Easter in the 'Burbs, c. 1960

  Me, my cousin Marion (visiting from England), and my sister,  Easter 1960.

Marion was in her mid-twenties,  but my parents' policy was that everyone younger than they were get a basket.  My dad was still sending me See's chocolate rabbits when I was in my forties.

The routine during our childhood was an  Easter-egg hunt first, then church.  Which meant we were often in curlers and a hairnet (glammy!) during The Hunt.   

Still eating sweets:  Marion and me in a bakeshop in York in 2011:

"Re-living that Tearoom Moment:" Best-selling English Cakes

I gained six pounds the last time we went to England, due to utter besottment (my word) with English desserts.  Cakes are a major player, although I also loved Eton Mess, Gypsy Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Bakewell Tart.  I find them all irresistible.

The Spring 2013 issue of the National Trust Magazine has--be still my heart!--an article on the five best-selling Trust cakes, with recipes (yes, Val, I'm thinking of you). These are the cakes people line up for in the tearooms found at almost all Trust properties.

Victoria Sponge Cake--a basic jam-filled layer cake, preferably raspberry jam for "tang."  The trust sold 171,000 slices of this last year. 

Chocolate Sponge Cake--The Trust Development Chef   advises adding coffee beans to the ganache frosting because "it stops the cake tasting too sickly."  Not possible, Chef.  Chocolate is never sickly.

 Coffee and Walnut Cake--Which came in at third, with 102,000 slice sold last year.  Yum.  Lots of butter.  This is described as "the perfect autumnal cake--it's so comforting."

 Carrot Cake--The Trust is the UK's biggest farmer, which means they presumably can pull the carrots straight out of the ground for this cake.

Lemon Drizzle Cake--Which is described as "light and refreshing," despite six eggs and 10-1/2 ounces of butter.

Lawns, Limits, and Quilt Bid Update

The Quilt:  The highest  bid stands at $250.  Bids accepted until April 1.  Thank you for the supportive and enthusiastic response! 


I read a few blogs written by women in their thirties and forties, almost all of them stay-at-home moms (SAHMs).

They're very big on practical advice: how to organize children's closets,  how to design a mud room, where to find a good spice rack, and--this was helpful--the best  and cheapest mascara (see below, Define-A-Lash by Maybelline, really good).

A good tip for any age

It's sort of soothing reading these blogs because no one's talking about having enough money for retirement,  or needing to move to a house with no stairs, or whether to spend money on trips while they can still travel or to save it for when they need help down the line.

These people are still buying stuff, gadgets for their kitchens, Martha Stewart organizers from Target to keep track of busy lives,  color-coded plastic boxes for kids' toys.

Most people I know are all about getting rid of stuff.  They cleaned out their parents' houses, and they've vowed never to leave that much stuff for their own heirs to deal with.

Another difference:  The SAHMs never mention knee replacements or cataract surgery. 

My demographic,  although not exactly falling apart, is starting to show wear around the edges.  Some have been less lucky, like my friend Rob and my sister-in-law, Delilah, who've died in the last decade.  

The SAHMs are still putting in lawns.  They're all about expanding--more stuff, more children, bigger house--while my group is retracting: smaller houses, smaller gardens  (less height, less hair, lighter bones).

We have less time ahead of us, less energy.   To some degree, The End  (you know, death) informs our most important choices and decisions.  We've learned, in a profound way, about limits.

Which is a bummer.  Which may be why I read blogs by SAHMs.

Please Go Away, Proposition 8

Today the Supreme Court hears arguments over the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage proposition passed by California voters in 2008.

I will be very, very outraged if their vote goes the wrong way.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the court could uphold Proposition 8 (boo!); strike it down (yay!); or decide that supporters of Proposition 8 lack standing to appeal in which case previous rulings that the proposition is unconstitutional will stand (yay, again!).

The Other Side will argue that marriage between a man and a woman is "traditional," a word that makes me grind my teeth.  Slavery in the South was traditional, I guess,  and so was women not being allowed to vote. 

And then there's the procreation argument, which is nuts because so many childless heterosexual couples-- Jerry and me, for example--are married.

