Happy 4th, with an Erma Bombeck Smile

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"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness." --Erma Bombeck, 1927-1996, writer and columnist

Happy 4th to all! Hope your celebration is special and your potato salad stays fresh :-)

Familiar with Erma Bombeck?  She could sure offer up great humor, especially some of her takes on parenthood. Many times she managed to be funny and profound at the same time. She also was a prolific writer. Some of her titles include: If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?; The Grass is Always Green Over the Septic Tank; When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home; and At Wit's End.

Samples of her quips:

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."--Erma Bombeck

"All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them."--Erma Bombeck

"Housework, if you do it right, will kill you."--Erma Bombeck

"I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up." --Erma Bombeck

Hope you enjoy the holiday. What's your favorite picnic food or Fourth of July tradition? Do you have a favorite Erma Bombeck quip or story?

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What's In Your Picnic Basket?

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"For a slightly different approach, or for a Victorian picnic, you might refer to Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, in which she lists 'Things not to be forgotten at a picnic.' Our idea of essentials is somewhat different from Mrs. Beeton's in 1859..." --DeeDee Stovel, Picnics with 29 Seasonal Menus (Story Books 2001)

When perusing Ms. Stovel's cookbook recently--one of many cookbooks on my shelf that have in the past few years only gathered dust (!)--I came across this gem of the past. Ms. Stovel continues to quote old-time Mrs. Beeton:

"A stick of horseradish, a bottle of mint-sauce well corked, a bottle of salad dressing, a bottle of vinegar, made mustard, pepper, salt, good oil, and pounded sugar. If it can be managed, take a little ice. It is scarcely necessary to say that plates, tumblers, wine-glasses, knives, forks, and spoons must not be forgotten; as also teacups and saucers, 3 or 4 teapots, some lump sugar, and milk, if this last-named article cannot be obtained in the neighborhood. Take 3 corkscrews."

Ah, glimpses of life in the past. Interesting selection, wouldn't you say? A stick of horseradish? Mint-sauce? Where are the strawberries and watermelon? The potato salad and baked beans? Maybe some chocolate chip cookies?

All on paper plates of course.

So this glimpse into the past begs the question: what's in your picnic basket? How many teapots do you pack? And how many corkscrews?

Hope you're enjoying the summer. It sure is flying by fast!

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