Susan's Scribblings the Blog

Category: Uncategorized

• Redux

  Posted at 8:17 pm by kayewer, on October 4, 2025

  Life is truly a realm of transitions. From the moment of birth, we begin evolving and growing, and as we become sentient, we also make choices and decisions and change them constantly. Occasionally we cling desperately to some ideals and concepts at considerable cost to our sense of self. The changes we make alter the course of our lives from one time to another.

  In my decades of life, I have found a unique niche in writing which has been both a joy and torture. When an elementary teacher first took an interest in my assignment preparation technique, and later when I was sent to an advance creative writing workshop at the high school, the faculty treated me as if I were a burden by having any type of talent. It became clear that I was expected to not succeed, possibly in favor of other students with more desirable, but unspoken, traits.

  It’s wonderful for the ego to have those who are supposed to be shaping your character break it down by shoving metaphorical bamboo shards under your emotional fingernails.

  Occasionally my writing has brought positive responses and rewards, but on others I have lost privileges and my feelings of worth. At present I have had some tests of resolve which I cannot ignore. My current project is a series of novels which are being critiqued, and it’s been a harrowing journey. While I sort out the particulars of my project and try to keep the rest of my personal life in order, my blog may be shorter or more sporadic, though I will strive toward the former to keep my promise of consistency for you, my devoted readers.

  All of the publicity in our world says that a life should be well-lived, and the key is to not leave anybody out of that opportunity, and I include myself in that concept. For all the negativity, isolation, bullying, ignorance and cruelty I have experienced, the balance of positivity, companionship, kindness, knowledge, and empathy have put too much stress on the wrong side of the scale. My health has suffered, and I have felt banned from an essential part of what makes our country great: the pursuit of happiness.

  The process of reinvention can be difficult, but trial and error must eventually lead to success, and that is what I will be striving for in the weeks to come. I hope you will continue to follow my journey with me.

  After all, the year isn’t over yet; it’s only week 40 of 52. Anything is possible in twelve weeks.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged blog, blogging, life, mental-health, writing

• And Nobody Died

  Posted at 3:12 pm by kayewer, on September 27, 2025

  The city of Camden, New Jersey, just reported that they experienced their first summer free of homicides in fifty years, and overall crime is at a 55-year low. That is something to be proud of.

  My parents lived in Camden for a short time during their early married years, and my mother grew up there in a time when everybody knew everybody else, and you would just as soon see a child bringing home a pack of cigarettes (and exact change) from the corner store as a grownup bringing an open pitcher of beer home to have with dinner.

  Camden is recognized nationwide for its reputation as a center of blight, poverty and crime. The city is situated across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, PA. Residents of New Jersey in other parts of the county can easily distinguish the difference in location by the major highway running between Camden and the rest of the suburbs; on one side are quaint homes, and on the other are abandoned or security gated businesses. The main street running through the heart of Camden becomes more depressing the further West one travels its length. The cemetery where poet Walt Whitman is buried is next to a hospital and abandoned convent, then the journey’s scenery morphs into row homes of varying degrees of repair and rubbish, where the neighborhood has become home to a mixture of the low-to-moderate income and the malcontent attempting to survive.

  Originally Camden was similar to neighborhoods in New York, serving as a melting pot of immigrants and thriving middle-class candidates starting to take root in the opportunities offered by shipbuilding, RCA Victor, and Campbell Soup, which built its headquarters there. Originally a Quaker community, residents in the early 20th century traveled between other parts of New Jersey and Philadelphia with thriving job markets. The decline of industrialization caused people to move away, and new populations moved in with no means of livelihood, leading to an increase in urban decay and crime.

  The state university, Rutgers, grew its Camden campus into a huge compound much different from when I spent a few years attending evening classes. They now have dorms and athletic fields. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge’s lights illuminate a thriving college community, and some of the torn shells of abandoned homes were razed. A high security prison nearby which operated from 1985 until 2009, was also closed down, flattened and given over to open space and a small children’s playground.

