Isn't Life a Bowl of Cherries?

Thirty plus years ago I had a friend named Kathy.

Kathy and I were friends by default.

Our husbands had been boyhood friends,

having grown up across the street

from one another.  

We became friends early in 

Kathy's marriage

because of our 

husbands' friendship.

We lived in different states,

but had periodic visits.

We welcomed all our children

into our circle

as they came into our lives,

four for Kathy,

one for me.

As lives became busier with

children, careers, and homemaking

our visits grew less and less.

By the time my marriage ended

ten years ago,

I had not had any 

contact with Kathy for some time.

As is often the case in divorce,

alliances form along the lines 

of "couple" relationships

("his" friends/"her" friends).

I moved ahead,

getting totally engrossed 

in forging a new life for myself

and never made any attempt to keep

my relationship with Kathy alive.

Then out of the blue

a few weeks ago,

I got an email from...KATHY!

She had stumbled upon

my Etsy shop and hence this blog.

She took the time to read my past posts

and reached out to me.

She tells me she read

ALL my blogs posts!

I can say without a doubt,

no one has done that except me!

I don't doubt her because this week 

I received the above three bottles of

Mexican vanilla in the mail

from Kathy as a result of my post of

January 13, 2013.

Now Kathy and I are

reconnecting totally on our own

as two middle aged, divorced women

with grown children.

We will create a new friendship

based upon who we are now. 

Life is certainly

a twisty tale,

isn't it?

Now about that Mexican vanilla...

I used to make a wonderful

homemade vanilla ice cream.

But, with our current consciousness

concerning uncooked eggs,

I hesitate to share the recipe with you

because it is a "no-cook" one.

It also requires an ice cream maker

which I no longer own.

It was one of the many "things"

I shed when I reinvented myself

at Buttermilk Cottage.

I offer you instead a simple new

one I intend to try soon

with some of my

Mexican vanilla.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix the condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Whip the cream with an electric mixer

until stiff peaks form.

With the mixer on low speed,

slowly add the vanilla mixture

to the whipped heavy cream and combine.

Pour into a freezer safe container 

and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

 Google Images

Thank you Kathy

for the Mexican vanilla,

I've been without it for quite a while.

But mostly, thank you for reaching out.

You've put the cherry on top of my ice cream!