clean LOL, your mileage may vary, but I do enjoy an orderly room.

How many office supplies do I need, anyway?

By Elizabeth Prata

I don't like to be acquisitive, but I do have weaknesses for certain things that I think are pretty. I like lamps. I like rugs. I like art. But thankfully those larger items are too expensive or too bulky to keep buying. My floors are covered in area rugs. I have enough lamps. Though, The Special Store has wonderful lamps I'm always eyeing. At least I know where to go if a lamp breaks or becomes unusable. Lampshades too. My walls are full of art. No more room. And for the most part I enjoy what I have and if I want a change I just switch them around in the apartment.

But I love notebooks and office supplies. Love. Love. Love. Can never have enough! I use them constantly. They are small enough to store without my place becoming cluttered. And they're functional.

It helps if they are pretty, also. A friend sent me a Robrasim handmade leather journal. I love it. They are refillable, too.

At school we have a guy who does a monthly pop-up shop in the copy room. He is from Collective Goods, formerly known as Books R Fun. Educational materials, doo-dads, and things for home. I love the stationery they offer, lots of good quality cards. I like to use cards for encouragement to give or send postal mail. Those are a good buy. They also offer office supplies. Uh-oh! Temptation!!!

I bought a set of sticky Notes in a 'Happy Camper' cute motif.

I do not write in any of my books or in my Bible. Ever. I use arrow sticky notes. I also use square sticky notes to make myself notes, all the time. So, who doesn't need like a thousand sticky notes in a cute camper motif? I mean really? We all do. Surely.

What's your weakness? ;)

The Special Store: Henk Bos, B Riasni, Time/Life Food of the World cookbooks

By Elizabeth Prata

Admittedly, it's been a hard week at school. Believe it or not, kids get just as excited for Valentine's Day as they do for Christmas, maybe even more. Add to that, we have a three-day weekend coming up. It's been benchmark testing and other testing, and parent conferences are coming up next week. Phew.

We're all ready for the long weekend. To get ready and to reduce some stress, I engaged in some retail therapy, Prata style. We've been pinned in for so long due to excessive rain, bad weather and dense fog (even snow) that on Thursday being a slightly sunny day,  I wanted to drive up to The Special Store as a nice little jaunt and bust out a bit. They were having a sale. Yay.

I needed to swap out my art over the kitchen table. I also am always looking for kitchen items. I'm always seeing what I can see. There's a lot to see. The ladies had bought another estate and were busy unpacking it all week. I was eager to check it out.

Of interest was the sign "Free art with purchase" from the pile of art placed by the register. Also of interest was the announcement "Free cookbook with purchase".

I saw a gorgeous teacup (not that I need any more) by Royal Doulton. This is a well known English china and figurine company. The mark said the patter was Pillar Rose and it was translucent china. Pillar Rose is described as Pink Roses, Gray Leaves On White, Coupe, Pattern Number: TC1011, sold between 1961 - 1974. It's very late mid-century... so... Post Modern Contemporary? Here is a good article spelling out the difference between mid-century modern and postmodern contemporary.

Anyway, I was intrigued by the translucent part of the pottery mark. Bone china I know. Translucent China I don't know. Royal Doulton is an esteemed pedigree, so it was worth taking a shot and buying the teacup.

It turns out that translucent china was introduced by Royal Doulton in 1960, called English Translucent China (ETC), which was known as Royal Doulton Fine China after 1974. ETC offered the excellent translucent quality of bone china, without the expense of using the calcined bone in the manufacturing process and fired in a higher temperature. In 1966 Royal Doulton became the first china manufacturer to receive the Queen's Award for Technical Achievement.

The New Scientist magazine in December 1959 remarked on the then extremely new technique Royal Doulton had perfected. If you're interested as to why this was such a huge advance in tableware, read the next few paragraphs. LOL, otherwise scroll down to skip.

English tableware is based on two traditional ceramic materials, both developed in the eighteenth century: earthenware with its porous and opaque body, and bone china, which has an entirely vitreous and translucent body. Bone china acquires its excellent qualities during the firing, when a fluxing agent binds animal bone to certain other ingredients. The bone, which is expensive, constitutes 50 per cent of the mixture. So it is not surprising that earlier experimenters hoped to imitate china by modifying the earthenware recipe.
English Translucent China, however, is completely vitreous. It is made from (among other things) a blend of feldspars, china clays individually picked for special chemical or physical properties, and silica. These are cunningly compounded to achieve a happy balance between such factors as whiteness, fired strength and plasticity. Plasticity, or the case with which the clay can be worked, is in fact reported to be so good that it has been possible to speed up the moulding and shaping stages of the manufacturing process.

