Thank God it’s Monday, once again. I personally look forward to each and every Monday, as they are my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with all of you. Therefore, happy Monday to everyone – and happy March.
Welcome to March, which celebrates, among other things, National Women’s History Month. Additionally, this is also International Women’s Week (for 2024), which is always during the week of International Women’s Day (March 8th), a focus on the women’s rights movement.
According to NationalDayCalendar.com, “National Women’s History Month was established in 1987 as a way to celebrate women across the nation and their efforts to make the country, and world, a better place for women of all ages and races.”
‘WHEN YOU SEE A FRIEND in a difficult situation, go to bat for them! Don’t let them stand alone in the face of undeserved criticism! Show people what you consider important – that petty comments are weapons of very insecure, unhappy people who still seek company in their own misery. Coming to a friend’s defense, in front of them, is the best expression of what friendship is all about!’ – Gloria Pitzer, My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 48)
In the meantime, Friday will celebrate female activists on a global level, raising awareness of their work toward gender equality and the challenges they’ve faced (and still face). It’s also a day to celebrate “sisterhood” – which is not limited to blood relations and is more than just friendships among women; it’s a solidarity.
Women, by nature, crave close friendships. Girlfriends provide us with a “social family” where we feel loved, safe, understood, and accepted for who we are. A sisterhood is a feminism alliance between women, with an unconditional bond that lasts through all the various phases of life.
We celebrate together in happy times and support each other in difficult times. Sisterhoods mentor and sponsor other women, making sure their ideas are heard and that they succeed. They share values, dreams, and a sense of belonging.
Gloria Pitzer’s Reliable Recipes For Reluctant Cooks (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI: Oct. 1983, p. 8)
BE SOMETHING TO SOMEONE!
BEING APPRECIATED for what you are and the good you can offer others is one of the greatest rewards for trying to improve one’s life. The real test comes when there seems to be no one to appreciate you…
You have to face the temptation of crumbling under self-pity or pretending that it doesn’t matter – that you can make it alone if you have to. The test of real strength comes with the realization that you are alone.
That’s when you have to make the decision to give up or stand up! It’s never easy, but no one ever promised that it would be! Being alone and, yet, surrounded by people makes the feeling of the famished affections one of the most challenging aspects of nourishment, today… Be something to someone!
International Women’s Day has a special theme each year. According to InternationalWomensDay.com, the 2024 theme is “Inspire Inclusion”; explaining that when women feel included, as in a sisterhood, they attain a sense of belonging, as well as being pertinent and empowered.
Women often uplift and empower each other, bringing out the best in one another. As time has been proving, over and over again, the solidarity that’s built in a shared sisterhood is making us an unstoppable force.
Whenever one woman stands up for herself, in essence, she’s standing up for all women. By the way, Women’s Equality Day, which is a similar celebration, is August 26th; honoring the exceptional struggles that women face on a daily basis. For more information about this national celebration, check out HolidayInsights.com and NationalToday.com.
‘FRIENDS ARE A TREASURE and, when we count our blessings, we count our friends twice! It’s not possible to have a full and happy life without others to share with, to help when help is needed, to be helped when help is offered.’ – Gloria Pitzer, My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 100)
AGAIN, FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 52)
AMAZING CHANGES
SO, THE TIME I spent trying to keep up with what was going on in the food industry, also included what was going on in the world in general. I wrote about everything the homemaker might be interested in, and in those days – the early 1960s and into the 1970s – women were trying to break loose from the housewife stereotype.
It was a difficult period for those of us born during The [Great] Depression, raised during World War II and almost too young for Korea, but too old for Vietnam. The automation [evolution] that took so many jobs away from us, forced our generation into further education in order to compete.
I felt the pressure of having to keep up with the progressive community in which we lived. But little did I know, at the time, that every one of those precious experiences and semi-tribulations were actually stepping stones to a more stable lifestyle that was to come years later…
Mom was part of the Post War [WWII] Generation, born 1928-1945; also known as the Silent Generation and the Traditionalists Generation. They valued old-time, conventional ethics. The Baby Boomers Generation wanted more for themselves and future generations.
