Thanks for the beautiful post. Love is Love. I hurt for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. This hateful administration is out to get them and to me, that includes my beautiful son. I have much to be thankful for. My husband and I celebrated our 41st anniversary yesterday and we have 2 great adult children who love us and have done well with their lives. My LGBTQ son also works for the federal government and along with his colleagues has been the recipient of middle of the night emails trying to bully them into resigning.
I have so many things to be thankful for and so much to worry about at the same time. Anyone who has anything but kind things to say about the LGBTQ community doesn't have a place in my life anymore.
Karen, my heart aches for you and I really mean that. Stand firm and know that MANY Americans agree with you. In the meantime protect your family from hurtful comments and be there for them. That is just what moms do. 💕
What a beautiful post (I am sobbing)...Sobbing seems to be an every day reaction to the state of the world. I cook, I bake, I do yoga to feed my soul. Trips to the farmers market and my bookstore, Three Lives, are a godsend. I don't think I will ever achieve love, but solace I can do. I have taken to watching animal rescues as some sort of hope. Netflix a savior and reading (I recommend Small Things Like these, Foster by Claire Keegan, and Love by Hanne Orstavik - slightly more challenging...for a Masterpiece-esque detective series, I hope you watched the British version of Broadchurch).
I am aching for some Chocolove. I know it can't solve the mess in Washington, but it is a respite from fighting to un-mess. Some have suggested savoring small moments of joy. Your recipe does just that, especially when love is hard to access...the quick chocolate pudding recipe brings me back to memories of my my mother and how I didn't love her enough. The trips to chemo came too late. Regret hangs over me like an umbrella that doesn't have the strength to fight a storm. May we all find our way past it.
Lonni, yes, reduce the sugar in the pudding to your tastes. It’s not like making a cake. You need the sugar in the pudding not so much for texture but flavor - to balance the chocolate. So cut back by a quarter, then taste, and add more back if needed. I saw the movie Foster on a plane and loved it. And I am sorry you are sobbing. This tragic time in American history is affecting us all differently. It’s good to talk about it. Reflect on better times. And I must say, you are a lovely writer: ‘’Regret hangs over me like an umbrella that doesn’t have the strength to fight a storm.’’ I know a lot of people feel that way right now.
The pitter-patter of tiny feet on the hardwood floor getting louder as I’m half asleep. Then, a little 5 year old desperately trying to climb into a tall bed without waking us up to cuddle on a Sunday morning.
The smell of the house when I walk in the door after a long day of work. Knowing that smell is a homemade meal made by the person I love the most. Food is her love language. That’s how I know.
What lovely words to read this morning. I love being the best Grandma I can be and having tea parties with my grandchildren when they come to visit. We pull out the china and use one of my mother's tea pots. I love making their favorite foods - macaroni and cheese, steak, and pound cake (that's what they wanted this past weekend). I love making cinnamon rolls for Valentine's Day. It's been a tradition for 46 years. I also love public tv on Sunday nights.
I love having friends over for a nice dinner and eating in the dining room and using the "fancy" stuff. It helps relieve some of the anxiousness regarding the state of our nation.
Pull out the fancy stuff! What are we saving it for? Celebrate those grandchildren. They will remember the china, the tea pot, the mac and cheese, steak, pound cake, and you. Write those recipes down for them, and when they’re old enough gift them a recipe box with those recipes - in your writing - inside.
I love reading this after a couple of weeks of chaos. I love being in the car with my children we have the best conversations in the car, they are now 35 and 34 and it's still the best.
Good morning, Anne, this post was one of the first things I read this morning. It was chock full of love on love for the things you love. The chocolate pudding recipe is timely as we've been experimenting with plant-based versions. Chocolate, however one spells it, is delicious!! I see your book tour is coming to Texas, and San Marcos is almost a stone's throw away from Austin. I would love to attend that one . . . 😃 Ella, and your granddaughter, are cuties, too.
I once had a beignet (actually two) at a restaurant in Savanna, Georgia that was on the boardwalk. They were hot and served with a hot chocolate dipping sauce. That really got my heart running for the day.
I could relate to so many things in it: A few things I strongly related to: Jello pudding: My grandmother's staple at family dinners (though I have to say I don't eat it now). "Time of the Child" (I just read it, it broke my heart). I had read "This is Happiness" last year. Chocolate pudding: Growing up ours was Jello brand and I loved it but I will have to try your recipe (sans the rum, don't like alcohol in food myself). When I was college age, I visited Memphis with a boyfriend; an older lady we visited offered us a Christmas cookie (I had no idea what it was so grabbed one and took a big bite) To my surprise it was full of rum (Whiskey Balls!), Out of courtesy I did swallow it but since I've veered away from such. Thank you for your writing and recipes!
