Special Day

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary.

The wedding itself seems so far away now; in another lifetime. Too many in the group photo have passed on. Relationships change. Ours has. For better? No.

We have seen our careers change directions. He moved from being an employee to self-employment. I left the workforce several years ago to raise my children. This is the most important job I have had, and the most rewarding. I love spending time with them, watching them grow.

Unfortunately, my husband and I have not grown together in the same direction. I was so optimistic in the beginning that we would make it, but looking back I see now that maybe we are just too different. He can hardly speak without swearing. This upsets me greatly. I hate it, but he won't stop. I like to go out and do things. He doesn't, and usually won't. The list goes on.

Is there enough left to rebuild? I don't know, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. There have been good times, just less and less in recent years. I find myself spending more and more time on personal interests and the interests of my children. We do things without Dad. He seems to prefer it that way anyway.

The anniversary has passed, unremembered and unnoticed by my spouse, as usual. No special day. I feel a little sad for how our lives could have been.

Happy Anniversay to me.

Fresh Strawberries!

My boys and I recently went to a local farm to pick strawberries. They had been looking forward to this for a long time. It was a perfect morning for picking, cloudy and still a bit cool. They helped me pick, at first, but soon lost interest. They had lots of fun running across the rows and jumping in stray puddles, as it had rained the day before. Unfortunately, sneakers and water are not a good combination. B. soon discovered his socks to be soggy and uncomfortable. He took them off and put them in his pockets! Yuk!! J. appointed himself "waterboy". He was very proud of the important job of carrying the water bottle for us.

This is not a good year for berries - too much rain and not enough sun. It took quite some time to fill our boxes, however, after a couple hours we had 11 quarts. As we drove home with our treasure, I was looking forward to all the wonderful treats I could cook with them.

Here are a few of our favourite strawberry recipes.

Strawberry Sauce

• 2 cups strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slice berries into a pot. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring, until thick, about 5 minutes. This is really good over ice-cream or poundcake.

Strawberry Sandwich

This is my new favourite breakfast. The fresh lemon rind makes this really special.

• 2 tbsp. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. liquid honey
• 1/8 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 english muffin, split and toasted

Combine cream cheese, honey, and lemon zest. Mix well. Spread on both halves of toasted english muffin. Top each with 1/4 cup strawberries. Serve open-faced. Serves 1 but is easily multiplied.

Strawberry Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine beaten eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir into wet mixture, just until combined. Stir in strawberries.

Put batter in a greased (or use liners) 12-cup muffin pan. The muffin cups will be almost full. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until done. Makes 12.