Hiney up & World's best pie

Spring Equinox Day....Oh the Joy

Morning: I just had to pass on a quick story about my first day of Spring, starting with the Honda dealership.Their waiting room has a whole new 'lady friendly' decor (except for the gun metal grey cement walls and eau de motor oil). Chairs are Ikea style, heat-molded glued wood bent into a giant folding U with very comfy leather seating....they rock gently and seating angles to take pressure off lower lumbar. Halfway through reading a fabulous New Yorker article by John McPhee. ( p. 56, Feb 6 & 16 2009), I was pleasantly chatting with other women in the easy grouping facing the yappy flat screen tv, when the right side of my particular Ikea rudely chose to explode apart in some weird way....so that I ended with my blue jeaned hiney in the air and lengthy but very light scratches from splintered wood on my arm.

The dealership owner was paged and came running....To the chair...to pick it up in horror! "Man, I just got these used from a Caddylack dealership...I thought they were in great shape." The other women said, "What about HER?" "Oh yeah, are you Ok?" I was. I was laughing by then. My heart was laughing. It truly was funny. I said, "I'm amazed you got this lightweight Ikea from a Caddy dealer...Caddy drivers are usually big guys. That's why you were given such a great deal on this...Ikea doesn't do BIG Guys! Honda drivers are slim. See? " The women were nodding vigorously. He engulfed his broken hardware and woefully headed back to his office.....I'm sure I heard a muttered..."what I get for free crap.." I left with sore arms, a missing chunk of $ and this particular New Yorker edition which I'm still enjoying immensely. I don't want to give the New Yorker story details away but lets just say it has to do with Japanese fusen bakudan incendiary balloons crossing the Pacific in 1945 and ending up in Hanford in Richland, WA.....I'll say no more : )

Lunchtime: Met my godson’s mom at our favorite tea room. We do this every few months for girl talk. Our waitress described the specials and nothing sounded appetizing for some reason, so I did something I never do: “What are today’s desserts?” Diane was looking at me wide-eyed! And this is how I came to be lunching on the most fabulous piece of pie ever made. Rhubarb, cherry, cranberry apple pie served hot with warm creamy vanilla lemon custard poured over it. Oh, the joy!!! I was back in my granny Esther’s kitchen 50 years earlier savoring that unique sweet & tart rhubarb flavor that one never comes across anymore. Yep, that was my lunch! And then I said, “May I have another piece of rhubarb pie please?” Diane’s eyes bugged out of her head at this one. In our 25 year friendship, this was a first. All memories of hiney in the air and arm scratches vanished with every bite. I don’t even know how I remembered enough to write this I was so drunk on flakey crust homemade rhubarb pie swimming in custard. My heart was loving it. Esther was with me. I was 6 years old again. The sun was shining for the first time in bitter rainy weeks.

My neighbor’s tulip tree is in full pale lavender blossom now, visible from my upstairs bedroom like a giant bouquet. The ‘greening’ is not far behind and my back picket fence is lined with lushly flowering narcissus. Spring is truly arriving and my heart is loving it. Something unclenches in my chest when I see the landscape contours begin morphing from bare and stark, to pretty blossoms followed by bright green new leaves. Life seems to gentle and soften along with the spring temperatures. Cats are acting goofy and playful. ‘Whiner Squirrel’ takes up his favorite oak tree limb post outside my back bedroom window and does sound a little more cheery than his normal screech-croaking mantra. He’s been here since I moved in 6 years ago…evidently came with the house. There are 3 baby squirrels nesting noisily in my neighbor’s metal gutters. Lots of acorns fall into those gutters. I enjoy waiting for the warm to wash over my heart when I see these things. The ice cream truck is making its way through the neighborhood, musically calling children as their families walk home from the village churches. Thriving life. Happy heart.

I've made it to my 53rd spring.

By beckym
Posted March 22, 2009 at 7:48 pm
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Hi Jaynie-
Thank you for sharing your first day of spring experiences. I am so happy to read that you ate pie for lunch!!! You seem to be so consciencious about your diet and I like to see you break your rules once in a while. Besides, the oportunity to have rhubarb pie comes so seldom (at least here in Cleveland) that you can't miss one.

I am glad you weren't too scratched up from the chair incident but I am thankful the chair didn't decide to wait for a chubby person who would have been embarrassed as well as scratched up.

I am always happy when "my" squirrel shows up after the long winter. This year she has noticed that my dogs have too much winter chub and "Squack" doesn't even go up the tree when she sees them go out.

