"What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Names are funny things. Our experiences with them are so varied and our feelings about them equally as varied. I was flabbergasted when my sister-in-law expressed how beautiful her name was and then turned around to say to me, "You must hate your name." Obviously she doesn't think much of it. It is unusual and has caused me some difficulty, but I love it because of its significance. That's why I have offered - repeatedly - to change your names. It would be a very simple thing. I certainly don't want any of you to be "stuck" with a name you don't like or one that you don't think fits you. I like all of you so much and I thought of names that were endearing to me. For instance, I love the name Queenie because that's the name of three of my favorite characters--a spunky girl in a book I loved as a child, a feisty black woman in one my favorite musicals, and a wise woman in one of my favorite British series. But, as I've said before, it would be a breeze to change.........

Our discussion last week was enlightening, fascinating, fun and funny, as usual (Thanks, Queenie!) and I loved the trifle. Here is Queenie's recipe:

1 sm. pkg. vanilla instant pudding

1 cup sour cream

1 cup milk

1 tsp grated orange peel

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced

Angel food cake cut into bite size piece'

In a large bowl, mix pudding, sour cream, mild and orange peel until thick.  Fold in whipped cream.  In a large glass bowl, layer 1/2 cake piece, 1/3 strawberries and 1/2 pudding mixture:  Repeat, cover and refrigerate 2 hourrs.

"I used 2 packages of pudding for book group but didn't increase the sour cream or whipped cream."