Thoughts of Home

All our moving boxes have been on loan to some friends from church and today they brought them back. Collapsed, they store nicely under the garage staircase. While cleaning out that cubbyhole we were poking through a few boxes full of things that didn't fit in the house here (mostly because the kitchen and bookcases were already full). The table cloths that had covered the table in the farmhouse kitchen for so many summers and winters brought back memories of those times when "everyone's feet were under the table" as my dad used to say. My apple peeler is in storage, too, waiting for the return to the apple trees of home. We're happy here and fervently praying that we won't have to move when our lease is up. But seeing things from the farm did bring some pangs.

Oddly, this morning I was leafing through a notebook and came across some quotes I had written down on the topic of home.

"And pray what more can a reasonable man desire, in peaceful times, in ordinary noons, than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet corn boiled, with the addition of salt?" Henry David Thoreau (If you're from Illinois corn = home.)

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin built there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade. Yeats

The following was found on a wall panel in an old house in Concord, Mass, author unknown.
He who loves an old house
Will never love in vain-
For how can any old house
Used to sun and rain,
To lilac and to larkspur,
To arching trees above,
Fail to give its answer
To the heart that gives its love?

One of my mom's favorite authors was Gladys Taber. In honor of Mom's 92nd birthday which would have been yesterday, here's a quote from Gladys and her "One and Only True Shortcake Recipe", just in time for strawberry season.

"The mind makes many journeys, but the heart stays home."

Gladys Taber's True Strawberry Shortcake

Sift together 2 C. flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar. Work in 1/3 C. butter and gradually add 3/4 C. milk. Toss the mixture on a floured board, patting it rather than rolling it. Bake it in a deep pie pan at 425 deg. for about 25-30 minutes, then split it and butter both halves.
Pour crushed, sweetened strawberries on the bottom half, pour more on top and serve immediately with thick cream. Serve in shallow soup plates. Will serve four.

Don't bother to count the calories. Fresh strawberries are worth it!