No doubt the search for the correct formula was the Doulton team's biggest problem. But they had also to experiment with the preparation of the raw materials, establish firing regimes and devise new methods of glazing. Then special refractory supports had to be designed.

Whereas earthenware stands up to the rigours of the kiln without much distortion, the new variety, like bone china, tends to become mobile at the higher firing temperature of about 1,300° C. Originally each piece was laid in a bed of calcined flint. This turned out to be a cause of silicosis, and some years ago was superseded by calcined alumina beds which, at Doulton's, have recently given way to solid refractory supports like disks that help to preserve the shape of a piece when it contracts during the first (biscuit) firing.

In short, the housewife will now be able to acquire a dinner or tea service virtually as strong as bone china and possessing many other of its attributes, yet costing little more than the best earthenware. To Doulton's it is a source of pride that this bid for the "intermediate” market both at home and abroad has evolved from the English pottery tradition rather than oriental or Continental methods.

No wonder Royal Doulton became the first china manufacturer to receive the Queen's Award for Technical Achievement! Good on them. And now one of their technically perfect, affordable, and gorgeous items now graces this housewife's kitchen!

I bought a gift for someone, that was my main purchase, and also the teacup. And this little guy, it's SO cute! A small owl whisk in stainless steel.

I obtained the following pieces of art, one I bought and one that came free with a purchase. This is "Still Life with Pumpkin" But I like to call it Still Life with Book. It's by Henk Bos. It turns out he is a pretty interesting guy. Born in 1901 and died in 1979, from ArtNet we learn,

Henk Bos was a Dutch still-life painter. Staunchly devoted to the tradition and style of the Dutch Old Masters, he exclusively painted still lifes throughout his career. Bos realistically rendered fruit, vessels, and traditional accouterments set on wooden tables against a foreshortened stucco wall. He would also become a a member of several Dutch artist collectives, such as the Vereeniging Sint Lucas and the Gooische Painters Society. Born in 1901 in Huizen in the north of Holland, Bos died in Huizen, Holland on November 18, 1979.

Bos produces a bulk of his works in the 1950s and 60s. Mid-Century again, seems I gravitate to that design aesthetic whatever I do! Here is my Bos closer up-

I bought one of the cookbooks and the other one as mentioned came free with a purchase. My mother collected these. She enjoyed cooking and experimenting with new recipes all the time. I guess "nostalgia" is bringing all this Mid-Century on.

In looking up the cookbooks I found this-

Why This Vintage Cookbook Series Was a Half-Century Before Its Time

Published in the late ’60s, Time-Life’s Foods of the World cookbook series was a good 50 years before its time. Truly from the golden age of publishing, these books were intended to educate and entertain. Today, the authentically ethnic and American regional cookbooks have a certain charm as the “exotic” ingredients introduced are readily available in supermarkets today—things like chorizo, tahini, hoisin sauce, fresh bay leaves and jasmine rice. 

If you like exploring the world and its history through food, or if you’re looking to discover great food writing from such icons as M.F.K. Fisher and Waverley Root, you should add some of these books to your library. 

The series included hard cover almost-coffee table sized cook books and the smaller spiral bound ones (like mine) were addendum. The hardcovers apparently have luscious photos.

I also bought this piece of art by a "B Riasni", of whom I can find little about.

The back of the print says "Floral" Riasni. Contemporary Italian. Italian born, Riasni, with the skilled brush strokes of a master, creates a charming floral study of red and yellow roses. These sturdy cardboard prints are both signed. D. A. C. N.Y. No. 103 & No. 119 Published for Creative Manor Galleries on left lower corners and LITHO IN USA is in the right lower corners. The few places that sell these online mention they are vintage 50s or 60s. So...mid-century again.

It might be stretching it just a touch to compare Mr or Mrs Riasni to a master, but the print is charming.

I enjoy the opportunity to browse and see pretty things, small and large (the furniture at this store is amazing). I like bringing home this and that, and apparently the gift I'd bought was a hit. It's not far away and the drive to it is lovely. It's all good.

