A Haven for Vee

Saturday, April 1, 2017

April Fools Day 2017

Courage is not ignorance of bad weather but persistence in the face of it. 
~Harold E. Kohn 


Well this is a fine kettle of fish — A Nor'easter on April Fools Day. How funny — not. Still I plan to keep a stiff upper lip and be as cheery as is possible on such a day.
 

Yesterday, my sister called in a bit of a panic as she had a doctor's appointment and my father's new care person had not shown up. The Veterans Administration is struggling to keep staff as they simply do not have enough. They're not the only ones as local hospitals are hiring traveling nurses and they come from all over at great costs to fill in the gaps. Something is very, horribly wrong with this picture. No wonder health costs are so exorbitant. It's crazy. 


Where was I? Oh, back to my sister. She had no one closer to call on so she called me. I had a few plans that I decided to set aside. There was nothing more pressing that could not wait. I did not want her to miss an appointment when she had waited so long and her schedule is so rigid. I ran some errands, filled the gas tank, and set off for her corner. It was a lovely drive, if I discount the miles and miles of potholes. I thought about taking photos of the things I saw that might interest you, but in the end I was just too lazy. Oh I did take one for the Instagram crowd. Are you jealous? 😉


I stopped at a market and picked up a box of doughnuts. One must not arrive empty-handed. I hadn't yet and didn't want to start. I found that everyone, except my father, is dieting so that wasn't the best choice. Dad and I enjoyed our doughnut all the same and reminisced about my paternal grandmother's delicious homemade doughnuts. No store bought doughnut holds a candle to our memories of them.


Nana would make doughnuts when the mood struck her, which was actually quite often. She would rise early to get much of the work done before we grandchildren awoke.  She would begin by setting the lard in a large heavy iron skillet upon the stove to heat while she mixed the dough. The recipe was in her head and perhaps in her heart as well because those doughnuts were amazing...the stuff of legend. She used an old soup can to cut her doughnuts and she formed the doughnut hole with her finger swinging the dough around and around her finger until it was perfectly shaped. She needed no fancy thermometer to know when the fat was ready. She would slip each doughnut into the fat with hardly a  ripple; she had no fancy tongs so she used a simple fork to first turn and eventually lift the doughnuts being careful not to poke them. A paper bag was used to line a rectangular cake pan that served as the receptacle for the browned doughnuts fresh from the fat.  If we wanted sugared doughnuts, we would put some sugar in a paper bag, pop a couple of warm doughnuts in and shake the bag. I have been known to eat a dozen doughnuts all by myself. *hiccup* These memories were the gist of our conversation. 


When my brother-in-law arrived home early from work, he fixed the broken mirror on my car. It was one of the things that had been on my docket for the day. And he did it for free! It was worth the trip! That and the sweet memories about homemade doughnuts. 





On my way home, I decided to use my Joann's coupons. I loved hearing the clerk say that I had saved $48 dollars. We shall not discuss how much I spent to save that. I bought a few more fabrics for making a few more bowl cozies. It's my plan for this day while the snow falls. A cozy day in my sewing room making cozies...how cozy!  Cozy, cozy, cozy...are you believing any of this? 😜

I certainly hope that it is not snowing in your corner, but if it is, feel free to tell me all about it...










ETA: The snow totals have changed in my corner from 8 to 18 inches to 3 to 5 inches. Ahhhh,,,much better.
Edited to Add Again at 7:30 am: One can't trust those weather people. At. all. Our original snow totals  are going to prove correct by the time this event winds down at the end of the day. Heavy wet snow expected all day long.

No visible tree creature horse today!

27 comments:

  1. Good Morning and happy April, Vee. So happy you did not receive as much snow as predicted. Such sweet memories of your grandmother's doughnuts. I love your description of how the recipe was in her head/heart and that she used a soup can and a fork. I remember finding out that there were actually biscuit cutters.....mama always used a small drinking glass! I love your pretty choice of fabrics. Hope you enjoy time sewing bowl cozies. God bless your weekend. Love, Mildred

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  2. Yikes! I kept hoping this was all an April Fool's Joke. Your photos prove otherwise. I won't discuss the weather here (you might lob a snowball at me :).
    I think you were wise to stock up at Joann's yesterday. Looks like an ideal day for being productive in the sewing room.
    Those donut memories have my mouth watering this morning.

