Update, and a Story

64°f, about 18°C at 8am. Hazy kind od day. We are back to the drought, no rain in sight until possibly Tuesday.

I was out early today to pick up Larry's prescription. I had other errands to run so did those while waiting on the pharmacy. I was shocked to see how many prescriptions were awaiting pickup.  They were stacked in boxes and totes on the floor and counters,, and how the pharmacists were able to work I don't know. Apparently there is a lot of Covid around here, as many of those packages looked to be the same size as the one I picked up.

Larry says thank you all for your good wishes. He is feeling much better today, still very tired and still stuffy-headed, but not nearly so bad as yesterday. He has to be careful, as he was recently diagnosed with COPD --- exposure to chemicals in Vietnam, smoking, and years of working as a bricklayer have all taken a toll on his lungs. So I am doing my best to keep him quiet and resting so that he does not develop any other more serious illness like pneumonia.

This time of year is when we start to reap the rewards of our efforts with the gardens. All summer it seems like I scramble to get everything preserved in one way or another, and meals are often hastily thrown together afterthoughts.  But now that things have slowed down, I can enjoy cooking again. I went to the cellar this morning to get cider, apples Larry had picked from our trees, and strawberry sauce I made back in June. Breakfast was apple pancakes with the strawberry sauce, and apple-pear cider for juice. Yesterday morning I got salsa from the cellar for our ham and cheese omelets, and canned peaches and tomato juice to gobm with.  Dinner yesterday was fried chicken, pasta salad made with the pickled veggies I made a few weeks ago, and fresh green beans from the garden. We are still getting a few handfuls of beans each week, just enough for a meal or two. This time I cooked them in venison broth. Yummy. (None of these meals are anything like as amazing as the recipes Angie posts, they're just simple country fare.) It does feel good to be able to go to the freezer and the cellar and get what I need.

A banana split from the Poky Dot, a restaurant in Fairmont, WV. Picture is from their Facebook page. I have seen them make this thing, and it is just as huge as it looks. Mine wasn't nearly this big!

Larry and I were talking about childhood memories, and I recalled an incident when I was about 10 years old.  The local pharmacy, called Cocke's, was family owned and had the most wonderful soda fountain--long, polished wood with swivel stools, a large mirror behind it. If we had to get a shot at the doctor's we would get a coupon for an ice cream cone. Mine was always chocolate, of course. But I would see the picture of a banana split, and boy I wanted one so bad! I finally managed to scratch up enough money cashing in pop bottles to get one--it was 45 cents, and at 2 cents per bottle it took a while to save up.

Cocke's as I remember it, although this photo is probably earlier than the 1950s.  Red brick, and next door was Mr. Roy's tailor shop. Photo from the internet.

So into the drugstore I went, climbed up on that stool, and ordered my banana split. I watch rapidly as the kid behind the counter split the banana and piled on chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, and the toppings-- chocolate and caramel syrup and pineapple stuff, and then the glorious whipped cream and a cherry. A work of art.

As I dug my spoon in, the kid turned to the other guy working there and said, "It's not my fault if she gets sick." I was mortified, and turned as red as that cherry on top. But that didn't stop me from eating the whole thing, even that pineapple stuff I didn't like.I didn't get sick either.

Since then I have only had one other banana split, one that Larry and I shared at an ice cream stand in Ohio a few years ago. I have to admit, I don't know how in the world 10 year old me ate a whole one by myself. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.