Well, thanks for sticking with me on my meanderings as I studied up on the items I got at the vintage store I like to go to. I like studying about them after I get home as much as I enjoy browsing and buying. Till next time, I leave you with this. We'd had a bunch of storms all week. The air was changing from the humid sticky stuff being driven out by a fresh clear and cold air mass. The clouds were scudding and moving quickly as the day waned. As I pumped gas at a gas station on a high plateau I watched the clouds go by. The hues of gray captured me. No filter-

Food Prep: Week of Feb 10-15, & Daily Murray

By Elizabeth Prata

I didn't do food prep last week. That is, making food ahead for lunches, snacks, and dinners. I paid for that decision. By Friday lunch I was eating radishes and carrots, and I bought a sushi combo plate (on sale, of course) for Friday night's dinner so I didn't have to cook. I won't do that again!

I just didn't plan well, I didn't shop well, and I was out of ideas.

A week off helped, I survived, and I am now in the throes of making the following:

Meals:

Chicken and rice soup with a tomato base, turkey sausage, and corn. This is lunches.
2 Salmon fillets (marked down). This is 4 dinners.
Baked tofu and green beans. Add peanuts to final cook, rice or quinoa if I'm in the mood. 2 Dinners.

Sides:

Roasted mushrooms (marked down & on sale)
Roasted pepper and carrots
Potatoes in the crock pot when the squash is done

I have a spaghetti squash but I'll save it for next week. It'll keep.

In the fridge is a large container of greens for salads.

Fruit this week:

Strawberries were on sale. I like to cut off the green leafy tops and chip them into a container, and let the juices meld. This helps the sometimes dry mid-winter hard strawberries you sometimes get If you add a pinch of sugar this also draws out the juices. If still hard or not too sweet you can quickly stir them in warm balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar. It's a fantastic way to serve them. If hosting, a nice dessert is to top it with a small dollop of whipped cream or a small dollop of vanilla ice cream and a basil leaf. Here is a recipe for strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

Mandarin oranges (on sale)
Red grapes (on sale)

The best way I've found to prepare tofu is to buy the extra firm. Then cut the brick in half. I use half at a time. It keeps a long while, just replace the unused half brick in a container with fresh water, cover, and put back in the fridge. I wrap the half brick in paper towels, put on a cookie sheet, and lay something medium heavy on it, to squeeze out the moisture. I say medium heavy because you want to get the water out but not so heavy you crush the tofu.

When dried out a bit, I cut into cubes. At this point you can toss lightly with cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, or bread crumbs. It makes a nice coated crunch when you bake the tofu.

When I'm ready to eat the tofu with green beans. I toss it all with soy sauce, or lemon juice, salt and pepper, and eat cold as a salad or hot.

Having to be lactose free and gluten free, it's sometimes a struggle to make sure I have enough protein and healthy food. It's a struggle because food prices are going up and up. I really search out the coupons from my grocery store they send me, the online weekly sale sheet, and the in-store sales. The peppers were on sale for 69 cents and carrots are always a good buy. Tofu goes a long way.

Proteins this week:

-chicken (already cooked and picked, $3.50).
-turkey sausage (on sale for $2.50),
-salmon fillets, marked down $3.50 each, (I split them so it's 4 meals for $1.75 each).
-tofu, $1.75

Just the protein alone was $15.

Gluten free bread is $5, and a half gallon of lactose free milk is $3. Produce is off the charts expensive. You see how things add up quickly. I've had to raise my weekly budget goal from $40 to $60.

I rarely shop anything from the middle of the store but some things are necessary, like the diced tomatoes I put into the soup, chicken broth, and of course hard goods like paper products and soaps, which I buy at the Dollar Store. This week on the marked down section of the health food shelves was a box of Kashi cereal that usually goes for $3.50 but was marked down to $1.29. It is gluten free cereal so I bought it.

I just be diligent with the coupons, try to resist most temptations, and see where else I can cut back. There's not a lot of places but there's always somewhere I can save a buck or two.

Enjoy the day and the week ahead. We have a three-day weekend coming, our "winter break" is next weekend. Saturday our church is hosting a movie in the morning and lunch afterwards: Brandon Kimber's American Gospel. Should be fun. Then Sunday Services and next Monday while off school I plan to write a lot.

Here are some photos from my week:

Daily Murray. Where is he? Oh, there he is, with his head in the lamp. Oy what a cat.

I didn't take this picture through a window and it isn't raining. I stood on the step and aimed the camera toward the spotlight illuminating the driveway. It's the freezing fog in the air that the lens captured. The NWS has a freezing fog advisory in effect. You might not see the freezing droplets hanging in the air, but the lens does.

