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Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/11/11)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Entertainment, Helping Others, Kids, Parenting, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »

The sun was low in the sky on a crisp and breezy autumn day. It was the kind of day that beckoned for a stroll in the park. As the black lab puppy strained against his leash to see more, smell more, and play more, my husband and I walked and chatted. As we rounded a path leading down to the bay, I suddenly yelled out to him, “Stop! Don’t step on someone’s hope!” There at his feet, scrawled in the decomposed granite path, were large letters spelling out the word “hope.” As we continued our walk, my mind filled with questions. Who wrote that? And why? Does that person have hope or need hope? Or was it just someone’s name? I’ll never know the answers to my questions, but I do know that hope can be found everywhere.

#1 – Convoy of Hope
Recently in my small area of the world a Convoy of Hope came to town. Over 13,000 people attended this outreach to receive assistance ranging from “health and dental screenings, family portraits, groceries, clothing, shoes and employment – all of which were free of charge.” Convoy of Hope has ambitious plans for 2012; their plans include outreach events in every state. To read more about this charity that has won the Charity Navigator Four Star Award for seven years in a row and to learn about ways in which you can help, click here.

#2 – Flowers of Hope
My husband called me from work the other day and asked, “Do you have any use for a box of assorted flower vases, because if not, they are going to be thrown away?” He knows me too well. Since it is not in my nature to throw things away, I replied, “Bring them home. I will fill them with flowers and take them over to a senior care home.” Although vases are not required in order to give a bouquet of flowers to someone in a senior center or home, they certainly make it easier for the staff to distribute the flowers. I mentioned in a previous post, that glass jars work great for this purpose, too. So before you get rid of those inexpensive vases you get from the florist, fill them with lovely flowers from your yard or from a store and give a home-bound senior hope that someone still cares about them.

#3 – Is There Hope For Mom and Dad?
The text I sent my daughter read something like this, “@ emerg room. Dad mayb hd gdasu buvacj!” I admit that sometimes when I text, I inadvertently send jibberish instead -  thanks to clumsy fingers or that darn spell check program that keeps changing what I write! I’m sure I’m not the only one with texting issues. Read these amusing texts that appeared on the Huffington Post Parents page or read many more funny texts by going to When Parents Text. I hope my kids haven’t submitted any of my bloopers!

#4 – Hope For Creativity
This four minute TED video presented by Gever Tulley shows hope exists when creativity is fostered in children. His Tinkering School allows children to design, create, succeed and fail. Life skills are learned when they have to figure things out. I love this idea!

#5 – Words of Hope
“Men and women are limited not by the place of their birth, not by the color of their skin, but by the size of their hope.” John Johnson

Give thanks this weekend to the many people who gave hope to our country by serving in the military! Have a safe Veterans Day weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (10/21/11)

Posted in About me, Health, Helping Others, inspiration, Organization, Parenting, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Are there only three simple rules in life? Is life really that straightforward and uncomplicated? I hardly think so, but these three rules command us to take action and to be in charge of our own lives. It’s a rather egocentric outlook on life, but we all know that thinking about things doesn’t make them happen and that the best intentions are often times just not good enough. Being proactive on all fronts of our lives pushes us to be better and helps us to strive towards the lives we want. After all is said and done, we can only blame ourselves if our lives didn’t evolve the way we’d hoped.

#1 – Commercial Break Workout
Take action while you watch television. This is the best of both worlds – watching television and working out. I don’t watch a lot of television, but after viewing Heidi Klum’s Commercial Breaks workout and breaking out the exercise mat, I won’t  feel quite as guilty on the days that I don’t hit the gym!

#2 – Sending Text Messages From Your Computer
If you’re sitting at your computer and need to text message someone, say your child who only communicates via texts or your boss who is in a meeting, there’s no need to get out your cell phone. You can send a text message from any computer to any cell phone that has instant messaging abilities. Practically all cell phones have an established email/text address, but you must know the phone’s service carrier first to figure out its email address. This is a great way for my parents’ generation, who are computer savvy, but not text savvy, to get in touch with family in a jiffy.