Ladies down South and often those who don’t drink alcohol make the most powerful bourbon or rum balls. Glad you survived! We also love pudding most often pronounced without the g!
What a great Valentine’s Day post, Anne! Chocolate pudding brings back memories for me too. I think my mother made it from a package and didn’t add chocolate chips (but oh what a good idea!). I particularly loved the skin that formed on top and ate it bit by bit before demolishing the rest of the pudding. I used to pour some milk in the dish to make a thick chocolate milk and make thw pudding last longer. Seems like your grownup version might be a perfect V-Day treat for the chocoholic I’m married to. 💕
I LOVE this 🤍 I appreciate your efforts to write a thoughtful and thought-provoking post each week. It’s definitely going to be a chocolate pudding kind of weekend!
Thanks, Taylor. I’ll admit writing in this climate is challenging. If you don’t acknowledge what’s happening around us, you aren’t in reality. If you dwell, you shift out of your lane. I like to ride the line between let’s get in the kitchen and what the heck is going on?
Thank you for sharing your stories and what you love! I enjoyed reading them. And thanks for the recipe for your scrumptious-looking chocolate pudding!
Lovely post filled with images of all kinds of 'comfort' from food-to-people-to memories. I do love chocolate and the stillness of early mornings. Also, the warmth of my aging cat on my lap in the evenings the sound of my son's voice when I pick up the phone. When we stop to think about it, there's a lot to love and be grateful for. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the beautiful post. Love is Love. I hurt for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. This hateful administration is out to get them and to me, that includes my beautiful son. I have much to be thankful for. My husband and I celebrated our 41st anniversary yesterday and we have 2 great adult children who love us and have done well with their lives. My LGBTQ son also works for the federal government and along with his colleagues has been the recipient of middle of the night emails trying to bully them into resigning.
I have so many things to be thankful for and so much to worry about at the same time. Anyone who has anything but kind things to say about the LGBTQ community doesn't have a place in my life anymore.
Karen, my heart aches for you and I really mean that. Stand firm and know that MANY Americans agree with you. In the meantime protect your family from hurtful comments and be there for them. That is just what moms do. 💕
Be there and cook for them. I've been making a lot of soup and baking lately!
Soup, bread, cake, perfect.
What a beautiful post (I am sobbing)...Sobbing seems to be an every day reaction to the state of the world. I cook, I bake, I do yoga to feed my soul. Trips to the farmers market and my bookstore, Three Lives, are a godsend. I don't think I will ever achieve love, but solace I can do. I have taken to watching animal rescues as some sort of hope. Netflix a savior and reading (I recommend Small Things Like these, Foster by Claire Keegan, and Love by Hanne Orstavik - slightly more challenging...for a Masterpiece-esque detective series, I hope you watched the British version of Broadchurch).
I am aching for some Chocolove. I know it can't solve the mess in Washington, but it is a respite from fighting to un-mess. Some have suggested savoring small moments of joy. Your recipe does just that, especially when love is hard to access...the quick chocolate pudding recipe brings me back to memories of my my mother and how I didn't love her enough. The trips to chemo came too late. Regret hangs over me like an umbrella that doesn't have the strength to fight a storm. May we all find our way past it.
p.s. Any way to reduce the sugar for the pudding?
Lonni, yes, reduce the sugar in the pudding to your tastes. It’s not like making a cake. You need the sugar in the pudding not so much for texture but flavor - to balance the chocolate. So cut back by a quarter, then taste, and add more back if needed. I saw the movie Foster on a plane and loved it. And I am sorry you are sobbing. This tragic time in American history is affecting us all differently. It’s good to talk about it. Reflect on better times. And I must say, you are a lovely writer: ‘’Regret hangs over me like an umbrella that doesn’t have the strength to fight a storm.’’ I know a lot of people feel that way right now.
You’re very kind to write back. Thank you for your kind words - Very grateful.
The pitter-patter of tiny feet on the hardwood floor getting louder as I’m half asleep. Then, a little 5 year old desperately trying to climb into a tall bed without waking us up to cuddle on a Sunday morning.
The smell of the house when I walk in the door after a long day of work. Knowing that smell is a homemade meal made by the person I love the most. Food is her love language. That’s how I know.
That’s what I love, my two girls.
You are so loved too. Soak up moments like these and they’ll fill you full. You’re also a pretty fine writer. 💕
What lovely words to read this morning. I love being the best Grandma I can be and having tea parties with my grandchildren when they come to visit. We pull out the china and use one of my mother's tea pots. I love making their favorite foods - macaroni and cheese, steak, and pound cake (that's what they wanted this past weekend). I love making cinnamon rolls for Valentine's Day. It's been a tradition for 46 years. I also love public tv on Sunday nights.
