Dear Reader:

Animal crackers, and cocoa to drink,

That is the finest of suppers, I think;

When I’m grown up and can have what I please

I think I shall always insist upon these.

– Christopher Morley

Saturday was my “Shh… There. there” day! By the end of the day I was in my flannel pj’s , my heavy night robe Kaitlyn gave me last Christmas and heavy socks bundled up on the sofa! I had gotten my second Covid booster and was experiencing the same flu-like symptoms as on the prior three earlier Moderna vaccinations.

Pride must come before the fall… because I got my shot a little after 9am at Publix ( and thank goodness had picked up a can of Chicken Noodle soup , yogurt, and bananas) …but until 5pm that afternoon I felt terrific, worked in the garden and ran errands. But when it hit… it hit like a sledge hammer… the same reaction as the other three. ( I comforted myself remembering a doctor say the more reaction one has to the shot… the better the protection… sure hope so! )

Aren’t nursery foods the most beloved recipes from our childhood? They conjure up those happy innocent moments when all was right with the world because we knew our place in it. Those were the times when dressed in flannel pajamas, as we sat down to supper before a story and bed. ( And I had found the story behind the story of Winnie the Pooh Saturday which made me so happy! )

Every time I went to visit Miss Polly growing up… the other sisters brought us a bowl of rice pudding, covered with warm cream and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg for our tea party… one of my favorite childhood memories .

So until tomorrow... The kitchen’s the coziest place I know; The kettle is singing, the stove’s aglow, And there in the twilight, how jolly to see… The cocoa and animals are waiting for me

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Winnie went with me to water the garden in my new garden hat yesterday and to pick some hydrangeas for the kitchen table ( Stephanie Ballard gave me this garden Winnie from Epoct! )