To set up an email contact for a cell phone:  Create a new contact/new address in your computer’s email program, e.g., Jane’s iPhone. Add the email address which consists of the phone’s 10 digit cell phone number (without spaces or dashes) and its service provider’s email information.*  Jane’s iPhone carrier is AT&T, so her cell phone’s email address looks like this: 5303214567@txt.att.net.

*Every phone carrier has a unique email suffix (all the information after the @ sign), so you will need to know the service provider for each particular phone. Click here for a link to service carriers’ suffixes.

Now when you want to send a contact a text message, just type in the name and the corresponding cell phone email address will pop up. Shortly after typing in your message and sending it, the contact will receive an instant message alert on their cell phone.

#3 – Reusing Floppy Disks
Got Junk? Help out British artist Nick Gentry by sending it his way. Check out these interesting portraits he made by reusing computer floppy disks. Mr. Gentry states on his website: “The life and personality of these objects are a big part of each artwork. If you’ve got some old junk or floppy disks, feel free to send them my way. I try to use objects that have come to the end of their useful life.”

#4 – Icy Wisdom
Recently my cousin told me her son was going to have his wisdom teeth removed. I shared with her a tip that one of my sons used to reduce his post-surgery swelling and then decided it was a tip worth sharing with all of you. After I brought my son home from the oral surgeon’s office, he went to his room and put on a hoodie-type sweatshirt. He then went to the freezer, grabbed a couple bags of frozen peas and settled himself down on the family room sofa to rest. When I checked to see how he was doing, I saw the bags of frozen peas nestled in between the outsides of his cheeks and the hood of his sweatshirt. He had pulled the drawstring of his hood tight, so that the frozen bags contoured around his face and stayed in place. He figured this way he could ice four quadrants all at once. Clever boy that son of mine!  Of course, frozen gel ice packs or bags of crushed ice would also work!

#5 – Your Lot in Life
“The important thing about your lot in life is whether you use it for building or parking.” – Unknown

Have a beautiful weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (9/2/11)

Posted in About me, inspiration, Parenting, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

A pretty beach scene – yes, but how much longer will it remain that way? Last week the East Coast had a crazy mix of events with an earthquake, tornado warnings and Hurricane Irene. Today Alaska and Argentina experienced earthquakes and a huge chunk of ice broke off from a glacier in Greenland. Something is shaking up the environment. Is it man against nature or is it nature against man? We can no longer deny the effects that our daily actions have on the environment. On Tuesday I posted directions for making shopping bags out of t-shirts. Today’s post also touches on the environment and creative ways to reuse things.

#1 – Plastic Garbage
Photographer Laurie Penland shares her video and her experience of filming a plastic garbage dump floating off the coast of Belize. View it on the Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal Blog. It will make you think twice about using plastic disposable items!

#2 – Green Glass
Avoid using plastic cups and plastic bottles by using glassware made from bottles. Green Glass Company is the “largest producer of reclaimed glassware in the world” and manufactures candle holders, assorted tumblers, vases, carafes, and goblets from wine, beer and soda bottles. Got a gift to give? Think green!

#3 – Coffee Makers Are Just Not For Making Coffee
Here’s a way to get additional use out of an old or extra coffee maker. Send it off to college with your student! You may want to forward this link to your child on how to cook food in a coffee maker. I can’t vouch for the safety of the procedures or how these recipes turn out, but for some reason I’m intrigued with the whole concept. Wish I had known about this when I was in college, because to this day I remember being a hungry college student. As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” If your student resides in a dormitory, better have him check first to see if coffee makers are allowed in the dorm rooms.

#4 – Reusing Used Paper
In most cases computer paper is used three to four times in my house before it hits the permanent recycling bin. After the original printed paper is no longer needed, it gets put in a bin by my printer for a second-side printing – not big news for there are many of us who already do this. But when that paper has been printed on both sides and is no longer wanted, it goes into another bin in my craft area. These pieces of paper work well to protect surfaces when I’m gluing and painting. They also make good scratch paper for testing colors and for cutting out patterns and templates. Twice is nice, but three times is better!