Let's have justice, Justices.

Family values:  Rylan, son of Shannon and Celia, who married in 2008 during the brief time it was legal in California.



Rylan, a/k/a  Mr. Adorable, and me last weekend. 

Quilt Seeks Bidders

Only one week left to bid on the Sawtooth Star quilt I made to benefit the Berkeley Food Pantry.

Anyone want to bid up the current bid of $150?  For any bid over $200, I will include a personalized, hand-embroidered label for free, a $25 value (!).

Machine-washable, 46" square, all cotton.  The quilting, done by Angie Woolman, is a pattern of flowers, vines,  and leaves of grass.

The pieced back

Lose Weight = Buy Tight Stuff

Forgiving tie sweater covers midriff rolls

I've been on a diet since January.  Not a killer diet , but a slow version of the South Beach Diet (Phases 2 and 3),  low-carb but sensible.  I snack on almonds, carrots, and mozzarella sticks.    I cheat with dried fruit and the occasional small bar of dark chocolate that I gobble in the car as soon as I buy it and then I hide the wrapper in the outside garbage bin.

It took me about five years to decide to do this, but it's worked.  When I was in San Francisco last week, I tried on clothes and discovered I've gone down a size. 

Then I proceeded to  lose my mind.

 I bought a dress, a cardigan, a pair of tight black pants, and a pencil skirt.  Two pairs of sandals, including one with a heel.   In my 62-year-old mind, in the privacy of the dressing room, I was downright glammy. Oh, yes!   I was a new person who was going to wear skirts and looked pulled-together all the time.

Then I got home, threw it all on the bed, and thought where am I going to where a pencil skirt in Berkeley, exactly?  And when?  To the Food Pantry on Mondays?  It was on sale, but so what?

Pencil skirt:  On sale, but where to wear?

I'm going to wear the dress in Boston at sweet Leah B.'s graduation in June, but after that?

And how, over the course of four trips am I going to keep off this weight and continue to fit in these clothes?  I'm going to Texas, where Jerry's daughter's going to provide pie for his birthday and his daughter-in-law adores bread pudding and I might as well go along?  Then I'm going to England, for God's sake, home of pub desserts and lager.  And a cruise where all the desserts are free and there are plenty of them?

By the time I get to New York City in the fall, I'm going to be back in my old jeans and that un-glammy skirt with the elastic waist that I've taken on every trip since 2007:

The much-traveled skirt:  Note comfy elastic waist

Wearing it in Riverside Park, New York City, 2007

A Couple of Books and a Near-Bidless Quilt

Update:  Quilt bid now stands at $150.  Thank you, Suzanne!


It's 6:10 am, and I've been awake since 4:15.  Not good.

I have myself to blame: a small dark chocolate bar at 5 pm yesterday (what was I thinking?) and a late-ish Diet Coke.  Too much caffeine, too late in the day. 

In the meantime, I've been paging through two good reads:

 

 

I love this book!  I've lent it it to many pals, and it was kicking around in my car because someone returned it.  An excellent re-read, too.

Novella Carpenter writes about a farm she created on an abandoned lot in West Oakland, deep in the ghetto, with a compelling cast of characters and eventually chickens, turkeys, ducks, bees, and two pigs.  She and her boyfriend dumpster-dive to feed her animals, even behind fancy restaurants on Fourth Street.

I just discovered that she has a blog and has open-house workday at her farm every Thursday.   My friend Anne and I are thinking of going down and helping out.

And the other book:

This is such a sweet, engaging, sad book.  The essayist Roger Rosenblatt writes of his experience of moving in with his son-in-law and three small children after his daughter dies suddenly.  He and his wife leave their home in Long Island, move to Bethesda, and take up life with a young family struggling with loss, re-weaving a life.


                                                                                * * *

And the nearly bid-free quilt:

I have one bid of $100.  Any others?  It's waiting for a home, and the Berkeley Food Pantry shelves are waiting for more food.  Supplies at the Alameda County Food Bank are running low, and that has a direct impact on what we can give away to the people who line up for food every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.