  The county formed a police force, and some new businesses (particularly a massive expanded hospital complex near the waterfront) have brought renewal to the area, and crime has gone down by seventy percent or more in some instances. Only seven homicides have been reported in Camden in 2025, and with three months of the year to go, the figures appear to be promising.

  The poverty rate of over 28% still makes Camden a poor city compared to the 12.4% national poverty average. However, loft apartment living, an aquarium, and new business ventures are appearing regularly, bringing a promising future to the city.

  Just a piece of good news when there has been so much of the other type lately. It’s always comforting to see life come back when it lacks for too long. Here’s to completing 2025 on a positive note.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged history, news, travel, writing

• Cut To The Chase Already

  Posted at 3:24 pm by kayewer, on September 20, 2025

  When I first began posting on this blog, I wanted to be sure I didn’t make my entries feel like interminable cliffhangers. So much on social media prompts viewers to “click for more,” and I don’t want to be one of “those” people who strings readers along without a reasonably timely payoff.

  Here, therefore, are some of the things you may have been lured into by social media like Pennywise trying to grab a child from under the sewer grate, without any suffering involved. Also included are some quick pieces of (what I hope is) sage advice. Nothing wordy. Just the advice parts.

  Pink Himalayan sea salt mixed with lemon juice and water is not a dietary kick starter, and definitely not a substitute for injectables or proper diet and exercise. What it may do is provide hydration similar to Gatorade(R) or other such beverages. Don’t waste your time, and ask your doctor or a dietician.

  There is a diet personality named Dr. Gundry who pooh-poohs the idea of eating oatmeal for breakfast because of lectins, which supposedly affect your gut health. Oats are for horses, he says. Many experts tout oatmeal, particularly the steel cut variety, as having great heart benefits and the ability to control diabetes and cholesterol because of another substance called beta-glucan. If you have digestive issues, ask your healthcare provider for personalized advice on what to have for breakfast, rather than watching a soapbox-standing barker on social media. I have eaten three-minute steel cut oatmeal daily for years, and my lab numbers are just fine.

  The best way to deal with procrastination is to not put off the entire project, but to start on a piece of the project you can handle, and work your way up from there. I managed to declutter with this method.

  Before becoming entrenched in a new series on a streaming service for which you would have to pay, check on social media for people who have already watched it and listen to their opinions. You may decide, as I did, not to get started on a show because it obviously was not what I had hoped it would be.

  I received negative feedback from somebody, and it really hit me hard. I recently found that somebody else had a similar experience with the same person. So it wasn’t just me, and I wish I had asked about it sooner. Not only am I re-committed to what I was going to give up on, but my being ticked off is fueling my rebound. That’s not a bad thing.

  If you need a restraining order, you need to get that person away from you with more than just a piece of paper. Somebody that desperate to cling to you is dangerous. Not convinced? Look up some of the people who are no longer with us because the restrained person simply did in the restrainer. Don’t be another one of them.

  Just because somebody posts an opinion doesn’t mean it’s gospel. Who is the person? What else do they support or detest? Do research before you click the like button.

  If a person provides an opinion you don’t agree with, remember all the opinions they gave that you did agree with, and measure against what you like and don’t like. You may simply chalk it up to being human. Humans are flawed, after all.

  Always look at the sender’s email address, especially when it’s delivered as spam. If the email doesn’t resemble an actual business or entity, it’s probably a scam. If they offer something with a series of steps that seems odd, it’s probably a scam.

  We in the US are subjected to more dangerous food additives than in Europe (including the UK), because we don’t ban as many of these chemicals. Their products may be less brightly colored, but they are certainly healthier. That says something for stores that carry imported versions of products, and they may be worth trying. They are expensive, however.

  When you step outside your front door, the world’s rules govern you. When you are inside your home, your rules govern all who enter. Just remember that they also have the option to not stay.

