Confessions of a Grandma

The view out my back door this morning, April 16.  At least the sun in out.  It won't last.  Hard to believe it was up to 80 degrees on Monday though.  Between the mountain snow melt in the warm temperatures and the heavy rains yesterday, there will be flooding down hill of us for sure.  I opened up some windows on Monday.  The winds that were ushering in the cold front also blew in a great deal of pollen.  I sneezed about twenty times in a row before I thought to close the windows again.  At least all the rain and snow settled the pollen for a bit. Spring means spring cleaning. I emptied out my closet and gave it a scrub. I did some purging, although not enough.  Anyway, a trip to the Salvation Army is in my future. We did some baking this past weekend.  My loaf of bread is on the left and my son's loaf of bread is on the right.  I follow a recipe and he throws ingredients together from memory.  I bake ...

Our lawn was looking so lush and green through the spring.  Now, after just a few hot, rainless days it looks like someone went out in the middle of the night and scattered giant bowls of shredded wheat here and there.  It's crunchy to walk on. Generally, Vermont soil is supposed to be quite heavy clay.  Not in our yard though.  We seem to sit on top of a sand and gravel ridge.  It certainly had its advantages last summer when there was flooding elsewhere.  However, when it is dry, it does not take very long at all for the grass to show the effects. Do they still sell Shredded Wheat?  I remember eating it as a kid--once in a great while--and that it was palatable only because we dumped huge spoonfuls of sugar on top making a concoction of sweetened milk with bits of straw in it.    I also ember making shredded wheat bread--loaves and rolls--in the 70's.  Doesn't that sound so very 70's?  I know fondue came back for a while. ...