“One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast.”
The house feels hot and a bit clammy. The humidity has returned. Gracie just sits in front of me and pants. If I were a dog, I’d do the same thing.
When I was a kid, I was a morning cocoa drinker. Two of my siblings were tea drinkers. My mother would put a nice tea pot on the table rather than putting the teabags in mugs. For my cocoa, she’d mix the powder with some milk, stir it together then add the water. Some mornings she made eggs. Other mornings we had cereal. We always had toast. She sometimes made soft-boiled eggs and put them in yellow, chicken-shaped egg cups. She always lopped off the top of the eggs. I loved how she used to cut the toast. It was the perfect size for dipping into the eggs. Oatmeal was common in the winter, the old-fashioned kind which took some time. My mother kept a good variety of dry cereals, including each of our favorites. I never gave those breakfasts much thought. It never occurred to me how early she had to get up. Not only did she make our breakfasts but also our lunches, great lunches, the envy of our friends. We never said thanks. We finished breakfast, grabbed our lunches, kissed her good-bye and ran out the door. Kids just don’t think sometimes to say thanks for the every day.
There is a slight breeze as I can hear my chimes now and then. The birds are noisy. I don’t hear any people.
I have nothing to do today except maybe the laundry still sitting by the cellar door, but it doesn’t bother me much so it may sit there a while longer. I am not even dressed yet. I don’t care. There is no urgency in putting on clothes. I do love this life of leisure.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: cereal, cocoa, egg cups, Eggs, good breakfast, heat, humidity, lunches, school days, tea cocoa, Toast
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August 30, 2015 at 12:42 pm
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August 30, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Gnu,
I think I posted this or something very much like this. Maybe they all just look the same!
August 30, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Mostly sunny here today but as we were out walking a heavy shower caught us, twice 🙂 First we hid under my neighbors huge maples and no water reached us at all. Then the rain stopped so we continued for around 50 yards and then it came back, much worse 🙂
So we hid under a few rather big rowan trees but they weren’t nearly as good protecting us. So we were quite wet when the rain finally stopped. The sun rose the humidity to hights I thought was impossible and the rest of the walk was just nasty but at least it was in the sunshine 🙂
I mostly had milk for breakfast unless it was winter because then it was hot cocoa. Most of the family had already gone so I did it myself. Just as well as my mother never have understood that it isn’t a good thing placing a cup of steaming hot cocoa in front of a kid and forget to tell that it is steaming hot 🙂 You know that she was pretty useless when it came to cooking but she did actually know how to boil the perfect egg, that I have to give her 🙂
I’ve done the laundry today, nothing much since I already hade done some of it earlier in the week. I didn’t win the lottery so I must go to work tomorrow again 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
August 30, 2015 at 1:29 pm
Christer,
I just turned on my air conditioning. Gracie has stopped panting and is now asleep, snoring. I would like some of your rain.
Nothing worse than the sun beating down on you. With wet clothes and the sun you might have been steaming.
My mother always made sure we had food for breakfast, hot food in winter. I loved her eggs, especially in the egg cup. I’d dip my toast trip in that yolk.
I may do some laundry but then again I may not.
Have a great day!!
August 30, 2015 at 1:07 pm
Hi Kat,
My mother made breakfast every day, too. In winter it was oatmeal (blech) or cream of wheat (blech cubed). Sometimes we had fried eggs or, on rare occasions, SB eggs in bunny egg cups. I was the only one that liked very runny yolks but my mother’s SB eggs were closer to hard boiled and not good for dipping toast soldiers. The rest of the year it was cold cereal.
Orange juice was the morning beverage for us kids. Cocoa was a winter afternoon treat served hot with a dollop of Fluff floating on top. Yum.
And, no, as children we never thanked her for cooking anything except her apple crisp. 🙂
My only chore today was to stain four 6 foot long 2×4’s. It’s mostly done. I’m waiting for them to dry a bit so I can turn them and do the 4th side. No humans or canines were stained in the process. A rare occurrance here. 🙂
Today has turned more cloudy than sunny. It’s warm but not sticky. Piki Dog is sleeping next to me on the couch. Rocky has a spot on the floor which he only uses when the door to the front porch is open. I suspect the difference in air temperature between the cooler house and the warmer front porch produces an air current and provides him with his own personal fan.
Enjoy the day.
August 30, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Hi Caryn,
I don’t know why but we never had Cream of Wheat. Anything tastes good with lots of sugar, even oatmeal. My mother made perfect SB eggs.
We never had orange juice. I wonder why. We never noticed it was missing.
I call Skip for any job with the potential to spill all over everything including me. He is a sticker for perfection.
I just turned on the AC. Gracie has finally stopped panting but her snoring is driving me crazy. She is lying beside me on the couch.
Enjoy your Sunday!
