Friday, October 2, 2009

There is Nothing Like an "Old" Dame

All over the news: the coming out party of Ardi. I'm talking about the bones that scientists think belong to the oldest skeleton found so far. (No disrespect intended.) She's 4.4 million years old. And why is it that the last two great discoveries have been female? I suspect that these girls were left behind to do the dishes, take in the laundry, and pack the car. (I discount the Kenyan boy somebody tried to get into the act as being pretty old, too.)

Ardi has elbowed Lucy out of the way. She was the oldest before, and pretty good on her toes, I understand. A bit of All About Eve, perhaps. Now THAT's an age-old story, unfortunately.

I guess I'd like to know if either of these girls had discovered tea. Somewhere in that dig there has to be a couple of cups and a copy of Pride and Prejudice, don't you think? Stay tuned--there's still a lot of dirt to get through. We'd never suggest that gossip was born of a primal day, but who really knows? Let's hope they were only concerned with whose palm leaf hat was better or whose kid got to the stream the fastest. Generations may come and go, but we girls know what really matters--the small talk of everyday life. And of course the humor we can't live without--no matter how many years old we are.

Like this piece of levity on a Friday morning when I should be vacuuming.

Have a great weekend picking apples, finding just the right pumpkin, and sipping cider. Autumn rituals that never seem to change, thank goodness. And oh, welcome to the clan, Ardi.

2 comments:

  1. How cute, Nancy! I'm off to a weekend of Autumnal pleasures, having brought to my nightstand the October issues of Victoria from 1989-2001...ah, bliss indeed! Do you have a favorite pumpkin bread recipe? Something from Iowa?
    Curiously, Karen

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  2. My husband makes a mean pumpkin cake. The recipe is from Tate's Bake Shop. They share recipes if you register.

    Years ago, I had a wonderful pumpkin cake recipe--lost in a move. What I remember most is that you were forbidden to open the oven for what seemed like a long time. Maybe an online search will turn it up. One year, my husband and I set out to make the perfect sour cream pound cake. That was a thigh-producing experience. I think we settled on one with bourbon, too.

    One of the best cakes ever is the almond cake from England's Meg Rivers we featured in Victoria. Ann Levine, Barbara-Lynn Cantone, and I took over the Lindemeyer Productions office kitchen for a bake-off once. I had so many cake pans after that experience. If you make this recipe, be sure to use blanched almonds. Meg Rivers passed away some years ago, but her cakes continue to grace many a holiday celebration on both sides of the Atlantic. The web site is mouth watering.

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