#5 – The Future
“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. The activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination.”
John Schaar

Have a safe holiday weekend!

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Starting at the Bottom, Again

Posted in About me, Community, Helping Others, inspiration, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Forrest Gump’s mama always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates,” but the older I become, the more this mom views life as a series of never-ending staircases, much like those drawn by M.C. Escher. At particular phases in life, we climb metaphoric stairs and reach the top, only to find that another level exists and another staircase awaits. We learn the rules of the game during each ascent, but discover the game changes at every level.

Parenting is a good example of my analogy: you start with a sweet, little baby, but no sooner do you get a grip on exhausting infant-ways, then your baby walks, talks, and throws tantrums. Mastering potty-training raises cheers and exultations, but creates a degree of independence, which allows your child to leave the safe haven of your arms to go to school. After years of navigating through playground dramas and class projects, you warily enter the hormonally-charged world of adolescence. By the time you regain some balance after the “driving” years, your child moves on to college applications. And before you can decipher the FAFSA form, your child graduates from college and finds a job.

Recently, my youngest child and her friends reached a new level by graduating from college. With high hopes they look to the future with new sets of goals and new sets of stairs to climb. For some of them, their staircases are straight forward – graduate school. For others, the staircases are long and narrow – medical school. But for many of them, their staircases rise, twist, and turn – the path of uncertainty. In the past, a college degree usually led to a job. Not so anymore. For those looking for jobs, the ascent is made more difficult by an extraordinarily bad job market.

For example, a recent ad my daughter looked at quickly excited her, but ultimately discouraged her. It read:

Looking for an energetic, detail-oriented person. Check!
Must be organized and able to multi-task. Check!
Must be a self-starter and be willing to work long hours. Check!
Must be proficient in Word, Excel, and Power Point. Check!
Must have the ability to work quickly under tight deadlines. Check!
Must have a 4-year college degree. Check!
Must have nonprofit experience. Check!
Must have at least five years of work experience. No!

With so many bright, intelligent, and experienced competitors for so few positions, employers have a gourmet assortment to choose from. If all employers hire experienced workers, who will give the inexperienced the experience they need? I will never forget the dentist who hired an energetic, young dental hygienist fresh out of school. I am eternally grateful to him for believing in me enough to take a chance on me. Hopefully, there are other employers out there who can remember what it was like to get their first job and their first vote of confidence, and who are willing to consider vitality and eagerness over experience. My daughter, her friends, and other recent college graduates will need patience and this kind of help to get to the next level. Landing that first job, of course, puts them at the bottom all over again!

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
Nelson Mandela

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Words to My Daughter and Other Graduates

Posted in Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on June 21, 2011 | 8 Comments »

June, the big month of graduations, is almost gone. As the next stage of life unfolds for my daughter and many other graduates, here are a few words of advice from this mom. Although somewhat clichéd, they are from the heart:

Life is not a checklist to be checked off, nor a race to be run.

The world needs your unique gifts and perspective, so be you.

Always speak the truth, but with good intention and at the appropriate time.

Strive to seek balance in your life.

Don’t underestimate the power of what one person can do.

Know your worth – never undervalue what you bring to the table, whether in personal or business relationships.

Appreciate the gift of every single day.

Don’t let material goods define who you are.

Nothing is more important than your health and your family.

Live a life of gratitude.

Remember, there are always two sides to a coin.

Success in life is made up of small, continuing successes – it’s not a big onetime thing and there is no limit to the amount of success in life that you can achieve.

Only the attainment of your dreams and your goals determines whether you are successful.

Let your actions define your character more than your words.

Have respect – for your body, for other people’s property, for other cultures, for the planet . . . .

Live in the present – you can’t change the past and the future isn’t here yet.

Write your story – it’s your life, no one else can write it for you.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – learning from them is sometimes the only way to grow.

Have compassion – as it’s said, “What goes around comes around.”

Spread joy!