  I hope some of these snippets will benefit you, because I took considerable time to gather and present them in the simplest way possible to save you time, effort and possibly health problems. You are welcome to submit your own or let me know if any of the advice here has benefitted you.

  Excuse me while I prepare my oatmeal.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged breakfast, food, health, life

• Stress Test

  Posted at 3:18 pm by kayewer, on September 13, 2025

  There is a substance called cortisol in our bodies, frequently known as a “fight or flight” hormone we feel when stress is high. Our adrenal glands pump this hormone out in large quantities when we are scared or overstimulated, and if we deal with this type of elevated mood for too long, it can cause health problems. Common issues include abdominal weight gain, poor sleep, irritability, and even a condition known as Cushing’s Syndrome in which the face also gets fat and round, and one gains a hump on the back.

  That doesn’t explain Quasimodo being a hunchback, but he sure experienced a lot of stress as the town victim, subject to their abuse and derision.

  The diet, food and drug industries have been providing lots of verbiage about how to handle cortisol. The diet industry wants us to lower our numbers by eating a certain way, the food industry wants us to eat their products, and the drug industry wants us to regulate everything with their medications.

  I recently journeyed down a rabbit hole filled with factoids and falsities about cortisol. Well-sculpted bodybuilders touted capsaicin pills, while drug salesmen discussed the benefits of ashwagandha in a capsule, and the diet gurus rambled on and on about their health programs to shred pounds.

  At one point I discovered that food companies had once bought out the most popular diet conglomerates. This means that Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Slim Fast were overseen by somebody who sells food that might not be good for us. Imagine that. By the way, Slim Fast is now owned by an overseas nutrition company, Weight Watchers shifted away from Nestle’s ownership and is struggling after a bankruptcy filing, and Jenny Craig succumbed in 2023.

  The difficult part of losing weight is not simply eating less or changing our diets, exercising more, injecting or using a chemical in a pill. It’s a combination of factors such as what foods we eat, what is in them, and what our lives are like when we are not seated at a table or counter at a meal.

  The stresses in our lives cannot be denied as contributors to our levels of cortisol and the obesity problem we have in our country. Other countries don’t seem to have the same issues, and their daily lives are much less stressful. Their foods are also much “cleaner,” with many countries banning a huge percentage of the ingredients we still consume in the US daily. I reported before on additives to crops which have been given the green light by regulatory agents here while being shunned elsewhere. Several of the factors in combination can cause problems. The only way to remove the problem is to remove the causes, and that seems impossible in today’s emotional climate.

  With the number of people having moved out of the country and repatriated to other places, it would be interesting to follow up with any obese or high cortisol patients and see how their stress and body masses have changed in five years.

  I’ll bet none of them will look like Quasimodo.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged diet, fitness, health, nutrition, wellness

• How Does September Know?

  Posted at 3:12 pm by kayewer, on September 6, 2025

  The month of September started on Monday, and suddenly our lives have switched gears into autumn mode as if an activation button had been pressed. Sure we had Labor Day, and I had my hamburgers, but come Tuesday the entire national mindset turned toward football season, the start of school, and pumpkin spice. It’s amazing how the timing is so perfect, and life itself has fallen into place as well.

  School started for my neighborhood on Thursday, so parents only got a fraction of their lives back. Normally school would begin on Tuesday. Sure it’s a jolt back to reality, but it enabled the families to return to routines forgotten in the summer.

  Football season also started on Thursday. The previous season champion Eagles won their first game. Most of the pro season hasn’t gotten started yet, and college football is just ramping up.

  The trees, however, are starting to drop leaves, and a cool tang has entered the air that was not there since April. We experienced the side effects of a major hurricane, and thunderstorms are beginning to appear. The moon is preparing to show off its luster and hide behind eclipses. Corn stalks, pumpkins and chrysanthemums are filling the supermarket store fronts and the hardware store nurseries.