Happy spring to you and thanks for the wonderful post.
Becky

By martzj
Posted March 22, 2009 at 8:07 pm
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Hey Becky,

Oh, I am far from a goody two shoes! And that was no ordinary pie. That was Pie from Heaven!! LOL It had been 40 years since I'd had rhubarb pie.

I'm glad it was me in the exploding wooden chair too....I'm flexible and pretty agile from swimming so wasn't injured in any real way. Got up easily.

Enjoy the great outdoors this spring. I get a kick out of seeing the neighbors 2 chubby wiener dogs try to chase squirrels, bark like they EVER had a chance at catching any. Too funny! : ) We have 100 foot tall oaks that were planted in the early 1900s...lots of birds and squirrels call these magnificent trees home, especially during hurricane season. My old cat has also been pegged as 'no problem' by the squirrels...They hop right up to his outdoor water dish to drink daily....Murf only a foot away, but too old to care anymore.

By MMaslek
Posted March 23, 2009 at 7:39 am
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Oh, to be in Virginia in the spring!!!! I'm from Buffalo & we have a late spring. I won't have flowers (tulips, daffodils, & lilacs) until May. Keep trying to relocate hubby to a prettier climate but we're to lazy to pack!!! (And the kids like snow...weirdos!!) Thanks for the mental image of spring, I needed it!!!

By Pawpaw
Posted March 23, 2009 at 4:01 pm
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May you have fifty three more glorious springs, thanks for sharing such beautiful imagry.

PS: my daughter is home recovering from SCAD getting stronger everyday. I appreciate your postings.

By Rose
Posted March 24, 2009 at 2:44 pm
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Jaynie,

I have of heard being knocked on you a--, but you managed to do it with such flare. Why doesn't that surprise me. I am glad the splinter were in your arm and not your a--. Would have been much harder to remove.

Your lunch sound wonderful. You are so good about your diet I am glad you are flexiable there too, and went for the yummy.

Sunday night I got a call to come to the hospital and get my darling Elizabeth because her baby brother, Andrew (7months) was having a horrible allergic reaction to something unknown. When we got there Elizabeth announce to me her baby was having an Emergency and needed doctors. I suggest we go to my house and have a treat and she could spend the night. She said yes let have strawberry ice cream (my favorite). What could a good grandmom do? I had to stop and buy strawberry ice cream and it was delicious.

I love spring too. I went and picked out some plants for my yard. Hope I don't kill them. I have someone doing a little work on the yard and it is looking good.

Glad you are ok.

Warm Regards,

Rose

By martzj
Posted March 24, 2009 at 3:39 pm
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GREat Grandmothers Drawers Rose!!!!

Don't you ever have a quiet evening??!!! I'm assuming little Andrew is fine now. I was hoping an Elizabeth & Rose story was coming....I do love those over-nighters in your special movie-watching pjs.

I'm going to get some peppermint ice cream today...the only kind that has very sweet childhood memories attached : ) I'll eat some ice cream and think of you and your lovely granddaughter.

Be well Rose, I won't take no for an answer : )

Jaynie

By Rose
Posted March 25, 2009 at 10:26 am
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Hi,

Andrew is fine now. The scary part is they don't know what caused it. He had just eaten peas which he has had before. They are going to get allergy testing done and the doctor gave them a prescription for the epi pen in case he turns blue.

I am not planning any overnighter right now till I see how I do with the radiation. I am starting on Monday.

You should see her and her mother act out scenes from her favorite movies. She is Belle in Beauty and the Beast and cracks me up. They do lines and actions. A dinner theater nearby is doin Beauty and the Beast so I am hoping to take all three granddaughters and both daughter-in-laws to see it so we can just have a girl's day.

I will keep you posted.

Warm Regards,

Rose

By kk_stl
Posted March 28, 2009 at 7:14 pm
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You are quite a writer, Jaynie! I placed a bird feeder outside my bedroom window to entertain my indoor cat. Sometimes it startles me when he pounces on the window. One of these days he may just break it! He just stares down the squirrels when they try to invade the bird feeder. It's quite entertaining watching him.

The pear and cherry trees are blooming here in the midwest but we're supposed to get up to 5 inches of snow tomorrow. It will be bad for my rose bushes that are about to bloom. Just when I thought spring was here to stay. That's St. Louis weather for you! lol

Sorry, but I couldn't stop laughing about your chair incident! I have a wierd sense of humor like that. I guess I watched too much of 3 Stooges growing up.

KK

Welcome to Inspire!

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