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  3. What fun memories you and your dad have of those homemade donuts. I'm certainly hoping that in heaven we'll be able to freely enjoy such treats without fear of gaining weight!

    I would not be a happy camper if we were getting snow today. I'm sorry that you are. If the amount of rain we got yesterday were snow, we'd be buried! Still grey skies here, wonder if we are expecting more rain? Off to check.

    Enjoy your 'cozy' day!

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  4. I am simply amazed at the amounts of snow y'all are getting. I feel for you. I think some probably like it, but I would be insane as I am a warm weather girl. I only want to see snow in pictures on Christmas cards.

    I love your memories of doughnuts. I am 56 and the only memories of doughnuts come from Krispy Kreme, but here in the south that is considered to be the only doughnut worth eating. They are amazing and since my huge lifestyle for health started two years ago, I have had only 4 of them. I really really want one!!!

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  5. gOh how i enjoyed the doughnut memories..reminded me of my own Grandmother Grace. Now here we are greeting April and y'all have more snow....darn it Maine.....

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  6. I'll be back later with more comments, especially on my grandmother's doughnuts and how she taught me to make them ... but no time right now. Just wanted to check in with snow totals to date ... we have eleven inches right now and more is falling. It does seem as if the sky might be lightening up, but who knows?

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  7. It's so nice to have new fabric and craft supplies for a bad weather weekend. It's beautiful here but I'll probably be inside fighting this cold. Sweet cozy hugs, Diane

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  8. Yummy, home made doughnuts! I have a recipe I have saved on pinterest to try that some day. WOW! Look at all of that snow. We had heavy rain a few days ago but the sun is shining this morning and leaves are budding out on the trees here in NC.

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  9. ugh on the snow...no snow, but monsoonal rains here in western NY, Vee. We did have snow the other day though, quickly turned to ice though. ANYWAYS---always enjoy your posts, friend...and I'm sorry, I haven not gotten back to your email yet. {{{litterly falling behind, sigh}}

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  10. Oh- Keep that snow right there, Vee! Ugh!!! I have had enough myself. I loved the story about the donuts and reminiscing about them with your dad. I bet he loved the words as much as the donuts.
    Have fun in your COZY QUARTERS sewing COZIES. xo Diana

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  11. Oh mercy me. It reminds me of 19 90 something when we here in the Seattle Area had snowfall on February 1st, March 1st and then April 1st! Shocking. I like the doughnut memories better. The description of your Nana cooking reminds me of how my mother made her cultural favorites. She used a glass to cut dough into circles. She never had a thermometer of any kind in her kitchen. Great memories. Well we had one full dry day and now it's raining again. Drip drip drip around here. Yippee for your repaired mirror for free! Umm...hope you don't have to be cozy for too many more weeks!

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  12. Is that your snow? You got more than us, and it's still snowing? Did I give you the fabric on the mirror in your blog header? It looks familiar. I want to touch all those goodies in the pile of stash you got at Joann's. Congrats on saving $48. I have fabric like the one in the far left of the picture. I think I made you a bag out of it. ?? What are you going to do with the Micron pen? Start practicing lettering?? Well, ya know, it doesn't involve glue or anything messy like that. Love ya!

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  13. Love your memories about your grandmother's homemade doughnuts. I wonder how many of us have special memories of our grandmothers cooking and the one special thing that nobody else could make the way they did. I wonder how different I would be if we lived near our grandchildren. ~ Looks/sounds as if you'll have an excuse to sit at the sewing machine as long as you want this weekend.

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  14. Hello Vee see all is well with you, memories about grandmothers are
    special to me.

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  15. Our daughter had 12 inches of snow. I see it came to your place as well. I'm glad you were able to visit your Dad before that came. What wonderful memories you have of your Nana's doughnuts. Now I want a doughnut! Enjoy your new fabric. ♥

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  16. No thanks...don't want any snow! We've had quite a bit of rain and more is supposedly on the way tomorrow. Right now the sun is shining, which is wonderful to see.