August 30, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Last week I stayed at a Hampton Inn hotel which offered a free breakfast of sorts. They didn’t really have a kitchen so the hot food was microwave made. Plastic forks, paper cups and prepared everything else. Breakfast, but not very good. Here in New Jersey I’m staying at an Embassy Suite hotel which offers a cooked to order breakfast. A much better way to start the day.
When I was a kid my mother, like your’s, always prepared a good breakfast. She also liked soft boiled eggs but served them in a tea cup rather than an egg cup. I never liked them so I usually ate cold cereal. Somtimes she would make scrambled eggs. At the beginning of the week she would cut out the menu of school lunches for the week. She would pack my lunch if I didn’t like the day’s offer in the cafeteria.
August 30, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Bob,
I agree that a made to order is the better way to start the day. I don’t think I ever buy microwave breakfast foods. An egg takes no time to cook.
My elementary school had no cafeteria so we had to bring our lunches. In high school we bought lunch in the caf. When I bought my house, my mother gave me the egg cups. A couple are missing beaks but I don’t care. They are bound up with my childhood.
August 30, 2015 at 5:42 pm
I have never been an early riser…my Mom would make oatmeal on winter mornings, and I would balk on eating it. Now, however, I will often cook a bowl for myself now and again on the rare nights I am home. Go figure.
I was often so half asleep at the table my Mom began to give me coffee at about the age of nine or so. This has begun a lifelong habit of caffeine. Can’t do without it – although I must stop drinking it at 3pm or I will be up all night. How my body knows that is beyond me.
My grandmother was in charge of making my lunch. It was the usual fare – PB &J, tuna on white or rye. Roast beef. Ham. Salami and cheese. It was a big deal to get a Twinkie with it, because usually it was an apple or orange…
We were all thrilled when hot lunches came to my elementary school. I think the cost was fifty cents…maybe seventy-five. Funny what you remember.
Your Sox threw a scare into my Mets this weekend…
Waving to make a breeze…
Coleen
August 30, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Coleen,
We put plenty of milk and sugar on our oatmeal so it tasted just fine. I can’t remember the last time I had oatmeal even though it is easy to make now.
I don’t remember when I started to drink coffee, but now I am definitely addicted. No morning can start until I have my coffee. I even drank the horrible instant stuff in Ghana.
We never had PB&J sandwiches. We always thought of them as a snack, not lunch. Bologna was always the most popular sandwich. Roast beef was a rarity. We had cookies, seldom fruit. Hostess was a pay week dessert.
Your Mets took the one so I’m happy for both teams.
I’m sitting in the air-missed the breeze.
August 30, 2015 at 11:31 pm
I remember my mother putting breakfast out for my dad and me every morning, always a couple of eggs, sometimes with bacon or ham. Weekends were cold cereal or hot oatmeal. I was a coffee hound for as far back as I can remember. Loved it as a kid; still do!
Felt deprived about PB&J sandwiches! Got sick on peanut butter cookies once in kindergarten, and didn’t eat peanuts for 30 years. Got stuck in a blizzard at Detroit airport. Nothing to eat at the bar but peanuts, so I made my peace with them.
Tell Bob Hilton Garden Inns have an egg chef in the mornings. As many as you want, done to preference, with all the bacon/grits you can pile on! (as a former southerner, I loves mah grits!)
August 31, 2015 at 9:38 am
Jay,
I haven’t ever tasted grits. Sausage and gravy is about as risky as I’ve gotten for breakfast. Even in Ghana I had my eggs. They were fried in peanut oil and were delicious. The egg sandwich is sold all over Ghana at any time, not just breakfast.
I was never a huge fan of PB&J. I never had it at school ever. Some of my friends did, and the sandwich looked disgusting by lunch time. Wonder Bread was too soft for the jelly which covered the outside of the bread in a blue jelly blob (everyone always had grape jelly back then).
I love coffee. Right now I am into African Blend. I keep changing the type of beans just for the variety.
September 1, 2015 at 12:25 am
Grits are merely a mode of transmission for butter, salt and pepper. Which is a good thing! Elsewise rather bland, as you might guess.
I have taken to mixing two scoops of Folgers’ Breakfast Blend with one scoop “gourmet” blend of varying types (or Duncan). Variety with consistency! And less costly.
September 1, 2015 at 10:31 am
Jay,
I Ghana I ate T-Zed (tuin zaffi) which is the staple of Northern Ghana. It is maize and cassava in a gelatinous ball. It is bland which is why it is always eaten with soup. I suspect grits may be it twin even in consistency.
I don’t think I can give up my African Blend. Every morning after my first sip I always think how delicious the coffee is. I did try a couple of others which were good but I haven’t yet found one I like as much. I believe in pampering myself sometimes and the cost of this coffee is one of those times.