What I'm Loving Wednesday -- Breakfast

Yeah, I know. 

Oatmeal.

Wouldn't touch the stuff, even 6 months ago. 

But then one morning I had fixed my granddaughter an instant packet of the Publix brand Organic/nothing added oatmeal into which I'd stirred some strawberry yogurt, and she wasn't interested in eating so I was trying to entice her by remarking about its utter deliciousness which, of course, meant I had to actually put some of it in my mouth -- and lo! and behold....  

It wasn't godawful.

It wasn't great, either. Just not horrible. 

As the weather has begun to cool, and I've been trying to retool my daily food routines a bit, I decided I'd fiddle around with oatmeal again, especially since fresh pineapple was so cheap at the grocery these last couple weeks, and really, with enough fresh pineapple the world is a better place. I discovered that as quick and easy as the instant might be, it just didn't hold up to the wonderfulness that is pineapple.

So I bought myself an actual box of regular ol' oatmeal, and 1/2 cup of grains, a cup of water, a dash of salt, 5 minutes in the microwave at half power, and some cut up pineapple later.....

....I'm still not exactly  loving it, but as I eat it I realize that the health benefits and the fact that it really does stick to my ribs a little better than my usual breakfast of cold cereal did makes it a reasonable and not unwelcome addition to the morning food rotation.

So, maybe not love, but I have got a pretty healthy crush going here.

What I'm Loving Wednesday - Gnomes!

Can you spot all the gnomes?

What I'm Loving Wednesday -- WORDS!!

Many of you already know this, but our sweet granddaughter Rosemary, who will celebrate her second birthday on Thanksgiving, has been characterized as speech delayed. Although we've all heard many reassuring stories about other late talkers (my own Aunt, for one, who never said a word until she was 3, and then began with complete sentences), when it's your child, your grandchild, it's hard to not have some anxiety about this.

When both of my sons were little bits, it seemed there was always somebody coming out of the woodwork to point out that their kid was smarter, cuter, faster, more whatever than mine were. They weren't making a point to be cruel, of course -- parents brag on their kids. It's what parents do.  But that didn't make it sting any less.

In this time of social media, though, I think my son and daughter-in-law have felt this particularly hard. Friends with children Rosemary's age and younger are -- understandably -- tickled to post about all the wonderful, bright, cute things their children are doing, and God love 'em, they have a right to do that! We've all enjoyed watching those sweet milestones. Goodness knows I have posted tons of stuff recording Rosemary's least little accomplishments, but it just has made the pressure a little harder on my little family, highlighted the differences more acutely with each passing week, sometimes.

To her great credit, my daughter-in-law has not let this make her completely crazy. She went through appropriate channels to get some help, and patience has been her strong suit.

And much to our delight, words have begun to come, though, and right along with them, apparently, some skills in basic accounting.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I was wandering through Blogville a couple months ago and found a blog wherein a woman had a regular feature called "What I'm Loving Wednesday."  I enjoyed looking at her Wednesday posts, which were full of serious things, silly things, products she had tried, movies/books/music she'd enjoyed, and it struck me as a brilliant exercise -- plus an easy way to come up with an idea to keep writing.

And then my mother became ill and died, and although during all those horrible weeks there were still things I found to love and enjoy, the writing about them just didn't happen. Mama was one of the regular readers of my blogs, and frequently commented on them (mostly anonymously), and after her death I ran across an e-mail she'd sent a friend with a prayer I'd written, with the addendum that she was proud of my writing, and wished I would "do" something with it. 

I figure if reading what I wrote gave her joy, or pride, or an occasional raised eyebrow, I would dishonor her memory if I quit doing it.  I have begun another blog that deals specifically with her death, and my grieving, and all the little landmines (some devastating, some funny) that have come my way, and because I know they will continue to, that will be an ongoing concern. If you are interested in that blog at all, the link can be found to the right of this post.)

Anyway, today begins a new thing, then.  I hope you'll enjoy!

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WHAT I'M LOVING WEDNESDAY

BANANAS

The art of banana selection is complicated. Buy too many when they are ripe and you will end up with a freezer full of banana bread makings. Buy too many that are too green, and, well, yuck. 

I've been in charge of banana buying for my father for the past many weeks. He eats 2 each day, and he likes them on the greenish side. And small.  Over all these weeks I have learned an important lesson.

The greenest bananas -- so green that you frequently have to read the sign to even know they are bananas -- are at Winn-Dixie on Carter Hill Road. 

The best overall selection of equal parts green and ripe bananas is at Publix on Zelda Road, although getting a good mix is hard on Wednesdays.

The ripest bananas can be found at Super Foods on McGehee Road. It's a perfect little trip around the corner when you realize that the green ones you bought haven't ripened enough to eat. 

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So, what I'm loving this Wednesday is bananas. 

The eating of. The buying of. The writing about.