  The pumpkin spice craze began a bit early in August, but fans are enjoying the variety of products laced with the tongue-tickling concoction. I indulged in a pumpkin muffin recently, enjoying its warm feeling on my tastebuds. I swapped my cold summer cereal for hot oatmeal, yet the days and nights still require air conditioning.

  It’s a strange transition, yet it seems to be right on schedule. As we move from sandals to shoes and tank tops to longer sleeves, the calendar has been our perfect timekeeper, as evidenced by the timely change of the weather and our ability to adapt so quickly.

  I guess it’s time for the hot cocoa, too. Excuse me while I check my pantry.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged autumn, fall, life, pumpkin, seasons

• Bone Tired

  Posted at 12:32 pm by kayewer, on August 31, 2025

  I had an unexpected experience yesterday which took up my entire Saturday. My only meal turned out to be breakfast, and I didn’t go to bed until midnight. My body is not achy in the aftermath, but I did some physical labor which was more intense than usual, and the senior bones and muscles responded with the physical equivalent of “What the heck is going on here?”

  I was tasked with clearing out my attic in anticipation of some home improvements. This meant that I would be discarding the pasts of the entire family at once; an accumulated history of every life that was important, including my own.

  The idea that “it might become useful someday,” or “you may lose weight and fit into that outfit again” came from the early Boomer mindset, and the “I bought it and I’m holding onto it” part came from my later-era Boomer attitude. When I realized how much stuff was piled up and sitting untouched for a long time, I realized the job was bigger than me.

  What does one do in a situation like that? Call in the pros.

  I made a consultation appointment with the local clutter experts, expecting them to appear later in the week. Instead, the manager decided to send his two best pros out to my home that very afternoon. All the better, I figured, because I couldn’t adopt a hoarder attitude that would prevent most of the sentimental stuff from leaving the premises.

  This is still an issue with the last of the possessive Boomer era; that everything you own has a purpose when it enters your life and may find an afterlife if it comes back into fashion.

  It never occurs.

  When the pros came with their truck and began pulling out boxes of stuff, I realized that my decision was the right one. The boxes held things that were long past usefulness, including my childhood toys and board games which were missing a piece when they became boarders for us hoarders. They all received their eviction notices. My “keep” pile is small, and my “I’ll check with somebody” pile equally insignificant.

  I asked to look at things as they came out, so I could review what was there and find anything that needed retrieval, and there was practically none. A few photos and old papers needing review, a load of old craft supplies, and a few collectibles (including my beloved comics) stayed behind, but in the end my attic filled up two trucks full and a part of a third.

  The pros had also not eaten anything, so we spent our Saturday starving and hauling stuff. We may have lost pounds in sweat.

  The expense was worth every penny, because my home is now in the state it was in–at least attic-wise–when my parents first saw it back in the 1960s. The only object in the attic was a trunk from the previous owner, a widow who had passed recently, and the next of kin put the home on the market immediately (so much so, in fact, that it had not been staged; a pair of shoes awaited its owners at the empty bedside).

  So part of my holiday weekend resulted in upheaval, expense and exhaustion, but I’m content. I’m ready to prepare my home for the next big project. The better it looks, the more free I feel of that Boomer mindset. Hanging onto the past can be a bit overrated.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged boomers, hoarding, home-cleanout

• Porch-side Predicament

  Posted at 3:33 pm by kayewer, on August 23, 2025

  The logo is an extension of a handwritten signature and often is as recognizable as a human face. Back in 1366, the beer manufacturer Stella Artois first created a logo to identify their product, and you can still see that reference on the herald appearing on their labels today.

  A variety of products and services depend on the public’s identification with their logos. Countless products–many with a century or more of existence–are associated with their creator rather than with what the actual product may be (think of adhesive bandages and soda, and Band-Aid(R) or Coke(R) may come to mind first), and the logo is immediately recognized even without its name.

