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| Bread and Seeni Sambol |
The bread that I made is quite dense, but, it tastes good! I had two of the bread rolls for breakfast, this morning and for lunch, I had four thinly sliced pieces from one of the loaves, with some seeni sambol (spicy onion relish). It slices nicely and I think it would be good toasted, too.
It has been a sort of low energy day for me.
Friend A's daughter sent me the funeral notification in the morning; it is scheduled for next Friday afternoon. I'm glad it is in the afternoon, because I have a medical appointment in the morning!
Another friend texted saying she was remembering my mother and me as she decorates her house for Christmas and sent some pictures she had taken showing the crocheted ornaments my mother had given her many years ago and a quilted wall hanging I had given her one Christmas. I love the fact that she displays them even after all this time.
I called neighbor T, today and chatted with her for a bit. She is still in the assisted living facility and I doubt very much if she will be coming home before Christmas. Later, I called friend R to chat with her and video chatted with my daughter.
I started decorating the house for the holidays, today, putting out just a few items in the living room. I hope to unpack the winter village, tomorrow.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Bread, even if it didn't rise a lot
- A kind text from my friend remembering my mother and me
- The technology which enables me to keep in touch with family and friends
- Being able to take it easy on a low energy day
- A working heater
Today's joyful activity was crocheting.
Plans for tomorrow (Friday), include finishing the card making and tending to the garden with M.
What are your plans for Friday?
That was nice to hear from your friend about the things you and your mother had given her. My tree is full of sentimental things like that and occasionally I tell people about it. But I haven't done that this year, so I think I'll send some notes today.
ReplyDeleteIt meant a lot to me to hear that my friend still displayed the items we made and gave to her, June. I'm sure your family and friends will also appreciate hearing from you. :)
DeleteGlad to read that your doorstop bread is tasty when toasted. Maybe this is a new name of a type of bread - you are a trend setter. Isn't it lovely that your friend has ornaments made by your Mom, what a wonderful tribute & memory.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, that's what I'm going to call it! Door stop bread! Maybe I created a new bread recipe? :D
DeleteIt made me tear up when I received my friend's text and the photos, Mary-Lou. My mother has been dead for 16+ years and I know she made the crocheted candles several years prior to that!
It's great that even less than perfect home made bread tastes so much better than a lot of commercial bread. We were used to sharing a footlong sub once a week but the bread roll seems almost like cardboard so I've given up on that takeout.
ReplyDeleteHow nice that your friend still enjoys the ornaments and wall hanging. I find one of the pleasures of Christmas decorating is remembering those who gifted special ornaments.
It was better than the relatively inexpensive bread I usually buy! I will try this bread recipe, again (from the Joy of Cooking). But, maybe I will set up my big stand mixer with the dough hook to knead it and choose a warmer day/place for the dough to rise!
DeleteI used to love getting those sub sandwiches! Haven't done so since the first Covid lockdown!
It was very heart-warming to know that my friend still has and displays the items we made and gave her. I also spied two other gifts we had given her in the photos she sent me. :)
I have it in my mind that A and her family are Catholics, I'm not sure if that's right or not but if it is, will you have to drive far to the church?
ReplyDeleteYour bread actually looks very nice and I'm glad you enjoyed it with the seeni sambol.
Is T still expecting to be able to live in her own home again? From all that you've mentioned it seems unlikely and I wonder is she would feel lonely after the busyness of the care home.
I've had a really quiet day, mostly sleeping as I didn't sleep last night! I tried the new online calligraphy class and enjoyed that.
Yes, you have it right; they are Catholics. The church is not that far away; it's in the adjoining city and about a 20 minutes drive on surface streets. The cemetery, however, is a bit of a distance and I am debating if I want to attend the burial.
DeleteI'm planning to have the bread with the leftover dhal, today. :)
I, personally, don't think T will be able to live on her own, but, I think she would like to be home again, although she has stopped saying she hopes to be home in a couple of weeks. I don't think she participates in many of the activities at the care home. From what I understand, she really doesn't leave her room all that often, as walking is difficult for her. She has meals delivered to her room and someone assists her with getting in and out of bed, etc. She'll miss that if she comes home, unless they get her a care giver.
Glad you had a restful day after not being able to sleep last night! The calligraphy class sounds like fun!
How lovely to have been remembered like that. I'm sure many of us hang on to special things as a way of honouring friends past and present, specially at Christmas. And in sure that, in any case, your mother's decorations are beautiful. I can understand your being moved; last year I got a beautiful cosmos card from Japan with a note from a friend saying she always thought of me when they bloomed. Considering how long it's been since I was there (and the fact we never even visited the cosmos meadows together) I was amazed and so touched.
ReplyDeleteIt really was very touching and unexpected. The ornaments my mother made were crocheted candles. I remember you posting about the cosmos card. :)
DeleteAnd, over a year later, it is still on the shelf! I can't bring myself to take it down. (I did for Christmas last year, but in January it went back up again!)
DeleteMy sister painted a hibiscus flower on a card and sent it to me years ago; I put it in a picture frame and it is on my bookcase still. Maybe you, too, could put that special card in a frame and display it. :)
DeleteWhat a nice thing for your friend to do, telling you how your mother and you were in her thoughts and sending you the pictures of the things you both had made for her. How wonderful that she is still treasuring these items. I'm sure you were very touched. It's so nice to get messages like that seemingly out of the blue.
ReplyDeleteI think that bread looks delicious and it sounds like it was very tasty.
I raise my bread in the oven with the light on. The light gives off just the right amount of heat.
I haven't made any bread for a while. One of the blogs I read has a recipe for a no-knead bread that her mother used for decades.
She makes it in a pyrex bowl which for some reason I find very charming. I might give it a try.
DeleteWasn't it a lovely thing for my friend to do? It really touched me.
The bread does taste good. I toasted some of it, this morning, and had it with a scrambled egg for brunch. I will put the next bread dough in the oven to rise! I tried a no-knead bread a few years ago and posted about it. I, too, baked it in a pyrex bowl (and a bread pan):
https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2015/03/baking-no-knead-peasant-bread.html
and here:
https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2015/04/weekend-productivity.html
I didn't realize that it was back in 2015! I should try that recipe, again!
It was thoughtdul of your friend to remember your mother, and to send you a lovely message. These acts of kindness mean so much, don't they.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were still able to eat the bread. Xx
It was very kind of my friend to send me that message; it really touched me. I was able to see her, last week, and I told her that I really appreciated her doing so. :)
DeleteThe bread was tasty, even if a bit dry and dense. I am going to try my no-knead bread recipe, again, and see if that works out better for me. :)