I know bout cracker soup! Only we never called it cracker soup. Mary, you are the FIRST person I've found in all my 55 years (other than "my people") who ever heard of it much less ate it! Every one always thinks it's a disgusting idea. We just called it crackers & milk & always, always had it in a glass with a spoon. Came from mom's side of the family in Alabama. Comfort food.

Cornbread (no sugar in the cornbread, thank you very much!!!) in milk, called milk and bread, but never crackers. And always in a glass with a spoon. Milk 'n bread. Yep.

Milk also went in blackberry cobbler.
Yecchhhhh. Not for me.

MIlk also went in hot rice, as a breakfast food on winter mornings. But our crackers and milk was always in a bowl, not a glass. Anyone else eat "coffee soup?" Mom got it from her dad/grandpa, who was mostly German. It was a special breakfast treat for us -- put 2 slices of toast on a plate, sprinkle sugar over the toast, then pour coffee and milk over it. add cinnamon/nutmeg for flavor, and eat with a spoon. It's still one of my faves (and has what? Absolutely no nutritional value at all? ) and might be the reason I add cinnamon/nutmeg to my coffee grounds when I make coffee.

Bean soup (navy beans and ham hocks) was served on plates over pieces of bread or corn bread. And a Thanksgiving dinner staple was chicken-noodles served over mashed potatoes. Yeah, starch served over starch. I think I've only ever met one other person in my life who ate it that way, other than my relatives.

And I think I was in college before I knew cinnamon rolls were supposed to be made with yeast. Mom took left-over pie dough, rolled it flat, spread butter on it, sprinkled sugar/cinnamon on it, rolled it up, pinched the ends, and baked it. Slice it after it's cooked, and enjoy. That's another of those things I've only ever found one other person who knew about it -- made her homesick when I took some to a meeting one time.

And now I'm hungry for crackers and milk (that might have been what we called it too, instead of cracker soup -- it sounds "right" to me), and I have neither crackers nor milk in the house.

Cinnamon is a great source of Vitamin K, iron and calcium and potassium. It's also medicinal, as in preventative. So is nutmeg, though different vitamins, I think.

Any of the spices that come from plants carry nutrients and minerals as well.
So you did good, Mary, whether you knew it or not.

Not sure I'd want the coffee over my toast though, even with the spices.

Clover brings up so many great memories, doesn't it?

I remember running barefoot through it as a child (and only remember one time stepping on a bee), searching for the 4-leafed ones, chewing on the leaves. And the fragrance when clover is mowed -- heavenly!

I love clover, and am SO glad you did this "let 'em grow!" article on it, Sharon!

I enjoy the conversations that often follow these articles, too. One thing always leads to another, and that's all good.

I didn't nibble the clover as much as I made chains of the blooms, and wrapped them all through my hair.
Ran through it a lot too, did so just this afternoon when my son stopped by for a visit and his dog was excited to see me, and so was I to see him. We met in the middle of the clover patch in the front yard, the dog and I. Not my dignified son, he followed the sidewalk. Since the dog outweighs me by about 5 pounds, he and I managed to sit in the clover too. He sort of forgets that his lap is larger now than mine.

All true, Anni.
Grace never was a part of my name; not even as a nickname.

I've always believed that one should put everything one has into it, when doing something worthwhile; as in meeting my favorite dog, after 2 months away from him, in the middle of a clover patch. He's a black lab/Pyrenees mix. Awesome dog and less than 2 years old. A rescue from the humane society. Awesome dog.

He spent a month in obedience school while son was in Europe. Dog had to show me what he learned, over and over and over again. Never saw a prouder dog. Awesome dog.

Very awesome dog.

I remember your blog post about first meeting him... what a great dog! (and what a great son!)

Same dog, yes.
Same son, too!

I was envisioning you & dog in the clover patch living life as if you were a child greeting dog in the clover patch. And in my mind I was hearing you laugh & seeing your huge grin & how it transformed your face. I was thinking how we all should live as if we were children still. At least to have as many moments of that as we can because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Exactly, Anni. Exactly.

flaflwrgrl said:I was envisioning you & dog in the clover patch living life as if you were a child greeting dog in the clover patch. And in my mind I was hearing you laugh & seeing your huge grin & how it transformed your face. I was thinking how we all should live as if we were children still. At least to have as many moments of that as we can because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Just made me smile to think about Sharon and the dog in the clover patch.

We have invasive pink Wood Sorrel/oxalis all over the back part of our yard. With little time in the yard this season(s), I allowed it to grow. It made a nice ground cover with it's little pink flowers for color before the caladium popped up. Now it is dying back and the caladium taking over. I wonder if I should dig up the little bulbs as I know it is invasive enough to choke out other rooted plants? Now, in the lawn it's not so pretty. Oh well.

I don't know as much about oxalis as I do real clover, Cheryl, but sounds like you have the invasive kind and I do think it can take over other plants and choke them out. Might not be a bad idea to get rid of it. It is pretty though, and I think there are some kinds of it that are not invasive, though I'm not sure of the difference.

Not much help, am I?

flaflwrgrl said:I was envisioning you & dog in the clover patch living life as if you were a child greeting dog in the clover patch. And in my mind I was hearing you laugh & seeing your huge grin & how it transformed your face. I was thinking how we all should live as if we were children still. At least to have as many moments of that as we can because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Rereading this comment for the first time since Ann first posted it, and found myself blinking back tears. Very true, Ann...very true.

and I'm hungry for crackers and milk again, and still have no milk or crackers in the house.

And now I have my own dog to play with in the clover patch