  Societal changes in taste and perception have caused some products to alter their names or logos. Recently the seasoning Mrs. Dash removed the marriage moniker from its products in 2020, so they are now simply known as Dash*. Rice is no longer packaged with the happy face of Uncle Ben; he is simply called the “originator” of the concept and has no visual depiction. Aunt Jemima has also vanished in favor of the product creator’s name, Pearl Milling Company.

  This past week, the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel(R) redesigned its logo. Originally the trademark depicted a pinto bean with the name in its center; a flourish in the “K” lined the inside of the bean. Beside it, a graphic of a working-class gentleman clad in overalls, seated next to a barrel with his arm perched atop it. A type of barrel was used in early times to store and transport crackers, which is the origin of the chain’s name. The innocuous character is said to be the brainchild of founder Dan Evins, who wanted the logo to depict a welcome front porch atmosphere similar to old-fashioned gathering places such as family restaurants, where gossip flowed freely with the portions of gravy on your hot meal. He placed his locations, starting in 1963, on highways as rest stops when food might not otherwise be easy to come by, and he included country stores selling basic wares (along with souvenirs, toys and candy and fuel for a time). The porches are standard at all locations, along with rocking chairs. Inside, diners would find a fireplace in winter months. This is about as cozy as a logo could describe with just a man seated by a barrel. It was welcoming.

  The new logo is simple, sporting just the name and no pinto bean shape, barrel, or that friendly fellow.

  The outcry was instant, with stock value for the company dropping 100 million dollars. Seems nobody welcomes plain logos. Or is it that this switch is being perceived as a form of white cancel culture (if one can cancel Uncle Ben, they can cancel Mr. Cracker Barrel in turn)? Whatever the reason, the “modernization” of logos does not make a product or service any newer, nor does it bring in new patrons. In fact, some social media posts indicate they will not set foot in the restaurant again until the old logo is brought back.

  This may be an experiment gone wrong, as the shift in who eats out changes with the departure of Boomers and older Generation X, who are now in their dawning senior years. The upcoming population doesn’t seem impressed by chain dining and the predictability of menus and atmosphere, so an old-fashioned country family restaurant may not suit them.

  Not that Millennials haven’t heard of overalls or front porches. Just that they don’t seem to use them. Whatever may happen, this trend may continue or stop depending on long-term results of patronage. I have not been to a Cracker Barrel in some time, so perhaps it’s an opportunity to have myself a mighty helping of gravy next to a warm fireplace.

  *(Dash is trademarked for its seasonings, but the word itself is not as it is a general term applied to various other products.)

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged cancel-culture, cracker-barrel, food, logos, mrs-dash, travel

• My Public Service Announcement

  Posted at 3:03 pm by kayewer, on August 16, 2025

  The day after Labor Day will be here before you know it. It’s the most chaotic day in the calendar before the rest of the holidays appear, but you can control the chaos if you think and plan ahead.

  Back to School fashions are already in the stores and online. If you or your kids are consistently clueless about what will be in style when school starts, try limiting your initial purchases to some basics. That way you always have simple back-ups and money left to buy what they really need to wear to be cool this school year.

  There is nothing more frustrating than to find that the car that sat in your driveway while you were away for two weeks in downtown sunny vacation resort won’t start on the day after Labor Day when you need it. The number of available service facilities will not suddenly increase to accommodate all of the stranded motorists who will suddenly need help, so to avoid a lengthy wait for whomever you will use for roadside assistance, go over a checklist with your sleepy car now. Is the battery three years old or older? When was your last scheduled maintenance? How old are the tires? Did somebody help themselves to your catalytic converter while you were away? Good things to know now before something goes wrong. And if you find yourself cat converter-less, I feel for you. The world really needs one that’s not worth stealing.

  Buy and freeze your cookout foods now, and thaw them in time for your event. Save the rolls and bread for the late week before Labor Day, not the weekend of, when you may find them sold out. Ketchup doesn’t need refrigeration. Neither do most mustards if kept in cool conditions to prevent deterioration. Believe it or not, butter can be kept in a closed container in your kitchen so it’s always soft for spreading.