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Blankets of Love

Posted in About me, Creativity, Gift Ideas, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2011 | 7 Comments »

“Is this my blanket?” my daughter asks as she curiously eyes a large colorfully-wrapped box that has the words CELEBRATE plastered all over it. Sitting in a hotel room, my family watches expectantly as she opens up her graduation present. There’s a moment of anticlimactic silence as she removes the lid of the box. Each of us, even my daughter, knows what’s inside.

Several years ago, I first struggled with the problem of what to give to my children when they graduated from college. Giving them money, jewelry, or big, fancy gifts were okay, but I longed to give them something that they wouldn’t forget – something, that perhaps, could be a symbol of love. That’s when I thought about making each of them a blanket.

In concept this was a good idea, but in reality, not so great. Although I am a creative person and I attempt to do many things – just who was I kidding when I thought I could crochet? As I bought the pattern and yarn for my oldest son’s blanket, I thought back to the baby hat that I’d once crocheted. It turned out almost perfect, except for one minor detail – the size was way off. The cute, crocheted hat turned out to be too large for any infant’s head, including an alien’s!

With crochet hook in hand and skeins of yarn all about, I determinedly began the first blanket. I envisioned myself to be like my grandmother, a woman who could crochet furiously while watching television. The directions to the Mile-A-Minute blanket seemed easy enough and after crocheting all the strips, I carefully lined them up on the floor side-by-side. Noticing that each strip was a different length, I was crestfallen. How in the world was I going to join these strips together when some were inches shorter than others? Figuring I had two choices – either I alternate the long and short strips or I configure them from shortest to longest – I frantically worked to salvage the project. Although it’s been years since I made it and I cannot remember exactly how I put it together, I do remember the look on my oldest son’s face as he graciously accepted his trapezoidal-shaped blanket. Sometimes there are disadvantages to being first-born!

Like parenting, the second time around was easier. Being wiser, I vowed not to repeat my mistakes and made every effort to avoid the pitfalls of crocheting. Again, I lovingly crocheted a Mile-A-Minute blanket for my second son and was most pleased when his blanket turned out “almost” rectangular. Diligence and experience had paid off. When I asked him a few weeks ago what I gave him for his graduation, he immediately replied “A blanket!” Good answer! There are some advantages to being the second child!

Now, as I watch my daughter take her blanket out of the box, I notice that she’s studying the straight rows of crochet stitches and the nice, even border. It’s evident that I did not make her blanket. I explain that her blanket was made by my grandmother and was given to me on my twenty-first birthday. That my daughter is twenty-one-years-old and that she’s graduating from college, the pretty, pink and white blanket seemed destined to be hers. Sometimes the third child is just lucky!

No matter the story behind each blanket, the accompanying note always included this sentiment:  You are the lucky recipient of a “Crocheted Masterpiece.” At this point in your life there’s not much more Dad and I can give to you other than our continued, unconditional love. Think of our love as being wrapped up in this blanket. Take it with you wherever you go in life and may you always feel the warmth of our love whenever you wrap yourself in it.

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Excuse My Dust!

Posted in About me, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Cleaning and scrubbing

can wait till tomorrow . . .

for babies grow up

we’ve learned to

our sorrow . . .

So quiet down cobwebs . . .

dust go to sleep . . .

I’m rocking my baby

and

Babies don’t keep!!

Over thirty years ago, when my eyesight was keener and my fingers more nimble, I meticulously stitched those words into a wall hanging for my sister who was awaiting the birth of her first child. A few years passed and I had children of my own. And even though I didn’t have a little wall hanging to remind me of the sentiment, I never forgot the message behind those few simple words.

As each of my children entered the world and grew up in what seems like a nanosecond, I experienced first hand how “babies don’t keep.” Being mindful of the words I once stitched, I set my priorities early on and quit my job to care for my children. My goal was to raise bright, responsible, and caring individuals in the relatively short amount of time I had them at home. Moments, like watching their first wobbly steps, saying goodbye to them at the kindergarten gate, feigning calm during their frightening driving lessons, and dropping them off at college, etc., were bittersweet ones. Recognizing fully that each milestone reached was just another step towards my goal, I also acknowledged that it was another step towards their independence. I knew we would never pass this way again and nothing was more important to me than them.