    Enjoyed your story of the doughnuts. My mother only rarely made them which made them a real treat. My MIL made mashed potato doughnuts when she had leftovers. Ever had one? Pretty tasty, but I prefer the regular kind...sugared, of course. :)

    The new fabrics are pretty! Enjoy your weekend and just ignore that white stuff the best you can. Spring is on the way!

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  17. Oh, my goodness, I hate to tell you that it is the absolute most gorgeous day here. It's about 82 and Hubs and I have been outside working on the patio and preparing for dinner guests this evening. I can't even imagine snow, especially on the first day of April. Loved the donut story. And, I know you had such fun with those pretty fabrics. Happy weekend!

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  18. Oh dear - the weather really has been frightful!!! Glad you have some projects to work on to keep you cozy. I loved the story of how your Nan made homemade doughnuts! I could picture her twirling them to make the hole - how wonderful. This time of year - Maple Syrup Time - mother often made donuts too for us to dunk into the sweet syrup! Now I'm craving them. This was a delightful post Vee!

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  19. Sorry you are getting yet another storm. I think this one is supposed to go south of us, out to sea, so we'll get off lucky. But I see snow in our forecast again midweek, although not a large amount. Let's hope this foolishness ends soon! It is April now, after all...
    Sorry you were "called to duty" on short notice, but what a nice time you and your Dad had reliving happy doughnut memories! My Mum made great doughnuts too. My job was to do the tossing in sugar in the brown paper bag... Oooh, I can smell them now...
    By the way I ate at Dysarts on Wed. Twice! Lunch AND supper! Their Chicken, cranberry and walnut salad sandwich is my fav! Such a yummy lunch!

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  20. The making-of-doughnuts story was delightful. I could picture it all in my mind so well.

    We have had snow here all day as well but thankfully much of it has melted and our streets are clear. We just needed the moisture so badly; this has worked out well for us.

    I hope the new person to care for your dad works out well. I know that is a great concern.

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  21. I'm trying to imagine cozy and crafting and basking in the warmth of your good deeds. But really all I can see are doughnuts.
    Amalia
    xo

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  22. Oh...bless your heart...more snow. Sweet memories about your Grandma's donuts...I have my own about my mom's when I was a girl. She had brown bags with powdered sugar, regular sugar and cinnamon /sugar that she would have for different kinds and I remember her using her biscuit recipe and cutting the middle hole with some sort of bottle cap. They were usually made for the occasional bonfire (or weenie roast) and eaten with either her own hot chocolate or hot apple cider. Thanks for getting me thinking about my own memories of long ago. I wishe we still had Joann's Fabrics...haven't had a fabric store of any kind round here for years...other than what you can find a Walmart, which is not much. My hubby tried to pull an April Fool on me yesterday but I wasn't having any of it :) He is not a very good liar or prankster. I guess I should me thankful for that!

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  23. Another storm, Vee? Oh dear me! Your memories of your grandma and making those yummy doughnuts warmed my heart. Isn't it just so...that our fondest memories revolve around food? I loved that and then connecting with your dad over those memories...priceless!

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  24. That was a terrific story about your grandmother's donut making. It was as if I was there. What a good way to get the sugar to stick to the donuts. xoxo Su

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  25. Hi Vee, I so enjoyed reading about your donut memories; grandparents are truly special people, aren't they? I still miss mine to this day. I don't know if I've ever had homemade donuts, but I'm sure I would love them. Where I live, there is a small Amish community about a half hour away. They have a general store where they sell all kinds of homemade Amish goodies. My parents have had their donuts, and they tell me they're the best they've ever had.

    So glad you spent some quality time with your Dad, and getting your mirror repaired for free was a good reward, my friend. I'm sorry you're having snow AGAIN -- goodness. I'm wishing for Spring's arrival in your area as soon as possible.

    Take care and enjoy your sewing!

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  26. Oh gosh I hope you get a break from all of that snow soon! how great that you could step in and help your sister and dad out and you got a good day out of it too.

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  27. Now that's a fine and dandy April Fool's joke! I love hearing about how your grandmother's donuts! I'm sure I could a dozen as well.

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