  The first week back from summer can be stressful, but don’t keep your stress relief items within the reach of the wrong people. Secure your prescription medications (including gummies and other “greenery” from the dispensary), and keep alcohol away from children. If you enjoy firing ranges or hunting, take care with your gear and make sure what you fire and what is fired are separate (as in chambers are empty and the box to refill is elsewhere).

  As an older woman, I have learned that September can be anything from cold and dry to hot and wet, so I break out a transitional wardrobe the last week of August, which includes a cardigan, longer sleeved shirts and comfortable non-sandal shoes.

  For those going back to work, before getting back into your routine, try one or two of your grocer’s prepared meals for one or two as backups in your fridge. They tend to cost upwards of ten dollars a person, but they can be popped into the microwave for 2-3 minutes and save you from the drudgery of preparing from scratch when your first days back have you physically spent. And it beats resigning yourself to peanut butter sandwiches.

  Hope these tips and tools will be helpful as we prepare to bid farewell to the summer of 2025.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged back-to-school, labor-day, life, mental-health, parenting

• Appreciation For the Pen

  Posted at 3:04 pm by kayewer, on August 9, 2025

  We humans spend more time with keyboards than with handwriting implements. Our society has forgone what was once considered a measure of one’s character for what requires little effort. Keyboards can be used by anybody who can hunt and peck at the buttons (those little horizontal raised lines at the bottom of the F and J keys even clue in a user as to where “home row” is for those who have taken typing, itself nearly a dead art). If you could peck, you could produce.

  I took semesters of typing in high school on what was then state of the art equipment: the IBM Selectric typewriter, a metal behemoth perfectly designed for the classroom. It was too heavy to move, and the only loose part was the interchangeable type font ball, which was a miracle of evolution. One could type in Arial or Times New Roman with just a click of an inset black lever and a snap to remove one font and install the other. Our hands flew across the keyboard at the speed of sixty words per minute (that was an A with no errors). A few years later, I tested at ninety words per minute. What a joy.

  My handwriting was a neglected part of my education, but when I sat myself down one afternoon and devised my own unique penmanship method, I was happy to write anything out by hand, but it’s an art going out of favor with the dying Boomer generation, of which I have the distinction of being on the latter end of its run. Writing checks is disappearing, card shops are struggling, and newspapers may soon be replaced by digital only editions. Back in my work commuting days, you could enjoy watching fellow riders filling out crosswords and puzzles in pencil. Or ink. With a pen. Today’s online games are “play as long as you can until you lose,” though I still enjoy Sudoku, Connections and Wordle online.

  People are in such a hurry today that they can’t take a few minutes to actually craft something with their hands and some requisite patience. Before our offices shut down, live interviews were still the norm, and I’ll never forget the first time we encountered an applicant who had never developed a handwritten signature for himself. Imagine that: in the olden days the illiterate would at least mark an “X” on a document, but this person never gave his own name a unique look with a pen.

  My maternal great-grandfather, according to my mother’s story, had an elaborate autograph; he would begin his first name, swirl the ink to the end of his last name and back again to fill in the rest. It likely resembled how our founding fathers signed our first national documents. Quill pens are out of style, of course, but those beautiful letters flourished with elaborate dips and trails are an art today’s youth cannot understand or appreciate.

  Why do I bring this up?

  Today in the mail, among the demands for charitable donations and meaningless junk, I received a small envelope with my name and address handwritten on the front. I had received similar ones for events in which I had no interest, but I opened it to find, to my delight, that it was an actual thank you note.

  Now, this friend who sent the note, and I, see each other every week. We have a regular date during which we eat food we shouldn’t and enjoy each other’s company while watching movies or programs and sharing conversation. She took the time to write out a note because I had attended her surprise milestone birthday party a few weeks ago. I brought a gift I knew she would like, and it was a fun afternoon. She could have just thanked me on that day and been done with it, but we’re both late Boomers, so she kept the tradition alive by actually sending a card to thank me.

