Savoring February

SAVORING FEBRUARY…

Today is March 1. Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent. In the words of Dr. Seuss, how did it get so late so soon? I believe there’s value in taking a look back. If we aren’t mindful, it’s easy to forget to remember the good. And if you’ve followed me for any period of time, you know I chose SAVOR as my One Little Word for the year. I’m trying my best to savor each day. I crammed lots of good in February 2017.

Savor—to taste, smell, relish, delight in. Doing something slowly.

Savoring FLAVOR…

I’ll start right off with a confession. I didn’t do as well in February as I did in January with my goal of cooking one new recipe each week. I wasn’t home for part of the month which makes that resolution extra challenging not to mention impossible. One weekend, I did manage to make spaghetti with a twist. Along with crushed tomatoes, I used leftover tomato basil soup in my sauce. And, I used rice noodles instead of gluten based. Yummy if I do say so. And it was an efficient way to clean out my fridge before heading out of town.

February was filled with Gracie Lee adventures as I had several author events in Little Rock, Southeast Arkansas, Jonesboro, and Mississippi County. This meant lots of good food including a fabulous dinner at the Delta Resort, absolutely wonderful barbecue at Hoot’s in McGehee, and two meals at the Wilson Cafe. (When one goes home to the farm, one eats as many meals as possible at the Wilson Cafe.)

Savoring FRIENDS AND FAMILY…

February is one of the best months for friends and family since it’s the month of love and all. I could make a long list of people I spent time with—new friends and old—but since this post is meant to be a recap, I won’t. Instead, I’ll let this picture taken of the Little Rock Junior League Sustainer’s Book Club (I hope I got the name right!) represent all the February author events I attended. (There was lots of flavor this night, too.)

And, I had lunch with two of my best childhood friends, Becky and Judy, AND I spent (not enough) time with Dorothy who always gives me a bed when I pass through Little Rock.

SAVORING FUN…

Everything in the “Friends and Family” category above counts as fun, but February included lots of unique, enjoyable activities such as trap shooting, spending time at Miller’s Mud in Dumas, and attending Writer’s Ink (finally!) in Jonesboro. I spent time hanging out on the farm in Mississippi County which isn’t unique but always enjoyable.

One of the best things I did in February was get my booty to church services at Keiser Baptist Church. This place holds lots of memories for me. (Memories of Brother Anderson, my Nana who never missed a service until she got too sick to attend, the place I saw that horrid movie Thief in the Night and worried myself sick over being left behind during the Rapture that would no doubt come to Keiser leaving me alone in the pitch dark no matter how much I repented or loved Jesus. THAT movie. Did anyone else see it?)

It did my heart good being around friends, hearing a great message, and singing old hymns. And what a coincidence that our Sunday School lesson just happened to be Philippians 4:8, my favorite verse of all time.

The Lord does work in strange and mysterious ways, y’all.

Once upon a time, I got married at Keiser Baptist Church.

One might mistake it for Boon Chapel.

SAVORING FOCUS…

I devoured lots of books in February. (Reviews coming soon.)

I didn’t work much on my next book, but I did concentrate on several client projects which I’m grateful to have. How cool is it that I get to write for Arkansas companies about topics close to my heart?

I spotted spring between white pickets and poking through dark soil. Searching for spring this year didn’t require all that much focus. Spring is early, dancing and singing all around. Winter never got much of a foothold in Arkansas.

(knock on wood)

SAVORING NEW FINDS and a bit of FLUFF…

I’m probably the last to know about Hoopla, but I discovered this app in February. Hoopla allows me to stream books, music, and audiobooks from Fayetteville Public Library for free. If you’ve been paying to download books from Audible or music from iTunes, you know this is money-saving not to mention life changing. Because yes, more books = a better life.

I’m crushing on these thumb bowls from Miller Mud in Dumas. Look for an entire post coming soon on this locally owned Arkansas treasure. But for now, go ahead and drool over my way cool bowls that make me want to eat soup everyday.

For the first time in a long time, I boarded Lucy and Annabelle while I traveled. And I love the place I found. Bark Avenue Pet Lodge provided all the comforts at home, and then some. Basically, Lucy and Annabelle went to camp for a week where they lived better than many people.

THINGS NOT SO SAVORY…

In the category of keeping it real, the not so savory included a viral infection and vertigo which is still whipping me right now. And even worse, while I was out of town, Annabelle got rather sick. Like peeing blood sick. Bark Avenue did a great job of addressing the issue with our veterinarian. Thank goodness she’s okay now. What would we do without our pet babies?

Other than being under the weather, February shaped up to be savory indeed.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

P.S. If you missed my Savoring January post, read it HERE. If we are brand new friends, thanks for visiting and come back! You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @gracegrits.

[tweetthis]How I savored February with food friends and hymn singing. #onelittleword #mississippidelta[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Miranda Lambert, We Should Be Friends