The power of suggestion through thinking

I heard Guinny prancing around making funny noises. When I walked out of the den, he raced from the dining room – his favorite place to chew on things he shouldn’t have. There were rippled pieces of white plastic on the floor. I did not recognize them. Of course, he would not let me near him. I grabbed a treat to get this over quickly. He had the lid to my blender. Some of the edge is chewed off, but it is still useable (I think) though it looks disgusting.

Earlier this morning as I made my smoothie, I was thinking how grateful I am for my Waring Blender! It was a wedding gift almost 38 years ago. It had very irregular use until a couple of years ago when a friend hooked me on smoothies for breakfast. Now it is used every day. I bought a blender “for Greg,” so that I could make smoothies when I am at his house. It is not nearly as good as my old Waring Blender. In fact, when I have used blenders at anyone’s house, they are not as good.

Fred Waring was well known for his radio show and as the founder and conductor of the singing group, the Pennsylvanians. The summer of 1973, we attended a concert of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians at Chautauqua Institute. I learned that night that Fred Waring was the financial backer behind the invention of the Waring Blender, making his name a household word. I had no idea that my kitchen blender was related to the musical Fred Waring!

In recent years, I have thought that my blender, even though it is a superb performer, appears dated. Then I saw a Waring Blender in a Williams Sonoma store for about $100 which looked exactly like mine. No wonder the performance of the average $20 to $30 kitchen blender does not match mine!

While making my smoothie this morning, the memory of my dated-looking blender and the cost of a new one, looking equally as dated, crossed my mind. Now that I am officially an “old” person complete with pension and senior rebates, I wondered if mine will last my lifetime. As is my custom every morning, I made my smoothie, rinsed out the blender and lid, placed them upside down beside the sink to dry. Today is the last time I will do that.

My smoothie recipe for 1 serving:
½ cup orange juice
1 banana
4 frozen strawberries (or other frozen fruit)
½ cup of low-fat yogurt

My favorite combinations:
Strawberries with cherry yogurt
Mango with raspberry yogurt
Peach with blueberry yogurt