What I Learned in May

It’s that time again. I’m joining the fun over at Emily Freeman‘s where once a month a great group of bloggers share some things they’ve learned during the calendar month. From the paltry to the profound, this month, as in every month, there’s an abundance of terrific tidbits to be enjoyed as each one of us share… What I Learned in May

….of Alain de Botton, a simply superb writer ~ I really love this guy’s writing. I began the month of May reading The Art of Travel, a treatise on travel which explores the reasons we do it and why at times it delights yet other times disappoints. Each keen observation also showcases a notable historic figure who exemplifies the subject de Botton expounds. History, humor and helpful insight all in one terrific read.

There’s nothing like a great author to leave you yearning for more so I next chose How Proust Can Change Your Life, de Botton’s profound commentary on lessons to be learned from what may have contributed to Marcel Proust’s one-of-a-kind writing style. The chapter How To Take Your Time rivaled two of my favorite reads this year, Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts and Shauna Neiquist’s Cold Tangerines, by encouraging the practice of finding the extraordinary right in the middle of ordinary, albeit from a very different perspective. I don’t agree with his theology (he doesn’t believe in the God who has obviously gifted him), but his writing is rife with truth and, as I learned from Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art,”There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred.” Yes, this month of May, I learned de Botton is de-lightful!

….something I never knew about my husband ~ Over 35 years of marriage and I just learned that cream pie is my husband’s favorite dessert. Know this…I’ve made a lot of pies over the years. Within the first months of marriage, having moved from the city life of my home state of sunny Florida and finding myself isolated for eight hours a day five miles up a remote mountain in upstate New York during a winter that boasted record-breaking temperatures, with no car, no cable and no company, I found one way to occupy myself…by trying my hand at making homemade pies from recipes found in the one wedding present we hadn’t returned as a result of needing money more than Melmac…a Betty Crocker cookbook. (Whew…Proust is rubbing off on me)  Apple pies, blueberry pies, pumpkin and pecan pies. I made them all..all except cream pies. I got pretty good at it too, becoming the one assigned the task of making the pies for three decades worth of family Thanksgivings. Yep, I do pies. But never, ever, not even once did I make a single, solitary cream pie.

So how, after nearly 36 years with this man, did I come to realize it was his favorite dessert? Finally, I asked. But only because our wonderful neighbors wanted to surprise him on his birthday by making him his favorite dessert, asking me what it was. And then I realized…I had no idea. And since it was, after all, to be a surprise…I couldn’t ask him. So they made what they made without asking…like I had for all these years. Birthday night arrives and it was a surprise, but not as much of one as I got when a week or so later I finally asked my husband, “By the way… what’s your favorite dessert?”

And so…I made him a belated birthday dessert. And now, back in sunny Florida after all these years and having procured my husband’s personal pie preference, I’ll be once again trying my hand at making homemade pies…cream pies, that is. Better late than never. And Honey…I’m sorry I never asked.

….that I will post content I never thought I would ~ You’ve never seen it before and might never, ever see it again, but I’ve finally found a reason to post a recipe here on my blog. (I know my sister-in-laws’ jaws just dropped). It was super simple and got great reviews, so I’m sharing the Coconut Cream Pie recipe I used when making that belated birthday dessert. I did make two changes to the recipe by using 1 can of coconut milk and then half and half to add up to three cups, and I used fresh whipped cream. Simply delicious! And by the way…this blog content will never happen here again. It’s more my style to hand out book recommendations so check out Teeny’s Tour of Pie: A Cookbook, a delightful, informative, inspirational kind of cookbook/find your passion/make you want to make pie must have for anyone even slightly interested in baking pies.

….that migraines are misunderstood ~ Who knew that migraines don’t always come with pain. New research has found that migraines present in a variety of ways. Having had an ENT doctor eliminate ear problems and an MRI eliminate any serious neurological problem as the cause of the dizziness I’ve been experiencing lately, my doctors are suggesting the cause might be migraines. There’s still testing being done, but based on the fact that things such as dizziness and vertigo, light, sound and motion sensitivity can be attributed to painless migraines, I suppose it’s a possibility. If not, at least I’ve learned something new.

….of a simply a-mazing NYC-based photographer ~ I happened on Alice Gao via Instagram and I’ve been enjoying her feed immensely. Since I began my Bible-based photo a day challenge (you’ve never seen anything like this one so check it out here) I’ve taken notice of the talent required to produce a great photo and believe me when I tell  you…this gal’s got that talent. If you want inspiration for composing photographs or just want some beautiful images to peruse, Alice Gao is your girl. Enjoy.

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