The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

Three Extraordinary Things

February 4, 2008

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. I was in something of a thoughtful mood as I'd spent half the day at a "morning for women" event at the local high school and my head was full. The school cafeteria was packed with tables and booths offering information on all kinds of topics from how to identify breast lumps (there was a table full of rubber breasts you could feel; some had lumps, some didn't) to the steps to self actualization. There was a sexual abuse table, and a booth on chiropractic treatment. There was information and experts on massage and acupuncture and psychic readings.

There was so much to look at I didn't have time to get to it all. I'd hoped to get my blood pressure checked and have my body mass index calculated, and then there's the whole matter of having one's aura read or described or whatever they do with auras. But there just wasn't time. There were two speakers I wanted to hear, and I did: a lovely woman doctor who talked about women's bodies and the latest news in medicine, with all kinds of charts and diagrams and statistics; and a woman writer who asked us to write about our secrets and issues and bodies and goals. We'd each been given a notebook and a pen, and I'll confess I didn't write much because there just wasn't enough time to come up with three extraordinary things about my body. I did, however, write down three goals for the next year, and a secret I've kept for a long time. No problem.

It felt good to write those things down. I've always kept lists, as you know, but haven't done much writing just for the sake of writing and I'll say I rather like it. The goals were easy: a pickup truck, spend a stretch of time each week out enjoying nature, and take the kids on vacation to somewhere with a history. Coming up with three extraordinary things about my body isn't all that easy. Mr. Sundberg would say my eyes, I'm sure, and he's always been partial to my legs. Of course there's the obvious. The fact that I've given birth three times pretty much answers the question. Nothing compares to willing turning yourself inside out. And then there's the whole matter of thumbs and what they can do. Think about it. Think about life without your thumbs.

Having given it a good deal of thought, I've been able to come up with three extraordinary things about my body:

1) I can stand on my head for a solid 20 minutes without tipping. It's true. The kids timed me.
2) I have pretty good-sized muscles in my arms, and nothing waggles underneath when I wave goodbye. Yet.
3) If you take a water soluble marker and connect, in the proper manner, the few scattered moles and freckles on my back, you'll have what resembles a map of Ireland. That's what the kids tell me, anyway. And I believe them.

I've shared this recipe with you before, I'm sure of it, but I'm sending it again because Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this is the perfect dough for rolled and cut hearts. Add a bit of red food color to the frosting and you'll have a batch of pink hearts to share with everyone you love. Might as well double the recipe from the get go.

The Sugar Cookie

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Chill dough for 3 hours or so.

Roll out, as thin or thick as you wish; cut with heart-shaped cutters.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 375 for ten minutes.
(Bake a bit less time if you like 'em soft, longer if you prefer crisp.)
Frost with powdered sugar frosting when cool.

Recipe doubles easily. You may substitute almond extract
for vanilla. Enjoy!

Previous article: « A Few Precautionary Measures

Next Article: I Know When to Haul Out the Snow Pants »