That's OK, the kitchen's warm & cozy!

It got warmer during food prep. That's OK, it's below freezing outside. Top left, carrots & peppers, tofu cubes and green beans under that. Middle is the salon filets and the pot of soup. Bottom is mushrooms.

Have a great week!

The Blizzard of '78!

By Elizabeth Prata

We had a turbulent weather week.

I was reading about the Blizzard of 1978. It was part of The National Weather Service's retrospective on some of the worst weather events. I lived through that one. It's etched in my memory. February 6th...it began. A five-day travail that affected millions.

I grew up in Rhode Island, ground zero for the blizzardy weather bomb that unloaded over us that week. Snow was predicted and it was supposed to get hairy but no one suspected how much and how fast. We were let out of school at 1:00, unusual for a New England school, where the bus drivers and other drivers are used to a bit of snow. But when it began snowing at 11 or 12, it started coming down fast and hard.

I was a high school senior, who drove to school from 8 miles away from my mother's house. My brother was a sophomore and he was with me. There was a hill a mile out of the turn from our school drive and I slid down it and spun once. I knew I would not make it the 8 miles to my mother's house, so I aimed for my father's home, a mile away.

We made it and I called my father immediately to let him know we were there. I asked him to come home, and stop at the grocery store first because it looked like we might be there a while. I'd peeked into the fridge and all I saw was prune juice, tomato juice, and some frozen dinners. I knew we'd need more than that, lol.

He came home but only brought more prune juice and two more frozen dinners, rofl. Thankfully his girlfriend brought more substantial provender.

And there we were. The snow came down at several inches per hour. The power went out. But my father had a kerosene heater and a huge fireplace, so we were warm at least. The snow piled up amazingly, we could not stop watching its level get higher and higher against the sliding glass door. The battery operated radio stated that the entire state was closed down, to stay off the roads and that the turnpike was clogged with stalled cars and even stalled rescue vehicles. The folks that were stuck inside their cars on the highway were in peril.

It wasn't just the snow. High winds actually hurricane force...waves swept homes away... heavy snow collapsed roofs.

We were trapped together. My father was not prepared for kids and having us stay there for days on end was difficult for him. There was no power, so no TV. The internet had not been invented yet. Just us. In the cold and the dark. We got on each other's nerves.

School was out for five days. Finally the roads were (barely) cleared enough for me to drove me and my brother home. And we put the event into our memories and looked ahead to spring.

A dinosaur snow sculpture someone in my town made, the snow was still pretty high even weeks later. Walking to my friend's house it was up to my thighs.

Here in the present day, we had wild weather in Georgia. Tornadoes and thunder and 6 inches of rain and wind and heat and humidity. We huddled in the hall at school, covering and protecting hundreds of children, as the tornado sirens went off and the sky got green. A lot of roads were washed out in our county. Now today we have a winter weather warning for 4 inches of snow. Go figure! Maybe it's February that comes in like a lion!

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe wherever you are.


Retrospectives on the Blizzard of '78

New England Historical Society
15 Facts about the Blizzard of 1978

Weather.gov, Blizzard of 1978

Moody Winter Sky

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote "My pile is too high." You know the piles you get when you toss this or that over there to be dealt with later, but more stuff comes in and soon it's a tower, not a pile? I destroyed it today. I went through everything and got 'er done.

So, it's February. Wow, didn't that go fast? Seems like we just had all the blogs about Bible Reading Plans, New Year's Resolutions, and optimism for the freshness of 2020. Now it's February, hearts and flowers and candies.

We have a winter break in February. There won't be school on February 17th, barring any weather closure days. I'm looking forward to the three-day weekend because I love being at home.

I always have.

As a kid, if I wasn't at home or somewhere in the yard, I'd be across the street playing in the brook, or behind the house (in the cemetery) looking at old gravestone inscriptions. I liked the cemetery. It was quiet there.

Today after a day of writing and emailing, I decided to take a breather outside. The sky was moody, one moment clear, the next scudding with dark rimmed fluffy clouds. Crows were crowing. It was windy and the tree branches were waving to each other across the yard like passengers on a dock waving to the departing passengers on the ship. The temp said OK but the reality was 'cold'. I snapped a few pics in the yard and scurried back in. Here is the yard today, the first day of February.

Have a great Sunday everyone.