  She not only thanked me for the gift, but for being her friend. In her handwriting that she developed for herself in her growth as a person.

  That is what is dying when we don’t do things that require handwriting; not just the act itself, but the human qualities that go with it. Saying please and thank you, and making it tangible. In ink. And it cost a stamp.

  Try doing that in Times New Roman.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Books, greeting cards, handwriting, life, poetry, thank you notes, writing

• Fulfilling Month

  Posted at 3:32 pm by kayewer, on August 2, 2025

  Of all the months in the year, August seems to be the one with the most mixed messages to offer in the course of its 31 days. There are no official federal holidays in August in the US, which means no possible three-day weekends or breaks in the workweek. It’s the last month in the period measuring two thirds through the calendar year. It’s named for the emperor Augustus, who conquered Egypt during this time period, formerly known as Sextilis (the sixth month in the Roman calendar, until Julius Caesar invented the Julian calendar and mixed things up in 46 BC); the new name was bestowed in 8 BC.

  Schools begin preparations for the year, with colleges intaking freshmen and others starting early for the upcoming elementary and high school students. This means that some vacations end before Labor Day. However, no vacation is complete without celebratory foods, and August has quite a list of them, including Family Meals Month. Dippin’ Dots are an interesting item on the monthly roster, which includes catfish, goat cheese, peaches, panini and sandwiches. And yes, the two are recognized separately, even though one is a form of the other.

  Remember, I said it’s a mixed message month. And the food keeps coming.

  Today, the first Saturday in August, is Mead Day, when folks should consider brews of all kinds. Tomorrow, the first Sunday, is Friendship Day. This means you should be careful not to be hung over and grumpy after overindulging on Mead Day. If, by some misfortune, you do something while grumpy from too much libation, it’s also International Forgiveness Day, which gives you the chance to nab the person you’ve wronged on the way out of Sunday services. If it doesn’t work out, find a new friend, perhaps.

  The first Tuesday in the US is National Night Out, when people are supposed to spend some time post-sundown sitting outside and being visible to one’s neighbors. Unfortunately homebuilding has not included front porches in new construction, unless you’re in the South where it’s expected or even somewhat understood to be mandatory. Don’t forget bug spray.

  Then, if you missed out on Mead Day, the first Friday is an excuse to make up for it, on International Beer Day. Just be careful not to freak out if you see somebody in greasepaint and a colorful costume, because the first seven days in August include the observance of International Clown Week. Seems appropriate more than a mixed message, though, considering the behaviors of some folks when they’ve had a sip too much recently.

  August 13 and 14 celebrate filet mignon and Creamsicles, respectively. August 15 celebrates Lemon Meringue Pie Day, followed by days devoted to rum (16) and vanilla custard (17), potatoes (19), peaches (which get their own day and month) along with pecan tortes for some reason, on the same day (22). If you want to live a 600 lb. life, follow up with these lauded foods on their respective August dates: waffles (24), banana splits and whiskey sours (25), bananas by themselves along with a day for the baked custard pots de creme (27), cherry turnovers (28),chop suey (29), and trail mix (31).

  Save room for a sip of water afterward.

  August may be the best month to undertake a new habit (or break an old one), start or finish a project you’ve neglected all year, or simply prepare for the last four months to come barreling toward us before you know it. That’s what August really is; the clubhouse turn in the year’s race. Try to make the most of it.

  And have a banana split.

  Share this:

  • Facebook

  Like Loading...
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged august, family, food, life, recipe, travel

• Past Posts

  December 2025

  S	M	T	W	T	F	S
  	1	2	3	4	5	6
  7	8	9	10	11	12	13
  14	15	16	17	18	19	20
  21	22	23	24	25	26	27
  28	29	30	31

• Feedback

  	Eden on Getting the Message
  	Eden on The Unasked Questions
  	Eden on And Her Shoes Were #9
  	Eden on The Poison Field
  	Eden on Final Tally