The Reindeer Keeper

With the snow and the wind and below zero temperatures, I sometimes fix something simple for myself when suppertime comes around. This doesn’t happen every night but when it does happen; whatever I fix not only warms me up but fills me with an even deeper appreciation of winter. I’d never think of having hot cereal for supper in the summertime. But I do during the winter. And I enjoy every spoonful as much as I would enjoy a full-course meal. After the hot dogs and potato salads and the boiled dinners and turkeys, winter offers a time of slowing down and occasionally treating yourself to simple, warm and relaxing suppers. Besides a bowl of hot cereal, which could be Oatmeal, Corn Meal, or Wheatena with an added treat of dipping a piece of toast into any one of those cereals, my simple winter supper might be buttermilk pancakes with either blueberries or bananas on top. When the kids were little I had a Hello Kitty-shaped pancake skillet. Those pancake suppers were quite popular...

The other day as big, fluffy, beautiful January snowflakes fell, Brian started listening to a Gordon Lightfoot CD I'd bought him for Christmas. I bought it for one particular song that he's always liked. After he listened to it, I suggested he listen to the other songs, telling him the other Gordon Lightfoot songs were just as good. So, he did. I was in the kitchen when a certain song started playing. It used to be a favorite of mine (still is) so I started sing ing as I began to gather ingredients to make him an omelet. "How do you know that song?" he asked. "I don't remember. I've just always liked it." "Come sit down and listen to it." So, I did. It was peaceful sitting there with the snow falling about the fields. I went on a bit about the beauty in winter; the peace I find in the stillness and how absolutely breathtaking it was outside. Of course, Brian has heard me go on and on about winter many times before. This ti...

I really enjoy the fall; can't stand the muggy days of summer or drizzly days of spring-but winter, specifically January, tops the list as my favorite time of the year. It might be the contrast-harshness wrapped in breathtaking beauty. It might be the quiet after December's rush. It might be the welcome embrace of home when walking through the door as the snow flies and wind blows. It might be many things but one thing for sure-hot cereal cooking on top of the stove while toast is being toasted and hot chocolate is being stirred is the most soulful-most heartfelt reason for January to be the first of the twelve months on the calendar. My grandmother-my aunt-my mother all cooked hot cereal. They each had their variations. Some used brown sugar-some sprinkled cinnamon in the bubbling mix-some served it with cream instead of milk. My grandmother would add a dab of butter when dishing her cereal into a bowl. She used a simple sauce pan with a top that had a dent in it for cookin...