I love having friends over for a nice dinner and eating in the dining room and using the "fancy" stuff. It helps relieve some of the anxiousness regarding the state of our nation.
Pull out the fancy stuff! What are we saving it for? Celebrate those grandchildren. They will remember the china, the tea pot, the mac and cheese, steak, pound cake, and you. Write those recipes down for them, and when they’re old enough gift them a recipe box with those recipes - in your writing - inside.
What a wonderful suggestion! Thanks.
I love reading this after a couple of weeks of chaos. I love being in the car with my children we have the best conversations in the car, they are now 35 and 34 and it's still the best.
Judith! The car. You are so right about the car. 🩷
Good morning, Anne, this post was one of the first things I read this morning. It was chock full of love on love for the things you love. The chocolate pudding recipe is timely as we've been experimenting with plant-based versions. Chocolate, however one spells it, is delicious!! I see your book tour is coming to Texas, and San Marcos is almost a stone's throw away from Austin. I would love to attend that one . . . 😃 Ella, and your granddaughter, are cuties, too.
Thank you, Mary. Would love to meet you! I will be updating that tour with more details on events as they get closer. 🩷
Yay! 😁
Forgot to add to my previous comment but your concerns about our country: SAME.
We have got to sow the seeds of love. Now.
I once had a beignet (actually two) at a restaurant in Savanna, Georgia that was on the boardwalk. They were hot and served with a hot chocolate dipping sauce. That really got my heart running for the day.
Perfect traveling food! You don’t want to miss anything.
Anne: Another great piece! I Love your writing.
I could relate to so many things in it: A few things I strongly related to: Jello pudding: My grandmother's staple at family dinners (though I have to say I don't eat it now). "Time of the Child" (I just read it, it broke my heart). I had read "This is Happiness" last year. Chocolate pudding: Growing up ours was Jello brand and I loved it but I will have to try your recipe (sans the rum, don't like alcohol in food myself). When I was college age, I visited Memphis with a boyfriend; an older lady we visited offered us a Christmas cookie (I had no idea what it was so grabbed one and took a big bite) To my surprise it was full of rum (Whiskey Balls!), Out of courtesy I did swallow it but since I've veered away from such. Thank you for your writing and recipes!
Ladies down South and often those who don’t drink alcohol make the most powerful bourbon or rum balls. Glad you survived! We also love pudding most often pronounced without the g!
What a great Valentine’s Day post, Anne! Chocolate pudding brings back memories for me too. I think my mother made it from a package and didn’t add chocolate chips (but oh what a good idea!). I particularly loved the skin that formed on top and ate it bit by bit before demolishing the rest of the pudding. I used to pour some milk in the dish to make a thick chocolate milk and make thw pudding last longer. Seems like your grownup version might be a perfect V-Day treat for the chocoholic I’m married to. 💕
Ruth, those are some serious chocolate pudding memories! Love this. I look forward to hearing how this recipe meets the approval of your chocoholic!
Thanks, Anne. I will let you know!🤗
This was a beautiful read ❤️
Thank you! 💕
I LOVE this 🤍 I appreciate your efforts to write a thoughtful and thought-provoking post each week. It’s definitely going to be a chocolate pudding kind of weekend!
Thanks, Taylor. I’ll admit writing in this climate is challenging. If you don’t acknowledge what’s happening around us, you aren’t in reality. If you dwell, you shift out of your lane. I like to ride the line between let’s get in the kitchen and what the heck is going on?
This was a delightful read. Made me think about what I love and for that nudge into gratitude - i am grateful!
Wise words, Stephanie. Love to the next power is gratitude. Maybe that will hold us steady.
Thank you for sharing your stories and what you love! I enjoyed reading them. And thanks for the recipe for your scrumptious-looking chocolate pudding!
It was a feel-good exercise to sit and think positively! And who doesn’t love chocolate pudding?
I LOVED reading this. (and I’m stealing this idea as a journal prompt for today💜).
It’s a good thing to ponder. Thank you, Amie!
Lovely post filled with images of all kinds of 'comfort' from food-to-people-to memories. I do love chocolate and the stillness of early mornings. Also, the warmth of my aging cat on my lap in the evenings the sound of my son's voice when I pick up the phone. When we stop to think about it, there's a lot to love and be grateful for. Thanks for sharing.
Linda, love is around us for sure. Glad you’ve got your sweet cat to keep you warm! 🩷