That’s not to say, though, that I never lost perspective. There were times that I turned into an occasional, PMS-possessed, crazed mom! When the weariness of refereeing between bickering kids and when the endless washing, cleaning, cooking and driving devoured my life, I was hard-pressed to remember the words of the poem. But somehow these words would gradually float back into my consciousness and help me adjust my perspective.

The kids are all out of the house now and, thankfully, they still call to chat and ask for recipes. They’re off doing their own things, but I still think about the “Babies Don’t Keep” poem. I’ve taken that poem and transformed it into a message that applies to something broader – life. Life is all about choices and priorities, right? For me, my family and friends are high priorities, but my house, not so much. I’ll never be a tidy housekeeper like my mom or some of my friends, because having a clean house just isn’t important to me. My house isn’t filthy, by any means, but there’s huge room for improvement! But because I’ve learned that kids grow up fast and, more importantly, I’ve learned that life passes by much too quickly, I do the things I want to do and not have to do!

So beware, be prepared, and take caution when you enter my home! But most of all remember these words:

Cleaning and scrubbing

can wait till tomorrow . . .

for dreams disappear

I’ve learned to

my sorrow . . .

so let there be cobwebs . . .

dust bunnies mate . . .

I’m living life fully

’cause

life doesn’t wait!

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Hate is a Four-Letter Word

Posted in About me, Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The boy is not yet five-years-old, but he is already developing a terrible and serious affliction. That it’s a life-altering affliction is sad, but that his family is most likely passing it on to him is frightening. His symptoms? Displaying a hardening of the categories. The diagnosis? Developing prejudice. The prognosis? Due to the early onset of symptoms, intervention is critical. Only time will tell the true severity of his affliction.

The back-story: A few days after Christmas my son was in a sporting goods store trying on ski goggles. Looking down while adjusting the fit, he heard a child’s voice address him with these words, “I HATE Asians!” Without even looking at my son’s face and without losing a step in his stride, this child stopped my adult son in his tracks with those ugly words. My son wondered how someone so young could already hate an entire group of people and how this little boy had the nerve to walk up to a stranger and spew hatred. There’s no doubt that this little boy did not develop a hatred of Asians, and who knows what else, all by himself. Like the lyrics from the Rogers and Hammerstein song “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” point out, this child had to be taught to hate. The words from this song seem more pertinent than ever:

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

After hearing my son tell me of his experience in the store, I remembered a scolding I once received from my dad when I was a child. I must have said something in passing to my parents about hating something, because I distinctly recall my dad gently pulling me aside and telling me to be very careful about using the word “hate.” He explained to me that hate was a very powerful emotion and that the word “hate” should never be used casually. “You can dislike someone or something, but don’t ever hate,” he said. I’m proud that my dad, an immigrant, and my parents, both of an ethnic minority, rose above the hurt of prejudice in their lives to teach their children to be more accepting and tolerant of the differences in people.

We need to be more aware of our behavior as we go about our everyday lives. The result of our insignificant actions may have great impact. Often times generalizations are made as a result of a single encounter. In particular, as adults we need to be more careful of what we say or do in front of children and young adults. Soon the future of our world will be in their hands. Prejudice is adopted by children like a bad habit and this cycle needs to be broken.  If we have any hope for world peace, we need to teach by example, on a daily basis, the power of acceptance and tolerance. Let us not define ourselves or others by color, race, age, religion, political beliefs, gender, disability, social class, ethnicity, etc. Let our legacy be based in the hearts and thoughts that bind us together and not in the classifications that we let divide us.

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Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Posted in About me, Holidays, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

November 1982. That’s what it reads on the upper left-hand corner of a slightly tattered, grease-spotted, magazine page. There’s no additional clue to reveal the identity of the magazine from which I carefully tore out the page. That I saved this page all these years is impressive, but what is incredible to me is that in those early-parenting days I had enough time to read a magazine, let alone had the ambition to make the recipe on the page. Having an eighteen-month-old baby who never slept took its toll out on me back then. So why on earth would a sleep-deprived, working, young mom clip out a recipe for a fancy holiday hors d’oeuvre, when she barely had time to make herself a sandwich? I’m sure it was wishful thinking on my part that my baby would eventually be like others and take a four hour nap instead of a twenty-minute one or that I’d eventually be able to leave the house to make friends and have the energy to entertain! Ever the optimist!

