Valentine’s Day 2020

Valentine’s Day….a very special day each February 14th. Florists fill their shops with roses and other red flowers, their employees work long hours making arrangements and delivering them as soon as possible on this date. Many grocery stores have fresh flower displays each day, but they have very large quantities for Valentine’s Day. Greeting cards bring in lots of money, as well as boxes of candy do. This holiday which celebrates LOVE is a huge money maker!

When I was a child, we used to make boxes to put all the valentines in from our friends at school. We either made fancy cards or our parents would buy a large package with enough cards for you to send one to every classmate. I kept some of the cards I received when I was in grammar school for many years. I wish I had kept all of them because so many friends have passed away.

I don’t know why certain “events” stay in your memory forever, but some do. I was in the fifth grade, living in Charleston, when my “lifelong memory ” of Valentine ‘s Day occurred. My “boyfriend” was Quitman Seymour. I had never heard that name before. There were lots of nice boys in my class, but Quitman and I had a crush on each other. He lived on a street behind where I lived on Broad Street, near Colonial Lake. His house was on Tradd Street. His mother taught piano lessons. Our teacher was Mrs. A.B.Hassell. I loved her as a person, as well as one of my favorite teachers, in my young life. She lived on Water Street, not far from me and I would go to her house sometimes. She had a deep Charleston brogue and I had a slow North Carolina drawl. She was just the sweetest lady I knew! And in my young mind, Quitman was the most handsome boy I knew!

I had many friends in my class at Craft School, which has been turned into condominiums now. Bobby Miller was one of my friends. His son, whose name is also Bobby is a prominent developer of upscale homes in Charleston now. Annie Deal was one of my best girlfriends. I have lost touch with all my classmates because it was so long ago. But back to my memorable Valentine’s Day.

It was in the afternoon, when the doorbell rang and by the time I got to the door, no one was there. But I looked on the porch and there was a small red heart shaped box of candy and a card. Quitman put them on the porch and then hid behind the shrubbery so he could see me pick the candy and card up. I went inside and he left.

Needless to say, I was excited. I did thank him the next time I saw him at school. My daddy let me take the camera to school one time and I made pictures of some of my classmates and Mrs. Hassell. I wish I had made more. Those photographs have faded and after a few more years, I will not be able to distinguish the people in them. The only place I will be able to “see them” will be in my mind’s eye.

There is much more to this story. I will share the rest of the story at another time. For now, my Valentine’s Day will always be special, because of a childhood friendship that never ended.

And the question is…”What’s for breakfast?”

Have you ever wanted a certain food, but settled for something else because of lack of time to prepare it, or for any other excuse? That happened yesterday and today I still wanted the same thing. I didn’t feel great when my taste buds were working overtime yesterday.

Today is much better and I cooked cheese grits. It takes hardly any effort for something so simple, but if you don’t feel up to par, it is easy to choose a substitute . I settled for a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese to go with my coffee yesterday. It was good, but I was not totally satisfied.

After a good night of rest, this morning I went to the kitchen and cooked a big pot of the comfort food I like so much. It is one of the cheapest foods you can eat and is popular in the South. I am definitely a Southern “girl” so I grew up eating it.

I made some pimento cheese with extra sharp cheddar on Monday. I added a large serving of that to the hot, bubbling grits, along with some “real” butter and a little milk to make the grits less thick. It was a “sight for sore eyes” for me, at least. My mouth began to water as I stirred the contents of the pot several more times.

I remember the days when I could eat anything and as much as I wanted, without gaining an ounce. Well, those days are long gone. Today, I threw caution to the wind and enjoyed every bite of my grits, toast and coffee.

Food is a frequent topic of conversation when seniors get together. If a new restaurant opens, a group of friends usually make plans to try it out as soon as possible. Columbia is growing rapidly, so new eating places are common place. Some have very interesting names.

There are many local businesses that have stood the test of time. I live very close to Rush’s and Lizard’s Thicket. Rush’s started years ago with one location and they still make some of the best burgers in town. They have expanded so much that you no longer have to drive very far to find one. Lizard’s Thicket is a favorite for country cooked vegetables and meats, such as stew beef, fried chicken and meat loaf. They also have great breakfasts. I love the “homey” atmosphere at Lizard’s Thicket.

It would take pages of space to mention all my “favorites” and I wouldn’t attempt that. All this to say, we are blessed with many outstanding places to eat, of every kind of food imaginable, but for today, my favorite was Jean’s Diner, where I had my fluffy cheese grits, toast, a hard boiled egg and coffee. I even had a refill on my coffee and just thought how blessed I am for all these blessings! It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy! Grits is one of the things that does that!

Funny how time slips away….

Sometimes a line from a song sticks in my mind and it won’t go away. I love the gravely sound of Willie Nelson’s voice. I play several of his “favorites” from time to time. He has a style of his own. That makes him unique. I really enjoy listening to Willie.

I think the reason the title of this song has lingered for several days is because my “what to do list” has been revised a number of times. Even though I no longer have a paying job, I still make a list of the things I plan to accomplish each day. I just love to check everything off. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Yesterday I did pretty well with my list. I wish that was the case every day! I love fresh vegetables and cooked several. It is difficult to prepare small amounts of certain things and I don’t like to waste food. I had a beautiful head of cabbage, which I cooked, baked an acorn squash, several sweet potatoes, and some apples, then boiled eggs to make deviled eggs. I didn’t bake corn bread, which I should have. I enjoyed my dinner at Jean’s Diner. That is one name for my kitchen table. When I have girlfriends over, and use my fancy dishes, it becomes Jean’s Tea Room. I suppose I never outgrew tea parties!

Does anyone remember when each day of the week was “reserved” for certain chores? My mother and grandmother did the laundry every Monday., it was a difficult task back then. Tuesday was the day to iron all those dresses and shirts. My mother was the best ironer in North Carolina. Yesterday, I did a large amount of laundry. It is so simple these days. You push a button and after the washer completes its work, you put the wet towels, sheets or whatever you washed into the dryer and push another button.

Ironing is a thing of the past. For me, at least. The new fabrics can be taken from the dryer while they are still warm and hung up,so ironing is a ” lost art.”

The thing that I have kept moving from my list for over a week, is blogging. I write in my personal journal every day, but I have been “dragging my feet” when it comes to posting in my blog. I do have valid reasons, but I still don’t like to miss.

Now, the words to Willie’s song are not appropriate for my situation of putting off blogging, but the title hits the nail on the head, as the saying goes! Funny how time slips away is not really funny!

Tomorrow is my best “Columbia” friend’s birthday. She and I usually talk about the things we have to do and how we tire more easily these days. It stands to reason that as the years add up, we cannot do everything we once did. We just don’t want to admit it!

I am going to give my best effort to blog every day, BUT I thought of a possible solution to my dilemma…I will make shorter lists! That way I can avoid my guilty feeling. Then my theme song can be , “Happy days are here again!” Or maybe if I am more realistic, I can sing the song Barbra Streisand made famous, “The way we were .” I must get ” the show on the road!” I want to start checking off everything I have completed today!