by Karen Creamer | Apr 16, 2023 | at camp, Comfort
We waited for almost a year before we finally got the call:
They would (finally!) be coming to drill the well at camp!!
It turned out to be a multi-day project. The noise level was no where near what I thought it would be, which was nice, since they were drilling literally steps from our window! This was great because it gave me an up close and personal view of the action.
After the well was finished, the ground was too soft for them to extricate their equipment right away (thank you, Maine spring mud season!) so we had a lawn ornament for a few days. But I didn’t care! We finally had a well!
Now if only they would come back to put a pump on it ….
Here’s some more photos: Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Mar 28, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Connection
I grabbed a box (admittedly, it had been on the shelf for a while) of raisins to throw in my oatmeal this morning and they were very hard, dry, and generally unappealing looking. I was about to give them to the chickens–who are far less fussy than I am–to eat when I remembered a trick my grandmother taught me years ago, when I was making cookies.
I liked to add raisins to the chocolate chip cookies and sometimes, just like in my present life, they had been on the pantry shelf for awhile.
She told me to pour boiling water over them and let them sit for a bit, and drain the water off. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Mar 21, 2023 | Book Reviews, books, Connection
I knew almost nothing about this book before requested it from the library. I don’t even remember how I heard about it but it was next in the pile, and so I started reading it.
Right away, Small World had my attention because it mentioned a place that I had actually worked, The Walter E. Fernald State School, one of my first jobs after I became a nurse.
A bit later in the book it mentions Paragon Park and Nantasket Beach. My parents met there, and my grandmother had a house in that area for many years. We often visited her for Sunday dinner when I was younger. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Mar 14, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Comfort, recipes
Is there anything better than homemade chicken soup when you aren’t feeling well?
Recently when I wasn’t feeling well, I was dying for a cup of hot, homemade chicken soup, but not just any homemade soup. I wanted MY homemade chicken soup. The problem was that I felt too awful to make it for myself.
I decided to plan ahead to give myself the gift of soup for some time in the future when, for whatever reason, I need it but am not able to make it for myself. Now that I’ve done it, it feels comforting just knowing that it is there in the freezer, and all I have to do is add the pasta (ditalini or pastina!) or rice to it. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Feb 28, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Comfort, Connection, family, italian
With the supply of pastina at an all time low, I’ve been thinking about other staples in my diet that have been around since childhood.
Spaghetti is one of them.
I usually buy DeCecco Angel Hair Spaghetti (cooks in 2 to 3 minutes!) but they didn’t have any at the supermarket, so when I was looking for the Prince Pastina (and striking out again), I saw the Prince Spaghetti and thought I’d by a box for old times’ sake. This also reminded me of the commercial from back in the day, of Anthony running through the streets of the North End in Boston to make it home on time for supper. Keep reading
Karen Creamer
