In praise of the potato. The saute pan. The electric eye. The canola/olive oil blend. The Maldon salt.

I ate 'em slowly, promise. I know how to spread out the time expended in bliss.

Photo No. 1. iPhone 6 Plus.



Photo No. 2. iPhone 6 Plus.

There is no Photo No. 3 'cause it woulda been outta sight boring. Just an empty paper towel with a salad fork, both resting on a yellow and gray salad plate.

Craving, craving, craving--sung to the tune of the Rawhide the theme song. Y'all know that old TV Western? Very early Clint Eastwood.

It all started when I read an e-mail from my bud Casey Parks yesterday morning, in which she asked how I was feeling and if I needed anything. Hmmmm. Need? No. How about crave? Yep. Definitely crave. I've been craving French fries since Monday night, so I mentioned how much I'd love to have a girlie-sized classic Killer Burger with their perfect-in-every-way fries. That sweet woman arranged her time to be able to pick up one for my lunch! Then, as she ordered it and talked with the counter person about why she was there getting it for me, that sweet woman wouldn't let her pay for it!



The decorated take-out box! Casey said she thinks that they upgraded me to the regular size burger.



Yep, they did! Look at that burger. Those fries. Oh, joy! And it all smelled as good as it looked.



Every single bite tasted like it was supposed to taste, hallelujah! Craving gone bye-bye.

FYI: I've had four Killer Burgers in the last 12 months. One at the NCAA basketball tournament in February at the Moda Center with several ingredients I don't enjoy on it, so I ate just the hamburger patty and the bacon and the fries and satisfied my all-day-long-basketball-tournament hunger. One in early May brought here by my sweet friend Lori Berkemeyer Rooney--it tasted so fine! One in late May that I thoroughly enjoyed once I had recovered enough from the hysterectomy to go to the Killer Burger on NE Sandy and enjoy lunch at one of their outside tables with my bud Janessa Wagner--it tasted even finer! And this one that Casey brought to me yesterday so that I could enjoy it in my studio apartment--it tasted finest of all!

With Sarah's help, I took some queenly advice!

Here's the advice, straight from H.R.H. Jill Conner Browne, THE Sweet Potato Queen, given to me on April 15, 2015, by way of a Facebook Message: Go out TODAY and buy yourself a FIVE-YEAR CALENDAR and start filling it up. Give no thought WHATSOEVER to being sick in any way. See yourself as healthy and vibrant, doing all the things you are putting in the calendar. Begin thanking God TODAY for your health and well-being. Praise Him for how wonderfully you are made and for all His magnificent Creation, of which you are an important part. All is well and all WILL BE well. xxoojill Thanks, Jill!

My friend Sarah came to my apartment yesterday with Burgerville Chicken Tenders and French Fries and the FIVE-YEAR CALENDAR, plus an added treat, the One Line A Day, A Five-Year Memory Book. Both the calendar and the book are exquisitely made so that they feel good in my hand, at my fingertips.




I'll be writing in them with my little Mama's favorite Papermate Sharpwriter #2 USA lead pencil, the one that advances the lead with a twist of its tip. Since she always wanted to have plenty on hand to use in her crossword puzzle books, I had a couple of unopened packages after she died in January, 2011. Since then, I've made my way to that section of either Freddie's or Walgreens, picked up another package and enjoyed the memory of watching her diligently complete one puzzle after the other while sitting in her recliner in front of the TV--Mama aced every single one! Now I keep a pencil atop this thick glass picture frame--that's us on July 9, 2004, taken by Lamont at the Bijou Cafe, downtown Portland. We ate breakfast there before going to the airport on the MAX and flying back to Jackson, Mississippi, after our first visit with Lamont and his brother Leland in Portland. Sweet memories.



See the tabs? There is one for each month in each of the five years. Enjoy my first entry!



I am astounded at the versatility of the memory book. You can see here how you're able to write in the year on a particular date before you record your memory! Brilliant!

Mama's Settled In and Good-bye Crud!

That sweet little lady, my Mama, is a champ. She's ready to do whatever she possibly can for however long it takes to get back to her life--that's the message I got from her today as we moved her into her room at Mt. Tabor. Physical therapy begins tomorrow. I predict it will be one of the hardest things she's ever done, but I'm doggone proud of her attitude. Lamont, Lindsay and Leland came by to visit Grandma just as her dinner arrived. We talked and laughed a bit as she ate some of it despite being so tired from her busy day that included a shower as well as the ride in a wheelchair ambulance. After Mama got settled back in bed, hoping she'd stay awake for "Wheel of Fortune," we hugged and kissed on her, saying good-bye until tomorrow. It wasn't easy on any of us, but each of us believes in what she's about to undertake and in our ability to support her and to help make good things happen for her as she rehabilitates.

In between conversations with Mama, we'd talked about food and how hungry each of us was. We decided to meet at the Savoy Tavern & Bistro at SE Clinton and 25th.

On the drink menu, I saw "Viva La Cruda," a margarita. Besides the fact that I really like a good margarita, the word crud in cruda sparked my imagination. Merriam-Webster defines crud as something disagreeable. My ricochet brain took me from crud to what's been going on with Mama is cruddy, as in "It's absolutely cruddy that she's not able to come home and sit in her recliner and enjoy Duncan, her crossword puzzles, and being together after I get home from work or on the weekends." So, I thought, I'll have a Viva La Cruda and drink that crud right outta mine and Mama's lives!

And that's just what I did, after Lindsay and I took photos, naturally.

I took this one without the flash.

I took this one with the flash.

Lindsay, my guest photographer,took this one without the flash and from an entirely different angle.


Which one is your favorite? And, no, I didn't drink three Viva La Crudas--just two. I also ate a fine tasting hamburger and French fries. Really good food and drink, being with those three young adults, the hope of our future--I'm saying "Hasta la vista crud!"

Satisfy your hamburger craving at the Helvetia Tavern

Just to set things straight from the get-go, that’s my younger son Leland’s hands sliding onion rings onto a platter. The fact that he cooks at the Helvetia Tavern, located in Hillsboro which is part of the Portland metropolitan area, in no way influences what I’ve got to say about the hamburgers, French fries, onion rings and root beer I’ve enjoyed there. It’s all just doggone good and photogenic, to boot.

We’ve been there four times in the last five months, that’s how much Mama and I enjoy it. In May we took Milton and Kay, our long-time Mississippi friends-like-family who drove all the way up here to visit the two of us. In June we took our newly-made Pacific Northwest friends-like-family Danielle, Pat and Meehan. The other two times, we just took ourselves right on out Highway 26, took at right at Helvetia Road, then a left into the parking lot. Satisfyingly yummy for the tummy!

For those of you who’d like another opinion, here’s the Citysearch Editorial Review:
Country roads and fertile fields surround the green-and-red-frame tavern with rural beauty; inside, there's a homey, cabin-like feel and a baseball-cap collection covering the ceiling. Weekdays, Hillsboro techies sup here; weekends bring in cyclists, families and couples. Known for their burgers, the joint churns out a two-patty jumbo version with cheese that shines. A special house sauce known as "goop" seals the deal. Be sure to get fries; they're hand-cut and better than average.