Saturday: Bagels and Jam!

Bagel, Cream Cheese, Strawberry Jam

I had a craving for bagels, on Thursday.  Bagels spread with cream cheese!  Hot toasted bagels oozing with melted butter!  Yum!  I don't normally get a lot of food cravings, but when I do, I can practically taste the food!  Often, I am able to wait out the craving, but sometimes, even after a few days, I still crave it and then, I give in to the craving.  Other times, I just go ahead and get whatever it is that I crave.  I have been known to bake cakes and cookies, etc., or make desserts in the middle of the night because I had a craving for it!

Well, getting something I crave isn't all that easy when I have been told to keep away from public places such as the grocery store and cafes.  I can't simply drive there, go in, and purchase what I want.  The loss of this ability is another "side effect" of the chemo treatment that I dislike.  It was not too bad when daughter was home on winter break - I only had to tell her, "I want" or "I feel like having" and she'll be out the door in a flash to buy me whatever it was that I wanted or felt like. 

So, on Thursday, when I so craved bagels, I wondered what to do.  I do have a recipe for bagels in one of my cookbooks, but I've never tried making it and I didn't know if I wanted to try it now (it involves making the dough, letting it rise, boiling the bagels first before baking them, etc.)

Instead, I called my cousin who lives across the street from me (how convenient!) to ask her if she was planning to go to the grocery store in the next day or so, and if so, would she mind picking up some bagels for me.  But cousin was not feeling too well with a sore throat and I didn't want to bother her. 

Next, I wondered if I should call my nextdoor neighbor and ask her if she could go up the street to the doughnut shop (they sell bagels, too) and get me a bagel with cream cheese from there.  Sometimes, when I used to be OK, she and I used to walk the three blocks to the doughnut shop for a doughnut and a chat.  And, this neighbor has told me to let her know if I needed anything, etc.  But, she, too, has her health issues and I decided that a craving for a bagel wasn't something with which I would disturb her. 

So, instead, I ate a couple of crackers and contented myself, although it was nothing like a bagel with cream cheese or butter.

Then, on Friday, my friend who does the garden came by and as I was chatting with him, he asked me if I was OK for food, if there was anything I wanted, etc.  Well, I told him about my craving for bagels and, later that evening, he stopped by with a bag of bagels and a package of cream cheese for me!  Actually, he blessed me with them, because he wouldn't accept payment.  I enjoyed two of the bagels, last night, for my dinner, including one half spread with honey for dessert!  :D

And, this morning, I had half a bagel with cream cheese only and the other half with cream cheese and my homemade strawberry jam, for brunch!  I tell you, there's nothing more satisfying that eating something for which you had a craving!

I think I have mentioned before just how blessed I am to have such caring people in my life.  One of the things this cancer has taught me is, there are lots of kind, considerate, caring people, who perform acts of kindness and service, every day.  It's just that it doesn't make national news headlines and so goes unnoticed.  But I am being cossetted by just such acts of caring, every day.  And I feel so blessed and grateful for the blessing. 

Maybe someday, I'll undertake making my own bagels.  It'll be a nice skill to have, I think.

When I went to take down a jar of strawberry jam for my bagel, this morning, I noticed that it was my very last jar of strawberry jam.  I also had two other jars of apple-pomegranate jam left.  I took down one jar to give as a gift to my pharmacist friend, when she brings me my box of masks sometime this weekend or next week.  That jar has been wrapped and kept on top of the piano in readiness for her visit.  It looks like I'll need to make more jam in the near future.

Today, in addition to eating bagels and taking down jars of jam, I also updated my phone sleeve, knitted a few more rows on my scarf as I watched Saturday morning crafts shows on TV, cleared and tidied my dining table, put away yesterday's laundry, and chatted on the phone with one of my other cousins and with my daughter.  I am planning to spend the rest of the afternoon sewing on my quilt and just relaxing.  Later, I'll go for a walk around the block and video chat with daughter in the evening.  It's a lovely way to spend a Saturday, I think.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Caring and kind friends
- Being able to satisfy my craving for bagels and cream cheese
- Jam in the cupboard
- Time to do crafts and relax
- A sunny, warm day

How is your Saturday coming along?  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.