Many issues in the 1960s were very similar to those of today – with “women-empowerment” campaigns, political and social upheaval, gender and racial biases (especially in the workplace), and wages that aren’t rising proportionately with inflation and the cost of living.
This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 2)
RECIPE FOR FRIENDSHIP
MY VERY SPECIAL FRIEND, Sherry Ellis, has been brightening my life for years with the dearest cards. The other day, when I really needed it the most, one of Sherry’s cards arrived in the mail. It might give you just the right words to send to a friend of your own.
‘Isn’t it funny how sometimes you and I keep in close contact and at other times we go for quite a while without being in touch? We have such a comfortable relationship that even when we don’t hear from each other, we still know we are close…
You know that I’m here for you and I know that you are there for me. We meet each other’s needs in a very special way, and we can always count on each other.
So when some time slips away without a word between you and me, I know I don’t have to worry about our friendship. There’s a feeling beyond words that will always keep us somehow together.’ – Rachel Davies, author
By the way, National Send a Card to a Friend Day, was the first Sunday in February; however, you can and should send your friends a “thinking of you” card anytime – and all the time.
On average, we (as women) have more close friends and larger networks of social connections than our male counterparts. By the way, research has shown a correlation between having more friendships and experiencing less depression, loneliness, or anxiousness.
Studies have also shown that the average female friendship, among women under 55 years of age, lasts about 16 years. That increases as we age because, after we’re 55, our female friendships last an average of 23 years – that’s solidarity and sisterhood. Let your sisters, blood-related or not, know how much you appreciate them – send a card (or an e-card).
This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 1).
IF YOU WERE MY FRIEND [Poem by Gloria Pitzer]
If you were my friend
You could count on me
To keep you often in my thoughts,
Wishing you always the best.
If you were my friend
You could count on me
To drop what I’m doing to help you
When you’re in need…
To believe the best about you
And correct anyone quickly,
Who would certainly misjudge you.
If you were my friend
You could lean on me
When you need moral support,
Talk to me and I promise to really listen
And, in return, I would ask only
That, knowing everything
There is to know about me,
You would like me anyway!
Lots of love, Gloria
Friday, in honor of March, being National Craft Month, I launched a new tab on this website for Mom’s crafts. I will post at least one of Mom’s crafts to it, on the first of each month.
I may post more often (including some of my own crafts, which Mom influenced), depending on any craft-related, national, day/week/month observations (i.e. National Quilting Day, which is March 16th). Likewise, April is National Decorating Month and April 6th is National Handmade Day so I’ll be sharing more of Mom’s related crafts, then, on the first.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, being National Pound Cake Day, and March, being National Flour Month, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Share-A-Lease Powdered Sugar Pound Cake”; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 244). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)].
P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…
March observes, among other things… Irish-American Heritage Month, National Caffeine Awareness Month, National Celery Month, and National Sauce Month. Unofficially, March is also Maple Sugaring Month in Michigan. [NOTE: Lent began on Wednesday, Feb. 14th, and will run through Thursday, March 28th (for 2024).]
National Procrastination Week is the first two weeks in March [1st-14th or 4th-17th (2024)] or whenever it’s convenient. Plus, Read an E-Book Week is the first FULL week in March (4th-10th for 2024).
Today is also… National Sons Day and National Grammar Day. Plus, it’s… Words Matter Week.
Tomorrow is… National Cheese Doodle Day.
Wednesday, March 6th, is… National Frozen Food Day, National Oreo Cookie Day, and National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day. This is also my dad’s birthday. Happy heavenly birthday, Dad. I miss you.
Thursday, March 7th, is… National Flapjack Day, National Be Heard Day, National Cereal Day, and National Crown of Roast Pork Day.
Friday, March 8th, is… National Oregon Day, National Peanut Cluster Day, and National Proofreading Day.
Saturday, March 9th, is… National Crabmeat Day, National Get Over it Day, and National Meatball Day.
March 10th, is… National Blueberry Popover Day and National Pack Your Lunch Day. Plus, as the second Sunday in March (for 2024), it’s also… National Daylight Saving Time Day. Additionally, it’s also the start of… Girl Scout Week (for 2024), which is always the week of March 12th.
…10 down, 42 more to go!
