does UPS ship casseroles?

It has been a month of bad news. Not for me, directly, but several people I care dearly for are going through tough times - medically, mentally, economically, and otherwise. It's hard when someone you love is hurting, hard when the phrase "I'm thinking about you/hoping for the best" starts to feel empty because you've said it so many times. It's hard when you know circumstances are beyond your control and the people facing those tough times are far away, much too far away to console or support beyond regular emails and the occasional phone call. How do you lend a helping hand from afar? You can't ship casseroles, y'know.

I look outside at the piles of graying snow, the ice-rutted street, the folks shivering at the bus stop, and I wonder if spring will ever come. I think if I could just see that crocus blooming or some tender buds on the tree branches, I might have a little more optimism. If I could smell rain and good, clean dirt instead of the stale air of a house that has been insulated against the cold for the past four months, I might feel a little better about things.

For now, I will try my hardest to live in the moment (I even checked out a book from the library about Buddhism that I'm hoping will help with that, since I don't do well with that on my own). I will try and be patient. I am tired of winter, but I will not let its cold, bleak days defeat my spirit. I will be strong for those that need me.

And I might bake a casserole anyway. Or at least indulge in comfort food for dinner tonight.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I know that cookies are not casseroles, but I have shipped cookies via USPS.
-Chanterelle
Anonymous said…
Clarification ! ! !

I am sounding like a politician who claims he was "misquoted." But I must admit that the conclusion Queen Bruinhilde drew was perfectly logical, but not at all what I had intended to say.

When I said that I have sent cookies via USPS, I did not mean recently. In the past. Many months ago. And not to the person who is presently experiencing a rough patch in life. What I meant to say was that casseroles probably don't ship very well, but cookies do.

It sure is nice when friends and church members and others can bring over meals when life hits a rough patch, and it is disappointing and maybe frustrating when you live so far away that you can't help out. And cookies is such a lame substitute. I wonder if a loaf of home made bread would make it before going stale?

-Chanterelle
One cure for "winter blahs" that I've read about is bright colors and those lamps that put out light that is more like sunlight than lamplight - if that last part made any sense whatsoever. Got any leftover bright fabrics from sewing projects? Sunny yellow, bright bright blue, hot pink, etc.? Scatter them like throws on furniture, tack some to the wall, look at pictures of tropical places with lots of sunshine on your computer, etc., and see if that helps any.

Big hugs!
Animal said…
Shipping "ingredients" is always fun, too. Dry bean mixes that only need some broth & an onion to become a lovely soup, or the dry ingredients for bread that can be easily assembled on the other end. I'd welcome that kind of thing ANY day!

I don't try to beat those winter blues as much as I just huddle down. I like Yankee candles for warmth & good sniffs, I always like comfort food like baked mac & cheese or a good toad-in-the-hole, and rather than pine for spring that's still months away I like to keep things closed up & cozy. So, pretty much the OPPOSITE of Jenn's words o'wisdom, but maybe between the two of us you can feel a little brighter.
Okay, Animal, I have to ask - WTF is "toad in the hole"?!?!? The mental image I'm getting is sooooooo XXX-rated (snicker). Yes, I have a dirty mind, and I love to give it lots of exercise.
Suze said…
Yo, I just learned about toad-in-the-hole from my neighbor a few weeks ago. Maybe it's an upper-Midwest thing. It's a piece of toast with a hole cut out in the middle where you put an egg. I think you fry the whole thing up in a skillet, but I've never actually tried it. Animal, am I right?
Animal said…
No, noooo! That egg thing? That's a Gold Mine Sandwich. Butter bread, use a juice glass to punch a nice hole in the middle, bread goes in pan (cast is best), egg goes in hole. You can break the yolk, but I like mine runny...then I dip the "hole" I cut out into the egg yolk. Yum!

Toad In The Hole is a casserole dish from a '70s-era recipe book I love to cook out of. The schmaltz factor is great, but honestly the good home-cookin' of that era is pure comfort food all the way. The best recipe I could quickly find for it is here:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000089classic_english_toad-in-the-hole.php

Enjoy!
Anonymous said…
I checked out your website, Animal, and found that toad-in-the-hole is a classic English dish. (It sounds good!!) Those Brits and their food names! Like the pudding called spotted dick!

Mary Ann
Suze said…
let's not forget the classic "bangers and mash"!
Becca said…
I thought Toad in a Hole was one of those Wind in the Willows book.

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