Well, that baby grew up and sleeps quite a bit these days. Somehow I survived his sleepless ways and am thankful that I hung on to that page and recipe all these years. The Hot Mushroom Turnover recipe has become a family favorite. These delicate little turnovers are made with a forgiving cream-cheese pastry and filled with the goodness of fresh mushrooms, bits of onions, rich sour cream, and fragrant thyme. They’re great for holiday entertaining because you can freeze them unbaked -  popping them into the oven when you have company or just when you have a craving for them!

Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Ingredients:
1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups + 2 T all purpose flour, divided use
1/2 + 3 T cup butter, softened, divided use
1/2 pound mushrooms, minced
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1-1/2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup butter until smooth. Shape into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, melt 3 T butter. Add mushrooms and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, salt, thyme, and 2 T flour; set aside.

3. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8-inch thick. With a floured 2-3/4-inch round cookie cutter or inverted glass, cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

5. Onto one half of each dough circle, put 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture. Brush edges of circles with egg wash, using a small brush. Fold dough over filling. With fork, firmly press edges together to seal. Prick tops with fork.

6. Place turnovers on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with remaining egg wash.

7. Bake 12-14 minutes until golden.

Makes about 3-1/2 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Do not attempt to put more than 1 teaspoon of filling into the turnovers. The turnovers may not seal correctly or may burst while baking if they are over-filled.

2. The onions should be minced smaller than the mushrooms. The mushrooms shrink while they are cooking. Ultimately you want both components to be of the same size.

3. I seem to always have leftover filling. Either use the extra filling for something else (topping for Brie?) or double the amount of pastry dough.

4. In a pinch I think puff pastry sheets could be used instead of making scratch pastry.

5. If you freeze them, make sure you bake them a little longer.

Enjoy!

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Mom’s Baked Custard

Posted in About me, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2010 | 5 Comments »

“I sound like Darth Vader,” I moan to my husband. “What?” he says as he puts the newspaper down. “I sound like Darth Vader. I can hear myself breathing.” As I sit there listening to my loud, rattling breathing and contemplate whether to say, “Luke, I am your father,” my husband looks at me and just shakes his head. My nose is chapped and red and I have flat, lopsided, bed-hair. I remind him, “You said for better or worse, remember?”

Supposedly there are over 200 viruses that cause the common cold and, according to Wikipedia, adults average two to four infections a year and children average up to six to twelve infections a year. I’m in the throes of the first cold I’ve had in over two years, so I guess I’m not average. But whether it’s due to the cold itself or the groggy side effects of the cold medications or maybe a combination of both, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and crave two comfort items from my childhood:

1. A tall glass of 7-Up or ginger ale placed on my night stand is a must to quench my parched mouth during the night. But the most important part of this ritual is the use of a straw. When I was a kid, my mom always put a straw in my drink to make it easier to sip it during the night. Because I deem my mom as all-knowing, a straw is an essential element to my recovery. Basically, the only time straws are pulled out of the drawers in my house, is when someone is sick.

2. When my siblings and I were kids and were sick, my mom would make baked egg custard from scratch. It was the only good thing about being sick and is among my best comfort food memories. I looked forward to getting those little Pyrex custard cups filled with golden egg custard, lightly browned on the edges and sprinkled with nutmeg in the center. It was a smooth and nourishing treat that slid deliciously down my throat.

Since I’m battling a nasty rhinovirus right now, I’m sending my husband out to buy milk. Nothing will make me feel better than a bowl of my mom’s baked custard. And because the cold and flu season is approaching, I’m sharing her recipe with you.

Mom’s Egg Custard

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
Ground nutmeg

Directions:
Beat all ingredients, except nutmeg, together well. Pour into 4 custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place cups into a baking pan. Pour hot water into the pan halfway up around the custard cups. The water level should be at the same level as the top of the custard. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the ramekins or custard cups.

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